Torin sat with Elissa on the banks of the creek where they had met when they were children. Their feet dangled in the water and the passing fish occasionally stopped to nibble at their toes. It was a companionable silence between them as they listened to the birdcalls on the breeze and the gentle rhythm of the water sloshing over rocks. 

“Are you sure it has to be a real animal in order for you to imitate their shape,” Torin asked. 

“Well I can’t see it if it’s not real,” Elissa reasoned. “If I can’t see it I can’t imitate it. What were you thinking of?” 

Torin flushed with embarrassment, “I was thinking a gryphon would be interesting. It’s a kind of half eagle, half lion type of creature.” He drew a kind of outline in the dirt for her as he explained. “It’s a bit ridiculous. Nevermind.” 

“It is ridiculous, but not for the reasons you think,” Elissa laughed and then explained to him, “The gryphon does exist. They’re a small pride that lives up in the mountains near Spyte’s Point. But they’re…kind of like the nymphs and dragons. It would be disrespectful to ever imitate one of them since they’re primordial creatures.”

Torin felt a bit sheepish about his request and fumbled with a pebble on the ground, keeping his gaze away from his friend. Elissa swished her feet in the water and leaned into Torin’s shoulder to lighten the mood. 

“You know…there are some who make a pilgrimage to Spyte’s Point…” 

Torin smiled. “Are you suggesting that you want to take me to meet gryphons?” 

Elissa shrugged as she smiled back at him. They were an unlikely pair of friends, a kitchen boy and a shapeshifting forest witch, but perhaps that was just why they made such a good pairing. Elissa didn’t look down on Torin for his station and he accepted her abilities with neither a pitchfork in hand nor the expectations of a hundred generations of witches. 

The two of them went back to gazing at the water before Elissa poked Torin in the ribs and gestured over to his fishing rod left by the wayside. “You know they’ll stop letting you come fishing if you don’t return with any fish.” 

Torin looked thoughtfully at the rod before shrugging. “That’s why I put a trap under the bridge. There’s bound to be something in it.” 

Elissa laughed and told him he was cheeky to have thought of such a thing as they stood to go and check the wicker woven trap that he had indeed placed in one of the pools beneath the bridge wedged between rocks to hold it in place. Sure enough there was a small collection of fish inside, the smallest of which Torin set back into the water leaving four reasonable sized catches. While Elissa watched, he cleaned the fish and set them in a sack to take home, except for one that he held out to her. 

“Here, can’t leave you empty handed.”