NOVEL NEXT Interlude 4: The Magician
47th of Inandyl - 7th Serrin
I meet Calas in the Sanctum on the way to breakfast and I think I finally understand why he was stretching while we walked to the east tower that one time. My whole body aches this morning and I can only assume that I am making progress with all these stances and circle exercises that he has been teaching me these past weeks. Yesterday he started me on more complex forms and my body is now protesting. Loudly.
"I was afraid of this," he says when he sees me, a piteous smile on his face. "I pushed you too hard yesterday."
I give him a stiff shrug, but wince at the motion and I can hear the pity in his laugh. I must look worse than I feel, or maybe it looks exactly like I feel. "That bad, huh?"
"It could be worse. You got out of bed, so it can't be that bad."
I groan, glancing in Chou 's direction on my shoulder as she had to pester me for almost half an hour just to get me out of said bed.
"Good news is," Calas continued, "there are no activities, including the training sessions, during the Sunflame Dawn. So you'll have three days to recover."
I almost hadn't noticed that Verdalune is right around the corner, but at his mention of the three-day long solar event, it dawns on me that the warmth in the air is comfortable in my short-sleeved button up shirt and a gray, knee-length skirt.
Despite this fact, Calas is still wearing long sleeves with his gray slacks and it makes me wonder what his reasons are to hide all of his beautiful tattoos. Seeing him in the staffer scribe's attire reminds me of the first time I saw him scribbling down names for Professor Elandria when Cira and I chose Vodalysa as our Coven.
A smile blooms on my face, unseasonably early for the extreme growth that happens every Sunflame Dawn, as I notice that his collar is unbuttoned and the black tie below his collarbone is just like that day two months ago. He looked like a delinquent to me back then and it's true that he is rather guarded, but underneath it all, there is something about Calas Duskwood that just makes me want to know more. The feeling is startling and sudden; a stark contrast from where we started.
A flash of dark movement on his caramel color skin grabs my attention as Sebi slithers from his chest, peaking up and around his neck, and out of sight back below the white fabric of his shirt. Each of the tattoos I have seen so far are completely unique in habits and mana signatures that I have found myself calling them by names in my mind. It is interesting that he just calls them by their depiction.
"Come on, the walk will help you stretch." Calas nods toward the exit and I slowly make my way in that direction.
"Remember to breathe." He advises as he opens the door for me and the reminder forces me to become aware of the air through my lungs.
As we walk toward the Great Hall for food and our staff meeting, I use the breathing exercises that he taught me weeks ago. After a few minutes, some of the ache in my body abates. It's such a relief that I sigh.
Calas chuckles beside me as we walk more slowly than normal. A knowing smile on his lips sets a gleam in his gold eyes that both calms me and sends my stomach somersaulting like Chou does when she's happy. I breathe through the sensation as we stare at one another.
Finally, he starts to stretch his arms and walks in a series of small lunges that slows us down further, but once I join him in it, I find the low burn of my muscles so very satisfying. After only a few repetitions, I find that I can walk at a much normal pace and we make it to the Great Hall in plenty of time for a meal.
We find Vesa and Fara in a group with the rest of the staffers already eating when we join them. Although she's not a member of the staff, Vesa tags along in the other staffer events over break, but no one seems to mind. I sit next to Vesa who greets me with a mischievous grin, her canines showing off her devilish mien.
Calas sits across from us next to Wen, but she is deep in conversation with Sigrid, something about sigils. I realize that I am eavesdropping on their conversation only when Vesa whispers to me.
"You're lookin' cute in your staffer uniform."
"Thanks," I smile at her shyly as I pick at my food.
"I completely agree." Fara says a bit more loudly from the other side of Vesa. "What do you think, Duskwood? It suits her, right?" I swallow my bite hard.
Calas looks up drolly from his meal and furrows his brow at the Panthara, "Was that a pun?"
I chuckle, relieved, at the response, trying to hold it in, but I get the feeling that Fara notices anyway. After a small lull, she responds to Calas.
"No, mangy mutt, it was a real question."
"Huh," Calas remarks, shoving a bite into his mouth.
This comment sets the fur on Fara's tail on end as I can see it swish irritably from the corner of my eye. The warning is clear that this will soon escalate to a fight between them and I wrack my brain for anything to change the subject away from whatever this argument is about.
"Uh, Vesa," I clear my throat, causing Chou to retreat to the table in between Calas and I. "Are you and Fara doing anything after the meeting?"
"No, not particularly. We have some shopping to do in town before the sun becomes too bright." I nod in understanding as most businesses close during the Sunflame Dawn. "What about you? Any plans?" Her gaze shifts from me to Calas, and I shift uncomfortably in my seat.
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Her implication that we might have plans afterwards is not altogether absurd. Both she and Fara have mentioned that we come to every staff function together and see them frequently when we eat in the Hall together, but that's only natural, right? We are coming from the same place and there aren't a lot of options when it comes to dining at Court. Besides that, it's just normal now, being around Calas.
Some of the junkies have made similar observations. Kaori even went as far to ask if we were dating yet when Calas was sparring with Daz once. I nearly choked on my own spit! Dating? As in me and Calas? What would that even mean? Where did that question even come from?
Sure, we spend most of the sessions together, but wasn't it Kaori who told me that I should step up before the term started? It was also Kaori who told him to "train me well" and I feel like Calas has taken those words to heart as I have noticed a difference between how he speaks to me in the training hall and everywhere else.
"No, just research." I reply to Vesa with a shake of my head.
"More celestial maps?" Calas asked casually.
"No, beasts and folklore." I respond easily.
"Oh?" He paused for a moment, making it seem like a flinch. "Is this for Marblebrook?"
