The Woodward Academy, Year 3

Chapter 6: November

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"At least you have steady plans for your weekends," Olissa said to David, grinning at him.

"Yeah, gee, thanks." Prof. Quayde had once again assigned him Saturday detention. He couldn't prove David had pulled the prank on him on Halloween, but Quayde had long ago shown that proof of actual wrongdoing was not necessary where David was concerned.

"Say, you want to go down and check on Cupcake?" David asked Olissa.

"Sure. Have you been down to see her recently?"

"A couple days ago. She's getting better."

"That's good."

As the two got off the rock lift on the terrace, David said, "I kinda wanted to talk to you about Halloween."

"Oh?"

"I'm a bit concerned about your costume choice."

"What was wrong with it?"

David grimaced. "Nothing, as such... but you hid yourself so drastically. Also, I saw you at the games that night with a couple of guys."

"And?"

David shrugged. "Did they even know who you were?"

"No. And when I see Keith on Saturday, he'll see that same slender girl again."

"So you're going to date him... based on a continuing lie."

"Well, I don't think he's going to want to date a chocolate cow."

David turned and stood in front of Olissa, forcing her to stop.

"Dammit, Olissa, I don't like it when you put yourself down like that. You're not a cow. You are slightly heavy. There's nothing wrong with you the way you are, and pretending to be something else for this guy can only lead to disaster."

"This isn't your business, David," Olissa said angrily. "I'm your sex slave, not your full slave. You don't own me."

David felt as if he'd been slapped. He actually flinched physically.

"I'm not claiming to own you. I just don't want to see you get hurt. Any guy worth your time will think you're as beautiful right now as you were on Halloween night."

"Don't give me that crap, David! Nobody wants to date a fat girl! If Keith wants Cleopatra, then that's what he'll get! I don't need you to tell me how to live my life!"

Olissa stormed off toward the lunch room, and David put his hand to his head.

Well, that went well, didn't it? he thought to himself. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his box of pixie sticks. He stuck one in his mouth, and the first taste of it soothed his nerves a bit. He started toward the lunch room, but decided that was not the right course of action. Instead, he turned and made his way to the Animal Annex.

When he got there, he found Cupcake up and moving around her pen. Seeing him, she came right over and nuzzled his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her neck and patted her.

"Hey, girl," he said to the peg. "How are you feeling today?"

"Much better, thanks to you and your poultice," Madame Abernathy said. "The infection is gone now. She's in the recovery stage."

"That's good. I'm glad I was able to help." He continued to stroke the peg's neck.

"She seems to be quite grateful for your help, too. As am I. Without that concoction of yours, I'm pretty sure she would have died."

"Well, we can't have that happening, now can we?" David replied with a grin. After communing with the peg for another minute or so, he said, "Well, I just wanted to make sure she was getting better still. If there's anything else I can do for her... or you... just let me know."

Madame Abernathy smiled. "I sure will, David, and thanks again."

"No problem. Have a good one."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"What, exactly, did you do to Olissa?" Shell asked David at breakfast the next morning. "When I asked her if she was coming to eat with us, she nearly snarled at me."

David shook his head sadly. "Stuck my nose in where it wasn't wanted, apparently. She's pissed at me for trying to give her advice. Seems to be a common theme for me this year."

Shell put her hand on his arm supportively. "I know what you talked to her about. If it makes you feel any better, you're right. Maybe she'll see that."

"The problem is that, in order for her to see that I was right means she gets hurt again. That's what I was trying to avoid."

Shell shook her head. "You care so much for her... why don't you date her?"

"Because she doesn't want me to," David said. "Everyone asks me that eventually, and that's the reason. She simply doesn't want that kind of relationship with me. So she's my best friend instead... except when I'm pissing her off by trying to be her best friend, I guess..."

Shell squeezed his arm, and then let go. "I'm sure she'll get over it."

"I hope."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David sat down at his usual table with Jim. Simon and Heath were already there. Olissa, he noted, was sitting across the room, morphed into her "Cleopatra" form, and sitting with some guy. David shook his head.

"What's wrong?" Simon asked.

"Nothing. You ready for your TEM test tomorrow?"

"Thanks for the reminder. I'm going to be spending my entire day studying."

"Speaking of studying, how'd your detention go yesterday?" Jim asked.

"Same shit, different Saturday," David replied. "I'm about three-quarters the way through the book now. I figure I'll probably finish it in the next two detentions."

"That's just ridiculous. On the other hand, you've got a head start on next semester."

"Yeah. I just hope I can get into Prof. Blackstone's class."

"Don't count on it," Simon said. "Too many people know about Quayde."

"Yeah, I know."

Just then, someone came up to their table. David turned to see Gwen standing there, hesitant.

"Hey, Gwen," he said politely.

"Hi, David. Can I sit here?"

"Sure." As she sat down next to David, he asked, "Won't your other half yell at you for being within earshot of me?"

Gwen frowned. "She and I had a fight. We're not speaking to each other for a few days."

David raised his eyebrows. "That's got to make living together fun," he said sarcastically.

"Yeah."

"What was the fight about?" Simon asked. David blessed him silently; he'd wanted to know, but wasn't willing to ask.

"You guys," she replied. "I was tired of being cut off from my friends because Devyn doesn't like David. I told her it was unfair of her to do that to me. She told me that I had to make a choice; either sit with her or sit with you. I don't like ultimatums."

"Did you two break up?" David asked cautiously.

"No... not as such. We just agreed not to talk for a while."

David nodded. "I hope it works out for you."

"Thanks, David."

"And for me. I've lost enough friends already this semester."

"Oh?"

"Devyn, you, Giendia, now Olissa... seems like everyone's pissed at me for something."

"I was never mad at you, David..." she objected.

"I know, I know. But I lost you as a friend... at least for a while."

"What happened between you and Olissa? I didn't think anything could break you two apart..."

"I dared to give advice," he replied.

Shell showed up at the table just then. "It was good advice, David. And she should have listened. That guy's a complete jerk."

David shrugged. "I get that impression, even from here."

"Where is he?" David just pointed. "Who is that he's... is that Olissa?" she gasped in a whisper. David just nodded. "Oh, this isn't going to end well."

"I know," David said tightly. "Can we change the subject, please?"

Gwen turned back, seeing the look on his face, and nodded. "So how are your classes going?"

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David was walking with the group to Charms and Hexes class when he felt his mirror buzzing. He pulled it out, to find Garibaldi's face staring at him.

"Hello, Mr. Garibaldi. Hang on a second." To the group he was with, he said, "You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up in a minute."

David turned and found an out-of-the-way spot to talk. "Okay, Mr. Garibaldi, what's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know. I took Zyla to the healer. She couldn't find anything wrong with her, or the baby. So, I went to a professional diviner. She confirms your vision, that something does go wrong. She couldn't figure out what it was, either. Have you had any further information?"

David frowned. "No. But I'll be keeping an eye on it. If anything new comes up, I'll be sure to let you know. What did you tell Zyla?"

"I just told her what you told me. She's concerned, as am I, but she appreciates you looking out for us."

David frowned. He hadn't wanted to worry Zyla. "You two are my friends. Friends are becoming an endangered species for me, so I've got to help out the ones I've still got."

"Oh? What's going on in your life?"

"I'd love to tell you, but I really need to get to class, or I'm going to be late. I'll tell you about it later."

"Okay. Please, keep me advised of any new visions where Zyla's concerned."

"Will do."

"Thanks."

