The boy stood right in front of the wooden door. It was made of oak and had carvings of vines crawling its borders. Never had he seen such workmanship. He could stare at it for hours.
The felis beside him mewed. Austin glanced down at Sylph who was looking at him as if he was a pathetic thing.
The boy sighed. "This isn't easy, you know?"
"Would you mind helping me out?"
The felis got up and shook itself before running towards a nearby window. She hopped on the windowsill.
Inside, Sylph looked for signs of the mage. She checked the living room but only found piles of books scattered around the couch and near the fireplace. She walked over to the kitchen but found it empty of a mage, but it was full of used dishes with bits of food. With the first floor empty, the felis headed up the stairs to the second floor.
"No..." came a grumble. Sylph's ears twitched, trying to figure out where it came from.
"Don't... touch... her." came the voice again. This time, the felis' ears locked on its source and followed it. Sylph came across a room with a slightly open door where she squeezed herself in.
The room was a bit small, given the size of the tower. It only had enough space to fit a small dresser and bed. Sunlight poured in from the lone window of the room.
She headed for the bed and hopped on it. She traveled the the bed along Brielle's stirring form. She watched as the mage tossed and turned uncomfortably on the bed.
"No... don't take her..!" her voice was becoming louder. The felis placed a paw on the mage's right cheek.
The mage jolted awake, hyperventilating. She groaned as she felt a sharp pain in her head. She looked around the room when she heard a mew. Her eyes continued to wander until she saw a white blur on the right side of her bed. Brielle rubbed her groggy eyes but the white blur didn't seem to get clearer. She squinted harder and saw that the white blur had two tails swishing side to side. She reached for her glasses and put them on.
"Sylph? How'd you get in?" she asked.
The felis jumped off the bed and headed for the window on the far side of the room. She watched as Sylph hopped on the sill and pawed the window.
"Hmm.. Must've left a window open downstairs." she fell back on the bed and just stared at the ceiling for a couple of seconds.
"That was a heck of a nightmare."
She got up slowly and walked over the window. Looking below, she saw Austin sitting on a rock and drawing on the ground with a stick.
"Austin?" the boy was startled by the call and immediately looked up.
"Hey. Is this a bad time?" The boy gave a nervous chuckle.
"No, not at all. I'll be down in a minute."
"Alright, take your time."
After a few minutes, the door swung open revealing the mage in a casual wear of a brown blouse and a pair of trousers. Her hair was just as wild as ever and her emerald eyes still looked a bit sleepy. She invited him in with a small smile.
"Have you had your breakfast yet?" he asked.
"No, not really. As you can see, I just woke up." the mage chuckled.
"Right. Then you won't mind if i make you some breakfast?"
"Um, why?"
"I'd like to apologize for yesterday."
"Oh, yesterday. No need for that now. I was really irrational."
"Brielle, I insist. I want to make it up to you."
The mage saw his seriousness in his sapphire eyes.
"Alright, fine. I don't think I can talk you out of it anyway."
The kitchen was soon filled with the sounds of utensils and smell of cooked bacon and eggs.
"Mmm, not bad. You sure you don't want to be a cook instead?"
"Oh please. That's just breakfast. Anyone can cook breakfast."
"I still appreciate the gesture. Thanks."
"About the lessons, how do you propose we do this?"
"I have a primer on magic." she turned around to her study room. "It's in... a pile somewhere."
Austin followed her gaze and came upon numerous piles of books scattered on the floor. Only now did he notice that the shelves were all empty. All the books were either on the floor, the couch, and on the study table.
"I can't find the book. How do you look for anything in this mess?"
"Don't call it a mess. It's organized chaos."
Austin sneezed as a cloud of dust reached his face.
"Alright, that's it. Where's the broom, woman?"
"You don't have to do that."
"Nonsense, I'll be able to find it if we remove this mess. Enjoy your breakfast. I'll be cleaning for a bit."
Brielle sat there, feeling awkward about the gesture. She doesn't really do a lot of cleaning around her tower. After all, the mess she makes never bothered her. Not until Austin pointed it out. He didn't mention the mess the last time he was here. The mage thought it was just out of consideration.
"Where do I put these books? The shelves are full." he gestured a stack of books he placed on the table.
"I have another one upstairs."
"How many books do you have?" Austin huffed as he heaved the stack up and started carrying them to the second floor.
"Eighty four."
The house was clean in a matter of minutes. Austin carried the books Brielle told him he needed over to the study table. He whipped out a journal and a quill from his coat pocket and placed them on the table.
