A soft breeze pushed open my eyelids and for a second, I thought I somehow fell asleep outside. Instead, it was the breath of the small dragon sleeping on my chest. Her majestic feathers and scales up close appeared to have a chromatic tint to my left eye, and that made her look even more fantastical to me.

I lifted my hand and petted her. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and licked my face. "Pretend I didn't just do that," she said.

"You really never told Belial what happened last time you were here?" I said.

She raised her head. "You think I'm going to tell her I almost drowned in a bowl of soup?"

"But that's all you did. You didn't even help me with anything."

She scoffed. "Don't antagonize me, child."

"You could have at least told her something. She thought we had sex."

"And I was fine with her thinking that."

"I mean, I wouldn't have a problem with it either if we really did fuck, but..."

"Stop petting me," she commanded.

I stopped and lifted my hands thinking I made her mad.

Swiftly and gracefully, she hopped to the floor and said, "What is it you need my help with anyway?"

"Oh yeah, I nearly forgot." I sat up and started popping various joints between yawning.

"You better tell me the truth. Unlike Amy, I can smell your lies."

I sat for a moment in a state of confusion until I remembered who Amy was. "Oh, yeah, that was Belial's real name. Forgot about that. Such a normal name."

"Are you listening to me?" said the irritated dragon.

"I am, I just need to wake up all the way so I can remember."

"You'd better." She walked around in circles like a cat for a moment. "Do you remember yet?"

I sighed. "Three things. I need your nose to discern where the blink dog I still have come from, I need your help with my experiments, and I can use your assistance training my student."

"Is that all?"

"For now."

She went to the door and it opened on its own as she approached. "Lead the way, then."

"How about you go first?" I stood and fixed my wrinkled clothes. "Sniff around a bit and you might smell Beatrix. If she's awake, you can help me with her first and you can learn her scent this way."

"So be it." She tilted her head upward and trotted out the door. "This way."

I followed her down to the training room where Beatrix was creating and firing gravity balls at the targets still hovering in the air. She was so concentrated that she didn't hear me calling her name multiple times. Eventually, I slapped a ball she was making out of her hand and she jumped clean off the ground in surprise.

"Oh! When did you get there?"

"Not long. How long have you been up?"

"Well, I didn't really get a look at a clock, so I don't know."

"Alright, how did you feel when you woke up?"

"I felt alright. Nothing different from normal, why?"

"So, how do you feel now?"

She took a moment and assessed her condition by looking over her limbs and feeling various muscles. "A little tired but that's all."

"Only a little?"

"Yeah. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing. Do you remember what happened yesterday?"

She thought for a moment and said, "Now that you mention it, I don't remember going to sleep."

"That's because you ran out of mana yesterday. I put you in your bed."

"I can run out?"

"Yep, and if you listen to your body, you can find your limit. It's best not to go over that limit or we'll have a repeat of yesterday."

"Alright." She placed her hand on her shoulder and rotated her arm a bit. "I'll try."

Never noticing Mira, she went back to concentrating on casting her next spell.

"Alright, let's make this a little easier on you," I said, "Try to imagine the spell in your hands. You don't need to focus so hard if you can already see it. Imagine it and feel it. Imagery and perception can shape your spell and maybe even transform it. Imagination is key."

"Okay, I'll try..." This time, the orb appeared in her hand much faster than before and she looked very satisfied as she launched it before it fizzled out as it reached a target.

"That's marginally better. How many more of those do you think you can do?"

She relaxed her shoulders for a moment and said, "A couple more." This time, taking slightly longer to form the spell, she cast the spell again and it hit a target to no result. Casting it once more, she fell forward, and I had to catch her.

"Did she even listen to me?" I swept her legs to lift her up completely. "I guess she really meant only a couple more."

Sitting on my shoulder, Mira said, "I guess her eyes aren't the only thing that's similar to yours."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, let's just hope she doesn't have your perversions."

"You know what, whatever. I guess you'll have to help me with her tomorrow." I went and laid Beatrix in her bed. "I guess the dog, it is."

Mira hopped to the floor. "Shall I lead the way to this one, too?"

"Nah, let's just go."

With Mira back on my shoulder, I made my way to the dog room and entered.

The small dragon looked around a bit and said, "Smells like a dog, alright."

I pointed over to an almost empty water bowl with chopped-up bits of dried food spilled across the floor next to it and the furry brown dog laying in it and said, "He's over there."

"I can see," she said. "Take me closer to him. I need to get the scent of his collar."

"No need." I patted my lap. "Come here, boy."

Borf stood and trotted my way. I reached under him and picked him up, making sure he was faced away from Mira who leaned in and took a whiff of the collar around his neck. I sat him down and threw a ball that he chased before leaving the room.

"You have an odd way with animals," said Mira.

"You speaking from experience?"

