Chapter Seven - Raphna
Startled by the sudden sound of her brother’s voice, Camille flinched, causing a chain reaction. Her newly bonded flew up past her face, and she brought her hands up to protect her face. The only problem was that she’d been holding a handful of birdseed, which scattered into the air like confetti…all over Jade and her fellacai.
Angry squeaks filled the air as her little ones lifted off to get rid of the chaff, and Jade blinked, still processing the fact that she’d just been liberally coated in the stuff. Her danger sense hadn’t blinked, likely because it wasn’t actually dangerous. That didn’t stop her new awareness from pinpointing every foreign speck in her hair and clothes.
Camille and Hunter were both staring at her, frozen as her new beann companions landed on a nearby ledge to watch them. “Jade, I’m so sorry–”
“I didn’t mean to scare you…” Their voices sounded simultaneously as they both tried to apologize at once, moving towards her as their hands moved to brush her off.
Holding her palm up to stop them, she took a deep breath as her fellacai swooped around her and pinpointed the seeds with wind magic, creating a little vacuum that sucked them up and deposited them in the cage. Hunter turned a deep shade of pink as the chaff flew from her decolletage. She could feel that her hair was mussed, and she reached up with her good hand to try and finger comb it back into place.
“Here, let me.” Camille moved behind her, reaching up to fix her hair as Jade crouched slightly to give her easier access. “There.” She moved back in front, her ears red from continued embarrassment as her fellacai continued to swoop and squeak angrily. She held out her hands in supplication as she spoke to them, “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”
Ramoth landed on her hand, peeping once imperiously before taking off again as they returned to the garden. Jade could still feel their mild displeasure through the bond, but it was fading fast. Glancing up, she saw the two beann huddled together and watching everything, so she indicated them to Camille, who quickly approached them, reaching out to stroke their feathers as she said, “Sorry to you too.” They preened, leaning into her touch as they calmed down.
“Uh…can someone tell me what’s going on?” Hunter asked as the blush faded from his face.
Taking pity on him, Jade answered, “You came at a bad time. I just bonded Cami to her new friends.” Glancing at the closed door behind him, she asked, “Where’s Hayden?” She really wasn’t used to seeing one twin without the other.
“We’re not attached at the hip, you know.” He remarked, but she could tell he was still pleased about something. The thought was fleeting as he turned his attention to his sister and asked, “Wait, so you really just bonded her to a pair of beann?” At her nod, he asked, “Have you named them yet?”
Camille looked at her two birds in perplexion. “Uh. No.” Pausing, she asked them aloud, though she was probably trying to send it through their bond too, “Do you have names?” Her face screwed up as she concentrated. Given that she didn’t have contractual magic, flexing the mental communication of the bond was something that would take time and practice. She hadn’t noticed Ren or the others struggling with it, but it looked like it wasn’t as intuitive to Camille. Then again, her fellacai weren’t there to help either. She wondered just how much they’d smoothed the encounters without her noticing. The girl’s voice broke her out of her reverie, “No names. That’s okay. We’ll come up with some good ones for you.”
She was smiling at her newly bonded as they hopped back into her outstretched hand before sidling up to her forearm. They were significantly heavier and bigger than her littles, so it would be interesting to see how it all worked. It wasn’t like Jamil went everywhere with his Shazim. The people who bonded larger animals obviously weren’t dragging them around everywhere, and that seemed to be the more common choice. She wondered if her choices would start changing that, given that contractual magic was the only version of pets she’d seen here. So many people were deprived of pets! It was sad.
“Oh, mom and dad gave the go ahead for you to bond?” Hunter asked in excitement, and the girls exchanged guilty glances.
“Uh, not exactly…” Camille said hesitantly as Jade winced. She’d acted on instinct again, not thinking through the consequences.
Hunter let out a short laugh as he looked pointedly at Jade. “Asking forgiveness instead of permission again, eh?”
Shrugging helplessly, she replied, “I just kinda… spaced in the moment. It was a thing…that happened.”
“So when are you planning to tell them?” He was delighting in teasing his sister, but it was also a reminder that maybe she should call her parents and let them know. He paused, then added, “You know. Maybe you should wait a bit.”
Instantly suspicious, Cami asked, “And why should I do that?”
Looking at Jade with a grin that was entirely too innocent, he said, “Well, aren’t we going to take a look at Jade’s zoo?”
“That was the plan, yes…” She stared him down, trying to figure out his play.
His grin turned impish as he looked back at his sister and asked his next leading question, “Well then, wouldn’t it be better if you had someone else to share the blame?”
Understanding dawned on both girls, and Jade couldn’t help but laugh. “You just want your own companion before they can tell you to wait.” He shrugged, his expression clearly saying he was guilty as charged.
“You devious little raphna. You just want to use me as a shield.” Camille poked her little brother in the forehead with her free hand, and he rolled his eyes without dodging. The term was unfamiliar, but Jade just filed it away for later because it sounded like another animal name. The use made her think of calling him an imp, so maybe it was related?
