Hilary sat in her room studying a translated text Mina had given her, it made her head hurt as Mina had written it in a way that wasn't easy to understand. She closed the notebook and rubbed her eyes, "Ugh...and I thought Shakespeare was hard.", looking out the window she thought about how it'd already been a month and Mina hadn't done more than translate some texts from a book in her shop. The rabbit scratched her head and began to wonder if Mina actually knew any magic besides making herself younger. "If it was a simple illusion it shouldn't have lasted this long and most Glamor spells I've read about only work on a particular person.", she thought, "If it was just a Glamor my camera would have shown what she really looks like. And even if her image didn't look different to me it would have to someone else, but no one I showed her picture to saw an old woman.".
"Perhaps you should spend less time wondering about my abilities and more working on your own.", Hilary jumped as Mina's voice came from no where. Her bedroom closet opened slowly as a white fog rolled out along the floor and Mina stepped out into the room. Hilary rolled her eyes and sighed with a bit of disgust as she noticed Mina was STILL parading around naked. "Do not give me that tone young lady, as your teacher you are to greet me with due respect.", Mina scolded as she examined the mouse of Hilary's computer. "What is this strange trinket?", the cat asked still looking at it curiously, "It's a mouse.", Hilary said in an condescending manner. Mina looked at Hilary with her eyes slightly narrowed, "I know what a mouse is...and it is certainly not something like this.", Mina placed the mouse back on its pad and continued to look around the room.
"Madam Mina, why are you here anyway?", Hilary asked as she watched her instructor tinker with different objects around the room. "Have you ever stayed in a rotting mansion with only the spiders to keep you company?", She looked over her shoulder to the rabbit then turned back to CD's she was examining, "I was bored. Meditating has its advantages but I lived a rather active social life until a few rotations ago, I have actually found myself growing lonely of late.". Hilary raised an eyebrow, "Rotations? You mean years don't you?", Mina quickly responded, "Yes, years.", Mina's ears drooped a little making her usual expression look as though she were sad. The cat turned as her ears returned to their usual position, "By the way Hill Ari, what exactly is this?", she held up the CD which she had hanging on her finger by the center hole. Hilary raised an eyebrow, "Why don't you just read my mind like before? Surprised you just didn't do that to begin with and skip on our deal.", Mina set the CD down and folded her arms as she reclined against her tail until her feet were off the floor, "Because over use of mind reading is taxing on me. Then there is always the chance of leaving memories behind. Reading a person's mind requires establishing a link with theirs, on rare occasions memories can be left behind or even exchanged by the two involved. I've had the misfortune of witnessing a student of mine completely lose himself in another's mind.", Mina rocked on her tail as it's index finger tapped against the floor impatiently.
Hilary thought for a moment and considered the possible danger of learning magic given Mina's comment. "Do not fret Hill Ari, that particular student over stepped his boundaries and attempted something he was completely unprepared for. He wanted to master reading minds first for the purpose of taking my knowledge before he could even handle a simple incantation. As long as you follow my guidance and only study when you are alone there is little chance of any harm coming to you during your training.". It didn't sound particularly comforting to hear even with guidance there was a chance something could happen to her, but regardless Hilary still felt it was worth it to learn real magic. Hilary looked at Mina again and rolled her eyes, "Ok, y'know Madam Mina it's kind of distracting with you walking around naked all the time. Why don't you put on some clothes?". Mina looked over herself, "I suppose I am just used to it now.", Hilary started digging through her closet for some old clothes she thought would fit the cat, "I'd like to know where in the world you could get used to be nude all the time. Anyway put these on, once your decent I'm taking you clothes shopping.".
Mina kept tugging at the outfit Hilary had given her, being smaller than the rabbit the clothes were bigger than Mina needed but she continued to to complain about feeling confined as they browsed different shops. After buying a couple of things Mina did like they stopped at Burger Joint for some lunch again Mina picked and curiously examined everything before finally eating. "So Madam Mina, what exactly where you doing before you came to the states?", Hilary asked as she nibbled on some fries. Mina set down her burger and cleaned her face before answering, "Actually I returned home, so to speak. For the last one hundred years I served as the shaman of the Fugawi people, before that I had simply wandered about the world as I have done so for many years.", she took a sip of her drink and gave it a funny look as she swallowed the twitched her nose. Hilary smiled as she laughed to herself, "So where was that? And do you mean that you used to live in that old house?", Mina nodded, "The Fugawi live on a small island that I discovered by chance, giving the state of the tribe it is unlikely they have had much contact with outsiders. As for the plantation, yes it was my home for a time. Chances are it is one of only a few still standing this day, it... saddens me to see it in such a state. I thought my descendants would have taken better care of it while I was gone.". Hilary finished her veggie burger as she listened to Mina's story of how she had come to the States long before its revolution, how she had wandered the wilderness of it for nearly a hundred and fifty years eventually settling down in a small wilderness town. How in her time there she met a man, not her first but the first in centuries who caught her eye, and how he built a mansion for her and their children, Hill's Crest.
