Rose entered Professor Yūei's classroom a couple mornings later, excited to tell her that she had finally been able to change the colors on the orb. To her surprise, though, she found a large snow leopard lounging in Yūei's usual cushion.
The big cat lifted its head up in surprise at Rose, icy blue eyes blinking. Rose noticed it had a pretty pink bow tied around its neck like a collar.
"Are you here for Yu-chan?" the cat asked.
The voice it used was smooth and pleasing to listen to and sounded like it belonged to a woman. The cat sniffed the air, her ears turning towards Rose.
"Mm. You smell familiar…"
"I-I'm one of Professor Yūei's students," Rose said, thinking that would explain why.
She wondered if there were Neheburs that looked like snow leopards, or if cats could talk this entire time and Rose could only now hear them. Maybe it was some super-secret dragon ability that she only now unlocked? That would be cool.
"Could you tell her I'm here?"
"She's already on her way," the cat purred, standing up from the cushion and approaching Rose slowly. When she reached her, she sniffed her again. "You smell like Nigel."
"Oh. He's my kingdom advisor."
"You smell exactly like him," the cat insisted. "Wait—are you—?"
Professor Yūei's office door swung open and the beautiful woman stepped out. She beamed upon seeing Rose, vibrantly cool-blue eyes lighting up like sun on snow.
"Miss Rose, how can I help you?"
Upon hearing her name, the leopard's tail shot up and a purr rumbled deep within her chest. "Rose! You're Rose? I'm so happy to meet you. I'm Hana!"
"Nice to meet you, Hana," Rose replied, giving the purring cat a smile.
She bumped her head against Rose's shoulder, her tail swishing around. The force was enough to make Rose stumble back, but it also filled her with fond warmth. It'd been far too long since a cat bumped its head against Rose.
Yūei's gaze softened at the display and she tucked her hands back into the sleeves of her kimono, folding them neatly in front of her. "Hana, come back before you knock her over."
The leopard returned to Yūei, curling around her before taking a seat beside her. Hana's eyes gleamed with excitement as she watched Rose, the tip of her tail flicking.
Yūei's attention turned towards Rose and she inquired in her soft voice, "May I help you?"
Remembering the whole reason she had come, Rose excitedly held up her blue orb. It flickered back and forth between red and blue, and Rose beamed with pride. "I'm doing it! I'm changing the colors!"
Yūei's face lit up and she clapped her hands. "Well done, my dear! I'm so proud of you."
Rose's eyes gleamed and her grin stretched over her face. A blush dusted over her cheeks as she lowered the orb, feeling thoroughly vindicated from Professor Yūei's praise. After all her hard work, Rose was finally starting to get a hold of her magic.
It wasn��t a very huge victory, Rose knew. Changing colors was something most of the students had done within the first week of school, so she had a lot of catching up to do. That being said, she still felt proud of herself. The warm feeling bloomed inside of her, making the young dragon positively glow with glee.
"I believe this deserves a reward," Professor Yūei said. "Hana, why don't you bring Rose some treats?"
Hana leapt up, her tail held high as she said, "Of course!"
The snow leopard turned abruptly and dashed into Yūei's office, the door opening and closing for her. Yūei's gaze returned to Rose and she said with a smile, "Hana is my familiar."
"Familiar?"
"Neheburs with strong enough magical cores can create familiars," Professor Yūei murmured. "They are constructs of magic and are bound to their creators for life. I made Hana a few centuries ago when I was roaming Antarctica."
"Wow. So are they all snow leopards?"
"No," Yūei answered. "Hana is the only snow leopard familiar."
Rose made a humming sound at that. "Think I could make one?"
Professor Yūei's eyes widened momentarily before a ghost of a smile spread over her lips. A brief giggle escaped the woman and she shook her head. "My child, that is a question you should ask Professor Nigel, I think."
Rose scratched her cheek at that, frowning. "He'd know?"
Professor Yūei smiled at Rose in a way that made Rose think she was hiding something. There was clearly a joke going on between the two that Rose was entirely out of the loop on. Rose's brow creased, and she opened her mouth to ask what was so funny, but then Hana returned.
The familiar bounded into the room, carrying a pink lacy bag wrapped in a pretty white bow. She gave the bag to Rose who took it with a quiet 'thank you'.
"But really, Miss Rose," Professor Yūei said sweetly, "well done. I'm very proud of you."
Rose gave her the biggest grin she could.
...🌹...
"Did you know Professor Yūei has a familiar?" Rose asked Doctor Basileus.
She sat primly on the bed, her legs swinging out from underneath her as she patiently waited for the doctor to examine her. Ever since she was cursed, she had to visit the doctor once a week to make sure no new curses were placed on her.
