The Woodward Academy, Year 4

Chapter 10: March

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"I'll see your blue, and raise you two reds," David said, tossing in the chips to the middle of the table. Since they weren't playing for real money, they didn't bother equating the chips to amounts.

"You're bluffing," Flo said.

"Cost you two reds to find out," he said.

"Well, I'm out," Ellie announced.

Flo stared David down, but that was a losing game. Not only did David have an excellent poker face, but he was also capable of an undead stare that just made her shiver and look away.

"Okay, I'll call your bluff." Flo put down her chips. "Let's see 'em."

David smiled, then laid down a full house, aces over jacks.

"Well, snickerdoodles!" Flo said with a smile. "I thought for sure you were bluffing."

"I almost never bluff," David said.

"Yeah, it's the 'almost' part that worries me," Flo said.

"I'm gonna check on Peanut real quick," Ellie said. "Go ahead and deal me in."

It was David's turn to deal, and as he shuffled the cards, he said to Flo, "Kind of a crappy way to spend your birthday."

"Not at all! And in the end, we'll get to look at cute little wiggly babies!"

"Uh-huh."

Ellie came back in a second and sat back down, picking up her cards. "Nothing yet," she said. "Peanut is sure it'll happen today, though."

"She's the mom, she should know," Flo said. "And I'll bet a white."

David whistled. "Starting high, are we?"

Flo stared at him. "Too rich for your blood, mister?"

"I haven't got any blood," David replied with a grin. Flo chuckled.

The three continued to play poker while they waited for Peanut to give birth. It was late afternoon when Ellie, on one of her frequent checks, called the others into Flo's bedroom. One baby was already in the nesting box, and Peanut was clearly laboring to push out another. The first was pink and looked healthy. Shortly thereafter, another pink baby emerged.

It took a half-hour, but Peanut finally gave birth to four kits. The fourth to emerge kept swiveling her head, as if she could see, which was ludicrous, as her eyes would not open for weeks.

"Are you going to name them?" David asked.

"Not until they're furred," Ellie said.

"You also should wait to see if any of them is a familiar," Flo told her.

"Right. With two familiar parents, it would be surprising if one of them wasn't one."

"I bet it's that last one," David said, pointing to the one which had finally squirmed its way up to Peanut's nipple and was currently receiving her nourishment.

"We'll just have to wait and see. If she is a familiar, Peanut will let us know soon enough."

"So... now what?" David asked.

"Well, mainly, we just keep an eye on Peanut to make sure she's come through okay. We might as well go back to playing poker," Ellie told him.

"Okay. Is this when the strip-poker starts?"

The girls both laughed, and they returned to playing their game for the rest of the evening.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"What are you doing?" Jim asked David.

"Looking through all of the burglary information I've collected."

"Again? What for?"

"I have an idea about the next one."

"Oh? What's that?"

"The only constant we've been able to show between all of them is that, in each theft, at least one of the things that has been stolen was recently seen in public, either worn, or carried, or whatever. So, what I'm going to ask Seth to do is to let me pick someone to act as bait. Have them wear something expensive prominently for a few days, and see if the thief goes after them. We'll put a recorder in their room, aimed at the door like I did when I was trying to catch Brent last year, and see if we get a bite."

"Think it'll work?" Jim asked.

David shrugged. "All we can do is try. Right now, we've only got bits and pieces, little snippets of information that could point to any of a number of people."

"Right. Well, good luck with it. You going to talk to Seth now?"

"No. I need to get in some extra sword and staff practice tonight."

"How come?"

"Prof. Teller warned me that my fight with Devyn is tomorrow. I need to be ready for her. I don't think she's going to pull any punches."

"No, probably not. Good luck on that. When does he do the sparring, at the beginning of class?"

"No, it tends to be closer to the end."

"Hmm. I have TEM until 4:15, but maybe I'll drop by and watch."

David grinned. "Always glad to have the support. Ellie's going to be there, and maybe Gwen, as well. Olissa and Flo have class."

Jim nodded. "As I said, I don't know if I'll make it or not. Good luck. Someone needs to teach that bitch some humility."

David nodded agreement. "See you later."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Devyn," Prof. Teller called out. The students, who had been chatting quietly amongst themselves, went silent. This battle was a long time in coming, and most of the students knew of the animosity between the two. As Devyn walked to the square, the silence continued.

Once Devyn was in position, Prof. Teller called out, "David Stroud."

There was some applause as David walked to the square. He looked over to see Gwen, Ellie, Anne and Jess all there. Jim was not in evidence. David shrugged. It would have been nice to have Jim's support, but the others were very welcome. David was surprised to see Anne, though.

"This is a mixed weapons match," Prof. Teller said to them as David and Devyn eyed each other across the square. "How shall we decide who chooses?"

David said, "The lady may choose her weapon."

Prof. Teller nodded. "Devyn, what weapon do you choose?"

"The staff," she said tightly.

With that, David drew his sparring sword. Much like a kendo sword, his sparring sword was made of several slats of light wood, fastened together at three points along its length. Its weight and balance were magically altered to exactly mimic that of his practice sword, while still preventing it from doing serious damage to the opponent. He held his sword low in his right hand, waiting.

"Respect," Prof. Teller said. David spread his arms, bowing as minimally as possible. Devyn did not bow at all.

"Guard," Prof. Teller ordered. David raised his sword in front of himself, holding it in both hands. Devyn turned almost completely sideways to him, her staff across her body. She was presenting him with the smallest target possible.

"Begin!" Prof. Teller said.

Devyn lunged, pivoting her body and swinging her staff. David parried her attack, swinging his sword in a circle to bring her staff up, passing over his head as she continued to pivot.

Devyn didn't pause before attacking again. David parried once more, and then again as she attacked a third time. On her fourth attack, David dove over her swinging staff, rolling across the square and coming back to his feet, now having clear space between him and her.

Devyn wheeled. "Too cowardly to face me?" she asked coldly.

"I'm still facing you. And what's to fear from you? You've missed your target four times so far."

Devyn growled and lunged, swinging her staff in a wide circle, her hands at one end to extend her reach. David leapt, clearing her staff by a good foot and a half. She swung herself around quickly, to prevent him from moving in on her, and she shifted her hands back to the center of her staff, then moved in, closing off the rest of the square from David.

David feinted, and then slid to his right, moving out of the corner she was trying to pin him into. He circled around her, but still did not attack. He was waiting for his opening.

As Devyn became angrier, however, her attacks became more fierce. She moved faster, and swung harder. Soon, David's parries were coming dangerously close to failure. Twice, Devyn got clean blows on him, and David's arm now hurt rather badly. She was moving so quickly it was hard for him to follow her movements.

While David was trying to find a way to get ahead of her, she managed to take his feet out from under him. David fell to the ground, and Devyn was on him in an instant. She bashed at him with her staff, swinging over and over again. David used his sword to block, hearing the rather loud boos that echoed from the students, who had grown tired of Devyn's refusal to obey the rules of civilized behavior in sparring.

After three good shots to his ribs, Devyn positioned her staff for a finishing thrust. Before she could bring it down, however, David swung his sword to the side and up, managing to get his sword between her legs. He used this as a lever point, and pushed as hard as he could, which tumbled her to the ground.

Taking his opportunity, David rolled up to his feet, and then stepped away from Devyn, returning to his line in the square. He took the few precious seconds he had to consider a strategy. He had no real interest in harming Devyn, though if he embarrassed her, that would be a victory for him.

As she struggled to her feet, David hit upon a plan. He stepped forward, so that he was in the center of the square, and he planted his feet, right foot back, his torso square to Devyn, his sword raised in front of his body. He stared at Devyn intently, and waited.

"Too weak to take advantage of your opportunity?" Devyn taunted.

"Too strong to need to attack my opponent when they are incapacitated," David replied. "Unlike some people."

Devyn cried out in anger, and lunged at him. David parried her move easily, shifting his feet only slightly as she moved around him. He kept himself in the center of the square, his body facing hers. He kept his eyes focused on hers; it was the easiest way he knew of to be able to read her mind, to discern her next move. Devyn had learned well how to hide the physical signs of her next move, but she couldn't hide her thoughts, if he kept himself centered.

