Fox, Satyr, Dragon Pt. 01

Natalia nodded. Magic, when cast with heightened emotion, carries the emotions of the caster and will assert itself on surrounding people with disquieting pressure. Even when the emotion was positive, like happiness, it could make one sick. As exposure to raw human emotion isn't easily withstood, Dra are trained to cast spells with controlled emotions so their allies aren't caught in the crossfire during a battle.

"He wasn't that angry because of me, right?" Sasha shivered. The fire had contained so much unfiltered rage she had nearly wet herself. It had forced its way into her heart first, pumping it into a frightened beat and then it had taken over her mind, urging her to run before the source of the anger came for her. Had the flame lasted any longer, she would have listened like a deer before a forest fire.

"No." Natalia said. Branigan could swim beyond the lake's boundary. She thought. "There's no way. That anger was bloodthirsty."

"Then for Lucas? I'm assuming he's the one that was following us."

"Maybe?" Natalia frowned. "But... I can't imagine someone getting that mad on behalf of people they barely know. Even if they have a duty to protect us."

"Yeah. You're right." Sasha shivered again as they headed for their room. They both recalled what Branigan said to them just a few minutes ago. I have enough spite to last a lifetime...

Chapter 5: Class Commences

"Good morning, Branigan."

Branigan continued piling bacon onto his plate with one hand, using the other to stir his coffee. "Morning, Anette."

"It's customary to arrive on time for the Sunday faculty breakfast." Anette leaned one arm on the table while facing him. Her blouse shifted accordingly, giving hints but not revealing any secrets. "Fashionably late at the most."

"I am fashionably late." He held his hand out and a golem gave him the bagel he had ordered it to toast. "Thank you, Yancy. Is there any cream cheese?"

"An hour is fashionably late?"

"I'm very fashionable." Branigan moved in the direction Yancy had pointed him. Finding the cream cheese, he began spreading it on his bagel. "Ah! Much appreciated, Yancy."

Anette admired the tight navy blue sweater he was wearing, the collar of a black shirt appearing over the neckline. The form fitting sweater gave away more secrets than her blouse did. "That you are, Branigan." She traced a finger against his bracelet, enjoying the feeling of brushed silver. "East Panasian jewelry?"

"South." Branigan walked to a table, smiling at anyone that made eye contact. The smile was always mirrored with warmth, save for the grumpier professors. They merely nodded with warmth. "My mother would chop my hand off at the wrist if I wore an East Panasian bracelet."

"Then how would she react to that sweater?" Anette took a seat across from him and gestured Yancy towards the coffee pot. "That needlework has Xiao Protectorate written all over it."

"She'd set it on fire without waiting for me to take it off." Branigan smiled around the bagel he was chewing. "Woman has a penchant for arson. Must be the boiling South Panasian blood."

Anette smiled at Yancy as it handed her her coffee before letting her expression turn into a measured glare for Branigan. "A penchant she passed on to you."

"I'm a mama's boy. You know that."

"Branigan." Anette sighed. "I know what you did last night."

"Seymour started it."

"That's not what I'm talking about. Duels are fine."

"Duels are fun." Branigan corrected. "We brought Sasha and Natalia back far before the curfew. Do they even have curfews as eighth years? They didn't when I was here. Do curfews count if they have faculty with them?"

"Curfew is 1 A.M. for eighth years, just like it was for you even though you often ignored it. And it's waived if they are with faculty." Anette said. "Again, not what I'm talking about. I am delighted that you had dinner with the girls."

"Glad to hear it! They're great company. Clever, intelligent, and charming. Like a certain someone I know."

"The years away from Foxcastle haven't made you any less of a narcissist."

"What do you mean?" Branigan widened his eyes. "Are you saying I'm clever, intelligent and charming? How very kind of you."

Anette sighed. "Branigan."

"Fine, fine." Branigan set his food down, brushed his hands, then clasped them in front of him while resting them on the table. His smile edged away from being self-indulgent and became soft instead. "You know about my little fire show last night."

"I do." Anette said. "Branigan, you absolutely cannot threaten students."

"I'm not a fan of stalkers."

"Stalker?" Anette frowned. "Lucas wanted to ask Natalia a question! He knew how it would look for a boy to be hanging around the girl's dormitories late at night and was waiting for you to leave. You would have known that if you had thought to talk to him instead of unleashing flaming horror on the boy."

