Zeph Malston: The Aether Mage

"Your mother and grandmother will get here next week. Until then, stay out of trouble and listen to what Bernard says okay." Ronan was holding a suitcase and talking to Lili. The recent events in the capital forced Ronan to leave early. He needed to help his son, Evan. Their territory needed some supervision so Ronan would go there, while his son would stay in the capital. Evan was part of the investigative committee gathering information on corrupt nobles, so they could be put to trial. Genevieve, Lili's mom, would come to Asperitus to watch over her daughter. Sharon, Ronan's wife, would accompany her.

Lili wasn't looking forward to moving out of Zeph's mansion. It was fun there, but she also missed her mom and dad. She video chatted with her parents almost every night, but it wasn't enough. Ronan originally planned to have them stay in a villa near Bernard's mansion outside of the city. Now that Lili had more friends in the city, he decided it would be nice to have a house nearby. He brought it up one night when everyone was gathered for dinner, Relina somehow convinced him to have Sharon and Genevieve live with her in the mansion across the street. Lili loved the idea because it meant she'd get to be with her best friend all the time.

Once the details were sorted out, Ronan packed and booked passage on a skyship. Lili gave her grandfather a hug, and everyone else said farewell. Bernard handed his old friend the thought-controlled tablet he promised him earlier. They were going to go to the sky port to send him off, but Ronan told them not to waste their Saturday. After he left, Zeph and Ivy talked Lili into playing a video game to cheer her up. It worked. Because ten minutes later, Lili was laughing her head off as she dominated the fighting game.

It was the first weekend after school, so everyone was at Zeph's house. While the children were playing the video game in the living room, Relina was with Eli in the new garden in the backyard. Semara and Bianca were able to befriend Ivy's mom quickly, and Tara enjoyed the two shifters company. The three ladies were on the back patio enjoying tea and chatting happily. Bernard was at the grill again, cooking up some steak. He was starting to get used to having a lively household.

Zeph came out of the back door followed by Lili and Ivy. While Lili had an excited look on her face, Zeph looked dejected. He walked over to the table where the ladies were having tea and waited for Lili and Ivy to sit down. Bianca, Semara, and Tara stopped their gossip to watch the three children, curious as to what they were doing.

"Ms. Alcott, what do you think is better, a cat, a fox, or a wolf?" Lili asked.

The three ladies were surprised, and Tara looked at her two new friends. "I think they're all great Lili, why would you want me to pick one?" Tara didn't want to upset Semara or Bianca by choosing one or the other.

"Cuz Zeph lost a bet, so now he has to shape-shift and Ivy and I can't make up our mind as to what he should turn into. He has to change into a shifter and let us scratch his ears," Lili said happily.

Tara was caught off guard when Lili said the boy could shape-shift. That was news to her. "I see. But Lili, why do you want to scratch his ears?"

"Two reasons. One, Rin won't let me pet her. So I think if she sees Zeph let me pet him, she'll let me pet her. Two, It'll be fun. Ivy is embarrassed around him all the time. It's not fair for Zeph to see her like that, and not for her to see him embarrassed." Lili brought up a finger for each reason as she explained.

Bianca and Semara's ears twitched when they heard Lili wanted to make Zeph embarrassed. Semara said, "I think he'll be cute as a wolf. I mean look at me."

"You may be cute, but so am I. Just look at this silky smooth tail, and these perky ears." Bianca twitched her fox ears to make a point.

"Hmm, you're right. It's not right for Zeph to pick just one. He should take turns turning into a fox and a wolf. That way there's equal representation." Semara gave Bianca a knowing look.

Zeph sighed. He knew they were messing with him, but it wasn't a big deal. "Well, a bet is a bet." Two white pointy furry ears popped out of his head, followed by a white wolf tail. He wiggled the ears and wagged the tail to get a feel for them. "There, wolf first. I'm surprised you two are okay with this. Isn't it taboo for someone to pet a shifter's tail and ears if they're not family or lovers?"

Bianca and Semara looked confused. "Whatever gave you that Idea? Semmy and I help groom each other all the time. You just have to trust the other person, it's not that intimate. Plus, having your ears scratched feels great. It's like getting a massage, really relaxing."