After the shopping was done and both Mina and Hilary were satisfied with Mina's level of dress they returned to the mansion. As Hilary cleaned out a dresser in one of the rooms she looked out the window and saw Mina standing in front of the dead oak tree holding a couple of wild flowers. She headed down stairs and nearly bumped into Mina as the cat returned inside, "Is everything ok?", the rabbit asked as she passed by, "Yes, everything will be fine.", Mina replied. She walked into the room where she had performed her youth ritual, seeing it now in the light of day Hilary realized it was a study, where she sat in an old chair by the fireplace. She lightly rubbed her hands over the decaying wood and rotten fabric and sighed as she closed her eyes. "Poor Mina, to be gone so long and come back to find everything she knew as home in such a mess.", Hilary thought as she watched her mentor quietly. Mina took a deep breath and held it as she stretched her arms out in front of her with her palms turned slightly inward, she let the held breath out a whispered words that seemed to echo through the house as a gentle wind emanated from her. She continued her chat as an aura of white surrounded her and began to spread along the chair to the floor and walls, the soft glow covered everything spreading through the house until Mina opened her eyes and called out one word: "Restabilirea". The glow turned to a brilliant light that faded as quickly as it came to be, as Hilary looked around she saw the house had been made like new by the spell but on further inspection some things, such as a hole where a chandelier may have been and some broke plates, remained unchanged.
"I had grown tired of seeing my home as a broken relic, if my descendants could not care for it I will.", Mina stated as she rested in the restored chair. Hilary entered the room, noticing more thing left unchanged, and took the seat across from Mina, "How did you do that?", she asked. Mina chuckled and cracked her eyes, "The same way I did this.", she said as she gestured to her face, "All it requires is the proper materials. I did not find much of use while we were purchasing these garments however I did find a very lovely wood and some 'wall paper' I felt would look nice.". "Oooh, so that's why nothing besides the walls, floor, and ceiling were fixed.", Hilary stated as she took in everything. "Yes. Hill Ari, if you would be so kind I would like for you to bring me anything that may be useful in restoring my home. Consider it a test, nearly all magic requires more than just knowledge and energy it requires proper use of the correct materials to accomplish your goal.", Mina sat up straight as she looked at Hilary who had this expression of child-like wonder of her face, it was the first time she had seen Hilary without a trace of gloom in her face.
"Have you studied the text I gave you?", Hilary snapped back to reality as Mina asked the question, "Yes, but I'm having a lot of trouble understanding it.". Mina frowned a little more, "Then let us try to learn by doing, shall we?", she stood up and walked over tot he circle she had used to restore herself and erased most of the markings then stepped aside, "Come, stand within the circle.". Hilary did as told and took her place within the triangle centered in the circle, "Ok, what now?", she asked. Mina stood on her tail and crossed her legs, supporting her full weight on it, "Now hold your hands out to the Eye.", Hilary stretched out her arms until her thumbs and index fingers centered on the eye within the triangle, "Close your eyes, focus your mind on the Eye of the circle.", Hilary continued to follow Mina's instructions, "Now, visualize your energy flowing from you into the Eye. Keep your mind focused on the Eye and the energy leaving you and going into it.", Mina's words seemed distance as Hilary focused. She could see the Eye clearly in her mind as she started to feel slightly weak, like she was slowly being drained, "Now pull the energy back out of the Eye see it with your mind, then do it", Mina encouraged.
Hilary felt something warm pulsing in her hands as her hair was rustled by a gentle breeze, she quickly opened her eyes and her jaw went slightly slack as she saw a imperfect orb of light floating just in front of her hands. She smiled brightly, "I did it!", Mina grinned a little, "Not quite. What you have managed to do is only the first step in any spell casting. Regardless of the spell you must first summon the energy to cast it.". Hilary looked at the orb as its shape wobbled periodically, "So once I gather the energy, then what?", Mina leaned back a little, "It all depends on the spell, however, I think it best we use one of the more simpler spells. Your energy is inconsistent so why not summon a familiar?". Hilary looked puzzled, "But I thought familiars were companions you had to be able to converse with.", Mina nodded, "That is not entirely incorrect. A familiar must be summoned, from where ever it's kind originates be it somewhere in the physical world or some part of the spirit world. Being able to converse with it is only someone with magic can do, this was originally how potential witches and wizards were discovered as it cannot be seen or heard by a normal person. Now, I would say the energy you have is sufficient for summoning something small and easy to handle. This time focus on the circle itself, the Eye is to draw out energy, the rest is make use of the energy drawn out.".