"That's what he told you." Branigan said. "And you believed him."

"Lucas is a good kid."

"Kid? He's 18. Young enough to be immature and stupid. But still old enough to know what is wrong." Branigan said. "He wasn't hanging around the girl's dormitory, Anette. He was waiting by the school gates. Meaning he followed us back to the dorms, at a distance. Meaning he knew Natalia and Sasha had left the school in the first place and waited." His eyes flashed dangerously. "A man waiting in the dark to follow two girls. Tell me, Anette. How would you respond? A show of force like me? Or would you reign hell down on him since your daughter was one of those girls?"

Anette's lips tightened into a grimace. "I will speak to him."

"Be sure to speak slowly. He isn't very bright."

"What do you mean?"

"He snitched on me to the mother of one of the girls he followed." Branigan said. "Snitched and lied! How are his grades?"

Anette chuckled despite how angry she was at Lucas. "Among the top of his class."

"He's a good looking dude as well. Shame there's no cleverness in his intelligence." Branigan returned to his breakfast. "Would have been quite the combination."

Anette smiled at the handsome former honors student in front of her and silently sipped at her coffee.

***

"No obscuring spell this time. Interesting." Branigan said as Sasha walked into the library. He was currently reading from a heavy tome with wafer thin pages.

Sasha looked at the tome and saw the loopy script it was written in. "You can read South Panasian?"

"What a surprise." Branigan waved his light brown hand next to his light brown face.

"Well you only said your mother was from there. Going off your last name you're either half or adopted." Sasha shrugged. "Wouldn't be that surprising if you couldn't read it."

"Fair." Branigan said. "How can I help you?"

Sasha bit her lip. The peacefully reading, sweater wearing, beatifically smiling librarian in front of her was the same one that had terrified her to her core the night before. It still scared her. But he had done it to protect her and Natalia. That blunted the fear by some measure and increased the guilt she felt for how she had been treating him. "I came to apologize."

Branigan turned his smile from the tome to her. "Accepted."

Sasha started. "That easily?"

"Of course. It's not like you slaughtered my family or something." Branigan looked at her with mild amusement. "You were hostile to a newcomer. That's all."

"That's not an excuse."

"Ah but it is a reason." Branigan raised a finger. "A reason that I will accept as an excuse, allowing me to take your apology as genuine and not one given in spite."

I know how you feel about spite. Sasha thought. "Okay then. Cool."

"Cool." Branigan nodded. "Anything else I can help with?"

"Not right now, no."

"Then I recommend spending this last day of break with your girlfriend." Branigan said. "I eavesdropped on some conversations at the faculty breakfast today and you eighth years have a hell of a semester coming."

"Really?" Sasha leaned forward eagerly. "Like what?"

"Spoilers."

"Useless." Sasha muttered.

"Ayyyy." Branigan cheered. "I was worried you lost your barbs with me."

"You like that I'm a bitch to you?"

"I prefer the term feisty."

Okay that's a flirt. Right? Sasha rolled her eyes. "Not even a hint?"

"Nope." Branigan shook his head. "There's nothing in it for me."

"You're supposed to help students!"

"To learn. Not cheat." Branigan said. "If you want help cheating you'll have to pay."

"With what?"

"What do you have to negotiate with?"

Sasha liked the spark in his eyes when he said that. She gave him a very small smile. "It's okay. Don't feel like cheating anymore."

"Shame." Branigan shrugged. "You know where to find me."

"I do." Sasha nodded. "Alright then. I'm going to go hang out with my girlfriend."

"Have a pleasant day." Branigan scarcely began reading again before he remembered his conversation with Anette. "Ah wait, Sasha."

Sasha twirled back around immediately. She cringed internally at twirling. "Yes?"

"Anette knows Lucas followed you and Natalia last night."

"Oh."

"He wasn't happy with my greeting. Tried to spin a lie to her about waiting by the dorms for you two." Branigan said. "I let Anette know the truth."

"Does she know about Lucas following Natalia on Friday?"

"Not that I'm aware." Branigan said. "She should if she doesn't."

"I agree." Sasha nodded. "But Natalia doesn't want him to get in trouble."

"Did they used to date?"

"Mhm."

