Chapter 3: Skadi Olar and the Demon Underneath (Patreon)

Not that anyone had asked, but she thought if she’d been given the choice, Skadi Olar would have foregone this entire ruse to give Godric Lux a hug, maybe not even a big one like she wanted, but something small, at least a gentle pat on the back, a murmured word telling the boy it would be okay.

Like he had done for her.

Maybe Mother would be mad; this would be breaking the plan in a major way, but looking at the tall boy standing across from her, his face set in stone, a cold mask to the world around him, all she could do was clench her hand.

It wasn’t fair; she was going to kill him. She was going to rip the flesh from his filthy bones, and when the stoic man of her memories was reduced to a tenth of the pain his son had to live with, he would die.

Skadi’s hand relaxed forcibly as she tried to still her breath. Calm, think of her Sisters, think of Godric.

In the early morning light, they all stood around the exit gate, a massive red metal construction with two parallel bars and a red beam across the top, blue light shimmering in the center, within which the valley below spilled out in verdant greenery, waiting for their Head Mage to arrive.

Godric was looking at her now from across the clearing, his arms crossed in front of him as he leaned against a building, his brow slightly furrowed, his ever-present mark twisting slightly at his expression; long white hair draped around his head in a curtain around his face. He looked markedly confused, his eyebrow raised as his silver eyes met hers, and Skadi, after a moment, realized it was because she was staring at him.

Her cheeks flushed a bright red against her will, and she spun to look away from him.

Burn her. How long had she been staring at him? It couldn’t have been that long, right? Surely not.

“You really are a Maiden,” a soft voice remarked next to her, even as the noise around them halted abruptly, as the space around them froze, preventing any sound from leaving.

Skadi consciously didn’t turn even as she muttered out under her breath, “I don’t want to hear anything after what happened yesterday, traitor.”

She didn’t need to turn to see Ilsa smiling something rather smug, “You’re just mad that your knight in shining armor likes me more.”

Skadi hissed under her breath, still smiling pleasantly as she tried to maintain her temper, “He’s not my knight in shining armor,” she hesitated for a long moment, “And he doesn’t like you more,” she finished somewhat petulantly.

Ilsa giggled again quietly,

“You don’t even know him,” Skadi muttered her words barely above a whisper, despite the sound isolation and the fact that her lips would not appear to be moving to Godric.

“Neither do you,” Ilsa returned with a raised eyebrow, and Skadi’s stomach twisted as she knew where Ilsa was going with this… again.

“Look, it’s not your business,” Skadi said louder, taking advantage of the sound isolation even as she continued looking calm and smiling, “Yes, maybe,” she emphasized, “maybe I don’t know everything about him, but I know enough.”

Ilsa released a long, breathy sigh. “It’s not healthy, girl, you know that.”

Maybe.

“Where are the others?” Ilsa changed the subject, “I thought we all agreed to be here early.”

“We can’t all teleport, can we?” another voice disturbed them, and they turned to see Tol standing there yawning widely as her wolf ears flicked about her head.

“How’d you get here?” Ilsa looked at the other girl, surprised, glancing back and forth between Tol and the air, looking mystified.

“Let myself in,” Tol yawned again, “I’m going to go talk to him so he doesn’t continue staring at you two wondering why exactly you guys look like you’re completely standing still.”

She continued walking past them and leaving the frozen space, walking to stand to the side, a little distance from Godric, pulling out a book as she did so.

Ilsa shook her head and sighed, “She was up too late reading again,” she crossed her arms casually.

Skadi took a deep breath, attempting to calm her racing heart down, only for her neck to tingle as she felt another presence enter their space momentarily as a blonde haired girl stormed past them not sparing them a single glance, her angry golden eyes flashing as she glared at everything around them like it owed her something, her eyes flicking rapidly, though Skadi noted they kept returning to the white haired boy leaned against the wall.

“And the scorned girlfriend has arrived,” Ilsa giggled.

Skadi frowned, all she allowed herself to do, “You know, when you say that you’re not just pissing off Ethel, you’re hurting Godric.”

Ilsa sighed, rubbing her chin, “He’s tough Skadi, and Ethel needs to hear it more. In my opinion, it’s the only way she’ll learn.”

Skadi looked incredulously at her, “Or burn him alive, are you forgetting exactly who she is?”

“He literally calls her Dragon,” Ilsa shook her head, “Him being alive currently is proof that there is nothing that can be said that will get her to kill him.”

