Ian moans as he opens his eyes.  Bones crack as he wills up his aching body up.  He rubs his face and then cracks his neck.  Upon gripping a cushion with his hand, “Wha- where?”  He glances around in the dark to try and make sense of his surroundings.

              “Calm down.  You're in the living room.”  Devlin says.

              Ian collapses back as he breaths out in relief.  He sits up again and finds his uncle's silhouette at the kitchen entrance.  The coffee mug in his uncle's hand sticks out despite the back light.  “What happened?  Did you bring me back?”

              “You came back around eleven last night and crashed on the couch.”  Devlin takes a sip from his mug, but he keeps his attention on his nephew.  “So, what happened?  There shouldn't be anything dangerous here.  How did you exhaust your magic?”

              Ian ignores his uncle, trying instead to recall the previous night.  The wearg flew through the trees.  “Tentacles?”  He furrows his eyebrows and hesitates before asking, “Uncle, are there... chimera in this world?  I was told they were all exterminated.”

              Devlin stares into his mug as he sips the coffee.  He remains silent even after lowering the drink from his mouth.  “Multiple chimera sightings have been reported, but none of the following investigations yielded positive outcomes.  As a result, chimera are not formally recognized to exist on Earth.  Unofficially, the general belief is that chimera have learned to blend in and remain hidden among normal humans.  Now, are you certain you saw one?  Where is it?  With tha-”

              Ian falls back on the sofa at his Devlin's words, sprawling out his limbs with a groan.  “I don't know.  It got away.”

            The mug drops from Devlin’s hand, but comes to a stop around his waist and floats into the kitchen with without spilling a drip.  Devlin walks up to Ian.  “Where?  Tell me exactly what happened.”

              He listens to Ian's story and says, “You're lucky to be alive.”   He takes out a smart phone and presses a few buttons.  Upon pocketing it, he continues, “Get some breakfast and take a shower.  I wanted to take things slow, but with how things are, we need to connect you.  Next time anything happens, report it and wait for help.”

              Ian's bones crack as he stands from the sofa and continue to do so as he stretches.  He walks heavy steps towards the kitchen.  He massages his shoulder while asking, “What time is it, anyway?”

              “Five seventeen.  You've finally slept through the entire night.”

              “Right, I'm taking a shower.”  Ian climbs the kitchen side stairs and later walks down wearing a fresh shirt and jeans.  Most of his hair is plastered flat upon his head with a few dry tufts scattered around.  He completes his morning preparations and enters the car.

              They drive through the neighborhood in silence.  Lapping waves of the beach come into view and Ian recognizes the sign at the end of the road, California 1.  “We're going to the school?”

              Devlin turns right onto the highway and replies, “All daily operations relating to magic are dealt there.  Calera Academy's middle and high schools are just covers for this region's administration office.”

              “When was I going to be told this?”

              “Eventually, I wanted to let you adapt to life here before introducing you to the magical aspects of this world.”     

Devlin drives past the beach and pulls into the school ground drive way.  The road leads to a parking deck near the bluffs overlooking the ocean.  Devlin parks the car inside and leads Ian to a door along one of the walls.  He swipes an identification card through the reader to unlock the entrance into a vacant room.  No other openings are inside. 

Devlin shuts the door and says to the wall, “Qing dakai.”  The left wall folds in on itself to reveal a well-lit hallway.  He ushers his shocked nephew down the hall to a balcony overlooking the branches of a tree.  A soft warmth is emitted from the tree.  Shining through the gaps within the leaves created by small birds and squirrels hopping along the branches are specks of light.

              “A sun tree?”

              “Do you propose building a window instead?”  Devlin takes Ian down three flights of stairs to the main lobby.  There, underneath the tree, the light shines brightest.  They cut through the garden and enter the office labeled Communication on the door.

              Ian signs some papers and receives a white, palm sized, smart phone coupled with an instruction manual.  “Uncle, do I really need this?”

“Yes, not just for communication, but also for our private server, Mofa-Connect.  It grants access to multiple magic related reports and events occurring here on Earth.  You can look up anything you need to know.”  Devlin leads him from the room adding, “Mofa-cells are extremely durable and enchanted to have reception anywhere on the planet.  They’re rechargeable with a water spell, are scratch resistant, water proof, lava proof, can be dropped from skyscrapers, run over, struck by lightning, etc etc.  Put short, you’ll break before it does.” 

Devlin then leads his nephew across the lobby to another office labeled Security.  He speaks to the attendant behind the counter who leads them to the department head's office.  A large, bald headed man greets them with a hardened stare.  He speaks with a deep voice, “Ian Gyges, please, have a seat,” and gestures to the chairs across from his desk.  “I am Colonel Leon, head of our region's security department.  Major Devlin has informed me of your encounter with a chimera.”  Leon placing his elbows on his desk as he leans forward and clasps his fingers together.  “Tell me what happened.”

 

              “How extremely reckless,” Leon says after Ian finishes.  “You can't confirm whether it was chimera or not, only speculate?”

              “It was too dark, I couldn't see it properly.”

              “And you have no ideas as to where it could be hiding?”

              “No, sir.”