David put away his mirror and started walking back toward class. He pulled out his box of pixie sticks and slid one into his mouth, sucking on it as he walked.

Shit.

-----

David arrived a couple minutes late to class. He apologized to Prof. Phillips, who merely nodded and waved him to his seat.

"What's up?" Jim asked. David just shook his head negatively, and tried to focus on the professor's lecture.

Later in the class, as they were doing a written assignment, Prof. Phillips dropped by David's seat.

"Just to satisfy my curiosity, David, how come you were late this morning? That's hardly like you."

"Yes, sir. I had someone contact me on my mirror, and I had to talk with them."

"A schoolmate?"

"No, sir. A Rimohr."

Prof. Phillips eyes grew slightly wide at that. "Well, yes. It's best to take their calls."

David grinned. "Yes, sir."

"Very well. Just don't make a habit out of it, okay?"

"I won't."

"Why were the Rimohrs calling you?" Jim muttered.

"It's a personal issue," David said.

Jim nodded, and went back to his assignment.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David arrived in Potions class at his usual time, but Prof. Stott was not present. On the work table, he found a note addressed to him, which stated that she was sick, and would be unable to attend class. She asked David to take over, and to talk to the students about base potions, a subject he knew rather well.

David sighed, and slipped a pixie stick in his mouth. Then he pulled out his mirror, and dialed up the infirmary.

"Hello, David. What can I do for you today?" she asked.

"Hi, Annie. Is Sam there?"

"No. She was here earlier, but I sent her home to rest."

"Can you tell me what's the matter with her?"

"She's just got the flu. The ordinary kind. She'll be fine, but there's no reason for her to spread it to everyone else."

David nodded. "Okay. I just wanted to make sure she was okay. I've apparently got a class to teach, so I'll talk to you later."

David put away his mirror, and then turned to the class.

"Okay, guys, let's get settled. Prof. Stott is out with the flu today, and she's asked me to sub for her. We're going to deviate from the work you've been doing for a few minutes, to talk about a new subject.

"The potions you've been making in here are standard magical potions. Once you finish them, and bottle them, they are ready for use. All you need to do when you need one is open the bottle and pour it out.

"There is, however, a drawback to this. General potions do only one thing. If you need to do ten things, then you need to have ten potions with you. As you can imagine, if you're really into potions, this could quickly become a problem, especially if you like to be prepared.

"On the other hand, there is another type of potion that can help here. It's called a base potion. Base potions aren't finished when you put them in the bottle. They require either a final ingredient, or a final ingredient and a spell, in order to be a useful potion. Now, this might seem to be even more trouble than a regular potion, but here's the thing: a base potion can do different things, depending on what you add to it.

"Let me give you an example," David said. He pulled out his necklace, which had ten vials on it, along with the crystal Jailla had given him. He plucked one of the vials off.

"This is Dendal's Base. By itself, what's in this vial is... well, useless. It's just water with gunk in it. This only becomes useful when you add something to it. For instance, if you add thyme to it, it becomes a sustaining potion. If you add Shepherd's Grass to it, it becomes a curative potion. If you add dragonlace to it, it becomes a sneezing potion." The class laughed at that, and David smiled. "Not all uses of potions are all that useful."

David put away the vial, and tucked his necklace back into his shirt. "The point is that most good base potions are capable of at least a dozen tasks, depending on what you add to them. As you saw, I carry ten base potions with me everywhere I go. Doing so has already saved one person's life. The big trick, of course, is remembering what you can do with each base potion.

"Now, let me explain the reasons that Prof. Stott isn't having you make base potions in class..." David continued with his talk, covering a topic he knew quite a lot about. When he was finished, they still had lots of class time left, and so David told them to work on the next potion on their list, and he walked around, helping out where he could.

When he was within earshot of her, Devyn asked snidely, "Feel like a big man up there, talking down to all of us?"

David turned to her, and kept his voice low, but his tone was clearly hostile. "If you felt I was talking down to you, then once again, you are choosing to hear what you want to hear, rather than what is actually being said. It is impossible to actually teach without acting like you know more than your student. If you didn't, why would you be the one teaching?"

"I will have Gwen back soon enough," Devyn said, revealing what was really bugging her.

"If that's what she wants, I bet you will. Why does it have to be either/or?"

Devyn glared at him. "You betrayed me. You are my enemy."

"In what way did I betray you? By helping a friend? Or by not caving in to your every demand?"

"You were not helping 'a friend'. You were helping another woman!" Devyn hissed.

"Who... happens to be my friend. You might notice that she's currently dating someone else... And so am I. Your fear was completely unfounded, although I guess I should thank you."

"For what?"

"Well, the fact that you broke up with me meant that I was able to spend the time helping Olissa get ready for her licensure exam."

"Not ready enough. She did not even get distinction," Devyn sneered.

"Only a very, very small person," David said, staring Devyn down, "would take such joy in another person's misfortune. Olissa's never done anything to you except be friendly and polite."

"And steal my boyfriend. While she was asleep!"

David sighed heavily. "As usual, your selective hearing is in full force. I hope you wake up one day, Devyn, because if you don't, you're going to lose everyone around you. As for me, I'm not going to waste any more of my life trying to figure out why you're such a bitch. You don't deserve that level of control over me."

David turned and walked away. Those around her, who had heard the conversation, stared at Devyn, to see what she would do.

Devyn grew red in the face, embarrassed, and then her humiliation turned to anger. She stared daggers at David, but he intentionally ignored her as he helped the other students with their work.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David was doing his homework when Jim came into the room. David glanced up briefly to say hi, but his look lingered into one of curiosity. Jim looked as though he was about to have a stroke.

"What's up with you?" David asked.

"I have a date tomorrow night," Jim said, in an eerily calm voice.

Uh-oh, not this again...

"You don't seem too excited about it," David said.

"I don't think it's sunk in yet," Jim confessed.

"You ask her out, or she ask you?"

"She asked me. Just after dinner."

"Dinner was an hour and a half ago."

"I know. I was walking around campus."

Good lord...

"So, who are you going out with?"

Jim came over and sat on David's bed. "Devyn."

David's eyes narrowed slightly. "You mean Gwen's Devyn, right?"

"Yeah."

"Does Gwen know?"

Jim shrugged.

"You sure you want to do this?"

Jim finally snapped out of it, at least a little ways. "David, it's not like I've got the choices you do! Girls aren't fawning over me. I've got to take the opportunities I'm given!"

David held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, I was just asking. You know what kind of mess is going on between Devyn and the rest of us."

"Yeah, I know, but... dammit..."

David nodded. "Just... be careful."

"What do you mean, be careful?"

"I worry that Devyn may be trying to use you to get at me."

Jim's look darkened. "Because she couldn't possibly just be interested in me for me, right?"

David actually got angry. "Goddammit, I did not say that! Why the fuck can't anybody around here just actually listen to the words coming out of my mouth? My comment was about her, not about you! I don't trust her to be honest. With me, with you, or with Gwen. Maybe she is interested in you. If so, more power to you and good luck. Just watch your goddamned back!"

Jim rocked back on the bed. He'd never seen David so agitated before. "Shit, man, sorry. It's just..."

"Drop it. I'm going to go talk to Gwen."

David put on his coat and headed out the door. He pulled out his mirror and dialed up Gwen, asking her to meet him in the greenhouse on top of the building. As he walked up the stairs, he slipped a pixie stick in his mouth and sucked on it, trying to calm himself down after his outburst with Jim.

Gwen showed up a few minutes after David arrived. He was standing next to his eternium plant, staring off into the night.

