by Hickory Mack
“I guess not,” she answered, conflicted with her own thoughts.
“Then, perhaps, the idea of meeting like this is acceptable?” Ani asked, looking at Chiori.
“Yeah, okay,” she said, digging into her salad.
“Great,” Nakia said. “We are with you for three more nights before the next group is brought in, giving each of us a night on rotation to stay with you. It gives you a chance to get to know each of us more, and you can make an informed decision on who you want to keep around permanently. We figured Mai would stay with you for the rest of your classes, then Ani would be with you tonight, if that works okay with you?”
Chiori looked to Yuuki, who gave the slightest shrug. Whatever she saw with Ani couldn’t be too serious, then.
“Okay,” she said, “Thank you for giving me some input, I appreciate it.”
“In the morning, if you wake first and are ready to start your day, you can either wake Ani, or use one of the bells to let us know to start moving. Bells have been put in each of your rooms, even the bathroom,” Nakia said, confidently becoming the mouthpiece of the group.
“I liked having some quiet this morning, before all the chaos started. It was peaceful,” she said truthfully. “I know it can’t happen all the time, I’ll have to follow my class schedule, but it was nice.”
“It may feel a bit rushed the first week or so, before we settle into a routine, but that is something we can try to give you every day. On your days off we can arrange to get you as much of that quiet time as you want. Those two days are yours to do as you wish. We will have time to speak with your next staff group, so they know what is happening and are caught up with what we have learned,” Nakia said. Everyone was finished eating, and they stood when Chiori did.
“Thank you for doing this, it helps to feel heard,” she said, stretching her muscles, the food had helped recharge her low energy. “I want to go see my birds before I have to go back to class. Moscow is kind of intense, and I want to make sure to get back on time. Mai?”
Mai skipped forward, smiling. “Ready!” she said.
Class with Moscow had taken a detour, and Chiori found herself outside, well away from the house and holding an umbrella. She looked at her instructor and Mai dubiously. Mai’s face had become firm and serious from the moment Moscow had asked her to give Chiori a small demonstration of her power. When they were in a place Mai found suitable she stopped and nodded to Moscow. He stepped within arm’s length of Chiori, moving with her when she instinctively tried to regain some space.
“No, stay close,” he said. “If her exhibition gets too wild I’ll need to throw up a barrier around both of us, and, unlike Fen, I need to be able to touch you to do it.”
“I’ll do my best to make sure that won’t need to happen, I’m not as experienced at this as others of my kind. I usually use my power to keep it away, not call it,” Mai said cryptically. Moscow had asked her not to give it away before showing her. Mai reached up and tied her wavy hair back, away from her face, and her graceful wings unfolded from her shoulders, reaching wide.
Among the trees behind them, a huge stag strode through, watching. He came a few steps toward them and stood vigil. Chiori was about to say something and point the animal out, but Moscow beat her to it.
“Thank you for coming, Ichio. We’re ready, Mai,” Moscow said.
“That’s my History teacher?” Chiori squeaked and Moscow looked down at her with a mixture of disdain and amusement.
“He’s here to protect the trees, if needed,” Moscow said. “If there is anybody in this house worthy of respect, it’s Ichio. Even you, in your position, would rightfully use the Sama honorific. That was Sen’s homework for you, wasn’t it? Practice?”
“Yes, Sensei,” Chiori blushed.
Mai’s eyes had lost their softness. The kind, bubbly girl was gone and in her place was someone a little scary. Thin blue lines scrolled in patterns across Mai’s body, her arms, her hands, her face, every bit of her skin Chiori could see was marked, like a glowing henna. The white of her eyes had gone black, making her look overpoweringly dark. For a while nothing noticeable happened. Chiori was still unsure what power it was Mai was showing her.
Then the wind came, blowing cold on a hot summer day. It felt good at first, but Chiori was soon shivering. Dark clouds were moving fast across the sky. Birds landed low in the trees, sheltering close to the trunks. A large drop of rain hit the ground. Then another. One hit Moscow’s cheek, but he didn’t flinch. Chiori scrambled to open and raise her umbrella, barely managing before the downpour came.
