Caw! The bird flew back to the bed just so he could nod right in my face.
"Ok, that's great and all," I told him, but stopped when the door to the bathroom cracked open with a simultaneous tap.
"Rain?" Bracken asked.
"Yeah? Come in!"
He opened the door the rest of the way, paused to look around - likely at the crazy amount of plants - then closed the door behind him. Letting out a heavy sigh, he paused to rub at the bridge of his nose with one hand before crossing the room.
"How many plants are in here?"
"Uh, a lot?" Was that bad?
When Bracken sighed again, I had a feeling it was. "So she's been doing this awhile?"
"I don't even know what this is!"
He lifted a hand, begging me to wait. "Aspen's guardian taught her to push any excess magic into plants." To make his point, he looked around the room again. "How long, Rain?"
"Since the Hunt," I admitted.
"Hunt-Court," Jack said morosely.
"Clearly," my zez agreed. Then he pulled in a massive breath. "Rain, she can't keep doing this. There's only so many places these plants can grow without dying, and we shouldn't put too many more outside. They might spread, and they aren't native here."
"So is it bad if I said she pushed power into me?" I wrinkled up my nose, giving him my best "cute face."
Yet my words made him twitch, looking at me in a whole new way. "How much?"
"Morrigan," Jack answered for me.
I grunted, aware Bracken wouldn't understand that any better than I did. "I think a lot."
"Can you take it?" he asked.
Caw! Jack told him.
I ignored the bird. "Ms. Rhodes said her magic becomes mine, so that means I should, right? Like, I'm just converting it to Wild magic?"
"And yetyouhave a limit too," he pointed out.
That was news to me, but sure. It made sense. "What kind of limit?" I asked.
Caw! Jack said again, louder this time.
"It's up to each person," Bracken told me. "And it's not easy to measure. That's why we tend to use vague terms like 'a lot' or 'not much.'"
"Yeah, but I was fine with the amount Aspen gave me," I assured him, but Jack immediately shook his head. I went on, "I mean, the first time, I think it's when I finally figured out the whole level thing Ms. Rhodes keeps talking about. You know, like full or empty."
"And this time?" Bracken pressed. "Rain, I'm not going to trade Aspen being a magical bomb for you being one!"
"Shadow!" Jack cawed loudly, sounding like he was struggling to make it happen.
Immediately, both Bracken and I turned to look at him. The bird slung his beak up and down in a yes, then hopped in place. The damned thing looked proud of himself, and he should be - because that was a new word.
"What?" Bracken asked him.
"Shadow!" Jack said again. "Rain-Shadow. Morrigan. Shadow!"
