I turned around quickly, startled by the scream, and saw a wolf girl in front of me. She looked scared, and I immediately put my hands up, trying to signal that I meant her no harm. Before I could do anything else to defend myself, I was hit in the face by two bolts of manna. The first hit me right in the nose, breaking it with a sickening crunch, and the second hit me in the eye, causing me to see stars and stumble backward and trip over my own feet.
I fell to the ground, hitting my head on the door I had just walked through, clutching my face in pain, and looked, squinting up to see the wolf girl standing over me, a look of shock and horror on her face. Through stars and dizziness and ringing in the ears, I heard Sparky barking. Looking up to the girl, I sort of recognized her. Sparky climbed on my lap and licked my face.
I groaned in pain as I tried to sit up, but my vision was blurry, and my head was spinning. At least the ringing in my ears was getting less. Sparky no longer sounded like he was underwater. Or maybe I was the one underwater.
Trying to focus on something further away, I met Julie's eyes. She looked like she was crying and angry at the same time. I managed to croak out two words.
"Owe! Why?"
Julie ran forward, her face twisted in anger and frustration. "It's because you're a jerk!" she screamed at me, "You scared us half to death, coming out of nowhere like that!" She stopped in front of me, tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice softer now, "I didn't mean to hurt you. I was just so scared."
I groaned and tried to stand up, holding my broken nose with one hand and rubbing my aching eye with the other. My legs agreed with my dizzy head and I slumped back to the ground, moving to rest my back against the door. "I didn't mean to scare you," I said, my voice muffled by my hand, "I was just... I just walked into the house."
Julie shook her head, tears still falling. "You shouldn't be here," she said, her voice trembling, "You went to work with Dad and were going to stop by Mom's job for an interview. You said so this morning."
I looked up at her between my fingers, confused. "How long did you think that was going to take?" I asked.
She froze and, innocently childlike, said, "I don't know, actually."
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes to manage the dizziness. Without opening my eyes, I summoned my wand to my hand. It materialized in my hand, and with closed eyes, I fumbled to grab hold of it but managed to not drop it. Focusing my manna flow to the correct magic circles, I conjured a chunk of ice, placed it where my head hit the door, and held it against the offending door with my head. I made more chunks of ice and put them over my eye with my left hand. The cold numbed the pain, and I felt a little bit better.
Next was purging the manna bolts. I activated the disrupt spell, aiming it at myself. My head instantly stopped swimming through a waterfall, and I could open my non-injured eye. Sparky still had his front paws on my leg, and Julie was standing in front of me, looking a mix of guilty, scared, and angry.
"I'm sorry," I said again, muffled by the ice, "I didn't mean to scare you. I'll try to announce myself when I come in next time."
Julie shook her head, wiping away her tears. "No, I'm sorry. You see, I can't really control magic. I didn't even know what was happening until two days ago."
I looked her in the face with my good eye, "Last time, you couldn't stop. This time, you were able to stop yourself after two.."
Julie shook her head with a grimace. "I didn't. I just pointed my hands at my stomach and tried to calm down, similar to how you helped me last time. Without the draining feeling."
I smiled, "Still. Good job."
I looked at the wolf girl standing in the living room, still looking timid and scared. After a second, I felt a jolt of recognition. It was sure Emma Lycon. I realized Jacob mentioned Emma would be coming over.
"Emma?" I said, surprised.
She looked startled and took a step back. "Y-Yes."
I tried to smile. "Your illusion slipped."
Julie spun around and stared at Emma. "I didn't even notice!"
Emma looked embarrassed as she extended her hands and looked at them. She quickly closed her eyes and, with a shimmer, turned back to the girl from the picnic.
Julie spun at me and then back at Emma. "So cool!" She completely forgot about what just happened.
Emma was blushing all the way to her ears as she took a few hesitant steps towards me and squeaked out, "I'm so sorry for screaming. I just wasn't expecting anyone to come in." Hesitating briefly, she lowered her eyes and whispered, "And I'm still scared of wizards. I'm sorry for starting this whole mess."
I pulled the ice from my injured eye and smiled crookedly. "It's fine. No harm, no foul."