              “All we can do is investigate and await the results.”  Leon glances to Devlin, “He's your nephew, alright, going off on his own in complete disregard to proper procedure.”

              “I found something suspicious and investigated!  That’s my job as a Deva of Mofa.”

              “Arrogant child!  You’re nowhere strong enough to call yourself a true Deva.  Calling you a Deva would be a disgrace to the title even if you weren’t broken.  Now, I'll ask you again, do you really have nothing else to tell me about the beast?”

              “No.”

              “Very well, then,” Leon remains seated and salutes Devlin and Ian, “dismissed.”

              Devlin stops at the door.  He looks back to Leon and says, “Colonel, Ian might be facing a setback, but he will definitely surpass us all.”  Devlin walks away and lets the door close behind him as Leon begins to reply.

              They return to the car in silence from where Ian retrieves his satchel.  As he closes the door, Devlin says, “Sorry, there's still almost an hour until they open the front doors, but you’re going to have to find a way to keep busy.  I have some assignments to take care of and there's no time to take you home.  I'll probably be back before you, if not, I shouldn't be long.  Also, with how things are, I’ll be beginning your training in the evenings.  Other than that, our deal still holds.”

              “What?  Uncle, shouldn't we focus more on the chimera?  What if there are more hei’an shengwu out there?”

              “All we can do now is prepare for the next encounter.”

              “Which won't happen unless we go look for it!”

              Devlin’s expression turns stern, “Ian, you didn’t come across that chimera.  It revealed itself to you.”

              “So, you also think Gale-”

“Whether your classmate is the chimera or was just bait still needs to be determined.  Until then, do not approach him.  Leave this investigation to us.  Leon was right, you’re lucky to be alive.  Next time something like this happens, report to me first.”  He gets into his car, but rolls down his window.  He looks at Ian and says, “Don’t forget to setup your phone.”

“Fine, fine.”

Devlin gives his nephew a hard stare.  “Ian, I mean it.  You have time.  Do it before class starts.  Always keep it on hand.”

Ian clicks his tongue and says, “Alright, I’ll do it.”

Devlin nods while saying, “I'll see you back at home,” and drives away.

              Ian kicks a rock as he leaves the parking garage.  The stone bounces off the sidewalk and disappears into the grass.  “What, I’m just supposed to go to class with a monster?”

Ian is surprised to find students already gathering at the main entrance.  Zhege zao?  He finds an empty picnic table between the two side buildings and pulls out his smart phone.  The manual teaches him the spell needed to charge it.  Then, by holding down the sole button near bottom of the phone, it lights up.  “Not impressed.”

Instructions appear on the screen reading “press to continue”.  Ian presses the button once more and the phone powers off.  “What?” he asks as he turns the phone on once more.  He presses the button again and the phone turns off.  “Ta made niao!” 

After repeating the process a few times, he notices a red arrow below the instructions.  The arrow points towards a green bar near the bottom of the screen.  He stares at the bar wondering if that’s what he supposed to press.  “It’s a solid screen.  There’s no way anything would happen.”  Despite his conclusion, he can’t think of anything else to try.

Ian looks around to make sure no one is watching him before pressing the bar.  The screen changes into nine dots arranged in a three by three grid.  With the phone saying, “Choose a pass code,” he feels a rising urge to chuck it off one of the cliffs and into the sea.

“That would be the same as losing.”  He imagines explaining to his uncle how he gave into frustration and lost his phone.  He drives the thought from his mind and says, “If powerless can do it, so can I.”

              The phone repeats, “Choose a pass code.”

              Ian stares at the nine dots and says, “What's a pass code?”  He waits a few second, and when he doesn’t receive an answer, “What's a pass code?”  Still not receiving an answer, he shakes the phone and says, “Tell me already, I know you can talk!”

              “Is this your pass code?”  The phone asks.

              He looks at the screen and finds that a side button has a ring around it. 

“Er bai wu…”

              “Pass code accepted.”

              “What?”

              “Welcome to Mofa-Connect.”  The screen changes to one with letters, “Please insert your name.”

              Ian takes a guess and presses the letters on the screen.  After a bit of time, he manages to type, “Ian Gyges” and then “Mofa” when asked for a password. 

              “Synced to Mofa-Connect.  Press to restart.” 

              Ian presses the button on the screen and the phone restarts.  He stares at it in complete loss as it reboots and displays the nine dots again.  Ian takes a guess and presses the side button from before and the phone takes him to his home screen.  “Like I said, jiandan.”

 

              Jimar calls to out to Ian as he settles into his desk for homeroom.  “So, what do you think so far?  Life here ain’t so bad?”

              Ian forces himself to chuckle.  He recalls the previous night and says, “More exciting that I gave it credit for.”  He them places his hand atop of the white folder on his desk.  The front cover is decorated with an outline of Earth.  Written underneath the picture is “Eco-Trip.”   Almost every desk in the class one.  “What’s this?”

“The monthly eco-trip.  Looks like this time is some place called Lake Casitas.”

Ian opens the folder and shifts through the papers inside.  Starting from the forefront he finds an itinerary, a map, a necessary supplies list, and contact information to a hotel.  He looks back up to Jimar and says, “What’s an eco-trip?”