"Hey. Why didn't you just come to my room if you wanted to talk?"

"Because Devyn is there."

"So?"

"Well, it's Devyn I wanted to talk to you about, so..."

"Oh. What is it now?"

"Are you two speaking to each other again yet?"

"Not more than a word here and there."

David nodded, and looked off into the distance again.

"So... what's going on?"

"Well, since you two are still, at least technically, dating, I thought you ought to know, she asked Jim out on a date."

"Jim... our Jim?"

"That's the one."

"But... she doesn't even like him that much."

"That seems to be a common theme for her."

"Huh?"

"She doesn't like Olissa, either. Never has. Seems the only one of my friends she does like, is you."

"So why is she going out with him?" Gwen asked, almost to herself.

"To get back at me... to get back at you... probably both of the above."

Gwen deflated, and sank back against the planting table. "Why does this have to be so damned complicated?"

"Why should I be the one to have all the fun in this area?" David said with a lopsided grin. Gwen giggled, which was what he was trying to achieve.

"Yeah, I hear you. Any tips on how to deal with it?"

"That all depends on how much you care about the outcome."

"What do you mean?"

"You want to keep Devyn as a girlfriend?"

"Yes. At least, I think so."

"Then no, I don't have any advice for you. I never have figured out how Devyn thinks. It seems like she can't handle people disappointing her on a personal level. If you don't do exactly what she expects you to, it makes her angry. I don't know how you maintain your own identity, and make a person like that happy."

Gwen nodded. "So, wait... you did have advice if I didn't want her as a girlfriend anymore?"

"In that case, you didn't need advice. Just dump her. If you didn't care which way it went so much, I would have said confront her about it. But I think that might lead to a very ugly scene and a permanent breakup between you two, so I wouldn't recommend it if you want her back at some point."

Gwen nodded again. "Yeah, I already know how that would turn out. Not good."

"I just thought you ought to know what was going on," David said.

"Thanks. By the way, I got a very odd message from my sister, Ellie, yesterday. She asked me to say hi to you."

"That's odd?"

"She's never asked me to say hi to you before..." Gwen said.

David smiled. "Fair enough. Speaking of sisters, have you talked to Anne lately?"

"Not civilly. Every time I try to check on her, she snarls at me and tells me to mind my own damned business."

David shook his head. "I don't know what her problem is, either. She had a perfect opportunity to start over here. You tell me she's pretty smart, she's also fairly attractive... she could easily have been a popular person here. Instead, she has turned into everyone's whipping boy. And it's all because of her attitude."

"I don't know. I've tried to talk to her about it, but I get that same mind-your-own-business routine."

David nodded.

"Why, exactly, are you so interested in Anne?"

"I made a promise to watch out for her."

"To whom?"

"Mind your own business," David said with a huge grin. Gwen chuckled at that.

"Okay, fine. Anyway, I'm going back to my room. I've got lots of homework to do. By the way, any chance of you helping me with Conjuring work at some point?"

"So long as it's not tomorrow," David said. "I have detention."

"Again?"

"He gives me detention pretty much every week, Gwen. I think the couple of weeks he's forgotten were just that: he forgot."

Gwen sighed. "Okay. Sunday, then?"

"Sunday evening's good. You'll have to come to my room, though."

"Obviously. I'll meet you at dinner, and we can go from there."

David nodded, and then the two headed out, both of them returning to their rooms to do their homework.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Hey, David... uh... look, from now on, I'll be sitting with Devyn at meals. Nothing against you, dude, but... well, I'm dating her now..." Jim said hesitantly.

David snorted. "I kinda figured you'd be sitting with her, Jim. I do have one request, and I'm only ever going to mention it this once."

"What's that?"

"Don't bring her back here to do stuff. Go to her room. My life's stressful enough without having someone who hates me in my space regularly."

Jim nodded. "That's cool. I'm not sure how soon we might be doing... uh... 'stuff', though."

David looked over at him. "You guys didn't fool around on your date last night?"

"No, I was too afraid to try anything. I kissed her good night, that was it."

David snorted. "Well, good luck."

"Hey... uh... since you brought it up, sort of... is she... any good?"

"What, in bed?"

"Yeah."

David considered how to answer that question. He did not discuss intimate details with people. Finally, he said, "I don't think you'll be disappointed when the time comes."

Jim grinned. "Great! Anyway, uh... I'm heading out for lunch."

David looked at the clock. "Yeah, it is that time, isn't it?"

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Hey, David, can I talk to you?" Flo asked, catching him outside of class.

"Sure. What's on your mind?"

"Well... maybe it's none of my business, but I'm a bit worried about Olissa."

"What's the problem?" David asked, knowing what he thought the problem was, but not sure that Flo was on the same wavelength.

"I've seen her out a lot lately... um... faking it? She's morphed herself into a different person."

David nodded. "I know. I tried to talk to her about it, and was told to shut up and mind my own business."

Flo frowned. "Well, I'm glad I didn't say anything, then. If she's going to get mad at you for saying something, I can only imagine what she'd have done to me!"

David smiled. "Hopefully she'll figure it out."

"Yeah. Well, okay, I just thought I should say something... Toodles!"

David shook his head as Flo walked away.

So the only one who doesn't think Olissa's acting like a fool, is Olissa. Great.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"What, no detention this week?" Simon asked David.

"Nope. There was this other guy in class on Thursday who screwed up his conjuring really bad. Pissed Quayde off so much he spent the entire time berating that guy, and completely forgot to give me detention. Mind you, the other guy didn't get detention for screwing up, like I usually do..."

"That guy's such an asshole. Why don't they get rid of him?" Heath wondered.

"Not that easy to do, according to the dean. Plus, there are apparently not all that many conjuring masters around to teach us."

The three of them chatted about things as they ate their lunches, and about halfway through, Shell showed up.

"Hey, guys. Hey, David. Didn't expect to see you here today."

David grinned. "One of my rare reprieves."

When Simon and Heath had finished their meal, they excused themselves, leaving Shell and David alone.

"I have a question," David said. When Shell looked at him expectantly, he asked, "Why is it you're still sitting with us, when your roommate is sitting with her boyfriend?"

Shell swallowed her food before responding. "Because, unlike her, you guys aren't doing something utterly stupid."

"Did you tell her that?" David wondered aloud.

"Yes. And her response was less than friendly."

"Oh? What did she say?"

"She accused me of being a hypocrite, because I'm a werephin, 'hiding', she says, as a human. I reminded her that my human form is still part of me, that, while I'm not exactly announcing my were self, I did not concoct my human form, as she has done."

"I imagine that went over like a lead balloon," David said.

Shell frowned, taking a moment to interpret his expression, then nodded. "She got very angry, told me to mind my own business, and the conversation ended at that point."

"Thanks for trying. It's got to be uncomfortable living with a roommate who's mad at you. This seems to be the year for people to be mad at each other. Must be something in the water."

Shell shrugged. After eating quietly for a little while longer, she said, "I wasn't expecting to see you today. I figured you'd have detention. But, since you don't, I wonder if you could do me a favor."

"Okay, what?"

"Well, you see, I play the aquaflute. It's a mer-instrument. As a member of the orchestra, Prof. Johnston only lets me play a normal flute. You can't hear the aquaflute well without being in the water with it, you see. I've always wanted to play for a human, but... well, you know, drowning and such. When I found out that you don't breathe, I thought, well, would you come and listen to me play in the moat?"

"Sure! I don't have anything to do today except study, anyway. You want to do it right after lunch, or you want to wait a little bit, so lunch can settle?"