I tilted my head slightly to the side, dropping the ice that was numbing the back of my head. My nose and lips felt wet. I went to wipe it, thinking it was ice melt. Looking at my hand, I realized my nose was bleeding.
"Excuse me," I said, standing up and dispelling the ice I created earlier. With a staggering gate, I made my way to the bathroom. Emma and Julie followed me, looking curious. Emma must have been still nervous because she was using Julie as a human shield.
In the bathroom, without closing the door, I took a deep breath. I could feel the blood trickling down my throat. I closed my eyes and focused my manna flow to the correct magic circles, using the align spell to straighten my nose. With a painful crunch, my nose realigned itself, making me yelp in pain.
I then used a minor healing spell to heal the injury and stop the bleeding. Then, I focused on the bruises and bumps on my face and head. When I was done, I looked at myself in the mirror. My shirt was a bloody mess. The ice must have numbed me to the point I didn't notice the bleeding for a while.
Pointing at my stains, I used the sanitation spell to remove the blood. Looking myself over, I was satisfied that I was clean and healed. I turned to the girls standing in the doorway, staring at me in fascination.
"Wow," Julie said, her eyes wide. "You can heal yourself? And do laundry on demand! How did you do that?"
I chuckled softly, putting my wand away. "It's just a simple spell, nothing too fancy. Comes in handy when you're prone to accidents like me. And this isn't the first time this nose was broken." Thinking for a minute and remembering all the injuries, I counted under my breath. Giving up, I said, "I'm deep in triple digits at this point."
Emma looked at me with a mix of admiration and concern. "Are you okay now?"
I smiled reassuringly. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for asking." I messed with my nose, moving it from side to side. "See, good as new."
Julie looked excited. "You said I have magic! So I could learn the same things?"
I frowned. "I mean, maybe. I have no idea what is or isn't possible for you since you shouldn't have magic at all. It would be easier if we could talk to your parents about this."
Julie waved furiously and screamed, "NO! We have a witch doctor appointment, and when we know what's going on, we will tell our parents."
I sighed and shrugged in defeat.
Without warning, I felt my stomach growl loudly on a growing crescendo. Embarrassed, I placed my hand over my stomach and chuckled. "I completely forgot I was hungry," I said.
Julie looked at me excitedly. "I'm sorry again for hitting you. Let me make you an apology sandwich."
I smiled at her kindness. "You don't have to do that, Julie, but thank you. I appreciate the gesture. And I already forgave you."
Julie insisted, "No, no, I want to. It's the least I can do after hitting you."
I chuckled again, "Alright, if you insist. Thank you. While you do that, I'll change if you don't mind."
Julie smiled. "Of course not!"
I thanked Julie again for the promised sandwich and headed to my bedroom to change my clothes. As I walked up the stairs, I started thinking about how I could help Julie understand her magic better. I realized that I could start by showing her some basic exercises.
Once I was in my room, I rummaged through my backpack, trying to find the materials I needed. I was confident I didn't empty all my school gear. I had to have a conduit, magic ink, and some practice pages.
As I rummaged, I realized I was lucky to have brought my training wand. I grabbed that along with a magic ink, quill, and training paper. I forgot to clear my backpack completely before leaving home. But it turned out good in the end.
As I returned downstairs, I could smell the aroma of grilled sandwiches wafting from the kitchen. I found Julie had made three plates of sandwiches, placed them at the counter, and positioned three bar stools.
"Wow, Julie, you really outdid yourself," I said, impressed by her effort. "These look amazing."
Julie beamed at me. "I hope you like them," she said.
"I'm sure I will," I replied with a smile. Placed the school supplies on the counter next to the plates of food and picked up the first sandwich. "After we eat, I can show you some basic manna control and magic."
Julie lit up and nodded furiously with a mouthful of sandwich. "Uh-hum!" I just took that as a yes.
Emma looked timidly at me "Um, sorry can I watch too?"
Julie nodded enthusiastically again.
I frowned. "If I remember correctly from my comparative races class, it's illegal for beast-people of any creed to learn magic beyond the allowed level. So I think it best to ask your parents before I teach you anything complex. But for today, all I'm showing is a basic magic circle and the manna drain circle."
