"Officer" Red Welch

5 am revelry! I'm up! I'm on the line! Staff Sergeant Wegener emerges from his office to give us the same orders I heard yesterday. Ivy gets us together for our march to the mess hall. Breakfast is a breeze and we head back to the barracks. I'm still bringing up the back being the new guy. My rack is the furthest back so I have to pass all of them. I hear Terrison bark up, "Hey! Welch! When did you have multiple tails?!"

I got so comfortable with them being magic users that I forgot my illusion spell. "Right! I had it hidden before. It was easier to just keep the one visible."

"That's cool, man. I've heard of split tails and they're pretty rare but three is almost unheard of."

I mutter, "Three?"

I look back as best I can to see one… two… three! Three! "Uh, yea. It's super rare." I try to play it off as best I can but this is new to me. What happened? How did this happen? Ivy comes up to inspect. "That's really cool. You kept these hidden until now?"

"Yea. It was easier that way."

"I'm guessing illusion magic." He pats me on the back, "That's cool stuff. I would keep that up though. You can mention it to our instructors but there are some non-magic folks on base."

I nod in agreement. I just wonder if I can keep the illusion going on two tails. I have a short while to figure this out. I get it figured out before we have to leave for morning classes. It feels weird. It's like before where I have the extra weight behind me but it moves with me. I'll have to adapt to it like before but I want to know what happened that another tail showed. The last time was with Marcus in the foyer of the manor. I tapped into that power and it seemed to bring forth the second tail. There has to be something to this.

I have more pressing matters to attend to. I follow Ivy and the others to one of the buildings where we are shuffled into a small auditorium. There are a few others already here. They all look fresh-faced like I do. They have to be here for the same training. Ivy guides me to the other side of him where he can whisper to me. "I'll try and get you caught up as we go."

"Who are these other people?"

"Some are from other squads. Some are officers learning how to teach magic users. Some are here because they are going to be getting magic users assigned to them."

He points around the room to a few who apply to each of the groups that are sitting. The door on the opposite side of the room opens and everyone stands. I jump up to match everyone else as everyone yells "Good morning, Sir!"

"As you were."

A grumpy-looking mop of a gray dog walks in. He's got a star on his collar! This guy is high ranking and he's here teaching us? "Welch, calm down. He pioneered this program but he's a humble guy."

There was no pause. The projector kicked off the lesson immediately. His voice carried across the room with ease as he started to explain an underlying theory of magical force. It sounded rather familiar. Maybe I touched on it when I was studying by myself. There are very few people taking notes during this lecture. That seems odd to me. Ivy leaned back with his arms crossed. Brant seems to be scribbling away in a notebook trying to keep up. I didn't bring anything with me. I don't know what to do other than to listen.

It's a good hour before he dismisses us to practical application. Ivy takes the lead and shows me where to go. There are a few rooms off to the side where there is another aardvark standing there waiting for us to show up. "Every group has its own practical instructor. Those that don't have magic but are learning how to deal with magical folks will oftentimes teach these portions. We have Corporal Davis today. He's a good dude."

We line up in front of him and immediately he begins to go off the rails. "Who! The hell! Is the new guy?!"

"Welch, sir!"

"And what the hell is he doing here?"

"Same thing we all are!"

"Shut up, Ivy!"

"Yes, sir!"

The aardvark approaches me with a gleam in his eye. He looks mean as he gets closer. He starts to look me over as he tries to figure out what to do with me. "Doesn't smell like a mage bomb to me. What can you do?" He's addressing me. I don't know what he's looking for in an answer. "Magic, sir!"

"Well no shit, Welch. What specialty?"

"No specialty, sir!"

"So a jack-off of all trades."

He knows magic so I can relax a bit. I let the illusion spell go, revealing the two extra tells. His attention snapped to and back to me, "Illusion? So you're a joker."

"No, Sir!"

"So you think it's funny to just create tails?"

"They are my tails, sir. They're very real."

He moves around me and stares at them. I feel his boots touch the tip of everyone. Each one twitches as it's bothered. "What a freak. Show me what you can do, Welch. If you're going to show some aptitude. Parlor tricks don't cut it here."

I still don't know what he needs. I don't know what he's asking for. Do I recreate my entrance exam? That might be a bit extreme. "Come on, Welch! Show me something!"

Screw it! I take a deep breath and throw a large firewall from my feet into the room. It swallows most of the space creating a quick flash with a blast of heat. It doesn't stick around long enough to set anything on fire or harm anyone but it creates enough of a jump that the other four start freaking out. "Holy shit! Welch! That was amazing!"

"And stupid!" Corporal Davis shouts them down. "No control! All power! You would be a menace."

I don't know what provoked this. I don't know if I just got tired of being yelled at. But something snapped. I could feel my eyes roll as I closed them. As I came back I was staring Corporal David in the eyes. Before I could stop myself I had already barked at him, "Then tell me what you want!" The other four froze. I could see his nose flair as he tried to think of a response. I didn't hesitate though. "You want water?!" I threw a wave onto the floor soaking the tile. "You want more fire?!" I surrounded us with a quick flare. "How about Earth?" I stomped and rattled the tile, cracking a line around me. "Wind? I can do that!" The entire room turned into a tunnel as a whirlwind whipped through. "I've got spells for days but you have to tell me what you want!"