Hilary took a deep breath and pictured the circle in her head as she had done with the eye, as she did the light in her hands shrank and the circle began to glow. "Good, now the familiar can be anything you want it to be, just imagine something. It can be an animal, a person, or even an object however I must tell you animal familiars can be easier to tame and provide better benefits to you depending on it's natural abilities.", Mina continued to smile as she coached from the sidelines, watching the energy of the circle for any fluctuations. Hilary tried to think of an animal, anything, but nothing would come she tried to think of any animal she had seen recently on the street, in a pet shop, or in a movie. Suddenly the energy in her hands disappeared and the circle glowed even brighter, "Very good, now let us see what you have summoned", Mina lowered herself back to the floor as her tail flicked around behind her patiently waiting for something to come through. The light slowly faded away and with the exception of Hilary the circle was empty. "Hmm?", Mina came closer tot he circle and inspected the marking, "No, everything is in order.", she stood back up and looked around the room. She glanced back at Hilary and noticed a shocked expression on her face then sharply turned around to find the dorsal fin of a shark moving through the floor toward them before disappearing as the floor rippled like water. "Hill Ari get down!", the cat shouted as she dropped to the floor and dragged Hilary with her using her tail just as a large shark-like creature sprang up out of the floor, barely missing them before vanishing through the wall.
"What the hell was that thing?!", Hilary screamed as she lifted her head before Mina pushed it back down, "It's a Lapsus Shark, they exist between physical dimensions. Normally they would be considered bottom feeders devouring anything that passes into the between space, but with it here it'll eat whatever it can find.". Mina felt something brush against her leg and quickly threw Hilary out of the window just as the shark surfaced barely missing Hilary's arm. "Get out of my house!", Mina shouted as her tail drew back, the hand forming a fist and growing in size, before striking the beast in the underbelly and slamming it through the wall. Mina jumped through the whole and tried to hit the shark once more but missed as it vanished into the ground. Hilary sat dumb founded, "Did she really just throw that thing? But it's so huge!", she thought just as Mina shouted, "Hill Ari, behind you!", Hilary quickly turned then jumped out of the way as the shark stuck its head up and skimmed along the surface of the ground with its jaws open. Mina attempted another strike with her tail only to miss again, she turned expecting the beast to turn around but was slapped hard by its powerful tail.
Mina slowly got up, "Bastard, if you won't be a good familiar then i will just had to put you down.", she stood still and closed her eyes twitching her ears about listening for any kind of disturbance. The shark's fin appeared above the ground again, the earth moving around it like water, as it came from in front of Mina. The fin sank into the ground as Mina opened her eyes and moved her tail in front of her its hand clenched into a fist, as the shark burst out of the ground Mina stepped aside and raised the middle finger of her tail's hand with an evil grin, "Let us see how you like that, you over grown catfish.". The shark barely missed and prepared to dive into the ground only to slam hard into it and flip over on its back. As it floundered about Mina cackled, "How do you like my Bad Luck charm? I did not expect this to happen but that makes killing you much easier.", she laughed a little more as she raised the index finger of her tail and a small flame ignited above it, "Now, be a good fish.. and fry.", she frowned deeply as the flame exploded into a thick stream of fire that completely engulfed the shark. The stream held for a few seconds then dispersed revealing a heavily charred corpse. "Oh dear, I over did it. I was hoping this could be our dinner tonight, but I doubt there is much edible meat left.", she pouted a little as she turned toward the house and mended the hole in the wall using one of its fragments.
Later while cleaning one of the mansion's bedrooms, "Madam Mina..how did you do that? I thought you said you need a circle to perform magic.", Hilary questioned. "You do, but you see this tail of mine is special. Long ago, after I had perfected my restoration spell, I began to experiment with even more powerful magics. I had learned of a tribe that used magic to gift their warriors with additional limbs, at first I thought it would be perfect to advance my own magic.". Mina hung up an old curtain over the large window as she continued, "However, the additional limb was transmutation of an ogre's arm onto the subjects body. In my case they transmuted it to my tail, it is a very useful tool tho. The hand itself can increase in size, the size you see it now is its normal size, and it can extend my tail an addition six feet. And if that wasn't enough being part ogre it possesses far greater physical strength than I, which is why it can so easily support me when I meditate.". Hilary polished the head board of the large, luxurious bed as she listened, only stopping to say, "Well what about the whole not having to use circles thing?". Mina stepped back and looked at her work, "Simple, I observed the ceremony for several years before taking part in it. I was able to deduce the method they used and in turn transmuted a magic circle onto the bones of each finger. As you have seen my index finger holds circles to conjure fire, my middle finger holds circles that, in essence, produce a bad luck charm, my little finger holds circles for shadow magic which includes my teleporting, and my thumb holds circles for conjuring and manipulating water.". "Water? With those others spells why would you pick something as lame as water?", Hilary asked as she helped Mina apply bed sheets to the feather mattress, "Practicality, fresh water was a very valuable resource for much of my life. It seemed most beneficial to be able to create it whenever I desired.". Mina wiped a little sweat off of her forehead as she let out a sigh, "Speaking of which, I think a nice hot bath will work wonders for me right now.", she casually waved her hand as she walked out of the room and down the hall. Her voice echoed back tot he room, "Hope you like the room Hill Ari, you can move your things in whenever you like.". Hilary blushed a little as she looked at the room she thought they had been decorating for Mina herself as she sat on the bed, "Now this, I could get used to.", she said with a smile as she fell back on the soft and comfortable bed.