Emma looked defeated and said, "Okay, thank you."
Julie swallowed quickly and fervently added, "Please don't tell your parents yet. We are going in on Friday, so just keep this a secret till then! Please!"
Emma nodded sadly. "Okay. I understand."
Julie looked at me, confused. "Why is it illegal?"
I sighed and looked at my half-eaten sandwich. "It's complicated. Mostly because of what our ancestors did to each other...but that's a conversation when you are older. And hopefully, it will be fixed eventually."
Looking at Emma, I smiled, trying to be reassuring, but I could ignore the bitterness I felt. "I don't have a problem teaching you; I just want your parent's approval first."
Emma seemed to brighten up at this. "Okay. Let's ask them next weekend when we have the picnic."
I nodded, "Sounds like a plan."
We continued eating our sandwiches in silence. I noticed Julie eating way too quickly. She seemed to be in a hurry to get going. "Is everything alright, Julie?" I asked.
She wiped her mouth with a napkin and smiled. "Oh, yes, I'm excited for you to show me the magic."
I raised an eyebrow, "You choking won't help you!" I said. "I still need to finish. So does Emma."
I looked at Emma and realized she was eating as fast as Julie.
Julie frowned. "You the only slow one here!" and continued to devour the sandwich at maximum speed.
I chuckled at Julie's response. "Alright, alright, I'll try to eat faster," I said as I took another bite of my sandwich.
When I finished my food and put my plate in the sink, Julie urged us to hurry. "Come on, let's go to the backyard and start practicing," she said.
Emma nodded eagerly and followed Julie outside. I grabbed the supplies and followed, infected by their excitement.
When we opened the back porch door, we heard barking from the front of the house. Seconds later, Jax and Apollo joined us, flanking both sides of the house. When they recognized us, they relaxed and lay on the grass. Sparky chose to stay inside, so I closed the door behind me.
As we stepped onto the grass, I cleared my throat and addressed the girls. "Alright, let's start with some basic manna control," I said, placing the magic ink, quill, and practice paper on the porch railing. "This exercise will help you learn to control the flow of manna in your body."
They nodded, so I continued, "Manna itself is everywhere without exception. Magical beings are able to absorb and channel that manna to do magic. At the base level, most magical beings have a basic innate ability to shoot manna. That is like what Julie did. Also, stuff like grab and drag. These don't need much control, just concentration."
I paused for questions but didn't get any. I continued, "So the first step to magic is manna control to be able to make flow through your body. Pretend to hold a ball in your hand. Then make it pass through your arm, chest, and to the other arm and form in the other hand." I demonstrated with ease as I was explaining.
Julie and Emma listened attentively as I demonstrated the exercise. I watched as they followed my instructions. Both the girls closed their eyes, and a shimmering marble formed with great effort in their outstretched palms. Then, they could pull the manna back into their palm and move it to the other palm.
"Great job, both of you!" I said, impressed by their progress. "Let's do that a few more times." And they did.
After about 10 minutes of them practicing, I paused them. "Let's move to the concept of magic circles."
They nodded enthusiastically. "Raw manna is clumsy. But there are ways to channel magic through a circle to make it do something." As I spoke, I extended my hand palm out. I started crafting a simple Magic Circle for the water elemental and imbued it with a temperature below freezing. This wasn't easy to remember the exact and interact circle, simple as it was. "I used my manna to create the circle, and I can now channel manna through it to produce an effect." As I pushed manna through the circle, it turned to ice and fell to the ground directly between us.
The girls both looked excited and, in unison, yelled, "I want to try that!"
I chuckled. "That's a bit advanced for you." Glancing at Emma with a frown, I added, "And that's something you need your parent's permission to do."
The girls protested, but I raised an eyebrow. They stopped. "But to continue, using magic circles is slow, and it burns through manna, so scrolls or talismans were invented." I pointed to the paper and used the quill and magic ink to draw a simple magic circle for ice on it. "If I channel manna through this, ice will get made, the same as the first time. But you can draw any magic circle if you use magic ink. Or a few other methods, but that's even more advanced."
