A Horrible Familiar

Chapter 7

After the events of the forest clearing, life returned to relative normalcy for the small mage and her familiar. Anser's hoard has grown quite a bit and he felt proud of himself for it. His magic satchel, unfortunately, couldn't instantly transport anything new to his spot, but he preferred doing things the old-fashioned way anyways. As for Louise, she had begun to enjoy herself with her new friend in Siesta. Some other nobles decided to heckle the poor maid, but Louise's volatile nature towards them scared them off. Right now, the two of them were on the outskirts of the academy. Louise was trying her hand at more magic practice with Siesta assisting however she can.

"Just watch! I'll be able to recreate what happened in the classroom all those days ago! I just need to..." She aimed her wand at the boulder in front of them, concentrating on what she wanted. "Steady... Steady... FIREBALL!"

BOOM!

"GAH! Brimir's Sake!" She swore. Siesta laughed lightly as Louise set of another explosion. The pinkette glared at her, but at this point, Siesta was comfortable enough around the small noble that she easily recognized a playful glare from a real one. And this one was still good-natured.

"I'm sorry Louise, but look at it this way: You made a sizable dent in the boulder!" She gestured towards the hunk of stone, which was missing a decent-sized chunk on its face. The results of multiple explosions can do that. "You can do it; I believe in you!"

"Ugh, what's the point? I just keep failing at casting a single spell..."

"That's not true, Pinky!" Derf finally spoke up from his scabbard. Siesta would've been startled had she not become acquainted with the enchanted sword days before. She found him quite the listener whenever she needed to vent. It felt nice, really. "if you failed to cast something, it'd just fizzle out. But you don't fizzle out, you explode!"

"That's even worse!"

"Let me finish!" the sword chided. "You exploding means that there's magic involved, but how though, is the question. What element corresponds with explosions?"

"Fire...? No, that never works in general. Plus, it's not igniting from anything so... hmm..."

"Then it might be Voi-" Siesta's voice was immediately silenced by Louise's hand, who looked pale. After an unspoken agreement, she let go of her hand. "Oh Founder, I almost got us all killed for blasphemy..." Siesta also went as white as a sheet. Derf simply sighed.

"It's a valid theory, I will say that. But is it one the Church will accept? I hate these new times... Brimir, why'd you have to such a stingy prick with your magic...?" He muttered the last part to himself.

"Did you say something Derf?"

"Nothing. By the way, have you seen Pard lately?"

"Anser? Now that you mention it... no, not really. I wonder where he went?" Louise's question would soon be answered by a hateful cry.

"PHEASANT'S BEAK!"

"...oh."

..............................................................................................................................

Anser was having the time of his life. He hasn't been causing mischief in AGES, and that takes a toll on an avian. Luckily, he found the perfect breeding ground of Chaos in the courtyard. Guiche spotted him and immediately went defensive. The poor boy made every attempt to maintain a low profile against the waterfowl. It seems like he learned his place. Good.