I was left panting as the release of anger finally gave me some closure. To let that out felt great. To let loose some of that pent-up power felt even better. They were all simple spells but rather wild. I used to do this every day with precise control. Maybe I'm out of practice or maybe just my anger got the best of me. "You think you're hot shit, don't you Welch? Pull that again and I'll show you what a mage bomb can do."

My filter is gone, "That would be amazing! Some direction would be absolutely astounding since all I've gotten is just general fuck around and find out."

"You want to fuck around and find out?"

Ivy jumped in, putting a paw on my chest, forcing me a few steps back. "OK, we get it. Welch is upset but there's no need for this."

"No! He wanted to see what I could do! How about a show?!"

The air turns still as I start to focus. Everything seems to just halt and everyone can feel it. Corporal Davis doesn't flinch. We both wait for the other to make a move. We both know that neither of us can do a thing until the other makes the first move otherwise we become the aggressor. It's clear that he has a great understanding of magic. I'm still very new to this but I've jumped by leaps and bounds. I can't gauge him but I don't think he can gauge me either. This is a stalemate. The silence is broken as Corporal Davis barks out that we are dismissed and he's tired of looking at me.

He takes his leave slamming the door behind him. With an exhale the air in the room begins to move again. Ivy stands between the door and me while Terrison, Garrett, and Brant are hanging behind me trying not to lose their collective mind.

Ivy gets us back to the barracks where he's able to sit down. I head to my rack releasing the illusion spell to relax. This moment was where another line had been crossed that set a lot of different things in motion. We moved to the mess hall for lunch. When we returned, all four of us were summoned away from afternoon PT for a surprise aptitude test.

It brought back memories of the practical portion of the entrance exam. The old dog from the lecture was there along with Corporal Davis and a few other instructors. They were all lined up at a table in this large open area. They kept to the side giving us more room to us. The old dog spoke up with that same voice that seemed to carry wherever it was needed, "We have called you to check on your training progress." Ivy wasn't buying it, "No, you called us here to see what Welch can do. We can see that."

It will be just like the entrance exams. The four move off to the side leaving me to myself in the center of the room. "2nd Lieutenant Welch, would please give us an accurate show of your abilities?" I look at the dog with a sigh, "Are you looking for power? Control? A specific element? You're leaving it too vague for me to give an accurate demonstration."

"I will leave it to you."

That didn't help. I could do that room control that I did at the exam again. That seems to impress others. I really don't want to though. It's incredibly draining on me while also putting others into an uncomfortable situation. What's something that's harmless but focused? I mull it over in my head before I think of something. I won't do it to the degree I did before but an indoor storm might be enough. It requires a lot of elements mixed with finite isolation of a lot of sub-elements.

Earth and air begin making clouds. Water to stick and for vapor in the air. Add more water to darken the clouds. Once they've reached saturation, then it begins to rain. If I add more dust I can get the friction needed to produce a small amount of lightning. I run it through my head as I begin to take in a read on the elements in the room. An alchemic mixture reduces the focus and staring from my body. If I can repurpose most of what I need then I can fill the gaps. I huff and puff as I start to gather what I need.

As I pull what I need, the air starts to shift. There's plenty of what I need around me. I can call upon the major elements and refine them to the smaller parts I need within my own body. From there I can mix them together and begin to release them into the room once more.

Another exhale and I can feel the air getting dense. I have to create a high-pressure zone for this to work. The white fluffy clouds begin to form near the top of the room. I pump more water into it darkening the clouds until they resemble storm clouds. I see a few flashes from the friction of the dust. With one more push and a little amplification, the first drop falls. After that, the rest do their own thing.

One thing I should have done for everyone else was give a little warning. I created a small dense spot of air that acted like an umbrella for myself to keep me dry. Everyone else in the room has to deal with the wetness for a few minutes before it all dissipates. I can see Ivy, Brant, and Terrison standing off to the side, dripping wet but wide-eyed at the display. Everyone at the table and the few standing on the side seem rather unimpressed. I think I get it.

They were looking for a military application. This took a long while to create and execute. They gave me too much room to do my own thing. The room becomes an awkward silence as I wait for anything. The old dog nods. "You are dismissed. Thank you."

That's it. I nod with a "Yes, Sir!" taking my leave. Ivy and the others follow me as I take the exit we were brought in. I don't feel as drained as I normally do. I didn't push myself too hard this time. I've had too many issues where I've been unable to walk or I just make myself sick as a result of trying to dig deep to grab more than I can handle. I will have to admit that my skills have gotten better. My capacity has greatly increased. That felt pretty good in my opinion. I can tell I'm tired but I could keep going. Had I done that just a few months ago I might have fallen on the floor.

"Officer on deck!" I slam my hand on the board as I step back into the barracks. The others behind me do not. They jump in and circle me with wide eyes and praises, "Welch! That was amazing!" Every single one of them started to question what it was that I did. I tried to break it down and it quickly became apparent that they do not have that deep of an understanding. Ivy had been in this squad since day one and had gone to a magic school but this was on a level he never reached. He understood the basics but could not piece together how I was able to put it all together. Brant was absolutely lost. He was one of those recruits that had no magical know-how until it just manifested. Terrison was just beside himself.

I have to recollect myself. They just keep pushing me further and further. Eventually, there's going to be a break and I have no idea what's going to happen when I get there. I also wonder if what my recruiter told me still holds true. He let me know that I would be broken down to the bare minimum and then rebuilt up in a manner that the Army needed. But with all these changes, are they going to keep going with that? I didn't look into officer training or the process for it.

Things are changing once again. I can only hope for the better.