Meeting Ivy

It was finally time for the new school year to start. The weather was perfect, and the forecast said it was going to be a beautiful day. Zeph stared at himself in the mirror. His school uniform consisted of a pair of black dress shoes, midnight blue slacks, a matching blue blazer, and a white shirt. 'Pretty stereotypical,' Zeph thought. Rin was on Zeph's bed staring at him.

"Nyew," she used her wind magic to jump off of the bed and land softly on his shoulder.

Zeph scratched her behind the ears. "Sorry, not today. I want to get used to the place before I bring you with me. Rin pressed her forehead against his cheek. "All right, I'll bring you back something nice.

Lili was also almost ready for school. The female school uniform consisted of a white shirt, midnight blue cardigan, and a matching skirt. She decided to wear midnight blue pants instead. There was nothing in the rules that said she couldn't, and Lili didn't really want to wear a skirt. When she was sure she had everything ready, Lili grabbed a small backpack and left the room.

Zeph met Lili in the hallway, and they headed downstairs for breakfast. On the way down, Lili was looking at him oddly.

"What?" He stopped walking to ask her a question.

Lili stopped as well and decided to walk around Zeph and inspect him. "I was just thinking how surprising it was to see you in dress clothes."

"I've worn a suit before Lili, remember when we met?"

"Yeah, not really. I was more focused on your face, and I was nervous to meet your grandpa. So, I didn't really pay attention."

"Well okay then, but why are you inspecting me like I'm a new discovery?"

"Just trying to figure out why Ivy might have a crush on you. I mean you look good, but so do most mages. I know it can't be your personality."

"Well, gee thanks." Zeph laughed a little and started walking again.

"I didn't mean it that way. She barely ever talked to you, plus it was like love at first sight. According to her, that is. I just can't figure it out."

"Neither can I. From what I can tell, she doesn't know either." Zeph shrugged.

They walked into the kitchen and saw Eli setting the table. He placed down a plate of eggs, bacon, toast, and a small bowl of fruit on the side. Bernard was already sitting at the table reading his tablet and sipping a cup of coffee. The old man looked up from the tablet and smiled at the children.

"Good morning you two. Ready to go I see." Bernard put his tablet on the table.

"Good morning," they replied as they sat.

"So, Lili, you look rather excited. Is it because you're about to go to school, or because Ivy is coming over?" The old man put both his hands around his cup.

"Mostly Ivy, do you know when she'll be here?" Lili already had her fork in hand.

"Should be soon. Her mother is bringing her over, and Eli will be taking the three of you to school. How about you son, excited about meeting Ivy?"

Zeph was in the middle of drinking his orange juice, and the question almost made him cough. He wasn't expecting Bernard to tease him this early in the morning. "I guess. It's going to be an interesting day at least." There was no excitement in his voice.

Last night, Bernard told Zeph and Lili that Ivy would be visiting them in the morning. Zeph hoping that it wouldn't be awkward. Hopefully, Ivy wouldn't confess her love or anything. Lili, on the other hand, was thrilled that her friend would be joining them.

Lili stopped for a second after taking a sip of milk. "Do you think Ivy's grandmother is coming over too?"

There was a loud clattering noise from the sink as Eli dropped the pan he was washing. Bernard smiled and looked at Lili. "No, it's just her mom today. Relina is still adjusting to their new living environment."

Zeph saw Eli's shoulders relax. "You okay Eli?"

The elf looked over his shoulder. "I'm fine little dude. The soap is just slippery."

Bernard and Zeph chuckled. Zeph resumed eating. "By the way, where is everyone?"

Bernard finished his drink. "Well, Alex took Keva to work. Ronan is in the gym doing his morning exercises, and Bianca and Semara are still sleeping. They said it was something about smiling too much or something like that."

Zeph took a moment to think. "Oh, they probably have a hangover. They had this weird blue drink Semmy called 'smiles."

Bernard's eyebrow rose slightly. "Well, that explains why they won't wake up." Eli chuckled.

Zeph tilted his head. "Why is that?"

"Smiles is a pretty potent cocktail. Its effects last for a very long time, and it doesn't cause hangovers. That's how it got the name. The only drawback is drowsiness. The more they drank, the more they'll sleep today. Those two probably had too much fun yesterday."

"They were pretty blitzed." Zeph chuckled.

"What's blitzed? Is it fun? Can I get blitzed?" Lili looked excited. Zeph made it sound like they had too much fun because they were blitzed.

Zeph and Bernard laughed. Eli let out a chuckle.

Zeph looked at Lili. "Do you know what a hangover is?"

"No."

"Then what about drinking?"

"Duh, I'm drinking right now." She pointed at her glass of milk. Eli and Bernard laughed again.

"Okay. Then what about drinking alcohol?" Zeph finished eating.

"Daddy says I can't do that until I'm older. What does that have to do with getting blitzed?" She was getting annoyed.

Zeph looked at Bernard and Eli for help. They only smiled and waited for him to try and explain. He sighed. "Lili, look…getting blitzed is-" The sound of the doorbell rang, interrupting Zeph. "I'll get it." Zeph left the room in a hurry, leaving an angry Lili.

