A month had passed without my daily activities being questioned by anyone. Mother continued to work diligently, and somehow the villagers seemed to be allowing her to do other tasks as well. She was pleased with her newfound acceptance but was always too tired at the end of the day to wonder how I spent my time.
I had become so proficient at sensing magic that I could pull it out of the air like the wisp of a spider's web. Budding had taught me how to drink in stray magic as an alternate source of energy. I could even store it up to be used later—although I hadn't learned how to do that yet.
All-in-all, I was having the best spring that I could remember.
I skipped around the house as I gathered my things before setting out for the day. I took a waterskin and a pouch of food for my midday meal. I included a change of clothes, just in case I got wet or muddy. I put on my shoes, but that was only for the walk to the forest. I usually set them aside once I arrived.
As I tied the laces, there was a knock at the door.
I frowned, slowly getting to my feet. I couldn't think of anyone who would willingly come to our house, especially this early in the day.
"Who is there?" I asked through the door.
"Tsuki," came the muffled reply.
My expression immediately relaxed. "Oh," I said as I released the latch.
His wooden mask hid half of his face, but his eyes alone were fierce enough to startle me. "Where have you been?" he demanded. "I've tried to visit you every week, but you're never here."
I laughed, even though he didn't look amused. "I've been busy. Away."
"Away, where?" he pursued.
I cocked my head to the side. I'd never seen Tsuki angry before, but it seemed that he was this time. "Well, it's kind of a secret," I admitted. "I don't want my mother to find out."
Tsuki crossed his arms against his chest, looking imposing. "It already sounds like a terrible idea."
I lifted my palms in a hurried motion. "It's not anything bad, I promise."
He shook his head. "I don't believe you."
"It's not," I insisted.
His gray eyes narrowed. "If it's not bad, then why can't your mother know about it?"
My nose scrunched as I considered my words. "Well… she doesn't like magic."
Tsuki became still. "Magic?"
I nodded. "A tiernan is teaching me, but Mother thinks that I should be focusing on human stuff instead."
I could tell that Tsuki was doing some quick thinking. His eyes darted from side to side and he took a deep breath. When he finally spoke, he seemed nervous. "Do you think that I could come with you?"
My eyebrows shot up. "Really?"
He nodded. "I…I think it would be good to see what you are learning. Otherwise, I'd be worried."
I pursed my lips, regarding him with a measure of suspicion. If he didn't like what he saw, he would definitely tell my mother. But, if I refused to take him with me, he would also tell my mother. The only way to prevent him from telling on me was to reassure him that I was being safe.
I heaved a sigh. "Fine," I groaned, "you can come with me."
His eyes smiled. "Good."
I made a face at him as I walked past, handing him my bundle to carry. "Let's go."
He slung the bundle over his shoulder, following me with a spring in his step. He acted as if this had been the plan all along and we were off on some grand adventure.
Tsuki, like Mother, didn't have the same level of endurance that I did. I had to adjust my pace so that I didn't wear him out too quickly. We reached the forested hills in good time, though. I immediately felt my energy increase as we entered the area with a greater saturation of magic.
Budding and Min were waiting for us at the hut. That was always our starting point. From there, we'd wander the woods and see where the day would take us. Budding watched us approach with a surprised expression.
I cleared my throat, suddenly uncertain if it had been a good idea to bring Tsuki with me. "Budding, this is my friend, Tsuki. Can he come with us today?"
She closed the distance between us, studying him intently. "It's been a while since I've seen an akagine." She reached out a finger and touched his wooden mask. "Why are you hiding?"
I didn't understand what she was saying, but Tsuki's eyes widened in fear.
"Take off the mask," Budding urged.
Tsuki swallowed hard. "I…"
I abruptly felt the need to protect my friend, even though I knew that Budding meant no harm. "Why does he have to?"
She smiled at my reaction. "He doesn't have to," she soothed, "but he shouldn't feel that he has to hide, either."
Tsuki reached up with slow movements to untie the leather cord that held his mask in place. I watched in fascination as he removed the wooden cover.