"The reason for her mercy, then." Branigan said. "Or is she just like this in general?"

"In general. Always defending people even when they don't deserve it."

"Like show off librarians?" Branigan smirked.

"Show off, flirtatious librarians." Sasha said. "Thank you for letting me know that Lucas snitched on himself."

"Just helping."

"Branigan?"

"Yes?"

"Your magic last night." Sasha hesitated, biting her lip again. She had to know. "It wasn't me that made you that angry, right?"

The look Branigan gave her made her melt. Concern, regret, and the sincerest sorry was written all over his face. "Sasha of course not! You're the daughter of a friend and I was genuinely furious at the idiot putting you in danger. I didn't mean to let it show at first but I decided to scare Lucas. I should have realized it would have pressed on you and Natalia as well. I should have been more mindful of my actions." He bowed his head. "I'm sorry."

"No no. It's okay! We were fine. A little shaken but we were fine." Sasha said hurriedly.

"I'm glad." Branigan smiled.

Sasha saw his smile was still tainted with regret but wasn't sure what to say. "Bye, Bran. Have a good day."

"Bye, Sasha."

"Friends call me Sash."

***

Anette leaned her hands on the table at the front of the class while her students filed in. They all looked tired, having yet to adjust from their summer sleep schedule of 'sleep whenever, wake whenever'. And as this was an 8:30 A.M. class, Anette would be given sleepy greetings throughout the year by these students no matter how adjusted they got to their new schedule. She took solace in the fact that her class would always wake them up quickly like a jolt of caffeine and she'd have a room full of bright students. Magic punished the inattentive mind, Potions doubly so.

"Good morning." Anette smiled. Her greeting was returned with smiles, mumbles, and grunts. "Yes yes I know you would all rather be in bed. I share that sentiment. But this is Honors Potions and I need you to be awake and present mentally and not just physically. To that end," She smiled. As these were all eighth years - one of them was even her daughter - they knew what that smile meant and began taking out writing utensils with a groan. "Pop quiz to start us off!"

The students that hadn't caught on yet joined their already grumbling classmates.

"Oh hush. You will thank me when all of you are working individuals and your supervisor drops off a mound of work you are absolutely not expecting but must complete." She took out a stack of papers and waved her hand. The pages floated out to the students and settled face down in front of them. "Those of you that paid attention while doing your summer homework instead of engaging in rote memorization will find that this quiz is a simple brain exercise to warm you up, not one that will tax an already drained mind. You have ten minutes. Begin."

The papers ruffled, pens and pencils scratched names at the top of the quiz, then a noisy, scribbling silence settled into the cool, cobbled walls of the Potions classroom. Anette walked the aisles, her high heels making a soft clicking with each measured step that her black pencil skirt allowed her. When she got to Sasha's aisle, a second time, she saw that her daughter was done and leaning back in her seat. Next to her, Natalia was also done but was pouring over the quiz rechecking her work for possibly the third or fourth time. Anette lovingly ran a hand through Sasha's hair and continued on her way.

"Time is up." Anette raised a hand, fingers glittering with rings, and the quizzes returned to her table. After arranging themselves in a neat stack, the quizes sat face-up waiting for her. "The points made on this quiz, a maximum of ten, will be used as extra credit for the first exam. If you score a zero, don't fear. It will not count against you. It will just tell you that you should come to me for some help, preferably long before the exam." She picked up the top quiz and glanced through the quiz. "Wonderful job, Ms. Thistleleaf. You got each question correct. You don't need to answer while we review the quiz." Then, she read the first question. "In your own words, describe the First Law of Antidotes." To her pride, every student raised their hand except Susan Thistleleaf and a boy sitting in the back. That girl simply grinned, wide awake and eager to learn more. "Lucas Rice."

Lucas stood. He had sat in the back for a reason and now felt stupid for thinking that would be enough. "A poisonous potion created by using two or more different poisons will often require a unique antidote that is not simply a mixture of the individual antidotes of the constituent poisons."

Anette spoke before he sat down. "That is nearly verbatim from the book, Lucas. Your words, please."

"Uhm." Lucas squirmed under her eyes. To his classmates, she was just looking at him. To Lucas, it was a glare. He was still scared from the conversation they had the day before. "If a potion is made with different poisons, you can't just put together their specific antidotes and have it work. You'll have to come up with an entirely new antidote."