"So, what do you want to learn about magic?"
"I was thinking of the basic fundamentals like how it works and how you make it work."
"You see, not everyone can wield magic. There are certain... biological factors so to speak."
"Biological factors?"
"Yes. Magic wielders have this gland that produces manna." she turned her back to Austin and parted her hair to reveal her nape. She pointed a spot just below the skull. "The gland is located right about here. Manna flows through our bodies in a separate array of vessels and out of our fingers." with the wave of a hand she lifted the book Austin had.
"How do you know all this?" asked the bewildered boy as he scribbled on his journal.
"My best friend runs the library. And have you seen this place? This could be a library on it's own."
"Yeah, a messy one at that." he jokingly said.
"Moving on. Let's talk about magic types."
"There's arcane, elemental, summoning, alchemy, and many others."
"How many types can you do?"
"A mage can specialize two types of magic, and in the case of elemental magic, a mage can only use two elements. I specialize in arcane arts and two elements. I believe you are already familiar with those."
"Yes. Yes I am. Do you have any plans to study other types?"
"Actually, I'm currently trying to improve my alchemy. Since alchemy is more of a science than magic, it would be a nice addition to my repertoire. But alchemical agents are just so expensive. I've only been able to make healing salves from the moonshine flowers."
Time seemed to fly as they went through their lessons. Brielle would occasionally play with Sylph as Austin wrote down some notes. A chime went off as the clock struck eleven.
"Anyways, it's almost lunch time. Want to eat at the tavern? I'm buying."
After tidying up, the pair went on their way to the tavern. In a matter of minutes, they arrived in front of a small, rundown establishment near the town hall. As they entered, Austin noticed it had a couple of tables and chairs, and a large counter in the middle. Austin saw Brielle approach a large lady behind the counter.
"Two orders of steamed chicken and potatoes, please."
"Right away. I'm going to have you sit at the corner though. Can't have people see animals in a food establishment. Is your cat okay?" the lady said as she stared at Sylph.
"Oh, right. Don't worry, Sylph won't cause any trouble." Austin assured the lady as he pet the felis.
"As long as that cat's not diseased..." the large lady guided them to the corner table, far from the windows.
"This place looks great. Not too big, not too small."
"Yeah. I come here when I get a pay from the jobs I do."
Austin spent his time waiting with reviewing his notes about the lessons Brielle gave him. Brielle on the other hand played with the felis on the table.
"Order up! Two steamed chicken and potatoes. Here you go, luv." the large lady placed their orders down on the counter followed by two glasses of water.
"Just let me know if you need to refill your glasses."
No one spoke a word as they ate their meal. Austin occasionally tore off a piece of his chicken to give it to Sylph. The mage seemed to enjoy her meal in peace.
As she was almost done with her meal, Brielle broke the silence.
"After this you and I can go to the town hall to check out the request board."
Austin paused midway of bringing another piece of chicken to the felis' open maw.
"You take up missions?"
"Of course. I could use the extra income. I only take requests that aren't that dangerous."
Sylph got tired of waiting and just snatched the chicken right off Austin's fingers.
They finished their meal and paid up on the counter. They thanked the large lady and made their way to the town hall. Upon arriving, Brielle went straight for the request board near the town hall's entrance. Austin followed suit, with Sylph on his shoulder.
"Can I pick out a mission?" he said as he hovered his hand over the numerous posters on the board.
"Obviously not. This is your first time coming here." she tapped Austin's hand away from the board.
She skimmed the posters for missions. After some time, she finally plucked off a poster.
Brielle walked to the counter where she was greeted by a man wearing white long sleeves and a black blazer.
"Miss Summerheart! It's been a while, hasn't it? I haven't seen you in a couple of weeks. How have you been?"
She smiled. "Work as always Mr. Griff. I've been busy with a lot of things."
The middle aged man gave a hearty chuckle and twirled his mustache with a finger.
"Ever the hardworking soul, Miss Summerheart. Now, what shall it be this time?"
Brielle handed the poster to the man.
"A collector request eh? This has been on the board for some time now.
"I'm sure I can manage collecting a few rocks."
"Very well then. Will it be the usual or is this gentleman with a weird cat on his shoulder going to accompany you?" he gestured toward Austin.
"That depends entirely on him." she turned to her student. "What do you say? Are you up for it?"
"Sure, why not?" he said, brimming with confidence.
"Very well then. I shall process the request form right away. Good luck, you two."
"Luck?" Brielle chuckled. "You won't need luck collecting a basket of rocks."