“Man, how’d you sign up without knowing?  Actually, how did you sign up?  Today’s your second day here.  All tha paper work needed ta be taken care of at da beginning of the month.”

“My uncle probably arranged it.”

Jimar accepts the explanation with a shrug and says, “The eco-trip’s jus’ that; a weekend trip to some hotel near a natural preserve, park, or any place we can learn ‘bout nature and the environment.  Each grade goes ta someplace different.”

              “And it happens every month?  How does the school afford this?”

              “Easy, see, in the process of our outdoor education, we double as a cleanup crew.  As a result, we get some sorta government subsidy.  Anyway, wanna join my group?”

              “Your group?”

              “Yeah, we gotta break into groups of four to six.  If we don’t do it ourselves, they’ll do it for us.  So, you down?”

              “What do you mean ‘down’?”

              Jimar catches himself from laughing.  He coughs to clear his throat and says, “It means, how about it?  Or, do you accept?”

              Ian is 100% confident Jimar is a powerless, butis Jimar also the only person he knows at Calera Private High School.  He suppresses his groan and says, “Yeah, okay, sure.  I’m… down.”

              “Cool, anyway, it’s jus’ us two so far, but I’m thinking ‘bout asking Miyuki once she gets here.  If there’s anyone you want ta invite, feel fre- Gale!  The heck happened to you?”

              Gale walks into homeroom with a scowl and a growl.  The large Band-Aid on his cheek draws Ian’s attention at first, but a second glance reveals that his uniform is scuffed up and his arms are covered in cuts and scrapes. 

              Gale gives Jimar a death glare, and after staring for a few moments, says, “Mugged.”

              “You were jumped?  Who was it?  How bad d’they hurt you?”

              Gale shrugs.  “No idea, she was wearing a mask.”  He ignores the rest of Jimar’s questions, along with the snickers of his classmates, and plops down at his desk where he then begins to read a text book.

              Jimar sits back down and says to Ian, “Wow, can’t believe something like that happened.  Miyuki ain’t here yet either.  I hope nothing happened ta her.”

…..       

A girl with her blond hair tied back with a blue ribbon walks down the aisle across the bookshelf from Gale.  He pauses mid-reach for a third chemistry textbook to straighten his posture.  His head stays locked in place, but he follows her with his eyes.  A smile creeps across his face once the girl is out of sight and he walks with a slight hop back to his table.

Arthus waits until Gale begins tutoring Jimar and Ian at the other table before saying, “For all his attitude, he’s turns into a little puppy around Justine.”

Theodore says, “Aren’t you the same with Samantha?”

“My situation is bit different from his.”

Theodore glances towards Arthus.  His expression remains nonchalant, but he exerts a heavy pressure with his dark eyes.  A compelling force laces his tone as he says, “So, what do you want?”

Arthus slouches back on his chair with a sigh.  “You don’t let up, do you?  Makes me wonder what kind of person you really are.”  He feels a fleck of danger upon voicing his curiosity.  Theodore’s expression doesn’t change, but the pressure from his eyes sharpens.  “Relax, I won’t pry.”

Theodore redirects his attention to his textbook as he says, “Then, what?”

“An underclassman of mine was alone in the woods last night bleed all over.  I come in that following morning worried about his injuries only to find that they’re gone.  One of your blessings?”

“I told you, it isn’t a blessing.”

“Psychic ability, a rose with any other name, whatever.  So, is that it?”

Theodore sighs and says, “If my first ability is erase my presence, the second is limit removal.  By removing my limits, I can access my body’s full strength, speed, agility, processing speed, et cetera.  One of those gives me rapid regeneration.”

“Only two?”

“It isn’t, “only two?”  The norm is only awakening one.  My situation is still being studied.  So who the hell are you?  Memory manipulation, matter manipulation, body strengthening; who sent you?  Are you from Corsica?” 

Arthus stops himself mid-breath from asking for clarification.  Both he and Theodore glance towards an approaching girl.

Justine walks straight up to them with a glowing smile.  She clenches the eco-trip folder as she says, “Hey, Arthus.  About this month’s eco-trip, I was hoping to ask you about it.  What do you remember about Lak-”

Arthus holds up his hands as he says, “Sorry, I didn’t go on that one last year.” 

Justine’s expression falls as a dispirited, “Oh,” escapes her.  She forces a smile and walks off while saying, “Maybe you can tell me about the next one, then.”

Theodore studies Arthus’s expression as he watches Justine walk away and says, “You’re not interested in her?  Like you said about Gale, she’s totally into you.”

“I have nothing against you humans, but biologically speaking, I cannot return any such feels towards your species.”

“My species?  Again with that fantasy talk?  Is one of your abilities transformation?  Look, no matter what you change into, you’re still human.”

Ian’s voice overshadows what Arthus is about to say. “You’re thanking him with a ticket to your performance?”  Both he and Theodore look towards Ian’s table to find Gale with a clueless expression on his face.

Jimar’s voice carries over to them.  “Hey, man, first off, I’d have failed Chem without Gale.  Second, people pay good money to see my shows.”

