Zeph Malston: The Aether Mage

Zeph could see a faint mist every time he exhaled. Winter finally decided to hit with full force. Too bad it was on the night Bianca decided to take him hunting. It was the second night of the full moon, and Bianca and Semara decided to release their feral side on any remaining stragglers from the convergence. The two shifters were walking side by side smiling in the middle of the city while Zeph shivered.

"Why, pray tell, am I not allowed to use my magic to warm myself up again?" Zeph glared at his fox eared master.

"Easy, why waste magic when you can 'man up.' As weak as you are, every little bit helps. Keeping your temperature comfy is taking a fraction of your focus and magic power. That fraction could be used to attack or defend. It's not even freezing so deal with it," Bianca said with a smile that promised mischief.

Zeph crossed his arms and grumbled, "I'm not that weak."

Semara scoffed, "No, you're pretty weak. Then again, that's relative to most combat-ready mages and warriors."

"Yeah, but why are you comparing me to them?" he asked.

"Because you want to be a valir," Semara said while she scanned the area.

"I'm pretty sure you two are messing with me again." Zeph noticed the side of Semara's mouth twitch. "Dangit!" He used magic to warm himself up.

Bianca started giggling. "That lasted longer than I thought it would. I can't believe you didn't call us out sooner."

Semara was smiling from ear to ear. "I know right? You do know that cantrip keeps you warm with negligible effort?"

"Yeah, but I honestly thought you guys were trying to train me. Why else would you bring me on this little hunting trip?" Zeph said grumpily.

"To have fun." The two women said in unison.

"Fun?" Zeph tilted his head.

"Yeah, with the two of us here, you can cut loose and just waylay some beasties. No PR crap, no training, and no fighting solo. We're just gonna run wild and curb stomp some monsters. You can cut loose and have some fun with your magic. We're here to do the same. Between the three of us, there isn't much to worry about," Bianca said happily.

"Riiight?" The doubt in Zeph's voice was all too evident.

"Don't worry Zeph, I'll keep an eye out for you. We just decided that we could do this instead of sparring tonight to work off some of our feral impulses." Semara reassured her short friend. "Bianca insisted we bring you along. I just think she wants to show off."

"Is it so wrong to show the boy how a real fighter cleans the streets?" Bianca spun around and started walking backward so she could talk to them. "I've been reviewing his fights all week and think that he could use a good example to improve."

They made small talk until Semara detected some enemies nearby. "I think we got a small pack of dark shades over there." Semara pointed down an alleyway.

"Sweet, you go first. Zeph, get out a timer." Bianca patted him on the shoulder.

"What for?" Zeph turned on his Holo-pendant and used the stop-watch app.

"We're going to make this a little competition. Bianca and I will take out batches of enemies and you'll keep track of time and kill count." Semara smiled.

"Wait! That's what I'm really here for, isn't it? You two just need a scorekeeper and a referee." He narrowed his eyes at the two.

Bianca started scratching her cheek and looking away. "That's not entirely inaccurate."

"Buck up." Semara slapped in on the back. "You're competing too." Her magic started to rise and her nails started to elongate. "Once I'm done shifting, start the timer."

Zeph watched as Semara's smile became fanged and the girl started to quickly change into this world's version of a werewolf. "Cripes! Warn a guy before you do that. I'm not used to seeing you two shapeshift yet."

Semara gave him a toothy smile, her new form making it look more menacing than teasing. Then she spoke, her gentle cheery voice laced with a deep rumbling sound. "Now you know how we feel when you do it. Ready. Set. Go!"

Zeph started the timer and watched as his wolf friend sped down the alleyway into a group of floating humanoid shadows. She didn't fight during the incident, so Zeph had no idea how strong a fighter she was. His eyes widened as he saw the wolf-woman tear through the shades with glowing claws and send bladed waves of energy with every swipe.

"Make sure to watch us and try to learn a few things," Bianca said, knocking Zeph out of his surprise.

"Huh… er yeah sure." He looked back at the fight. Semara was, for lack of a better word, savage. Her fighting style was fierce and almost barbaric. She smiled as she laid waste to the pack of shades. Zeph could tell that she was reveling in the violence.

Bianca noticed his distracted demeanor. "What's up."