So far there hadn't been any further occurrences, but Rose was now going out of her way not to run into anyone on the way to class and the cafeteria unless she was with her friends. Trips to the library by herself were on an indefinite hold for the foreseeable future, and she asked Havi to come along with her instead. Her kingmates were mindful, and now they were aware of what was going on, were going out of their way to make sure Rose was rarely alone.
Someone was almost always there to walk with her to breakfast—although there were a couple mornings when no one was available—and if she had to leave the kingdom on the weekend, Lanna and Galio made themselves available.
It was extremely touching, and Rose had never encountered such sweet protection. It was endearing, and Rose could not even begin to properly convey how grateful she was to have her kingmates support her.
Doctor Basileus slid his rolling chair over to her, golden eyes gleaming with warmth and with his familiar, charming smile on his face. "Yes, I did. Its name was Hana, I believe."
"Her name," Rose corrected him automatically. She was used to correcting people who called Mr. Whiskers 'it' instead of 'him'.
The doctor blinked once. "Ah. Her, then." He cocked his head. "How much do you know about familiars, Miss Rose?"
"Not much," Rose admitted, lifting her head up as the basilisk placed his cold fingers gently on her throat.
Gold mist poured out of his fingers, gently wrapping around her. His magic felt like a cool, misty breeze on her skin.
"People with big cores can make them, right?"
"Yes," Doctor Basileus said slowly, drawing out the word. His fingers moved up to her cheeks and her magic automatically reacted to his: her horns came out. "I wouldn't want to, though."
"Why?"
"Familiars are entirely dependent on their creators. They have no choice, no freedom," he said, raising his fingers up to her forehead. "They don't even count as citizens in the eye of the Community."
That made Rose frown. "Why not?"
"The general belief is they are barely sentient," the doctor answered. "Their creators have complete control over them. Hmm… how to put this? How can you judge something that has no control over its actions? If its master orders it to kill, it will kill."
"Then you should judge the master," Rose immediately answered.
"And therein lies the problem," Doctor Basileus said, moving his fingers to the top of her head. "If we cannot judge something as an equal, why should we treat it as such? It cannot act on its own, and it will die once its creator passes on. It acts as little more than an extra appendage for its creator."
"But—but they feel, don't they?"
Doctor Basileus shrugged, withdrawing his fingers. "Sure. But their feelings will largely depend on their master, too."
He took a deep breath, pushing back his thick, chocolatey brown hair from his eyes. Under his breath, he muttered, "Besides, if familiars were given equal rights, then their masters would have to treat them as equals."
Rose's eyes widened. "What?"
"Don't worry, Miss Rose," Doctor Basileus immediately soothed. "It's still illegal to abuse a familiar, but there are some who enjoy the servant/master relationship and would prefer it to remain as such."
"But do they—I mean, do they get paid, or…?"
The doctor blinked. "I don't know. I've never paid much attention to familiars outside the broad strokes. I know they aren't counted as citizens, and as such, they cannot work or own property. I know there are regulations in place to keep them safe, and I know they are entirely dependent on their masters. That's it."
"Oh."
"I'm sure you could find more on them in the library," Basileus said, then he smiled. "While you're here, might I see your tail?"
Rose nodded and summoned her tail. It curled around her and rested in her lap. Doctor Basileus gently took it in his hands, running his fingers along it as his eyes narrowed.
"Hm. How often are you taking your lava bath?"
"Few times a week," Rose admitted. "I've been using it to meditate."
"Ah. I see."
"Is something wrong?"
"Not sure," he murmured. "It's been a while since I've had a fire dragon as my patient, so my memory might not be at its best. You might need something hotter than lava, though."
Rose's eyes widened. "Whoa, really? Why do you say that?"
"Your scales," Doctor Basileus gestured towards her rock-like scales. "They're dull. They should be burning with their own fire, and yet I only see the barest hint of red light in them. I'm not sure what else the school can provide that's hotter than lava, though. I'd almost suggest lightning, but that's usually reserved for storm drakes."
Rose's tail flicked upwards. "Do you think it might be like that 'cause my magic's still suppressed?"
"That's possible," the doctor admitted after a moment of thought. "It could also be possible you're a hybrid drake instead of purely fire. Ground dragons have naturally dull scales, so maybe one of your parents was fire and the other ground?"
Rose shrugged.
Doctor Basileus sighed. "I suppose there's no way for us to confirm until we see your true form."
There was a sudden sound of something sizzling coming from Doctor Basileus's potion room. Both turned to look towards it and the doctor made a tutting sound. "It finished sooner than I anticipated. Well, your checkup is done, Miss Rose. You may return to whatever it was you were doing."
Rose's eyes were glued towards the potion room door, though. She shifted her posture then looked up at the doctor pleadingly.
He grinned at her. "Did you finish your homework?"
She nodded rapidly.
"Eat?"
Again, she nodded.
"Okay. Let's try making that slime then, shall we?"
Rose beamed.