Zeph Malston: The Aether Mage

The duo spent a few hours touring the city. Zeph took in the sights and was impressed with what he saw. There was little to no pollution or litter. Some billboards used holographic 3D images made with magic. But the most interesting thing to Zeph was the different types of people he saw. Elves, dwarves, heck even people with animal features were walking around just like everyone else. When he questioned Bernard about it, he had to explain that humans were the only sentient race in his old world. Bernard then explained what was known about them. The elves and dwarves had a pretty interesting background. But elves were not arrogant stuck up jerks, and dwarves were not gruff ill-mannered brutes. True to form, however, elves loved nature and dwarves loved booze. Zeph sighed in relief when he learned that. He was happy that they shared similarities to the elves and dwarves in fairy tales. Zeph was surprised to find out that the people with animal features, shifters, were the descendants of people immoral mages experimented on. They tried to create modified soldiers to combat the magical beasts, or to wage war on other people. When he saw the worried look on Zeph's face, Bernard assured him that this all took place a long time ago. Practices like that were outlawed and banned in modern civilization. As the two chatted about the different communities and cultures in the city, Bernard headed towards the business district. He was going to get Zeph a bank account after visiting Bernard's lawyer and filling out some paperwork to ensure that the boy would be legally treated as his grandson. After coming from the bank and setting Zeph up a new account, they headed towards the shopping district.

"What are you buying Bernie?" Zeph asked as they pulled into the parking lot of a large retail store.

"Well, I need a few odds and ends for your birthday present and some camping supplies while we're at it.

"Birthday present, camping?"

"Yeah, remember you were born just a couple of days ago," Bernard said while smiling. "Be a pretty lame grandpa if I didn't get you anything."

"And the camping?" Zeph smiled back.

"Well I think it's time I started teaching you magic, and I don't want my nice house turned into a smoking crater. So, we're going into the wilderness where it won't matter what you accidentally blow up." Bernard said while looking through some electronic equipment.

"Oh come on, I'm not that bad. You're exaggerating right?"

"Not at all, children are usually taught to wield their power when they reach the age of five or six. At this age, the magical power they possess can't do much damage. You, on the other hand, could probably take out a wall or two. Maybe even more since we don't know the output you are capable of."

"Hmm, makes sense then," Zeph said as he held his chin thinking. "Does that mean that I don't have to worry about screwing up too bad when we train?"

"No, but I would like you to at least try to control yourself." Bernard retorted.

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It had been a fruitful journey, and Zeph and Bernard made it home with little fuss. The traffic was light, and they traveled in comfort. When Zeph left the truck and headed to the back to unload, Bernard stopped him.

"Don't worry about it, Alex will get it in a minute and take it where it needs to go," Bernard explained.

"Who's Alex?" Zeph asked surprised.

"He's my butler, good fellow. You didn't think I lived in this large place all by myself right. If I didn't employ a few people, I'd never have any time to invent anything."

"Why haven't I met any of them yet?"

"They were off for the weekend. Oh yeah, try not to stare, because some of my staff isn't human. Alex, for example, is a dwarf."

"Oh neat. But a dwarf as a butler, that's hard for me to imagine."

"Why so?"

"Well in my world, stories depicted dwarves as gruff and somewhat surly people. They loved to craft, more specifically mine and forge. They also loved alcohol and had a lot of pride." Zeph explained while rubbing his chin.

"Oh, that is interesting. Well, I can tell you that dwarves do like a good drink now and again, but they act just like everyone else. Don't worry about the stereotypes from your old world, I assure you that you will find people, all shapes and sizes don't fit easily into a mold here."

"Alright, I'll bear that in mind. I'm actually quite excited to have my expectations blown away." Zeph assured.

After opening the door, Zeph saw an elf vacuuming the foyer. Not two seconds after he made his statement about expectations, he was blessed with the sight of an elf wearing baggy shorts, flip-flops, and a tank top. He wore a backward cap and was listening to a music device. The wires from his headphones dangled as he bobbed up and down to the beat, while he vacuumed the carpet. Zeph just stood with a blank stare.

After a couple of minutes, the man finally noticed Zeph and Bernard, and quickly turned off the vacuum and took off his headphones.

"Whoa, sorry to block your way Mr. Malston. I thought you were in the lab. Let me just get this outta your way." He said as he started to pull the cords and the vacuum towards the wall. He had a calm voice, slightly raspy, and a laid-back attitude. Zeph couldn't help but imagine him with a surfboard.

