Chapter 29

"Riley... Riiileey…” Tobias called out as she groaned in protest, rolling over in her crate.

"Please tell me it's not morning," She whined.

"Afraid so, and it's a big day," Tobias reminded.

Riley's ears perked up.

"Trials week," she yawned, pulling herself up, arching her back in a stretch before falling into a face grooming routine.

Strong smells of cooked food, heavy and greasy, smacked into her brain with all the force of a hammer.

"It is, and Ma has been cooking like I'm going to my execution," Tobias smiled, but Riley could see as much as smell the nervousness rising off him.

"You're going to be fine. She's proud of you for a reason," Riley affirmed.

"Thanks for that, but I can't help but be worried. This is a big deal," he replied, opening a footlocker-like box at the foot of his bed, pulling out a fresh robe, and draping it over the post.

"Food first, then a quick bath, then out the door. We need to be quick about it," Tobias said.

Riley hopped towards the door.

"You need a thesaurus," she quipped, still feeling a bit of the morning grumpy.

"Good morning, my boy! Feeling confident?" Darius asked as Tobias emerged.

"Something like that," Tobias said, the nervousness dripping from his words as Gwendolyn drifted over and hugged him, sniffling all the while.

"Oh, I remember your first day I do, in your wee little robes, not even fitted for a silver torc yet. I'm so proud of you, son," she kissed his forehead.

"We're all proud of you, Tobias," Cedric affirmed, sitting at the head of the table before mountains of food Riley had never seen before. All was similar but not exactly familiar.

There were scrambled eggs, but they were blue, not the normal golden yellow and white, tenganut, her own personal favorite, some cut up slices of bright green fruit and a heavy, grainy bread that was somehow grey in color.

Next to Tobias' normal place was a mat and a large bowl of clover and grasses set out for her, with some cut up tenganut mixed in.

"What about the shop?" Tobias asked, sitting down as the family began helping themselves.

A carefully coordinated dance of plates and dishes began moving about the table as they talked.

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"It will keep; today is important. We'll also be closed on Friday for your final combat trial. Our tickets arrived yesterday by messenger," Cedric explained.

"Can you afford that? I'd understand if you couldn't be there. It'll be months yet before I'm making full wages, assuming I pass," Tobias worried.

"Are you daft boy? I've been waiting my whole life to see you fry some low level monster, and it's not like there will be a lick of business with the Expo underway. We've gone every year, you know that," Darius scoffed.

Tobias pushed the food around on his plate as Riley devoured hers. "I know, it's just my turn this time. I think I'll be ok. I…”

"Confidence, love, we all believe in you, and no matter what, we'll always be a family," Gwendolyn assured.

"And you've got Riley now. It'll be a cinch, you'll see," Darius affirmed.

"She's helped a lot already, gotten me past a bottleneck," Tobias petted down her back, causing Riley to drum her hindpaw.

"It makes me proud that I could help," Darius beamed.

"These are good people," Riley said as Tobias looked at her with a nod and a gentle smile.

It felt good to have a family again and a place at the table.

The morning descended into a type of blur. They feasted together, then fell into a rush together, making up for stolen time. Cedric vanished first, down the stairs, followed soon by Gwendolyn, but not before crying and kissing Tobias on the forehead at least a half dozen more times. Only Darius remained, sitting at the table, sipping his tea, staring off into space with a look of rapture upon his face.

"Riley," Tobias called. He burst from the washroom, clean and pressed in fresh robes, with his torc shining.

Already at the stairs, she drummed her hindpaw three times, "Ready to go!"

Grabbing his satchel, Tobias began to move across the room when Darius approached.

"You've always made me proud," the old man hugged him, setting his right hand on the back of Tobias' neck, "now go out there and do well."

"I love you, Granda," Tobias said before heading down the stairs, with Riley hopping after him.

The streets were packed, but the strange halo effect, as people made room for them, allowed them to make good time, all as the refrains of "good morrow, sorcerer" echoed around them like a chant.

"Where did they all come from?" Riley asked, hopping in quick time, keeping pace with Tobias, who was moving with intent, a look of deep focus upon his face.

"They'll be people streaming in all week for the Magical Expo. It's the event of the year. People come to see magic, show off their wares, and have a bit of fun," Tobias explained as they moved along.

"It's like a state fair back at home," Riley could not deny a pang of nervousness in her own chest, surrounded by so many people. Still, she knew deep within that was not the only reason.

She wanted Tobias to do well.

Finally nearing the switchback paths, she became aware of posters proclaiming the Magical Expo, opening first to the public on Thursday

Combat Sorcery!

Fire and Flame!

Ice and Wind!

A spectacle of life and death!

Friday! Friday! Friday!

Don't miss it!

"They make a big deal out of the combat trials. Do you really have to fight a monster?" Riley worried.

"It's the final test, and they do make a show out of it. People come from all over the Ashenrealm to watch the students fight their first monsters. It's a real world test of all we've learned," Tobias seemed distracted and detached as he spoke.

She couldn't blame him, really.

As they passed, Riley noticed an image of the class obviously captured Friday. As she got closer, the image morphed into various close ups of students she had seen, including Chadrick, sneering, of course, before she stopped cold, seeing a perfect capture of Tobias and herself staring back at her.

"Holy shit, it's like we're celebrities," Riley marveled.

"For the next week, we kind of are," Tobias replied while they made their way towards the academy.