Zeph Malston: The Aether Mage

At first, Zeph was surprised that gold was used for pocket change in this world. Then again, this world had many more precious materials that didn't exist on earth, so gold wasn't as valuable. Mana enriched metals took up the slots for most expensive materials. Gold was relegated to a position similar to copper in this world. No one paid much attention to it. That was why Zeph decided to use gold coins to prank his shifter friends. Everyone walked around with a few coins in their pocket for small transactions, and Bianca and Semara were no exception. Smiling innocently, Zeph snuck the coins into their pockets on the way home from school without them noticing.

As usual, Lili and Ivy decided to hang out at the mansion in the afternoon. So the three children went to the living room to play a game, while Semara and Bianca went into the kitchen to get the customary tray of snacks and beverages for the group. Zeph activated the enchanted coins and waited for the big reveal. Lili was setting up a video game tournament on the CV when she heard the two shifters enter the room.

"So, what do you think? Fighting, racing, or party gaaa-," her voice trailed off as she turned around and saw Bianca and Semara. The two shifters put the trays down on the table and looked at the children. Ivy and Lili were wide-eyed, but Zeph had a satisfied smirk on his face as he tried not to laugh.

"What's wrong going on you guys?" Semara asked.

Zeph chuckled, "Nothin' much sparkles." Then he conjured up a water mirror so Bianca and Semara could see their reflection.

The first thing they noticed was glitter, lots and lots of glitter. Then it was the bright purple hair and neon pink mustache on their faces. Following that were the clashing bright colors that dyed their clothes. It was like a rainbow threw up on them. Both of them looked in horror at the vibrant mess that was reflected back at them. Within seconds, Bianca cast a spell to dispel whatever it was that Zeph did. Their figures blinked back to normal for a fraction of a second before turning back into a prismatic abomination.

Following her failure at turning back to normal, Bianca heard Zeph's laughter grow louder. Lili and Ivy soon followed. Poor Semara just stared blankly at her reflection and frowned at the injustice of it all. She thought she might avoid the retaliatory prank since she thought Zeph's anger was soothed by her behavior that last couple of days.

"Zeph! I thought we came to an understanding?" Semara turned and told the boy with a hint of ire.

That caught Bianca's attention. "What kind of understanding?" the fox turned on the wolf.

Semara's ears flattened. "Uhmmm, well," her voice faded.

"She was helping me plan a prank for you so I would go easy on her," Zeph said.

Semara looked at Zeph with a tear in her eye, "Why? Now she's going to go after me too."

"Cuz it's funny," Zeph answered.

Bianca sent a mean look to Semara before turning back to Zeph. "Alright, you got me. Now turn it off."

"Nope. You're going to have to look like that for a few hours for my thirst for revenge to be quenched," the young lord replied.

Semara sighed and walked over to the seat and sat down, deciding to ride out her punishment. The wolf-kin already experienced in dealing with pranks. Bianca was still irked, but she decided to wait it out as well. Then the fox took a step forward. A silly squeak noise sounded out when her foot met the ground. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the illusion spell on you guys does more than paint you silly," Zeph said with a triumphant smile.

"Grrrr," Bianca took a few more steps to the chair, making a squeak every step. Ivy started giggling at it, causing Semara and Lili to do the same. "Just so you know," Bianca said to Zeph, "This isn't the end of this." Then she sat down on the recliner as if to emphasize her threat. *Fwrrrrt* A loud flatulent noise echoed across the room as Bianca's posterior met the seat. Her pupils shrank when she heard the sound.

"Bwha ha ah, oh man. You can't beat the classics," Zeph had to hold his stomach while he fell back on the couch.

'Thank god I only have to deal with the color swap,' Semara thought.

__________________________

Ashley was sitting on her bed in Zeph's mansion. She was glad that the room had a personal bathroom, and that that the staff was being kind enough not to pester her. The last few days have been difficult, and she still needed time to come to terms with her new situation. Keva was particularly kind and reminded Ashley of her mother. Just the thought of her mother made her think of her father, and that led into a spiral of depression.

Before she could fall too deep, her tablet started to ring. It was Jasper. He'd been keeping regular contact with her. It made her smile. The boy had been her friend since they were little. He was not the brightest person, but he was loyal. When they were young, he vowed to protect her after saving her from some bullies on the playground. Back then, her father wasn't around and she didn't have many friends. It was either be the victim or be the bully. Jasper, to her surprise, stuck with her when she made the transition from victim to bully.

Picking up the tablet and answering the call, Ashley wiped her face to make sure there were no tears. "Hello, Jasper."