"No problem Eli. By the way, I'd like to introduce you to my grandson. This is Zephyr Malston. He'll be living with me from now on. Be sure to look out for him, as he lacks a bit of common sense." Bernard said with a smile while gesturing to Zeph.

"Hi, just call me Zeph. It's nice to meet you." Zeph introduced himself.

"Hoh cool, I didn't know you had a grandkid. Nice to meet you Zeph, name's Eliastrad Greenleaf. You can just call me Eli like everyone else." He said while he watched them enter the house.

"Cool, Eli it is," Zeph said with a smile shaking Eli's hand.

"By the way," Bernard interrupted, "Where's Bianca?"

"Oh, she's in the kitchen cooking lunch, I think. Speaking of which, I better get back to work. She'll be all over me if I don't get the entrance, hallways, and living room done soon. It was nice meeting you Zeph, stay chill little dude." Eli smiled and leaned back on the vacuum as the duo made their way further into the house.

"Well, might as well introduce you to Bianca while before we head back to the lab," Bernard said making his way towards the kitchen.

"Why I thought we weren't testing today?" Zeph asked while following.

"Don't worry, we're not. I'm just going to make your birthday present, and I'll need your feedback to customize it to your liking." Bernard explained with a smile.

In the kitchen, their attention went toward a young woman in her mid-twenties. She was wiping down the serving counter with a towel. The first thing Zeph noticed was a big fluffy orange tail with a white tip swaying back and forth behind her. Like all other shifters, Bianca looked human, except for the ears and tail. She looked up from the counter and noticed Bernard. But when she saw Zeph, one of her fox ears tilted back and she had a curious expression on her face. Zeph, on the other hand, was looking at a young lady with fox ears and a tail, wearing blue jeans, a pink blouse, and an apron. They both looked at each other without making a sound before Bernard decided to speak up.

"Hello Bianca, This is Zephyr Malston, my grandson." He introduced the two.

"OH! He's your grandson, for a minute I was worried there." Bianca said with sudden understanding. Zeph just continued looking blankly.

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" Bernard exclaimed.

"Nothing, I was just worried that you kidnapped this poor boy," she said smirking at Bernard.

"Why in the world would I kidnap a child?" Bernard said defensively.

"I don't know, for your research or something, who knows what you'd do," Bianca said with a sly smile. "By the way, is he alright?" She pointed to Zeph.

"Oh! Sorry, it's just that you're the first shifter I've ever met in person. I was just a bit taken aback." Zeph finally responded.

"I see, well It's nice to meet you Zephyr, you can call me Bianca. I'm the cook and head maid of the Malston estate. If you have any problems with your grandpa you can come to me and I'll sort him out for you." She joked while showing off her bicep and patting it with her other hand. Zeph couldn't help himself and laughed a bit. Bernard just had a slightly sour look on his face.

"It's nice to meet you Bianca; you can just call me Zeph. I'll make sure to run to you when the old man picks on me." Zeph jokingly said back.

"Good, maybe between the two of us we can keep him in line." She said with a smile.

Zeph took a quick look at Bernard and smiled, "I think we'll get along just fine." Bernard was stunned that his grandson and his maid ganging up to pick on him.

"Ahem, anyway the boy will be staying with me from now on." Bernard coughed trying to interrupt them. "Also, his birthday was a couple of days ago, so could you prepare something to celebrate?"

"Really! How wonderful for you," Bianca said while looking at Zeph. "What would you like Mr. Birthday boy?"

Zeph thought for a minute. "Surprise me, I trust you."

"Okay, can do." She said while looking kindly at him.

"Now that you two have been introduced, I need to take the boy to the lab. I need him to help me finish up his birthday present." Bernard said while lightly pulling Zeph towards the other room.

"You two take care," Bianca said as she got back to work.

As they walked down the hallway, Zeph asked," Are you okay. It seemed like you were kind of in a hurry to get out of there?"

Bernard paused then said, "I just get the feeling that if I let the two of you talk some more, I would regret it."

Zeph had to admit that Bernie had good insight. He was ready to tease Bernie some more, with Bianca's help of course. She probably had a bunch of funny or embarrassing stories about his new grandpa that she could tell him. Now he was looking forward to meeting Alex.

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