For several minutes, Devyn attacked David, unsuccessfully trying to get a hit on him. David lunged at her a few times, but it was mainly to throw her off-balance, rather than to actually attack her. Blow after blow failed to connect, and Devyn was growing more frustrated as the minutes passed.

"Fight me, you coward!" she screamed.

"I am fighting you," David replied. "It's not my fault if you're not smart enough to realize that."

"AGH!" Devyn screamed, and the attacks came on again. She tried to taunt him as she swung at him, calling him a fool, a coward, and even trying to use his undead status as a barb.

"You do realize I've completely come to terms with who I am, right?" David asked her calmly after she'd called him a "cowardly, soulless undead fool". "I've also come to terms with who you are. A weak, small child in the body of a woman. A child who likes to throw tantrums when she doesn't get her way."

Devyn spun, swinging her staff at full strength, trying to hit him. David, having seen the move in her mind, simply ducked out of the way. As she followed through her swing, he stepped in and pushed her to the ground.

"Very much like that one. I would pity you, Devyn, but you actually aren't even worth that. I know that you want to be an Elven Queen. Well, let me tell you, you've got the qualifications. You've been a royal pain in my ass for over a year."

The class chuckled at that as Devyn struggled to her feet. She was breathing hard, and David knew that she was tired.

"Now, let me show you something," David said.

"What do you want to show me, coward?" she snarled, "How to run away?".

"Anger is a weapon only to one's opponent," he replied. With that, he spun in a blur, his sword slamming full force into Devyn's right arm. She screamed in pain and fell to the floor. David stepped away as she scrambled to her feet, her left hand holding her arm, until she realized how vulnerable she was that way.

Her understanding was a bit late in coming, however, as David slashed his sword across her upper left arm, then stepped forward and swung back around, clipping the back of her right knee and taking her leg out from under her, felling her to the ground once again.

Devyn rose, and she fairly flew at David, a scream of rage escaping her lips. The problem was that she was far too worn out to go at full speed. David swung his sword down and then up, coming up under her arm and across her chest. He used her speed against her, and her body nearly did a flip as she crumpled to the floor.

David walked away calmly, turning his back to her. He stepped to the edge of the square, and motioned to Prof. Teller, who came over. David asked him something quietly, and Prof. Teller, after listening, nodded seriously.

David turned and walked back to his line just as Devyn returned to her feet. She was dazed and unsteady.

"Are you ready to continue with your lesson?" David asked politely.

"I need no lessons from the likes of you!" Devyn screamed.

"Oh, I think you do. I asked Prof. Teller if I could be permitted to use my full abilities against you."

"Do not bull... Do not boast to me," she said, knowing Prof. Teller did not allow profanity in his classroom. "I know that you have nothing else."

"Really," David said disdainfully, and then suddenly disappeared from view, to the gasps of the rest of the students.

Prof. Teller immediately said, "I am allowing this explicitly this one time." The students grew silent, interested in what David would do.

Suddenly, Devyn's feet were taken out from under her, and she slammed, hard, against the floor. David stepped away, and made himself visible.

Devyn snarled as she rose, and then swung mightily at David, her staff passing right through him. He brought his sword up, and then down, and Devyn felt it smash against her forehead, making her woozy. She staggered away from him.

David turned to face her as she tried to regain her footing. "What's the matter, Devyn? Can't you face me? Are you the coward now?"

"This is no longer a fair fight!" Devyn screamed loudly, objecting.

"In battle, there is no such thing as a fair fight," David replied coldly. "Someone always has an advantage. In fact, half our training in here has been on making sure that person is us. You're only whining now because you finally understand that the only reason you had any chance against me was because I was doing the equivalent of fighting with one hand tied behind my back. I have always had an advantage, but am not normally allowed to use it."

"I am better than you will ever hope to be!" Devyn demanded. Of whom she was demanding this, David had no idea.

"Really? Then why are you the one winded and staggering? Come on, Devyn. You said you wanted me to fight you. I'm fighting you. What's the problem? Surely you're not suggesting that this... what did you call me?... You're not suggesting that this soulless undead fool is inherently better than you, are you?"

"You will never be better than me!" Devyn screamed.

"Then you have nothing to fear from my abilities. Come, and let us finish this."

Devyn swung her staff in anger. David faded through it, and then swung his sword backhand, connecting with the base of her neck. Only the magic of the square prevented this move from killing Devyn. Her feet left the floor as her staff went flying out of the square. Her body hit the ground with a thud heard by everyone in the room.

David faded to full solidity as he stepped over to Devyn just as she tried to get to her feet. He used his sword to take her hands out from under her, and then he put his foot beneath her and rolled her onto her back. He slid the tip of his sword along the side of her neck, and he stared down at her.

"Yield to me," David said calmly.

The part that was hardest for Devyn to swallow was that David wasn't even the slightest bit angered. He was as calm now as he had been when they started the fight. She loathed him, detested his very being...

"I will not!" she replied.

"Please, don't make me embarrass you any further," David said quietly. "You deserved this, for what you've done to me, and to Gwen, and to Jim. It doesn't need to go any further. If you make me continue this fight, it will end with you lying on the ground, unconscious. I don't want to have to do that. You can't win this fight, you know that, and I know that. Please, yield."

Devyn glared up at him. She wanted to break every bone in his body. She wanted to rip his face off. She wanted to send him to the infirmary...

But she knew that none of that was possible. She was unarmed, and he was not, and he was freed from the usual rule that he had to remain solid. It was, truly, a "fair" fight: one in which they both could use everything at their disposal. She had to admit there wasn't a chance in hell for her.

"I yield," she said very quietly, glaring at David.

Prof. Teller, who had come over, and who had heard everything David had said, raised his hands.

"Return to your positions!"

David offered Devyn his hand, but she snarled at him, and struggled to her feet on her own. David sheathed his sword, and returned to his line within the square, then turned to face Devyn, who limped to her own place.

"Respect!" Prof. Teller commanded. David bowed as slightly as he had before. Devyn, he saw, had the good manners to bow further than he did.

"Class dismissed," Prof. Teller said. At that, the class erupted in applause. Devyn was not well liked. She limped out of the room unescorted. David went over to join his friends.

"Shit, I'm glad he doesn't usually let you do that," Brock said. "Fighting you hurts bad enough the normal way!"

David grinned at that.

"Why did he let you go all demighost on her?" another student asked. "He doesn't normally let you. I mean, you're nearly impossible to hit that way."

"That's... a private matter, between the professor and me," David said. He and Prof. Teller had talked several times over the last months, as Prof. Teller had watched both David and Devyn progress. He had felt that Devyn's skills could be much improved if she learned the true limitations of them, and so he had allowed David to show her just how hard a real fight could be. Now, Prof. Teller hoped, he could begin to push past Devyn's self-aggrandizing opinion of herself, and teach her some real fighting technique.

"Good work, David," Gwen said.

"Not bad," Anne opined, seemingly actually impressed.

"You were unbelievable out there," Ellie said. "I can't believe you can move like that. And congratulations, for winning." She gave him a big kiss.

"I think this calls for a celebration," Brock said.

"Come on, guys, I don't want to rub Devyn's nose in this..." David said.

"You looked like you were doing just that before Prof. Teller called a stop to the fight," Gwen said.

"I was asking her to yield. She didn't want to."

"What did you say to her?" Brock asked.

"That... is also private," he said. "Sorry."

"Okay, but, c'mon. You beat the little bitch. She's been Miss High and Mighty in this class for months. We've got to at least have a pizza party."

"I'm all for that," Ellie agreed.

"I think you're going to be outvoted, David," Gwen said with a smile.

"Okay, okay, but let's keep it small, okay? And not too long. I have apprenticeship tonight."

The others laughed as they left the gymnasium, heading for the snack bar, which offered pizza to the students.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"You wanted to see me, ma'am?" the young lady asked, sticking her head in the doorway after Dean Lengel had acknowledged her knock.

"Yes, Susan. Come in. This is Seth Tupper, our head of security, and I'm sure you know David already."

Susan nodded to both of them, but she looked worried. "Have I done something wrong, ma'am?" she asked.

"Oh, no," Dean Lengel said. "Nothing like that. In fact, we wanted to ask you for a little help."

"If I can..."

Dean Lengel motioned to Seth, who motioned to David. David shook his head in bemusement, and then he pulled something out of his pocket. "You're aware of the thefts that have been going on?" David asked.