"Let's wait. I'll mirror you, and we can meet down at the rock lift landing. Don't forget to wear a swimsuit, though!"

David grinned. "Yeah. I'd look pretty silly in my uniform, wouldn't I?"

-----

David met Shell at the rock lift landing a couple hours later. She was wearing a bikini top and a skirt, carrying a strange-looking instrument which he assumed was her aquaflute. It had some resemblance to a recorder in basic shape, but looked much more complex.

"Hey. What in the world is that?" Shell asked, pointing to David's left forearm. It was encased in a dark blue, tight-fitting fabric. He turned his wrist over to show that, on the back side of it was sewn a sheath for holding his wand, which stuck out just enough for it to be grabbed easily.

"I have no pockets big enough to carry my wand now. After I visited the Nagyara Festival without my wand, which felt utterly unnatural, I bought this, so I'd always be able to have my wand, even if I wasn't wearing my coat."

"Oh. That's a good idea. How come the wand doesn't fall out?"

"It's held in magically. Only the wand's owner can remove it. All I have to do is grab and pull."

"Ingenious," Shell said.

"What about you?" David asked. "Swimming in a skirt?"

Shell blushed. "The skirt is just for right now. I... can't be human in the water. As soon as I'm submerged, I'll be forced into my mermaid form. That would destroy any clothing that got in the way, so... the skirt will allow me to change without it getting ripped to shreds."

David nodded in understanding.

"My one problem is, once I take them off... I don't really want to leave them here on the landing. Someone might knock them off into the water, or play a prank with them, or something."

"We could put them over on the inner shore of the moat. I don't think I've ever seen anyone over there..."

"How would we get them there?" she asked.

"Conjuring, of course," David said with a grin.

Shell giggled. "Okay, that would make me feel better." They let the next rock lift go by, and then Shell took off her shoes, sat on the edge of the landing, and slipped down into the water, which was only a couple feet down. Her head dropped below the water for several seconds, and then she reappeared. She handed her skirt up to David, and he could see that her fingers had elongated slightly, and were now webbed.

David took the skirt, and then Shell swam out of the way of the next floating rock. David, meanwhile, pulled out his wand, focused, and then conjured her clothing over to the moat's inner rim. After the floating rock left, David jumped into the water. It was intensely cold, and by the time he surfaced, he was feeling like an icicle.

"Shit, that's cold," he said. Shell giggled. David wrapped his arms around himself and said, "Corpus bekagina!" Quickly, a warm feeling washed over David, and he could no longer feel the cold environs of the moat.

"Does that work well?" Shell asked.

"Better than I imagined," he confirmed. Shell tried it on herself.

"Hey, this is nice! The cold doesn't bother me that much, being a mermaid and all, but warm is always better than cold."

David chuckled, and then he said, "So, where do you want to go to play?"

"Right here is fine," she said. "We'll just swim toward the inner shore, and then go to the bottom, where we can sit down."

David nodded, and started swimming in that direction. Shell kept up with him easily, as she was capable of swimming so much faster than him. Finally, she dove, and David followed her down. The bottom was quite a ways below the surface in this spot, but it didn't matter. David had no need to breathe, and Shell could breathe under water, so they were both fine.

Shell picked a spot, and pointed. David nodded. As Shell settled onto a rock, David picked a spot in the sand, facing her, and waited.

After a moment of preparing herself, Shell put the flute to her lips, and began to play. The sounds that the flute produced reminded David of whale song, only with an obvious melody. The instrument provided its own harmony for every note, and the resulting song was beautiful. After just a minute of listening to her, David turned in the sand, sitting close to her and reclining, so that he was looking up at the surface, which was far enough away that the light was quite diffuse.

It didn't take long for David to realize they were not alone. He looked to see lots of fish had come to the immediate area to listen to Shell's playing as well. Even the zeppelin fish had dived into the moat to share in the performance. The starfish flashed patterns that followed the sound of the music, and the other fish swam lazily, just feeling the melody.

David noticed, in the distance, that even the abaia had come to listen to the performance. David grinned, and then just laid back to enjoy.

Shell played nonstop for over twenty minutes, her music filling the moat. When she finally stopped playing, and looked over at David, he smiled.

"How did you like it?" she asked him. Her voice was distorted, but recognizable. David, on the other hand, was a mere human, and could not talk under water. He motioned to his throat, and then pointed up at the surface, indicating they needed to go up if she wanted to talk. She nodded, and then the two left the bottom, heading for the inner shore of the moat, which wasn't too far away.

Shell emerged first, and pushed herself up onto the shore. David rose a little more sedately, and climbed out of the water to sit beside her several seconds later.

"That was incredible," he said. "It's beautiful music, and you play it very well."

"Thank you! I love playing this instrument. Did you see the fish?"

David nodded. "And the abaia, even!"

"That always happens. It's one of the reasons I like the aquaflute. I get to see all the sea creatures." Shell set her flute down carefully, and then stretched out, enjoying her spell-induced warmth in the feeble November sun. "How long does this spell last, anyway?"

"About an hour," David said, looking over her body. "Hey... can I touch your... uh, what are they called... your tail fins?"

Shell smiled. "They're called flukes, and yes, you can."

David ran his hand over them, a bit surprised at the rigidity of them. Finally, he moved up and reclined on the ground behind her. He noted that she had a small dorsal ridge protruding from her spine, which explained why she wasn't lying on her back. She did roll over to face him, however.

"Thank you for coming to listen to me play. I hate playing just for myself. It feels... kind of selfish."

David smiled. "I'm glad I did."

Shell bit her lip, then said, "There's one more thing I've always wanted to do that maybe you can help me out with," she said hopefully.

"Oh?" David asked.

"I've always wanted to have sex with a human, underwater," she told him, then blushed. "But the only way most humans can stay underwater is with all this... stuff on. You, on the other hand..."

David chuckled, and then he leaned down and kissed Shell, who kissed him back strongly.

[Author's Note: If interspecies sex is offensive or uncomfortable to you, please click here to go to the end of the scene.]

The two continued to kiss, their tongues soon getting into the act, as David slipped his arm around Shell, pulling her against him. He allowed his hand to slide across her smooth skin, up to the ties on her bikini top. He undid the bottom one, then moved up and undid the one behind her neck. He didn't pull it off just yet, as he was enjoying their kiss.

Finally, they pulled apart, and Shell's top fell loose. David gently pulled it free, exposing her chest to him. He tossed the top behind himself, and gazed down at her ample bosom. His hand slid across the top of her breast, and then down, cupping it from the side.

Shell reached down, slipping her hand beneath the waistband of David's swim trunks. Her long fingers deftly stroked his shaft, bringing him quickly to hardness.

"Mm," Shell moaned softly. "We need to get your clothes off, and get you in the water."

David smiled, and then kicked off his shoes. He moved above Shell, and then rolled back into the water. Shell hadn't moved yet before his swimsuit went sailing over her head, splatting on the ground. She grinned mischievously, and then used her tail to push off, arcing through the air, arms forward as she plunged into the water.

David submerged, allowing himself to sink as Shell swam downward. She watched as he descended, finally coming to rest on the sandy bottom of the moat. Immediately, she moved to him, kissing him passionately, her fingers now encircling his shaft completely. After only a few seconds, she broke their kiss and moved downward, her lips seeking and finding the head of his dick. She kissed and licked his helmet, and then ran her tongue along the length of his prick, before returning to the tip.

