Familiar Feeling (Wingshadow & Mizzet)

[Mizzet]

Ink trailed along the floor from a small bottle that had been turned onto it's side. It snaked across the floor soaking into loose papers that littered the ground. It had been a very long night for the boy who was asleep half way onto his bed. He had spent the entire night before finishing his final test for his Master. He was among three other students whom had been chosen years ago to under go the training to be a sorcerer. It was a rare thing indeed, especially for someone like himself. He had been a simple boy, not educated, or even interested in magic. However his Master Meic, the local wizard had taken notice of his inate abilities one day in the local market.

The other two students where just the opposite, rich, spoiled, and well versed in many tongues. They had not been fond of his presence from the first day. He himself had not cared much himself, but he had still given it his all. Last night his Master had asked each of the three to concoct a potion, just any potion, it was to see how well they could use what they've learned. He had gone with a illusionary one, it caused the drinker to change form, it was a tricky little thing, but he had done so and had left the phial of liquid at his masters door the night before. He had an uneasy sleep then, thinking he had done everything wrong, and had been hoping Meic, had not tasted the brew, for fear he would be poisoned.

"Wake up Aiden!" came a shout from his door. It was one of the other students. It sounded like Martin, he was a rather rude fellow, gifted in his skill, he could not help but show off.

Aiden stirred from his bed, his eyes where of a strange blueish purple, the signs of his magical powers coming to light. His dark hair was untidy and such. He had taken the liberty of getting dressed an hour before, but he had once more fallen asleep. His eyes widened, he hoped he was not late for the ceremony. In truth it was not very much a ceremony as it was a day where his Master finally said "Good Job," and let them go on their way. He was to receive a familiar today, a magical companion to help him with his needs. Meic had a large dragon as his familiar, she was tall, skin of dark brown, and scales that covered her body in certian places like a layer of scalled armor. He had always though tit strange the old man had such an attractive familiar, but he did not question it, Slytha, as was her name, was not as gentle as she looked, she was more then willing to bite if need be.

He got ready, following after the two other boys, and went to the meeting place in the tower Meic lived in. There he saw the old wizard, standing, a stern look on his face. "I am so glad you all made it...." he said, their was a hint of sarcasm in his voice, they where late it seemed.

"Come come...meet you new companions.....your potions spoke volujes of your skills and interests, I took the whole night summoning each specific being for your familiar."

 

[Wingshadow]

On the far side of the room stood a variety of magical creatures, ranging from multi-headed serpents and salamanders to modest members of the fay such as pot goblins and such. Each student stepped forward in turn and stood across from their familiar which joined them on opposite sides of the magic circle drawn into the stone floor beneath their feet. Everything proceeded smoothly and in order. When Aiden's turn arrived, however, there was slight unrest amid the crowd of magic students when they saw what manner of familiar approached the circle.

She stood a decent distance above the floor at five foot, three inches and carried herself in a strikingly human manner as she took long, flowing strides toward her proper position across from Aiden. Clad in a unusual garment akin to a robe yet tied about the middle with a wide ribbon, her bare footsteps made a distinct sound on the cold stone floor. She had striking dark brown eyes and soft orange fur on each of her five tails which sprouted up just above her bottom. They stood at attention, much like her firm gaze as she looked him over briefly before offering a simple shrug in return. None of the other students quite knew what to make of her, for she was a rather rare creature to be taken as a familiar, and certainly powerful, but their often stubborn, capricious, and self-serving attitudes made them difficult to deal with. The kitsune, moreover, did not seem particularly intrigued by the young man who stood before her, yet made an effort to remain civil toward her new contractor.

"My name is Chiyo," she spoke with confidence but also a lack of tact, "You can call me Chi if you'd like, or Yo if you prefer, but I would imagine that might cause some confusion if you call out 'Yo' in a more public setting. I like afternoon naps and my favorite foods are tofu and roasted strips of beef. I understand that old 'Grumpy Whiskers' assigned me to be your partner, or familiar, whatever they call it these days." She placed her hand beneath her chin and gave a few moments longer to thought before continuing, "I think he said that you have an interest in illusion spells and potions. Perhaps I can offer you a few pointers. Illusions are the best form of amusement if you can pull them off right-"

Meic cleared his throat rather loudly in a vain attempt to set Chiyo back on the right track as she clearly had forgotten about the actual ceremony that they were supposed to conduct. Chiyo, of course, either misunderstood or intentionally ignored him and instead waited for Aiden's reply.