A crack of thunder sounded like an explosion and lightning filled the blackening sky. The wind blew so hard Chiori stumbled, trying to hold her umbrella. A strong hand steadied her shoulder and she looked up to Moscow gratefully, but it wasn’t him.
“What in the name of sanity are you kids doing out here?” It was Kai, his brilliant red hair blowing in the wind. He was completely dry despite the driving rain.
“Enlightening my student with a little demonstration,” Moscow said, his spiky black hair plastered to his face.
“Were you planning on tearing the whole place down, or has she seen enough?” Kai asked, his calm voice reaching them perfectly over the wind and thunder. Chiori could barely see Mai, the glow of her markings giving her away.
“Everything is under control,” Moscow answered, his hands balled into fists. “Mai summoned the storm, she’ll bring it back down now.”
It didn’t calm down. The wind howled harder, and hail came barreling down around their feet. Fen appeared next to them, his face as stormy as the sky, and for the first time, Moscow looked concerned.
“If you don’t stop this, now, Haruka will remove the threat,” Fen growled in his deep voice. He grabbed Chiori’s wrist roughly. “I will be taking Lady Chiori out of here now.”
Chiori’s eyes widened and she started to voice her refusal, stepping away from Fen and into Kai. Her magic teacher wrapped his arm around her shoulder protectively and she froze. Fen’s eyes narrowed dangerously, but he sighed. The wind died in that instant, a little bubble of safety around their group. The rain and wind and hail couldn’t penetrate the boar’s barrier.
“M’Lord will skin each of us alive while the others watch if anything happens to her, you realize,” Fen dropped Chiori’s wrist as though she’d scalded him.
“Haruka can’t be allowed to hurt Mai!” Chiori cried, frightened for her new friend. Lightning crashed around them and they saw it drive into the Earth, scorching the ground, Chiori gasped and Moscow cursed under his breath. A cyclone whipped its way through the grounds, tearing everything in its path. The next round of lightning showed Ichio standing with Mai, his head raised proudly to the tornado, Mai’s hand on his shoulder.
Moscow changed. His body elongated and grew, his wings shot out, spanning wide. His legs became thick and scaly with huge claws sprouting out of his toes and a long, whip like tail emerged. He moved like a snake, his body twisting and writhing, hurling himself through the air. Moscow flew directly into the cyclone, roaring a sound that chilled Chiori to her bones.
Haruka appeared next to Mai, a long knife in his hand and Chiori bolted forward, taking Fen and Kai by surprise. Within a heartbeat Kai was by her side, keeping pace with her desperate stride. Her power built up inside of her chest, reaching a boiling point as Haruka raised his blade.
“What’s your plan?” Kai asked.
“I need to save Mai!” she yelled, feeling her power slam into the ground with each impact of her feet.
“You have a promise to keep. Use mine.” Kai took her hand, feeding her his own power, going with whatever she was planning, though she had no idea herself. Their power together pounded through the ground and in response the Earth rippled, giving Chiori the idea. She slid to a stop and slammed her hand into the mud, Kai following her lead. Together they opened a hole in the Earth large enough to swallow Haruka whole. The badger demon fell with a surprised expression, his knife fall
ing uselessly from his hands. Chiori gasped when the hole closed in around him.
The stag broke his vigil for a moment, looking over at them with a look that was clearly his way of calling them both idiots. The cyclone roared, but whatever Moscow was doing was weakening it, it was smaller and ice lay everywhere on the ground. Reaching Mai, Chiori shook her hand free of Kai’s and grabbed the older girl by the shoulders.
“Mai!” Chiori yelled, wrapping her arms around the Swan in a hug. “Mai, you need to make it stop.”
Mai took long, deep breaths, her free hand hugged Chiori back.
“I’m trying,” she choked out.
