Zeph Malston: The Aether Mage

When Rin pounced on her tail, Semara screamed in shock. Her tail didn't hurt, but the sudden grab scared the heck out of her. Rin continued to fight with the tail for a few minutes, while the wolf woman watched with amus.e.m.e.nt and frustration. Semara looked to see if anyone was around. Her cheeks turned red with embarrassment. Hopefully, no one saw that. She was supposed to be a calm and cool bodyguard but screamed in fear because of a tiny cat.

Semara lifted Rin up, so she could look the kitten in the eyes. There was a look of satisfaction on Rin's face. Even though she missed the butterfly, Rin found a soft fluffy thing to play with. It even wriggled and waved around. Obviously, it wanted to play too. So, she and her new silver friend wrestled until a pair of hands pulled her away. That was when the kitten realized that the fluffy thing was a tail. Another tail person was in the house. This one was tan with silver hair. Tail people must all be nice. The one called Bianca always gave her yummy food, and this one played with her the as soon as they met.

Glaring at the kitten didn't faze it, so Semara just sighed. Looking a little longer, the wolf girl had to admit that the small thing was pretty cute. Suddenly, she heard the kitten purr. Semara looked around again to make sure no one else was in the room. When she was sure she was alone, she hugged Rin and started petting her. The purring got louder as the two cuddled. Then, she heard the sound of giggling in the hallway.

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Zeph ran through the hallway towards the scream. He was worried about Rin. It was practically guaranteed that the little kitten caused some trouble. When he neared the room, he saw Bianca just outside the door crouched on the floor hiding. The fox girl was holding her mouth as her shoulders shook. Apparently, she was holding in her laughter. A few snorts and giggles would escape her hands as she recalled Semara's face when Rin caught the 'butterfly.'

A hand tapped Bianca's shoulder, surprising the fox girl. Seeing that it was just Zeph, she calmed down. The boy leaned down toward her and whispered. "What's going on? Does it have anything to do with Rin?"

Nodding Bianca lifted up her tablet and showed the boy a short video clip. Soon, both of them were kneeling on the floor covering their mouths and trying to laugh quietly. They watched the video clip a few more times. While his coach was giggling so hard her ears bounced, Zeph felt a cold sensation run up his back. He tapped Bianca's shoulder and pointed behind the fox girl. Bianca suddenly felt something ominous and turned her head slowly. Dang it! Because of Zeph, She forgot to escape before Samara caught her.

Semara was glaring down at them. Her arms were across her c.h.e.s.t and she was tapping her foot rapidly on the floor. Zeph was frightened at first. He had no idea what the wolf woman would do, but the fear disappeared. When he noticed that Rin sitting on top of Semara's head, he had to force himself not to chuckle. At least his familiar wasn't in any danger. In fact, Rin looked quite content perched between the two silver wolf ears.

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Lili was having a good day. Transformation training was going well, and it didn't feel weird turning into her other form anymore. Her body was starting to adapt as well, and she started to feel a transition. Now, when she reverted to normal, her body was different than it was before the transformation. Some of her hair stayed white after her last session. It was just a little on the side, but it was a definite sign of progress. Her ice aura was getting under control as well. The suppressing bracelet that Bernard made helped a lot, and she looked forward to only having one form in the future.

Sparring sessions with Zeph were going well too. She could feel the improvement. Her movements were smoother, and her reactions were getting better. It was hard to believe that her friend only started training recently. He was already starting to get better than her, and she'd been training for years. Soon, she wouldn't be his match. That stirred her competitive spirit and urged her to train harder.

Tomorrow Ronan would take the kids shopping for school supplies, so he sent Lili to tell Zeph their plans for the next day. Skipping through the halls, Lili searched the house until she finally found Zeph. He and Bianca were kneeling on the floor and staring at a pretty wolf-kin girl. She walked up to Zeph and tapped him on the shoulder.

"I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Lilia felt the atmosphere was a little weird.

Zeph's eyes brightened up when he saw her. "Lili, I'm sorry. I forgot we had that thing we were supposed to do. Sorry Coach B, we have to go…uhm….do something for Mr. Phillips." Zeph grabbed Lili's hand and started to walk away quickly. "See you later Semara, you two have fun." The boy left Bianca to her fate. A wide grin spread across his face as he made his escape.

Bianca's eye twitched as she watched her disciple abandon her in this moment of need. 'Just you wait, I'll remember this.' She was hoping Semara would stop him, but her friend didn't even budge. He wasn't the focus of her anger, so she let him escape. Flattening her ears, and curling her tail, Bianca looked cutely at Semara and the kitten on her head. "I see you met Rin. " Suddenly, Semara's hand covered the fox-kin's face and gripped Bianca's head. "Ow ow ow ow ow.."

Further away, Lili heard a muffled sound from where they were a little bit ago. "What's that weird noise?"

Zeph shrugged. "Don't worry about it. By the way, thanks for helping me get out of there. I owe you one."