 

[Mizzet]

He felt like snakes had hatched in his gut as he watched other students. He had thought it would have only been the three students of Meic, but it seemed other Masters from near by and some far had also brought their prodigies to award a magical partner. He saw a few very interesting ones, the hydra like snakes, where some he had only read about. Many magical creatures where not easy to find, as they could easily make themselves unseen or make anyone who had seen them forget. He wondered which would be his new partner.

When it was his turn he came up he felt his body seem to move slowly, as if trying to keep him from walking. He overcame the sensation and walked towards the circle. He looked up not realizing he had been staring at his feet, as if that willed them to move. Across from him stood something he had only seen in a book for sure. She was just as amazing as the depiction, though of course far more so was it to see her for real. He wondered if perhaps this was a mistake, he had only done an illusionary spell, of course her kin where known for that sort of thing.

"My name is Aiden," he replied, his head nodded softly as if to bow, but he felt silly if he bowed ahead of time. He was not sure what he would call her, her name seemed nice though. "It's nice to meet you Chiyo," he said his voice was not shaking, no despite his nerves he spoke clearly and fine. He wanted to explain he chose the potion because he thought kt was interesting.He truthfully liked growing things or helping them to grow, as he was a simple farm boy before hand. However his Master seemed that talking was not the part.

"Should we?" he asked her. meaning if they should make the bond. He did what all students did and began to speak in a very old tongue, it was a verbal contract between the two living beings, that would bond them until either one passed on, which wuld most likely be him first, or if he dismissed or she managed to break it.

 

[Wingshadow]

Chiyo reluctantly nodded, as if the true purpose for them being there was a troublesome matter compared to simply chatting with her new human contractor. She listened to his words and responded in turn in the same ancient language. Pulses of energy flowed out from both of them along the ridges in the magic circle, spiraling inward with each passing phrase that they spoke until the magical energies met in the center and mixed with each other, sealing the bond between them. With this completed, Meic gestured for the two to step aside so that the next pair could begin the ritual. Chiyo seemed eager to comply as she made swift strides toward Aiden and gently took his hand in hers before leading them both out away from the center of the room. Her skin was soft and warm like a human woman's, while her distinctly inhuman parts clearly reflected her true nature.

She released him as soon as they had passed through the crowd and started to make her way toward the dormitory, presumably to take a nap, without consulting Aiden as to her intentions or even to learn which room was his. She probably considered it a game, to search each and every room until she found one that smelled like him. The magician school was a treasure trove of places to explore and smells to enjoy. Humans were quite uptight about rules, however, so she would have to behave herself for the time being, at least until everyone recognized her as Aiden's familiar instead of just some wandering kitsune who had decided to free load at the school. When she finally turned and looked back at Aiden, apparently only then remembering that they had formed a binding contract with each other, she began to see past his brown ruffled hair and standard issue magician robes to something deeper, something which rang true in both their lives.

"So, Grumpy Whiskers said something about my duties as a familiar, but I really didn't care to listen very closely," Chiyo shrugged, her tails swaying from side to side slightly, "What exactly do you expect me to do as your familiar?"

 

[Mizzet]

Aiden felt a sensation as the energies swirled and bound them together. It was tingly, and felt very nice at the same time. When their ritual ended he let out a breath he had been holding in, afraid to break any of the words to breath. When told to leave the circle he nodded, though he was surprised she grabbed his hand and lead him away from it, in a bit of a rush too. He wanted to leave just as much as she but he thought it rude to leave.

He chuckled as she once more referred to his master as "Grumpy Whiskers" it was a funny name to calll him. "Well....from what I know...a familiar helps a magician channel energy, assist with spells, potions, rituals, and incantations when need be...and generally is like a partner or companion," he said. "I only know that from time to time Meic has Slytha help him with things like gathering materials and such or other errands."

 

[Wingshadow]

"Well, that sounds pretty dull," the kitsune shrugged, her tails swaying back and forth slightly in time with her steps as she walked beside him, "If I wanted to be someone's servant I would have sent an application to work as a bar maid or the like. I hope you have something much more appealing in mind for me."

She gave him a playful nudge and a friendly grin, "We could try stealing Grumpy Whisker's hair growth potions and stashing them in the lost-and-found depository for starters. The best sort of experiance, in my experiance, is to experiance magic as a part of your life in a more familiar setting. Putting a fair amount of risk into the mix isn't bad, either, especially if you cannot afford to loose. Imagine how upset he would be if he figured out you were the one behind it."

