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"Lucas!" I screamed

The cold forced away the heat instantly, and he started shivering as he lay unconscious on the ground. I wasted no time, picking him up, which was harder that I had anticipated.

"You! What happened?" Someone screamed over the storm

"Someone jinxed him. I don't know who, but we don't really have any time."

A cat appeared out of nowhere fighting the snowy turbulence, helping me lift Lucas, not stopping to say Lucas's name. She took the left side and I took the right wrapping Lucas's arms around our shoulders. We left our luggage,

"We can take him to the Hearth wood tavern!" The person shouted over the snow. "We can patch Lucas up there."

Lucas dangled unconsciously from our arms, like a rug puppet, his eyes closed peacefully. I sneaked a glance at the cat, but my vision was blurred because of the snow.

"Almost there" said the cat though I could not distinguish its gender.

"Who are you?"

"A friend of Lucas's, we'll talk later"

Glowing light pierced through the storm and I saw clearly the Hearth Wood Tavern. We went through the double doors and into the warm tavern. Both the walls and the music playing from bards drained out the storm and there was clapping and singing and dancing.

"Francis! Where are you?" the cat shrilled taking off the hood that concealed the gender of the stranger. Strands of greyish purple hair flowed down, coated with snow and I noticed that the stranger was a girl. She was a few inches shorter than me and she let her purple hair fall naturally. She had one gold ring piercing on her left ear and her teeth were as white as the snowflakes on her fur

"FRANCIS!" She screeched, goaded at the lack of a response. Her harsh yelling contrasted her pretty face. There was a quick beat of feet on wood which came from the stairs, and a tiger frantically rushed to the area where the screech had come from.

"Rayne! I hear you! Who's causing the end of the world?" he said with sarcasm

"Lucas has been attacked by some lunatic or competition."

"What's the difference" he said jocularly "Dammit, I told him to take the earlier train, now look what has happened." He said crossing his arms with an annoyed look, but a more serious tone. "Get him on a table, I'll get medicines and herbs."

Rayne and I nodded simultaneously and we picked up Lucas just like before, dragging him to a medical room with a table and some tools. We laid him on his stomach to examine the flesh wound that burnt through his coat and singed his fur and skin, leaving a light pink spot on his back. The patch was 2 times the size of a fist. Rayne scrutinized it, giving me suspicious glares.

"Did you do this?!" she said enraged

"No! I swear I didn't" I said truthfully

She gave me an unbelieving stare, her purple eyes fixed on me like a hawk stalking food. Francis trotted in with an armful of different herbs and a few colorful phials of potions. "Rayne, all are innocent until proven guilty, you of all people should know that. I'm sorry kid, what's your name?"

"My names Rin, yours?" I said offering a hand

"Francis" he smiled trying to repair any distrust previously. "Nice to meet you" he finished shaking my hand.

"This is all very touching," Rayne said sarcastically "but Lucas is hurt!"

"Don't be flippant," Francis said annoyed at Rayne's childishness "Introduce yourself"

She scoffed "My names Rayne, I'm 16 years old, and I'm a student at Northridge." She finished hastily "now can we get back to the main problem?"

"That's better, now let's patch up Lucas." Francis responded lazily

"Hey! Don't forget to check his wand history."

"My what?" I said perplexed.

"Relax, I'll take care of it, do you have you wand?"

"Yeah, it's in my pocket..." I checked my pocket to find air and I froze I put it away when I shattered the TV... in my luggage... that I left outside I remembered.

"Well, where is it?" Francis asked raising an eyebrow

"I Left it in my luggage" I said trying to gain their trust "I swear! I wouldn't ever harm Lucas."

"Ok Rin, I believe you." He said with sympathy "Let's check later. In the meantime, let's patch up Lucas."

"The offender could be standing right next to us!" Rayne said refusing to be ignored "He could be tricking us!

"It wasn't me! I only know a few spells anyway, none to hurt him!" I cried in indignation

Francis traded his warming smile for a scowl. "Rayne! Do you want me to hurt Rin just because he doesn't have a straight story yet? What good will that do? The only thing it will do is make more trouble for us. Lucas is in pain and if I don't heal him, it could become worse and he could go in shock! You need to grow up!"

Francis finished his tirade but his last words struck Rayne hard. Tears welled in her eyes and she became enraged. She slapped Francis across the face and took off sobbing out into the snow where here sobs would be choked out by the sobs and the tears would turn to ice. The music continued playing as if mocking what had just happened. Francis rubbed his left cheek with one hand, and clenched a fist in the other.

"Dammit, she's better at healing." He commented turning to Lucas's now shivering body

"Will she be alright?" I asked trying to register what had happened

Francis turned to attend Lucas, grinding roots in a mortar and pestle "Yeah, as juvenile as she is, she is one of the most innately talented wizards I have ever met."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked Francis

"Try casting a healing spell if you want. I'll teach you the spell instructions once you get your wand. This will take a while, so you can get your luggage from outside."

"Thanks for everything Francis." I said genuinely

"Don't mention it" he said with a smile again. He seems to have grown fond of me in this short period of time I thought. I wonder why but I doubt I will get answers from him anytime soon.

I opened the double doors and the storm had settled a bit. The town was built around a statue of an unrecognized hero on the north end, and on the south end was a forest of pines. The Hearth Wood Tavern was on the northern most side of the town and in the middle of it too. The buildings were usually one storied made of cobble and wooden logs. Most had chimneys which had their own column of smoke which was swept away by the cold wind. The roofing was made of tiles that withstood the oppressive cold and the windows were those slanted parallel and perpendicular lined ones that were stained many colors.

