Kaz laid awake in the pre dawn rays of the sun, staring in silence at the rather large breasts under his shirt. They weren’t small, weren’t large, but they were a comfortable medium, and he was annoyed about them. He was very annoyed about them.

With a sigh, he pulled the fur higher over his chest to hide them and rolled over, ignoring the way they pressed together, and stared out the kitchen window. Snow was falling gently out the window, and Aster and Hadrian were still sleeping. He needed to get an early start, and he stood, pulling the curtain over his ‘room’ more shut before he stripped off the shirt he wore to bed and pulled on a fresh undershirt. He pulled on his unlaced stays and started lacing it up with the needle, drawing it under the fabric and leaving it loose. Around and around with a spiral stitch, he laced it up, and then he turned it around and started tightening. He pulled the stays tight at the top to flatten his chest, leaving it somewhat looser around the waist so he didn’t get the silhouette, and then he stopped midway through, pulling on his leggings, and then pants, socks, and boots, wrapping fur around his shins and securing it in place with strips of rough fabric. His bottom half dressed, he continued tightening the stays until his chest was mostly flattened, but not enough to risk breaking his ribs.

He pulled on his shirt and tucked everything into his pants before he strapped on his belt. His hair was drawn back with a ribbon, and then Kaz walked to the door and pulled on a knit sweater made for him by Hadrian. He pulled on the thick winter coat over that, lined in fur, with rough stitching, and then he pulled on his mittens and hat. His breath frosted in the air, and he fed more wood into the fireplace before he casted a quick flame spell on it to make the fire flare to life. That accomplished, he headed outside, snow blowing inside as he stepped outside. The door swung shut behind him, and he headed to the well with the bucket in hand.

He lowered the bucket on the line, and it hit something hard. A long sigh escaped his lips, and he bent over the edge of the well to cast a heating spell to break the ice and melt it down until the bucket bobbed in the water. It went under, and he drew the bucket back up and dumped it in the bucket. The bucket was dragged back to the house, and he set it down on the kitchen table as the wind picked up outside. Water was poured into the kettle, and he set it over the fire before he set the kettle on the hook over the fire. He opened the canister they kept the barley pearls in and shook out some into the pan, and then he set it on the grate over the fire.

Time passed slowly as he prepared the barley for their morning breakfast. He was bored out of his mind, and all he could think was the academy arc had already started. The FL, Henrietta, was well into the school year, and all of the MLs were fawning over her. He idly wondered how they were going to make that work. She could only marry one of them, so were the rest going to be kept as boy toys? Or was she going down one specific route? How was that going to work without the white lotus Kazerine?

Well, that was none of his business, he thought wryly as he swirled the barley pearls in the pan. They were coloring nicely, and the water was coming to a boil. He got the teapot Hadrian had brought with him out of the cabinet, the bright yellow teapot chipped and old, and then he started the process of pouring in the water and getting the little mesh strainer for the tea to let it steep. He dunked it in the tea after getting the barley pearls in, and then he dumped the debris out of the pan and set it back over the fire. He sliced up bread and laid it on the grate, and then he laid down the bacon they had recently picked up from town. It started to sizzle immediately, and he took his time cooking it.

There was a creak on the ladder, and he looked up at Aster climbing down. Aster was always more willing to wake up in the morning than Hadrian, he thought wryly. Hadrian was probably still passed out.

“Morning, Kaz,” Aster said as he made his way to the door to pull on his thick woolen socks and boots and fur wraps.

“Morning, Aster,” Kaz said as Aster got all of his outerwear on.

“Hadrian says a winter storm is coming in, so I’m going to get us stocked up on wood,” he said, and glanced at Kaz. “I need you to run to town to stock up on supplies after breakfast.”

“Okay, just give me a list,” Kaz said, and Aster nodded and pulled on his mittens and hat.

“Thank you for making breakfast,” he said, and then he slid out the door. A gust of wind blew in snow, and Kaz made a mental note to clean all thata up when it melted so no one slipped.

The bacon was finished, and he piled it up on the platter before he cracked in the eggs into the bacon grease before he flipped the bread so it could get nice and toasty on both sides. He burnt his fingers on the bread and hissed, sucking on them as the cabin slowly began to warm up from the fire. They would have to hang the furs over the windows. What would he have to get in town? They had a lot of dried meat, but they could only eat so much dried meat before they lost their minds. Probably cheese and bread. Protein was good.

Ah, Aster would make a list.

