Seth waited for news of Blaise in the common area of the Circle Tower with Owen, Booth, and Duvessa. He'd tried a few times to read the handbook, but couldn't really concentrate on it. Then he'd pulled out the travelog Professor Kaban had given him, but wasn't having much luck with that either since Mau kept trying to catch Reginald out of the air.

"Will you stop that!" Seth scolded quietly. "You are going to get us kicked out."

Mau lashed her tail and turned to face Seth on the table. The second her back was turned, Reginald swooped in and plucked hairs from her tail.

She mewed 'important' and shook her head 'no,' and then leapt at the bird again.

"Duvessa, could you maybe get them to stop?" Seth asked.

Duvessa paused in her pacing around the table and looked for Reginald. "Naughty Reggie. Be nice to the kitty."

"Tasty kitty," Reginald said from his perch on the top of a bookcase.

Booth had pulled a book down and was flipping through it. "Getting the boot now might be a blessing. All our nerves are cooked."

Seth glanced at Owen who was draped on a settee and snoring lightly. "Not all of us." Seth reached out and grabbed Mau by the back of the neck. "No. You are not sneaking off."

Mau glared at him and huffed. This was the third time she'd tried to sneak off to the elevating platforms.

"We're not doing that again. Once in the Wind Tower was enough. You're staying put," Seth scolded.

Mau went limp like all her bones had suddenly been stolen. Seth changed his grip on the now liquid cat before she could slip out of his hand. He put her on the table where he could watch her more easily.

Booth chuckled. "Now I see why people think familiars are a hassle. Sure, I bet the perks are sweet, but I think I'd be looking for a taxidermist."

Duvessa gasped and whirled around. "You wouldn't! Such an adorable little kitty! That's murder!"

Booth sighed and put the book back. "It was a joke, Duvessa."

"So mean!" Duvessa insisted.

At that moment Blaise and Professors Laur, Cicily, and Kaban stepped off the elevating platform. Professor Kaban nodded curtly and left the tower.

"Blaise!" Duvessa squealed and nearly tackled her in a hug.

"Hey, hey! Duvessa, calm down. I'm fine," Blaise said while trying to get an arm free to hug Duvessa back.

"You're dry! And dirty! What did they do to you? Where did they take you? Who were they? Did you beat them up? Did you escape or did someone rescue you? Did-"

"Duvessa, stop. I'm fine. Yes, I'm dry." Blaise glanced at Professor Cicily. "I apparently have mana exhaustion, so I might be dry for the rest of the day without needing to use my pendant."

"Let us know as soon as your mana returns," Professor Cicily said. "And if anything at all seems unusual, come straight to me."

"I would like to reiterate, you should not leave the school grounds without speaking to the faculty," Professor Laur said. "And be back this afternoon. We still have more to discuss."

"Of course, Professor," Blaise said. With that, both professors returned up the platform.

"Mana exhaustion sucks," Duvessa said. "I still can't summon a full size shadow yet. But I can do a few small ones."

"Are you hungry?" Seth asked. It wasn't time for lunch in the dining hall yet, but he didn't think Blaise would want to dig into heavy stuff no matter how much Duvessa asked.

"Actually, what I really want is a bath. My skin feels so weird to me right now and it itches." Blaise looked at Owen who was still sleeping on the settee. "Should we wake him or leave him here?"

"If we leave him here, we need to balance a book on his forehead first," Booth said and reached for a book.

"Owen!" Seth said.

Owen startled awake, and fell off the settee when he tried to jump up.

"Aw, you're no fun," Booth complained. But he offered his hand to Owen to help him up.

"Blaise!" Owen said. He rushed forward like he was going to hug her, but then stopped and stood awkwardly.

"I'm fine," Blaise said again, and patted Owen's arm. "Let's get going, we are starting to get attention in here."

Seth saw that she was right. The other people in the common room had started watching them.

Once they were outside Owen asked, "So, you are completely dry for the first time in a year, and the first thing you want to do is take a bath?"

"Yes," Blaise said. She headed out across the courtyard to her dorm room and everyone else trailed after.

"Enough of that, tell us what happened!" Duvessa said.

Blaise sighed and was silent for a bit. "Well, I don't remember being taken. I had just gotten changed and the next thing I know everything is dark and I'm tied up with a hood over my head."

"No," Duvessa exclaimed. She continued to exclaim like that throughout Blaise's description of events.

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"There were two people talking, and one was upset with the other. Something about how I was supposed to be taken to Mariglade, but then they didn't? They talked about plans getting changed, and put me out again. Then I was found by the lake."

"The people who took you just left you beside the lake," Booth said. "Why?"

"That's the big question. One of the guys said he was done with me," Blaise said. "That's what the professors want to talk more about later. I just wanted a break for now though."

"We'll meet you guys at the baths in half an hour?" Duvessa said. She looped her arm in Blaise's and headed off. "Let me tell you about how Owen fought off a hyena."

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I hated the dorm bathrooms. They were rudimentary bordering on crude. There were trough-like sinks with multiple faucets. The toilets were little more than holes in a bench dropping down into pits. I sometimes think a hole in the woods would be more advanced. Or a litter box. Sheesh.

So what kind of baths would crazy magic land have? Magic Roman baths of course. I was really interested in seeing these finally. I hadn't seen more than the shower room so far.

On the far side of the campus next to the coliseum, snug up against the mountain cliffs, there was a cave into the side of the mountain. It had all the same extravagant carvings as other places in the school. These ones had more of a slice of life theme than slaying demons though, with images of bathing. Naked bathing, which was better than naked demon slaying I suppose.

