Sarah was very excited to have met her new friends, Mara and the demon-girl Zair. Learning more about Earth was going to be interesting. Zair in particular, seemed very skilled with fire magic. Her human inheritance might provide some interesting insight to her power. The fox-girl wondered about the various families that had taken a journey to settle on the other side to the world of Earth. She wanted to show Zair more about life on this side of the universe.
The other girl, Mara, seemed to have a... very basic understanding of magic (at least in principle) though she sensed the girl was very... shy. Perhaps it was the way she always hid herself in her hood, speaking in quiet whispers but... her knowledge was clearly very... weak. She hoped it would improve in time but she sensed the girl was very close to being sent back to Earth immediately. This Stella's school considered itself with an element of pride...
What was her motivation to learn magic? Mara had this 'fish out of water' look about her, whenever she saw something novel- which appeared to be almost everything in the school. She guessed Mara was an elf of some kind, though not exactly the type that looked graceful, as was normally typical of that race. Maybe Earth really messed up the elf, with all that unusual technology. The fox-girl decided she would try to help her new friend... she knew the girl had potential! If only she would show what magic she did have, then they could improve on that.
There were no clear rules on what magic an elf possessed in terms of their bloodline or family spirits... they had dabbled in just about 'everything' and every kind of patron or soul bond. There were many possibilities but whatever it was, Mara did not seem inclined to share it. It made Sarah... all the more curious on 'who' Mara was and why she was at the magic-school.
After their assignments were given, Mara insisted to explore the school on her own. So Sarah decided to give Zair a quick tour of the magic school instead, though wished she had the two of them together. Something had upset the 'elf-girl' and she wanted to be alone... she hoped it wasn't them or Lady Lalira. The dragon teacher could be pretty overwhelming and she was very protective of her students... why would she not like Mara?
Zair was curious about everything in the school just as much as Mara was. Her display of fire magic certainly made her popular among others in the class if not a little envious. No doubt, anyone would want to be the demon-girl's partner. Manipulating a core element was something very powerful and highly respected.
The two took another turn towards a larger room, something that looked like a gymnasium... but it had strange patterns on the floor that might pass as summoning circles. There were 'basketballs' that looked like floating hexagons spread across each circle. How this worked Zair had no idea. “Weird...”
“It's a game,” Sarah explained. “Players stand in the circle... they then channel their magic to uh.. create a line of power. Once you complete your circle around your opponent you win. They are trying to do the same, and your lines block theirs.”
“Oh, so a magic version of Go... but with circles” Zair smiled. “Or would that be more like snakes... hm... wait wasn't that in Tron?”
“Go? Snakes? Tron?”
“Uh- games on Earth- well the last one was a movie.” Zair explained.
“Movie?” These were.. very strange words to Sarah. “I'm sorry I don't really understand.”
“Ha... I guess I'll have to explain it later.” The demon girl sighed. “So what's your ability?”
“Mine?” Sarah looked at her hands with a gentle glow of power. “I tend to specialize in illusion. I am hoping to learn healing magic though.” She smiled softly. “They say it doesn't come as natural to my family's spirit but... I think I can bridge that gap...”
“Neat!” Zair grinned, her weird hooves trotting and echoing across the gym-floor. “So.. what are you all studying here for anyway?” The demon-girl was now quite curious now on what they actually did with all this power. It wouldn't be hard to... well... take over the world maybe? (Not that she would.. but it's an 'interesting' thought.)
“Don't you know?” Sarah asked tilting her head.
“Nuh uh. I grew up on Earth like Mart- uh.. Mara. So all this stuff is pretty new.”
The fox girl started to take Zair down another corridor. There were paintings here that seemed to show a bunch of previous students... some of them dressed as magic-girls. “Well.. magic users are always useful to have around here. You can help towns and cities.. play in Challenges... but I suppose the main thing a magic user does here is protect the towns from the monster attacks.”
“Monsters? You mean like- me?” Zair asked.
“Huh? No... you're not a monster here Zair,” The fox-girl shook her head. Earth sounded like a horrible place... no wonder the demon-girl decided to study in their school. “There are 'monsters'- actual monsters, that cross over into our world. They sort of.. shift here? We send them back.”
Zair listened with interest. “Sounds.. concerning. I mean- doesn't that mean they might.. you know... kill?” Zair hoped they weren't all.. soldiers. Child soldiers at that.
Sarah seemed surprised at the question. “Kill? Oh no- magic doesn't kill. They are magic beasts so they can't kill... either... they are bound by the same rules as us when it comes to the rules of magic.”
Zair processed this information with intrigue. “What happens if you lose then? On Earth things are pretty grim. You die when you lose, especially when it comes to giant monsters.”
Sarah shook her head. “Nothing like that happens here as long as magic was involved. The force of Magic causes a change, rather then death- not always a welcome change though. Most of us just end up at the Well of Power at the center of the school, if that's where we are channelling our magic but weaker.”