A nice woman had come into town four years ago with her son and set up an apothecary shop, so Hadrian had less customers nowadays, but he didn’t mind. She was a single mother providing for her son, and therefore, he had no problems. They were even on good terms, and Hadrian had been teaching her son magic when he wasn’t teaching Kaz, since Kaz was on the level of a palace mage nowadays and didn’t need as much supervision.

Speaking of her son, Kaz hoped he got to see him. The two had exchanged barely more than four words to each other, but he was turning out to be very attractive. Elias’s hair was black, jet black, and he had purple eyes. They were very striking. He never smiled, but Kaz had caught sight of sharp canines on random encounters. He didn’t think Elias was a drakon, but he could be wrong. He was apparently a ‘natural’ at magic, and he had beautiful control over it, according to Hadrian.

In any case, Kaz wanted to catch sight of him again. They were around the same age, but he thought Elias might be a year older than him. Maybe Hadrian would send him to the apothecary to pick up some herbs.

He hoped so. If not, if he had any money left, maybe he would swing by there anyways to pick up some dried mint. Hadrian had gotten rid of it rather viciously after it overtook the garden, so they had to rely on the apothecary to supply them for mint tea on nights they couldn’t sleep.

Hadrian padded down the ladder in socks, leggings, and a shirt, and Kaz waved at him.

“Aster is sending me to town to pick up supplies. Do you want me to swing by the apothecary to get some mint?” he asked, and Hadrian paused.

“Well, we are a little low…” he said uncertainly, and Kaz nodded.

“I’ll get some mint, then,” he said, and Hadrian checked on the toast before he stacked it up on the platter next to the bacon. The eggs were finished cooking, and Kaz wrapped a cloth around the hot handle to slide them onto the platter, and one of the yolks broke. He stared in dismay at the mess on the platter, and Hadrian patted his shoulder.

“It’s fine. I’ll eat it,” he said, and looked to do the door. “Can you call Aster in?”

“Sure,” Kaz said and walked to the door, opening it and calling out to Aster. “Aster! Come in! Breakfast is ready!”

Aster stopped chopping wood and picked up an armful of logs, carrying them back inside, and Hadrian got down three plates and utensils and set the table. Kaz poured them three cups of barley tea, and they all sat down and started eating.

It was quiet and calm. The snow continued to dance outside, and Kaz felt content and calm. He was still tired, but going out into the cold had done wonders for waking him up. The bacon was savory, the eggs a little greasy, but the butter was still warm enough to spread over the bread, so he couldn’t complain too much. They all ate quietly, and Aster finished first, stopping to make a list for Kaz.

“I want you to be in and out, got it?” he said, and Kaz nodded. “No detours. I need you home, and we don’t know when the storm is going to come in.”

“I’ll be fast,” Kaz promised, and Aster nodded as he passed the list over.

“And if you stop at the apothecary, don’t waste ten minutes staring at Elias,” he said, and Kaz flushed.

“What?” he asked, and Aster squinted at him.

“He’s not good enough for you,” he sniffed, and Kaz turned bright red.

“Excuse me?” he asked, and Hadrian loudly sipped his barley tea.

“You should get going,” he said to Kaz, and Kaz stood.

“So long as someone else does the dishes,” he sniffed and headed for the door, pulling on all of his outerwear along with his backpack and pulling open the door. Snow blew in, and he closed it and shoved the list in his pocket. He headed out into the frigid cold, his breath frosting in the air before him, and set down the trail towards town. It was about an hour walk, and it was at times like these that he desperately missed Spotify. Music would be nice about now, instead of the cold of the howling wind.

He needed to be fast, so he picked up the pace, heading down the hill and resenting that he would have to climb back up the slight incline with a full backpack. Annoying. It was fine. He would survive.

Time passed slowly, and he walked along the road, headed for the small town they lived outside of. He knew his biological father’s hunting lodge was around this town, but he wouldn’t be there at this time of the year. Hunting lodges were for the spring and summer, not the winter. Not much hunting got done in the winter except from the people that needed to hunt to survive.

Like him and his little family.

His breath frosting in the air, he continued along the trail until he reached the road, and he turned around, a little lost with everything blanketed in white like this. He found his mark, though, and continued on towards the town. It took a little over an hour to reach it, but soon, it came in sight through the snow floating down, and the storm hadn’t hit here yet.

Doing his purchases took time, and he hurried through it, stopping at the general store first to stock up on cheese and lard. He went to the butcher shop next, picking up cured meats that would stay and bacon, because they burned through bacon pretty quick, eating it for breakfast nearly every morning. The bakery was visited next, grabbing several loaves of bread and chatting up the pretty girl who worked at the front counter, because it was fun. He made his way to the apothecary last, his feet crunching in fresh fallen snow as his breath frosted in the air.