"I just didn't expect her to be so… badass I guess." Zeph briefly shook his head to gather his wits. "I mean we're always teasing her. I always thought of her as happy go lucky clutzy, slightly ditzy girl that's fun to pick on." He watched as four waives of energy ripped another shade apart as Semmy made a clawing motion in the air. "It's a pretty jarring feeling, seeing her do this."

"Are you afraid now that you know she can be a big bad wolf?" Bianca looked into his eyes.

"Nah! After all, she's still the same person. I just know more about her now. Besides, I'd be a pretty big hypocrite if I started judging people on things I didn't know about them." He smiled.

"So when do you plan on telling her?" Bianca asked, seeing that Zeph's opinion of her friend didn't change.

"Probably next weekend. There's no way in hell I'm going to drop a big truth bomb when the full moon is affecting her."

"That's probably a good idea. Oh, she's done." Bianca watched as the tall half beast form of Semara shrank down to her regular size.

"Did you get the time?" Semara said as her form normalized and she changed from beast to silver-haired beauty.

"Let's see, that's eleven shades in seven minutes. Heh, seven-eleven." Zeph started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Semara tilted her ears.

"Nothing, just remembered something funny from a long time ago." He wrote the numbers down on a floating notepad. "Where to next?"

________________

Bernard was leaning on the kitchen counter watching Eli dig through the fridge. "Anything?"

"Not sure, there are a few leftovers, but I'm not confident that they're safe." Eli shrugged with his head ducked behind the door.

"I really hope Manaburger opens up soon. We could have a full combo meal with a couple of shakes." Bernard's stomach rumbled.

Eli let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah." He moved a few items around the shelves. "But it looks like we'll have to cook if we want anything right now."

"Well if we have to, I say we try that new recipe Zeph gave us." Bernard brought up a doc.u.ment on his Holo-pendant.

"Sure, it's a layered pasta, meat, and cheese. What could go wrong?" Eli started pulling out ingredients.

"I still don't know how we're supposed to pronounce this. La-SAG-na I'm guessing," Bernard said while putting the heavy emphasis on the middle of the word. He went and started to preheat the oven.

The two worked together to prepare their midnight dinner after coming home late. It had been a long day and they were tired. The investigation was going well, and some new leads were bearing fruit. Bernard wasn't surprised when he noticed a magic clan was at least partially involved in the mess that was going on. Hopefully, the involvement wasn't deep. He didn't feel like destroying a whole clan again. Sometimes, he still dreamt of the dark deeds he performed.

As they sat and waited for the food to cook, Eli brought up a map showing glowing blue lines across the country, many of them meeting at the capital of Andronath. "So, you really think this is what they want?"

"It's the only common denominator I found of any importance." Bernard frowned. "Ley lines are the only thing of importance that all of those places have in common with our city. If that's what they're after, it even explains why they went out of their way to involve me and my territory." He pointed at the floating map and several lines started glowing. "All of these converge on the capitol. That's a lot of energy going unused, and I fear that they have found a use for it."

"Yeah, negative energy connected through a large natural magic circuit. That can only mean a ritual. a very powerful ritual. Now I see why you didn't want to bring this up in front of everyone else." Eli stared at the projection.

"Indeed, no need to cause a panic until we have more to go on. Until we know the nature or goal of the ritual, there's nothing we can do that we aren't already doing."

"You going to bring Zeph in on this again?"

"Yes, his out of the box thinking has proven useful. I also enjoy the time we spend together." Bernard smiled.

"Yeah, guess being an interdimensional alien gives a guy a unique perspective on things." Eli chuckled. He turned toward the stove. "Rin don't try to sneak some of that cheese. The food will be done in a few minutes. You'll get a plate as soon as it's done."

The kitten looked up, surprised. She thought she was being sneaky. With a casual turn, she walked with her head up, as if to dismiss the fact that she'd just been caught. With a small hop, she landed on Bernard's l.a.p and started purring and nuzzling into his belly.

"Little suck up," Eli smirked. He got up and walked over to the counter. "Guess I'll put this stuff up so she doesn't get any more ideas."

"That and Bianca won't have to nag you about putting things up after you've used them." Bernard chuckled while petting the kitten.