"Cat-bird! Hi!"

Iggy jumped off Thenio's shoulder and flew over to meet the approaching gryphon. He started flying in erratic circles around Casturi, who stopped walking and watched him with a slightly exasperated look.

"Come here, little fellow," Jasel said with a laugh, holding out his arm for Iggy to land on. "She can't walk with you flying around her like that."

"Oh." Iggy pulled up and hovered in the air for a second or two. Then he glided over and landed on Jasel's arm, looking slightly subdued, although his tail was still waving furiously. "Okay.... Hi, cat-bird's friend! You came to teach Thenio about playing on his metal bars, right?"

"That's right." Jasel stroked the little dragon's back as Casturi resumed her walk toward the house. "Has Thenio been practicing hard since we were here last?"

"Mmm! He plays on his bars every morning, after he finishes shooting arrows! I watch him from my box!"

"Good."

Casturi reached the front porch and paused so that Jasel could get off. He set Iggy down on her back before sliding off and walking over to where Thenio was waiting.

"Good morning, Thenio," he said with a friendly smile.

"Good morning. Thank you for coming."

Jasel dismissed the thanks with a wave of his hand. "Don't mention it. We're happy to come. I'm just sorry it took us so long to get back here again. The timing was a little bad for me to be taking on another student.... But some of my military trainees should advance in rank and be assigned to new locations in another month or so. Then my schedule won't be quite so tight."

"It's all right. I'm really grateful that you're helping me, in spite of being so busy," Thenio said, opening both of the front doors so that Casturi could go inside.

"Cat-bird, guess what? Guess what?" Iggy was bouncing up and down on Casturi's back. To such a small dragon, jumping on her thick feathers probably felt similar to jumping on Thenio's bed...which he did frequently.... "Thenio made us fish balls! They're not spicy, because Thenio can't make spicy food. But they're still super tasty! He let me try one to make sure! And we can eat the rest together later, okay?"

"I read that parrot gryphons eat fish sometimes, so I made some salmon balls for snacks today. I hope that's all right?" Thenio looked at Jasel uncertainly. "There are nuts and fruit, too. And Iggy will be happy to finish off any leftover fish, so it's okay if she doesn't want it."

"No, that's fine. Parrots eat a lot less meat than raptors do, but they still need some. And Casturi likes fish."

"That's good, because it's Iggy's favorite."

"I can tell..." Jasel said with a chuckle, watching the little dragon waving his tail and humming happily as he rode into the house on Casturi's back.

"Where's Ariom?" Jasel asked as Thenio led the group toward the atrium. "Is he avoiding me?"

"Uh...." Thenio hesitated. "Well...kind of," he admitted. "But mostly he's busy working on something upstairs. We've been trying to arrange a meeting with someone for a job that Ariom recently got hired to do, and we just found out this morning that she's available this afternoon. So he's hurrying to get everything ready in time."

Jasel raised an eyebrow. "Must be someone pretty important if the high and mighty grandmaster enchanter is willing to rush around in order to meet with her."

"I guess you could say that." Thenio made an awkward expression. "She's important for the job, at least. That's mostly what he cares about.... Do you know Ice Queen? Ariom apparently doesn't pay attention to battlemages at all. He said he'd never heard of her before."

"That sounds like Ariom..." Jasel said, shaking his head. "I've met Ice Queen, but I don't know her well. She only transferred to the Central Division a few months ago, and she's not a wind mage, so I haven't had much occasion to interact with her. I know her a bit by reputation, though. She's generally well-liked by the other combat wizards. I've heard she works very well in a team...unlike some of the high-rankers I could tell you about...."

"Like Emberhawk?" Thenio asked, smiling wryly as he remembered what Jasel had told him about Ariom's father the last time they'd talked.

"Like Emberhawk twenty years ago, definitely. He's mellowed out a bit by now, though. He seems to do all right as long as his teammates know how to avoid ruffling his feathers. Well...I guess that goes for all high-rankers, to some extent. There's a common saying in the Magic Corps: 'All the high-rankers are crazy. Some of them just show it more than others.' And I'd say it's basically true. There's a reason why the fourth rule exists, after all."

"The fourth rule? What's that?"

"You've never heard of the Magic Corps' Four Rules? It's something we teach all the new trainees." Jasel held up a hand and counted off on his fingers. "Don't hurt civilians. Respect your superiors. Look after your juniors. And never, ever annoy the high-rankers."

Thenio stared at him. What was with that scary rule...?

Jasel chuckled a little at his expression. "Well, you don't have to worry too much. The high-rankers have to follow the rules, too, after all—particularly the first one. And Ice Queen is one of the more docile high-rankers. Just don't deliberately provoke her, and you should be fine."

"Right...."