"Hi Ash," the boy smiled back. "Nothing much happened in school today, so you don't have to worry about missing class." Then there was an awkward silence. He didn't really know what else to say. This was how most of their calls went.

"That's good. How are you by the way? Is your c.h.e.s.t feeling any better?" She didn't mind the silences. It was nice to have someone she knew to talk to. It kept her from thinking about… "I heard that regular healing magic can only do so much when it comes to broken bones."

"Well, I'm still a little tender. But you know me and pain, I'm used to it." Jasper raised his arm in an attempt to show off his bicep. "Did you know that fight put me over the boundary?"

Ashley's eye's widened in surprise. "Really!?"

"Yup, just had it confirmed in school earlier today. "I'm officially a tier one warrior. Now I just gotta get my magic to catch up and I'll have passed the valir course." He smiled.

"That's wonderful. All your hard work is paying off. Maybe now you can stop torturing yourself."

Jasper scratched his cheek, "Well, it's not really torture, just training. Besides, I never had a broken bone before. You know, until that guy."

Ashley snorted, "Yes, yes. Always the tough guy." A long silence followed her statement. "Uhm… Jasper?"

"Yeah, Ash?"

Her eyes looked to the side for a moment and she bit her lip. "Thank you."

The boy smiled wide. "You're welcome."

________________________________

*Squeak* *Squeak* *Squeak* *Squeak* *Plrrrrrt*

"Ugh, why is this still happening?" Bianca almost cried as she sat at the dinner table.

"I'm inclined to agree with her," Alex said. "It is becoming a bit of a distraction. It may affect our dining experience."

"Yes, Zeph. Would you please forgive the girls?" Keva asked.

Zeph looked at Bianca and Semara and shrugged. "Sure, they've suffered enough. Reach into your right pocket."

"Huh?" Semara asked.

"Trust me. There should be a gold coin in your pocket." Zeph said. The two followed his instructions and pulled out their respective coins. "Good, now toss them over here." As soon as the coins left their possession, their images rippled and they were back to normal. Bianca and Semara looked themselves over and sighed in relief.

"Wait," Bianca said, and she stood up and took a few steps around the room and sat back down with no added sound effects. "Thank goodness."

Alex was looking at the coins in Zeph's hands. "Did you perhaps create cursed objects?" Keva, Semara, and Bianca looked at the boy worriedly.

"What! No way. These are just enchanted to project visual and auditory illusions. I just have them formed in a way that would make them difficult to dispel if you're not aware of their origin. I also cloaked their magic signature using some notes I found in grandpa's lab. There's no way I'd mess with curse magic."

"Good," Keva said. "I'm glad that's the case. Still, those coins are impressive. I'm surprised Bianca wasn't able to counter the spell, considering illusions are one of her specialties."

"It's not that she couldn't counter the spell, it's just that the spell would immediately recast when it was dispelled. Since she didn't know the origin, she couldn't stop it unless she just continuously dispelled the spell." Zeph explained.

"I see," Alex said thoughtfully.

"That reminds me," Zeph said as he pulled out another coin. "Here," he said while handing it to Alex.

"What's this one do?" The old dwarf asked.

"This," Zeph said as he took off Alex's pair of glasses and activated the coin. A pair of illusory glasses appeared on Alex's face to replace his old ones. "Now you have a pair of glasses that can't get dirty or fall off. Since illusion magic can manipulate light, I figured you could use it as a replacement for glasses."

"Well isn't that something." Alex gave the boy a gentle smile. "Thank you."

"No problem. Those are just a proof of concept. I can make a better version or something more customized to suit what you wear. Just tell me what you'd like me to enchant and I'll work on it in school tomorrow."

"I'll think on it and tell you after dinner," Alex told him.

Bianca could be heard grumbling from her seat, and it caught everyone's attention.

"What's wrong deary?" Keva asked.

"Nothing, just thinking about the injustice of it all." The fox girl pouted.

"What do you mean?" Keva asked.

"She's just upset that Alex got a thoughtful gift and she was stuck with what was basically a rainbow fart spell," Semara smirked.

"Well there's a mental image," Zeph laughed.

"That's not what I meant," Semara said, realizing what she said. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry you guys. I'll work on something nice for all of you so you don't feel left out." Zeph started to think of some possible enchantments.

"Why do I suddenly feel like a kid who's asking for a toy because her friend got one?" Semara asked no one in particular.

"Because you are," Bianca answered her.

"Hey, you were the one sulking just a second ago." Semara glared at her friend.

"Here we go again," Keva said as she started eating.