"Hmm, guess the story I read was wrong." Zeph rubbed his chin. "Does that mean you'll let me scratch your ears?"

"Sure, you can even help me with my hair. Semara and I were going to do some maintenance later this evening. It'll actually help if you join in." Bianca noticed Semara looked a little reluctant. "Don't worry Semmy, everybody sheds. It's not a big deal. Besides, you live here now. You're part of the family."

"Yeah, okay," Semara said after thinking about it. Zeph offered to have Alex, Keva, and Semara move into the mansion. He said it was big enough, and he liked having everyone around. Since Semara was Bianca's best friend, he hoped she would accept the offer. When he remembered Bianca's loneliness, he decided to whatever he could to keep her from feeling like that again. Semara was hesitant to move in at first, but she saw how excited her best friend got.

Eli and Relina walked out of the garden holding hands, and the two joined everyone. The look on Relina's face when she saw Zeph with wolf ears was priceless, and Eli took a quick picture. She was shocked. "How…I mean, what happened?" Relina knew the ears and tail were real because she saw Zeph moving them.

Eli had to calm his girlfriend down and explain Zeph's changeling nature. While his friend was explaining, Zeph started to feel guilty about lying to him. He decided he wanted to tell Eli and Bianca the truth, but he was trying to find the right time. 'Maybe tomorrow,' he thought.

After Eli finished explaining how Zeph could change form, Relina asked him a question. "Can you do it again so I can see, please?"

"Yeah, sure." Zeph's ears and tail slowly turned orange and mimicked Bianca's.

Relina watched the boy closely as he used his ability. After he was done, she had a realization. That was why he felt odd to her. "Zeph, do you know what spiritual energy is?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's the energy from the ethereal plane. Why?" He looked at Relina.

"Because you're using it to change your body," Relina said excitedly. Ivy gasped at her grandmother's declaration. Everyone else had a similar reaction. Relina saw the confused look on the boy's face. "You may not notice it, but you're full of spirit energy. I noticed you had an odd aura when I first met you, but I didn't realize what it was until you shape-shifted."

"No way, really?" Zeph asked and saw Relina answer with a nod. "Then if I learn how to use spirit magic, will I get better at shapeshifting?"

"I'm not sure. I've never seen a situation like yours. Then again, I've never met a changeling either. If you'd like, I could help you with spirit magic and we can try to learn more about you." Relina looked very excited. She loved spirit magic, and spirit energy was one of her favorite fields of study. People thought it was only something that spirits needed to survive, but it was so much more.

Zeph was excited, but then his brain stopped him. If she studied him, then she might find out the truth. Heck, she might find answers he and Bernard couldn't. Could he trust her? He trusted Eli, and the man was crazy about her.

"How does next weekend sound?" Zeph asked. He could always cancel, and he could tell Eli and Bianca the truth tomorrow. After that, he could talk with them and get their opinion. "I have a few projects I do in my free time that I'll have to finish up so I'll have time to work on spirit magic with you."

"That sounds good to me. I look forward to working with you." Relina shook Zeph's hand.

"I have a question!" Lili raised up her hand.

"What is it dear, and you don't have to raise your hand." Relina looked at Lili.

"Is that spirit aura thingy the reason Ivy likes Zeph so much. You know, because she tries to connect with it like she does to spirits." Lili looked at her blushing friends.

"Lili it doesn't work like that. I mean Zeph did feel different to me, but I liked him when you showed me his picture. I just started liking him more after we met," Ivy told her friend. Everyone was a little surprised that she expressed her emotions openly. Ivy looked at them. "What, it's not like it's a secret." She tried to keep her cool, but everyone could see her turning bright red.

'At least she's making progress. Now I feel a little guilty. She's a nice girl and if she was older I might fall for her. Maybe I should tell her that when I'm ready to date, she'll be the first to know. No, I don't want to mess with her emotions. I mean, what if I actually fall in love with someone and it's not her," Zeph thought to himself.

"She's right Lili. Zeph's aura may have an effect. Most spirit mages worth their salt would feel something from him, but it would only be a calming sensation. Ivy's love-struck disposition is all her mother's fault," Relina told the little girl.