Theodore clicks his tongue and says, “That’s an understatement.”

Arthus says, “You tried going to one?”

“I looked into it.  Way more than I could afford.  Hard to believe he’s just a sophomore.”

….. 

              Ian recalls Devlin’s words from the other day as the bell rings.  If the “seniors” in Calculus are powerless, then Will and Miyuki must be Deva.  He waits up for Will who sighs as they walk out the door.

              Will says, “You seriously needed to ask Gale for help?”

              “I have my reasons.  More importantly,” Ian lowers his voice.  He traces a five pointed star with his finger while saying, “What element do you specialize in?”

              Will frowns as he turns to Ian in confusion.  “I'm looking into taking up programing...”

              “No, not that.”  Ian says.  He glances around to make sure no one is listening.  “Out of the five base elements, I specialize in water.  You?”

              Will gives Ian a blank stare.  “You like swimming?” 

              Ian takes a deep breath and exhales, dropping his face into a palm.  “Bai mu...”  He leans closer to Will and says through clenched teeth, “Magic.  Which is your element?”

              Will's eyes widen as he loses himself in thought.  He swallows and whispers, “Tha- that’s what that is?  I always thought it was too weird to be psychic abilities… It’s magic?  Then, you’re… a mage?  A rea-”

              “Deva, the proper term is Deva.  Haven't you been taught anything?”

              “I-Ian, you've made a mistake.  I'm not a mage- ahem, Deva.”

              “You're taking an upper level mathematical class.  Yes, you are.”

              “Actually,” Will gives a bashful chuckle, “I'm just good at math.”

              Ian examines Will's expression for dishonesty.  “Lantanzi!”  He presses his satchel to himself and forces his way through the crowded hallway.

              “He-hey!”

Ian bumps into and brushes against various students as he tries to create space between himself and Will.  His efforts let him get ahead, but Will grabs his arm before he can reach the stairs.

Will speaks between breaths.  “Ju-just a minute.  You're not- You’re not ditching me that easy.  Is that what that stuff is?  Magi-”

Ian rams his elbow into Will’s stomach.  He then yanks his arm free while Will hunches over and slips into the crowded stairwell.  His face stiffens as he debates on how to solve the problem. 

Ian gets out of the stairwell when a hand clamps down on his shoulder.  Will says, “It's a secret, okay, I get that.  Tell me more later.”

              Ian grits his teeth at his inability to shake Will.  His classmate even goes so far as to sit next to him during lunch.  Jimar looks at the two of them and says, “Sup, Will.”

              Will says, “Ian invited me to join your team for the Eco-Trip.”

              Ian tenses, but doesn’t call out Will’s lie.  He can’t.  Judging from Will’s expression, the truth about him being a Deva would be exposed the moment he tries.  He’d be a laughing stock if everyone found out how he exposed himself in less than 32 hours after his first day of school.  All he can do is nod and play along.

              Jimar says, “Great, any of you see Miyuki?  I wanna ask her to join next.”

              Will shakes his head.  “I think she’s out for the day.”

              “Damn.”

              Ian says, “Just ask her tomorrow.”

              Jimar says, “Can’t, team slips are due end of the day.”

              “We only get one day to make a team?”

              Jimar shrugs.  “Something ‘bout thinking under pressure.”

…..

              Justine sets down her lunch tray next to Theodore.  With a sigh, she speaks to both him and Athena, “I didn’t get Oresteia.”  She sits down while saying, “What was the point?”

              Athena says, “Are you asking us because of my name?”

              Justine glances to the side while saying, “Partially…”  She then groans and says, “My English grade isn’t that good.  I need to ace this essay or my training is going to be cut.  You’re the student council VP, lend me a hand.”

              A smile plays at Athena’s lips as she says, “Fine, fine, I can’t say no if you’re going to bring th-”  She stands up as a dark haired girl rushes up to their table.  Her expression hardens as she says, “Selena, what happened?”

              Impatience laces Selena’s voice as she says, “I’m not sure, but it’s still early.”

              Athena turns back to Justine with an apologetic expression, “I’ve got to go, but ask Theo.  He’s way better at this stuff than I am.”

              Once Athena’s blazing hair disappears from sight, Justine says, “Is Sophie always like this?”

              Theodore says, “You get used to it.”

              “Anyway, about Ores-”

              “That’s a pointless risk you’re taking.”

              “Wha- what are you talking about?”

              “Arthus and I aren’t friends.  Trying to get close to me won’t help with him.”

Justine blushes a deep red as her voice gets caught in her throat.  “Th- tha- that’s not why I’m here at all!  I- I’m seriously struggling with English!  Unless I pul-”

Theodore’s tone cuts through Justine’s stammering.  “That’s the second issue.  For all you know, Athena might not have had a clue as to what that play was about.  It’d have been no different than turning to a sinking ship for help.”

Justine shrinks underneath Theodore’s gaze.  She’s the regional iaido champion.  She competes at the state level.  She’s been watched, stared at, and held under scrutiny by hundreds of people, but none of them have ever pressured her this much.  She swallows her follow up sentence.  Playing dumb against him is impossible.  “I was also planning to consult sparknotes…”

Theodore’s head pops up as though he’s realizing what he’s doing.  He hides his shock with a chuckles and says, “What a carefree attitude.”