Chiyo, of course, never once considered that she might be blamed. It seemed fairly likely that in the event that they were caught she fully intended to let him take the full fall in such a case. The last thing she wished, however was to be forced to listen to long lectures about the proper and selective use of magic. As a kitsune, she had learned everything she knew about her own capabilities by instinct and had developed her strengths out of interest or necessity. Formal institutions held little interest for her, other than as opportunities to entertain herself and show some stiff humans how foolish they really were for adhering to such stringent social norms.

 

[Mizzet]

He did not like the idea of angery his teacher very much, but he also felt that just helping him to small tasks would be fairly boring. "Hmmmm...well....After today I am technically a full fledged mage.....we can look for a town that will hire me, of course it probably wont be anything glamorous," he said thinking about it. Most sorcerers were feared and looked uon as, dangerous. Of course some were hired to help with farming, using magic to assure a nice crop, some were used on ships to help change the winds and with seasickness.

"Maybe you can teach me some of this magic you know," he suggested, he was still a novice at best after all.

 

[Wingshadow]

"You want me to teach you magic?" Chiyo held her left hand in front of her mouth in a vain attempt to mask her amused smirk, "No one has ever asked me to teach them anything before, let alone something as complicated as magic." She glanced over his figure briefly once again before shrugging.

"There really isn't much for me to to teach. Kitsune don't learn magic in a conventional manner like humans do. Asking me to teach you makes about as much sense as asking you how you grow taller or breathe. Its a part of our very being to such an extent that our life force is derived from our magic reserves... I can try to teach you what I know, but first we need to expand your magical reserves," the kitsune closed her eyes and nodded twice, "As I'm sure your professors have already told you before, magic is not simply a source of power, it is a flow within your body much like blood. Rather than being connected to your circulatory system, however, it forms an inseparable link between your mind and soul. Most humans simply leave it at that without explaining how truly important this is to understanding magic."

She gestured toward the air, "Every element, object, and person in the world possesses at least a strand of spirit within it, connecting it to the central essential source of all existence. The larger this strand is, the greater influence it has on this raw power, which humans know as magic. The amount of power and its use is derived from what sort of strand it possesses. These differentiations are known to humans as the elements. Even though they are not actually associated with the scientific elements, they do lay the foundation for all types of magic."

"Kitsune typically possess three strands, or elemental affinities: earth, wind, and fire," Chiyo continued, "By themselves, they each possess varying degrees of use for casting destructive spells, but by mixing earth and wind, we create sand which lays the foundation for all kitsune illusion magic. Most humans use steam magic for casting illusions, which is a mixture of fire and water. It is a simple yet effective way of going about it, but magicians who are familiar with it can easily see through such illusions... Therefore, we must increase your grasp of the wind and earth elements if you wish to get anywhere with my training."

 

[Mizzet]

Aiden understood most of the concept she spoke about. t was based off of very ancient philosophy, the five elements, or six depending on a persons grasp where; Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Metal or in some cases Electricity which could only be used if one understood the other five in such a way that through fires energy, waters fluidiy, and metals conductive property could bring forth the new element. He however was no where near that stage. He knew very little of these, mostly understanding the basic forms of chemistry and such. He knew a few fire spells, and earth spells, as well as water, and wind. Metal was hard and normally only if you could grasp earth and fire well could you use it. He however was not great at this level.

"Well....I don't even really know which strands I posses...or if I can learn any," he said. He knew a person could learn, but some had inate abilities towards some elemtns. It was very spiritual, and he understood little of that aspect she was talking about. "How would we go about expanding my reserves too? I mean it isn't like a muscle or studying...I can't work out to strengthen it, nor can I read about it and expect it to happen right?" he asked curious. He had a strange feeling he was doing something off, after all one did not ask their familiar to be their teacher.

 

[Wingshadow]

"I think you aren't quite understanding what I am trying to tell you," Chiyo tilted her head to the side slightly, "If you didn't have any strands, you simply wouldn't exist at all. Everything that exists in the world derives its existence from the single source of all existence... What do they even teach you at this school?"

The kitsune nodded, "The easiest way for me to determine what strands you possess is to take a sample. I assure you its rather quick and completely painless... In fact, you might even enjoy it." She allowed her ambiguous words to sink in for a few moments before continuing, "There are several ways to expand your magical reserves... The simplest way is to expand your knowledge of your own strands, so you can use what power you already possess with greater efficiency. This involves simply using magic until you learn your limits on your own, but that really won't help you grow as a magician. Another way you can expand your magical reserves is to form a contract with a powerful magical being. That's why you formed a contract with me in the first place, isn't it? You have indirect access to my own magical reserves through our contract, and as our bond grows so will the strength of the contract."