“Neat! A re-spawn point. I get it!” Zair grinned. “Let me guess, there's a penalty? Losing spells or something?”
“Oh- you sure know a lot Zair!” The fox girl smiled. “Yes. You lose some- or even 'all' your abilities. Worse case, the pact you made will be undone,” She looked sadly as that had been known to happen. “You would have to start all over... maybe even find a new weapon if you can even bond to it. It can be very disconcerting and even depressing. Many can't go through learning again or may even be refused another pact. I think you usually get a few chances though.”
“Hardcore rules with continues built in? Neat I think I get it.” Zair nodded. This was just like a video game! Though there seemed to be some nuances to understand. “You said other things could happen?”
“Well- the monster might take advantage of your pact, and try to interfere with it. Maybe form some kind of new combination to make you ineffective against it... weird tactics can happen that way. At worse.. they might turn you into a monster too.”
“Yeesh.. that's bad” Zair gulped. Nope. Not good. She didn't want to lose her fire magic or power of flight... though she realized something... “Say... what would happen if... someone who doesn't have magic... has a fight with a magic creature?”
Sarah thought about it. “Ha, that's never happened. Everyone here has magic!” Sarah said with some relief. “Even if it is just a little bit. So, even if you were not bonded to the Well of Power, you are connected to your demon blood line and everyone else has their family spirit too. There are plenty of places which have that connection for you to uh... re-spawn to?” She guessed that was a weird word to use but it seemed to make sense.
Zair rubbed her hands. “But um- what if one of the humans who visit from Earth... who don't have blood line magic...”
The fox girl seemed taken aback by that question but realized how concerning that would be. “Oh yes that would be bad. They are not allowed out into the countryside but I suppose some will try to explore, humans do that a lot.”
“True enough,” zair nodded. Humans were curious by nature. “But what would happen?”
Sarah thought carefully. “Well, we haven't had big monster attacks in a while so its not something the humans have had to worry about. Monsters... don't usually go after them... they are not considered a threat.” She guessed Zair was concerned of the humans she had lived with and tried to assure her.
“But what if it did happen?” Zair pressed on. “Just.. tell me.”
Sarah eventually relented. “Hm... well... if a monster 'did' attack them, they would likely get sent back to Earth... Though... they probably will be unable to ever come back here... It may also take their memories away of anything to do with this world.”
“I... see.” Zair wondered if she should tell Martin about that. If Martin fought an actual monster... and that was something these magic-girls were expected to do... well.. the rules that worked for the magic folk (and herself) wouldn't apply to him. The human boy has far more to lose...
Martin felt nervous...
The voice of that dragon-teacher... still echoed in his mind. She knew... she knew!
Still, for some reason she was not about to pursue him 'right now'... though that could change soon. The only thing he could think of was to try and find this 'well of power', which he guessed was an important source of magical energy in the school. He wondered through the building, hoping to find it.
He ended up in some kind of empty food hall.. Tables laid out with some pictures on the walls of various... magic girls?
Tired from the aimless wondering Martin decided to sit on one of the empty chairs, noticing the little hole at the back for tails. Certainly very useful if you were that type that had such an appendage but for him it was a little uncomfortable. “I wonder what food they eat here...” He imagined what it could be like...not only being the only human but being the only boy in a school... for magic girls. Not that such a thing was possible, of course. Being here should be impossible... yet here he was, free to just imagine how it might become so.
Did he … want that?
Martin glanced around nervously as that weird thought came, looking down again at the dress loaned to him, it had been on for longer then he imagined it would. If staying were possible... dare he ask if they could make some kind of exception? “Might as well look at that test...”
The disguised boy examined the assignment that the Dragon teacher wanted the class to do. “Four elements will be presented to you... Earth, Fire, Wind and Water... use your bloodline power to influence at least one of these elements.”
Martin sighed, knowing that without magic he couldn't do 'anything' to pass that test. He closed his eyes trying to think on what to do. Zair could use her fire magic to affect all of them in some way..
Something poked him in his pocket in that moment from his pocket. It felt.. foreign. Oh- the mana-crystal? He completely forgot about it. He fished it out but something seemed off as he felt something shaped very... different.
It appeared to be a wand... “What the...” How? How did it get there? The gem... that strange mana-crystal, was now embedded within the center, giving a soft glow of yellow energy. A star shape surrounded the gem. The wand itself looked a bit frail and light.. yet there was something unnaturally heavy and even sturdy when he gripped it.
Did someone plant it in his jacket somehow? This was the same gem... wasn't it? He gave it a light tap feeling an odd tingle run between his fingers. He then glanced as he heard someone laughing in his direction.
“Aw.. how cute... didn't you ever grow out of your first wand?” A girl said with a grin. She appeared to carry herself quite high. The animal-girl appeared to be a lioness-type... it was hard to consider her a 'cat girl' as that might imply she was more human then she appeared. Clearly a feline that's for sure with yellow fur all over. Beautiful stripes on her arms and legs could be seen. She carried herself with a sense of pride that was certainly.. catish. “So, can't you talk?” She was a bit annoyed by the girl's gaping mouth.