Ronan entered the kitchen and greeted Zeph as the boy walked by. "Good morning everyone."

Zeph replied and went to answer the door. Bernard and Eli waved.

"Something wrong dear?" Ronan looked at his granddaughter.

"Grandpa, can I get blitzed?" Lili asked.

Ronan's jaw went slack, while Eli and Bernard cracked up. "What was that?"

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Zeph took a deep breath in front of the door. 'Let's hope this goes well,' he thought. Ivy was fidgeting on the other side of the door. Tara was trying not to giggle at her daughter's nervousness. As she was about to ring the doorbell again, the door slid open revealing a boy her daughter's age. He was wearing the midnight blue school uniform. The child was quite cute and was most likely the boy her daughter talked about.

Tara smiled. "Hello, my name is Tara Alcott." She gave a small bow. "I greet the young lord." She turned to Ivy, expecting the girl to introduce herself. However, the girl stood there staring at Zeph.

Ivy felt her mother nudge her with an elbow. "Oh, Hello. Ny mame is Ivy Alcott." She winced when she realized she screwed up her introduction.

Zeph watched the two half-elven women introduce themselves, and almost laughed at Ivy's little mistake. "Hello, I am Zephyr Malston, grandson of Lord Malston of Asperitus." The aura given off by Zeph was noble and majestic. He waited for the two women look up from their bow. "Cool now that introductions are over, come on inside."

The Alcott duo was a little surprised how his regal bearing instantly disappeared. They followed him inside. Then they heard Zeph speak again.

"Since we'll be interacting a lot, you two should know that my grandpa and I don't really stick to etiquette much. I don't know how you feel about it, but we would prefer you spoke casually." He led them to the living room and gestured for them to take a seat.

Soon afterward, Bernard joined them in the living room. Tara and Ivy gave a formal greeting, and Bernard repeated Zeph's request for a more laid back interaction. Ivy was still nervous, but she heard someone call her name.

"Ivy, you're here!" Lili ran over and hugged the girl.

They all made small talk for a little while. Zeph talked to Ivy a couple of times, but she only answered in quick short sentences.

"It's almost time to leave for school, why don't you three head out with Eli. I'll talk with Lady Alcott for a while." Bernard walked over to Zeph and patted the boy on the shoulder.

The children agreed, and they all bade farewell. Eli was already at the door ready to lead them to the car. Lili grabbed Zeph and Ivy by the hands and pulled them outside. They waited on the front porch while Eli went to the garage to fetch the car.

"Hey Ivy, where's your car?" Lili looked around the driveway.

Ivy had her head down, taking occasional glances at the boy on the opposite side of her friend. "We didn't take a car. We live across the street, so mom had her familiar bring us over."

"Awesome! We can hang out all the time now. You can come over and we can use Zeph's pool or play video games, or spar in the backyard, or watch movies or-" Lili was interrupted.

"I think she gets the point Lil" Zeph changed the topic. "What kind of familiar does your mom use?"

Ivy blushed. "Uhm...She has several, but we used a dire wolf to bring us here." Her voice was quiet.

Zeph whistled. "That's cool. Think you could tell me more about spirits and stuff. My grandpa makes things too complicated when he explains things, and I'd love to hear about spirit magic from someone who actually uses it. I have a familiar, so I'd like to learn a little spirit magic too."

Ivy got a little excited. "Really?" She looked up to see Zeph smiling at her.

"Of course."

"O...okay, I can help you with that." Ivy smiled.

"Geez, why are you so quiet Ivy. You usually brag about how good you are at spirit magic the moment someone even mentions it. You're acting weird." Lili hopped in front of her friend and brought her face close to the girl. After inspecting Ivy for a few seconds Lili asked, "Why are you so red?"

Zeph facepalmed. Ivy got even redder and covered her face. Lili just tilted her head confused. Hoping to smooth things over, Zeph decided to help the poor girl from her blockhead friend. "She's probably nervous Lil'. New school, new house, new friend, Ivy's got a lot to think about. It'll probably take time for her to adjust." He walked over to Ivy and put his arm on her shoulder to encourage the girl. "Right, Ivy?"

Ivy froze when Zeph's hand landed on her. It took a moment for her to reply. "Yeah, he's right Lili. I'm just nervous. That's all."

"Oh. Okay, I thought you were scared of Zeph or something." Lili laughed.

"S..scared. Why would I be scared of Zeph?" Ivy's voice finally reached a normal volume.

"No idea. That's why I was confused. I thought you had a crush on him, so it was weird." Lili shrugged.

"Lili!" Zeph and Ivy yelled at the same time.

Lili blinked blankly. "What?"

Zeph rubbed his temple. "You can be a real blockhead sometimes. You know that Lil'?"

"Hey, I'm not a blockhead. Why do you two always say that!" Lili's arms flared out as she waved them around angrily.

Ivy started to giggle. She was happy that Zeph had a similar opinion about her friend. Her tension seemed to fade a little and she finally stopped looking down at the floor. Zeph had his hand on Lili's forehead keeping her away as she swung wildly at him for calling her a blockhead. The giggling turned into laughter and made Lili and Zeph pause.

Eli parked a dark blue sedan by the porch. "Okay little dude and dudettes, hop in."

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