"Sure, everyone is," she confirmed.

"Well, we're trying to catch the bastard, but we're not having much luck. He's not leaving us a lot of evidence. So, we came up with a plan to try to trap the scum-sucker."

"Sounds good, but what's it got to do with me?"

David held up a necklace. It was a simple gold chain, but on the chain was a pendant of white gold and diamonds, accented with rubies. It was arranged in the shape of a flower. "We'd like you to wear this," he said.

"That's beautiful. Is this real?"

"Yes. It has to be. Just in case the thief knows his way around jewelry," David said.

"Wait, so all you want me to do is wear a necklace?"

"Pretty much. Make sure it's visible. Don't hide it under your shirt or anything. We need it to be seen."

"I don't get it," she admitted.

"Each time the thief has struck," Seth told her, "he's taken something that has recently been in view of the public. He takes other items of opportunity, to be sure, but we think that he selects his main target from what he sees. We're hoping to 'convince' him to break into your room and steal this necklace."

David said, "You'll need to take this recorder, and set it so that it can see your dorm room door. It will record everyone who goes in and out. If and when the thief shows up, we'll have a record of him. Also, the necklace has a trace on it. If it leaves your neck, we'll be able to track it."

"Okay... Why me?"

"I was a bit curious about that myself," Dean Lengel said. "Why did you select her, David?"

"I see her on campus everywhere. From the stadium to the music hall, near every classroom building... you get around," David told her.

Susan smiled. "I don't like staying cooped up in my room. I even do my homework outside most of the time."

David nodded. "It means you'll be seen by a lot of people. It gives us the greatest chance that the thief will take note of your jewelry."

"But if I'm always wearing this, how will the thief be able to steal it?" she asked.

Seth explained, "After three days, you'll leave it in your room for three days. Then wear it for three, take it off for three... and so on. Make sure to wear a different necklace when you're not wearing this one, so it just looks like you're alternating them, and not like you're trying to trap someone. That way, after the second or third cycle, the thief will have a clear idea of your pattern."

Susan nodded. "And how long do you want me to do this?"

"Until we catch the bastard," David replied.

"After that, I guess I have to give the necklace back, huh?" she said, pretending to pout.

"No, you can keep it," David said.

"Really?" she asked, surprised.

"Consider it our thank-you gift for helping us out."

"Well, okay, then. I'll do it. But how do I position the recorder thing?"

Seth explained the recording device to her, while David moved over next to Dean Lengel's goby, which was, right now, a brilliant shade of Kelly green. David smirked at that.

When Susan left, Dean Lengel asked, "Do you really think this will work?"

"Possibly," Seth said. "It's an expensive piece, so it should definitely draw his attention."

"Yes. Very expensive to be giving away," Dean Lengel said, eyeing David.

"She's not my type," David said with a grin, knowing what Dean Lengel was thinking. "But none of my girlfriends would like it, so I have no use for it."

"You could have sold it back to the shop..."

David shrugged. "She seemed to like it. I figured she deserved something for helping us. And truthfully, it didn't cost me all that much."

"Uh-huh," Dean Lengel said dubiously.

"Anyway, I have to get to class."

"Have a good day, David. Oh, and come talk to me when you have a free moment. I need to explain to you your new role in orientation."

David nodded, said good-bye to Seth, and left for his next class.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Okay, now, moving on to the Office of Property Registration. This office is responsible for keeping track of who owns which piece of land, and which buildings. People also occasionally register other highly expensive items with the office, but that is entirely voluntary. The registration of land and buildings is mandatory.

"Now, the office... Yes?" Prof. Burke said to the pixie who had just popped into being above him. The pixie's voice was too quiet for the class to hear, but they didn't have to wait too long. As soon as she disappeared, Prof. Burke said, "David, you're needed in Griffin Dorm. Second floor hallway."

The class grumbled. They all knew what it meant for David to be called out of class at this point. David nodded to the professor, packed up his books, and headed out.

"Why do you suppose Seth didn't come to get you this time?" Jailla asked on their way down the stairs to the Academy level.

"Probably because he didn't want to climb these damned stairs," David replied with a chuckle.

Jailla chirped in amusement.

"Do you have any clue who is doing this?" Jailla asked. David hadn't really discussed the case with him up to this point.

"I have some hunches, but nothing to go on, really. It's pretty frustrating." With that, David reached into his coat and took out a pixie stick.

"You seem to be consuming more of those lately," Jailla said.

"They help me relax," David said.

Jailla chirped wordlessly, and said no more on the issue.

David finally reached Griffin Dorm. Jailla had flown off to get some exercise while David 'worked'. "I hope there's something good here," David said to Seth. "Now I'll never know how the Office of Property Registration works."

Seth grunted.

"What're you doing here, Stroud?" one of the guys asked, clearly annoyed at having David around.

"I'll assume the question's rhetorical," David replied. "Do I need to explain 'rhetorical' to you, or will you look it up later?"

The guy blanched in anger, and tensed for a fight.

"Don't be a moron," David replied with as much condescension as he could manage to put into his voice. "I know it's hard, but try." Turning to the other two, who were actually smirking at their roommate's discomfiture, David asked, "What'd they take?"

The guys explained what was missing, and that they hadn't moved anything in the room.

"Have any of you seen someone snooping around, following you, that kind of thing?"

"You're the only snoop I've seen," the aggressive guy said.

"Do you really want to spend the next week without sleep?" David asked. "I have some friends in the castle who can arrange that..."

The guy paled, and didn't say anything after that. The other two denied having seen anything out of the ordinary.

"Okay, just wait out here," Seth said. "We'll take a look through your room."

"I don't want that bastard in my room!" the aggressive guy said.

"No one asked you," David replied. "If you have a problem, take it up with the dean."

Seth and David started at the door, examining it closely for any signs of forced entry. As usual, nothing was obvious. Slowly, they made their way into the room. David took note of the parrot in the room, and the cat lying on the one bed. Turning, he asked the guys, "Whose familiar isn't here?"

"Mine," one of the pleasant guys said. "He's at Madame Abernathy's."

"Sorry to hear that," David said, then turned back to his searching.

After ten minutes, Seth said, "I might have something... or I might not."

David came over. Seth was holding up a single strand of hair. It looked to be light brown in color, which eliminated all of the guys, and the cat, which was gray.

"What is your familiar?" David asked the guy whose familiar was absent.

"A gecko," the guy replied.

"Guess that rules that out, unless it's a very odd gecko," David said to Seth, who chuckled.

"Any of you have a girlfriend with light brown hair?" Seth asked.

One of the guys snorted. "Us? Girlfriends? Not likely."

"Anyone with light brown hair been in your room that you know of?"

The guys all shook their heads negatively.

Seth pulled out another baggie, and deposited the hair inside. "One more clue," he said to David.

"Yeah. At this rate, we'll have enough clues to catch him in ten, twenty years, tops."

Seth grunted. Turning to the guys, he said, "Okay, we're done. We'll let you know if we develop anything."

"Right," one of the guys said, and then they all headed back into their room.

As Seth and David left the building, Seth asked, "What's that one guy's deal with you?"

"I'm a demighost. Obviously, he doesn't like that."

Seth snorted. "You know, I hadn't even really thought about it, in all the time we've been working together."

"Thank you," David said, to Seth's confusion.

"You going to send that hair off to the lab?" David asked when they reached the terrace.

"Yeah. This should narrow down our list of suspects pretty well."

"Maybe," David allowed. "We'll just have to see how it goes."

"Right. See you later."

David waved as he headed for his own dorm to put his books away before dinner.

-----

"Anything new from today's theft?" Simon asked.

"Another clue, but no, nothing that would allow us to nail it down. Scheduling removes another fifty people from the suspect pool, though, because they were in class at the time of the crime."

"Every little bit helps, eh?"

"Yeah, it does."

"And you still don't know who's doing it?" Flo asked.

"I've got some thoughts, but nothing I could even discuss with the Rimohrs, let alone make an accusation."

"Well, I hope you figure it out," Flo said. The others nodded in agreement.

"So, what're you doing for Spring Break?" David asked Flo.

"Staying here. I didn't feel like going home this year. Time to start to break the chains, you know?"

David chuckled.

"You could come stay with us, if you wanted, David," Gwen offered.