Skadi looked at her friend with a raised eyebrow, “You know you’re not fireproof, too, right, Ilsa?”

Ilsa shrugged with an easy smile on her face.

“I’m sure your knight will protect me; he seems good at that,” she smirked at Skadi and winked.

Skadi blinked, then smiled sweetly at Ilsa, her gut twisting unpleasantly, “He’s not my knight,” she smiled even brighter, “he’s not going to protect you,” she whispered quietly, letting shadows curl behind her eyes.

Ilsa blinked, looking at her, and then shook her head, “Girl, you really freak me out sometimes,” she said with a playful smile on her face, seemingly not bothered in the slightest.

Skadi shook her head, “Girl, you have no idea.” A small smile played across her face before her attention once more fixed back on Godric.

“So are you going to at least stop staring at him and actually talk to him at some point?” Ilsa asked curiously.

Skadi sighed, shaking her head, “It’s more complicated than that, and you know it.” Her lips tugged downward a bit, staring at Godric for a moment, before her eyes flickered away.

“His Father doesn’t need to tell him anything,” Ilsa said quietly, “Haven worships the man; he’s the Commander of the Temple Knights, the people’s guardian.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Skadi returned, her lips turning down against her will, “I really don’t”

Ilsa shrugged before gently wrapping an arm around Skadi’s shoulders, “I know it’s hard, but we need to play this carefully. As far as we can tell Godric’s absolutely loyal to his Father, breaking that kind of conditioning,” Ilsa shook her head, “It won’t be easy, if it’s even possible.”

“I said stop,” Skadi growled, “I know all of it.”

Ilsa nodded, smiling faintly at her, “I know you do, but I’m telling you again anyway because I know you, just remember I care about this too.”

Skadi nodded her head somewhat mutinously, but her muscles relaxed the smallest amount.

The noise returned as the space unfroze, and the footsteps of their Head Mage echoed across the ground.

Deir walked with ease past them, a small smile on her face, and for a moment, Skadi wondered what was going on behind her expression. Was all of this charade really so easy for their captain?

The attention of the group now focused on Deir, who had her typical lazy smile on her face, “I’d like to remind everyone that when we’re out there, you listen to my instructions, my words,” she emphasized, “And if somehow I’m not at hand, you will listen to Godric just like you’d listen to me.”

Godric’s face did not so much as twitch at Deir’s words, his face completely unmoving and a bit of nerves fluttered through Skadi’s gut, and she found her hand grabbing the onyx stone within her robes enjoying the flush of warmth from it that she always carried with her, had carried with her since Godric had given it to her eleven years ago.

Not that he seemed to remember meeting her.

Which was fine; she couldn’t expect that meeting to have the same impact on him as it had on her. She gripped the stone tighter, feeling the flush of warmth through it, heat traveling through her system, relaxing her chest, easing her breath.

“With that said,” Deir shrugged, “Let’s be off,” she grinned, taking a step up to the gate, placing her palm on it before she vanished in a flash of blue light.

Godric glanced at them, his hard, pale silver eyes causing another moment of accelerated heart rate, as they remained standing where they were before he turned back and walked to the gate, placing his own hand on it, and he disappeared in a flash as well.

Ethel didn’t hesitate a second, walking up to the gate, a scowl on her face, before she too disappeared in a flash of blue, not even glancing at them.

“Hard to believe she’s on our side,” Tol sighed, shaking her head before walking up to the gate and disappearing as well.

Skadi glanced at Ilsa, who shrugged at her before they walked together to the gate and placed both their palms on it, and Skadi’s vision warped in a flash of blue, and she found herself standing on a large carved sapphire along with the rest of their group.

Out ahead of them was a massive field of long golden grass swaying gently in the breeze. Skadi glanced behind her to see Haven from the outside, the massive, imposing mountains stretching up from their roots behind them emerging from rocky hills, and still above them a glimpse of the leaves of the Lone Tree flowering out.

As a group, they filed off the raised ground that the sapphire was set onto, shouldering their bags that contained their supplies, Skadi let her satchel drape across her back, far too light for the load it was actually bearing.

The Ninth Circle as a group looked all about them, seemingly attempting to spot any potential dangers, now a certainty after having left the safety of Haven. Past the golden field, some distance away resided a mass of significantly smaller trees, looking odd to Skadi to see so many small trees assembled together, though small was relative, as they still soared high into the sky.

Though Skadi reflected for a moment that, in some ways, it was very much safer outside of Haven for all of them than inside it.

