“Well, anyone else looking fine in the community?”
“Absolutely no one, and if you suggest that I hang out with the black werewolf guy, I will–”
“I was thinking Mister Natura. I have a feeling that his natural fascination might anger your mother, or at least remind her of people she doesn’t like?”
“Ehhh…” Fumnaya let that last sound linger as her eyes slowly drifted off to the side.
“Oh, come on, he thinks you’re pretty, and he can help teach you about figuring out how to tap into power sources. You can wield a book made by a demon for a specific demon, so the power sources you could tap into must be amazing!”
“See, that’s the thing though… I’ve been looking into that. There are the few basic ones that everyone taps into to get the hang of things, and I can’t tap into those…”
I blinked. There was no way Miss Mage Extraordinaire wasn’t able to tap into basic mage power sources. “You’re just doing it wrong and I’m sure the dude would know where you’re screwing up and be able to tell you.”
“E-lis, I don’t tell you why your experiments with mice aren’t working the way you want them to, so don’t tell me how my experiments with magic aren’t working the way I want them to.”
“Sorry… I just believe in you, and thought a little help might be what you need.”
“There are fifty other mages here. I could ask any of them, and, you know, did.” Fumnaya placed her stomach on the bar and leaned over.
I gave it a moment and leaned in beside her. “What have they been telling you?” I asked.
“Well, you get a feel for magic when you use it, and as your thoughts wander, you might come across something that could be a power source. You feel out for it with your magic, and start writing, and the magic takes the wheel.”
“Ohhh, so you’re just not creative enough to figure out–”
“Elisabeth, I’ve told you I can’t tap into things that are made to be basic, as in things that are clear cut, easy to think about and, you know… should be easy.”
“Okay, okay, but maybe this is a kinda thing where you’re not destined to make basic tomes, you’re destined to make advanced tomes!”
“I don’t think that’s the case. I think I just can’t tap into a power source, just like you can’t do magic. I’m not sure I’m really a mage…”
“What? What else could you be other than a mage? You can cast spells from the spell books, what else would there be?”
“You’re forgetting the fact that I can use crystal balls,” Fumnaya reminded me.
“Yeah, so? Just means you’re both classes or something…”
“I’m leaning towards ‘or something’ since it seems like I’m missing a few key things from both, like the witch’s intuition or the generating of textbooks.”
I rubbed her back, trying to be reassuring. “Okay, you got me, I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know if this is a matter of putting your mind to it or if it’s a matter of you can’t, but I don’t think you should be so mopey about it…”
“I’m not being mopey, I’m just saying,” Fumnaya said, looking away.
I walked around behind her, grabbed a coke from the fridge and went to sit at the tables. The thought of petting Anderson crossed my mind more than once.
Fumnaya followed suit, thankfully having forgotten about my little bundle of sweaters.
“Today’s as good a day as any to sit down and relax,” I said, leaning back on my chair and popping open the soda can.
“Oh, hey E-lis! Fumnaya!” Silvia said as she walked into the bar from the stair hallway entrance.
“Hey Silvia, how’s it going?” Fumnaya asked.
Silvia came in and sat down beside us. While she was doing that, I noticed something odd about her.
It wasn’t so much that she was hiding something, more what she was showing off. She had on a shirt and skirt; the shirt seemed to be a lot slimmer than her normal turtleneck, and the skirt went down to the ground.
“New duds?” I asked, looking her up and down.
“Not quite, but refitted since two years ago!” Silvia said, smiling and pulling at the skirt to show me a bit more of it.
“Guess it is getting to be a bit hot. Probably best to swap to summer gear, huh?” I asked Fumnaya.
“Summer is still cold in this country,” she said, pouting.
“It’s getting less so every year… Wish someone would get off their ass and just build some infrastructure in space already so we could either do something about it or get emissions under control,” I said, remembering the brain-melting heat of the previous summer.
“Uh… okay then,” Silvia said, blinking.
“Think that alchemicals could help when it comes to space travel? Like, instead of rocket fuel you could use fire potions!” Fumnaya mused.
“I’m not quite sure that’d be a suitable fuel. First of all, liquid water is kinda hard to keep liquid in the vacuum of space, and two, it doesn’t really shoot off like a rocket. Perhaps the force alchemicals might be able to, but the use of them might be tricky to really overcome.”
The two of us turned to Silvia, the only sound the silent wap wap wap of Anderson’s tail on the dog beds.
“Ohhh-kay, at least someone put some thought into it,” Fumnaya said, shrugging her shoulders.
“So, any special occasion for putting that on or…?”
“Oh uh, yeah, guess this is gonna be your first year doing it!” Silvia said, leaving me and Fumnaya to lean in confused and concerned.
“Do what?” I asked.
“Soldiers and guards can’t be doing the same thing every day, it lowers morale and they get progressively less good at their job, so there’s a secondary area, for rest, recovery and whatnot.”
“Ohhh, was it the, uh, Chateau de Galvos that Cassy said when Miriam talked to her and Minerva?” Fumnaya asked.
The talk of Cassy caused me to grimace for a moment, but I understood what she was talking about.
