Familiar

Chapter 1:Daze

Oleva smiled, waking up as the sunlight danced across her face. She was a young woman, having only just had her twenty-first birthday. Her raven-black hair went down to her waist, and she quickly tied it back in a ponytail. She stretched, then stood.

There were many other girls in the large room, and she carefully stepped over people, smiling a bit. One, a ten-year-old blond, rubbed her eyes."Oly? What're you doing?"

Oleva put a finger to her lips."Back to sleep Lucy. Just getting ready for the big day."

Lucy blinked, then just murmured and dozed back off. Oleva smiled and kept walking. She crept over to a mirror and observed herself. Green eyes, a small scar on one cheek....some might call her beautiful, she knew. Part of it was probably her magic, she knew, as those of magical ancestry were always known to be a bit fairer than those without.

A prime example of that walked by. Liza was an old woman, well into her seventies, and yet, she still had a youthful look about her. Only a few streaks of grey were in her hair, and hardly any wrinkles appeared on her face. Beside her walked a large, black cat, with sleek fur and large fangs.

The older woman nodded, smiling."So, you'll finally be getting a familiar of your own, hmm?"She asked.

From her tone, she knew the true question; When will you move out? It wasn't meant with malice, by any means, but she did run the orphanage on her own dime, and one less mouth to feed would be helpful.

Oleva smiled."Not to worry. I'll be out soon, and when I open up my own magic shop, i'll be able to help you run everything."

Liza nodded a bit."I appreciate the sentiment, dearie, especially this time of year when the rent's due..."She looked out at the crowd of still-slumbering girls."...And I know five dozen people who'd appreciate it."

Oleva smiled brightly and nodded."...Speaking of, probably time to wake up everone else, right? I remember Erica and Violet said they wanted to see the big moment."

She nodded, scratching the large cat's ears."Octavian? If you would please."

The cat nodded and looked at the group, then roared. The girls groaned, and Octavian nodded. Slowly, he began to shift to a more human form."Their alarms shall continue until they rise to two feet, as usual."He informed, in a brisk voice."Shall I go down and begin breakfast madame?"

Liza nodded."Please. Thank you Octavian."

Oleva smiled. Octavian was Eliza's familiar, and she'd always found herself fascinated with him. As a Familiar, he possessed two abilities. One was a beast form, to help defend their master. The second was his so called 'Risen' ability, one based off of his calling in life. He'd been a music conductor for a mundane school, and so, his ability was to manipulate sound waves.

But, in addition, he was an 'enlightened' Familiar, one who had regained the memories of his past life, and as such, had increased his own power, able to more accurately control the waves of sound. As she watched, she saw the girls on the ground cover their ears, while the girls who stood had a look of relief come across their face, as the magic of Octavian's ability stopped the roaring in their ears.

She smiled. His power was considered weak among many, but everything had its use in this society. She could hardly wait to have her own. Their powers could be almost anything, and she was already curious what powers hers would have.
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It was later in the day when they came. There were three of them, a man with a  long, trailing beard, and two women. She stood in front of the orphanage, with many of the others peeking out of the windows to see what was happening.