Thenio wasn't entirely reassured, but they'd reached the atrium now, so he turned his attention to the two familiars.

"Is it all right to leave you here with Iggy for a while?" he asked Casturi. He pointed toward one of the patio tables, which had an assortment of gryphon-appropriate food laid out on it. "There are snacks over there. And Ariom is just upstairs if you need anything—his workroom is to the left of the second floor balcony."

Casturi eyed the food on the table with great interest. "We'll be fine. Go do your lesson."

"Mmm! The cat-bird and I can play and have snacks together!" Iggy said, his tail still swishing energetically.

"Okay. You two have fun." Thenio reached up to pat the gryphon's feathery shoulder. "Thanks for being willing to play with him, Casturi. He's really been looking forward to seeing you again."

"I don't mind." She turned her head back to look at Iggy. "He's a little weird, but he's cute."

Well. That did pretty much sum him up....

They left the familiars inspecting the table full of snacks and went downstairs. Thenio was already in his training clothes, so they went straight to the acrobatics room.

"Go ahead and do your usual warm-up and then a set of basic exercises. Let's see how you're doing after a couple of weeks of having proper equipment to practice on."

"Okay."

Thenio started toward the large floor mat and was just about to step onto it when he paused. He'd happened to look over at the hanging rings, and they reminded him of something.

"Oh, there's something I forgot to tell Casturi," he said, turning back to Jasel. "Can you pass on a message to her?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Well, last time the two of you were here, I think she misunderstood a little about not using magic around me. It's really just when she's close to me. It's okay to use magic if I'm in another room or something."

"Yes, Ariom explained that to me before we came last time. So she should know."

"Really?" Thenio frowned, puzzled. "But I thought that's why she needed my help when she got stuck in Iggy's tree—because she didn't think it was okay to use magic to get herself out."

"Ah...that." Jasel chuckled a little. "Thenio, do you know why magic beasts who have made familiar contracts are much more valuable as circus performers than ones who haven't?"

Thenio blinked. "Because they're more intelligent? Or because they can understand more complicated instructions?"

"Almost. It's because they can learn to understand how humans think and feel."

"Oh." Thenio thought about that for a moment. "Casturi said something like that...that after she formed a contract with you she could start to understand the people who came to the circus better. But...what does that have to do with her getting stuck in a tree...?"

"If someone is afraid of you, how can you help them stop being afraid?"

"Um...do something to show them that you're not dangerous? Like doing something nice for them?"

Jasel nodded. "Right. That's one way. But there are others. One that we used to use a lot as circus performers was playing the fool. Deliberately doing something funny and clumsy to appear less intimidating. It works even better if you act clumsy in a way that encourages the other person to help you out. It's harder to be afraid of someone who needs your help, right?"

"That's...." Thenio's eyes widened. "You mean she got herself stuck on purpose?"

Jasel grinned. "You weren't afraid of her anymore after you helped her get unstuck, were you?"

Thenio stared at him. Now that he thought about it, he had stopped feeling so nervous around Casturi after that....

"Don't most gryphons really hate being embarrassed like that, though? I've heard they're usually really vain."

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Well, like I told you before, Casturi is a real sweetheart. She's a lot more considerate and gentle than most gryphons. So to her, it was worth a little embarrassment to help you feel more comfortable." Jasel laughed. "Well, she was a bit sulky about it after we got home, though...."

"Oh." Thenio wasn't quite sure what to think about that.

But he suddenly felt very glad he'd put extra effort into making Casturi's snacks for today....

"Considering your unusual magic situation, I'm not sure if you'll ever be able to have a familiar or not," Jasel continued. "But if you're ever in a position to get one, let me give you a word of advice: A lot of people pick a magic beast that looks impressive or has high magic power. But the best way is to pick based on their personality. You're going to be spending a lot of time with your familiar. It's better to find one you can be good friends with, even if it's not as powerful or as beautiful a creature as you might have liked."

Thenio was quiet, thinking over those words. He had to admit that whenever he'd imagined having a familiar someday in the future, he'd mostly thought about magic beasts that were flashy and impressive. But what Jasel said made a lot of sense.

Of course, it was easy to say things like that when you were lucky enough to have a familiar who was flashy and had a good personality....

"Well. You're probably a few years too early to really need a lecture on picking a familiar," Jasel said with a wry chuckle. "Let's get back to your acrobatics lesson, shall we?"

----------------------------------------

After Jasel and Casturi had left and Thenio had cleaned up and changed his clothes, he went to the workroom, carrying a happy but rather tired Iggy in his arms.

Apparently Casturi was just as good at playing bird as Kino the storm hound was, so she'd managed to wear the hyper little dragon out fairly quickly. The two of them seemed to have had a good time together, though.

Ariom was bent over his work table, in the middle of attaching an arm onto a large wooden doll, but he paused and looked around when they entered the room.

