What Makes a Monster

♱Seventy-Six♱

Now it's my turn to be reluctant when checking my room. Hael isn't there, likely continuing his usual duties. The door swings open, allowing the both of us to step in. Soran inspects the room with a curious gaze. There's nothing much to see here. Honestly, the two of us can make one trip and that would be all my belongings. Most of my money has been sent back to Chandri to repay Mom's debts while the rest has gone into savings.

Those few items are swiftly stashed into the same bag I brought with me. There are a few smaller items that Soran grabs until one in particular, a notebook, falls to the floor. I think nothing of it until heading for the exit only to realize Soran is still as a statue.

Glancing back, I ask, "Is there something wrong?"

Soran is holding the notebook along with a few other things. However, he's fixated on the open page and, for some reason, his cheeks are tinted pink then almost as blaring red as mine are ninety percent of the time.

"Soran?" I call.

He doesn't face me, only holds out the notebook, revealing what is written on the page. Now it's my turn to go completely red in embarrassment when he says, like this is no big deal, "Your writing is improving."

The paper is filled with my attempts at scribbling Soran's name. There's no skill, mere squiggles on paper that do get progressively better as they go on. I was impressed when writing them, but now I'm embarrassed and redder than a tomato. In order to spare us both really, I rush over to snatch the blasted notebook. Soran lets me, quickly snickering when I bolt out the door with a few words thrown over my shoulder, "Don't you dare say anything else about this!"

Why I think he'd listen is beyond me because not ten seconds later he says, "I'm excited to see how you improve. One day, you may be able to sign my name for me."

"Shut up!" I'm never going to live this down...

Rather than listen to Soran's teasing, I rush upstairs to my new room. Malatis is still there, having taken over the whole bed so that the sheets are wrinkled, comforter wrapped around his hind legs and fur all over the room, along with a few feathers. Oh no, the butler in me is screaming to clean it up. Am I going to live the rest of my life with this twitch to always clean?

"Someone is comfortable," I mumble to the snoring cat that doesn't so much as twitch at being called out. He doesn't get up until Soran steps into the room then he's prancing all around said room like a show pony.

"How old is Malatis?" I ask, refusing not to face Soran after what happened earlier.

"798."

"What?!" I holler, staring at the familiar that is half of Soran's age. My jaw drops.

"I found him in The Veil without a mother so I bonded with him and brought him back."

I end up turning around to watch Soran scratch Malatis' chin with a proud smile. That explains why he's so attached. If Malatis was basically a kitten when Soran got him, he was literally raised by him.

"You spoiled him, didn't you?" I grin at the slight hesitation in Soran setting my belongings on the bed.

He rolls his shoulders when answering, "No."

"You hesitated."

"I didn't."

Yeah, Malatis was definitely spoiled, and still is.

~~~~~~

As expected, my move from downstairs results in even more evasion and discomfort among my co-workers. Janein accidentally calls me My Lord once, which I would laugh at if it wasn't kind of really sad. Not eating with my co-workers doesn't help either, but that is unavoidable. For once, I'm not excited for a lunch break considering all that's on my mind is taking a drink only to spew blood all over the place. There's some guilt tied into eating now too. Having meals with Soran should make me feel better, but the paranoia remains, at least until later in the evening when he finishes up work only to keep his promise. Time to learn some spells!

We head out to a clearing near the pond. There's no one here and Soran dubs it safe enough for us to practice. My hands twitch at my side, nerves settling and excitement growing. An odd combination that leaves me jittery as a newborn bird.

"We'll be focusing on defensive spells," he explains. "The ones being an annoyance to us now have had years of experience so avoiding a battle is your top priority."

He doesn't have to tell me twice. I saw what those mages did when they snatched me. I can't fathom going up against them.

"Starting out, you will have to rely on hand gestures or incantations. The more you use them the more you recognize and remember the feeling of them. The day will eventually come when you don't have to recite a spell at all," he says while pulling out a few pages from his jacket. He hands them to me. I recognize the writing as his own, a list of defensive spells with brief descriptions of what they are and whether they require an incantation or a gesture.

"The first we'll try this evening is a shield. Do you remember what happened to Cathen when I attacked him at the Day of Aberia?"

I nod at the memory of the golden shield that enveloped him prior to being thrown out the window. The memory makes me snicker.

"This is a relatively easy spell to cast. It reacts to magic so, unfortunately, this shield won't protect you from an arrow or a sword. That's a bit more advanced."

"Really?" I ask, surprised to hear that. "Why is it easier to deflect spells?"

"Lumen naturally wishes to grow, so although we say it's a shield, it's more like absorption. The magic that hits your shield is absorbed by it, making it stronger in that moment so that it may protect you. Steel though? Lumen has to fortify itself to be as tough as steel to block against it and for that, you need more training." Soran gestures to Malatis, who is actually walking around Janika. I didn't even notice her until now. She's in the darkness of the trees, watching us from where she's laying. "There are also spells that require glyphs, such as the one I used on you when binding Malatis to you. Those will take years of training to perform, but if you're interested in learning the glyphs now, I can make a list."

"Let's focus on the easy stuff first. I still don't know if I'll be any good at this," I answer with a nervous breath.

Soran moves on to showing me how to cast this shield. He has to show me up close the hand gestures, each one as if a letter from a mysterious language and each requiring a motion. Either twist your wrist or bend your fingers or outstretch your arms. The most I end up doing is making my fingertips glow, which has me shouting in surprise the first few times. Not everyday you see your fingers glow, ok, this is a big deal!

In the end, I never conjure a full shield. The most I get are a few sparks flickering around my form as fireflies in the sunset. Soran insists that's normal and I shouldn't worry, but I'm a little dejected that it didn't work.

"We'll practice more tomorrow. You need to rest," he says when guiding me back to the estate. I end up leaning against him. My legs are wobbly and I'm suddenly exhausted, as if I swam laps around the pond all evening. "Don't stay up trying to do this either."

Ah, was it obvious that I planned to?

"I'm serious, Wallie," he says, causing me to peer up at him. "You can't push yourself too hard. This feeling you have now, listen to it. When your body says to rest then rest."

I give a slow nod. "Give me a week and I'll have this down."

"I have no doubt about that."

"I like that you're so supportive, but also can't tell if you're being honest."

He chuckles. "I am being honest. With me as a teacher, you'll learn quick."

"Ah, so it's more faith in yourself than me?" I tease. He plays along by giving a shrug that has the both of us laughing.

My eyes feel heavy though. My body really is exhausted. Soran insists that I have a snack before going to sleep. I don't even talk to him while I eat in my room. My mind is shutting off and I'm out like a light only minutes later. I feel someone tucking the covers in around me. There's a weight at the bottom of the bed, something warm over my feet and purring. Then there's a soft kiss placed on my temple. I smile as sleep takes me.

♱♱♱

I wanted to update this earlier today, but I was busy and I'm gonna be busy tomorrow so here's a weirdly scheduled update lol Anyways, Wallie is learning some magic! Will he master it soon or ever? lol SORAN FOUND THE NOTEBOOK! SO CUTE! And he tucked Wallie in, you adorable pieces of crap >.<