David shook his head. "I have duties over break. I have to help with orientation, plus I always help Miss J get ready for the Seedling Festival."

Gwen nodded.

Jess asked, "Hey, David... how did your weapons class go yesterday? Did Devyn try to get even?"

David snorted. "She didn't so much as look in my direction. I don't think she's going to give up hating me, but I also don't think she's going to waste her time in a vendetta."

Gwen said, "Well, any little bit helps."

David shrugged. Just then, he saw Jim and Sherry get up and leave their table. He shook his head in amusement.

"What?" Olissa asked.

David just pointed with his chin. "Jim and Sherry. It's like they're attached at the hip."

"Or somewhere else," Simon said derisively. "She pretty much controls him."

"Jealous much?" David asked, needling Simon, who still didn't have a girlfriend.

Simon blushed. "I wouldn't want a girl like that."

"I haven't interacted with her much," David admitted. "She's seemed nice enough the few times I've met her, but other than that, I don't really know her."

"I have, when I've needed to talk to Jim about Animperium or other things. I don't like her."

"Personality clash, maybe," David offered.

Simon shrugged. "Could be. I don't know. All I know is I get a cold shoulder from her."

"Oh, well. Jim's obviously getting a warm enough reception."

The group chuckled about that, and then continued chatting over dinner.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"David, I'm glad I found you," Cat said. "Can we talk, privately?"

David was sitting at lunch with Olissa and Flo. "Sure, Professor," he said. Turning to his friends, he said, "I'll catch you guys later."

David followed Cat out of the lunch room, and they began walking across the terrace.

"What's up?" David asked, once they were outside of hearing range of any other students.

"I have another problem," she said without preamble. "I don't really want to bother you with it, but I promised."

"What's he doing now?" David asked, annoyed at her ex-husband already.

"Well, for the last few months, he's been harassing the school, making complaints about me. I didn't say anything to you about that, because it wasn't going anywhere. Madame Lengel knows about him, and so those calls are ignored.

"Unfortunately, he's started calling someone else, now."

"Who?"

"The Child Safety Board."

"I'm not familiar with that agency. What does it do?"

"It investigates claims of children in danger from their relatives or teachers. He is claiming that Garrett and Angela are living in unsafe conditions."

"Surely they don't just take his word for that..."

"No. They send out an inspector. Unfortunately, the night before the inspector arrives, someone comes and magically messes up the house. Things get thrown everywhere. It's too much of a mess to easily clean up, even magically. I'm... not that good with movement magic."

"What about Ben?"

"He's not that good with magic, period."

David scratched his head. "How did he pass his exams, then?"

"Well, he's good enough to have his license, and citizenship is more about personality than skill, so..." she shrugged.

"Is that all he's doing? Calling the child safety people, and messing up the house?"

"So far. If this doesn't work, I imagine he'll switch to something else. But sooner or later, CSB is going to stop believing me. They've already been out twice, to see a destroyed house. It's not going to take too many more times before they take the kids out of the house."

David frowned angrily.

"I hate to have to bring this to you," Cat said. "I'm sure you've got enough to do, especially with the theft investigations ongoing."

David shook his head. "I'll think of something. If you get any ideas, let me know."

Cat hugged David. "Thank you. I don't know what we'd do without you. Ben, bless him, just isn't a very effective fighter. Any time I tell him about something that Elliot is doing, he ends up retreating to his workshop."

David smiled. "Takes all kinds," he said sincerely. "I'll let you know if I come up with anything."

"Thank you." She hugged him again, and then headed off. David turned to go back to his dorm, shoving a pixie stick in his mouth.

Fucker, David thought to himself. Didn't want to heed the warnings... it's time to find a way to get rid of you permanently.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Hey, Flo," David said quietly. Not that there was a reason to be quiet; though it was late at night, there wasn't anyone around to hear them. David had gone up to the roof of Phoenix Dorm to look at the stars and relax before bed. Flo had apparently had a similar idea.

"Hey, David," she said. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all." David was lying down on an empty planting table, so he could simply stare straight up at the sky. He scooted over a little, and Flo joined him. The fit was tight, but they were good friends, so it didn't matter.

"Couldn't sleep?" David asked her.

"Actually, I came up to practice my astrology."

"Oh. You want me to leave?"

"No, that's okay. I wasn't really looking forward to it. It gives me a bit of a headache."

"Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. So, you've been in this position three times before. What do you do around here during Spring Break?"

David chuckled. "Study. Finish up projects. Talk with whatever cute girls haven't gone home for the break," he said with a grin.

"Aww," Flo said, and snuggled closer to him. He put his arm around her, but they both continued to look up at the sky.

"I admit it can be a bit dull. There's probably some stuff to do down in town."

"You're not sure?"

"I haven't ventured down there much. My first two years here, I had to have a babysitter, and last year and this year, I've just been too busy."

"I know the feeling. So, how did orientation go today?"

"Fine. Same as last year, with a few added duties."

"Oh? What did she have you doing this time?"

"Nothing big. I acted as greeter while the new students arrived down at the entrance, and gave them their handbooks and directed them where to go. After that, I was part of the main presentation, where I was introduced as the Information Officer. Then I took out one of the small groups. And that was about that. Fairly simple and straightforward."

"Do you like being Information Officer?"

"Well, it's interesting. I get called on to do something every few weeks, mostly it's been dealing with parents, actually. It does have some aggravating moments, but nothing too bad. Why?"

"I just wondered. I know that Dean Lengel wrangled you into the position at the last minute, so..."

"She didn't really wrangle me, she just asked."

"And what was the chance that David Stroud, Woodward's most loyal student, was going to tell her no?" Flo said with a giggle.

David would have blushed, if he could. "Okay, granted. I didn't seriously consider turning her down at any point. But this school's given me so much, I figure I owe them something in return. I mean, this place isn't like college in Earth. I have a real home here. The staff has been almost like a family to me."

"Even Prof. Quayde?" Flo asked, teasing.

"Every family has one of those members," David replied with a grin.

"Ain't it the truth!" Flo said, laughing.

After that, the two lapsed into a comfortable silence for a long while. Finally, however, David broke the quiet.

"Astrology... that was used to divine political futures, wasn't it?"

"In a broad way, yes," Flo confirmed. "You can't get specifics with it. It's more about... trends."

"Have you seen anything?"

"Yes."

"Have you seen anything bad?" David pressed.

Flo fidgeted a bit. "We're not really supposed to talk about it..."

"I need to know. For the last year, I've been getting the uncomfortable sensation that something bad is going to happen. That's why I started taking weapons class. Please, Flo, if you know something... I'll make it worth your while," he promised, turning on his side to face her, and sliding his hand across her stomach.

"Hmm," she said, smiling up at him in the darkness. "Bribery, huh? I like the way you think. Okay, it's not like there's much to tell, and I don't figure you'll go blabbing, anyway.

"Something bad is coming. We're not sure exactly when. Not soon."

"What does 'not soon' mean, in this context?"

"Not in the next year or so."

"Well, I knew that. I'd have been able to divine something directly if it was that close... probably..."

Flo nodded, then said, "It's big, and it's going to affect the entire country."

"War?"

"We don't know. Could be war. Could be some kind of internal uprising. Could be a major drought. Could be some kind of natural disaster. We just don't know. The vision isn't yet clear enough to tell us."

"Has Prof. Zoroaster told anyone?"

"I'm not sure."

"Hmm," David said.

Flo reached up and caressed David's chest. "Now, about that bribe..."

David smiled, then leaned over and kissed her strongly, his tongue sliding into her mouth for a brief exploration. When they separated, he said, "Let's go down to my room. The bed is much more comfortable."

"And how," Flo said with a grin.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Well, that's another Seedling Festival, properly prepared for," Prof. Qwellyn said brightly. "Once again, I want to thank you for helping me out, David. I know you must have better things to do with your time by now."

David shook his head. "I enjoy helping you, Miss J. And I really don't have that much to do over break. I finished up reading my textbooks yesterday, so..."

"Hmm," she said, and lapsed into silence for a moment. They were currently walking down the bottom floor of Thunderbird Dorm, the home of the fifth- and sixth-year students. After they'd passed by several dorm rooms, Prof. Qwellyn spoke again.

"David, there was something I wanted to talk to you about. It's a bit personal."