Justine takes a deep breath upon being released from his stare.  She glares at Theodore and says, “You, who are you?”

“My name is Theodore, people also call me Theo.  As of right now, it looks like I’ll be your English tutor.”

Justine blinks as she’s taken aback.  “You’re actually going to help me?  Even knowing what I was trying to do?”

Theodore shrugs.  “Athena already passed the job to me and besides, it’s not like you were trying to kill anyone.”

Justine frowns at Theodore’s extreme expression.  “Then, when’s a good time?  If you still have space on your-”

“I’m not going on this month’s Eco-Trip. 

…..

              Ian clicks his tongue upon seeing Will get on the same bus as him after school.  Then, as Will sits next to him with eagerness gleaming from his eyes, he says, “Somewhere private.”

              “Fine, fine, I know just the place.”  Will makes Ian get disembark a few stops early and takes him to a suburban forest.  “The park and theater are further in, but out here by the road should be pretty quiet.  Now spill, I want to see some magic.”

              Ian doesn’t respond.  The forest Will brought him to is the same place he fought Gale the night before.  He breathes in to loosen his nerves and takes in his surroundings.  He doesn’t sense the presence of a hei’an shengwu, but that doesn’t mean the creature can’t hide itself.  Just in case something does happen, he casts a body strengthening spell.

              “That’s exactly what I wanted to see!  So, what exactly are those lights?  Do they always come out when you cast magic?”

              Will’s words draw Ian’s attention from the forest.  “What lights?”

              “You can’t see them either?  They swirled around you and then seeped into your body.  They’re all over the place at school.”

Ian gives Will a hard stare.  Will could be lying, but there’s no point for him to do so.  “What kind of lights do you see?”

Will looks up as he says, “I’m not really sure how to explain them.  Well, there’s five different colors; red, yellow, grey, black, and green.  If I was to describe what I just now, then there was a whole bunch of yellow circling around.  At some points it was a dribble, at others a spurt, and at one point it was a steady stream.  Then it stopped.”

              Ian groans and slaps his forehead.  “Che!  You’re nothing more than a powerless.  What you saw was the flow of magic to my body strengthen spell.”

              “I take it that that is rare.”

              “People on Mofa-”

              “Mofa?”

              “My home world.”

              “A magic world?”

              “Yes, re, stop interrupting!  Like I was saying, people on Mofa would kill you just to have your eyes.  Don’t tell anyone-”

              “Or my life will be in danger.  Yeah, I already got that.  Just tell me about magic or I’ll go up to everyone who can make those lines and tell them you told me what they are.”   

              “I could kill you right now and no one would ever find out.”

              “Please, I sent plenty of texts to people on our way here.  Everyone knows where I am and who I’m with.”

              Ian’s face turns red from the humiliation of being blackmailed by a powerless.  “Baijiazi, fine, but I will get you back for this.”

              “Yeah, yeah, whatever.  Just get on with it.”

              Ian takes a breath and says, “Magic is nothing more than harnessing and manipulating the five base elements, those lines, of the world for a desired result.  More simply stated, magic is a precise manipulation of energy towards a single goal.  Red is fire, yellow is earth, grey is metal, black is water, and green is wood.  Deva, or Devi for woman, harness them through meditative breathing and precise mental calculations.  Different spells are created depending on how they’re combined.”

              Will cups his chin and says to himself, “I get it.  Those elements are like puzzle pieces made of energy.  Me being able to see magic gives me an edge; I can see how spells are created.”

              “Which is exactly how the Jinse Long reach his position.”

              “Who?  No, that doesn’t matter.  What about our school?  Is it a secret magic training ground for Deva and Devi?”

              “Something like that.  Is that why you applied?  You saw something going on and wanted to investigate?”     

              Will sneers, “That’s right, and now I found someone who’ll tell me everything I want to know.  Now, cast a fireball.”

              “Can’t.”

              “I don’t care if it’s against the rules.  Just do it.”

              “No, I literally can’t.  Most Deva can’t use all five elements.”

              Will clicks his tongue.  “Fine, then do something else.  I don’t care if it’s flashy or not, just cast something.”

 

A sweet fragrance of roasted coffee greets Ian upon opening the door to his house.  He tosses his coat onto the sofa and follows the smell into the kitchen. “Gale came to school today!  You said you were going to take care of him.”

Devlin turns around as he sets his coffee mug down next to his computer.  “I said we were going to investigate, and we did.  Gale isn’t a chimera.  I also told you to leave him alone, but not only did you have him tutor you in chem, you went and joined the same Eco-Trip group as him.”

“I’m in the same group as him?  No, I’d never agree to sleep in the same room as a monster!”

Devlin picks up his mug and sips some coffee before saying, “Then that wasn’t you?  Still, you did have him tutor you.  I’ll praise your determination, but what you did was stupid.  If Gale was a monster, all you’d have accomplished was let him know that you know.  Did you stop and consider how a chimera would react in that situation?”