Tol’s ears perked up, and her emerald eyes focused on the far end of the field, cocking her head slightly in an attempt to hear better, then she relaxed, her eyes falling half lidded again.

Deir stepped forward first, beginning to cut through the grass with sure steps, and after a moment of hesitation, the group began to follow her. Godric, a couple of steps behind, Ethel with her arms crossed off to the side, pushing her chest up slightly as her golden eyes occasionally flickered towards Godric, Skadi, and Ilsa walking side by side after exchanging a shared look.

Skadi knew it was too early to push right now; they had to build camaraderie, time for Godric to get to know and trust them.

Tol, who had been walking a couple of steps back, suddenly increased her pace, pushing on ahead, breaching the space Godric had built around himself, and Skadi’s gut clenched.

“So do you like books?” Tol asked bluntly, her head cocked to the side as her black wolf ears twitched in curiosity.

“Several,” Godric replied dryly, waited for a moment as he seemed to fight a war within him, before he spoke again, “Did you have a particular book you wanted to ask me about?”

Tol blinked before her ears closed down to her head, “What was the last one you read?” Her brow furrowed as did her ears.

“Accounts of Second Age remedies by- “, Godric winced, stopping before he finished.

Tol’s ears twitched, and she frowned, “I haven’t read that,” she replied, seemingly confused, and then pulled out a notebook as well as a pen.

Godric visibly winced, shaking his head, “You’re not going to find that one around,” his cheek’s stained a light red, “There’s only one copy and it’s in my father’s library,” he coughed, and his lips twitched slightly, “I could grab it though if you liked,” he shook his head almost awkwardly, oddly enough seemingly uncomfortable at the offer, like it wasn’t something he really wanted to say.

Tol ear’s twitched, then flattened against her head, “You’d give me a book from your father’s library,” she said flatly.

“Borrow,” Godric corrected with a sigh, turning away and now seemingly much calmer, “they’re not mine to give.”

“But he would let you borrow them?” Tol hesitated before her eyes widened as she realized what she said, “for a friend?” she finished quickly.

Godric hummed in response, something that seemed affirmative, but he also seemed clearly uncomfortable. “You sure do like books,” he turned his head to the side, looking at Tol, his words blunt, but not immediately going beyond them.

Tol nodded her head, seemingly serious, “Love them,” she said solemnly, before she shook her head, “Mostly romance novels though,” she said without a hint of abashedness.

Godric blinked, then cocked his head to the side, “I don’t have as many of those,” he said, a strange look taking on his face like he was trying to smile, but it wasn’t an expression his face was used to.

Tol raised an eyebrow at him, “Weirdo,” she said bluntly, before an amused smile flashed across her face at his shocked expression, “No, maybe that’s a me thing, that’s fair,” she shook her head, amused again, her ears twitching rapidly, and her smile widened.

Godric hesitantly nodded his eyes, seemingly shocked as if this wasn’t something he had really experienced before, “Are they good?” he asked, his head cocking to the side no longer as awkward.

“They’re great!” Tol smiled brilliantly, “I love the steamier parts, honestly, if you don’t like those, I find it doubtful if you’re enjoying the whole book.”

Godric blinked, and his eyes flicked from Tol to look at the other girls as if to double-check something, his brow furrowed more, and he ran a finger casually over his athame-covered chest for a moment.

“Maybe I should give some a read,” Godric shrugged his shoulders, “My Father prefers I read texts on history or healing for the most part though,” he said quietly.

Tol cocked her head to the side, seemingly confused, “Why?”

Godric let a brief smile show through on his lips, hesitating a moment, strangely enough, his eyes flicking away, “He’d call it a waste of time, any book that doesn’t teach you something is a waste of time to him.”

Tol frowned at him, “So basically you haven’t read anything good,” she shook her head, looking oddly sorrowful at Godric.

Godric frowned, looking strangely offended. “I still read,” he shrugged, with an odd smile on his face. “Just not in front of him,” he shook his head, looking even more amused. “And I would like to say there are some other things worth reading besides romance.”

“Like what?” Tol raised an eyebrow at him challengingly.

Godric cocked his head to the side, “Rise and Fall of the Vitruvian Dynasty,” he finally said quietly.

Tol blinked before a scowl crossed onto her face, “That’s literally romance,” she said flatly.

Godric blinked, looking taken aback, slowly beginning to shake his head, “There is a strong form of action and political intrigue through the entirety of the book,” he said firmly, his silver eyes narrowing as he regarded Tol.