"Okay... well, there's nobody here to hear us... Even Jailla's busy munching on somebody's plant back there."

Prof. Qwellyn smiled, and then she turned, facing David.

"David... I know that you're interested in me, physically," she said, taking a direct approach to the conversation.

"Okay..." David said. He chose not to say more, because he didn't know what was on her mind.

"At least you had the good grace not to deny it," she told him in praise.

"Why would I? You're a beautiful woman, and, spending so much time with you, it's hard not to feel close enough to want to take that step."

"I understand. And I am very flattered."

"But not interested," David said for her.

"Not so much not interested, as I don't believe I'm ready for anything like that, with anyone."

David sighed quietly. "Okay."

"You're not going to try to convince me otherwise?" she asked in a bit of surprise.

"I respect you too much for that," David told her. "I am... well, disappointed... that we won't be able to share that, but I'm not going to make myself look like a jerk."

Prof. Qwellyn smiled at him. "Thank you for that. Even though I don't think it would make you look like a jerk, it would make me uncomfortable."

"That's the last thing I would want to do to you," David told her.

"I know. But that's why I'm bringing this up now. You are making me uncomfortable. Which is not your fault at all, please don't misunderstand. Your desires are... well, built in. You can't really get rid of them. And I can feel them, all the time. Especially when we touch. I have sensed, over the school year, that your interest in me has risen steadily, which is backed up by the more frequent hugs that we've exchanged lately."

"I'm sorry. I can try to think more pure thoughts... and I can certainly stop touching you..."

Prof. Qwellyn shook her head. "You can't change your thoughts in such a way that I won't feel your desire. And I really wouldn't want you to be so self-conscious about touching me. But I don't think that I can handle the discomfort any longer."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"I think that we need to stop seeing each other, I'm afraid. At least until I find a way to be comfortable with you. I'm sorry. I know this hurts your training as much as your pride."

"I'll get over myself," David said, keeping his voice under tight control. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"I believe this is what I need. At least for now. And please, if you need something, such as an herb, or if you do need to talk to me about something, don't avoid me. That would make me feel far worse than I already do. But... for right now... I can't spend time with you anymore."

"Okay."

"That's all you're going to say?"

David turned to look out across the moat. "What else do you want me to say? I didn't realize that you could read my thoughts unless we were touching. I didn't know that I would make you uncomfortable. I hadn't even decided whether I was going to approach you about it or not. And now it's cost me a friend. So... I don't really have anything to say."

"I will always be your friend, David," Prof. Qwellyn objected.

"A friend that I can't talk to or spend time with isn't really helpful, no offense."

Prof. Qwellyn nodded. "I'm sorry," she said.

"Not your fault," David told her.

She frowned, and then said, "I should go." Without waiting for David to respond, she popped out of existence.

Jailla, who had been visiting various plants as they had talked, came over as David leaned against the outer wall of the dorm, staring out across the land.

"What was that about?" Jailla asked seriously.

David shook his head. "I'll tell you later. For right now, could you just... give me some alone time?" David's voice was not harsh; it wasn't Jailla's fault, after all. Jailla rubbed his head against David's cheek in a supportive gesture, and then winged off.

David stayed where he was for a long time, thinking. It wasn't that she had rejected him that hurt; after all, it wasn't like he didn't have plenty of choices for physical company. The problem was that it had cost him yet another friend, and he didn't have a whole lot of those left.

Shit.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

Olissa and Flo had both sensed David's mood, but neither of them was able to get him to open up before the others returned from break. It took Jim a solid hour of talking about his trip with Sherry before he realized that David wasn't reacting as he normally would.

"Something eating you?" Jim asked, concerned.

David shook his head. "Just girl troubles. Don't worry about it."

"Shit, and here I am going on about my girlfriend."

David snorted. "And now you know how I felt for the first few years."

Jim blushed. "You have a fight with Ellie or something?"

"No, nothing like that. I'd rather not talk about it, if it's okay with you."

"Sure. Hey, you want to go to dinner with Sherry and me? We're going down into town. If your trouble's not with Ellie, you could bring her, and we could double-date."

"Uh, no, that's okay. Thanks, anyway. I'll eat in the cafeteria, like usual."

"Suit yourself. Can't say I didn't try."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"All right, class, today we are going to give the brownies a little help," Prof. Thropp announced. "Today's spells will show you how to enchant some basic household objects to get them to clean on their own, thus freeing you from having to do it. Now, you won't all be working on the same spell, but they're all basically the same difficulty level, so no one will be doing something harder than everyone else. I'm going to pass out the spells to you. You should study them, then retrieve the item or items you need from the side of the room, and set to work."

Prof. Thropp moved down the rows and passed these slips out by hand. She gave David his with a nod, and moved on.

Looking at the slip of paper, David saw that he would need a broom and dustpan. He went over and collected them from the side of the room, then came back to his desk, leaning the broom against his desk, and setting the dustpan on the floor.

For a long time, David studied the instructions with the enchantment. It was a complicated process, and he wanted to try to get it right. Finally, after about ten minutes of looking it over and memorizing the spell itself, he set the parchment down on the table and stood up, standing over the broom and dustpan.

Raising his hands, David began the enchantment. He moved his hands as required by the spell, trails of bright orange sparkles flowing from his fingers. As he reached the end of the spell, he thrust his hands forward and the orange sparkles jetted from his fingers to the tip of the broom. They flowed over the surface of the broom and then jumped to the dustpan, flowing over that, as well. Soon, both objects were glowing orange. When he saw that, David dropped his hands, and the glow soon faded.

David was about to test out his enchantment by pouring a little sand onto the floor, but he discovered he didn't need to, as the broom began to waddle its way across the floor toward a spot of dirt which had apparently been spilled during another class. The dustpan sat still as the broom swept the dirt into a neat pile. The broom never left the ground, but walked on the edges of its bristles, moving like a penguin, when it wasn't actually sweeping.

Once the dirt was all collected and ready, the dustpan suddenly zipped along the floor. When it was in place, the broom swept the dirt into the pan. The dustpan, now full, zipped quickly across the floor again, until it reached the nearest trash can. At that point, it lifted straight up off the ground, dumped the dirt into the trash, and then dropped right back down to the floor with a light clicking noise as it touched down. Its job finished, the dustpan moved right back to where it had started, next to David's desk.

"Well, that's efficient," David said to no one in particular. He saw that the broom, too, was waddling back to his desk. Once there, it leaned itself against his desk, in the exact position it had been in before it had moved at all.

"I love magic," David said with a grin.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David rode down the rock lift while sucking on a pixie stick. Cat had just called him, telling him that her apartment was trashed, and so, presumably, the Child Safety Board investigators were on their way. It was early morning, so they had some time, but Cat and Ben couldn't possibly get the mess cleaned up before they arrived.

As he knocked on the door to the apartment, David took a look around. Whoever had done the job had almost certainly been nearby. He wondered if a look for footprints might serve up anything useful. He started to look before Cat even opened the door. When she saw him shuffling along the outer wall of her home, she decided not to interrupt him just yet.

When he turned back to her, he jolted. "Sorry, I didn't hear you come out," he told her.

Cat smiled wanly. "That's okay. What were you looking for?"

"Footprints, hand marks... something that would show that someone had been out here."

"Find anything?"

"No."

"Well, whoever it was could have been miles away from here."

"How many wizards do you know powerful enough to pull that off?" David asked.

"Me, personally? Um... none, actually. At least, I don't think so..."

"Right. Doing stuff at those distances is pretty hard. It's far more likely that whoever it was, was right outside. Anyway, c'mon, we've got to get the house picked up. How much time do we have, minimum?"

"Maybe an hour."

"Okay. Hey, Ben."

"Good morning, David," Ben said.

David looked around the apartment, which was a total wreck. Books and dishes were strewn everywhere. Food was dumped out on the floor. Clothes were thrown into the food, staining them. David frowned mightily.

"It's hopeless," Ben said. "There's no way we'll get this cleaned up."

"You guys focus on the kitchen," David said. "Get the food cleaned up. I'll take care of the rest of the house."

"You can't possibly get it all put back alone," Ben objected.

