Fox, Satyr, Dragon Pt. 02

"He pissed on me!" Jack exclaimed. She was dripping wet. "And laughed!"

"If you keep cursing like that in front of him, his first word is going to be 'fuck'." Sasha said sternly with a poorly suppressed smile. She bent over the changing table and fawned over Heyan. "Hi, sweetie! Hey, my favorite guy! I missed you!" She gave Branigan the finger. Out of Heyan's line of sight of course. "Your mean godfather isn't letting you sleep in the bed with us anymore."

"He should learn to sleep by himself." Branigan said as he used a spell on Jack to get rid of the urine. "He isn't crying like he used to. Falls asleep just fine."

"I know." Sasha finished changing Heyan and picked him up. She paid no attention to him grabbing at her hair. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Guh!" Heyan exclaimed.

Sasha nodded and nuzzled Heyan's soft cheek. "He agrees."

"Is he up?!" Natalia arrived, wet hair sticking to her scalp and face. "He is!"

Branigan was knocked to the side by the Dra and he sighed. "Good morning, Fairy Godmother Number 2."

"Morning, Bran." Natalia blew him a kiss. Heyan received an actual one.

"You know I don't like being number three." Jack crossed her arms. "It's third place. Even if it was alphabetical. We should have done first names!"

"You're number one in my heart." Branigan put his arm around her and kissed her cheek.

"No I'm not." Jack said. "Heyan is!"

"Uh." Branigan faltered. "Uh let's get ready, shall we? Sasha? Jack? Who wants to shower?"

Jack allowed his cowardly escape. Once all of them were ready, with Branigan and Heyan in matching suits, they hurried to the library's anteroom. All of their parents as well as Seymour, Leela, and Gilroy were already there.

Simran, Anette, Mathias, and Juliet Sarkan were instantly preoccupied by Heyan.

Thomas Fox, a short, portly Dra with greying hair and an eternal smile, hugged Branigan. "Branigan! How are ya, lad?"

"Great, Tom. Great!" Branigan hugged Thomas and then hugged the tall, round-faced woman next to him. Serena Fox didn't smile as often as her husband but she did so then for Branigan. "Good morning, Serena. You two just returned from Oceania, right? How was it?"

"Dreadful. All I got from it is an altered sleep schedule. I shall complain about it more over brunch." Serena said. Aside from the height difference, Natalia and her mother were identical in appearance. "Thomas and I stopped by the manor's construction before coming here. Are you sure you want Heyan's nursery on the second floor? It will be a pain. You spend the majority of your time downstairs while the baby naps. You'll have to run up frequently to check on him."

"It'll be his room in the future so yes I'm sure." Branigan said. "Thank you both, again, for helping me with those building permits. I know how much of a pain it is to get one for a non-commercial forge but Jack would die without one."

"Anything for family, lad." Thomas said. "Now it looks like Ol' Neil is about to unveil his surprise to you."

Neil stood on the podium and began speaking with his arms behind his back. "Almost all of you are graduates of Foxcastle School of Magic. Even if you are not," Neil smiled at Chel. "You are frequent visitors to this library. So you are aware of the words laid proudly above its hallowed entrance."

Said words were covered by a dark blue banner.

"Knowledge is power." Neil intoned. "I've often been told that those words are contrived and boring and an insult to the great minds of this school. Mainly by this school's current librarian, Arthur Branigan Stone the Third. Only you, Bran, would insult the words chosen by this school's founder."

Branigan grinned cheekily. "I wasn't aware he chose them."

"I'm sure." Neil said dryly. "The relentless complaints have driven me to search for a replacement but I was only recently struck by a muse. Specifically, three of them." He waved a hand horizontally, the motion indicating Natalia, Jack, and Sasha. "The courageous actions of these three Dra saved Bran, this school, and, truly, the world as a whole."

Natalia blushed and avoided the proud smiles being sent in their direction. Sasha smiled and used Heyan's hand to wave. Jack grinned cockily.

"But how shall I immortalize them?" Neil continued. "Something to call attention to my granddaughter, Sasha? Her research into her Hellward diffuser led to it being used to weaken the demon significantly. Research that is now patented in her and Jack's name and being further developed by Sarkan Dratech. She'll be joining the team after her luxury vacation with her partners and Heyan that she has paid for herself! You've done me proud, love."

"Thank you, Grandpa!" Sasha called out.

"Or should I pay honor to Ms. Jack Sarkan?" Neil asked. "Her fighting skill is unmatched in this school. The only thing possibly greater is her raw talent as an Artificer. It was her invisible sword that struck the final blow against the demon." Neil sighed. "A talent that she was not able to show a wider audience during the Foxcastle tournament. I rescinded her ban due to her heroism, but it was decided that a fighting tournament would not be appropriate after such a traumatic event. Nonetheless, I sent many recommendation letters to friends in the Hunter Corp. Due to that, our favorite warrior will be starting a two year contract with them as Second Lieutenant Jack Sarkan. Just as she would have after winning the tournament. Was it really any question whether she'd win or not?"