Chiyo sighed, "Third, you can learn to tap into the elemental energies around you. With practice, this can be rather simple but it limits you to energies in your immediate vicinity. Finally, certain powerful magic artifacts have been made for the expressed purpose of increasing your reserves... But for obvious reasons many of these artifacts are unattainable by novices and have been placed under strict protection to prevent abuse."

 

[Mizzet]

He listened once more, he didn't quiet understand how he might "enjoy" her sample taking, but he guessed it must be something simple, like maybe having him just do magic or something, it didn't seem like she needed to take blood or something painful so he was not too worried. "Ok so I have strands...just...don't know it," he said conclusively. He was happy to hear he at least had inate ability.

"Ok so..I am able to access your energy too? I guess I'll learn to do that with practice then huh?" he asked, it seemed strange but it made sense and it was why they were paired. He wondered if having her as a familiar was because he was weak as a magician, she was obviously very strong so maybe it was to balance his lack of strength. The idea was a bit unsettling. "Ok well we cannot do much until we know what I can do I guess...so how do you take this sample from me?" He was anxious to start. He hoped to try and make himself, at least respectable.

 

[Wingshadow]

"Oh, getting anxious, are we?" Chiyo giggled, two of her tails wrapping around his middle and allowing him to brush her soft, warm fur if he wished while at the same time holding and restricting his movement, "Tell me, have you ever heard of the term, 'the little death'? Its quite simple, really... You've heard people say 'bless you' when you sneeze, right? All bodily fluids are connected with your very life essence... So, the little death would be the loss of a body fluid, specifically the one most directly associated with life... Well, new life."

"I just need a little taste of your semen... It doesn't have to be actual sex if you aren't comfortable with the idea," the kitsune smirked, her cheek brushing up against his as she spoke, her left arm wrapping around his back and pressing their bodies closer together until they touched, her right dropping down toward his waist, "Would you like to... Find a more private location? Personally, I don't mind either way but I've heard its rather scandalous for humans to engage in such activities in public."

 

[Mizzet]

He gingerly let his hand touch her fur, it felt nice, silky smooth to the touch, she must treat it well for it to feel this way.He imagined royalty would love to be dressed in material such as this, though the idea of taking her tails seemed a gross and horrid thing. He didn't like the idea of killing for fashionable reason. He listened though he was a bit distracted by her fur as he did. He nodded gently knowing full well why one said bless you, of course it was also meant to ward off a plague or during plagues one said that so one did not get a plague.

His eyes widened at the sound of "death" and they stayed shocked as she explained the rather cute names meaning. "So you need to take my...semen..." he said wondering if this was a joke or a real means, the idea of his Master and his dragon familiar doing a similar thing seemed odd. "I don't mind...I mean is it more effective if it'ssex...or will it suffice just being...you know....um," he didn't know what to say. Despite his age he was a virgin, studying magic did not give one time to find sutable bed partners at times. And few female students where among them.

 

[Wingshadow]

"Oh, I can't say for sure..." the kitsune verbally teased him, "Perhaps we can try it both ways and find out. If all you really want is to know your current potential, then I can certainly suffice without actual sex. But, if you'd like to become more... Familiar with me, then, you know, it would probably be best to go all the way. Haven't you wondered why familiars are almost always somewhat similar to human in shape? I suppose you do, now. Of course, this doesn't mean that a romantic connection between master and familiar is required for them to be an effective team, or even a very powerful one. Bonds of trust and friendship are sufficient, so don't feel pressured to rush into things."

She slid back from him, her warmth still remaining on his skin for some time afterward as she led him back toward his room.

 

[Mizzet]

Aiden was not sure how to rspond to that. Of course any male would jump at the chance to actually have sex, especially with someone like her, despite her extra appendages and appearance. He was just not all that certain he would be good. He knew what sex was, he grew up on a farm so he had seen animals mating before, expecially when he saw his two herd dogs in the middle of heat, as well as the horses. Of course he knew it wouldn't be the same but he got the general idea.

"I well....I'm " he said unable to give a straight answer. He simply followed her to his room, still surprised she knew were it was, but he guessed she could tell or something. The prospect of sex though was however making him excited, and it was more then obvious he would not be lacking in the equipment needed just experience. Of course if he refused he had the feeling that he was not being manly, and thus would be shamed to not go all the way, she was offering after all. "Lets start...slow...I'm....inexperienced," he said though he did not speak loudly once they got to his room. He didn't say no, but he also did not say he wanted to go right into it, if she was, good then maybe he would feel more daring to do so.