Tol sighed, waving her hand, “Don’t be such a boy, it’s not a bad thing to like a little romance.”

Godric sighed, “It’s at best only half a romance novel,” he said quietly, “He doesn’t meet her till halfway through the book.”

Tol groaned, jabbing a finger at him, “That’s because it needs to build up,” she said bluntly.

Godric raised an eyebrow at her, a real scowl forming across his face, “You can’t fall in love with someone else until you know them. That takes time, I acknowledge, but most of those stories dance around each other so long you end up wondering what the flame was the point. It’s just two people taking a long time to decide whether they even want to court one another, and by the end, you don’t know if they actually work out or not; that’s not romance, it’s infatuation.”

Tol cocked her head to the side, before slowly she nodded her head, “Those are,” she hesitated, “somewhat valid points,” before a far too wide grin split across her face, “So what the flame is up with you and that ball of sunshine,” she gestured at Ethel ahead of them, and she visibly stiffened.

Godric hesitated, his eyes flicking to all of them, “We were friends a while ago, and then I did something that made it so we couldn’t be friends.”

A snort echoed through the area, and eyes turned to Ethel as she turned her face in a scowl, crossing her arms, “That’s what you’re saying,” she said, unimpressed.

Godric raised an eyebrow. “It’s the truth,” he said quietly.

Ethel raised an eyebrow before turning back to the rest of them, “I imprinted on him,” she said bluntly before crossing her arms at Godric, “And this guy doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

Godric winced and then turned his head away, not responding.

“Is that what you said?” Tol looked at Godric, a soft frown curving down his face.

Godric sighed, looked at Ethel, and raised an eyebrow. Ethel blinked, looking taken aback, before she snorted, turning her head away, “Tell them, maybe then-“ she shook her head, going quiet.

Godric sighed, “When I was younger, people would attack me,” he shrugged his shoulders casually, “they started when I was five or six, Ethel and I were,” he hesitated for a moment, looking lost, “friends, I guess,” he scratched his head with a small grin, “Anyway, my Dad said he couldn’t really protect me then, assigning a guard to me would be sort of politicization of the office,” he shrugged, “so I stopped being friends with her because I knew eventually someone else was going to target her.”

“And now look,” Ethel smiled brilliantly, her face still in a sneer, “Now I’m on your team, right back where I could be targeted, look how much you accomplished,” she glared at him before shaking her head, “Brute,” she finished.

Godric shook his head, releasing a breath, a small scowl on his face building into a glare, “Which is why, for all of your sakes, I would suggest you keep any relationship with me professional; it’s not exactly safe to be my friend.”

He walked on, pushing ahead to walk beside Deir, who glanced back for a moment, her face completely unreadable.

Ilsa blinked and then brought her arm in a fist pump, “totally called ex girlfriend,” she said, grinning brightly.

Tol, who had drifted to them, dug an elbow into Ilsa’s gut in rebuke; her frown dipped down further. “That’s kind of screwed up,” she said quietly once the air hardened

Ilsa’s smile dipped to something slightly softer, “It’s in his profile, he might even be right,” she shrugged.

“About what?” Skadi couldn’t help but ask.

Ilsa shrugged, “You really don’t know how much some people hate Sins,” she released a small breath, “If he wasn’t the son of Cedric Lux, he would probably be imprisoned permanently just from a decision of the Council, because he is, he just gets attacked wherever he goes, I bet the hope is that someone will get lucky.”

Skadi raised an eyebrow at her friend, “If someone gets ‘lucky’ we probably lose like half the city, no way that’s their plan.”

Ilsa sighed, shaking her head, “Not like that,” she raised an eyebrow at Skadi, “Have you never considered how convenient it is for Cedric Lux that if someone attacks him, he has the option to just end the city.”

“What?” Skadi turned, frowning at her friend.

“Cedric made the seal,” Ilsa shrugged. “Now the strongest sin that’s ever been seen walks the streets of Haven. If someone killed him, supposedly at least half of us die in the first explosion and then the Sin is also out,” she looked at Skadi with a raised eyebrow, “Cedric also is the best sealer within the city, probably the only one capable of sealing it again or modifying the seal. Isn’t it funny how literally any move that threatens his power, and he can just suddenly end everything unless we cooperate?”

“Oh,” Skadi said quietly before shaking her head, “Still, you’re saying Council wants Godric dead, that doesn’t make sense, you just said that would destroy Haven.”

