Zeph Malston: The Aether Mage

0After Alex and Zeph were in the barrier around the lake, the owl turned back into a fox-kin when he was sure no one else was around. They walked in silence. Alex knew that the man was thinking about the battle that just finished.     0

"How are you feeling?" Alex asked Zeph as they approached the lake.     

"Better than I thought. Not as good as I'd hoped." Zeph sighed.     

"Understandable. It's only the second time you've witnessed this sort of thing. Aside from monsters, that is."     

"Yeah." Zeph wore a faint smile. "At least I didn't throw up this time," he said, trying to use humor to lighten up the mood.     

"Do you want to talk about it when we get home?"     

"I'll be fine. Just need some time to come to terms with how things are done here."     

"What do you mean?"     

"Well," Zeph closed his eyes for a few seconds, "The valir exterminated the cultists like they were animals. In my old world, that would be condemned. But here, it didn't even look like it fazed them."     

Alex put his hand on Zeph's shoulder. It took a little more effort now that he was taller, but the old dwarf managed to pull off the demeanor of a comforting elder. "It only seems that way because they are trained and experienced. Most likely, they have already developed a coping mechanism to deal with the guilt of their actions. We all have them. Bernard buries himself in work and projects. I spend time with my family. Eli meditates.     

Taking the life of another sentient being is never simple. In fact, it would be worrisome if we felt indifferent about it. I'm actually glad you're doing your best to adjust. Just remember that feeling the way you do now isn't necessarily a bad thing."     

Zeph let out a long slow breath. "I understand." Then he brought out the cookies he snagged from his jacket pocket. "Want one?"     

Alex gave a quick chuckle. "Yes, yes I would." He grabbed one and ate it slowly while he and Zeph continued walking to the lake.     

"Hmm, it feels like Rin's fighting something." Zeph felt the magic being cast when they were almost at their destination. He started walking quickly to see what was going on.     

Alex and the young lord walked into the lakeside camp and saw the magic fish and cat fighting one another. It was surprising, funny, and definitely worth recording. So they did what anyone else would do. They tapped their pendants and decided to take a few pictures and make a video.     

Zeph smiled as the two animals fought tooth and nail, well… fin and claw. Just as he felt Rin shore up her resolve for the final conflict, he decided to intervene. With a quick motion of his hand, he grasped the fish with his TK and held it prisoner. It put up more resistance than he expected. Most likely, it was a stronger variant of the fish they caught earlier. Rin's reaction was priceless. The kitten was wide-eyed and confused.     

Since she didn't realize it yet, Zeph decided to let her know he was there. "Rin, I got your cookies!" he shouted. The next thing he knew, there was a soft thud as the kitten collided with his chest in the cutest attempt at a hug he'd seen yet. He brought his arm around the little fluff ball to cradle her while he grabbed a cookie for the kitten.     

Alex watched Rin munch on the cookie, trying not to give in to the cuteness. "Well she seems happy," he looked at the floating fish, "By the way, what are your plans for that?"     

Zeph pointed at the fish, sending a thin beam of energy through its head. "I figure we can get Bianca to make Rin a treat for a good fight. She might even be able to get some water magic out of it."     

"Bernard and I were just talking about finding a magical beast for her to eat." The two continued to converse while packing up and leaving.     

The cool night air helped the pair relax as they flew home. Alex and Zeph rode in silence. Rin was the only one making any noise as she munched on some cookies. Zeph was going over the events of the night and wondering if he could do what the valir did.     

It wasn't long until they arrived at the mansion. As they walked quietly to the door, Alex finally spoke again. "If there isn't anything you need, I think I'll head to bed. I'm not as young as I used to be and I haven't had an all-nighter in a long time." He yawned as if to emphasize the statement.     

Zeph opened the door. "I think I can manage without you, but I'll probably be up for a while longer. I'm not sure if I could sleep well at the moment." The image of cultists burning to death flittered through his mind.     

Alex gave him a knowing look and then pat him on the shoulder. "You'll be fine." He started to walk down the hallway to the stairs. "I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."     

"Goodnight," Zeph said as he watched the butler go upstairs. Rin meowed and started to go upstairs as well. "Good night to you too, furball."     

The young lord walked to the kitchen while lost in thought. 'Maybe some tea will help calm my nerves.' He started getting the teapot ready with hot water and pulled his favorite blend from the cupboard. 'It's not like they did anything wrong. Those psychos deserved it.' Then Zeph imagined himself in the place of one of the valir killing cultists. Splashing sounds brought him back to reality and he noticed tea was spilling on the counter. He overfilled his cup. 'Geeze man, get it together. Don't be such a wuss.'     

'When I become a valir, I'll probably have to kill someone sooner or later.' An unexpected thought occurred. 'If it bothers me so much, maybe I shouldn't be a valir. Let's face it, I'm too soft hearted. Monsters and animals are fine, but people…' Zeph would have continued this train of thought but remembered some of the stories Bernard told him. 'I'm the heir to Asperitus now. One way or another, something is going to happen and I'll have to make the hard choice one day. Just suck it up, learn to deal and keep moving forward."     

After mentally chastising himself and cleaning up his mess, Zeph grabbed his tea and went to the living room. "Maybe there's something good on the CV. Great, now you're talking to yourself. An obvious sign of mental health." He shook his head at his own behavior. Surprisingly, there was a light on in the living room when he got there.     