The first thing that I noticed about him was that he was handsome. He had a defined jaw and full lips that matched well with his large eyes. His nose was long and straight, and his skin was without blemish.
It took me a moment to figure out why he wore a mask at all.
Peeking over the sides of his mouth were two long, sharp teeth. It reminded me of the illustrations I'd seen depicting vampires.
Tsuki kept his eyes fixed on the ground, looking as though he was waiting for a violent reaction. He clasped his hands together tightly with his shoulders hunched forward.
I patted him on the arm to reassure him. "Don't worry, Tsuki. I won't tell all the girls in the village how handsome you are. I don't want you to have to run away from them all the time."
He barked a laugh at my comment. The smile made his teeth even more prominent. "You don't mean that," he accused.
I gave an exaggerated sigh. "You're right. I just didn't want to say how ugly you are."
He laughed even harder, pretending to hit my shoulder. "Liar."
Budding seemed pleased by our interaction. "I know that akagine are treated unfairly by humans, but you don't need to hide here. You are welcome to join us whenever you wish."
My gaze turned to my teacher. "What's an akagine?"
"They aren't common in this nation," Budding said. "Probably because there are so few kags in this part of the continent."
"Akagine are people who have a kag somewhere in their ancestry," Tsuki explained. "For me, it was my great-grandfather."
I searched my memory, trying to find if I knew anything about kags. I seemed to recall that they were similar to vampires, but they didn't feed on blood. Any other information eluded me. Most of my interest had been focused on magical beings that I'd be likely to see, rather than ones in distant lands.
I gave him an appraising glance. "You look human, though. Except for your teeth."
He shifted uneasily. "It's not as noticeable during the day. The moonlight really brings it out."
I leaned in. "What do you look like?"
"Like a ghoul," he said lightly, but I didn't think he was joking.
"The physical and magical traits of kags are strong," Min interjected. "They will persist through generations, unlike most half-bloods."
I wanted to cheer up my friend. "You're like me," I exclaimed, grasping Tsuki's hand.
He smiled at me but still seemed a bit sad. "In some ways."
"Do you have magic?" I asked.
He nodded slowly. "Some, but not a lot."
"Let's take him to the focal point," Budding suggested, leading the way into the forest.
I started skipping as we walked, reaching out to touch every tree that we passed. "What kinds of things can you do?"
Tsuki shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "Not much. Just the usual…"
I snorted. "I don't know what's usual for akagine."
He pulled a leaf from a bush, rolling it between his fingers and then straightening it again. "Well, most akagine end up being physicians to cover up their abilities, but my parents didn't want that for us. They said it made us a target. Physicians in Navon are treated with suspicion because it's known that akagine are among them."
My frown deepened. I didn't think he was explaining himself very well. "So…you are a healer?"
Tsuki pressed his lips together. "Sort of."
Min made an exasperated noise. "They eat disease, you muddy log. Don't you know anything?"
My eyes widened. "What?"
"Mineral," Budding reprimanded gently.
The hoak tossed his hands up. "Well, what am I supposed to think? That's like me saying I don't understand how birds work."
I picked up a stick and threw it at him. "I was raised by humans," I pointed out. "I don't know everything that you do."
Tsuki looked positively alarmed at my exchange with Min. He hurried to speak, in an attempt to diffuse the situation. "Kags feed off of disease, and their descendants can do the same. If you had a cold, I could remove it from your body by absorbing it."
His diversion worked.
"That's amazing," I exclaimed. "Why would anyone think that's a bad thing?"
"Well," Tsuki hedged. "It can have side effects."
"You could die," Min cackled.
My jaw dropped.
"Not from healing a cold," Tsuki hurried to say. "But if it were something serious, like your aunt's alpine fever."
"Why?"
His cheeks flushed as he tried to explain. "Because it's removing something from the body without replacing it. If the void left behind is too big, the shock can be fatal."
I bent over to pick up some pretty rocks that I spotted. "Oh," I responded quietly.
