Lucky Rabbit

As it turned out, Pandy didn’t even have to sneak into the kitchen in order to get food. While the children were doing their chores, Augustus found them where they were washing blackboards and sweeping their homeroom, and quietly closed the door to the hall. Since everyone in the room knew what Pandy was, he went directly to her and set down the basket he was carrying.

“I wasn’t sure what you’d be able to use,” he told her, speaking as easily as if she wasn’t currently a rabbit. “There are two bottles of fresh milk, some berries from our greenhouse, water, Mr. Farrier’s famous rosemary bread, butter, and a whole roast chicken. We also had some Harmony Pie left over from dinner, so I put that in as well, just in case you had room.”

Pandy stood up on her back paws, peering into the basket. She really wished Keros hadn’t ‘fixed’ her Inventory cheat, though she couldn’t bring herself to regret the fact that she now appeared as a fully-dressed human when she used Shifting Faces, rather than a naked one. Everything except the pie should stack, and she had seven empty Inventory slots, thanks to the fact that she could leave almost everything in her office at Avington House.

Somewhat to her surprise, even the pies went into her Inventory without difficulty. They were a little like an apple pie, but with a dark, sweet crust, and apparently they were considered a complete item, like an ‘outfit’. That was good to know, because it meant she wasn’t limited to bringing ingredients back to a house where no one actually knew how to cook.

Once the basket was empty, Augustus reached into his magic pocket and produced what looked like a chunk of raw quartz. Pandy recognized it as the essence stone he’d used to test the students’ affinity way back on the first day of school. Which hadn’t actually been that long ago, even though it seemed like ages.

“I also brought this,” he said, holding it up. “Thaniel, I’d like you to hold it, but don’t do anything else. You don’t need to try to channel magic into it, or even really focus on it. It’s just something in your hand, all right?”

Thaniel had been sweeping, since he was too short to clean the blackboard, even if he stood on a chair – which they’d been explicitly told not to do, but did anyway – and now he clutched the broom to his chest. Interest and fear warred across his face. “What if it says I really am…” He trailed off, swallowing hard, but Augustus just pushed the stone closer.

“No matter what, it will be fine. I promise,” the chancellor said. “This will just give us more information so we can help you. You can even close your eyes if you want, so you don’t know what happens.”

By now, both Geraldine and Abbington had stopped what they were doing and moved to his side. Geraldine took Thaniel’s hand, while Abbington hovered in a very supportive fashion. “It doesn’t hurt or anything,” Geraldine told him earnestly, misunderstanding what he was afraid of. “We’ll be right here.”

Tears stood out in Thaniel’s eyes as he looked at her. “What if I really am a Dark mage?” He whispered the last words. “I thought it’d be okay, because Papa was one, but now I remember, and I… I don’t want-”

Oh, no. Did he remember more than Pandy had realized? More than just the accident itself, but some part of his awakening as well? Pandy had been trying to let his friends handle this, because she knew she wouldn’t always be there to help him, so he needed to depend on them as well, but now she hopped over and placed her front paws on his shins, asking to be picked up. He did so, handing Abbington the broom before scooping Pandy into his arms so he could bury his face in her fur.

+1 Corruption Point for Bathing in the Tears of the Innocent

+1 Corruption Point for Bathing in the Tears of the Innocent

With a small sigh, Augustus straightened up, and Pandy felt Thaniel’s body shift as he was patted on the back. “We can do this another time,” the chancellor said gently. “Maybe after you’ve had a chance to speak with Lady Arabelle.”

Thaniel’s arms tightened, but he looked up. “No. I can do it. Everybody else did.” Geraldine and Abbington made encouraging noises, and Thaniel got one hand free, reaching for the essence stone.

“You can’t be touching any other person, I’m afraid,” Augustus said. Geraldine and Abbington instantly pulled away, and Thaniel reached for the stone again. Again, Augustus pulled it back, tipping his head to indicate Pandy.

“But Bunny’s-” Thaniel broke off, obviously processing the fact that whether Pandy was a rabbit, an elemental, or another human being, she was in fact her own person, and counted as such. With an unhappy frown, he put her down, and this time Augustus set the stone in his trembling palm.

The essence stone didn’t so much as flicker. On the first day of school, it had taken a moment for a few of the students to produce a result, while others never created a particularly bright light, but as they all waited, and waited, it became obvious that nothing was going to happen, and Thaniel looked even more distressed than before.

Only Augustus remained unmoved, and after a full minute of waiting, he said, “That’s all right. I spoke to several people – in general terms – about what could be happening, and one of them suggested this might happen. So, Thaniel,” Thaniel looked up, and Augustus smiled at him, “I want you to touch the stone to your chest. Not the heartstone itself, but just skin nearby.”

Thaniel frowned, puzzled, but at least the mystery seemed to shake him from his fear. Raising the stone, he touched it to a spot just below his right collarbone, where no scar tissue peeked out to remind Pandy of his terrible injuries. Instantly, a pure, clear white light filled the essence stone, shining so brightly that Thaniel’s hand seemed to glow from within, much like Pandy did when she used Radiant Presence as a human.

The boy’s face lit up too, but with a grin as much as reflected light. “Light!” he whooped, practically dancing in place. “I’m a Light mage!” Geraldine and Abbington’s mouths were hanging open, but soon they, too, began to grin.

