Kleo collapsed on the couch as soon as Sean was gone, letting out a sigh.

“You know, a nap would really benefit you some. Benefit both of us, really.”

Nox slinked out from his hiding place beneath the sofa and joined Kleo. He snuggled up beside him, purring as Kleo scratched at the back of his neck.

“You’ve slept all day, what are you so tired from?”

“I don’t have to be around Sean physically for him to exhaust me. Plus, your own lack of sleep is really starting to wear me out.”

“You’re such a drama queen.” Kleo rolled his eyes but smirked, continuing to pet Nox as they relaxed on the sofa. He thought back to his research from the night before and something he came across while studying. He wanted to ask Nox about it then but his familiar was asleep at the time and he hadn’t wanted to wake him. “Do you know anything about jewelry with magical properties?”

“Well, they certainly do exist. I haven’t come across any myself though.”

“I read something about how jewelry can help you channel magic or something. There was a page missing though so I couldn’t read more about it and was hoping you had an idea about it.”

“I’ve never heard of an object like that outside of the fictional view of magic. You say you read this in your grimoire?”

"Yeah, but it was only a single line. As I said, the page was ripped out or something. Only a scrap of it was left and it mentioned something like that,” he explained, his fingers pausing as Nox started to sit up.

“Let’s go take a look.”

Once in the workroom, Kleo opened the grimoire to the missing page and showed it to Nox. “I don’t know if it’s possible but, theoretically it could be done, don’t you think? I mean, maybe it could be something like training wheels but for magic.”

“You don’t need training wheels, Kleo. Your practice has been beneficial to you.”

“And yet, I’m still struggling to control my power. Is it normal for every witch to have these issues?”

“I suppose not but most witches don’t learn about their powers so late in their lives. You’re a special case, and you do have a lot of power but you’ve already shown so much growth.”

“I know,” Kleo sighed and crossed his arms. “I just feel like I can’t catch up. If there’s some magical object or whatever that can help me figure out how to control all of it, why wouldn’t I look into it?”

“You can’t take shortcuts in magic Kleo, this isn’t something you can just breeze through. I understand it’s taking time, but that’s just how these things are.”

“How would this even be a shortcut, it’s just a theoretical crutch!” Kleo exclaimed. “It’s not like I would use it forever, I just don’t want to lose control again like I did that night, ok? You were hurt and th-that guy was going to kill me, ok? I didn’t know what to do and I, I can’t even begin to fathom what I did! You weren’t there to know how it felt!” He yelled. “It felt like my skin was on fire! I couldn’t control any of it and I hated it.”

"Hey, listen," Nox walked up to him and nuzzled his side, trying to help calm him down. "You're right, and I'm sorry. We can look into it further and see what we can find out. Perhaps there's information in another one of your mother's books." He suggested as Kleo caught his bearings and Nox turned back to look at the book again. "I am suspicious though as to why the page was ripped out. Or what ring it's referring to specifically."

"Maybe it's a family heirloom or something? I mean, that would only make sense right?"

"That is probable, but the question would be is it somewhere here or with your family in New Orleans. Your mother had the grimoire but who is to say she took everything with her."

"I don't know," Kleo sighed, sitting down at the chair as he tried to pull up any memory he had of his childhood. "I can't remember if my mom even wore a ring if I'm being honest, let alone if she had some magical one somewhere."

"Maybe there's a spell you can use to find it?" Nox asked and Kleo raised an eyebrow.

"Why do I feel like you're pulling at straws now?"

"I don't know, it could be a thing."

Kleo shook his head, flipping through the grimoire to see if there was any finding spell or something along those lines when the sound of a crash made both him and Nox jump. Kleo turned around, trying to figure out what just happened. His eyes fell on the armoire, it's glass doors now open with books strewn around on the floor. Another book fell and Kleo looked back up to see the toy elf sitting inside the open armoire beside what looked to be a wooden box.

"Either I'm crazy, or there's really something going on with that toy elf," Kleo says softly, trying to find some rational reason for what just happened.

"I'm pretty sure that's no toy." Nox jumped down and walked towards the armoire. He looked up at the elf, tail flicking in the air.

"If it isn't a toy, then what is it? I've been getting weird vibes from that thing all day," Kleo stood and took a hesitant step towards the armoire.

"Well, if I had to guess I'd say he's a golem."

"A golem? I thought those were made from mud?"

"A golem can really be any type of figure brought to life through magic, not necessarily one made from mud."

"Are you telling me I somehow brought that thing to life? How would I have even done that?"

"What? No, you couldn't have done that without meaning to. It takes intention to do something like that," Nox explained. "However, I do think you may have awakened it when you stitched it up the other day."

Kleo picked up the elf, looking him over again before picking up the box that was beside him. "I guess that explains it. Wonder what's so important about this box that he had to do all this to bring out attention to it."

"Maybe it's not the box, but what's inside."

"Perhaps," Kleo said, leaning down to reshelve the books that had fallen and closed the armoire's doors. He took another look at the box, noticing the lock on it's front and one tug told him that it was indeed locked. "We'll have to figure out a way to unlock it, or maybe find a key."

"Maybe the grimoire has something that will help?"

"Maybe, but I think I'm gonna ask Flora too. It'll be faster if she does. Let's head back up and see what we can find."