Slowly, Shell opened her lips and admitted his cock, letting her head drop down to take as much of him in as she could. David moaned deep in his throat as her mouth moved up and down on him, her tongue slipping and sliding from side to side as she did. Her hand softly stroked his balls, trying to coax the cum from them.

David ran his hand through Shell's hair while she sucked him, and then he caressed her back, even letting his fingers stroke the length of her dorsal ridge. He was trying to distract himself, as he was enjoying Shell's blowjob, and wasn't ready for her to stop yet.

Shell had different plans, however. She started to bob more quickly on his dick, her long fingers tickling his balls. She began to suck on him, pushing him closer and closer to the edge.

After only a few moments of this, he plunged over the edge. He gurgled out a cry of pleasure as his seed pumped from his cock. Shell continued to suck until he was spent, and then she swallowed, releasing him slowly from her lips.

She looked up to see the smile on David's face, and she grinned. Her hand moved from his balls, to very gently caress his shrinking dick.

"How long before you'll be able to continue?" she asked.

David held up a finger, and then closed his eyes. He had learned, over the years, that he didn't need to cross his arms to do this. He faded to his ghost form, and then immediately back to his solid self. Shell had been startled, but hadn't removed her hand from his prick.

"Why did you do that?" she asked curiously. David just pointed downward. Shell then realized that he was becoming quite hard again. "Oh," she said, and giggled.

David had no idea how to communicate to her. Finally, he remembered a spell that Gwen had taught him. He wasn't sure he could do the spell silently, but decided to give it a try. He thought very hard to himself, "Sigil signorum azulai." He pointed into empty water, and started to move his finger. He wrote out, "Would you like me to go down on you?"

Shell blushed, and shook her head. "Werephins don't find that particularly enjoyable. We like," she said, moving right up tight against him and murmuring in his ear, "having nice hard cocks inside us."

David's cock jerked in her hand when she said that, and she grinned to herself. David then slipped his hands around to her lower back, rolling so that she was beneath him. Then, when he could get his feet under him, he pushed off, taking her with him as they floated away from the bottom.

Shell murmured as David pulled her tightly against himself. He rocked his hips, which rubbed his cock up and down against her. Shell, knowing the problem, reached down and took hold of his dick, gently maneuvering it so that the head of it was pressing against her slit.

"Push upward now," she said, while pressing his cock inward against her. David thrust upward, and his prick slid deep into Shell's pussy. Shell cried out in pleasure at being filled up with his rod.

David started to rock his hips, but could feel himself slipping away from Shell. He used his arms to pull himself back to her, and then decided to wrap his feet around her tail, holding himself against her. This restricted her ability to swim much, but she didn't seem to object. She kissed him briefly, and then moved her mouth to his ear again.

"C'mon, fuck me," she encouraged. She then pressed her lips against his, her tongue slithering into his mouth.

Having his instructions, David started to rock his hips as their tongues danced. Shell's pussy squeezed his dick wonderfully as they moved. Her body undulated as they coupled, causing the angle of his cock to change, sending different wonderful sensations throughout her body with each thrust. She used her hands to maneuver them, keeping them in the middle of the water.

David reached up to cup Shell's tits, squeezing them softly, and finally assaulting her nipples, tugging on them and twisting them with his thumb and forefinger. Shell cried out in ecstasy, the tingles shooting right through her.

The two twisted and turned in the water as they coupled, Shell's passion rising higher and higher. Finally, her passion broke over her, and she screamed out, scaring away a small school of nearby fish. Her body writhed against him, and her pussy clamped down on his dick, keeping him from moving.

Slowly, Shell's orgasm slipped away, and she relaxed. He moved slightly within her, but she immediately hugged him tightly.

"Don't do that!" she said earnestly. "I'm much too sensitive. Please slip out of me slowly."

David did so, moving his hips down and back until he felt his dick come free of her body. He then slid against her, holding her tightly. He motioned upward, and the two worked together to return to the surface.

Once their heads broke water again, Shell smiled at David. "Thanks," she told him.

"Was it as good as you imagined?" he asked.

"I... couldn't really imagine what it was going to be like. But it was damned good!" she assured him.

David grinned. "You want to go get dressed now, or..."

"Are we done?" she asked with an impish grin.

"I don't know," David replied with a smile. "Are we? You're the one who told me to stop..."

Shell smiled. "I only needed a breather..." With that, she did the mermaid version of tackling him, dragging him down beneath the waves for another round.

-----

Shell and David had spent a couple hours in the water before they had finally had enough, and returned to the moat's inner shore. They redressed, and then they started walking along the shore, chatting.

"You know, I didn't really want to get involved with anyone here. I mean, I'm going to be gone next month, and then I'll be off to another school. It seems kind of cruel to both of us," she said.

David shrugged. "What I've learned about that kind of thing is to take what you can get, while you can get it. Relationships usually don't last, until you find the 'right one'. But if you don't form relationships, then you'll never meet the right one, the wrong one, or any one. And besides, there's no reason that we can't remain friends after you leave, even if we're not intimate anymore."

Shell pondered for a second, then put her arm in his. "I like the way you think," she said with a smile.

The two continued to walk until they reached the waterfall that led from the terrace down into the Monster Moat. They stood for a long time, Shell with her head on David's shoulder, just watching the water.

After a while, David cocked his head. "Do you hear an echo?" he asked loudly.

"How can you hear anything over all this noise?" she asked him with a grin.

"I could swear that the waterfall sounds funny," he said. "Come on."

David and Shell slowly moved toward the base of the falls. As they got close enough, they could just make out a darkness behind the water.

"Maybe it's just a shadow," Shell said.

David shook his head. "I don't think so." He pulled out his wand, and Shell let his arm go so that he could cast his spell. "Lux ventus," David said, and a dim light appeared at the tip of his wand. It immediately sailed off toward the waterfalls. David used his wand tip to direct it, and it flew around, and then behind, the falls. He aimed it at the shadow, and wasn't really surprised to find that the light illuminated the entrance to a tunnel, or cave.

David evaporated his light, and looked at Shell. "Want to go exploring?"

"How would we get there?" she asked.

"I think we're going to have to swim for it. Can you make that?"

"Can you?" Shell asked challengingly.

"It can't very well kill me, now can it?" David replied with a laugh. The two of them dove into the water. Shell was a bit hampered by her skirt, but they both swam against the current of the waterfalls. They were able to edge around the worst of it, and they finally managed to pull themselves up out of the water onto the ledge that led back into the cave.

David pulled out his wand and performed lux, giving them enough light to see by as they walked. The cave was deep and straight, leading David to believe it was more of a tunnel. Finally, the cave ended. What they saw was a deep shaft, with a floating rock in the middle of it.

"Now what do you suppose this is?" Shell asked curiously.

"Want to find out?" David asked.

"Okay... but... I don't want to get caught on that rock alone. And I don't think I could handle watching you plunge down out of sight by yourself. So... we jump on together."

David nodded, and then took her hand. "One, two, three, jump!" he said. They both leapt onto the rock, which did nothing at all for several seconds.

"Hmm. Well, guess we didn't need to worry about hurrying," David said.

"No. I wonder if it's going to go anywhere at all."

Just as Shell finished her sentence, a protective bubble formed around the rock, and it began to plummet downward. They both cried out in surprise, and Shell grabbed for David's hand, squeezing tightly. David tried to figure out how far they were going, but didn't have enough points of reference.

After a while, the rock slowed, and then finally came to a stop at the bottom of the shaft, settling into a depression that was obviously made for it, as they could now simply step off the rock onto solid ground, without a gap.