Ilsa raised an eyebrow at her, “Do you think any of those twits on the Council care? They’re protected at all times by the Temple Knights; there’s not a chance any of them die. Sure, to normal people, a powerful Sin could kill us, but even a Temple Knight who couldn’t see it could heal anyone in the vicinity who got hurt. Enough Temple Knights together, they’re practically invincible till they run out of magic,” then Ilsa raised an eyebrow, smiling encouragingly, “and?” she asked.

Skadi blinked and then sighed, “And the temple knights swear fealty to Cedric regardless, not a single Temple Knight will so much as twitch unless Cedric gives a command.”

Ilsa nodded, smiling, but it wasn’t a nice smile, “Ergo, you need the son of the strongest man on your side if you hope to have a chance to stop him,” she giggled, shaking her head, “preferably before he makes those vows.”

Skadi frowned, taken aback, “I thought you cared about him?” she said quietly

Ilsa frowned, turning her head slightly, “It’s not that I don’t. He’s certainly sympathetic in the life he has lived,” but Ilsa released a long whistling breath, “But maybe his Father has a point.”

Skadi’s gut dropped out, and she looked at her friend, horrified.

Ilsa blinked, then shook her head rapidly, “I’m not saying he should have been treated the way he has,” she released a breath before a small, almost painful smile emerged on her face, “but he is a weapon,” she remarked softly, “and he is pointed at us.”

The space around them unfroze again, and Skadi restrained, glancing at Ilsa just barely, her hands clenching slightly.

That wasn’t true.

-

Godric found himself walking a bit further forward, consciously separating from the trailing Skadi and Ila, but still at a distance behind Tol, Ethel, and Deir, who walked at the front.

It was a sort of odd in-between place to be in the group, but it was preferable to being next to any of his Circle.

There was something… odd about them, more so even than what he had experienced yesterday and different from what he had expected from his Father’s words.

The simple fact of the matter is that people didn’t look at Godric the way these girls did, ever. Full credence to his father, looking at it now, it was clear that his Circle did truly want something from him.

But why did his Father want him to give it?

His Father wasn’t one for sentimentality, and Godric didn’t particularly consider himself different, so why did it matter?

His Father always told him to think, and the man himself had given clues, but right now he was drawing a blank.

People weren’t really his strong suit; he saw their tells, the breaks in the façade, but there was nothing he could really glean from it.

Who would want anything from him?

Godric’s skin itched along the length of the left half of his face.

They stepped into the shade of the forest now, and Godric took a breath of verdant air, tingling oddly against his nostrils. Here, without the industrial smell of Haven, there was something clean to the air, almost pure, even as his nose wrinkled a bit as other unpleasant smells made their way to his nostrils.

They walked for some time beneath a rather different canopy than their home until Deir raised her hand, halting their movement, before she gestured to the side of their path at a patch of flowers that seemed to glow a pale white in the shade of the trees, a mellow warm scent emerging from them to Godric’s nose, “Dayshade,” she said bluntly, before she looked at Ethel, “What are the properties of Dayshade Ethel?”

Ethel raised a single golden eyebrow before she shook her curls, “With Red Magic, it can be used as a catalyst for stronger fire spells,” she said gruffly.

Deir nodded her head, smiling, “Correct, and?”

Ethel blinked cocking her head to the side, her typical scowl fading a bit, “With Blue Magic, it can speed space contraction. Used with Green Magic, it makes a substance more malleable. Introduced with White Magic, it can be used to make a healing salve,” she said quietly, then waited as she regarded Deir.

“Almost full credit,” Deir encouraged, then turned to the rest of them, “There is an interaction with Black Magic. Can anyone name it?”

A long silence stretched as the assembled Circle shifted a bit, caught off guard except for Godric, who stood with his arms crossed, attempting to look like he didn’t know.

“Godric,” Deir asked with a raised eyebrow, “Enlighten your circle.”

Once again, attention uncomfortably shifted toward him, and Godric had a brief moment where he considered lying, especially knowing the consequences for answering the question correctly, judging by Ethel’s flared nostrils.

The way Deir looked at him, though, he somehow doubted that a lie would get him much further, “Black Magic is weakened by Dayshade,” he said, his voice reverberating in the quiet.

“Why?” Deir asked, and Godric was taken aback at this question, more so, not understanding why it was being pushed on him.

Still, he answered regardless, “Dayshade absorbs light but doesn’t cast a shadow; Black Magic fundamentally takes advantage of darkness.”