"No. I'm just surprised they don't fear you like many magical humans do."

"So, you are speaking from experience."

"Don't put words in my mouth."

"Alright, I'm just messing around." We made it to the cellar where I was conducting my experiments and I took a seat in front of a table "Where do you think the dog came from?"

"Smelled like the Dead Lands."

"Which Dead Lands?"

"The crater where Magnolia once stood."

"Well, that's my suspicions laid to rest. Where do you think Beatrix came from?"

"It's hard to say. She must have been on the move for a long time."

"Makes sense. She struck me as someone being hunted."

"Who do you think is hunting her?"

"Someone experienced, but not someone willing to finish the job, or they'd have her already."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"My experiments, for now." I re-lit the flames under various beakers still standing from yesterday and watched as they heated up.

Mira hopped from my shoulder to the table and sat looking up at me. "I'll need some convincing."

"Of what?"

"Why I should help you with this. As I hope you know, Amy doesn't make every decision for me. If you can give me a legitimate reason, I might be willing to help you in this endeavor."

"If that's your deal, then I'll tell you what's up. The fear effect that only affects magical humans... It's so specific in who it affects, yet it's almost the sole reason I lost everything up until now."

"What do you mean by 'everything'?"

"I was getting to that." I sighed. "For most of my life, my ambitions were forcibly stunted because no mage could even stay in the same room as me after looking into my eyes. My first love... She took it upon herself to learn magic so she could teach me and it ended up with her despising me instead. My best friend killed herself as a result of someone hunting down others with unique abilities like mine. All of it started with my eyes. I know there's a lot of good I can do in the world, but how can I really do anything if I can't even look the people I care about in the eye? Even Belial-"

"Nope. Don't go down that road." Mira shook her head. "First of all, I get where you're coming from with learning magic, but didn't you find Pan? They taught you in the end. Second, and I know this is hard to hear, but there is always another. You just have to look. Third, I heard about Penelope, and I know it's not your fault in any capacity, regardless of what you think. And finally, even though, like I said, there is always another, Amy is not it. She may seem unusually carefree despite her demeanor, but she's not one to fall for. Believe me."

"I believe you. Will you help me?"

"You still haven't given me reason to do so."

"Yep, you're just like her." I reached my hand over and started petting the small dragon. "Adorable." A quick pinch made me reel my hand back. She bit me.

"Let that be a lesson to you. Next time, I'll draw blood."

I looked at my finger to make sure there wasn't any drawn already. "Wow, I didn't think it was possible to piss you off that much."

"I'm not. You just seem to have misplaced your respect."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Forgot you're too proud to take a compliment, but not too proud to lay on me while I sleep."

"I thought you were trying to convenience me to help you, not hurt you," she hissed.

"Help or not, you're here right now and that's all that matters for the moment."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, really. It's just how I feel. I need someone at my side for this and I'm just glad you're here."

We sat in silence for a few minutes before the beakers began reacting. Like normal, they were all failures. I removed those beakers and repeated the process after mixing a series of new concoctions to test. This batch mostly failed immediately and the few that didn't were still not afforded the desired reaction.

After a few more tests, Mira spoke up. "Have you tried speeding up the reaction?"

"Yes. I've tried higher heat, infusing more mana, using more reactive materials etcetera. Making it go faster just resulted in faster duds and explosions. Slower reactions than this also had similar results. Almost lost the tower a few times."

"Have you tried mixing any of the results?"

"I have. Not to much of an effect though."

"Maybe it's your approach that's wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"If heating it up doesn't work, maybe rapid cooling will."

"Maybe." I turned off the heat under the beakers. "Or maybe heating then, cooling. Let's just try cooling for now." I picked up the tray of beakers but then I heard a knock at the door. "Stay here." Sitting the tray back down, I went upstairs and to the front door. "Who is it?"

I placed my hand on the door, activating one of the enchantments on it and allowing me to see what was on the other side. No one was there, but a letter was sitting on the ground. Cautiously, I opened the door and retrieved the letter. Once back inside, I opened it.

The letter read: 'To whom this pertains: We owe you our deepest apologies for the intrusion onto your property and hope you would consider returning our dog. He holds significant value to our household, and we cannot bear to be without him. As for the young lady whom you claim our dogs were attacking, she belongs to our household, and we never had any intent to harm her. The dogs were only meant to track her whereabouts and alert us when we can bring her home safely. We will arrive at your home three days from whence you receive this letter. Until then, we urge you to consider handing her over to us when we arrive. -Collins Manor'

I refolded the letter and saw Mira sitting near the stairs.

"You were supposed to stay downstairs," I said, slipping the letter into my pocket.

"If Amy can't make decisions for me, what makes you think you can?"

"Touche." I went to the steps and she hopped up onto my shoulder.

