Some Rare Downtime

With my lessons completed and expectations exceeded I was released for the day before 11 am. I have no idea what I am going to do! Madam Delula is using her time to set up advanced lesson plans for the week since hers were finished today. I don't have the usual motivation of work to get through the day as learning was supposed to be my work. The only thing that I can think of is to play around with my newfound magic ability. And so I do.

I sit by my shed away from it, flickering a small flame from my finger messing with the strength of the flame, the direction of the flame, and even the color when I get lucky and try something new. I point my finger out and launch small little spurts that quickly dissipate into nothing when I get a devious idea. I point my finger out as I did with the fire that I have been playing with but instead focus on the fleshy part of my paw. With a quick jolt of energy, I'm able to turn my hand into a small water pistol. I play around and eventually get to where I can spit a quick burst of water about 40 feet. Just a small amount though, enough that someone could feel it. I sit at my little table practicing against the shed turning spots of it darker with water. I'm not sure why this is so entertaining but it is.

I keep myself intrigued that I lost track of time until Anne arrives at my table with lunch. I quickly stop and act like I hadn't been doing what I had been but I know she saw. I'm not sure why I'm embarrassed either. Lunch is a simple sandwich with cheese, some type of meat, and lettuce with mayo. I have no idea if Anne is supposed to keep an eye on me at all times but she sure knew when I was done. I put the plate down after my last bite and she walked out of the doors and came straight to me. She seems like a nice girl but I've never gotten to talk to her more than that first day when I broke Madam Odette's rule about talking to others. That left a sour taste in my mouth and now I feel like she's watching.

That's another thing I've noticed. Madam Odette is very busy all the time, managing her home, her business, her personal life, and myself, yet it feels like she's able to seamlessly do everything at once like she's omnipotent. It kills me how she does it but thinking about it now I may know how. She's supposedly a strong magic user so I'm wondering if she has some type of flying camera, third eye, or mind's eye thing that she can do. I'm also not even sure if these things are possible. There may still be a hard line between reality and imagination. I wonder if there's a book that Madam Delula would have on it.

Even though I'm done for the day I walk back to the cabin Madam Delula is staying in. I knock on the door and get a greeting, "Come in!" I step in and she is at the desk with reading glasses on looking over her notes and a few books. "Oh, Red, what can I help you with?"

"Madam Delula, this may sound weird but can I take a look at some of the books on magic you have?"

She seemed a bit puzzled, "Red, you're done for the day."

"I'm aware but my curiosity has me."

"What are you curious about?"

"Sight."

She was puzzled, "Visum? That's pretty specific."

"Visum?"

"Visum, the magic element of sight and vision."

Now I'm confused, "Do what now?"

"Something that I was going to go over tomorrow, you have the four basic elements down. Earth, Wind, Fire, and Air were the first real discovery in magic but people began to wonder why using the same ratio of elements yielded such different results. They looked at where it was coming from and discovered that from those four were many more that were divided under each one. It eventually spread to include visible light. The element Visum is a dual sub-element from Lux, light, and Motus, motion, and movement. It is simplified as sight."

I only pause for a second, "Everything just got a lot more complicated."

"It is. You've proven that you can understand and have a solid base to pull these other elements and you do so by pulling various other elements by focusing on focal points. You don't know what you did today, you saw that you had a ratio of air, water, and earth that created a small storm by putting in the energy to do it."

"Wait, so I did that by dumb luck?"

"Dumb luck, natural talent, either way, you have a lot of potential about you. But that's why I'm here. To fine-tune that natural talent and take dumb luck out of it. Honestly, I have no idea what Lady Odette is going to have you doing but she has set you to a pretty high standard."

"That worries me."

"It shouldn't. She brought me here because I'm one of the best teachers. I'm not the most powerful user by any means but I can convey information in a way that people can understand and grasp easily. So I admire that you're so eager but you should still be eased into this before I let you run around on your own."

"I understand."

"Good! Then take today and relax. If you have questions about what you did today thought I'll do what I can to explain it. Otherwise, go enjoy your day."

I leave her to wander around the grounds a bit to see what all is there. I start my way back down the trail to my shack to find Madam Odette waiting for me. She is sitting down in one of the chairs by the table. I walk up and she motions for me to take a seat. I sit down looking over at her waiting for her to say something. She doesn't have that look on her face that I've done something wrong but it's still unnerving. I break the silence first, "May I help you, Madam Odette?" She takes a deep breath before speaking, "Red, sometimes I wonder if you are too smart for your own good."

"Excuse me?"

"I spoke with Delula about your progress today while you were eating and she explained what happened. She was impressed that as a first-time magic user you were able to learn so much on your own and then shift straight into such a solid grasp of the concepts that you were able to almost effortlessly apply them. She may be impressed but I am astounded at your day one progress."

"Thank you, Madam Odette."

"Just don't let your success get to your head. There are a lot of more complicated theories and ideas that Delula will go over. I do hope that some of them will stump you and have you think differently."

"I appreciate you challenging me Madam Odette. Just after today I feel invigorated."

"Good, I would hope so. What you are doing is something that very few people get to experience and I would be disappointed if you didn't grasp the magnitude of your accomplishment."

"Madam Odette, I do have a question though."

"Ok, what is it?"

"I know you have me learning from Madam Delula but are you going to teach me something about magic sometime?"

She looks a little skeptical but answers, "It's a possibility but if Delula does her job well you should be able to learn everything you'll ever want on your own."

"Something just seems interesting about learning from you though."

It's not often that it happens but I managed to throw off Madam Odette. When it happens she tries hard to hide it. Either I've gotten good at noticing it or she's not as good at it as she thinks but I saw that reaction. I smile at myself but I know better than to keep it for long. That has gotten me into a lot of trouble. A lot!

"Red, tomorrow you will learn with Delula, when she releases you I want you to find me." I see some hidden agenda in her eyes. I'm rather worried actually. Typically that kind of request has a road trip or some type of odd job involved. She won't tell me if I ask what it is. She always likes to do that though. She'll give me a warning of what's to come without actually telling me. That was actually how this whole thing started. She showed up, said I was going to do a thing, never told me what it was, and here I am throwing fire out of my hands.

We finish up our quick chat with the notice that I need to see her tomorrow after my lessons. I look at the sun in the sky to get a sense of time and I still have hours left in the day where I have nothing to do. Madam Delula already told me not to read into what I wanted to because it's beyond my comprehension. I think with a little extra work on my end I could grasp it but I also know better than to go against Madam Odette. Those first few days were rough.

I get about an hour into sitting at the table before the nothing starts to bother me. I look around at everyone working and keeping busy and all I can think is "what do they think when they look at me?" because that bothers me. I feel like I should be doing something but I'm not sure what. Everyone seems busy but they all seem to be capable of what they're doing and don't need help. I haven't seen Anne. I'm pretty sure someone like herself would be inside the main home. I see her come out with my lunch which I'm pretty sure is her job now. I wonder if she's just a general maid or if she works in the kitchen. "What does Anne do? I'm kind of curious."