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It had been raining when Caspar woke up in the morning, which was a pretty big bummer, since it meant he couldn’t go outside. Last time he’d tried to play in the rain, he caught a cold, and Lin still won’t let him live it down, so he decided to stay in from now on and avoid getting sick (or scolded by his parents). Staying inside and out of the rain was the smart thing to do, or at least that’s what Lin says. And Lin’s smarter than him, anyway, so he must be right. Still, he thought the rain would clear up quickly, and he could just stay inside until then. Staying inside, like Lin said. It’s the smart thing to do.
He becomes more convinced every time thunder booms through the sky.
He can’t believe stupid rain turned into a stupid thunderstorm and now he has to hide in his stupid room all day waiting for it to pass. It’s the most unfair thing in the world, because his dad wants to leave Enbarr to go home in a few days, and he wanted to make the most of his time here—drag Lin outside, let him sleep or read under a tree while he practices punching, or swings around a wooden training axe he isn’t supposed to have. But Caspar can’t even leave his bed—since the thunder started a bit after breakfast he’s been hiding out under his covers, and if Lin even remembers to leave the library he probably won’t hunt Caspar down, so this day is a total waste.
Another boom rumbles through the sky, and Caspar burrows deeper under the covers with what is totally not a whimper. Stupid, stupid, stupid thunderstorm.
There’s a knock at his door that’s almost drowned out by the drumbeat of raindrops on the roof. He’s sure he’s imagining it—it isn’t as though Father would call for him, anyway, and who else would it be?—until a quiet voice wafts through the door. “Caspar? I’m coming in.”
Lin . He has a brief moment of panic—he looks so stupid huddled under his covers like this—but before he can save face, his bedroom door opens. There’s a beat of silence, and then: “Really? Still ?”
Caspar peeks out from under his blanket, scowling. “No! I’m just, uh, under the weather, and I–” He’s interrupted by a huge thunderclap, louder than every one before it combined . He freezes, feeling his eyes go wide as dinner plates, and his gaze shoots to the window, watching for the terrible moment when that bright flash of light finally takes his entire world out with it.
“–spar.” Oh, jeez, he’d been a little out of it for a few seconds there. Lin’s sitting on the bed beside him, hand on his shoulder, frowning. Anyone else would say he’s annoyed, but Caspar’s proud that four whole years of friendship have taught him that he’s really just worried. Oh, wait. Linhardt’s worried about him. Like he’s some sort of baby .
“I’m okay!” he says, hating how wobbly his voice sounds. “Just, uh, caught me off–” He winces as another rumble echoes through the room. “Guard!” he squeaks. “Caught me off guard!”
Linhardt’s still frowning. “You’re trembling,” he says quietly. Then again, quiet’s just kinda what he does, like how Caspar only does loud . “Like a leaf,” he adds, with a note of pride. That must be a phrase he learned in his books. He’s always been so smart.
“Yeah, well, it’s–” He shivers at another peal of thunder, failing to finish his sentence. Stupid, stupid thunderstorm.
“It’s quite close,” Linhardt says, fully climbing into bed beside him and silently accepting Caspar’s weight as he buries his face into his side. “You can tell, see, because the thunder and lighting don’t have any pause between them.”
“I noticed,” Caspar mutters sourly.
“And look, it’s very loud, but–” Lin taps the tip of Caspar’s nose with one finger. “So are you. Look, what else is it doing besides making a lot of noise? You have an awful lot in common with the storm, see?”
Caspar huffs, then immediately latches onto Lin as the thunder roars overhead, squishing his cheek against his chest. “I-I–” Ugh, he can’t believe he’s stuttering like a scaredy-cat. “I’m not that strong,” he mumbles.
Lin sighs. “Really, Caspar, if you want me to hear you, you’re going to have to speak up.”
“I said –” He’s gotta be loud enough to hear now; Linhardt even winces. “–I’m not like the storm ‘cause I’m not that strong!”