"What's with the letter?"

"I honestly didn't think you'd ask. I'll show you when we get down there."

Once we were back in the lab, I laid the letter out on the table for Mira to read. After a few moments, she sat back with a thoughtful hum.

"What do you think?" I said.

"I think if you didn't care about the girl, you should hand her over. Otherwise, do what you must."

"I meant about the dog. Maybe I should have been specific."

"I gather that you're not much one to care for pets. I say, let it go."

"Perhaps I will." I picked up the beaker tray and went for the doorway. "And as for the girl, if push comes to shove, will you fight by my side?"

"You know I can't." She hopped down and followed me.

"But it would be nice to see what you can really do one of these days."

"Maybe for you, but neither of us should use our full power if we can avoid it."

"Yeah, I know, laws. If I knew there were this many restrictions, I wouldn't have registered. At least it means I can go on any kind of adventure I want without having to rise through any guild ranks or even be part of one anymore. I even get to horde my gold like a dragon."

"As far as I'm concerned, you are a dragon."

"A handsome one?"

"You push your luck every time."

"Push, huh? Wait until I get to shoving."

"It's like you want me to claw your eyes out."

"I'm just kidding."

Walking through the opening of the wine cellar, I looked around until I found a small cooler on its own in the back. Opening it, I sat the trey inside and closed it before slipping my hand into a space at the bottom and applying magic to it. Through the glass on the front, I watched the concoctions chill as frost built up slightly on the surfaces of a couple of them. I gave it a minute then stopped and opened it.

Two of the vials started boiling immediately, so I didn't touch the tray. They stopped after a minute and I took the entire cooler back to the lab and started examining the different chilled liquids under a microscope to look for desirable effects. None of them were even closely successful, but I kept at it with more experiments and even older experiments. I tried heating, then cooling; cooling, then heating; both slow and rapid temperature changes; mixing; etc. There were so many new combinations to try that I almost didn't notice that I was falling asleep. Thankfully, Mira was watching over me, otherwise, I'd have passed out with volatile chemicals right in front of my face. I barely touched the tip of the iceberg and was ready to continue, but sleep was a necessity.

The next day, I awoke with Mira on my chest again. Like before, I petted her, and like before, she licked my face. Unlike before, she quickly raised her head and bared her fangs in embarrassment.

"That did not happen," she said.

"One of these days, I'm not going to believe you," I smirked. "I mean, it's not like you can't fall asleep unless you're lying on someone's chest, is it?"

She turned abruptly and slapped me in the face with her tail then hopped off the bed. "That did happen."

"Wow," I said, sitting up and dangling my legs off the edge of the bed, "That was unusually petty."

"Shut it." She sniffed the air. "Your protege is already up and about. We should be, too."

"Yeah, she's eager to get out of here and strike out on her own." I got out of bed, tossed the nearest mage robe over my shoulders, and headed out the door.

"You won't let her?" The small dragon hopped onto my shoulder.

"Not until she's strong enough to protect herself."

"Stronger than you, you mean?"

"Stronger than I was."

"Do you think she can do it?"

"Well, we do share the same eyes."

"You don't seem to share the same constitution."

"That's not a factor at this point."

"Perhaps."

When we got to the training room, Beatrix was concentrating on a ball half the size of her torso in her hand. It seemed to be rotating slowly and violently while moving turbulent air like a vortex.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I watched while it slowly expanded as she fought to control it. After a few minutes, it jumped in size and nearly consumed her upper half. Her knees buckled and it popped like a balloon, sending her careening toward me where I caught her in my arms.

"Having fun?" I said.

"Oh, Oscar," she said. "When did you get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago. You can wake me up if you're that eager to start early in the morning."

"I didn't think I needed to."

"Well, you don't, but I did go through the trouble of tracking down a specialist to help accelerate your training."

Mira piped up from my shoulder. "What do you mean by 'specialist'?"

"I mean, you're a gravity dragon." I stood Beatrix up and gestured to her. "Gravity dragon."

"You and your logic..."

Beatrix was just staring, speechlessly as soon as she caught eye of the purple lizard on my shoulder.

"Bea? You okay?" I said.

"Can I?" She raised both of her hands and placed them both next to each other. "Can-I can-I can-I can-I can-I can-I?"

Not totally sure what she meant, I said, "Uh, can you, what?"

Mira simply hopped off my shoulder onto Beatrix's hands.

"Thank-you-thank-you-thank-you-thank-you." The ecstatic girl started petting the cat-sized dragon in her hands. "What's your name, little bitty lizard kitty?"

"Mira," said Mira. "I'll let you pet me once, but if you take it too far, I'll bite you."

"You're adorable." Whispered Beatrix.

"I've heard." Mira looked over at me exhaustedly.