David just shrugged at him, and walked into the living room, pulling out his wand as he went. He stuck another pixie stick in his mouth, and then raised his wand. He didn't bother saying the spells out loud, but as he swiveled his wand, objects lifted off the floor. Two and three at a time, the books and knick knacks flew back to spots on the shelves. They might not have been where Cat wanted them, but they'd be neat and orderly.

It didn't take David long to have the living room clean. Prof. Phillips would have been proud of his skills. He moved on to the master bedroom, which was also destroyed. David set to work, doing the same thing in there as he had done in the living room. By the time he was finished in there, he heard Garrett moving around in his bedroom.

David knocked on Garrett's door, and then opened it. "Hey, bud," David said.

"Hey, Uncle David," Garrett said, happy to see him, but still sleepy.

"Is this mess yours?" David asked with a chuckle.

"It was clean, Uncle David, I promise!" Garrett said earnestly.

"Okay, well, let's get it picked up, shall we?"

"Okay," Garrett said, starting to pick things up off the floor. David continued to use his spells, dumping the clothes on the bed, and shoving books back on shelves.

"Wish I could do that," Garrett said. "It'd make cleaning my room a lot easier."

David chuckled. Between the two of them, the room was picked up in no time.

"You think Angela's room will be messed up?"

"Probably not. Dad likes her," Garrett said sourly.

David patted Garrett on the shoulder, then left. He peeked into Angela's room, but it was spotless. Finally, with the rest of the house organized, David went back to the kitchen, to see how much progress Ben and Cat had made.

When he entered the room, Cat was scrubbing some eggs off the floor, but Ben was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Ben?" David asked.

"He left," Cat said angrily. "He said he had to go to his shop."

"Is that... normal?"

"Depends on what you mean by normal," she said. "If you mean, is it like him to run from trouble? Yes."

David nodded, but didn't say anything about it. Instead, he turned and surveyed the rest of the kitchen. Cat had not made very much progress. David pulled his wand back out, and set about using the detergio spells to wash the dishes. In a few minutes, all of the dishes were cleaned, dried and put away.

"You want help with that?" he asked her.

Cat looked up at him, and then realized he'd gotten most of the rest of the room spotless.

"How the hell do you do that so well?"

"No offense, but how do you not? I mean, it's part of the regular spells curriculum."

Cat sighed. "After about my second year, I just sort of got by in spells. I whizzed through Metamorphosis because it was really interesting to me. But when it came to basic spellwork, back then, I just didn't care."

"Maybe take a refresher course?"

Cat smiled at him wryly. "Yeah. Sure. Anyway, yes, if you can get this damned stain off the floor..."

David thrust his wand at the stain and muttered, "Sku iji!" The stain evaporated from the floor, and left a very nice shine behind it.

"Okay, maybe I do need a refresher course," Cat said, impressed.

"I think that's pretty well got it," David said. "You want to take a look around and make sure I didn't miss anything?"

"Okay."

David went and sat at the kitchen table while Cat walked around the apartment, looking for messes. When she got back, the kids were with her. "Everything's all cleaned up. Garrett says he took care of the hallway bathroom for us."

David nodded. "Thanks, Garrett. I forgot to look in there. Did you check the master bath?" he asked Cat.

"Yes. It wasn't anything to worry over. You want some breakfast?"

David shrugged. "Might as well. How soon do you figure before they show?"

"Any time now."

As the kids were just finishing their breakfast, there was a knock on the door.

"You want to get that for me? I need to put these dishes in the sink," Cat said.

David went to the front door and opened it.

Standing on the other side were two people in actual wizard robes, and one person who looked like a Rimohr. The two robed wizards held up identification wallets with badges and IDs showing.

"Is Catherine Arpilla home?"

"Yes..."

"Child Safety Board. You are required to let us in. We are here to investigate a charge of unsafe living conditions for the Arpilla children."

"Okay..." David said, standing aside so that they could enter. The Rimohr entered without a word.

One of the CSB agents asked, "Who are you?"

"David Stroud. A family friend."

"Is that a euphemism for boyfriend?" The Rimohr asked.

David smirked. "No. Cat has a boyfriend. I just look out for her and give her a hand from time to time."

"Like cleaning this place up before we got here?" the Rimohr asked suspiciously.

"I'm sorry, what's your name?"

"Agent Samuel Norton."

"Well, Agent Norton, yes, I did help clean up. But before you go accusing anyone of anything, ask yourself a question."

"What?" the Rimohr asked, rather snidely.

"How would we know you were coming this morning, in order to know we needed to clean up?"

All three of them turned to face him at that.

"You trying to tell us something?" one of the CSB agents asked.

"Elliot Arpilla has been trying to regain custody of his children for almost two years now. Although I cannot prove it, I would be willing to bet your salary that he is the one who called you."

"The caller was anonymous," the Rimohr said.

"I'm sure," David said, making it clear what he thought of anonymous callers. "But either you've got a leak in your office which told us you were coming, the caller himself told us you were coming, or we knew you were coming because the house had suddenly gotten messed up. Which of those do you think is most likely?"

"That you were warned," The CSB agent said. "Either by the caller, or by a snitch. Why the caller would warn you is unfathomable, so I'm going with a snitch."

David sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you go chase down that idea. Let me know what you come up with, would you?"

"Where is Catherine Arpilla?" the other agent asked.

"I'm right here," Cat said, coming out of the kitchen. "I was washing the breakfast dishes."

"Do you always invite young men over for breakfast? Or was he here overnight?" the CSB agent asked.

"I called him here to help us clean the mess," Cat said. "As you can see, compared to last time, he was able to help us do a much better job. Further, I don't think I like your tone. My love life is not your concern."

"It is if he's a safety risk," the agent said, unmoved.

Cat snorted.

"Anyway, we have questions to ask," the agent said.

"Of course you do."

David asked, "Cat, do you need me here for this?"

"No, I think I can handle the questions just fine. Why?"

"Classes start soon. I need to get back up to campus. That is, unless you three want to interrogate me?"

"You live on campus?" the CSB agent asked.

"Yes, I'm a student."

"Your full name?"

"David Stroud. Phoenix Dorm, A-42."

"Okay, you can go."

The Rimohr asked, "What's the badge for?"

David looked at him. "I am the school's Information Officer. Anything else, Agent Norton?"

"No. But remain available, in case we want to talk to you later."

David snorted. "I've got classes all week. I'm not going anywhere. Cat, good luck with these... people. Call me later, and let me know how things go."

"Of course. Thanks again, David."

With that, David headed out of the house, and back up to campus. All the while, he was trying to figure out how to catch Elliot at this little game.

Maybe a recorder, like we gave Susan. It's worth a try...

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Peg Riders Club's first annual Flag Hunt," Madame Abernathy said to the collected group. The Peg Riders Club had eight members, including David. They were each standing next to a pegasus. David was, of course, paired with Cupcake, as he always was. There were only a few spectators for this event, as virtually all of it would take place out of sight of everyone.

"Now, let me explain the rules," Madame Abernathy said. "You will each be given a map. On it are marked twenty circles. Within each circle are a set of eight flags, one with each of your names on it. You must hunt down your flags and bring them back here. The flags are visible from the air, but probably not from very high up. You have eight hours to find and retrieve as many flags as possible. You must turn in your flags before the eight hours is finished; if you haven't returned here before that time, any flags you might be carrying are worthless.

"Before anyone gets any big ideas about cheating, the flags have tamper-resistant magic on them. You can only pull out your flag, so don't waste your time.

"Further, the contest isn't just maximum number of flags. Flags brought back and dropped off earlier in the day are worth more points. Flags returned within the first two hours are worth an extra half point. Within the second two hours, they're worth an extra quarter point, and within the third two hours, they're worth an extra tenth of a point. Those flags returned in the last two hours of the day are worth one point each. The rider with the highest point total at the end of the day, is the winner.

"The prize to the winner is a plaque, and a free dinner down at the Slyther Inn. Now, if everyone is ready, mount your pegs."

David jumped up and settled into position on Cupcake. She shifted a couple times and shook her head in anticipation of the flight. Cupcake loved to fly.

"Any final questions?" Madame Abernathy asked. Seeing there were none, she said, "Very well, your time begins now!" She flipped over a large hourglass, which marked their two hours for the initial phase of the hunt.

David quickly studied the map. He divided the map into four sections, mentally. He would cover the map one section at a time. He then decided to start at the farthest target within each section, and work his way back toward the school. He knew that he could not recover all the flags within the first two hours. He probably wouldn't retrieve all the flags, period. This way, he hoped to gain maximum points for what he did recover.