"My fault? Why is it my fault?" Tara asked her mother.

"Simple, you're the one that's always telling her about how you fell in love with her dad. Love at first sight you said. You always go on and on about soul mates, and read those romance novels," Relina explained.

"I'm not the only one who does that. You fell for dad the same way. Then you fell in love with Eli after he was gone. By the way, I'm happy for you and you shouldn't feel guilty about that. Dad would want you to be happy. What I'm trying to say is that if I'm a hopeless romantic then it's your fault," Tara retorted.

Lili suddenly hugged Ivy. "I'm sorry Ivy."

Ivy was surprised. "What's wrong Lili."

"It looks like its genetic and there's no cure," she answered.

Tara and Relina bickered for a little while longer until Lili grabbed everyone's attention. "We're all forgetting something very important!" Lili announced. "We still have to pet Zeph's ears. Ivy, you first." Lili winked at her friend.

Zeph laughed and sat in a chair next to the red-faced little half-elf. "Go for it, I won't bite."

It took a few moments for Ivy to build up her courage, but once she started she couldn't help but smile. "So soft," Ivy whispered.

_____________

The afternoon went well and everyone one enjoyed the cookout. Alex and Keva came home in the evening and everyone had dinner. Semara was on vacation and Alex was acting as his wife's bodyguard. Zeph was going to ask Keva if she was willing to switch Semara's duties to guard the house with Bianca and let her husband be her bodyguard. It would give the husband and wife time together, and Bianca wouldn't have to spend her days alone in the mansion. He was sure Bernard would be okay with the idea. Speaking of his grandpa, Bernard was having a great time at his new Research and Development business. The development of a 3-D magic printer was going smoothly.

Right now, Zeph's main body was lying in bed. His miniature body was sitting on Rin's back as the kitten hovered across the backyard. He was excited that Rin managed to get the hang of hovering. Flying was just a matter of time. They glided across the pool and around the garden. It was amazing looking at the world from this perspective. The wind billowing through his hair felt amazing. Their speed wasn't fast. But it felt that way because he was so small.

Zeph was happy that he got the sense of touch working on his mini-me. At first, he could only see through it. The miniature didn't have any internal organs or anything. It was just shaped, colored, and textured to look like him. He wanted to try using an Aether body that didn't mimic any internal organs. Sight came naturally because he had been practicing his magic sense.

He wasn't sure how, but the aether was able to communicate the information he gathered from his magic sense and present it as something visual. During the last week, he tried to do the same thing with his other five senses. The progress was slow, but it was working. Hopefully soon, he'd be able to touch, taste, hear, smell, and see no matter what form he was in.

Zeph was lost in thought. Maybe spirit magic was the key. After all, he was a soul inhabiting Aether. Maybe he could use the spirit energy and spirit magic to strengthen his connection to it. Then again, he might be able to create a brand new body for himself like the spirits do when they get powerful enough.

There were so many questions and possibilities. It was kind of scary. The body he had was powerful and he was practically immortal. He was getting stronger, and it was only a matter of time until he was able to tap into the potential of Aether. Could he handle that kind of power? Would it corrupt him, change him; turn him into something he didn't want to be? Zeph shook, trying to shake these thoughts from his head. Right now, he had people that cared for him, people he wanted to protect. This body, this power that he had the potential for… It would help him do that and so much more. He could change the world. But before that, he needed time.

Zeph scratched behind Rin's ears. He remembered when Lili and Ivy scratched behind his ears. Bianca was right, it felt pretty good. Semara and Bianca also told him how to keep his fur shiny and well-kept when he helped them earlier this afternoon. When he told them he could just shapeshift, they said it was more for their benefit. They would ask him to help again. Three people grooming made the process faster than just two.

Zeph's tiny body lied down on Rin's back as the kitten headed back toward the house. He hasn't even gone on a magical adventure yet, and he already had so many precious memories. When he was done with school, Zeph planned to register as a Valir and go on an exploratory mission. Bernard said that it was rare for someone to do that, but it wasn't unheard of. That meant Zeph could go out and explore the world, and the country would pay him to keep a record of what he found. His palm reached toward the moon and he closed his hand as if to grab it. A wide smile spread across his face.