I couldn't help but smile and back away while Beatrix continued to fawn over her. Making my way to where she was standing before the ball of energy blasted her away, I examined the area to find any remnants of the failed spell and perhaps gauge her current maximum output.

While I was doing this, the commotion between the enamored and her muse escalated and then died down suddenly with a yelp. I whipped around to see Mira biting down on Beatrix's lips. I looked at them awkwardly and they both looked back similarly. Mira let go, hopped out of Beatrix's grasp, and fanned her wings out to glide to my feet where she climbed up on her own and settled back on my shoulder. Beatriz was left nursing her lips.

"You two are, without a doubt, related somehow. Eyes or not." She sounded both angry and exhausted.

"What happened?"

"Despite repeated warnings, she kept... touching me in places and then she tried to kiss my snout."

"Did you let her?"

"Of course not. Why would you even consider asking?"

"Alright, let's nip this in the bud." I went over to Beatrix. "Hey, Bea, do you have anything to say for yourself? I don't think it's very nice to molest someone when you first meet them."

"I'm sorry..." said Beatrix, still rubbing her lips. "I was too excited. You're just so cute."

"Sadly, I don't think that's an excuse," I said, patting her shoulder.

"What do you mean, 'sadly'?" Mira looked away with a huff. "Deviants, the both of you."

"You know you like it here," I said.

"A week is too long." Mira hopped off my shoulder to the floor. "What exactly am I needed here for?"

"Well, since I was never that great of a teacher and you're not only a gravity dragon but also happen to be a bit of a teacher yourself, I figured you could lend a helping hand in accelerating Bea's development."

"Then, let's get started." Mira looked back at Beatrix. "That orb you just had. Can you do it again?"

"I don't know," said Beatrix.

"Wait," I said, "Yesterday, you still passed out after I explained how to make sure that didn't happen. If you really can gauge how much mana you have left, you should leave some to at least keep yourself functioning."

"Oh." she said, looking down at herself. "I'll try."

"Please? Burning through all your mana every day makes it a little difficult to learn a few important things I have to teach you."

"In that case, I can't do that again."

I looked back at the spot where the explosion took place. "How many times have you done that anyway?"

"Like, four or five times."

"In total, or just now?"

"In total, why?

"Well, you're definitely strong, but you still need knowledge and experience. Can you make another gravity ball without passing out?"

"I think so."

"Good. We can do something with that a little later. Then again, we likely won't come back down here for the rest of the day." I started heading back to the normal training room. "Let's go."

"Wait," said Mira. "It may be imprudent to ask, but I'd like you to remove your eyepatch."

Beatrix stopped mid-stride and looked around bashfully. "But... I..."

"Good idea. I think you should as well," I said, turning back. "It may do nothing, but it also might affect your magic."

"Okay." She raised the eyepatch from her eye, making it visible. "Did anything change?"

Mira hopped up to Beatrix's shoulder and stared closely at her eye. "Azrael, what does it look like to you?"

"Pitch-black with twinkling lights inside, why?"

"As I thought. To the rest of us, it looks like a pure black void. No light even reflects from it. To a normal person, it probably looks the same."

"But to a magic person, they become afraid unexplainably." I finished the thought.

"Cast a spell, child. I'd like to see how they change."

Beatrix was taken aback. "They change?"

"Only when you cast a spell," I said. "Just like mine." I raised my hand and summoned a fireball then tossed it at one of the still floating targets, disintegrating it.

"Okay." She concentrated on her palm and a yellow orb appeared in a few minutes. The whole time, the eye that was normally uncovered became black and starry while the other one gained a silver ring where her Iris would be if that eye normally had one.

"Do you feel any different?" asked Mira.

"Not really?" said Beatrix. "It kinda feels like I can breathe better... Or easier? I'm not really sure how to explain it."

"I get it." I reached out my hand. "It's a limiter. Probably only to limit the reach of the effects of your eyes. Give it to me, I want to test something."

After a moment of hesitation, she took it off and handed it to me. I put it on over my right eye. I didn't feel much different, but something was definitely happening.

"Well?" said Mira.

"It's like there's a thin bubble around my head. It's a little suffocating but I don't think I'd notice it after a while." Focusing on the eyepatch, I cast a spell. "Identify." I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking at with the formula used to enchant the eyepatch, but it was layered on top of a decipherable potion. "That explains it. They used your DNA in an elixir aimed to reduce the fear effect. On top of that is a heavy enchantment for the same thing. This was definitely made with help from an enchanter. Odds are, it won't help without blinding you." I moved it over my left eye and it suddenly felt like it was pushing directly on my eye but it wasn't the eyepatch. I took it off and handed it back to the owner. "I suggest not wearing it. At least not while you're home. No one will fear you here."

"Home..." Beatrix repeated the word as if it was foreign to her.