I was surprised at the crowd wandering into the bathing cave with us. Apparently bathing at the end of the week was a social thing here.

I liked the fairy light strings these caves were lit with. Very magical, and very clean too. I saw sigils all over the place, and didn’t recognize any of them, not yet anyway. One day I’d be able to read all of these, the regular writing and the magic stuff too.

We came to a good sized antechamber with racks full of fluffy towels and what turned out to be lockers that opened with the magic tattoo bracelets all the students had. From here, it led into gender segregated changing and bathing rooms, with saunas and everything.

This was some fancy shit. It made me wonder again why the school had such shitty dorm bathrooms and tiny dorm rooms.

Seth waited on a stone bench for the others. Owen joined him, but Booth said he wasn't waiting and headed in. Finally the girls arrived.

"Oh, you didn't have to wait," Blaise said. "I didn't think about the baths being separated."

"It's fine," Seth said. "We can meet up after."

So I naturally followed the girls to the female side. Because, you know, I’m female.

Seth scooped me up and carried me into the male side with him.

'No,' I shook my head. I pointed a paw towards the girls.

Bastard ignored me. Like all that time working out communication was for nothing.

Off we went to the men's room. Filled with students. Children. Naked male children.

Nope, nope, nope, not a pedo, and I was not going in there. Seth naturally had other ideas.

Well then, I accept your challenge, and we will be having a duel. Not of pistols or swords, but of wits and water. Ha! I will win this one for sure.

Once we were in the changing room Seth put me down and hung up his towel. I took this opportunity to saunter away like I was just exploring. And I was back in the antechamber before Seth knew I was gone.

I really need to stop being smug when I win. Because I never noticed Owen sneaking up behind me.

“Got you!” Owen pinned me to the ground. And there was nothing I could do to wriggle free. Bastard held me so I was on my back, his hands on my waist and shoulders, and even with my claws out I couldn’t do anything. When I tried to turn for a good look at how he was holding me, he twisted me so I couldn’t bite him. Not that I had thought of that. No way, humans don’t bite, and I used to be human. I totally wasn’t going to bite him.

“Thanks, man,” Seth said. “She got away from me again.”

“I’ll keep hold of her for you until you’re ready for her.”

Oh, fuck me. This was supposed to be a one on one duel here buster. You’re cheating!

And now he’s getting naked.

Seth had gone back into one of the changing stalls and quickly came out again wearing only a towel and his pendant. The tattoo-like marking of his key ring on his wrist was now visible too. I did notice he took off the other bracelet he had. Wait a second, what was I looking for? These are kids! I am not a pervert!

“Shall I take her while you get changed?” Seth asked.

“No, she’ll get loose. I’ll get changed after you’re in the water with her.”

"I should rinse her off in the shower first too. I'll rinse quick and then take her while you change."

Each side of the gender divided bath had a line of showers and stools before you entered the pool chamber. There were also convenient cubbies for soap carved directly in the walls. There were more magic sigils all over the place in here. I was starting to notice that some places had lots of magic like this, and some places had nearly none. I wondered what was up with that.

Seth dropped his towel.

No, no, no, no! Maybe I can kick free while Seth is rinsing? Nope. I got handed off and held under the shower. Owen joined us a few minutes later.

You know what happens when you get soapy?

That’s right. You get slippery. And once Seth started lathering me up, I shot out of his hands like greased lightning.

The other thing that happens when you get soapy?

You got no traction. I ran in place like a cartoon coyote only to get caught again.

"Poor thing is scared of the water," Owen said. That was bullshit, I wasn't scared, and Seth should know that too.

I got rinsed off and then that bastard Owen dunked me full in the pool before even handing me over. Oh hey, the water is nice. Hot without being too hot, and not hard to adjust to at all. I took a look around. The place was Roman bourgeois. Carved out of natural stone, heated, fancy lighting, vaulted ceilings, seating all around. Bougie bathing done right. No! Not taking a bath with naked kids!

I was resigned. I still did my best not to look, but I was gonna drown if I kept struggling.

I was mostly fine being a cat and all, but there had to be lines. And I felt like naked kids was a damn good line to have. Until I noticed that teachers used the bathing pool too. What the fuck.

Welp. It was time for me to accept the culture I was living in and cast aside the hangups from my previous culture. That I didn't even remember. What shit.

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An hour later I was wrapped in a towel being comforted by Seth and Owen. We were waiting for the girls in the antechamber. The boys were trying so hard to make me feel better, making soothing sounds and telling me it was okay. Damn. If I was actually just an animal it might have worked. They were both such sweet fucking assholes.

“She’s trembling,” Seth said, his worry evident in his voice. “Do you think we had her in the water too long?”

“She wouldn't have gotten cold if she hadn’t kept jumping out. She was super slippery.”

“I don't know why she kept wanting to leave," Seth said. "The water was really nice."

"She is just a cat and cats don’t like the water.”

“I really don’t think you can say she is ‘just a cat’.” Seth said. “She is definitely more than that.”

“Well, she absolutely needed that bath. I think she turned the whole pool gray.”

I glared at Owen. I did not turn the pool gray. At all. Not even a little bit. Well, maybe I was a little dirty though. But they even gave me a shower first!

I was still being rubbed dry and enjoying the massage when the girls came out to the antechamber with the lockers. They both looked really subdued.

"What's wrong?" Owen asked, and stood up.

"We don't think Blaise has mana exhaustion," Duvessa said. "We think her power is missing."