Martin looked embarrassed. “Um- I'm just... looking at the assignment...” he whispered putting the wand quickly back in his pocket.
The lioness clearly thought very little of Mara. “I hope you're not going to be like this when we do fight monsters. We need to be strong!”
Martin looked surprised. “Monsters? Oh- sure I can... handle monsters.”
“...oh really?” The lioness grinned. “Then maybe you'll sign up for a mission? There's some small monster sightings that need taking care of...even a basic student should be able to handle them. If you can't handle it well- You're probably not cut out for this...” if she couldn't handle it, it was best to make her quit now after all.
Martin was about to say something when the area suddenly just began to vibrate with strange words.
“Magic-girl Mara... please report to the principals office.”
Martin wondered for a moment what that was about... until he realized that was him! The principal was alling him? Uh oh... “Uh... where is.. the principals office?” He asked getting up quickly.
The lioness looked at Martin like she was at best completely hopeless, or at worse a danger to those around her. Did she even understand the importance of this place? The wand she had was just a toy... “Urgh...” she touched a rune on the wall and spoke “Show Mara the Principals office.” The wall began to glitter with strange sparks of light.“Follow that trail...” Didn't she even know about that?
Martin nodded almost shaking. “Thank you.” He had a wand... they might think it was stolen! The dragon-teacher must have told the principal about his gender- this was all going wrong before he could do anything!
The lioness suddenly placed a clawed hand on his shoulder. “...Look... kid... this is a serious school... you should really consider that...”
Terry frowned as she looked at the looming building.. staring at it. The new demon-girl had a resolute expression. Explanations were needed... no- they were demanded! This was where... it might be found. Answers... something! Spirits... family spirits... something that looked after a family of demons? What were these... things! Actual demons? She felt afraid but she knew she had to confront it.
Terry was guided to what was considered a 'shrine' to the demon folk... a spirit was supposed to reside here that was considered friendly. The one that her aunt seemed to have an affinity for anyway. The demon-girl didn't want to call it a devil... that would make her a 'devil worshipper' and she was quite sure she wasn't anything like that... even if she might be now... related to one?
This 'shrine' had a very gothic look about it, situated near the market place. Not exactly huge... but not small. It had a stone carvings representing strange demon figures and what appeared to be runes. She had no idea what they represented. They looked naked though- which made her shiver slightly.
The shrine appeared to be empty... there were no priests or anything like that. She folded her arms in thought. There appeared to be a large table with slices of meat and even some fruit.
“..okay so.. whoever you are, I don't want this. Please take it away. A mistake has been made and I want it undone!” She waited... but there was no response. What exactly was she supposed to say?
“Terry?” A voice whispered.
Terry gasped thinking he had succeeded- but in actuality it was... Margaret. The little demon-child had followed her! “W-What are you doing here?” She asked worried.
The girl looked upset. “I-I'm sorry I think this was my fault...” She shivered a bit as she approached. “I couldn't say anything at home.”
“What?” Terry wasn't sure what to think. “You... you did this?”
The girl looked back and had tears in her eyes. “I- I just asked for you, to feel more part of the family. I thought you were very uncomfortable whenever you came here so I just... sort of... asked, if you could feel more part of it- so that you would be happy here.” The demon-girl wiped her eyes. “I didn't think you would become an actual demon-kind though. They usually just grant small things... a bit of magic maybe... I wanted them to give you something... you would like. So that you would see we are not all bad.”
Terry looked at her with quiet anguish. She... did this? No- she's just a child.. even if by some strange coincidence she wished these things... it was the spirit that was ultimately responsible. The girl was still crying and Terry had to quickly comfort her. Feeling the child embrace her suddenly and... that strange sensation on her feminine breasts was as awkward as can be. “It's... not your fault...”
“B-But it is!” Margaret sniffled. “I- I didn't realize-”
“It's the spirit that did this... not you.” The demon-girl said to her fellow horned and red-skinned cousin. “I am going to fix-”
There was a sudden flicker of light. The torches on the walls suddenly burned brightly... as a floating imp appeared. The creature was ghostly and naked... red skinned with very large horns. She was much smaller then even Margaret despite having such large horns. “Oh Hey Terry! Glad to see you joined us.” She looked down to Margaret. “Little Maggie! Doing well in school yep... seems everything is in order here.”
Margaret gasped. “It's- It's- the great horned one!” She started to bow down. “Terry! You got to kneel!”
“I'm not doing that-” She frowned. Besides she wasn't quite sure how to with these hoof-legs.
The imp giggled. “Oh no need for formalities Margaret! You can call me Kokumari the Great!” She floated looking at the two demon-girls. “Aw, you look like sisters. Very lovely indeed... so what can I do for you?”