“Correct,” Deir nodded something gleaming through her silver eyes too quickly for Godric to see before she turned back to their group, “Four of you will be collecting Dayshade for your own personal use,” she turned to Skadi giving the girl a sympathetic smile, “Because you won’t be needing any I’d suggest using this time to get acquainted with this area of the Forest, feel free to aid your Circle or simply take the time to enjoy the scenery,” she clapped her hands once, “Now off you go, we’ll meet back here at midday, remember stay oriented to where you are.”

Godric glanced at his Circle, who were beginning to look at each other, and he could already see the teams beginning to form, judging by Skadi glancing at Ilsa, Ethel turning to look contemplatively into the trees as Tol glanced at her, her own brow furrowing.

He easily ignored the slight twist of his stomach as he let himself turn and then begin to walk through the trees, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath through his nose, as he began to walk through the trees, bringing his satchel close to hand.

Dayshade only grew in indirect sunlight; too much sun killed the plant, so Godric found his eyes immediately tracking each corner of the light emerging through the leaves of the Forest, double-checking each area to make sure he wouldn’t miss anything.

He walked awhile in this direction, his eyes eventually landing on his quarry, a white-leafed flower that glimmered a pretty white in the half-lit shade of a tree’s branches. Drawing his athame, he gently cut the flower free from the base of its roots. He stood up again and continued walking, spotting a couple more of the flowers as he went, stowing them in his satchel carefully, left for the first time in a while in his thoughts.

His own thoughts weren’t always the most pleasant creatures, but in the dappled sunlit forest, he found his thoughts going still, no longer muddled by thoughts of his Circle or his Father, leaving only one remaining.

Which itself wasn’t a pleasant thought, but he had long grown used to it; his fingers idly traced along his athame’s hilt as he walked through the trees, his pale silver eyes flickering about until he noted the sound of running water, and after a bit more travel, he found a small stream running idly through the trees.

Checking his bag, finding a relative surplus of the dayshade, Godric wandered over to the stream at the clear flowing life-giving liquid, burbling cheerfully, through the air.

Again, his hand trailed over his athame’s hilt before his head cocked to the side, a sound trailing over his eardrums, not the creek, something else, for some reason, he didn’t feel quite alone, even as all his senses told him it was so apart from some small animals hidden in the underbrush, their bodies brushing against the leaves, the faint scent of life in his nostrils.

“Godric Lux,” a soft voice said, lyrical in tone.

Godric blinked his eyes, widening as he looked about himself. He had heard that voice before in the storeroom-

“Skadi?” he said aloud, turning around for a moment, bewildered, searching for the strange elven black mage, yet even as he looked, he knew there was no one around him.

He was alone, he knew he was alone, yet very strangely, he did not feel alone.

The underbrush rustled, and he spun as he saw a furry black head push through the bushes, blinking wide crimson eyes at him, before it pulled through entirely, and a blue-tipped tail flashed through the air, twisting and flicking about in seeming curiosity, its black fur glimmering underneath the sunlight.

It was just a cat. Godric released a breath he didn’t know he had been holding before he looked down at the cat, who was standing there looking at him, its head cocked to the side, its eyes gleaming in a way that looked strangely amused.

“What do you want?” he asked dryly, raising an eyebrow, not particularly expecting a response but feeling the need to ask regardless.

The cat chirped, walking up to him, crossing the space before it wound its way through his legs. A loud rumbling purr emerged from it. Godric let the cat do so, confused for a moment, watching as it got more and more insistent, now butting its head against him. Finally, he sighed and kneeled, reaching out and softly rubbing the animal’s head, upon which the cat began to purr louder.

“You’re just a sweetheart, aren’t you?” Godric said, dryly shaking his head, “Though I wonder what you’re doing in this forest, it’s not safe.”

The cat chirped and then nodded its head against his leg.

For some reason, the chirp poked at something in the back of his head, something like, “No duh.”

“Huh,” Godric said, a little confused, “You just said something.”

The cat chirped the exact same way, the exact same message, before it urgently butted its head against its hand again, and Godric returned to stroking, still surprised.

“Sorry,” Godric shook his head, “Most animals don’t like talking to me,” he said quietly.

A softer chirp this time, clearly interpreted in his head, “But I like you,” and now the head was butting against his thigh.

Godric, despite himself, smiled. “Thanks,” he replied, shook his head, reaching down to scoop the cat into the air, looking down at the beast in his arms, looking up at him in surprise, before she began to purr loudly as Godric stroked softly along her sides.

“I’m sorry I won’t be able to take you home,” Godric said quietly, grimacing for a moment, “My Father doesn’t really like animals.”