"Humans don't like kags because they seek out those who are sick and weak, and sometimes those people die," Tsuki murmured.
"You don't do that, though," I emphasized.
He shrugged. "It doesn't matter. People in Navon hate akagine just as much as kags."
"That's stupid," I muttered.
Budding came to a stop, indicating that we were near the edge of the focal point. Even if she hadn't gestured, I would've been able to sense its presence.
"Let's use this subject to learn more about magic," she segued. "Like kags, we are able to take something from an external source and use it to nurture our bodies. What would happen to a kag or an akagine if they absorbed too much?"
"It's the same as eating too much," Tsuki answered. "You feel sick and lethargic."
She smiled. "Yes. So, what do you think would happen if you absorbed too much magic?"
I tilted my head. "Tummy ache?" I suggested flippantly.
Budding and Tsuki laughed at my joke. Min snorted but pretended that he wasn't listening to the lesson.
"In a way," Budding acknowledged. "It will wear down your body. At first, you will simply feel tired, but repeated overextension could eventually be fatal."
I could see that Budding was trying to impress the seriousness of her words on me, so I stopped smiling and nodded. "I understand."
"Conversely," she went on, "what do you think happened to an area when all of its magic is suddenly absorbed?"
"It will die?" I guessed.
She inclined her head. "There are places in the world where you can see this has happened. They become barren wastelands where nothing can survive."
"Like a desert?" Tsuki asked.
"Not necessarily," Budding replied. "There are plenty of deserts where there is abundant life."
I'd never seen a desert with my own eyes, only the illustrations that could be found in books. They had always looked so dreary to me. It was difficult for me to imagine a place that could be even worse.
I crouched down, putting my hands on the mossy ground. "Have you ever been to a place like that?"
Budding shook her head. "I've never left this area, but I've seen it through the tales of the wanderers."
"How do they exist?" Tsuki pressed. "How can there be a place where the magic of nature has been completely drained?"
Budding sighed. "They are usually the sites where terrible things have happened—where magic has been used to commit atrocities."
I felt a morbid curiosity to find out more about these dark tales, but I restrained myself. I seemed to be the only one interested. My three companions all looked bleak and uncomfortable.
I tugged on Tsuki's trouser leg, motioning for him to sit next to me. "Do you feel the magic here?"
He squinted as he looked around. "A bit," he acknowledged. "I'm not very good at sensing magic. I'm better at sensing if someone is sick."
My eyes widened. "Really?"
Budding raised a hand to redirect the conversation. "Anyone can learn to sense magic. It just takes training. If you can learn to form a deeper connection with magic, you will find unrealized abilities start to awaken."
Tsuki grimaced. "I'm not sure that I want to make myself more noticeable than I already am."
Min tsked irritably. "I'll never understand why half-bloods are so intent on seeming human. If it were me, I'd try to pretend that I wasn't human at all."
Tsuki seemed ashamed, but I felt my anger flare up. "What do you know?" I shot back. "You don't know what it's like! We have to live with other humans, so of course we want to fit in."
Once again, Budding came to rescue the conversation before it became a battle. "I understand the concerns you must have, and there's nothing wrong with hesitating. Only you can decide if this is a path you wish to take."
"Learning to use magic won't change how you look," Min pointed out tartly. "Humans will view you the same no matter what."
Budding laid a gentle hand on Mineral's arm. "If today is the only day you come to visit us, we will be glad to have met you," she said to Tsuki. "If you choose to come back tomorrow, I will be happy to teach you alongside Tiff."
I nudged him with my elbow. "You should come learn with me," I whispered.
He rubbed his palms on his clothes, looking nervous. "I wouldn't be able to come every day," he explained. "I'm also learning how to be a cobbler."
I stuck my tongue out. "That's boring," I declared.
Budding swatted at my knee. "Learning is never a bad thing," she scolded. The look she gave Tsuki was compassionate. "You can come whenever you are able."
He nodded, looking relieved and a bit excited. I bounced in my seat, giggling quietly. My wonderful spring was looking to become even better.
We were going to have so much fun!