"Are you done with your lesson?"

"Yeah. They just left. Jasel said to tell you hello."

Ariom gave a small snort. "That guy.... Well, it sounded like the familiars were having fun together, at least. I could hear them playing from here."

"Mmm!" Iggy waved his tail. "The cat-bird is really good at wind magic, you know? She played bird with me! And then we ate the tasty snacks that Thenio made! But then I got tired...."

He reinforced that last statement with a wide yawn.

"Why don't I put you in your box?" Thenio suggested. "You can watch Ariom work for a while and maybe take a little nap."

"Mmm." Iggy nodded agreeably. "Okay."

Thenio carried him into the dragon box and put him on his favorite hammock. Iggy burrowed underneath a blanket and then popped his tiny head out the other side so he could look through the window. Thenio gave his blanket-covered back a light pat and then went back out where Ariom was.

"Do you need help with anything?"

Ariom shook his head. "Not here. I'd appreciate it if you took care of lunch and getting the reception room ready, though."

"Sure, no problem. Do you want lunch downstairs or up here?"

Ariom glanced at the clock. "Up here, I guess. I'd like to get one more practice dummy made before they get here, if I can."

"Okay. Then I'll bring up a tray in...." Thenio also looked at the clock. "...about an hour?"

"Good. Thank you."

Thenio started to leave but paused in the doorway. "Hey...Ariom?"

"Yes?"

"Jasel and I were talking about familiars earlier, and he mentioned that I might not be able to have one because of my chaos affinity. I hadn't really thought about that before...but...do you think he's right? Will I not ever be able to form a familiar contract?"

"Hmm...." Ariom looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure I'd rule it out altogether. But in your current state, I wouldn't recommend it. Until we find a way to make your magic circuit more stable, you need to keep your power level as low as possible, and a familiar contract often results in a rapid jump in magic power for both sides. That would be very dangerous for you, as you are now. But having a familiar might eventually be possible, especially if you pick a low power magic beast." He glanced toward the dragon box, where Iggy was watching them with his tiny black nose pressed against the glass. "I'm afraid something like a dragon is definitely out."

"Ah. Right." Thenio forced a smile. "Well, it's not like I'm in a position to get a familiar right now anyways. I was just curious...."

He turned and quickly left the room.

----------------------------------------

A few hours later, Thenio stood by the front door once again, watching as one of the Royal Guard's stately black golem carriages came up the driveway.

He was much more nervous about receiving these guests than he'd been with Jasel and Casturi. He'd heard stories about Ice Queen for years, and it seemed rather surreal that he was actually about to meet her in person.

He wished Ariom had come down with him...or at least Iggy.... But Ariom was busy finishing up his last wooden practice dummy, and Iggy, who had slept through lunch and only woken up when the chime for the front gate sounded, had been too groggy to leave the dragon box yet.

At least Mideis and Amisi would be there, so Thenio wouldn't have to face a famous battlemage completely on his own.

The carriage pulled up to the front door and stopped. Then the doors opened, and two people got out. One was Mideis, carrying Amisi, like usual. And the other one....

Thenio's eyes widened a little in surprise. He thought Mideis had been exaggerating when he'd called Namyis Ivoren a 'walking snow sculpture,' but it was actually a surprisingly accurate description.

Her skin was quite literally as white as snow, with a faint blue tint to it, and it even sparkled a little in the sunlight. Her long hair was a soft periwinkle blue that faded to white at the tips, and her eyes seemed to be a brighter shade of the same color.

It was by far the most pronounced sorcerer's stigma Thenio had ever seen. Her appearance practically screamed, 'Ice mage!'

He shivered a little. Was he just imagining that the surrounding air had suddenly become colder? Maybe there was still a bit of a chill left over from yesterday's rainstorm.

Thenio suddenly realized he was still staring at Namyis and hurriedly looked away, embarrassed. Well, the rumors were true, at least. She was pretty...in a frosty kind of way....

"Hello, Thenio," Mideis said with a friendly smile. Being his usual perceptive self, he'd probably realized that he needed to take charge of the conversation. "I think you can tell just from looking at her, but this is Namyis Ivoren, also known as Ice Queen. Namyis, this is Thenio Iterune, Ariom's assistant."

Namyis gave Thenio a gentle smile. "Nice to meet you, Thenio."

"Yes...uh...very nice to meet you, too."

Thenio bowed his head a little out of habit, even though she'd greeted him casually. Then he shivered again. It really was cold out here.... He'd better hurry and invite everyone inside. An ice mage probably didn't mind the cold, but Amisi, the native tropical islander, definitely did. She was huddled in Mideis' arms, looking rather unhappy.