The apothecary was settled in a corner of the town square, with pretty painted green shutters and a green door. There was a bell over the door that jingled when he pushed open the door, and he stepped inside, looking around. There was no one at the counter, and he idly walked up to it and rang the little bell, expecting for Elias to come around the corner.

Elias didn’t come.

Instead, his mother appeared, her face puffy and red, tear tracks on her cheeks, and Kaz blinked at the sight of her.

“Are you okay?” he asked immediately, and she sniffled. “Where’s Elias?”

Elias should be running the shop if his mother was going to be in such a state, and Elise whimpered under her breath.

“He’s… he’s gone,” she whispered, and Kaz paused.

“Gone?” he echoed, and she hiccuped on a sob.

“He had to leave,” she said, and Kaz stared at her in confusion, because what did she mean, leave? He was supposed to take over the apothecary one day.

“Oh… Are you alright?” he asked, and she sniffled and pulled a handkerchief out of her apron to wipe her nose.

“You’re going to get caught in the storm if you keep messing around with little ole me,” she whimpered, and he blinked. Oh, that was just like Elise, worried about someone else when she was clearly in such a difficult situation.

“I’m okay, really. Are you okay? Why did he have to leave?” Kaz asked, and she burst into fresh tears.

“I can’t… I can’t,” she hiccuped, and Kaz didn’t know what to do. “I just… What did you need, sweetheart?”

“I… Just some mint, please,” he said and pulled out his coin purse. She wiped her eyes and got the mint box out, scooping it into a bag, and she handed it to him. He handed off the coins, and she accepted them with a sniffle.

“If you need anything… You know where our cabin is,” Kaz said after a pause, and she suddenly seized his hands.

“Be careful,” she whispered, and he blinked. “There’s truespawn about.”

What in the fuck was a truespawn?

“Oh… Okay,” he said faintly, and she released his hands with a glance down at his mouth.

“I’ll see you around, Kaz,” she said, and he put the mittens back on after tucking away the coin purse.

That was weird, he thought as he pushed out into the cold. The snow was coming down harder, blanketing the world in white, and he started heading for the road. He walked out of town as wind whipped his hair around, lashing him in the face, and he really needed to get in the habit of braiding it back like Hadrian. It was cold and he could barely see in front of his face, but he just headed into the road, since he didn’t have money for an inn after buying the mint. He could make it back to the house in time, he thought. He knew these woods like the back of his hand.

He turned off down the game trail, and then he fought his way through the snow, which was up to his knees at this point. It was coming in hard, and he was a little worried he wouldn’t be able to find his way home. Ah, it was fine; he could cast a map spell or a locator spell if it came down to it. He would be home in time for lunch.

He kicked up the snow, sinking down to his knees, and continued on through the forest, going up the hill. He wished Hadrian hadn’t put such limits on what he could and couldn’t do with his magic in public. He wanted to just use a spatial spell, but he supposed he could use it now that no one was looking. The backpack was heavy, so he stopped to drop it off his shoulder and seal it away in his spatial hole. The bag blinked out of existence, and he straightened up and continued to fight through the snow. It was getting worse and worse, and he couldn’t see in front of his face.

He needed to cast a locator spell, he realized, so he stopped, panting hard, and a magic circle formed in the air. For a moment, it held strong as a map of the forest with a blinking dot where he was started to sketch itself out, and then---

It shattered.

The magic broke apart, and he froze. His brain whirred, and he casted the spell again. It shattered a second time, and he blinked in horror. That was a problem. That was a big, big problem.  He didn’t know where to start with that as a problem. Why was his locator spell not working? He needed to troubleshoot, but all he could come up with was there was a higher power interfering with it.

Wait…

Wait, wasn’t that a problem?

What had Elise said? There were truespawn about? What was a truespawn? And why did she feel the need to say that to him, specifically?

He took a moment to breathe in and sense the air around him. Immediately, he casted another spell, a mana detection spell, and it simply showed a red light above the spell circle. What did that mean? Hadrian hadn’t covered big, threatening red circles. He casted it again, and the response was the same. He casted a different variation of the spell, showing a map with a large area, and it was all lit up red.

The spell interfering with him was all around him. He was at the level of a palace mage, by Hadrian’s estimation. Who had better magic than him that he couldn’t even cast a simple locator spell?

Annoyance rose up, and he reached deep into his magic, intent on brute forcing his way through the spell so he could find his way home, but a hand landed on his shoulder.

“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you.”