The two looked around, with David's wand lighting the area. Shell did not have her wand with her, not having expected to need it. In the dim light, they saw that there was a passage leading out of the chamber they found themselves in. It didn't lead in the same direction as the tunnel above, but beyond that, David wasn't sure where it went.

"You want to go there, or you want to go back up?" David asked Shell.

"We've come this far. If I don't find out where this goes, my curiosity won't let me sleep tonight."

David chuckled, and then he gently took her hand again. She gladly let him lead her as they walked into this new tunnel. After only a short way, the tunnel turned, and then turned again. Finally, it reached a straight spot, with light in the distance. The light was dim, but it was daylight.

After more walking, the two finally emerged from the tunnel. They stood on a small ledge, overlooking the ocean. Looking to their left, they saw the waterfalls pouring down from the Monster Moat into the ocean below. Looking up - something that was a bit tricky to do - David saw the bulk of Mt. Woodward above them.

"Well, it's a great view and all," Shell said after a few minutes, "but there doesn't seem to be a lot of purpose to it..."

"There's got to be a reason. Lord Woodward wouldn't have put it here if there wasn't."

David looked around carefully for a clue. While he was looking, Shell said, "You sound like you know Lord Woodward pretty well."

"I'd like to think so. I spent several days interviewing him last spring."

"But he's dead," Shell objected.

"Yes, and he resides in the castle," David told her. "I'm a demighost, Shell. I talk to ghosts all the time."

"Oh. I guess it's something I'm not used to dealing with."

"No ghosts underwater?"

"There are, but merfolk who have passed don't hang around. They have their own area of the sea that they go to."

"Oh. Say... um... how did werephins come about?"

"We're just one of several things that can result when a mermaid and a human mate," she said. "That's why I live among merfolk; basically, I am one of them."

"Do they treat you differently?"

"How do you mean?"

"Well, demighosts are not well thought of among most humans."

"Oh. Actually, I'm considered something of a blessing. I can do things that other merfolk can't, so I'm considered 'special.' Unfortunately, that sometimes means doing things that take me away from home for long periods of time."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Don't be. You're one of the things that's made this trip, at least, worth it."

David grinned sheepishly. "Thanks. Anyway, I think there's actually a path to the top here."

"You want to climb Mt. Woodward?"

"No, not that far. Just back up to the base of the mountain, the top of the cliff. Look, if you study it, there's a set of handholds you can use to climb back up."

"Let's give it a try."

"Okay, but be careful. If I fall, it's a few weeks of nastiness. If you fall, it'll kill you."

"I'll follow your lead."

David and Shell slowly made their way up to the top of the cliff, using what were obviously artificially created spots to put hands and feet. It took them twenty minutes, but they made it to the top of the cliff, and were standing in some bushes at the base of Mt. Woodward.

"Well, you were right. It looks like it's a secret way to get onto the mountain," Shell said.

"Dangerous one, though. And it's not really helpful. I mean, sure, it gets you up to the cave behind the waterfall, but then you're stuck with the Monster Moat to deal with... and you'd still have to get up to the terrace level to be of any real use. I wonder what this was for."

"Maybe you could ask Lord Woodward," Shell said.

"Yeah, maybe. I don't think he'd tell me, though."

"Why not?"

"Well, if it's supposed to be a secret passage, he might not want me to know what the real secret is."

Shell nodded.

"So... back down to the cave, or do you want to walk over to the normal school entrance?"

"Truthfully, I'm getting kind of hungry. Could we go eat somewhere?"

"The Slyther Inn it is," David said with a grin. "Come on."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Where you been?" Jim asked when David showed up in their dorm room Sunday morning.

"With Shell. We stayed down in Gorumshead last night."

"Holy crap, dude. I didn't know you two were serious like that."

"We're not. We're just enjoying each other's company while she's here. She'll be gone next semester."

"Oh. I didn't know that. Well, that kinda sucks for you."

David shrugged. "It's about how long my relationships seem to last, anyway."

"Except for Prof. Stott," Jim reminded him.

"Yes, except for Prof. Stott," David said tolerantly. "You and Devyn do anything last night?"

"Kissed some. That's about it."

"Sorry to hear that, dude."

"Yeah. I mean, you two went at it right away, didn't you?"

"Well, you have to remember, our very first get-together was a sex-date for Sex Ed class. It was different with us."

"Yeah, I guess. I just hope I get laid soon."

David chuckled. "Try not to worry about it. Anyway, I've got to study. I didn't get any studying done at all yesterday, so..."

"Yeah, I hear you. I've got an Animperium test this week that's going to be a bitch."

"Good luck."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"David. I'm glad you could come in earlier than usual," Prof. Arpilla said. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Okay, what's up?"

"Well, I really wanted to thank you for all the help you've given me and the kids over the last few months. Without you, it would have all been a nightmare."

"Glad I could help out," David said.

"My divorce will be final soon," she told him. It was clear she was hesitating about something, and David felt it was something that would be bad for him. Knowing that, he wanted her to just get it out. He just nodded for her to go on.

Prof. Arpilla sighed. "I've... met someone."

David's eyebrows went up. "Oh? Well, good for you," David said, relieved that this was not as bad as he feared. Then he frowned. "His name's not Quayde, is it?"

Prof. Arpilla nearly gagged. "No! God, no. No, he's a sculptor, down in town. His name is Ben."

"That's cool. I don't know why you looked so upset... Seems like you should be happy."

"Well, I didn't, and don't, want to hurt you. Obviously, you and I won't be... um... together, anymore..."

David shrugged. "Do I still get to call you Cat?" he asked with a grin.

Prof. Arpilla blushed. "Yeah, I don't think I could handle you calling me 'Professor' in private anymore."

"Well, I can't say I won't miss your company, but I'm glad you found somebody who you could actually share a life with."

"Thank you, David. You're so mature for your age... Oh, sorry, that must have sounded really condescending."

David waved it off.

"Would you like to meet him? He's in my office..."

"Sure."

Prof. Arpilla led David to her office, where he saw a thin man, a little taller than himself, with sandy colored hair and an open, friendly face. His hands were calloused, from working with stone and clay, and his clothes were simple, but clean and well-cared-for.

"Ben, this is David. David, this is my friend, Ben Marland."

"Hey, David," Ben said, offering his hand with a smile. "Cat's told me a lot about you."

"Oh?" he said, glancing at Cat.

"He knows... what you're thinking of," she told David, blushing slightly.

David nodded. Turning back to Ben, he said, "She's told me... nothing at all about you."

Ben laughed. "Yeah, she was worried about hurting your feelings. But don't feel too bad; we only met a couple weeks ago."

"Where'd you two get together?"

"I walked into his shop. I was looking for a gift for a friend of mine."

"Oh. Well, that's cool."

After a long moment of silence, Ben said, "Hey, I know this is awkward. Maybe we could all go to dinner sometime, me and you could get to know each other."

David smiled, but shook his head. "No, I think Cat feels self-conscious enough already with me in the room. I know when to make my exit. There's just one thing," David said, and then he turned to Prof. Arpilla. "Cat, could you excuse us for a second?"

Prof. Arpilla looked confused, but nodded. "Okay." David waited until she'd left before he turned back to Ben.

Ben frowned. "Is this the part where you tell me that you love Cat, and you're going to fight me for her?"

David chuckled. "Yeah, that's what this would look like in some kind of play or movie, isn't it?"

"Yep."