A soft, confused mew, “Why?”

Godric chuckled, “You know I don’t really know, he’s a White Mage, kind of supposed to be one of our things, guess he just doesn’t get along with them, ya know, kind of like me, as I said most don’t like me.”

The cat cocked its head to the side, its red eyes softening for a moment before it mewed again, asking to be let down.

Godric restrained a grimace before he kneeled, letting the cat free, which curled around his legs again before it turned and sprinted off across the clearing, stopping as it arrived at a tree, turning back to look at Godric with its head cocked to the side, and mewed.

The message read loud and clear across Godric’s thoughts, ‘We need to go!’

Normally, Godric wasn’t the sort to follow strange woodland beasts to unknown destinations, and he almost opened his mouth to say so, till he took another breath, and something about the air felt different in his lungs.

Slowly, Godric began to follow the cat, who, upon seeing Godric moving far enough, turned and began to trot through the trees.

Godric picked up his pace, and the cat did so as well, as they began to jog through the trees, and then Godric’s boots began to bite down into the loamy soil a bit more as he applied his strength, even as the cat remained elusive ahead of him, its blue-tipped tail flicking through the foliage.

He picked up the pace, attempting to catch up despite himself, following the blue-tipped tail that bobbed in and out of his vision even as it disappeared underneath a tree trunk

Frowning, he leaped up, catching a branch above him with ease, swinging himself up to another tree branch, catching sight of the blue again.

He kicked off the tree, sending him soaring through the air, landing on a thick branch, balancing with ease in his boots for a moment, glancing down at the cat, which was now sitting on the forest floor below him, its head cocked up towards him.

The cat chirped once, its teeth emerging in a fanged smile before it disappeared in a shimmer of blue.

‘Go help your girlfriend, we’ll talk later!’

Godric blinked, then his head cocked as he heard the sound of a familiar voice, “-the entirety of a forest to find a single flaming flower, I mean, what do I look like some ancient white druid?”

Ethel was crouched in front of a red-petaled flower, directly in the sunlight, her arms crossed as she glared at it, her face twisted in a scowl.

A small smile flickered across Godric’s face as he regarded his erstwhile friend, who could not look more like herself in that moment as she stared at a flower that very much wasn’t what they were looking for.

The smile faded as his eyes switched to the red-petaled flower, something about its appearance poking something unpleasant in his mind; there was definitely something weird about that flower, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what it was reminding him of.

Ethel scowled, reaching out both hands and grabbed the stem, and pulled, the muscles in her arms visibly straining as her robe’s arms fell back.

“Come on!” she growled, “Submit!”

Godric blinked as he finally remembered what it was, the branch beneath him snapping as he exerted some strength, tackling Ethel across her stomach, rolling with her across the ground for several meters, just as the ground where she had been erupted as a massive green jaw snapped shut.

Godric watched as a massive green plant-shaped head pulled free from the earth, clods falling about it as its head twisted towards them. Vaguely, he felt a grasping hand fiddling with a pouch at his waist for a moment.

His eyes flickered to a now startled-looking Ethel, her gold eyes looking about before her pupils narrowed into vertical slits. A snarl curved across her face as she glared at him, “Brute,” she spat before she looked at the plant with a murderous glare.

Ethel flicked her athame out, and a blast of golden fire ripped free from it, landing a searing strike against the plant, causing the green vegetation to bubble up searing black from the heat and flame.

Ethel blinked, looking surprised, before her lips curled up and her eyes flashed as her free hand crushed a handful of white blossoms that were entirely too familiar.

Godric rapidly shook his head, “Don’t-“

-and she drove her athame into the ground, and suddenly the ground around the plant in a massive circle lit up a bright glowing gold, before a pillar of golden fire erupted in a column of heat and flame far above, past the trees. The flame spread outward in a massive wave as Godric drove his own athame into the earth, a gleaming white barrier flickering into a half sphere around them, just as the flames washed over them.

For several long seconds, fire raged about them before slowly petering out.

Around them, beyond the half sphere of his shield, lay the charred, blackened ruin of the clearing, trees nearby cracking and snapping from superheated sap, their trunks blackened from the explosion.

Godric stared at the girl, who, despite the destruction, looked practically radiant, a pretty smile on her face as she surveyed her surroundings proudly.

He pulled his athame from the ground silently, flexing a burst of magic through the blade, pushing the remaining dirt off the blade before he sheathed it back underneath his tunic.

