Frumpkin wound around Caleb’s neck and ankles enough that most people assumed he was Caleb’s dæmon on first meeting the wizard. True, he didn’t talk, but some dæmons were shy, and while uncommon, same-gender dæmons weren’t unheard of . Nott only knew the cat wasn’t his dæmon because he hadn’t had him in the cell when they met—but the little rat in his pocket? He’d had her.
Her name was Adelaide, and she was soft-spoken and light brown, almost like the color of coffee with cream in it, and nothing like wild rats. She was a mark of how clever and quick Caleb was, how very intelligent he was. That rats were sneaky and low and skulking was nothing more than rumor and bias; Nott knew they were clever and social and quick, good at blending in and figuring out the best way to go about something. And once he was in better health than the nearly-starved man she found, so was her boy.
……
Nott’s own dæmon was a surprise. Most goblins had monstrous creatures, or something quick and dangerous, but not Nott. Her dæmon had settled as a hedgehog; not quick, not especially clever, not good for anything but curling up in a ball and trying to hide, showing his spikes and acting tougher than he was. When things got too close for comfort, he curled up in the little pouch she’d swiped from someone and kept him in and made a whurring noise not dissimilar from Frumpkin’s purring.
For the longest time, he hadn’t had a name. Then Yezza had happened, and his own little starling Eralile had given him a name. Jozu. His name was Jozu.
And then they had left Yezza and Eralile to their fates and ran, like the cowards they were.
……
Caleb, Adelaide, Nott, and Jozu weren’t looking to meet up with anyone else when they entered Trostenwald. They were there to rest after a trying day, and then… well. And then they’d met a very blue tiefling with a very curious little monkey hanging onto one of her horns. Jester and Glee introduce themselves to the quartet the way they do most things—barging right into their conversation without hesitation, with big smiles and easy banter. As suspicious as Beau and Luz were of Nott, the two tables quickly fell in together; mostly thanks to Jester and Glee’s urgings, and, of course, Mollymauk swanning over at the perfect time with Yasha in tow.
……
And after the carnival, after Kylre… well. They were a group, then, weren’t they? The seven of them, and their dæmons. Caleb and Adelaide, Nott and Jozu, Jester and Glee, Beau and Luz, Fjord and Samami, Yasha and Elta, and Molly and… well. Molly and his dæmon.