"Uhm..okay." Lili was a little confused but decided everything was fine since Zeph didn't seem worried. "I was looking for you because grandpa wanted me to tell you that we are going shopping tomorrow."

"Shopping, what for?"

"School supplies. We need notebooks, pens, pencils, art supplies, and some other stuff."

"Can't we just use our tablets, why do we need notebooks?"

"Of course we can't, the school doesn't allow us to use phones, tablets or other devices. It's too easy to get distracted or cheat with those. We're only allowed to have them out on breaks."

"Oh, I didn't know. I haven't been to school in this country so I don't really know how it works. Would you mind telling me about it?" The two children made it to the living room and sat on the couch.

"Sure I will. In fact, I can bring up their weavesite and we can check out our supply list together. "Lili smiled and turned on the CV projector.

The information gathering slowly turned into entertainment gathering as the two kids started to browse the weave. They watched some funny videos on weshare and spent the rest of the afternoon having fun.

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The sun was setting and Eli was sitting in his car. He grabbed the wheel, turned on the vehicle and left the Asperitus News Building parking lot. People made way for him as he left. All were afraid to get on the bad side of the Lord's enforcer. Everyone knew that the badge Eli had meant he had Lord Malston's permission to do as he pleased. If he wanted to execute everyone in the building for associating with a criminal, he could. The enforcer only answered to the lord. Luckily, he only bothered Mr. Keswick.

Eli took one hand off the wheel as he drove through the city. Unlike Bernard, he needed a steering wheel to feel in control. The center of the dashboard lit up as Eli pressed a few buttons on a touchscreen. He was calling his boss to report the results of his investigation. After several rings, Bernard Finally answered.

"Good evening Eli, I'm sorry you had to miss dinner. Keva saved you a plate. It's in the fridge when you get home." Bernard walked out of the living room and into his study while he talked. He didn't want everyone to hear their conversation.

Eli didn't respond and waited. After a few seconds, he heard a door close. "Are you alone now?"

"Yes, I'm in my study. No need to worry about the kids overhearing." Bernard sat in his office chair. He tapped his desk a few times and a floating display appeared in front of him. It displayed a map of the city.

"That's good. I wouldn't want Zeph to worry." Eli slowed his car and pulled into the parking lot of a Manaburger.

"So it has something to do with my grandson?" There was a hint of surprise in Bernard's voice.

"No, it has to do with his new friend. Apparently, Lili left an impression on someone in the capital."

"Oh, is it the Kravich family? She did do quite a number on him." Bernard let out a small laugh.

"That's what it would appear to be. It seems like someone hired Mr. Kezwick to cause us some trouble. The plan was to send some reporters to follow the children, making sure they were noticed. That way the public would expect some juicy gossip. Then they would publish some fabricated story about the two doing shady things, like bullying other children, threatening teachers, and abusing their status as nobles."

"That sounds like they want revenge for humiliating their heir." Bernard rubbed his chin.

"Something seems odd about this. If the Kravich family really did want to use the press to humiliate our family, there are other avenues to pursue. The most direct being a magic duel."

"I agree. I think someone wanted to frame the Kravich family and cause discord between our two houses. In fact, Keswick said that whoever hired him would kill him if he talked. If the information spread that they tried to dishonor our family and threatened the life of a commoner, they would be humiliated. It seems like the whole plan was a lose-lose situation."

"Indeed. Do you have any clues to who this mystery mastermind may be?" Bernard zoomed in on the floating map and saw a blue sedan parked in front of a Manaburger. He checked the surroundings to see if there was anyone suspicious.

"I have a few ideas, but nothing to back them up. Remember that there are a few underground factions popping up in the capital? I think one of them wants to cause trouble. I just don't know why." Eli tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. This puzzle had too many missing pieces.

"Hmm. Then you can stop your investigation for now? Just have the police continue and try to pick up some leads. The scrying department may even be able to figure something out." Bernard watched Eli's car.

"It will be difficult, the only physical evidence I found was a large envelope of cash with a wax seal, and it's been warded." Eli sighed. "Investigative magic wouldn't be able to get anything out of it."

"I see, and what of Mr. Keswick?"

"I gave him the address of a safe house and told him to lie low. We can try to scry using him as a focal point, hopefully, we'll get something."

"Hopefully. Well, that's all for now. I'll see you when you get back."

Eli unbuckled his seat belt and got ready to leave the car.

"By the way Eli," Bernard spoke, making Eli pause before ending the call.

"Yeah boss?"

"Can you get me a large vanilla shake while you're there?"

Eli looked up at the sky. "You know, scrying on someone without their permission is rude."

"I was just making sure no one suspicious was following you."

"Then why do you only watch me after my missions are over? You always ask me to pick something up for you too."

"Because that's when you let your guard down," Bernard said with confidence. "It's not my fault you always go to a fast food place after a mission."

Eli sighed. "Alright a large vanilla shake, anything else?"

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