“If Gale tried something, I’d have stopped him.”

“Gale isn’t a chimera.  We would have never let him into the school if he was.”

Ian recalls Gale’s beat up appearance upon entering homeroom.  “You mean, those injuries were your doing?”

Devlin shakes his head as he sighs.  “He’s quite impressive, even by our standards.  He roused himself from a hypnotic trance through his own effort.”

Ian chuckles, “Let me guess.  He then got hurt attacking the Deva investigating him.  How stupid.  That’s what he gets for trying to stand against us.” 

Devlin sips more coffee and says, “Having trouble at school.”

“Not one bit.  My classmates are powerless.  Speaking of which, I’m hanging out with Will after school tomorrow.  I’ll be getting back a bit late, again.”

…..

              Chol plucks the stings of his harp as he walks near the middle of the caravan.  He thought everyone would make him stop to avoid attracting monsters, but instead was moved from the back to the middle.  That just shows how desperate the organizers are for entertainment.

They trek north on a dusty trail through outskirts of the former Ming Dynasty.  Despite the concerns about hei’an shengwu or beasts, everyone has been assured that the dangerous creatures reside deeper within the fallen territory.  Those that used to reside in their current location vanished for some reason.

Chol stops playing his harp to reach towards the sky and stretch.  Judging from the two suns, second sleep will be on them in a few hours.  The pack of bird like raptors that attacked them didn’t set them back that much.  A river should be coming into sight within the next hour and a half. 

While considering how he’ll eat his share of fresh raptor meat, the caravan slows to a stop.  Talks of, “raiders,” and “bandits,” passes down from the front.  Chol sets his harp down with his bag and sighs as he uses his left hand to draw his sword.  He hates fighting, not because he’s weak, but because he’s a doctor. 

Chol makes his way to the front of the caravan to join the defense.  He may prefer healing people, but that doesn’t mean he won’t defend himself. 

The approaching sight makes him scoff.  Many share his sentiments.  The information passed down the line was incomplete with the most important term excluded.  “Child slave traffickers...”  A row of children tied together stand behind the bandits.  While some cry, most have dead, vacant expressions.

              Someone says, “They must have pillaged some nearby settlement...”

              Another says, “Base probably ain’t too far from here.  No way they’ll be letting any of us leave alive.”

              A third says, “Works for me.  Bastards like them stole my wife and child.”

              Chol launches a giant ball of fire to burn the arrows flying towards them.  The few Deva travelling with the caravan deflect the rest with wind.  The mercenaries use that as their signal to charge.  A loud roar shakes the air as they raise their weapons.  Bandits who try to take a child hostage end up riddled with arrows, set aflame, or frozen stiff to the point of shattering upon falling over. 

              Chol steps back to let a bandit’s sword pass by before his self.  The bandit isn’t accustomed to fighting left handed swordsmen and thus left the radial nerve in his arm exposed.  One quick and clean jab severs the nerve.  Then, while the bandit yanks his arm back in surprise, he serves the same nerves of his other arm.  Chol finishes by thrusting his jian between the bandit’s ribs and threw the heart.

              Chol knocks the bandit’s body over and lets it slide away.  Blood neither clings to his sword nor flows from the bandit’s chest.  Despite everything the bandit has done, Chol can’t bring himself to kill him.  Therefore, while freeing his jian, he transmitted heat from his flames to heal most of the wound.  Either way, once the bandit wakes up in a few hours, assuming nothing has eaten him, he’ll never be able to harm anyone again.  His somewhat, crippled arms and weakened heart guarantee it.

              A nearby caravan guard gets cut down.  Chol stabs the rejoicing bandit from behind straight through the heart.  He then lowers his sword to let the bandit slide off it as he falls. 

              A broadsword slices through Chol’s body as he turns around.  The mirage Chol had been projecting of himself flickers and vanishes.  The bandit jumps in fright, leaving himself open for Chol to get close and stab an acupuncture needle into the bandit’s neck.  He doesn’t attack anything vital, but point stabbed will render the bandit unconscious for a few hours. 

Caravan organizers cry out as some bandits get past the defenders and reach the wagons.  Chol can’t do anything about it.  Instead, he deflects a spear and smothers his next assailant with fire.  While the bandit is still shocked at being ignited, Chol cripples him as well.  Very few others have the same success as him. 

The bandits are pushing them back.  They might be tired from their raid, but they have more numbers and appropriate equipment.  The weapons of caravan mercenaries are specialized for fighting large or simple minded creatures.  Small, agile, and quick-witted humans have no trouble reading and dodging incoming attacks.

              Chol grunts as he kicks another bandit between the legs.  With a quick flick of his wrist, he slits the bandit’s throat with his silver dagger.  He heals the wound as he delivers it, but the shock of dying renders the bandit unconscious, potentially forever.

              He grits his teeth and spews fire from his right hand like a flamethrower at three approaching bandits.  He dives between them as they step back, cuts one from behind, and then leaps back where he scurries to someplace safer.

              More bandits soon surround Chol.  He keeps them from ganging up on him with his fire and throws off their aim with his mirages, but he’s soon riddled with shallow cuts.  Chol throws down his jian and says, “I’m a healer.”  He raises his arms while saying, “None I fought died.”

