Aayla fiddled with the ends of her hair. She carefully studied her notes again and again. No matter how many times she reviewed her notes, Aayla couldn't find exactly what was bothering her so much.
Each case followed the same pattern. Random animal shows up in the city. Citizens freak out. Animal soon ends up dead or captured. Aayla sighed. Goodness gracious these Tellans need to be toughed up. She could understand freaking out if a snake or a polar bear showed up, but a mouse? Really? These people have magic.
Whatever. Maybe Aayla was just too used to dealing with animals on Terra. Other than that bear incident and the gremlins, Aayla's never really had a run in with magical creatures. Her eyes snapped open. That's it! The bear incident!
She quickly recalled everything about the bear attack. It was about three months ago. Her memories faded a bit since then but she remembers most of that incident. Was that bear really a magical creature like everyone on campus assumes that it was?
That mountain of furry anger slept in the stables but went unnoticed by Daren and Chris's magic. It was tall and physically powerful. Most of its attacks were purely physical. The only time that magic was obviously used was when it escaped from its imprisonment. Even when Chris attacked with magic the bear only retaliated with physical force.
Why? How could it have remained unnoticed and resisted magical attacks yet not use magic in combat? Based on Aayla's experience, it was obviously an adult. Magical beasts should definitely be able to use mana at that life stage. Also, the bear clearly used magic when it escaped the locked stall.
Perhaps the collar was restricting the bear's mana. That wouldn't make sense if the True Order wanted to cause more destruction though. The other option would be that the bear was like her. Another creature from Terra.
That only gave rise to more questions. How did the True Order find the bear? Aayla lightly nibbled on her fingernails. They had been causing trouble for a while, so security was tighter than normal in the cities and towns. On the other hand, finding it in the wilderness would have been like finding a needle in a haystack.
The bear could have arrived just after Aayla and Dr. van Brakke at the earliest, which was about three months ago. How could it use magic at that time? The Terran creatures only started using magic about this time. That collar is the most likely culprit. Too bad that Aayla or Ramona didn't get a chance to study it.
Aayla rubbed her eyes. It was time for bed. She would continue her investigation in the morning.
**********
The next day, Aayla was up bright and early. She casually had breakfast in the lounge downstairs. As the first student to arrive, the rest slowly gathered around her. Several of them were clearly hungover and sleep deprived. Coffee kept pouring freely all throughout breakfast.
After breakfast, the delegation leader assigned tasks to the students. They needed to complete their preparations as quickly as possible. The group hurried over to the police headquarters for introductions. While everyone else joined the city's research team, Aayla was assigned to the protection team.
The protection team was responsible for capturing any wild creatures and maintaining order in the field. A pair of familiar faces were in charge. They were Commander McGrath, the tall man, and Captain Figgins, the robed woman, who took over the cleanup of the boutique snake incident. Aayla had a sneaking suspicion that they were the ones who asked for her by name.
Forest Waypoint Police Department was taking the incidents and citizens' unrest very seriously, but the duo seemed a bit overkill for the mission. Both gave Aayla the distinct impression of military soldiers. Special forces soldiers, not just the regular rank and file.
"So, we meet again, Ms. Glowery. Thank you for playing along with our little request."
Aayla cautiously shook Commander McGrath's outstretched hand. His firm grip squeezed her hand. She could feel well developed callouses on his hand. Clearly, he was accustomed to using weapons.
"The pleasure is all mine. Though, I don't understand why exactly you would request for a student? The professors at Nafriton are extremely skilled."
The captain chuckled. "Skilled with research? Yes. With practical applications? That's much more… hit and miss. Most wizards prefer studying in their ivory towers instead of braving the outdoors these days."
"From what we've heard, you've shown a wide array of practical skills. We would like your help to safely capture a few creatures this week. As many different types that we can find. We'll have our subordinates watch and learn. If that's alright with you?"
"None of the techniques I have are trade secrets or anything if that's what you're asking. Oh, and, um… How do I say this… I have a chronic medical condition that prevents me from doing much magic at the moment. So, most of my skills are literally hands on. Does that pose an issue for you?"
"None. As long as they are effective."
"What kind of medical condition?" Captain Figgins frowned. They had heard rumors about her medical condition, but nothing was confirmed. Someone had interfered with their information gathering. Temporary mana exhaustion was one thing, but her case seemed like something more permanent. They did not need a Nafriton student collapsing due to their investigation.
"Chronic, and very private. I've been dealing with it all my life, so I can handle it. I just need to do things a bit differently than most."
She has been magicless for the vast majority of her life. Technically, she didn't lie. The commander and captain exchanged several glances. Aayla sighed. She knew that look. They were talking telepathically. She's seen it several times before, including when Junius took her to see President Bennett.
Aayla just stood there for several minutes while the pair had a private conversation about her in front of her. It was so annoying. She had a strong itch to learn what they were saying. Unfortunately, they didn't even move their lips so she had no way to figure that out.
Commander McGrath and Captain Figgins quickly finished their conversation. They led the way into a large conference room. Several lightly armored police officers and more heavily armed soldiers relaxed around the room. Captain Figgins knocked her staff against the ground.
"Attention all police and cooperating military units! Salute your commander."
The rowdy group instantly settled down and saluted Commander McGrath. He nodded, and Captain Figgins stepped back behind him. Aayla quickly followed her lead. It was safer to be overly polite than rude.
"Officers and our friends from the military, the promised team from Nafriton has arrived today. They are settling down with the research team as we speak. This does not change what we need to do. Keep the peace and protect the citizens."
Groans emerged from the crowd. Did they have to deal with those sun-deprived wusses? They just sat around and judged everything all day.
"Settle down. We have never seen such odd creatures before. In this case, the higher ups have decided to error on the side of caution. Unfortunately, we are a bit short on tamers who have the practical skills for handling the spell resistant creatures that have been showing up in and around the city. So, I found one."
The commander motioned for Aayla to step forward. She wasn't going to need to speak, was she? The crowd instantly turned towards Aayla. Most of their gazes were disdainful and a bit hostile. They did not like dealing with snobby, incompetent 'outside experts'. Her face froze as her ears started popping from the pressure. It's been a while since that happened.
"This is Ms. Aayla Glowery. She's studied under Deputy Headmaster Heston, and has been the primary lead on the student team handling the creatures appearing on campus. She's also provided helpful information in the care of captive creatures. You all may know her as the 'Emerald Snake Charmer' or the 'Nafriton Beast Whisperer'."
Aayla's face twitched. She did not remember hearing about those names. What was up with those cringey names? Did a delusional eighth grader come up with those names? Aayla only provided a couple of tips to the professors' team a couple of times. Surely it wasn't that important.
The gazes turned more curious than disdainful, but their doubts clearly remained. Aayla just stood there for a few minutes. The commander pointed his chin towards the group again. Darn it. She was supposed to speak. Maybe it's better to be a bit arrogant with this prideful bunch.
"Good afternoon. I'm Aayla Glowery, a student from Nafriton. I'll be staying here for the next week to teach you the basics about handling different types of animals. Just keep calm and the animals will stay calm. They're more afraid of us than we are of them.
Speaking of fear, my lessons will be very hands on. No magic. I better not hear any little school girls screaming or seeing any scaredy cats running away in fear. I'm not getting paid enough to deal with that."