“Yeah, actually! We go to the Galvos’ estate for some rest and relaxation. There’s a big pool, a large estate, you can do all sorts of things!”
“I’m not sure I really wanna go to Chateau de Galvos… that’s Leonardo’s last name, isn’t it?”
“Y-yeah,” Silvia started, “but it’s pretty much a recuperation area. His family just owns it, and it’s not like he’s going to be there at that time… I think…” Silvia said.
“Well, I guess I could take a look at it – might be nice to get a break in since I have the time off classes,” I said.
“Indeed. I’ve shifted everything back in order to accommodate your academic schedule; also, when you’re picking courses, you might want to go with the setup that doesn’t give you that hole in the schedule you want. When they move courses around that’ll leave you with said hole,” Miriam said, coming into the bar area.
Miriam was wearing a skinnier version of the dress she always wore and had her signature pink streak in her hair. Today, though, she had her glasses on, unlike most other times.
“Isn’t it a little creepy to be looking into someone like that?” I asked, glaring at her.
“What? The fragments came while I was seeing what would work best for you. Be thankful you can get what you want instead of striving for hours only to end up losing it,” Miriam said, adjusting her invisible glasses.
“I’m still on the fence about this. Miriam, can you tell me more about this place?” Fumnaya asked as Miriam sat down at our table.
“It’s a four-story manor, with a large pool in the backyard, much like a public swimming pool in size, and function. There’s also a volleyball and tennis setup, but most often it’s used for beach volleyball. There’s a vast library of various kinds of books, several lounges, with pool tables. The downstairs one has a hot tub…”
“Dang, these people gotta be–” Fumnaya started to say. “Right, they are…” she said, with a look from Miriam.
“Being the leaders of th
is general area, the Galvoses have pooled their wealth into ensuring that their rest area is as restful and enjoyable as they can, though most don’t go back there since being leaders is what they believe themselves to be bred for,” Miriam continued.
“It’ll be super fun and we could all do some cloud watching and stargazing together!” Silvia said, her excitement causing her to squeal a little bit.
“A bus will arrive this weekend so if you decide to take this offer up, you’ll get on that. All other personnel will remain here and keep this place running,” Miriam explained.
“Who’s coming along? And who do we know among them?” I asked.
“David, Lorenz, Gavin, Silvia, I’m assuming you know Dan and Minerva… Cassy, if we can find her, and I believe you’ve met Azazel…”
“Who the hell is Azazel?” I was flabbergasted that such a name passed me by.
“I believe you call him… Natura Boy?”
“Ohhh… that guy…” I started, and Fumnaya finished.
“Don’t worry, most mages aren’t going to be interacting with the werewolves anyway!” Silvia said, waving her hand.
“And not to sound racist or anything, but the werewolf you refer to as the black werewolf guy is also coming. I just haven’t learned his name,” Miriam said, trying not to look Fumnaya in the eye.
“I find that a little strange coming from you since you’re the intelligence hub of this community center. What if he’s another mole?!” I said.
“He was actually here before I arrived, and I never really asked him his name. And no one uses it. He’s always, like, call me dude or bro, it’s asinine…”
“Well, I’d be happy to check and see this lovely vacation spot, and all it has to offer. Hopefully we’ll be able to enjoy it to the fullest, despite…” I looked at Fumnaya, “any challenges there might be.”
“See you then, I guess.”
3
Chapter 3
The week went by. I’d brought the egg back to the dorm room and hid it in a place I could check on it easily. Also, where it wouldn’t be noticed by the second person I’d expect would want to have one of the three dragon eggs.
Amelia was still reeling from her time in that fight we had. She didn’t want to go anywhere near the portal, but she always had a fun time with Genki and was working on figuring out how transformation works.
From what I remember in that brief instance that I was a werewolf, albeit from being in Silvia’s body, the transformation seemed effortless. The only reasons savage wolf was so taxing was the insane amount of movement in short order, and the concentration required to understand where and how to shift to get the best results.
When it came time to pack, though, I knew that I shouldn’t just leave the dragon egg inside the area, so I bundled it up and put it into my suitcase. This did mean that it was mostly sweaters I was talking to my vacation, in the summertime. That wasn’t that much of an issue – there were onsite washing machines and dryers, after all. No, the problem was, I didn’t feel good about having the egg just loose in my suitcase.
The bus would no doubt be a very bumpy ride, so I’d either have to stabilize the weight on my own or hope it wasn’t accidentally crushed. I was unsure if that would be horrible due to the loss of life that could be, or if it was the fact that all the juices would get all over my clothes and I’d have to do something about it.
I reassured myself that I should focus on the life thing, to ensure I looked good to myself. This was supposed to be my replacement pet, after all. I decided that instead, it should go into my carry-on. I’d wear it on my front and control how it moved with my hands as we went over to the manor.
With that in mind, I had to completely undo everything in my suitcase, and redo it again in my backpack, which was pretty full without the large dragon egg. It still had my sweaters in with it to keep it warm, but it was only two.