"Correct." Anette continued before he could sit down. "Name a poisonous potion that is an exception to this law."

"Uh. I."

Anette smiled at the students that raised their hands. "Let's give Lucas a few more moments to think." Her smile left her face. "Well? There are plenty."

"Demon Draught?"

"Incorrect. Attempting to make any antidote aside from Hellward and dragon bone enzymes would knock the victim into a vegetative state plagued with nightmares. Save for euthanasia, there is no relief." Anette said. "Remain standing, Lucas. I will read out the next question for you to answer."

Lucas Rice was called on to answer each of the questions on the quiz. To Anette's disappointment, he got all of them right. To her delight, he got each of her bonus questions wrong.

"That was one of the best classes ever." Sasha said to Natalia as they walked to their next class. "Only complaint is that I had to twist around in my seat to watch him squirm."

"I felt bad for him." Natalia watched Lucas's retreating back and low head. "Did she have to go so hard on him?"

"He had it coming and you know that! If you're not going to let me tell Grandpa then at least let him get punished like this." Sasha said. "He needs to learn his lesson somehow."

"Humiliating someone isn't how you make them change."

"If someone scares two people into constantly watching their back, then that's what they deserve." Sasha muttered. "Worse even. Would've been nice if Bran had shot his fire at Lucas instead."

Natalia noted the nickname usage and clung to it so she could change the topic. "Bran? You like him now?"

"He's alright."

"You do! You do like him now!" Natalia smiled. Her smile got wider a second later. "You remember when you thought that I was just alright? Look at us now."

"Oh no. Not a chance." Sasha hissed.

"Why not? He's cute. Smart. Kind. Funny."

"He's not funny."

"He literally made you snort publicly."

"I was laughing at how dumb he is." Sasha said, her cheeks flushing.

"So you admit that he's cute, smart and kind? You only objected to me saying he's funny."

"He's smart and kind." Sasha relented. "He's not cute and even if he was, you shouldn't be looking at him like that. He's our librarian!"

"You've been an awful influence." Natalia said. "Guess I'm a bad girl now."

Sasha stopped walking to look at her girlfriend and whispered. "Are you seriously thinking about him like that?"

"I mean." Natalia blushed, her eyes sparkling. "A little."

"Oh my god you're in love with him!"

"I am not!" Natalia blushed harder. "How could I be in love with him we've known him for like three days?!"

"You're talking really fast."

"I don't care. I'm not in love with him."

"Now you're talking slower on purpose."

"Sash." Natalia growled. It was very cute. "Fine. I have a crush on him. But so do you!"

"No I don't!"

"Whatever you say, baby." Natalia started walking again. "Come on, we're running late."

***

Jack wheeled back and reached behind herself without looking, hand closing around the handle of a hammer. Holding the hammer deftly between two fingers, Jack wheeled herself back to the lode anvil. Red runes glowed up at her from the blade of the sword she was forging. After checking, for the tenth time, that the runes were correct, Jack gripped the base of the blade with her gloved left hand. She then swung down with the hammer, her jaw clenching with the clanging impact of the hammer on the blade. While hammering, Jack murmured the engravement spell that would bind the runes she had chosen to the blade. It was her thirteenth binding, a number she always climbed to as she considered it her lucky number. Overkill as this was just a summer project she'd be turning in at the end of next week, but Jack didn't mind a little overkill. If she had been granted an extension, she'd take advantage of it and get to her lucky number. Especially for this sword in particular. She had just struck her hammer a tenth time - seven more than necessary - when her canary began chirping. She looked at the metal bird perched above the door and saw that its eyes glowed green. A guest she knew.

"Hold on!" She called out. She struck the blade three more times before setting the hammer back down in its original spot, smiling at the acrid smoke drifting from its glowing metal head. Jack wheeled over to her legs that were patiently standing by a wall to the left of her main working area. They were sickly looking, more like the legs of a corpse than a living, breathing woman. That would change in a moment. She grabbed her right prosthetic and slid the stump her right leg ended in, into the prosthetic. The right prosthetic gradually filled with a healthier color, pale with the faintest hint of the blood now coursing through it once again. With the addition of her left prosthetic, that also returned to looking healthy, Jack braced for the incoming hit on her fein in three, two, one...