"Yeah, home. You're my apprentice, you're living here. Actually, that reminds me. You're serious about completing this training as quickly as possible, right?"

"The faster the better," she said, full of conviction. "No offense."

"Well, in that case, you have a lot of learning to do."

I took the stairs up and went to a room always piled high with books and showed her the stacks of books I studied when I first started. One stack of dark magic mostly centered on gravity since it was her elemental attunement and another stack centered on forest creatures and how a mage should handle them.

She studied the books and took notes in a notebook I gave her as I went to cook us lunch and when I came back, she looked exhausted. She looked dazed as if every word slapped her in the face but focused as if each impact only made her stronger. It made me wonder if that was how I looked doing the same thing way back when.

I presented her lunch and she didn't really seem to notice until it was almost cold. By that point, she seemed to have found a natural stopping point and already filled multiple pages worth of notes. While she ate, I quizzed her on what she took notes on and threw in a few questions pertaining to things she had to have seen in the books but not taken down.

Once she ate, I left Beatrix to her studying, leaving Mira with her as I went to my experiments. Once she was tired, Beatrix came to find me under Mira's direction and I made dinner for the night, making sure we all ate before sleep.

The next day, I was awoken by a knock at my room door. I sat up, causing Mira to roll off of me. She ended up rolling up in the blanket from trying to hold on with her claws. I opened the door to Beatrix who gave an uncharacteristic bow before we headed down to the kitchen on the first floor to make and eat breakfast then down to the training room a couple of floors below.

Once we were in the magic training room, I made sure to close the door.

"Alright, now's a good time to try the spell that blew upon you again."

"I don't even know what I was trying to do."

"The spells you studied didn't give you any insight?"

"Not really..."

"Well, it's good to try anyway. Besides, I'm here to give you direction and teach you a few things on the way."

"Okay." She went closer to the middle of the room and started focusing on a small yellow ball in her hand. After a few minutes, it grew to the size of her hand, and it started dragging turbulent wind. A while later, it was around the same size it was when I walked in before.

"That looks big enough," I said. "Try to focus it into a smaller space. Bring it to a single point."

"I'm trying."

"Are you sure you're not just focusing on the middle of it? It's not just the inside that needs to be focused, but the outside, too."

"I know." The look on her face was nothing but frustration.

"In that case, how about we forget about the ball itself. What do you want it to do? What do you want it to become?"

"I don't know."

"This is magic. You can do anything. What do you want?"

"I want..." She fell silent and placed her other hand on the ball. She proceeded to press it between her palms and it shrank to the size of a golf ball while the vortex only increased in power. Finally, she clasped her hands together and a shockwave emanated from them. The vortex stopped completely and everyone present started levitating. "Control."

To my left eye, the entire room was filled with yellow glitter. She created a magic field with her second spell.

I applauded her. "Good job, you cast your second spell. Question is, can you control how we move now?"

"I don't know." She reached out her hand towards Mira who was floating off my shoulder to no result. "No."

"Can you control yourself?"

She looked down at herself and kicked her feet. "No."

"That's it then, you learned the 'float' spell and somehow cast it in a radius. Unusual, but not so much for a first-time cast."

"A radius?"

"You cast it on the whole room instead of a single target or set of targets. At least, that's what it looks like."

"How do I stop it?"

"Usually, it's just the reverse of what you did, but sometimes, it's as simple as just letting go."

"Let go..." Gravity returned to normal and we all fell at once. I landed on my feet while Mira landed on my shoulder and Beatrix landed awkwardly on the ground. "Ow."

"Good job." I gave her a thumbs-up and reached a hand out to help her up.

"I wasn't trying to stop it, but thanks." She stood with my help.

"Now, can you do it again? "

"I..." She looked at her hands. "Don't know..."

"Give it a try, but this time, skip the big ball phase. Just focus on what you want the spell to be and just say it. It should cut down the time and take a lot less energy to cast."

She placed her hands together and closed her eyes. Soon, a yellow light shone from her body, and she began floating. In less than a minute, she could cast the spell seemingly with minimal effort.

"I did it." The look of surprise on her face made me smile as she started floating away. "It feels so natural."

"That's good, you didn't even have to say the name of the spell to get it to work."

"I didn't? I guess I said it in my head."

"Just as well." I patted the head of the dragon on my shoulder. "Mira, I'll leave the rest to you."

"Are you sure about that?" said Mira. "She is your student."

"She's a fast learner, I think. You're also the perfect teacher for her, I think. These next few days should be enough time for you to teach her the rest of the basics. I can take over from there when you go."

"Wait a minute, come with me. We need to talk." Fanning out her wings, Mira took to the air towards the door.

Concerned, Beatrix said, "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing, sweetie, we'll be back." Mira's response was swift.

"You never talk to me like that," I said.