It turns out that Semara was still awake and watching something. Zeph looked closer and saw that it was some sort of giant monster movie. A huge army of undead was going up against a giant fire breathing insect of some kind. For all the screaming that was going on the screen, Zeph couldn't hear anything. Semara, on the other hand, was on the edge of her seat.     

"Oh, she put up a barrier," he said as he bumped into it while trying to get close to his friend. He knocked on it to get her attention, but there was no response. "Maybe if I flared my magic." Then he spiked his energy for a few seconds. Semara's felt it and turned to face his direction. Zeph waved his hand at her. "Heloooo," he said while tapping the barrier.     

After quickly turning the volume down on the CV, Semara opened up her barrier so Zeph could walk in. "Sorry, I didn't want to wake anyone up with the noise," she blushed. "I didn't expect you to be up and you surprised me looking like that." She gestured at his fox shifter form.     

"Yeah, needed to keep this up in case anyone saw me in public." Zeph looked at the pile of shirts and small sewing kit on the couch seat next to her. "What's with all the clothes?"     

A look of frustration appeared on the wolf girl's face. "I was fixing my shirts before the movie sucked me in. Bianca ripped some buttons off of my shirts in an effort to make me look se... err silly."     

"I don't think you'd look silly," Zeph replied. 'It'd look pretty good actually,' he thought while imagining her in a modified version of what she usually wore. 'Kinda like a sexy cosplaying secretary. Then again, wolf ears are pretty common here, so it wouldn't really be cosplay.' Pleasant images started to pop up one after the other in his mind.     

"Then why are you smiling like that?" she narrowed her eyes at him.     

"Nothing, just thinking about how you're going to get Bianca for her prank and wondering if I could get in on it," the aetherling lied.     

"Oh, cool. I'll definitely bring you in when I think of something." Semara scooted over and pushed the pile of clothes further to the end of the couch so Zeph could sit down. "Here have a seat." She tapped the cushion next to her. After he sat down, she got a little curious. "Why are you still up? I thought you'd be a little tired after your guy's night out."     

Zeph rubbed the back of his head and then started to explain what happened. Semara was wondering why she didn't see anyone else. It turns out Alex and Zeph were the only ones to go home. "-Since I can't really sleep, I decided to stay up and drink some tea to see if it would calm my nerves," he said while holding up his cup and finishing the story. "Honestly, I'm really tired. Shapeshifting and keeping an eye on the cultists while using my magic sense and staying alert took more mental energy than I thought. It kinda sucks that I can't just close my eyes without seeing something unpleasant."     

Semara frowned. "Yeah, it was like that for me too the first few times I saw someone die. Processing it intellectually isn't that bad. Emotionally, however," she sighed. "Yeah, that takes some time."     

"How'd you cope?"     

"Well, my dad helped," she said. When I was younger, I lived in the outer areas of Asperitus. It was a small town called Clent. One day, a convergence occurred and some goblins got into the town." Semara's eyes clouded for a moment. "It wasn't pretty, but we made it through. Luckily, no one I knew was hurt. But… I saw the people who did. That night at the store was pretty similar."     

"Wow, that's… I'm not sure what to say."     

"Yeah, after that I decided that I wanted to be strong enough to protect the people I care about. That's when I started specializing in barrier magic. Mom was a barrier mage so she taught me." She smiled when she remembered her lessons. "Later we moved here when dad retired."     

"Your parents live in the city?"     

"Yup, being the bodyguard of the top official in the province pays pretty well. I set them up with a nice house at the edge of town and put enough security on that thing to rival this mansion." Semara beamed. "Now that I got this promotion, they're even happier."     

"Promotion?"     

"Yeah, your bodyguard. You're the young lord remember." She chuckled.     

"Oh, yeah."     

"Anyway, my dad used an old shifter remedy to help me relax when I was having trouble with the nightmares of that night."     

"Do you think you could use it on me? At least until I get my feelings sorted out? My Mind has been a jumbled mess for a while, and it'd be nice to sleep and get away from it all."     

"Well, the remedy is a technique that's usually reserved for family and close friends. Are you sure you want me to do it?" Semara asked as a pink colored her cheeks.     

"Well, you're both those things, so I don't see a problem with it." Zeph dazed her with a smile. "There are only a handful of people in this world that I love, and you're one of them."     

Semara quietly got up, moved the clothes to a recliner and sat at the end of the couch. The entire time she made sure Zeph couldn't see her face and the expression she was making. After taking a deep breath and letting it out, she looked at him. "Alright, then I'll need you to lie down." She patted her lap.     

"You mean…"     

"I told you that it's only done for people who are close," she cut him off, unable to hide her embarrassment.     

"Right," Zeph replied and awkwardly positioned himself lying face up in her lap.     

"Now close your eyes," Semara told him while she placed her hand atop his head. A soft glow started to surround her fingertips as she started to rub the areas behind his ears. "A shifter's ears are pretty sensitive to touch, so they are one of the best places to massage and relieve stress. What I'm doing now is a form of empathic magic. I'm using it to send comforting and positive feelings to you."     

"It's warm." A serene look spread across the man's face. It was like lying in the grass on a warm spring day or being hugged by your parents after a bad dream. The pure emotion filled magic seeped into his very being, gently washing away his worries.     

Semara watched Zeph as his breathing started to slow and even out. This moment, more so than any other, started to make her think about how she truly felt for the man in her lap. He might not be ready for a relationship now, but he would be in the future. 'It wouldn't be so bad if it was with me,' she thought while looking down with a content smile.