I had no trouble finding my luggage, miraculously not blown away by the snow, and I also took Lucas's luggage just to be courteous. Just then, on the south forested side of town was Rayne, sitting on the side of a tree. I dropped off the luggage at the Hearth Wood Tavern and backtracked outside to talk to Rayne, remembering to bring my wand.

"What do you want?" she asked hostilely.

"I wanted to check up on you, and prove my innocence." I responded handing her my wand.

she snatched my wand from my hands and pointed her wand at it "Animus" She said and a blue list of spells hovered in the air complete with random stars and symbols next to it. "You casted a push spell four hours and fifty minutes ago. Material of impact was glass. The bolt traveled 101 mph, corresponding to the earth, 123 mph, you were on a train.

"How did you know that?" I asked

"The stars and symbols represent numbers"

"No, how did you know I was on a train"

"Oh that. So the train goes at 22 mph. By taking away the actual speed of the bolt allows me to surmise where you were because the bolt traveled 123 miles corresponding to the earth, but 101 not factoring in the train.

"So simply 101+22?"

"Simply put, yes. Hey listen... sorry about earlier, it's just lately, we've been on edge. I shouldn't have hit Francis. He deserves better."

"Who's we?"

"Francis, Lucas, Others you don't know, and I." She said counting them off on her fingers. "There has been more and more attacks every week."

"What do you think is the cause?"

"I'm guessing rival Oblivion Teams. I thought we were safe, but when Lucas got attacked... When he..." She started trying to speak, but her words were inarticulate in her sobs.

"Let's get back in the Tavern. Francis needs our help."

She shook her head. "You go on without me. I don't think that I can help right now, and even if I could, I wouldn't want to see Francis. Thanks for talking to me."

I gave as kind of a smile as possible and went back to the tavern. The warmth surrounded me and I needed to take of my thick coat.

"Did you get your wand?" Francis asked over his shoulder as he attended Lucas

"Yes, it's right here." I said waving it in my hand

"Good, to cast a healing spell, first say 'Vita', draw a tear drop from the tip of it, back to the top, and then you have to say 'flumen' when you draw a line through the tear drop, down onto the wound."

"Ok, I'll try." I said I drew my wand in my right hand, and whispered "vita". A strand of gold thread suspended in the air, and I preceded to draw the teardrop. The threads followed the tip of my wand and deferred to the motion that I drew, giving of a radiant glow. Francis eyes opened wide as he watched what was happening. Am I doing something wrong? I completed the tear drop and said "Flumen!" Casting my wand downwards to Lucas's wound. The Golden threads raced down to help Lucas, ramming themselves onto his wound.This is amazing! Instantly, the wound was replaced with fresh skin, and the skin regenerated a fresh coat of fur. Then the glowing gold subsided and the wound was healed.

"Hey Rin," Francis said in amazement "How many spells have you casted?"

"Two I think. I got my wand today."

Francis stood there in awe. "Do you know what you just did?" he said examining Lucas back, which had no traces of a wound.

"Yeah, I helped out a friend." I said simply

"You casted a Gold level spell"

I brushed his praise aside, "I just wanted to help Lucas. It's nothing big." He ruffled my hair, putting aside a potion that was labeled "Fur replacement". I guess he didn't need it anymore.

_ _

I straightened up, and sat down on a nearby chair in the main hall of the Tavern, listening to the bard tell stories of legends long ago. A grandfather clock read 10:26 as the bard continued to speak, in a grand voice that rang through the hall.

"And so, the sister lay waste to the kingdom of the Nachiri, searching for the answer to eternal life. And the brother was sealed in the earth for a thousand years."

My eyes became drowsy and I began to feel my mind leave the world and enter a dream. I stood up, not wanting to go asleep on a chair.

"Hey, Francis?" I said drowsily, and he came down the steps

"What's up?"

"Shouldn't I get to the college?" I asked remembering that that was the reason I came to Northridge.

"Naw," he said brushing the fact of the matter away. "Some students arrive later to avoid the crowdedness of the first day. We just say that our train was delayed or something. In the meantime, I could get you some hot cocoa from the Hearth Wood Tavern. It's on me as a thanks for helping heal Lucas.

"It was nothing really." I said modestly "But hot cocoa sounds nice"

"Right on it!" he said with alacrity

Rayne came into the Tavern and gave a big yawn. She then slouched down on the chair next to me.

"What's the matter kid? Past your bedtime?" she teased

I laughed which woke me up a bit "I saw you yawn too when you came in"

She gave a guilty smile and rubbed her eyes to stay awake.

For the first time, I felt like I had a place in the world. Someplace where I could call home. Francis came back with two cups of cocoa, when he realized he would have to go back for another. "Are you feeling better?" he asked concerned handing Rayne and me a mug

"Yeah, listen I'm real sorry about earlier. You deserve better" Rayne said

"It was my fault. I didn't handle it well," Francis admitted "and frankly, I never want you to grow up. I like you the way you are."

Rayne blushed, but hid it by drinking her cocoa, and Francis went back to get another mug of cocoa. I laughed and took a long sip of my warm drink. The drink refreshed me, making me feel drowsier. Francis pulled up a chair to the right of me as he sat down with his mug. "Are you sure you have only casted too spells?"

I nodded and took a sip of my cocoa.

"How would you like to join the Oblivion Team?" Francis said