"Shut up. Come with me." The little dragon sounded more aggressive than normal.

I followed her out of the room and she took me up a floor to the lab. She landed on the table while I stood.

"What's wrong-" I started.

"You never intended to teach that girl, did you?"

"Wait- what do you mean?"

"I mean, you were going to leave her to me while you came back to this room and continued your research."

"I was, but not because I don't want to teach her... To be honest, I don't want to teach anyone, but she's special. I can't just send her on her way without at least the means of protecting herself."

"Is that why it sounded like a weight was suddenly lifted from your shoulders earlier?"

"It... Well..." I sighed. "It is- are you really going to scold me over this?"

"No, I just wanted to know your true feelings on this matter and I figured you wouldn't be so open about it around her."

"No need to worry about that. I'm not really one to keep secrets, you know. I already told her that I wouldn't be teaching her if it wasn't for her eyes."

"How callous. All seems well nonetheless."

"We're all callous. Did you think I was any different?"

"Forgive me for thinking you were." She spread her wings and flew to the doorway. "I'll teach her what I can. You do what you must."

"Why do you sound so passive-aggressive?"

"Because I've chosen my aggression to be passive." She started gliding down the steps.

Before she could get out of earshot, I said, "Why do you care so much?"

"Why don't you?" Her response left me silent.

I got back to my experiments with too much on my mind to concentrate properly. The few hours were a blur, but I felt that I had gotten closer to something, but I wasn't sure what. Eventually, I got too restless and went back downstairs. Peeking in, I spotted Beatrix with another giant rotating ball in her hand with Mira on her shoulder. I stood by and watched as the ball expanded and floated into the air until it popped like a bubble and rained yellow particles that continued swirling like a tornado.

With peace of mind and a little more guilt than usual on my conscious, I went back to my experiments for only a few minutes when Beatrix poked her head in. Patiently, she watched and waited until I was done with the current round of testing. Once I confirmed that all of the vials were failures, she stepped in all the way.

"Hey, um, Oscar?" She sounded hesitant.

"What's wrong? Where's Mira?"

"She went upstairs. I just wanted to talk to you."

"Alright, what is it? Fire away."

"Um, are you like, a thing?"

"A thing? Me and Mira? No, she belongs to someone else. More like, they're partners. Why do you ask?"

"She said something about arguing like a couple and I was curious how that would work."

"Oh, that kind of a thing." I couldn't help but chuckle. "I didn't even think that was the kind of thing you'd ask about. I don't think she'd even give me the time of day."

"I was just thinking that stuff like that might be why people like us exist."

"Not 'might be', is. It is why people like us exist." I sat back in my seat. "Some time, maybe hundreds or even thousands of years ago, someone fucked a dragon, and eventually, we came from it. There are probably hundreds or thousands of other people who were born with eyes like ours but unlike us, they were probably dormant and never surfaced. Do you want to know what I've been doing this whole time?"

"What is it?"

"I've been trying to find a way to nullify that little fear factor we possess without taking away our sight."

In the most innocent voice I ever heard from her, she said, "Do you think it's possible?"

"It doesn't matter what I think. Even if it's not, I'll keep trying." My mind flashed back to Belial. "Doesn't matter if anyone tries to stop me."

After an oddly prolonged silence, I looked over at Beatrix. She looked deep in thought with a hard frown and a wavering lip.

"I... I don't think... I want that."

"What?" I was so shocked to hear that, I almost choked on my own spit. "Why do you say that?"

Another prolonged silence: this one, heavy on my chest and only getting heavier as I waited for her response.

"It's just that I've had my whole life to think about stuff like that. In the end, I think I just want people to accept me as I am."

"And if they don't?" For some reason, my words sounded harsher than I intended.

She looked down at the ground for a moment then silently turned around and promptly left the room.

"No, wait, I-" I sighed. "Maybe I am too crass."

I stood and went up behind her. She went to continue the studying she started last night while I stayed out in the hallway with my back against the wall. A few minutes later, Mira appeared on the ground before me. I didn't even notice her for a moment as I was lost in my own thoughts.

"Are you going to go in and help her or am I going to have to do that by myself as well?"

"Yeah, I just don't think I can help right now. I can't really think right now."

"Just being there helps."

"I know, I just..."

"Then, why do you hesitate to go in there? Did something change?"

"Wait, why do you want me to go in there? I didn't stay in there the whole time yesterday."

After a moment of silence, she cocked her head to the side and said, "We need to talk elsewhere."

"No," I said. "If she hears, she hears. What's the point of going somewhere else?"

"Unlike you, I'm considerate of others."

I scoffed, "Alright, where are we going this time?"

"Upstairs will do."

"If we're going that far, why not just go to my room?"

Wordlessly, the small dragon led me up the stairs and to my room as the door opened and closed on its own.