"No," I shake my head again, picking at my food as a distraction. "It's just personal research." Since the celestial mapping had hit a brick wall, I decided to put that aside and focus on the promise that I made to Cira before she left.
I glance up at Chou to give her a scathing look in case she gets any ideas about blurting out the name "Uriell" in front of Calas and everyone at the table. Chou seems to pick up on my cue and flutters away from my severe stare, ironically in the direction of Calas, and hides behind his hand on the table.
Calas is not the only one to quirk a curious brow at the butterfly's odd behavior. Fara and Vesa also have picked up on my apparently not-so-subtle indication to Chou and I can feel their stares as a tingle on my skin.
"I see. What kind of beasts are we talking about?" Calas asks after a brief pause.
"Um," I think about what would be safe to say and purse my lips. "Mythical ones primarily. Like, uh, there is a giant white wolf who was said to guard the High Forest before the Sundering. They call him Hal-Yun now as a kind of deity."
As I speak, Calas seems to relax and Chou floats up to rest on his shoulder. Vesa has a blank expression on her face as she chews her food while Fara's attention has drifted to Chou on Calas' shoulder. The Panthara's expression is unreadable, but there is an attentive posture to her ears, though I can't say, for sure, what that means either. I continue as everyone seems content to listen to my research.
"Interestingly enough that isn't the only beast I found who was made into a deity, although he didn't start out as one. The Beast of Uriell was once a man before learning the shape of every creature, but the gift turned to a curse and he became a permanent beast, forgetting his original shape. Not a normal beast that he knew the shapes of, but a mixture of all types of creatures.
"His skull was changed to that of a stag, with antlers and the sharp teeth of a wolf. Instead of hair on his head he grew a mane of thick, black fur and his limbs were gangly. From then on he was known as Orendell, the cursed god of transformation."
I finish in a daze, thinking about the one who called himself Uriell and a wistful smile forms on my face. That is until I realize that Vesa is staring at me with a confused expression while Fara is staring at Calas who is focused on me, a disquieting stillness to his posture. The smile drops from my face like my heart bottoming out into my stomach.
"At least," I stammer out, "that is how the story goes… so I've read." I take a large gulp of my tea in an attempt to hide from their silence and Calas' gaze. The action makes me wonder why his unease fills me with dread. Did I really just smile about Uriell in front of Calas?
"What a strange story, Serea," Fara breaks the silence with a calm voice. "What sparked this little personal project of yours. It sounds very interesting." Her smile is bright and shows teeth as her attention turns to Calas and Chou again. "Doesn't it, Calas?"
Calas blinks from his daze, unclenching his fist as he focuses on the three of us on the other side of the table. He inhales sharply, relaxing the rest of his posture once more as he props his chin on a hand. Chou flutters back to my shoulder with his shift before he responds, his voice low and more muted than usual.
"Yeah, it does. I didn't know you liked mythos so much." His expression has become so blank, so neutral, that it reminds me of how he used to be around me and I shudder. Is he mad at me? Have I somehow broken a month of his trust while he's been training me, studying with me, laughing with me? All I want is to fix it, to have him smile at me again.
"Well, I don't really," I bite my lower lip as I contemplate what to tell him. I decide on the same thing that I told Marblebrook when she gave me all the titles to find this information. "But I saw a mask at the Masquerade that I felt I wanted to know more about." I stare at the little leaf bits that float in the rest of my tea, not wanting to see Calas' reaction in case he is somehow more upset with me.
"Met someone at the Masquerade, did you, Serea?" Fara asks slyly and Vesa gasps.
"What?! Why didn't you say anything?" Vesa exclaims while clamping a hand on my arm and I wince. Not in pain, well not in physical pain, but guilt about a feeling for someone I don't even know. It feels like I've betrayed Calas in some way.
It makes no sense, but something makes me think that he wants to turn on the mana in Bast and disappear. Reflexively, I play with the red thread that lulls in lazy waves between us and I find his intense, expectant gaze on me, waiting for my response. A moment later, I feel a warm pulse of mana through the thread. Coupled with his expression, I almost get a sense of anticipation from it. I clear my throat, setting down my mug before I turn to Vesa.
"I had a very good time at the Masquerade." I say as calmly and as demurely as I can. It is only ruined by the wisp of a smile on my face as I glance back in Calas' direction. I send back a pulse of my own that is meant to be soothing, but it is so new, this awkward method of communication, that I'm not sure if that will come through on the other side. But it was Calas who taught me that omission isn't lying and I think I did pretty well.
Vesa complains loudly, but I only smile as I start cleaning up my dishes as the rest of the staffers are getting ready to move upstairs for our meeting. As we all take care of our dishes, Calas catches up to me to whisper in my ear.
"You were holding back." By his tone, I can tell he's disbelieving, but impressed.
"Maybe." I continue coyly, a grin plain on my face at his praise. It feels earned and I revel in the way my spirits lift like when he compliments me in training. Or anywhere else, really. When did he start making me feel like I could float like the thread that binds us?
"Careful, Rea, I might be giving you bad habits." Calas says it playfully, but I can tell he means it.
"Bad habits?" I ask in the same, sweet voice, "Which ones are those?"
He snorts a laugh and I am drawn in by the mischievous grin and the warmth in his golden eyes. My heart pounds in my chest and when he looks at me like that, I think that maybe he wasn't mad at me before after all.
I suppress the urge to take his hand as we walk toward the stairwell together and I know then that my feelings for Calas are so much stronger than whatever Uriell and I experienced. As we climb the stairs to the Lounge, I smile in the knowledge that I have another term to figure out just how deep this feeling goes.