He turned and began to walk away, stepping across still crackling ground, before he cocked his head to the side as a blast of fire tried to submerge his head, but instead went through the air where it had been.

“Brute!” Ethel spat from behind him, sounding even more pissed than she had before, “Nothing again, you think you can just freeze me out? Ignore me, so I ignore you? Avoid me so I avoid you!?”

For reasons beyond Godric in this moment, he halted walking away, though he at least remained turned around so she couldn’t see his face.

“Answer me,” her angry words came, and underneath them for the first time in a while, Godric heard the raw hurt of the girl he had known.

“We’re in the same Circle,” Godric said bluntly, “None of you are getting swallowed by Venusians on my watch, that’s it, nothing more.” The words tasted like ashes on his tongue.

A long silence passed in the clearing, only disrupted by the crackling of still remaining flame.

“You asshole,” Ethel said quietly, before turning and beginning to walk across the still-smoking ground out of the clearing.

Godric waited till the girl had left the clearing before he gently wiped his cheeks, the still remaining smoke having irritated his eyes, causing them to swell with some unfamiliar liquid.

He looked around vaguely, wondering if the cat would reappear, but there was nothing.

The cat had used blue magic, which he realized meant it could really be anywhere now, though he did find it frankly strange; not many creatures could use magic, even intelligent ones that could communicate with White Mages.

And also admitted, even if he had expected magic, blue wouldn’t have been on his mind, considering the cat’s fur.

Not to mention the cat had called Ethel his girlfriend, just like Ilsa had, yet while Ilsa was a blue mage, she wasn’t a cat and would have been incapable of using advanced green magic; regardless, that could have allowed her to transform into such.

So, probably just a sentient magical creature capable of blue magic, which, as he gave it thought, actually did make sense, while his Father had trained him to repel blue magic telepathy, probably just had no experience with telepathy from a magical creature.

A bit more confident now, he glanced back at the direction that Ethel had walked in, then at the sky, then winced as he realized it was the exact opposite direction from where they were supposed to meet, and it was now approaching midday.

Godric braced himself, wiping his eyes for a moment before he turned and then cocked his head to the side as he felt a disturbance behind a tree and saw Skadi come almost tumbling out of the shadows, looking around almost frantically, “Ethel!” she cried out, before her eyes widened as she only saw Godric standing in the charred clearing.

“Godric!” she exclaimed, “Did Ethel try to blow you up?” A scowl began to twist her face even as Godric shook his head, a small smile that didn’t match his mood curving his face.

“She got a little excited when she encountered a Venusian,” he chuckled dryly.

Skadi frowned at him, something dark twisting across her face for the briefest of moments, “That girl,” she scowled.

Godric shook his head, feeling a little awkward, but nevertheless, he felt the need to defend his friend, “I think she just overestimated its fire resistance after her first strike didn’t do what she wanted.”

Skadi raised an eyebrow, looked at him, then at the charred clearing, “Uh huh,” before she shook her head, her eyes averting a bit, “So did you collect your dayshade?”

Godric blinked, thinking back for a moment, then pulled out his bag, checking inside, then shook his head and looked up, giving Skadi a dry smile, “I haven’t been particularly lucky,” he said.

Skadi cocked her head to the side, looking almost adorably confused, before something flashed through her eyes, and they suddenly averted, “Would you like some help finding some?” Skadi blinked before hastily waving her hands, “I mean I’ve already helped Tol and Ilsa, so I could help you too, I’m actually pretty good at finding things and-“

She continued talking, her mouth running on rapid fire as Godric gave the girl a long look, noticing how her eyes were consciously avoiding him, and her hands clenched tightly.

She was nervous, almost fearful, while he wasn’t going to be tightening any bonds between his Circle and him, he still didn’t want his teammates to actively be afraid of him if he could help it, that would end just as poorly for them.

“I wouldn’t say no to the help,” Godric shrugged helplessly. “Thanks,” he shot the girl a half smile.

Skadi paled her face, almost going sheet white, before she spun, pointing in a seemingly random direction, “I think I spotted some that way,” and began to walk swiftly in that direction.

Godric blinked a little, taken aback, before he shook his head and followed the very strange girl who took the role of Black Mage in his circle.

He glanced back where Ethel stormed off, a small half smile curving his face before he shook his head.

That girl.

-

Author's Note: The next chapter really was supposed to be Avatar, but I was decompressing by writing this after drafting stuff for that chapter, and I guess I got too into it. Whoops. The Next Chapter is Avatar for realsies.