As soon as it closed, Mira turned around and said, "Have you laid your hands on her?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. She won't tell me anything on the matter, so I'm asking you."

"Well, I haven't been violent with her in any way."

"Cut the shit. I know you can't keep it in your pants. You'd fuck anything that moves."

Completely taken aback, I started. "Wait a minute-"

"Did you even confirm her age for that matter?"

Still shocked by this line of questioning, I said, "What are you, her mother?"

"No, but by the few conversations I've had with her, I can tell she needs one. Someone to guide her honestly and take her feelings into account."

"She doesn't need a parent, she's an adult-"

"Physically, yes. But mentally, she's a square peg forced into a circular hole. She needs the kind of guidance only a parent can give. I'm just making sure you didn't ruin any chance of establishing that kind of relationship already. So, I'll ask one more time. Did you touch her?"

"No."

She took a deep breath and sighed. "Good, I just hope it stays that way. I just hope you don't make the same mistakes the rest of us did. You can easily create your own monsters and they always lead to your own downfall."

In a moment of reflection, I said, "That sounds like something Zeta would say."

"It's something Doji once said to Amy. Despite the warning, it still happened, and we live with it to this day."

"What happened?"

"Telling you won't help anything. Besides, it's not my place to say."

"Alright, but there's one thing I need you to keep in mind while you're telling me all this."

"What is it?"

"I'm not a parent. I don't know how to parent. Hell, if... Never mind. If you're right about her then there's somewhere we need to go."

Sparing not even a moment, I went down to Beatrix, knocked on the open door, and waved for her to follow me. As soon as she stood, I went to the front door and waited for her. Mira was close behind me.

"Um... What's wrong?" asked Beatrix, meekly.

"There's someone I want you to meet." I placed my hand on her shoulder. "Mira, hop on." The little dragon took to my shoulder. "Teleport."

In an instant, we were in front of an ordinary shop in town with a sign that simply read, 'Weapons'. The shop was closed but I was sure someone was still awake since the lights were still on, so I opened the door and stepped in to the sound of a bell. Moving across the other side of the room was an elderly woman with a push broom.

"We're not open," she said, before taking a look and spotting me. "Oscar? Why the sudden visit?"

"Hi, Mom, I've got someone I want you to meet." I patted the back of the woman next to me. "This is Beatrix. She's my student."

My mother dropped the broom in shock and just stared. "Is she your..." Her head turned toward an open doorway on the far wall in a way that looked involuntary. "Felix!"

In a moment, my dad appeared out of the doorway. Unlike my mother, his hair hadn't gone fully gray yet but the muscular physique he once had was beginning to diminish.

"Oh, Oscar," he said. "Why the sudden visit?"

"Mom already said that."

"Oh, well, how's my favorite son?" he asked, the way he always does.

"I'm your only son," I said, the way I always do.

"Good to know." He laughed jovially the way he does every time he tells that joke. "Looks like you brought a lady friend over. Finally decided to settle down, huh?"

"No, nothing like that."

"Ah, what a shame. She's a looker, too."

"Speaking of looking..." I almost let out everything I needed to say. "Can we go somewhere we can talk?"

"Sure. I was just about to get cooking. If I add more now, there should be enough for everyone to get some." He disappeared back through the doorway. "We can talk about the grandkids you're not getting us there."

I sighed and shook my head as I followed behind my mother through the door and down the hall to the dining room, only separated from the kitchen by a short hall and a door.

"So, what are we having for dinner?" I said, taking a seat alongside Beatrix. Mira was still perched on my shoulder.

"Meatballs, but since you're here, let's add mashed potatoes to that." He took steps toward the kitchen while my mom took a seat as well.

"Sounds good, but you don't have to. It'll take a while and we don't want to bother you for too long."

"Nonsense. We're glad to have you for as long as we can but you can cut the cooking time down a bit if you help."

"Sure." I stood and went for the kitchen behind him.

"I guess that means we'll be having a lady's talk over here."

I looked over at the unmoving purple mass on my shoulder. "That reminds me. Mira, you should stay here and chat with my mom, too."

"Maybe I should." She fanned out her wings and glided onto the table next to Beatrix.

Continuing into the kitchen, I closed the door and got to helping my dad prepare the food. As soon as I turned on the water to wash my hands, I made sure my voice was low and said, "We need to talk."

Also in a low voice, my dad said, "You're telling me. Where did you find that one?"

"Well, she found me."

"Oh, I take it you've been careful enough that I don't have a granddaughter."

"Yeah, she's not my kid."

"Then who is she to you?"

"She's just my student."

"Is that all she is?"

"For now, yes. She needs the kind of guidance I can't give. The kind only a parent can."

He looked me up and down and then said, "Is that really what you think? Or something someone else made you think?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, it's not like you to think that way. Teaching and offering guidance is one thing, but it's far too late to parent her. I'm sure you already realized that. How long have you known this girl, anyway?"