"Um...please, come in. I'm sorry Ariom isn't here yet. He's just finishing getting things ready for your magic practice session. He'll be down in a few—"

A loud, angry shriek suddenly cut off Thenio's words.

He stood, frozen in place, as a small, dark shape flew out from behind him and landed on the front steps, in between him and Namyis. It was Iggy, teeth bared and scales sticking out.

"Iggy? What...?"

Before Thenio could ask him what was going on, the little dragon sucked in a deep breath and spit out a cloud of dark grey magic in Namyis' direction.

"Stay away!" he shouted, holding his wings up in what was clearly intended to be a threatening pose, even though most of the effect was lost due to his small size. "Stay away from Thenio!"

As Thenio watched, horrified, Iggy blew out another cloud of void magic.

"Iggy...stop...." he protested in a strangled voice. Jasel's earlier words about not annoying high-rankers were echoing loudly in his mind.

What was that crazy dragon thinking?! That was a sixth-rank battlemage he was attacking!

Fortunately, Namyis hadn't retaliated yet. She just stood there, blinking down at the little dragon with a rather bewildered expression on her face, as though she wasn't quite sure what to make of him.

Thenio started forward, intending to go grab Iggy before he really made her angry. But then he heard quick footsteps behind him and felt someone take hold of his collar and drag him backwards.

"Wha—? Ariom?"

Ariom stood in front of Thenio and swept his hand out, releasing a stream of grey magic similar to Iggy's. But instead of dispersing like the dragon's magic had, it formed into a thin, translucent wall. A magic barrier.

"Ariom!"

As soon as Ariom appeared, Iggy dropped his brave front and shot straight toward him. He didn't even bother flying—he simply ran straight up Ariom's pant leg and into his arms.

"Ariom, there's a monster! A scary ice monster! She's trying to freeze Thenio into ice cream!" The little dragon looked up at Ariom in a panic, his ears back and the whites of his eyes showing. "Thenio will not be tasty as ice cream, okay?!"

A brief silence followed these words.

Then Ariom sighed and patted Iggy soothingly. "I know. It's all right, little guy. I won't let her hurt you or Thenio." He glared at Namyis. "I would have thought that a sixth-rank sorcerer would have enough sense to wear magic dampeners out in public. Did Mideis not tell you how sensitive my assistant is to ambient magic?"

Namyis held up her hands. She had cuffs on both her wrists, similar to the ones Thenio was wearing, except that hers seemed to be made out of a silver-colored metal. There were also several white crystals set into each cuff.

"I'm wearing two," she said with an innocent expression. Then she looked at her left wrist. "Oh. But this one cracked a little while I was out on my last assignment. I just got back last night, so I haven't had a chance to go get it fixed yet." She looked up at Ariom. "Is it really leaking that much?

"Yes!" he snapped. "It is! There's a cloud of magic all around you!"

"Is there?" Mideis turned to look at Namyis with a startled expression. "I knew she had a small leak, but I didn't think it was enough to be a problem...." He stared at her for a moment and then looked back at Ariom. "I still only see a little bit of magic leaking out. Can you seriously see a whole cloud of it? Is your magesight that much better than mine is?"

"Apparently so," Ariom said, not bothering to be modest about it. He was still looking at Namyis with a frown on his face. Then he turned and looked at Thenio. "Strange. You're reacting a bit differently than usual. I'm not sure what that means...."

"So what should we do?" Mideis asked, looking between Namyis and Ariom. "Do we need to cancel and try again after Namyis gets her dampener fixed?"

"No." Ariom looked back at Namyis, his eyes focusing on the metal bands on her wrists. "I'm not sure getting it repaired would solve the problem anyway...." He was silent for a moment. Then he scowled at Namyis. "You're lucky that I happen to be researching magic dampening devices at the moment. I'd normally never do a job for someone in the Magic Corps...but I guess I'll have to make a special exception in this case."

He turned around and handed Iggy to Thenio. The little dragon had calmed down quite a bit since Ariom had taken charge of the situation, but his scales were still poking out a little, so Thenio had to hold him carefully.

"Thenio, I want you to take Iggy and go up to your bedroom. Close the door and stay there until I tell you it's all right to come out. Understand?"

Thenio nodded. He didn't really know what was going on, but Ariom's tone was serious enough that he knew not to question his instructions. He turned to go into the house.

"Wait! Let me come with you!" Amisi jumped out of Mideis' arms and ran after them. "I'm cold!"

Apparently Thenio wasn't the only one who felt chilled from being around the Ice Queen.

As he paused to let Amisi catch up to them, he glanced back at Namyis. She was still calmly standing in the same spot. She hadn't moved at all since Iggy had arrived, other than showing Ariom her magic dampening cuffs. And she didn't seem to be upset by all the fuss.

But...as she watched the taua running to get away from her...Thenio thought she looked a little sad....