"Hell no!" Jack roared.

It took some time for Declan and Juliet to finish their cheering.

"Finally... Ms. Natalia Fox." Neil smiled at her. "Valedictorian of her class. A talented Dra that has fallen in love with Demonology and will be starting an apprenticeship with Dr. Ria Witherwand. Despite what she experienced with Jack and Sasha in the face of the demon, Natalia remains interested in Demonology. I cannot claim to have the strength it would take to see what you have seen - felt what you have felt - and proceed to stand with your head held high and demand to learn more. Perhaps it is your brilliant mind that gives you such focus?" Neil raised his hand like he was going to drop the banner but it did not move. "It was your attentiveness that saved the day, Natalia. You recalled the twin heartbeats and Branigan ending the ritual years ago with a stab to his right pectoral. You realized that the demon's life was bound to Branigan's. You noted the swirling chains that you directed Jack towards." Neil let the banner drop. "If the first words were laid by our founder Nathaniel Fox, it only seems right that their replacement be in honor of his descendent. You embody him in full, Natalia, and have become an inspiring Dra in your own right."

Above the library's black marble doors, engraved into the wall, new words had been chiseled: "Magic Favors The Attentive Mind"

"Well, Bran?" Neil asked. "Happy?"

Branigan answered while looking at Natalia's stunned face. "Ecstatic!"

"Excellent! I look forward to having conversations with you that don't concern these words!" Neil stepped off the podium. "Let us begin brunch!"

On cue, golems carried tables, chairs, and food into the atrium and set it all up while the bacon was still sizzling. As promised, Serena launched into a vitriolic avalanche of complaints against Oceania that were all, astoundingly, a result of supremely bad luck and no fault of the archipelago country or its people. Branigan listened - and occasionally tutted sympathetically - while demolishing multiple helpings of smoked salmon avocado toast. His father sat near, patiently waiting for Serena to finish her tirade so he could ask his son a question.

"Crabs in our bedding, Branigan!" Serena huffed and drained her mimosa. "In!"

"Better get that checked." Jack snickered under her breath.

"What was that, honey?" Serena asked.

"Sounds annoying!" Jack said.

"Infuriating!" Serena twisted in her chair and waved her empty glass at a golem. "Bobby!"

"That's Yancy, Mom." Natalia said.

"Oh. Sorry." Serena frowned. "Yancy! Another mimosa, dear. Thank you." She turned back after she got what she wanted. "How do you tell the difference? It looks just like the Bobby that walked us all to the atrium. Right, Declan?"

"That was Steven. Bobby brought you your chair." Declan said, then clapped Arthur on the back. "Here's your chance, lil' bird." He smirked. "By the Advent, you haven't changed at all!"

Arthur smiled back goodnaturedly. "I can speak when needed, Dec. I do not blunder into conversations and call it confidence."

Jack and Branigan shared a happy look. Their fathers were friends again.

"Anyway." Arthur said. "Son, I have been wondering how in Mother Dra's name you managed to get three, absolutely stunning Dra to be your partners."

"He isn't as blundering as you are, love." Simran said as she walked by with Anette and Mathias. "I will see you all later. Anette is showing me some of her research."

"Enjoy!" Anette waved at them.

"Oh drat I wanted to see that ..." Juliet Sarkan stared at Anette and Simran's backs. "But..." The buxom red-head returned her attention to Branigan and winked. "I think I want to hear this more. How'd you get my daughter, Bran? She normally doesn't go for a boy she could beat in a sparring match. With her arms tied behind her back."

"You sure about that?" Branigan side-eyed Jack. She scowled.

"Oh?" Juliet raised an eyebrow. "Do tell!"

"Yes, Bran. Tell us how you got us." Sasha said while feeding Heyan his baby food.

"You don't have to." Natalia said. "It might be embarrassing..."

"For us maybe." Jack said. "Not for him. He's loving this attention already."

Branigan looked at the eager faces in front of him. Even Natalia looked curious to learn his point of view. With a satisfied sigh, he wiped his mouth with a napkin, folded it, and placed it on his empty plate. He sipped his orange juice.

"Oh get on with it you dramatic fuck!" Seymour shouted and threw a crumpled napkin at Branigan's head. It bounced to the floor.

"Buh!" Heyan grunted.

"Alright, alright. I'll share it just for you, Heyan." Branigan said as Gilroy and Leela dragged their seats over from their end of the table. He sighed, scratched the edge of his eyepatch, and began, "Like many stories, it started with rain. But it was not dark and stormy. No lightning and thunder to break the peace. No. It was gentle. Just like the Dra walking in it and getting soaked..."

And so ends the tale of 'Fox, Satyr, Dragon'. Want to know about their ancestors? About the war between Branigan and Jack's families? Who the hell is Mother Dra? Well, all I can say is that I'm working on it. On top of other stories. And remember...

Magic Favors The Attentive Mind