After School

Eli was walking around the AVA Middle School campus. It was a nice day so the stroll was pretty relaxing. He kept a magic connection to the flowers he handed Zeph and the girls, and it allowed him to keep track of their location and condition. He never went to school before, so Eli would peek in classroom windows occasionally to see what was going on. Elves were usually educated by parents or close friends. Childhood for elves lasted around half a century. Because of their long lifespans, they didn't feel the need to rush education. That's why Eli liked living among humans and the other shorter-lived races.

While elves were content to live alongside nature and use magic to make life comfortable, they lacked the innovation of humanity. Elves were easily entertained, and Eli could be content just watching clouds float across the sky. Not humans though, they needed more. There were a few elves who shared Eli's interest in humanity, but the vast majority preferred to live in the wilderness away from the hustle and bustle of civilization. As such, elves were a rarity and they garnered a lot of attention.

Eli noticed several children point at him through the windows. They were excited to see an elf. He smiled and waved back. While he was waving at a particularly excited kid, Eli's tablet started beeping. Lifting up and checking the caller ID, the elf went someplace more private.

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Magic and Physical Education class ended peacefully. Ms. Davis let everyone have free time so she could review their performance. Lili and Ivy were approached by a few girls who were impressed with their magic. Zeph didn't want to scare them away so he took Drew to a different section of the training ground. It didn't seem like anyone else wanted to talk to Zeph, so he spent the rest of class making small talk with Drew.

After that, he went to his Magic Engineering class. They were surprised by his identity as well. Unfortunately, no one he knew was taking this class, so he spent it going over his reading material and getting familiar with the surroundings. The classroom was huge, and every student had a decent sized workbench. There were twenty-three students in this class, and none of them wanted to sit next to Zeph. He came to school to make friends and get used to society, so Zeph walked around introducing himself to people. Everyone was surprised by the young lord's good nature, but they were still a little uncomfortable around him. Sighing, Zeph made his way back to his workbench and hoped they would warm up to him in time.

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Lili and Ivy chose a combat elective. They were going to learn how to use melee weapons. Valir were often sent to deal with powerful magic beasts and threats that the regular military couldn't. Magic weapons were designed for people who didn't have enough power to become mages and could be wielded with little drain on the user's magic reserves. Lili and Ivy decided to take this course because they wanted to use weapons on weak enemies and save their magic for real threats. It was a common practice, and almost everyone else from their Valir class took it too. Warrior class students also took this class, because it was a required course.

Warrior students consisted of people who had a decent amount of magic power but lacked the control to form them into complex spells. Instead, they used magic to refine their bodies and wielded magical armaments into battle. While they may be children now, they would grow into powerful fighters that would protect the country. Right now the country was in an era of peace, so most new warriors would be sent into the wild untamed lands to scout for more resources and claim new territory for the country.

Lili was able to befriend several people easily with her straightforward attitude and natural sunny disposition. Ivy was shy to strangers but became outspoken once she became comfortable around someone. Right now, she stayed close to Lili and interacted with other people occasionally.

When it was time to choose weapons, Ivy chose a glaive. It was a polearm, consisting of a single-edged blade on the end of a pole. Ivy fought with familiars so she could use the reach of the glaive to her advantage. Lili chose a mace because she preferred to rush in and smash. Their teacher gave everyone some practice exercises and they all spent the rest of the afternoon familiarizing themselves with their weapon of choice.

After class was over, Lili and Ivy met Zeph in the hallway. He was staring at a vending machine trying to decide what to get Rin. The girls gave their opinion, and they decided that each of them would get the kitten something. Ivy was excited to meet Rin. Lili told her that it was Zeph's familiar and he was able to keep it summoned permanently. When Ivy asked Zeph how he did it, he said that it was a family secret. He felt bad seeing her disappointment, but it couldn't be helped. They left the school building and met Eli in the parking lot.

"Hi guys, have a good day?" Eli opened the doors for them to enter the car.

"Yeah, it was pretty good. You know, aside from everyone avoiding me because I was a noble." Zeph entered the passenger seat.

