The rabbit and the death master
Orion
I had requested for her to be with me. I had requested that the little imp of a person be by my side through the quest. Why? Because I would be away from those slathering bastards that only wanted to carry my family’s favor rather than actually giving a damn about who I was.
Of course, those things mattered very little to me, and my mind often disenchanted from those pathetic bonds. But I would be damned if I let them join me on the same quest.
Of course, it was well-known that all tried to curry favor from my father, who happened to be one of the most powerful members of the White Tower.
Granted, anyone in their right mind tried to stand divided from my father’s son, but he was very clear about whom he wanted to be his appointed. He only picked at the best time, he didn’t want to be my master or favor his own son above others.
I chuckled at the thought. He was right, of course. The man was often right, being a well-renowned wizard, former student of the Summons, and often at the center of the battle of whether beasts were good or bad.
Once all the names were called, I quickly grabbed the arm of the little imp. Quickly behind us was one of those who liked to stay quiet in everything. No one knew where he stood on so many things. Frankly, I didn’t care. I didn’t understand what the obsession was about, and I also did not understand why it was somehow like this.
I made a beeline straight for the one place no one would question my taking of a private room, Professor Cadence’s library. I didn’t realize I had still held on to her hand even after walking into the library.
The action earned a number of surprised looks from petty people who liked to stare for too long. I pulled the two of them into a separate private room in the library, let go of the small hand, and walked over to a nearby chair, where I sat down.
“Mind telling me why the little imp is huffing for breath when all we did was walk?”
Granted, my legs were much longer than hers, covering more distance in shorter time. But if I had walked at her pace, we would still be on the way, and I needed to get something straight.
She continued heaving, breathing in heavily as though she had run a marathon. I felt a harsh stare from the dark-haired man called Aizen. Then he walked over to her and placed a hand on her back before muttering the word,
“Breathe. In through your nose,” he said. “Out through your mouth.”
Finally, she caught her breath, stood up straight, and adjusted her witch’s hat, something I didn’t know many people still liked to wear all the time.
“There’s a reason why I chose the both of you,” I said, meeting both sets of eyes, one blue, and the other the color of pregnant clouds ready to rain down on the earth.
“Neutrals,” I said.
A question, of course. I would have thought this was no act of God. I suppose I was foolish enough to think it was providence.
The man rolled his eyes but otherwise didn’t push his luck.
“Why?” came the soft voice.
“Because I cannot judge either of you based on performance. Most of them are foolish and weak.”
She cocked her head to one side. “Then why do you stay with them, as in friends? They are friends? Why do you throw them under a moving carriage so quickly?”
I shrugged and found myself laughing. “They’re not my friends,” I said. “Friends are not like them. They have no love, and their heart holds only the need to take advantage of everything and everyone. But I’m not here to give you a story of my life. Tell me who you are, the both of you. Tell me what you can do. Tell me if you’re going to be useful on this quest.”
Then again, if neither of them was useful, I thought, I could still take them along. They would serve as sufficient cannon fodder.
Aizen stood firmer, straightening his back. “My name is Aizen,” he said. “I have no last name because my family is not quite as important as yours.”
I rolled my eyes at his comment.
“My attributes have not yet been decided, but I have specific powers in necromancy.”
I nearly smiled, in fact, I nearly cackled. I hadn’t seen a necromancer in decades. He would prove to be useful, provided, of course, he was not an idiot.
“Um…” The little imp pulled off her hat, revealing a face that I would have called adorable rather than pretty. She had wide doe eyes, a tiny little nose, and a full, wide mouth. I found myself nearly smirking.
She had, if one looked carefully, a beauty that could rival the most acclaimed women in the Tower. But of course, she would not know how to use it; after all, she kept her head down all the time.
I felt something stir inside me that had been dormant for years.
“Mine is nothing remarkable,” she said, twiddling her thumbs with her staff in hand.
That was right, my staff. It was stolen. Of course, it wasn’t the next best thing to take from a wizard but the best thing, to take his staff. After all, the staff was the conduit of magic, and without it, we couldn’t cast spells, or at least that’s what they thought.
They didn’t know that the reason my father didn’t want me to be his apprentice was because of my prowess with voiceless and wordless spells. I didn’t need those things. It was all just for show.
“I haven’t quite come into my own attribute,” she said in a timid voice.
Suddenly, I thought she was a little rabbit, looking precisely like one. Adorable, fluffy, and also… delicious.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “You’re young. You’ll find it soon enough.”
She swallowed loudly.
“Here’s what we’re going to do,” I said. “Our quest requires us to go to a pack, the pack of Alpha Killian. The quest doesn’t say what we’ll do, but we do know that the great Master Calypso is there.”
I met both pairs of eyes. “When we get there, we’ll find out. But I need to know one thing.”
Both of them straightened their backs.
“Do you sympathize with them? The beasts they call werewolves?”
Aizen said nothing, and neither did the imp.
“Good,” I thought. “This is going to be an interesting company.”