Augustus glanced at the door, then held up a hand. “Hush, lad. Yes, that’s perfect, but now I want you to try another spot. Closer to-” He laid his hand on his own chest, over his heart.

Thaniel sobered, but he still looked relieved and happy as he opened the top button of his shirt, turning away from Geraldine so she wouldn’t see the shiny pink and white scars spreading over his chest. Abbington could see, however, and the taller boy’s mouth tightened, his happiness for his friend instantly lost beneath a visible wave of sadness and compassion.

The moment the essence stone touched the thick layer of scar tissue, it turned as dark as it had been light a moment before. The facets of the stone were lost in that darkness, which seemed to eat every hint of light that reached it. It was difficult for Thaniel to see it from above, but he frowned, tilting his head as he tried to figure out why there was no illumination this time.

“That’s enough, Thaniel,” Augustus said, holding out his hand. Puzzled, Thaniel placed the stone in the chancellor’s palm. After staring down at the stone for a moment, Augustus leaned down and placed it on the floor in front of Pandy. “If you would, Pandora?”

Pandy blinked at it. She’d been expecting Thaniel to be tested at some point, though she had no idea what the results meant. Supposedly, people only had one affinity, but Thaniel had definitely produced two colors. They knew what she was, though, so why test her?

Augustus nudged the crystal a bit closer, and Pandy gave a full-body bunny-shrug, then placed her paw on it. There was no hesitation this time, just an instant suffusion of a purple so dark it looked black everywhere except around the very edges. Like Thaniel’s first reading – and all of the ones the students produced on the first day, come to think of it – it produced colored light that stained all of the nearby surfaces, including Pandy’s white fur.

Augustus hummed thoughtfully, then reached down and picked up the essence stone, sliding it from beneath Pandy’s paw. This time, rather than remaining inert, it began to glow bluish-yellow, just as it had the first time he showed it to them.

“This is what we expect to see when someone without an elemental touches an essence stone,” he said, displaying the glowing crystal. “The strength of the light simply indicates how much power they have flowing through them in that moment. Students who have begun working with magic usually produce more light, while those who use only spell-magic or are entirely untrained produce less. We’re really only looking for the color, not the amount of light they create.”

Folding his fingers around the essence stone, he concentrated, and the light seeping between his fingers grew steadily brighter. “As you grow older, and learn how to direct your magic, we’ll focus more on how much light there is, not just the shade.” The glow flared, then went out, and he sighed as he tucked it away into his cache pocket.

With a wry smile, he said, “This little stone isn’t really clear enough for someone with bonded elementals. It has small impurities which mean it could fracture, which is why it’s only used here. The ones at Kestrel and Condor are much more impressive.”

Pandy nodded, remembering the one Clara used in Gacha Love. It was at least three times the size of this one, and completely clear, rather than cloudy around the bottom, where the crystals joined together. Of course, the moment Clara touched it, it nearly engulfed the room in brilliant white light, thus intriguing the male leads and sparking massive jealousy among the various villainesses.

Pandy thought Augustus had been speaking to himself as much as anyone else, but now the chancellor focused again on Thaniel, though not without sparing a smile for Pandy first. “Thaniel, the stone detected two different affinities in your body. One, the yellowish-white, is what I would expect from an untrained Light mage with good natural strength.”

Thaniel straightened, his smile returning, but Augustus wasn’t finished. “The dark color… It was the right shade for a Dark mage, but I’ve never seen an essence stone take in light before. I’m going to have to talk to some people about it, but-” he hesitated, obviously uncertain if he should speculate, then said, “I suspect one of our theories is correct, and there’s at least one elemental bound in your heartstone.”

Pandy would very much like to talk about this some more, but Augustus was in chancellor mode, walking back to open the door. Something shifted in the hallway, and then Sir Bailey was there, wearing her servant guise and carefully sweeping what looked like a large quantity of dirt into a dustpan. She glanced into the room as she passed, one eye drooping in a slow wink as she caught Pandy’s gaze.

“I just wanted to speak to you briefly about your new teacher. I’m glad she’s doing so well, and I hope you’ll continue to make her feel at home here.” Augustus said, raising his voice slightly, probably for the sake of the other two Small Groups who were also assigned to clean the classrooms that week. “Chores are almost over, so I’ll let you finish up. You’ve done an excellent job, thank you, and I hope the rest of your evening goes well. Don’t forget your writing assignment is due tomorrow.”

Thaniel groaned, causing Geraldine and Abbington to turn faintly horrified looks on him. “You haven’t finished?” Geraldine hissed.

“I haven’t started,” Thaniel mumbled, then burst out, “I don’t know what to write about!”

“Any’en,” Abbington said sagely. “Wrote mine’bout p’tatoes.”

“Potatoes?” Thaniel and Geraldine chorused. “Aren’t you tired of them?”

“Nope. Lik’em p’tatoes,” Abbington said, shrugging, and the three set to arguing about the validity of potatoes as an essay subject, especially after having just done a whole class project with them. Pandy wondered if Abbington had been the one to suggest the potato-project in the first place.

Augustus watched all of this with a faintly bemused expression, then shook his head and gave Pandy a single, understated wave, before exiting, stage right.

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