Putting away his map, he said, "Okay, Cupcake, let's go."

Cupcake fairly leapt into the air, her strong wings driving them upward.

"North-northwest, girl," he told her. She nickered and swung herself around until she was facing the requested direction. David enjoyed the view for several minutes before he pulled out the map once again, trying to match the map to what he saw below him.

It was a half-hour of flying just for them to reach the first target circle. Luckily, however, the flags were easily visible, on the top of a hill. David tried using the sem charm on his flag, but it didn't work. He was forced to land, and then pull the flag physically out of the ground. He knew that the point was to see how well the riders handled all aspects of their riding, and takeoffs and landings were all part of that.

Climbing back aboard Cupcake, she was in the air in a second, and David directed her to the next target.

-----

David swooped down to a gentle landing in the pegasus paddock. He hopped down off Cupcake, grabbed the flags, and jogged over to the table where Madame Abernathy was waiting. He handed her his flags, and as she did a quick count, he looked over at the hourglass. It looked like there was still about twenty minutes left in the second quarter of the contest.

"Only four this time?" she asked David.

David grinned. "I just couldn't find the fifth one I was looking for, and I knew I was running out of time to make the second cut-off."

Madame Abernathy nodded. "Well done so far. There are still eleven more out there for you to find." She tapped David's map with her wand, and four of the circles vanished, indicating that he'd found those. "Well, go on, get going," she told him.

"I'm waiting for Cupcake to finish getting water," he told her, motioning to his ride.

Madame Abernathy nodded approvingly.

Soon enough, Cupcake had finished her refreshment, and the two were off into the sky again, looking for more flags.

-----

"Come on, girl, we've got to get back to the castle. We're cutting it pretty close."

Cupcake whinnied, and flapped her big wings harder. David actually felt her speed increase, and he could see the ground whizzing by much faster now. He had the last three flags he was going to find in his possession, and he wanted to make sure they got them in for the final count.

In just a few more minutes, Mt. Woodward was approaching fast. Cupcake didn't land in the paddock, but outside of it, giving her plenty of room to run and slow down. As she approached the paddock fence, she vaulted it, and then she slowed to a stop.

"Nice one," David told her, patting her on the neck. Cupcake nickered at him affectionately, and then he slid off her back, grabbing his flags.

"Just in time. There's only five minutes left," Madame Abernathy said. Five of the other riders were already there, waiting around, and David could see one of the remaining two coming in for a landing as they spoke.

"This makes your flag total eighteen," Madame Abernathy said. "I'll tally point totals when everyone is in."

David nodded, then went over to remove Cupcake's saddle and get her some food and water. He praised her for her performance and groomed her while they waited.

Finally, all the riders had returned. The last rider did not make the cut-off time, and so lost her last four points. She was annoyed, because she knew there was no chance of winning without them.

Madame Abernathy quickly totaled up the scores, and then brought everyone into a line.

"Very well done, everyone. Everyone got almost all the flags. Only two of you got them all.

"Now then, in third place, we have Becky Connor, with 21.5 points. In second place, we have David Stroud, with 22.1 points. And our winner this year, with 22.85 points, is Ted Dibiosi."

Everyone clapped, even those who were upset at having lost. David didn't really care that much; though the plaque would have been nice, he could buy his own dinner at the inn, and really, he'd had a nice, relaxing day riding Cupcake, which was always a good thing, so he didn't mind losing. Besides, Ted was a good guy, who took good care of his peg.

"Thank you, all of you, for doing so well. The pegs returned in high spirits and good shape. I hope you had as much fun as they obviously did, and we'll see you next week for our regular club meeting!"

Everyone shook Ted's hand, and then the gathering broke up. David went over to make sure that Cupcake was truly settled from her day of exercise.

"Sorry we didn't win, girl," David told her quietly. "That was my fault, not yours. I think I picked a bad search strategy."

Cupcake nuzzled him affectionately, and he gave her the callum apple he'd been carrying all day for this moment. She munched on it happily while he patted her neck, and then he led her over to her bedding area, where he left her.

When he came out of the stable area, Madame Abernathy was waiting for him. "You know, everyone in the club takes good care of their pegs, but you're the only one that really communes with yours."

David shrugged. "Cupcake and I have spent a lot of time together. Besides, I'd rather ride a peg than one of those Sky Riders."

Madame Abernathy chuckled. "I'm considering the notion of putting together a riding guild. Would you be interested in being one of the founding masters?"

David looked at her, shocked. "Ma'am... I, uh... have one apprenticeship going already."

Madame Abernathy snorted. "You don't need an apprenticeship, David. You're already as good at riding and caring for pegs as anyone I've ever seen. Guilds have to be approved by the king. I think your name on the petition would add some weight."

"Really? Why?"

"The king's met you personally. You have two chevrons for service. You're already a master in one guild, and working on mastery for a second. You're trusted by the dean. In short, you're the kind of person they look for when new guilds are forming. I'm a relative nobody by comparison. I'm ranked highly in my own guild, which helps the petition, but I have nothing to recommend me beyond that."

"That can't be true... you're so good at what you do..."

Madame Abernathy nodded in acceptance of the compliment. "But that doesn't really matter when it comes to new guild formation. I'll admit, there will be some work involved. We'll have to put together membership rules, a set of mastery levels, and some basic rules of order. You and I will end up being the sitting co-chairs of the guild, probably for some time to come. Are you interested?"

David temporized. "There isn't already a peg-riding guild?"

"No. In fact, they have always been under the authority of the animal care guilds. That's why I'm handling the riding club, instead of someone like Prof. Schmidt. These pegs are my responsibility. The peg-riding guild would take over their care from the animal care guilds."

"Won't those guilds be a bit annoyed by that?"

"Some might. Others will realize that the issue with pegs is somewhat different from most other animals we care for, and so they really should have a guild of their own."

David nodded. "Can I think about it? I've never considered putting myself in such a serious position before."

"Of course. I've not filed any paperwork or anything, so there's no time limit here. Take all the time you need to make up your mind. I'm actually somewhat relieved you weren't willing to just jump in with both feet. I want you to be as committed to this idea as I am before you say yes."

David nodded again. "I'll let you know as soon as I've made up my mind."

"Good enough," Madame Abernathy said. "Have a good night."

"You, too."

David walked away from the paddock, and immediately stuck a pixie stick in his mouth as he considered the idea of not just being part of a guild, but running one.

Am I ready for that? I'm just not sure. I think maybe I need to talk this over with someone.

But who?

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David sucked on his pixie stick, this one lemon, with fervor. He was concerned, for the tone of Cat's voice when she'd mirrored him was one of near panic. He had assured her that he would get down to her apartment as quickly as possible. It was lunchtime, and Cat had gone home to check on things, because she was afraid of what Elliot might do. In this case, her paranoia had paid off.

Before he even announced his presence, David reached up and grabbed the recorder, which he'd hidden in a bracket above the door, and used an illusion enchantment to conceal it completely. Once he had that in hand, he knocked on the door.

The door opened almost immediately, to a frazzled Cat, who pulled David inside.

"God, I'm glad you're here! I don't know what to do!"

David looked around, seeing the apartment in its normal state of order and tidiness. He looked back to Cat. "What's the problem?"

"C'mon," she said, and led him into the kitchen. Once there, the problem became immediately obvious.

The room was literally crawling with bugs. Cockroaches and silverfish made up the bulk of the creepy crawlies, with a few other unfriendly house guests thrown in for flavor. Ben was there, standing in the middle of the room, unwilling to touch anything.

"Hey, Ben," David said.

Ben just nodded at him, aggravated and uncomfortable.

"Um... why don't we go into the other room, where we'll all be a little less squeamish?"

Ben gladly retreated from the kitchen, and Cat and David followed him until they were in the living room.

"Elliot again, I assume?" David asked.

"I can only imagine," Cat confirmed. "The house was spotless when I left this morning. I came back to make myself something to eat, and to check on things, what with all the crap that's been going on, and found the kitchen crawling."

David set down the recorder, and opened it. "Well, let's see if we caught our anonymous caller on tape."

"Tape?" Ben asked, confused.