The girls reached over to the paper. I paused them and said, "That's for later." I picked up the training wand. "If you stack a bunch of magic circles together and place them in a vesicle with a conduit, you get a wand. This is a training wand with 10 basic spells, hard-slotted for level 1 only."
I activated the magic circles for elemental and ice and produced a second ball of ice that fell next to the first one. "With the wand, you have to know what the magic circle looks like, but you don't have to generate it, only activate it." Pausing for questions i looked from one ear face to the other. Without questions from them, I added, "Sorry, I only have one training wand, so you'll have to take turns."
I handed the trainer's wand to Julie, "Now you try." I summoned my wand and used it to use illumination magic to conjure the magic circle. I instructed Julie, "Focus on this circle, and try to find it in the wand." She nodded. I added the second circle, "This selects ice, so while focusing on the first circle, find the second one."
After a few attempts and childish attempts at frustrated expressions of "Darn it!" and "Shoot!" Julie got frustrated and opened her eyes. She looked at Emma. "You try it. I'm getting tired."
Emma looked at me in fear, her eyes dilating and glowing a strange color. I nodded with a smile, and she took the wand. I positioned the two circles needed for her to easily see both. After a few attempts, she produced a ball of ice the size of her fist, and it dropped next to the two I created earlier.
I smiled. "Good job. But be careful; in the beginning, you are very inefficient and don't have a large reserve. So don't overdo it."
Julie looked amazed at Emma. With a newly determined glint in her eyes, she squealed, "Let me try!" Emma handed her the wand, and Julie focused with grunts on the magic circles until a fist-sized ice ball joined the first 3.
She celebrated with a very loud "Yeah!" that woke both dogs, who looked over at us with annoyance.
Julie apologized to the dogs, and they went back to sleep.
I dispelled the illuminated circles, looking with pride at both of them.
Emma's eyes were glowing with excitement, and she grinned broadly, looking at me with a sparkle in her eyes. "I hope my parents let me learn and practice magic," she said. "I want to be able to do cool things like you, John!"
I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. It reminded me of when I was younger than her and first discovered my own magical abilities. "I hope they will, Emma," I said reassuringly. I had a pang of doubt that I didn't voice. It was her parents' choice on what to do.
Julie closed her eyes and squinted and grunted, gripping the wand so hard I was a bit worried she would snap it. As I was about to say something, a fifth ball of ice fell in the grass.
I raised an eyebrow. "Good job, but that's enough for now." I held my hand out.
Under protest, Julie placed the wand in my hand. Emma looked disappointed but didn't say anything. I put the wand in my pocket and took the paper I drew a circle on with magic ink. "This is practice paper and magic ink. It has the conduit embedded in the paper, so all you have to do is focus manna into it, which will activate it. This one in particular is a manna drain." I handed it to Julie, who studied the paper. "Julie, if you ever feel like you can't control your manna, use this to drain some manna. Just don't do it so much that you lose consciousness. And that paper will only last 3, maybe 4 uses, so let me know if you need another one before we go and figure everything out on Friday."
Julie thanked me and carefully tucked the paper into her pocket. "Thanks, John. I'll make sure to use it if I need to."
I picked up my supplies and said, "That's it for today; that will help keep you safe in the meantime."
As I walked away, I couldn't help but feel proud of Julie and Emma. They were both eager to learn and improve their skills. It reminded me of when I was starting to learn magic at home. I was way younger, and my dad gave me the same lesson.
I remembered the look on his face, full of pride and satisfaction, as I began to succeed at the basic magic circles. He always made me something sweet after I learned something difficult.
I saw my own reflection in the glass door. I realized with shock that I had the same facial expression my dad wore when I succeeded. I smiled, accepting the satisfaction that I felt.
I opened the door, greeted by Sparky jumping up from his nap. I held the door open for the girls as they talked about something and said, "Julie, do you have fruits? I'm in the mood to make something sweet."
Julie lit up as she nodded vigorously. "Yes, we have apples, strawberries, and many other things. What are you going to make?"
I shrugged. "How do stuffed pancakes sound?"
The girls both squealed at the offer. I accepted that as a yes.
I smiled, realizing I was doing the same thing my dad did for me.