“You can, I know you can! You don’t want to hurt anybody, you’re good, and kind, Mai,” Chiori said urgently. Slowly, bit by bit, the cyclone dissipated as Mai held it in place and Moscow helped her dismantle it. The lightning came fast and strong but ever so slowly, the weather lightened. The hail came in smaller pieces until there was only the rain pounding down and the crashes of thunder became a low rumble across the sky.
Minute after minute Mai struggled, holding onto Chiori, her face contorted in fierce concentration. The rain slowed, then stopped, and the darkest of the clouds dissipated. The sun peeked back through and the air warmed. Mai fell to her knees, taking Chiori with her, gasping and shaking with tears.
Fen was behind them, fervently digging up Haruka. Kai poured his magic into the ground and opened the Earth to let him loose. The badger came out covered in grime, rage on his face. He stalked forward menacingly but Chiori staggered to her feet, fire in her belly and an anger equal to Haruka’s wrath. Kai reached for her but she shook him off, leaning forward and meeting Haruka, her whole body trembling with defiance.
“That girl will be-” Haruka started.
“Mai belongs to me and you will not come near her again. You dare to try hurting one of my girls?! Keep your filthy paws away from her or next time you cross me the hole I put you in will be your grave,” Chiori spat, too worked up to think of the consequences of her actions and words. Fen’s mouth hung open in surprise. Kai and Ichio stood to her side, Kai with a smirk and Ichio looking vaguely annoyed.
The dragon-like creature that was Moscow landed behind her with enough force to make the ground shake. He growled at Haruka over Chiori’s head. Haruka’s mouth twisted sourly and he pointed a thick finger in Chiori’s face.
“You’ve made a big mistake. This isn’t over, girl. I’m taking this to Lord Makkai,” he spat, then turned on his heels and stomped across the grounds toward the house. Fen looked around the yard at the damage done, mostly to the ground, Ichio had managed to protect the trees from any big losses. There was structural damage, a large portion of the roof had been torn off and there was a large path of destruction on the ground.
“He isn’t wrong,” Fen said. “There will be consequences, but, my Lady, even though what you did was stupid beyond imagining, you did it to protect someone. I find that admirable.”
“He’s going to be mad,” Chiori said miserably, thinking of Lord Makkai and her broken promise. She’d used Kai’s magic, but hers had been mixed in with it. Fen nodded.
“Yeah, probably, but you’re you. So you’ll get off easy, I think. Though you may have to live in a bubble for a few years before he’ll trust your safety to us again,” Fen said, then looked at Moscow, his face hardening. “You won’t, though. You he just might kill. I’m surprised he isn’t here now, you have Ichio to thank for that.”
A dozen demons had gathered around the yard, hard expressions on their faces. Fen went to them and started directing the clean-up efforts.
Moscow crouched in front of Mai, back in his mostly human form. The swan was exhausted, but she didn’t look at him with anger, her face was wistful.
“Was that really necessary?” she asked, her delicate eyebrows going up.
“No, I’m sorry. I expected something a little less spectacular,” he said. “I guess I thought you were kind of invincible.”
“It would have been a whole lot easier to tell me the answer,” Chiori said, not liking the soft look on Mai’s face. “Weather. The third ability of the swans is the capability of controlling the weather.”
“Got it in one,” Moscow said dryly, “but, would you ever have appreciated the gravity of what that means had you not seen it yourself? The impression you gave in class was that you don’t quite get the magnitude of the power you are surrounded by. The cutest, bubbliest girl here can level a city, and she does not even rank the top ten in this house.”
Mai’s still blackened eyes caught Chiori’s, regret on her face.
Moscow saw the exchange and added, “We all got to see a bit of what you are capable of, Witchling. Though not, I think, without a little help,” he glanced at Kai. “I’m not the only one that will be losing some skin after this. A learning experience for everyone. Class dismissed.”
Chapter 25
“Ah, perfect. Class is now in session,” Kai said, clapping his hands together.
“What?!” Chiori asked.
“Um… His class is over, and now mine is begun,” Kai elaborated, brushing red spikes of hair out of his face. Chiori sputtered at him.