“I’m clearly helping you take the blame.” He retorted cheerfully, moving closer as he hesitantly reached out to touch her companions. When they held still so he could stroke them, his smile lit up as he continued, “Besides, can you really blame me for wanting my own?”
With a loving sigh as she looked down at her new friends, Camille admitted, “No, I really can’t.” She glanced at Jade, and Hunter turned pleading puppy dog eyes on her.
Groaning in defeat, Jade replied, “Fine. But I’m blaming you entirely.”
“Sure!” He agreed instantly, and she could tell he didn’t care. After all, once it was done, there weren’t really any take-backs. She could tell that getting his own bonded trumped any punishment he might receive.
“All right. Then we should get going before anyone else finds us, unless you want a beann.” Jade glanced at the door, knowing that Hayden and Tisha were still inside. She was already pushing her luck giving in to the two of them. She didn’t want to actually upset Derrick and Ashanna by bonding ALL of her children. Even if she felt that one thing led to another and they would all want contracts soon enough. To be fair, they already did.
“No, I’ll wait.” Hunter glanced appreciatively at the birds before shaking his head. She could tell they weren’t the right bond for him, mostly because he hadn’t felt any guilt at killing them or caging them on the way back. Of all the royal siblings, he’d probably had the most contact with them as he helped her bring them to the city.
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“Okay. Let’s go.” She issued a mental call for her little ones as she reached to the cage, hesitating for only a moment before putting it into her ring. She hadn’t thought about it clearly enough, because Camille’s two freaked out when it happened.
“Shhh, shhh. It’s okay. They’re fine.” The princess hurriedly tried to reassure them as she stroked their ruffled feathers as they cawed loudly.
Despite her assurances, they weren’t calming down, so Jade brought the cage back out. They flew over to it, landing on it and peering down, communicating in loud squawks with their comrades. Rolling her eyes as her fellacai took up their habitual perches, she said, “I guess we’re doing this the old fashioned way after all.”
“Sorry.” Camille apologized meekly, obviously still trying to mentally soothe them. Jade decided to help out, releasing her soothing aura to envelope the cage, finally letting them quiet down. She was getting far more practice than usual with the life magic today.
“Don’t sweat the small stuff. It’s not that much of a difference either way.” Jade quickly consoled her, then gestured for the two of them to step closer. She paused and asked, just to be sure, “It’s really okay to leave your siblings here?”
Hunter snorted. “They know where you’re going, so they can find us if they want. Raphael told me, which is why I came up here to see if I could catch you before you left.”
Weighing the pros and cons, she decided having only two siblings for a while was less overwhelming, so she nodded and reached out with her magic, lowering their gravity as she encased them in a wind bubble. Lifting them into the sky, she laughed softly as Camille’s two new friends curiously left the cage, exploring the bounds of her construct in short hops and glides. The three of them happily watched their antics as she shot them towards Dracona.
About halfway there, Camille asked her little brother, “How far behind you were they, by the way?”
Snickering, he answered, “Maybe five minutes for Hayden. He’s going to be pissed.” Proudly, he pointed out, “It’s his fault for oversleeping. Not like we were going to leave Tisha alone, and she’ll take ages.”
“You snooze, you lose.” Jade echoed, reminded of the saying.
“Oh, I like that.” Hunter agreed, and she could tell it was about to become a regular part of his lexicon. She could tell Camille was mulling it over too, but it seemed she approved of him ditching his twin so Tisha wouldn’t be left alone. Everyone was teaming up today, it seemed.
Flying through the blue skies, everything felt…surprisingly normal. The city was bustling down below as people went about their day. Maybe the area around Taistill Square was different, but from this vantage point, it was life as usual.
Passing the walls, she headed towards Magnus as Cami asked, “Wait, weren’t we going to the zoo?” Given that one was at the front and the other at the back, her confusion was valid.
Looking pointedly at Hunter, she replied, “I figured we’d pick up the flock and see if we can’t find your brother a companion. There aren’t any animals in the enclosures currently.”
“Yeah, probably better to get that done first.” He hurriedly agreed, and she could tell he was still a little nervous that their parents would find out somehow and forbid him. Although to be fair, there literally wasn’t a fourth person that knew. Unless Stephen’s spies had been watching the roof…which to be fair, she wouldn’t put it past him, given that the whole royal family was staying there, and… yeah. It was probably safer to do it sooner than later if they wanted to plead ignorance or impulsivity.
Landing in the top courtyard, she thought about trying to race them down, but sighed when she saw the cage and gave that idea up. “All right, let’s make this quick.” She wanted to be in and out before anyone realized they’d stopped by. She dropped most of the bubble and normalized their gravity except for the cage, which she just hauled along as they descended the stairs at a faster than usual pace.