I put the backpack on my back slowly, hoping beyond hope that nothing would cause the poor thing to crack along my back. And I started to get moving with my suitcase rolling behind me.
Amelia was nowhere to be seen, which was odd for her. Before I left, I held out my compact to examine how I was looking. I’d gone with a bikini top in black, wanting the first thing we did when we got there to be swimming, I had my towel wrapped around my waist obscuring the bottom. Reflective sunglasses obscured my brown eyes, and my long brown hair was how it normally was: generally straight, but with enough ends poking out to remind people I was in university.
I put that back into the suitcase’s smaller pockets and started my path towards the community center. I actually got to see the bus as it drove in and turned towards the center.
That garage door had only opened once when I was outside the building, and when it did, it was to set up a trap to unsummon the eldritch demon – not good times, to be sure.
I walked into the building through the open door and took a look around the bus.
“Ah, Elizabeth, what wonderful timing,” Miriam said, also dressed in a bikini top and towel skirt, hers being pink.
“Damn, take off the business clothes and you look like a party girl,” I said, semi telling it how it was and semi teasing her.
“For all you know that’s all it takes,” she said with a sly smile.
Everyone that was heading off had their bags and were placing them in the large containers at the bottom of the bus.
Gavin set down a massive backpack right on the side of the last container, and Silvia put down hers with it.
“Mind if I put down my suitcase with yours?” I said, gesturing to it.
Gavin and Silvia gave each other a look as if asking, “Is that gonna work?” Only with a bit more worry than I’d expected.
“Something wrong?” I asked.
“N-no, it’s fine, uh, how about we put yours at the very end, followed by Gavin’s and then my stuff?”
“Uh, okay,” I said, raising an eyebrow, uncertain as to why that was so important. The two moved their stuff, and I put mine down.
David came in and placed his so that it was resting a corner against mine, and Silvia’s, at an angle.
“How’s it going?” he asked, looking between me and Miriam. “It’s times like these you remember the gender divide, huh?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Miriam and I said in unison.
“It means he forgot that women looked hot,” Silvia said, pushing me and Miriam away from him. “Come on, drop the sarcasm and… you,” she pointed to Miriam, “this is supposed to be fun!” She pushed us over towards the end of the bus that accepted passengers.
“Easy,” I said, shifting the bag so that it was around the front of me.
I couldn’t resist opening it up just a little to see if there’d been any problems. There were no cracks or signs of damage, which was a relief. I walked up the steps of the bus, seeing that there was a witch at the driver’s wheel. I went all the way to the back and placed the bag in my lap.
I smiled. It would be smooth sailing for at least a week once I’d found my room and placed it down.
David tapped on the window just in front of me. I peered down at him and he gestured for me to open it up. I rolled my eyes and opened it for him, at which point he grabbed hold of the side of the bus and struggled to get inside.
“Is that really necessary?” I asked, hoping that any wild flailing wouldn’t hit my pack.
“If all you ever did was what was necessary, you’d never pay off your debt!” David said as he got his torso most of the way in.
The way he rocked on the thin edge of the window didn’t look comfortable, but then again, he chose this so I shouldn’t really be striving to understand how it felt.
He slowly got more of his body through, as Silvia and Gavin got onto the bus and walked around to the back to sit with us. Fumnaya followed suit, wearing a hoodie around what appeared to be a two-piece swimsuit.
“So, what legendary bus songs are we going to sing?” David said, chuckling.
“Judging by the last time E-lis was a rider and not a driver, I’m guessing something really quiet,” Fumnaya said.
“What? That was a totally different circumstance!” I moaned.
I realized the yelling might not be the best for the egg as soon as I got it all out, and made a mental note not to do so until… well, I guess until I was sure the creature inside could take it.
Gavin sat down with a thump and Silvia sat down beside him, David finally got up and sat down right in front of me. Lorenz, ever so fashionably late, walked in and sat down beside David.
The rest of the group piled on as David looked around. Everyone was wearing swimsuits, from the super-serious to the uptight of the community center.
“Looks like everyone really wants to go swimming once we get there. Might not be the best time to head out into the pool,” he admitted.
“Some ladies might be trying to get a tan,” Lorenz said.
“Do you like girls with a tan, Lorenz?” I asked, causing Fumnaya to blush.
“I guess it depends on how well it’s done, and I don’t like the idea of tanning beds or spray tans, that’s… I don’t know, it just seems like a bad idea.”
“Probably motivated by vanity and an excess of money,” David said.
“So, what you’re saying is exactly you?” I said, smiling smugly.
David paused. “I… have no comeback for that,” he said, admitting defeat.
Then the bus lurched and floated into the air. Down on ground level, Leonardo, and a couple of other mages, were using their magic to flip the bus around.
I’d wondered how they were going to move the bus back out onto a busy street while I was faced firmly inside the area. Suffice to say this seemed like a clever solution.
With the bus placed down, and a frantic scramble to cushion the fall from the egg I’d been holding, the garage door opened once more and the bus lurched forwards, this time of its own power, waiting for a good time to turn into the traffic.
The Stray Dragon : (A collage age urban fantasy with werewolves werewolf community center book 3) Page 2