“After everything that happened, you’re still requiring class? What about Mai? And shouldn’t we help clean up this mess?” she demanded.
“I specifically asked to have you last each day, for two reasons. The first is to see how you handle yourself when you’re already worn out. There will be many events in your life that will force you to work under pressure, or when you are exhausted. I need to teach you how to think under the most difficult circumstances you can imagine. You rushed headfirst into a situation with no plan, calling up a large amount of power, more than I suspected you had, and yet here you are, still standing. I want to know how,” he answered.
Goosebumps raised on Chiori’s arms and she rubbed at them irritably. His words reminded her of another man who’d wanted to know more about her.
“The second reason?” Chiori asked aloud, shielding her eyes from the Sun, now beating down from a cloudless sky.
“Because I can keep you as late as I need to during a lesson that requires it, and not interrupt anyone else’s time with you. I know you have mental endurance from our encounter in the woods, and I want to see how far it can be pushed without breaking,” he said. Mai squinted at him and carefully came to her feet, leaning on Chiori for support.
“That doesn’t sound very pleasant,” she said.
“No, sometimes it won’t be. But if she doesn’t learn how to handle it, she’ll end up nearly killing everyone she loves when her powers go awry because she never learned to control it,” Kai said, looking at her pointedly. Mai frowned, but followed where Kai led them, which was right back into the house, the long way around, to bring them to the classrooms through Lord Makkai’s hallways.
His classroom was empty, save for three cushions on the floor, and tea, of course. Chiori wondered how the kettle was steaming, who had been paying attention to their movements so closely.
“Please take a seat on this one,” he showed Chiori where to sit, directing Mai to the cushion closer to the doorway. Kai poured them each a cup of tea, smelling of a light ginger and turmeric. Chiori expected it to taste horribly spicy, until she saw him add a bit of syrup. She accepted the cup, then waited for Kai to sit before taking her first sip of sweet and spicy.
“Today we are going to work on meditation, I want to connect with you and get a good look at what’s going on inside. You’ve got a big well of power in there and knowing more about it now will help you learn how to control it and keep it from overflowing. After that we’ll talk a bit, get to know each other better. I’d like to know what you’re interested in learning,” he said when she sat back down. “You’ve done this before, but instead of following the paths of a tree, we will follow yours.”
Chiori regarded his outstretched hands uncomfortably. She wasn’t sure if it was because she was feeling touched-out that day from being aroun
d so many people that reached out easily, or if it was something to do with Kai himself. His eyebrows went up, crinkling his forehead in question. Chiori placed her hands in his, rolling her shoulders slightly to loosen them up.
“This will probably be quite a bit different than whatever Lord Makkai did, he can use your bond to reach you far more easily than I will be able to do. You need to meet me in the middle. Take a deep breath and close your eyes,” he said and Chiori did as she was told. “Now, imagine you are in a field, it stretches in every direction. The grasses are long, and they blow in the wind. The sun is warm on your face and when you look up there are small, puffy white clouds drifting by.”
Chiori listened and envisioned what she was told. She imagined the heat, and ran her fingers through the grasses, finding a grasshopper perched on a waving blade. His voice was no longer outside, she heard it in her head. She moved forward as he directed, and a short way off she saw the tree he described, a willow, its long branches swaying with the grasses. He described himself, standing under the tree, and the closer she came the more easily she could see him.
Chiori stopped several feet away, grinning. Kai looked as real here in her mind as he looked in life. His words told her he was nodding but then the words stopped altogether, and he was there.
“Very good, that went more smoothly than I expected, especially since it’s the first time,” he looked around at the world she’d imagined. “Good detail. Now, take my hand and I can guide you to where we’re wanting to look.”
Chiori’s discomfort in the real world was worse here, she did not want to touch him, and she did not want him to touch her. She flexed her toes in the grass, knowing she had no real reason to refuse, except for her instincts, and Lord Makkai had told her to trust them. Kai waited patiently, his hand extended, making no move toward her.
“I feel like it’s a bad idea,” she said to the dirt.