"Only a few days."

"That's not nearly enough to get to know someone as well as you made it seem. I assume you decided to tutor her because of her eyes?"

I shrugged. "Well, yes."

"Makes sense. What's up with the dragon?"

"She's the partner of another Wizard. A friend of mine."

"Another Wizard, huh?" He seemed to pause for a moment. "Alright, I think it's about time I told you something about our bloodline."

"Something about my eyes?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself. Do you want to know why I retired from adventuring?"

"To raise me, right?"

"That was part of the reason. The other reason was something much more worrisome. Our bloodline is plagued with curses. One curse among many is the cursed blood. The firstborn of our family is always cursed with blood that shapes and moves to protect us when we're in mortal danger."

This being the first time I heard of this; I was more than shocked. "It does?"

"Surely, you've noticed it. In a moment when your life flashes before your eyes, whatever danger you're in subsides when you pass out or when a mortal blow befalls you, you miraculously survive it."

That revelation brought me years back. The scar across my face was the result of a strike capable of rending stone to dust and whenever I was in danger beyond my control, it subsided after I lost consciousness.

"Is that why my eyes-"

"No, otherwise, I'd have them, too. That is something I can't, nor ever could explain. What I'm saying is once you're aware of it, you can sense it. When you have kids, it becomes inactive unless you find some way to use it consciously." He made a fist and from his middle knuckle extended a translucent red blade. "Your mother doesn't know about this."

"Wait, you never told her?"

"I was waiting for you to have kids of your own to tell you, but now's as good a time as any."

"But what about Mom?"

"She doesn't need to know. That curse is literally a failsafe to make sure this bloodline continues to some unknown foregone conclusion." His eyes narrowed in on my scar. "It wasn't until I saw you with that scar on your face that I really understood and I'm pretty sure you already figured this out now knowing you're actually plagued by two curses."

"My eyes and my blood itself... They aren't the curse. I am."

"Bingo. The world didn't curse you. You are the curse on this world. Something made outside its boundaries and introduced to either preserve or kill it, and I'm the same."

"That means..." I took a moment to organize my speeding thoughts as they piled up and spilled over.

"It means you're a blessing in disguise." My head emptied of thought almost completely as he said those words. "Take it from me. We're like symbiotic parasites, giving to the world as much if not more than we take. Usually in blood. That's how it's always been as far back as I know."

"I like how you decided to use that kind of imagery while we're rolling meatballs and mashing potatoes."

"Yeah, but it's not about the food right now. It's about you and that girl."

"Her name is Beatrix, by the way. And the dragon is Mira."

After some more time working away in the kitchen, my dad and I emerged with a bowl of meatballs and another of mashed potatoes. We then set the table and ate. It was pretty quiet, but nobody could talk with full mouths.

As the food came close to dwindling from all the plates, my mom spoke. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Oh," I said. "I just thought it would do some good to introduce you to Bea. After all, I can't be the only one she interacts with while she's here. Also, her eyes are like mine so I thought you guys might be as fascinated as I was to find that out."

"Well, I was surprised. I thought you finally gave us a granddaughter. Now, I know one's right around the corner."

I cleared my throat loudly. "Sorry to disappoint you, Mom, but we're not a couple."

"Well, you never know what might happen."

Once everyone was finished with their food, I stood with my plate.

"Hold on a second." My dad stood too. "Leave your plate. We'll clean it up." He reached for everyone's plates and stacked them on top of each other. "You three can stay the night if you want."

"No-can-do," I said. "We've been pretty busy recently, so we should go."

"Well, the least we can do is see you out."

"Alright."

My mom took the lead with my dad in the rear as they escorted the three of us out.

After hopping on Beatrix's shoulder, Mira said, "Azrael, I was wrong about you."

"Aw, thanks." I reached to pet her.

"Don't touch me."

I paused with my hand hovering over her head. "Wha..."

"Just because I was wrong doesn't mean it was in a good way."

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"I know about the stuffed toy."

"The stuffed... Mom, what did you tell them?"

"Nothing." She made a face so as to appear ignorant.

I sighed. "Well, it doesn't matter. Whatever it is, it's probably something I was too young to remember."

She turned her nose up at me. "Regardless, I'd prefer you kept your hands to yourself for the time being."

I shrugged. "Regardless, it's easier for me to teleport us all back if I'm in contact with you.

With a brief send-off, my parents closed the door, and we were back on the street. Since Mira was at least touching Beatrix, I was able to teleport us all back into the tower on the spot we left from.

Since it was late and we were all tired, sleep was an inevitability. Instead of going back to studying or experiments, we rotated turns in the bathroom and then went to sleep. Mira went with Beatrix and I had my room to myself again.