"Well, that's not what this is about. I'm not romantically interested in Cat. But she is my friend. A close friend, obviously. I hope you two will be happy together. She deserves that, after all the crap her husband has put her through. Having said that, I know - lord do I know - that relationships don't always work out. If, down the road, you two break up, that's okay. But..." David moved closer to Ben, to emphasize his point. The look in David's eyes made Ben flinch. "If you intentionally hurt or betray that woman, I will find you, and I will make you understand what it means to be tormented by a demighost. Do you understand me?"

Ben's eyes went wide. "Uh... yeah, yeah, I do."

"Not that I think you're that kind of guy. I don't know you at all. As someone said to me a few months ago, I'd just rather have it said and out in the open, than unsaid, causing tension. As much as Cat needed me a few months back, I've needed her friendship this year, too. I look after my friends, Mr. Marland."

Ben nodded in understanding. "Actually, I'm somewhat glad to know that there is someone here at the school that will watch out for her. My magic skills, while enough to get by on, aren't very good. She's told me about you, how well you do in class."

"I suck in her class," David replied. "Don't let her tell you any different."

Ben laughed. "Yeah, she would argue with you on that. But anyway, I know that you're already a better wizard than I am. And I feel better knowing that if anything were to happen to her, someone would take care of her."

"Count on that," David promised.

Ben and David shook hands one more time, and then David left, to go back to Prof. Arpilla's classroom. She passed him in the hall, but he just smiled and nodded. She hurried back into her office.

"What was that about?" she asked worriedly.

Ben just put his arms around her and said, "Guy talk."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David was just about to enter his room after returning from dinner, when Olissa approached him. He could tell that she was crying, but she kept her head turned away from him.

"David..." she started to say, but broke down into sobs. David took her into his arms, and then opened the door to his room. He was fully inside and walking down the short hallway past the bathroom before he realized that the room was occupied. Devyn and Jim were on Jim's bed, making out.

David snorted in disgust, then raised his hand and said, "Apraka sajona." Instantly, an opaque wall surrounded David's part of the room. It was a privacy field, preventing anyone from seeing or hearing what happened inside of it. It also blocked out all sights and sounds from the outside that were not a danger.

Having taken care of the unwelcome company, David turned his attention fully to Olissa.

"What's the matter?" David said. She still wouldn't look at him, and so he put his hand under her chin and gently forced her to look up at him. When she did, he saw that she had a black eye, a split lip, and a bruise on her cheek and jaw.

"Who did this?" David demanded.

Olissa could barely speak through her sobs. "Keith."

David's blood would have been boiling, if he'd had any. As it was, he felt himself fill with rage. He pushed it down aggressively, wanting to get the facts before he went and did something foolish.

"What happened?" David asked her gently. He got her sitting down on the bed, and sat beside her. He put his arm around her, holding her close.

For several minutes, she couldn't answer him. She just cried. Finally, her tears began to taper off. She was still crying, but was at least capable of speech.

"We were in the forest, up on the terrace. We'd found this strange arrangement of flowers and plants that made a perfect bed to lie on."

David nodded. He knew the spot. He even knew who'd created it. He was kind of surprised it was there now, since Sarah was long gone from the school, but it wasn't important at the moment.

"Well, we... you know... and then we were lying together afterward. I guess I must have dozed off. When I did, my morph ended. When Keith saw my real body, he got very angry. He screamed at me for lying to him. When I tried to explain it to him, he started to hit me. He kept on hitting me until I fell down, turned over in the grass and didn't move. After that, he yelled some more, then stormed off through the trees. I was afraid he was going to beat me to death!" she said, and started crying again.

David did his best not to crush Olissa in his grip. The anger he now felt was trying mightily to overwhelm his senses. He struggled to keep control of himself.

"What's Keith's room number?" David asked.

"B18", she said.

"Come on," he told her, pulling her to her feet. When she hesitated, he took her hand and pulled her along. They left the room, heading for the stairs. In just a minute, they were pounding on Keith's door.

Keith's roommate opened the door. "What the hell's the problem?"

David pushed past the guy, and marched into the room. No one else was present.

"Where's your roommate?" David asked.

"What's it to you?" the guy demanded.

David grabbed hold of the guy's throat and slammed him, hard, into the wall.

"I'm in no mood for cute. You want to be cute, I'll start breaking things. Like your arm. Where's your roommate?"

"I don't know," the guy squeaked out, barely able to breathe, much less talk. "I haven't seen him for a few hours!" The guy's eyes spoke of fear and pleading. David let him go, but didn't apologize for strangling him. He turned and walked back out into the hallway, where Olissa was still standing.

David considered for a long moment, then he said, "Come on."

Olissa followed him back to his room.

"Jailla, I need your help," David said. Jailla immediately flew to David's shoulder. After that, they walked down to Olissa's room. David knocked on the door, since Olissa wasn't with it enough to go in.

Shell came to the door quickly, sensing the urgency in the knock.

"Hey, David, what's... oh my god, what happened to you?" she asked Olissa when she saw her.

"I'll explain later," David said, trying to be polite, but clearly indicating he was in a hurry. Shell nodded, and stepped back to let them in. David did not enter the room.

"Bisperion, we have work to do."

Bispy's head came off Olissa's pillow immediately. He couldn't see Olissa, who was out in the hallway, but he had clearly noted the tone of David's voice, not to mention the use of his full name. He jumped off the bed and ran out in the hall. He was too big to fly down the room's hallway entrance anymore. Seeing Olissa, Bispy growled menacingly.

"Where is he?" Bispy asked.

"That's what we're going to find out." To Shell, he said, "Talk to you later." She nodded, and closed the door. David led Olissa downstairs, so they could catch the rock lift up to the terrace. While they waited, David spoke to Jailla.

"Can you try to find this asswipe? You know what he looks like, right?"

"Yes, I do. I will see if I can locate him. If I do, I'll let you know."

"I'm sure. Go."

Jailla flew off just as the rock lift arrived. The three of them got on the lift, riding it up in silence, Olissa still crying intermittently. David couldn't deal with that for the moment; he had a job to do.

It didn't take too long for them to find the flower bed inside the forest.

"How did you find this so quickly?" Olissa asked.

"Been here before," David said without explanation. "Bispy... I know dragons have an incredible sense of smell. Can you track?"

"Cave dragons are known for tracking down prey," he confirmed. He sniffed the air, his nostrils flaring. "This way."

David and Olissa followed behind Bispy. The path that he followed wandered quite a bit, moving back and forth across the landscape. Slowly, they began moving toward the river. Bispy started moving in more of a straight line now. They entered the trees that lined the river, weaving among them as they followed their prey.

Finally, they saw him, a hundred yards away. Bispy growled deeply, which was a sound that carried quite a distance.

Keith, hearing the noise, turned. He saw David first, but knew that he'd not made that noise. He saw Olissa behind David, which told Keith most of what he needed to know. When he saw the angry blue dragon at David's feet, it told him the rest. He bolted along the river bank, running for the bridge that crossed the river.

David and Bispy chased after him until they broke free of the trees. Olissa followed along only so she could see the end of the chase. Once clear of the forest, Bispy unfurled his wings and leapt into the air. Three good flaps of his wings, and Bispy's front feet connected soundly with Keith's back, knocking him to the ground. Bispy landed, turned, and advanced on Keith.

"Bispy..." David warned. The dragon looked up at David only briefly.

"This thing hurt my wizard," Bispy said, returning his gaze to his target.

"And he'll be dealt with. You have my promise. If you kill him, Olissa will get in trouble."