Jumping down the last seven or so steps to the second floor, Hunter declared happily, “First!” Jade silently grumbled, because she’d been thinking about doing the same thing but he beat her to it.
“Childish.” Camille scoffed at her brother, and Jade smoothed her expression before the girl noticed she’d been tempted. Turning the corner, they were surprised to see the door open as a few guards were leaving the room. Instantly straightening out and adopting a more regal demeanor, Camille twitched her clothing straight as her two sentinels landed on each shoulder. She could feel the aversion from her little ones to the room, so with a light mental nudge they decided to play in the courtyard while she took care of her business here.
The guards watched them fly away, then focused on the birds curiously, especially the huge cage floating beside them. “Why are you still standing in the doorway?” Eamonn’s querulous voice rang out behind them, and Jade sighed. Her chances of getting in and out unnoticed were gone.
Coming further out into the hallway, they each bowed, and one of them looked vaguely familiar to her. She was still trying to place him when Eamonn poked his head out, his frizzy hair still going every which way as he grinned when he saw her. “Ah, Jade! Come in, come in. What have you brought me, mmmm? So many beann!” He zeroed in on the ones Camille was sporting and said, “And you’ve bonded some to the princess! Fascinating!” Waving at the guards, he shooed them off. “Thank you for bringing it to me. Now be off! I need to talk to Jade about dragons!”
She winced slightly, having forgotten that she’d bothered him several times, but he hadn’t been updated in the last day or two. Letting out a soft sigh, she still obediently followed Eamonn into the room after nodding to the guards.
The room hadn’t changed since she was last there, save for a new cage sitting in the middle of the room. Curious, she walked closer to take a look at what must be a fresh arrival. Eamonn walked proudly beside her as the royals trailed in as he exclaimed, “Ah yes, you’ll like these. Freshly caught from Mianach, thanks to you! The guards said you told them to search the cemetery for monsters.”
Jade blinked before taking a good look at the diabolically cute creatures in front of her. “These were the monsters I couldn’t see?” She absently murmured, looking at what she could only describe as brown raccoons with green stripes that reminded her of grassy mohawks.
Nodding, he explained, “Yes, the earth guard found the raphna nesting underground. They’d built quite a system of tunnels beneath some of the older trees apparently.” He paused, then continued, “The little tricksters are usually quite difficult to find when they burrow.”
She couldn’t help but glance at the royals, raising a brow at Camille, who was nudging her brother as she gloated, “Look, the universe heard me and found your little relatives.”
Hunter grunted slightly in response as he squatted by a corner of the cage where the smallest of the eight raphna was hiding. It was half the size of the rest of them, and honestly…it was adorable.
Moreover, from the way the boy was looking at it, he’d found his companion. Glancing at Eamonn, she asked, “So, what do they eat?”
Her teacher was also looking at the prince as he responded, “They’re omnivores, and will eat just about anything, though they’re partial to fruit.”
Well, at least she had plenty of that. Flicking through her ring, she brought out a handful of berries as she pulled Hunter up, sticking them into his palm. He looked at her in confusion until she knelt on the ground, flicking the cage door open as she compelled, “The rest of you stay. Little one, come to me.”
Hesitantly, the baby raphna skirted past the adults, who were all staying in their own sections of the cage. From what she recalled, racoons only stayed together when a mom was nursing her babies, and while the raphna was small, it was obviously not a newborn. Carefully, she picked it up with her good hand and closed the cage door again, noting that they had wickedly sharp claws as she murmured softly, “Behave. No scratching.”
Its fur was soft as she gave it a gently pat before turning to hunter and offering the little tyke. He carefully took it from her in awe, offering the fruit she’d given him, which the raphna eagerly started eating.
“Fascinating. They’re rarely so calm…” Eamonn’s voice reminded her that she’d never actually turned off her calming aura, given that she’d wanted to keep the beann quiet. Eh, at least it worked in their favor.
Given that the teacher didn’t seem to be interested in stopped her, she quickly asked, “Hunter, are you willing to take this raphna as a lifelong companion, to care and protect each other?” Her pink strings were already reaching for them, snapping into place almost effortlessly as he nodded. She didn’t even need to address the raphna separately, though she still mentally put in the same safeguards that she added into all her contracts. Much like when she’d bonded her fellacai, the little raphna had burrowed into Hunter’s arms happily, looking up at him with trust.
Shaking her head, Camille muttered, “A baby raphna. Mom’s going to kill me for watching this happen.”
Eamonn chuckled, and Jade sent him a quizzical look as he explained, “Raphna are notorious tricksters. From what I’ve heard of the twins, they’re quite the match.”
Sighing, Jade sent a small prayer to whoever was listening that she hadn’t just caused the castle a nightmare. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she shook her head and muttered, “Well, it’s done. Too late for regrets now.” A little louder, she asked the professor, “So. I know that most of the Earth Guard is on cleanup duty in Mianach right now, but how much did they get done at the zoo before that?”