There’s another moment of silence interrupted by the raging storm overhead. Finally, Lin says, “Well, no one is. Is that what’s wrong? It’s something you can’t try to fight?”
Caspar’s face twists in a frown. He hates when Lin gets like this, all smug and like he’s… like he’s making fun of Caspar, just for being dumb, which he can’t even help, and anyway, it’s not dumb – “It’s not dumb!” he says out loud, because it’s a good thought. “Everything else I can beat if I work hard to be big and strong like my dad, but I can’t beat this! And what if it’s like all those bullies? What if…” He swallows nervously, scooching closer to Lin without thinking. “What if the storm decides to start picking on people? What if it breaks everything and I can’t make it stop?”
Linhardt looks at him for a long, quiet moment. It doesn’t show on his face when he’s thinking, not like it always does on Caspar’s, but he’s certain Lin’s thinking, anyway. At last, he sighs and says, “Well, lucky for you, I have a solution.” Caspar’s about to yell his disbelief when Lin holds up a hand to stop him. “Don’t get too excited. I was reading this morning and found a book about guardian magicks.”
“About huh ?”
“The what doesn’t matter,” Linhardt says, waving a hand. “What does matter is this.” He fishes in his pocket and pulls out a little charm. It looks like wood, sloppily carved and hand-painted, with some sort of weird design drawn on the back. Caspar snatches it, holding it up above his head as he looks up at it.
“Woah!” he says, too loud , Lin would say. “This is so cool .”
Linhardt sounds annoyed at being interrupted. “Yes, it is,” he says. “It’s a protective charm. As long as you have, thunder and lighting won’t hurt you.”
Caspar looks over at him, eyes wide, disbelieving. “Can it really do that?”
Linhardt shrugs. “Why not?” he asks. “It’s magic, isn’t it? I followed the instructions in the book to the letter.”
“And you made it for me ?” he practically shouts. He can’t believe it—he was so worried all morning that Lin was in the library, forgetting all about him, and all along he was just making him this? To protect him from the storm? He can hardly believe it.
“Well,” Linhardt says. His cheeks look a little pink in the dim lighting. Weird . “It needs actual magic to work. Which means you couldn’t have made it yourself. So someone had to make it for you.” He gets serious, looking Caspar in the eye. “Hang onto it,” he says. “It will protect you. Promise.”
Caspar gapes at him. For all his harsh words, he knows what Lin means , and what he means is that he made this just for him, to keep him safe. WIthout another thought, he lunges forward and pulls Lin into a hug, charm gripped tightly in his wrist. “Thank you so much!” he says, and then he’s pulling back just enough to look him in the eye, grinning ear to ear. “ Lin! Wow!”
“Okay, okay,” Lin grumbles, like he’s not smiling too . “It was more for my own sanity than anything. You’re always so clingy during storms, and your clinginess hurts .”
Caspar shakes his head, still smiling. Not even Lin’s attempts to be grouchy could ruin his mood! “No way,” he says. “You totally love me. I’m totally your bestest friend in the world.”
“Bestest isn’t even a word.”
“Lin,” he says, suddenly serious. He shifts so he can hold Linhardt’s hand in both of his, the charm pressed between their palms. “I’m gonna protect you, too. I’ll stay close by when it’s storming so that you can be safe. You won’t get hurt as long as I’m around!” The smile returns to his face. “Promise.”
Linhardt looks at him; this time, he actually does see him thinking, which means he must be thinking really hard. Finally, he smiles back, in that cute way he has where he obviously thinks he’s not even smiling at all. So silly. “Alright,” he says. “Thank you.” He looks out the window, looking smug again. “Looks like the storm’s passing. See, your charm’s already working.”
Caspar doesn’t bother looking—he’s sure Lin’s right. He knows what let him forget about the storm wasn’t the charm (although that’s definitely gonna work, because Lin used magic and also he said it would); it was Linhardt being right there with him, helping him feel better. He nods, grinning. “Yeah,” he says. “My lucky charm’s working just perfect.”