That stopped Bispy, who then looked from Keith to David. "You promise he will be punished."

"By me, if nothing else."

"I will hold you to your word."

Keith, not understanding half of the conversation, but not liking what he'd heard of what he did, tried to rise and run. David yanked out his wand and shouted, "Bara!"

Keith tripped, falling face first into the dirt. He tried to rise, but David then said, "Reteni!"

A magic tendril shot out from David's wand and wrapped itself tightly around Keith's midsection, cinching down so that Keith could not move his arms. Keith struggled against the bonds to no avail; he was captured. David flicked his wand like a fishing rod, yanking on the magic tendril and jerking Keith up to his feet.

"Walk," David said to Keith, motioning him forward. As they walked, David pulled out his mirror. It was tough juggling his mirror while holding onto his wand, but he managed. He dialed, and said, "Healer Hall."

The healer appeared in David's mirror quickly. "Hello, David. What's the problem?"

"Hi, Annie. Are you in the infirmary?"

"Yes, why?"

"I'm bringing Olissa in to be checked over. Nothing life-threatening."

"What happened to her?"

"She's been beaten."

Healer Hall frowned intensely. "I'll contact Madame Lengel."

"Thank you. I was going to do that next."

"I'll take care of it. Just get Olissa in here."

"On our way."

As David put away his mirror, Olissa said, "I don't really need to see the healer..."

"Yes, you do," David said. "And if you argue, I'll sic Bispy on you."

Olissa didn't respond to that. She knew that, in this case, Bispy would definitely be on David's side.

The four of them rode up on the rock lift, and then walked over to the infirmary. Healer Hall was waiting for them.

"Who's he?" she asked, right before she saw Olissa. "Oh, dear. Come here, Olissa. Let me look you over."

David watched for a second, then he turned to his prisoner. "Sit down," David told him.

"I don't take orders from you," Keith snapped.

"Bisperion, encourage the man," David said darkly.

Bispy jumped up on a table, rose to his full height, stretched out his wings, and bellowed angrily. The shock wave from the dragon's roar was enough to knock Keith backwards, and he stumbled, falling into the chair. At that point, David withdrew his restraining spell.

Dean Lengel came into the room at that point. "What in the world was that?"

"Oh, Christ," Keith said. "I know you're going to report me to the Rimohrs. Do I have to listen to this old bat, too?"

David got right down in Keith's face. The look of menace in David's eyes was frightening. "You misunderstand," David told Keith, his voice dripping with malice. "She's here to make sure you live long enough to meet with the Rimohrs. You see, the only thing standing between you and that dragon is my word that you will be punished. She is the only thing keeping me from beating you to death to fulfill that promise. Now shut up, before her presence isn't sufficient protection for you."

Keith paled at David's admission of wanting to kill him. Dean Lengel was a bit surprised, as well. She stepped over to see what had happened to Olissa. When she returned, her look was nearly as dark as David's... but no mere human could pull off the level of menace David was radiating at the moment.

"I'll call the Rimohrs," Dean Lengel said. David nodded. Just then, Jailla flew in through the door and landed on a convenient perch. He looked down at Keith.

"He's still alive," Jailla said, actually somewhat surprised.

David just grunted.

David stood, glaring at Keith, for the hour it took for Mr. Garibaldi to arrive. When he walked into the infirmary, Keith sighed in relief, and started to rise.

"Pichac!" David snarled. Keith was shoved back down into the chair so forcefully, it slid two feet backward. "No one said you could move, maggot."

Garibaldi arched an eyebrow, and then went over to talk to Dean Lengel, leaving David to guard the prisoner, since he was obviously quite capable of the job. Shortly after, Garibaldi went and spoke with Olissa. It was only a little while after that when Garibaldi came back to where Keith was sitting.

"On your feet," he said. Keith just looked at David, afraid to move.

"You heard the man," David snarled.

Keith rose from the chair, and then Garibaldi performed the handcuff hex. Then he came over to David.

"You could have just called us directly, you know. You didn't have to go after him."

"Mr. Garibaldi, that piece of prembat shit over there just beat up my best friend. The only reason he's even still alive is because I didn't want you to be taking me in, instead."

Garibaldi nodded. He sighed, and looked over at his prisoner, then back at David. "Um... this is hardly a good time to be asking this, but have you had any more visions about Zyla?"

David shook his head. "If I get any more information, you'll know it five minutes later."

"Zyla?" Dean Lengel asked.

"My wife," Garibaldi clarified.

"She's in some kind of danger?" she asked David.

"I'm unsure. All I know is that there is a problem with her pregnancy," David said.

"Oh, dear. I do wish her the best, Officer Garibaldi."

"Thank you, Madame Lengel. Now, I need to get this guy back to a cell. I'll be in contact with Olissa when this slug's court date comes up. She will need to be there for that, so she'll probably miss a day of class."

"Not a problem," Dean Lengel said. "Have a good evening, Officer Garibaldi."

David walked out with Garibaldi. When they were standing outside, Keith fidgeting about still being that near to David, Garibaldi turned to David and asked, "Would you really have killed him for this?"

"If I thought that there would be no consequences for it... I can't really say if I would have been able to stop before he was dead."

"That indicates a lack of control, you know..."

"That's why I didn't start," David acknowledged.

Garibaldi nodded. "Come on, you jackass," he said to Keith.

"Tell Zyla I said hi, will you?" David asked. "And let her know I'm still trying to figure out what's going on. The vision simply hasn't given me any more info."

"Will do. Thanks."

David watched Garibaldi lead the man off, then he turned and walked back into the infirmary.

"Is she okay to go?" David asked Healer Hall.

"Yep. We got the bruises all taken care of."

"Too bad you couldn't have transferred them to that asshole."

"Something tells me you'd rather have done that yourself," Healer Hall said.

"Yeah, well... the law frowns on homicide."

"So true. Well, take her to dinner. She'll feel better after she eats."

"Thanks, Annie."

David led Olissa out of the infirmary, and they headed for the cafeteria. As they were riding down on the rock lift, Olissa asked, "You wouldn't have really killed him, would you?"

"I don't know," David said.

"What do you mean, you don't know?"

"I don't know, if I had started to hit him, if I would have been able to stop."

Olissa stepped to David and embraced him. He held onto her tightly. Bispy watched quietly.

When they reached the bottom, they walked off toward the cafeteria. Halfway there, Olissa said, "Well, you were right about the whole morph thing. Even that can't keep a boyfriend for me."

David turned in front of her, forcing her to stop.

"I said this during our last conversation, and I'll say it again. Sooner or later, you're going to find someone who's going to love you for you. Not for what you look like, not for what job you have... not for the fact that you have a cool dragon that can knock people over with a shout. He's going to realize what a great person you are, and that's all that's going to matter to him. I just hope you find him soon, because I don't think I can not beat up too many more of these assholes."

Olissa smiled as she teared up. "Thanks, David."

David gave her a soft kiss, and then he turned back around, and they continued walking to dinner.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"So, just what the hell happened yesterday?" Shell asked Olissa while they were in the bathroom brushing their teeth the next morning. She hadn't wanted to ask the night before, as Olissa still seemed rather upset about it.

Olissa told her the whole story, from the time of the beating to the point where she and David went to dinner. Shell was quiet for a long time, as she finished brushing her teeth. Finally, she turned to Olissa.

"He's in love with you, you know. David, I mean."

Olissa bowed her head and blushed. "I know."

"Then, for crying out loud, why don't you just date him?"

"I can't."

"Why the hell not?"

Olissa told her.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
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