              The bandits surrounding Chol keep their weapons pointed at him, but don’t move to kill him.  Chol, having their attention on him, gestures to the gash on his forearm.  He covers the wound with his hand, and upon removing it, reveals that it’s healed.  “Do what you want.  Just let me heal the children.”

              One bandit points at two others.  “Take him over there and tie him up.”  He then lifts Chol by the collar and says.  “You’ll be fixing us up first.  Anyone you fail to patch up means one kid di-”

              An explosion shakes the ground.  Chol dives for his sword as everyone falls over and dashes to safety as everyone else starts to rise.  He didn’t think an opportunity to escape would present itself this soon.  That’s when he notices multiple, circular, shadows shrinking on the ground.

              “Rocks!”  He leaps away from the large ones while deflects the smaller ones.  They must be from whatever created that explosion.

              A girl’s voice drowns out whatever noise remains.  “Tremble in fear you wicked slave traders!”  Waving a red flag depicting a crane alighting from a lotus is a white tiger girl of about 13 or 14. 

              The cat ears and tail make Chol wonder, “A faun?”  Her sudden appearance, however, doesn’t make him forget his situation.  “Help?”  While she did declare the slave traders her enemy, that doesn’t mean she’ll spare the caravan.

              The tiger girl ignores the bandits charging towards her and instead points a finger forward.  Her white hair flutters behind her and her white, tiger pelt, skirt flutters as she says, “You scum picked the wrong day to crawl out of your holes!  The beautiful, noble, and just Gladiolus will slaughter all of you!”

              As Chol remembers hearing that Gladiolus died years ago, all the bandits rushing the tiger girl are either cut in half or have their insides explode out from backs.  The tiger girl ignores the scene developing before her as she continues, “Beg to god for mercy as you’re cut down by the Flying Hare!” 

              Encouraged by what just happened, Chol readies himself to resume fighting only to find the bandits that were chasing him are dead.  A feeling causes him to glance towards the side and there he sees a girl wielding a bloodied guandao.  She strikes the bottom end of her polearm into a bandit’s chest.  The blow caves the cavity in on itself and forces the internal organs to rupture out the body’s backside.  Without stopping or sparing the corpse a glance, she moves onto the next one.

Her fluid movements blend her actions of advancing, twisting her guandao, and killing her target into an unending stream.  He cannot get a clear look.  All his eyes can make out of her are the two antenna like locks of hair sprouting from the middle of her head.  They rise above the rest of her hair and bend back where they freely wave around.

“Gladiolus” then stops and glances in his direction.  Her cold, expressionless, blood splattered face makes him shiver and step back.  She steps towards him and with her guandao at her side, breaks into a dash. 

“Gladiolus” stops just behind him and points her left hand at a group of bandits trying to escape.  Her voice is soft, a bit empty, but clear, “Deutsche.”  A wave of water torrents out from a ring to wash the bandits away.  “Ellada.”  A lightning bolt flashes towards them from a second ring.

Chol watches her slaughter a few more bandits before sheathing his jian.  Despite her brutal methods, she’s only killing them.  He walks to the nearest child, cuts the ropes bindings with his dagger, and turns her head away from the bloodshed.  He heals her broken leg while saying, “Don’t watch.”

His sole focus is on examining and healing the children.  He ignores everything regardless if it’s shrieking bandits begging for their lives or people trying to speak with him.  Only once he examines every child does he stop.  He looks around and sees that all the kids he attended to are seated on the wagons. 

The caravan head sits with the tiger girl and “Gladiolus.”  All three of them stand as Chol walks approaches.  He says, “They’re malnourished and exhausted, but nothing life threatening.”

The caravan head says, “We’ll be taking them to the river with us.”  He then gestures to the two girls and adds, “They’ll be taking them after second sleep.”

Chol nods and looks to “Gladiolus.”  Her strawberry blond hair hides her expressionless face.  Now that she isn’t fighting and her face is clean of blood, she looks listless, as though the blood thirsty warrior from before was nothing more than a mirage. 

The tiger girl puts herself between him and “Gladiolus.”  She holds up her fists and glares at Chol with her golden, cat slit, eyes.  Spit flies off her fangs as she says, “Quit staring at the great Gladiolus!  If you have something to say, than out with it!  Come on, spit it out!  We don’t have all day!”

Now that Chol gets a better look at the tiger girl, he notices that black, zig-zagged, horizontal, stripes run through her hair.  For some reason, even though she has tiger ears on top of her head, she also has human ears on the side of her head.  He’s met various types of Faun, but this trait still confuses him.  She growls and shouts, “Now you’re just going to stare at me?  If you have nothing to say, then we’re leaving!” 

While she storms off, Chol says, “She right, there isn’t much time left until noon.  I want to get those kids something to drink and make sure they’re resting before then.”

The caravan head nods and walks to tell everyone they’re resuming the journey.  Chol turns to Gladiolus and says, “Thanks for helping us, Gla-”

“Pitta,” Chol almost missed her interruption.  Her soft voice is difficult to hear as she continues, “Gladiolus was my late father…  For attending to the children…  You have my gratitude…”

Chol waits to see if she’ll continue.  He resumes speaking once he’s certain that she finished.  However, since he isn’t sure on how to respond, he says, “I’m Chol Feng, a doctor.”