"We had a great time. Ivy and I made friends with some of the girls in our combat class. I also got to use a mace to smash a target dummy. It was awesome." Lili said excitedly while entering the back seat.

Ivy, nodded in agreement and joined her. After everyone was in the car, Eli drove them to the mansion. He told the children that Bernard called and they would be bringing Ivy to Zeph's mansion. The kids were happy because they planned on asking if Ivy could come over and meet Rin. Time passed by quickly as the girls talked about their day. Eli laughed when Lili told him how Zeph dealt with the class bullies.

They made it to the mansion and Eli dropped the kids off at the front door while he went to park the car in the garage. Zeph opened the door for the girls and let them enter first. Lili pulled Ivy toward the living room but stopped when she noticed a black and white blur speed down the hall and out the door. Rin jumped into Zeph's chest with enough force to make him take a few steps back.

Zeph took a look at the kitten, wondering why she was in such a rush to see him. Rin was wet, and there were soap bubbles on her head. Apparently, someone was trying to give her a bath. That someone was Bianca. The fox girl was walking around looking for the kitten and calling her name. Bianca noticed the kids were home and greeted them.

Ivy was surprised to see the fox-kin shifter Lili spoke about. According to her friend, Bianca was an attractive woman that was Zeph's maid and martial arts coach. The half-elf expected a dignified woman in a maid outfit. Instead, she was surprised by a disheveled shifter with ruffled hair. When she tried to give Rin a bath, the kitten resisted. After bribing the cat with some sweets, she was able to get Rin in the sink with a little help from Semara. Rin was able to handle being sprayed with a little water, but then the shifters used soap. She didn't like the slimy feeling soap gave her, so she sent a wind blast out and escaped. Soon after, Rin heard the door open and made her way to Zeph.

Zeph looked at Bianca and smirked. "Having a good day?"

"Yes, how about you?" Bianca answered while arranging her hair and clothes.

"Can't complain." Zeph looked at Rin. "I see you tried to clean my cat." He led the girls to the living room so everyone could sit down.

Bianca sighed. "She was doing good until we got to the soap."

"We?" Zeph looked around. He saw Semara rush in the room covered in bubbles.

"Come here Rin. Here kitty kitty kitty," Semara said sweetly. She was looking for the runaway kitten and wasn't aware that Zeph and Lili got back.

The children and Bianca couldn't help but laugh when they saw Semara's appearance. Her hair was a mess. She was wet and covered in bubbles. When the wolf-kin heard the laughter she froze. Semara turned to look at Zeph, Lili, and a child she did not know. Instantly, she became embarrassed.

"Excuse me," Semara said and ran out of the room. Half a minute later she returned with combed hair and dry clothes. Magic was such a useful thing.

Zeph looked at the two shifters. "I'm sorry about Rin's behavior." He lifted Rin in front of him with telekinesis and created a ball of water in the air. Rin saw the water ball and looked at Zeph like he betrayed her. "Just be still, it'll be over in a quick second."

"Nyaow," Rin tried to get away. But before she could move or cast wind magic, Zeph's water ball engulfed her. The water in the ball rotated quickly, cleaning the soap off of Rin. Then Zeph pulled the kitten out of the water ball and dried her off with wind magic. He used telekinesis to keep all the water in the air.

"Can you take this to the sink?" Zeph asked Bianca. In response, the fox girl used her own telekinesis spell to take the ball of water from Zeph and left to the kitchen. Ivy watched Zeph with wide eyes. She was amazed at his magical ability. The half-elf knew he was talented, but she never expected his control to be so good.

"Rrrearw" Rin grumbled, getting everyone's attention. Her magical quick wash left her looking extra fluffy as all her hair stood out on end. Zeph could feel her annoyance because of the rough treatment. She sent a wind blast to his face in retaliation. The spell continued for a while as Rin kept using magic to sustain it. When she was finally done, Rin and Zeph had matching hairdos. Bianca came back in time to see Zeph's new look and broke into a fit of laughter. Everyone else joined in.

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