“A dok-tur?”

Chol makes a wry smile at her confusion.  “It’s a type of healer.”

The tiger girl returns while saying, “Pitta, let’s get going!  The caravan head wants us to take the vanguard position incase anything happens, again.”  The tiger girl takes Pitta’s hand and leads her to the front of the caravan.

Chol picks up his bag and resumes playing his harp.  He plays a gentle and soothing melody in hopes of easing everyone’s tension. 

 

While everyone finds shady area well protected from the two sun for second sleep, Chol makes his way towards Pitta.  She watches the children from atop of a rock.  Her vacant expression is overshadowed by an unyielding determination burning within her amber eyes.  Her gaze isn’t cast on the children drifting off to sleep, but to something else far off into the future.  He recalls the ferocity with which she fought earlier.  The blood stained cloth fluttering at the base of her guandao’s blade is a testament to everything she’s overcome.

The tiger girl springs onto her feet as Chol steps underneath the tree they are using.  She points at him and says, “Again?  Quit being such a bother!  You’ve got nothing to say so get lost!  Pitta needs her sleep!”

Pitta stands up while placing a hand atop of the tiger girl’s head.  “That’s enough, Biya.”

“But, Pitta…”

Pitta ignores Biya’s complaint by stepping past her.  She walks up to Chol, but doesn’t say anything. 

Chol doubts if Pitta actually sees him.  She looks at his direction, but her eyes are the same as when she watched at the children.  They gaze off into an unattainable future.  He takes a breath upon remembering the children and says, “Why are you taking them?”

Pitta tilts her head at the question.  Her two, long, antenna locks of hair shift and reach down to her waist.  Her tone is soft, but certain.  “Why am I… taking the children?”  After a moment, she adds, “To protect them.”

Biya says, “That’s right!  Pitta didn’t just take on Gladiolus’s will, she accepted his mantle and mission!  Everything she does is for the sake of the future!”

Chol recalls the stories his teacher told him about the previous Gladiolus.  He was the strongest man on Mofa, the general of the former Qin Dynasty, and a symbol of hope and peace after it fell.  Anyone with nowhere to go could turn to him for protection.  “By yourself?”

“I am… strong.”

Chol remembers how Pitta fought as she demolished the bandits earlier.  The size of her steps and crooked way she walked lets him say, “You left leg is injured.”

While Pitta remains impassive, Biya jumps.  Her tail rises straight up and she tenses the claws on her fingers.  “What was that!  I dare you!  Say that again!”

Pitta sighs and says, “You noticed…”

Chol says, “Let me take your pulse.  I should be able to heal it.”

Biya says, “Liar!  Pitta, don’t believe him.  He’s just another pervert spouting whatever he can just to have his way with you!”

Pitta stares at Chol for a moment before nodding.  She sits back down on the rock and holds out her arm.  Biya bares her fangs at Chol as he kneels and takes her hand.  While he places the two fingers of his free hand upon Pitta’s forearm, Biya says, “Try anything funny, and I’ll rip out your throat.”

Chol tunes her out as he shuts his eyes.  He opens them a few moments later and says, “You damaged the pubofemoral ligament of your hip.”

Pitta touches her side as confusion hints upon her face.  Still, although Chol’s words were beyond her understanding, she understood what he said.   “Years ago, back from when father… was training me.”

Chol releases Pitta’s arm as he stands up.  He takes a few steps back and says, “Well, it’s technically healed now, but it healed wrong.  I can fix it, but not here.  We need someplace quieter and more stable.”

Pitta says, “How long… would it take?”

Biya says, “Pitta!  You’re not seriously considering this, are you?”

Chol purses his lips and cups his chin.  “I can’t give an exact number, but the treatment itself would take between 16-21 hours.  After that would be at least 2 months bed rest.”

Pitta closes her eyes as she lowers her head.  While she’s considering her options, Biya growls at Chol and says, “Why?  What do you gain from this?  Why would you help us?”

Chol chuckles and says, “Because I’m a doctor.”

Biya says, “You mean a healer?”

“No, a doctor.  I took an oath to respect and share medical knowledge, to turn for help when I need it, and to give treatment to everyone who needs it.  My teacher told me a lot about the first Gladiolus’s heroics.  If Pitta-”

Biya gasps as Chol speaks Pitta’s name.  He recognizes her displeasure at it and thus presses forward with more force before she can interrupt.  “If Pitta inherited his will, then I’d be a sham if I didn’t help her.  She’s the type of person this world needs.”

Pitta gets up and says, “I’ve decided…  Come with us to our home.  You can treat me… there.”

Biya says, “What!  Pitta, are you sure?  Really, really sure?  What if it’s a trap?”

Pitta clenches her fist.  “I’m strong.”

Chol ignores the implication of her words and says, “Fine, then I’ll be joining you after second sleep.”

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A/N: You know, I wonder if these are too long??  I like going full out when I write these~