"Sorry, it's an Earth term. I mean let's see if we got a recording of him."

David wrote a command in the box on the recorder, and it played out first the children leaving, then Ben leaving. Cat left shortly after Ben. The picture shifted, and then, what they saw was a blurred out image of someone approaching the side of the house. It was difficult to tell what they were doing, because of the blur, but it seemed as though they were carrying a box. A sudden shift in the picture indicated that the box had disappeared. Shortly thereafter, the box reappeared, and the person left the area quickly.

"That's a rather poor recording," Ben complained.

David shook his head. "It's an anti-recording hex. Or it might have been an actual anti-identification hex, which means that anyone looking at him would have trouble actually seeing him, as well. In any case, the problem isn't the recording. If you look at the things around him, they're in perfect focus. It's only the perp that's fuzzy."

"Perp?" Ben asked.

"Sorry, another Earth term. It's cop-speak for 'perpetrator'. I watched too much Law & Order as a kid."

Ben let this reference slide.

"So we still can't prove it was Elliot," Cat said, distraught. "But what do we do about the bugs?"

"Try to get rid of them, somehow. I'm not sure what to do about them, frankly..."

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"And apparently, we've just run out of time," David said with a frown.

"I'll get it," Ben said.

"You know what the real nightmare is," David said.

"What?"

"Even if you didn't have a bug problem before, you've got one now. It'll be virtually impossible to get rid of all of them."

Cat nodded, frowning. Just then, Ben escorted the two CSB agents, and Agent Norton, into the living room.

"Well, you again," Agent Norton said.

"Yes, me again. You have a problem with people having friends?"

"I think it somewhat improper for a student to be fraternizing so closely with a professor, yes."

"You're from Earth, aren't you?" David asked.

"What makes you think so?" Agent Norton dodged.

"No Dugerran would be that prudish," David replied coldly. Agent Norton frowned mightily at David, but kept his peace.

One of the CSB agents said, "We have a report-"

"-from an anonymous caller -" David threw in with some serious sarcasm.

The agent glared at him, but finished his sentence, "- that this house has a serious insect infestation, which is a major health hazard. You will remain here while we investigate."

David, Ben and Cat all stood in the living room, under the watchful gaze of Agent Norton, while the CSB agents made their way through the house. It didn't take long to discover the problem in the kitchen.

"Care to explain the... disgusting conditions in your kitchen, Mrs. Arpilla?" the one agent asked.

"Someone let those bugs loose in there. They were not there when I left home this morning. Hell, you were here last week! You know that we didn't have a bug problem."

"This house had been obviously cleaned up last week. Certainly you would have knocked back your bug problem while you were cleaning," Agent Norton said.

"And, have you noticed that the house is still more or less spotless?" Cat asked.

"So, you cleaned up, just like last time."

"And we left the bugs till last?" she demanded angrily. "I don't appreciate being called stupid, Agent Norton. IF my house was actually in the condition you obviously think it was, and IF I had the brains to clean it up before you got here, don't you think I'd be smart enough to know that a bug problem is far, far more damning than clutter?"

The CSB agents were unfazed by Cat's tirade, but Agent Norton didn't have a response for her.

"We have to go on what we see, Mrs. Arpilla," one of the agents said.

"Okay, then make sure you see everything," David replied.

"Meaning what?" the other agent asked.

David motioned them over to the recorder, and re-ran the footage. When it was finished, he said, "As you can see, someone did something outside this apartment today. And whatever it was they were doing, they wanted to make damned sure they weren't recognized."

"This footage doesn't really tell us anything," the agent told him. "Look, we have a tip that says you have a major problem here. We come, and we find just that. We have to go with the evidence."

"So you're going to take the word of someone who's so cowardly they can't even give you a name, over the word of one of the most respected professors at the Woodward Academy?" David asked, rather incredulously.

The agent replied impassively, "We're not taking anyone's word for anything, Mr. Stroud. We're looking at the infestation."

"Which has been there for all of an hour and a half!"

"Bug populations don't explode that quickly," the other agent said.

"Which just proves that someone planted them!" David demanded. "Otherwise, they wouldn't be a problem yet, if we had, as he claimed, wiped most of them out last week!"

"We never made that claim. Agent Norton's opinion is his own. The CSB office does not engage in speculation. We engage in facts."

"Fine. Then accept this fact: those bugs will all be gone in the next hour."

"How do you expect to accomplish that?" the agent asked archly.

"By killing them, of course."

Saying that, David walked into the kitchen. Seeing it still made his skin crawl. The first thing he did was to create a field spell, which slowed time in the kitchen, causing all the bugs to basically stand still. Once he was done with that, he pulled a base potion off his necklace. He went back to the living room, where Cat had some roses. He plucked one petal, and dumped it into the vial, shaking it up. Once the petal had dissolved, and the potion had turned a deep green, David returned to the kitchen.

Unstoppering the vial, he took out his wand. Tapping the vial, he said, "Ventus." The potion aerosolized and filled the kitchen with a mist. Everything in the room froze solid. The table and the chairs were covered in a thin layer of ice. The bugs were all frozen, unable to move. Once the potion had penetrated the entire kitchen, David let loose the field spell.

"Why did you need the spell?" Ben asked.

"Without it, the bugs would have fled the cold. This way, they didn't have time."

Ben nodded.

"Now what?" Cat asked.

"Broom and a dustpan," David said. "Make sure to check the cabinets."

"Very clever," Agent Norton said. "Why didn't you do that before we got here?"

"I didn't have time," David said. "I only got here a couple minutes before you did. And I didn't think of it until I saw the roses while trying to not punch him in the face for being an idiot."

"I'm just doing my job," the CSB agent said haughtily.

"No you're not. You're being a bureaucrat," David said. "Your job is to protect children. That's a job for a warrior, not a paper pusher. You're far more interested in ticking all the appropriate boxes on your paperwork than you are in finding the truth. In my eyes, that makes you a far bigger danger to children than most of the people you investigate."

"Said like a true suspect," the other CSB agent replied.

David snorted. "In what way am I a suspect? I'm neither parent nor teacher to the children. I spend maybe two hours a month in their presence. I'm just annoyed that you actually think you're doing your job properly."

"Listen, Mr. Stroud," the CSB agent started. Agent Norton interrupted him.

"He's right, as far as his being a suspect is concerned, Ed. There's not even any way you could begin to call him one. I'd let his estimation of your job skills pass off as the opinion of an angry observer."

Ed sighed heavily, and nodded. "This problem has apparently been cleared up, Mrs. Arpilla, but every time we come out here, something is wrong. This cannot continue, or we will have to escalate your case to the point of intervention."

"Is that really necessary?" Ben asked.

"Not yet," the other agent said. "But that time is coming, if we keep getting called out here. We'll let you get back to work, but be aware that we will be keeping an eye on things."

Ben escorted the three officers out, and then returned to the living room.

"God damn that Elliot," Cat snarled.

"I'm still working on a solution," David told her. Ben frowned. "What?" David asked, curious.

"Nothing," Ben said, then went into the kitchen to get a drink.

"Something I said?" David asked.

Cat shook her head. "He's just uncomfortable with all of this," she replied. "Thank you for being here. Thank you for coming up with a way to get rid of them."

"We probably didn't get all of them. Keep your eyes out for strays."

Cat nodded. "I can control a few. Not a few thousand."

David smiled. "Right. Now, I hate to run, but if I don't, I'm going to be late for Conjuring, and Prof. Blackstone might be annoyed if his TA doesn't show up."

Cat gave David a strong hug, and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks again. We'll have you over for dinner soon, as a thank-you."

"Okay. See you then."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Okay, David. You know the routine," Prof. Blackstone said.

"Don't I ever. After a month and a half, the concept is plenty familiar," David replied sourly.

"Now, don't get discouraged. I warned you that this was a stumbling point. You want to know a secret?"

"Sure."

"It took me just as long to figure this out as it is for you. I think I ultimately spent three months on it. And another three, perfecting it before I moved on."

"Oh, joy of joys," David said.

Prof. Blackstone grinned, and waved him to work.

David turned around, and waited. Prof. Blackstone moved the box to a random spot on the table, and then told David to begin.

As before, David reached out with his mind, looking for the box. He was able to find it fairly quickly - a skill he'd gotten very good at over the past several weeks. Now, he had to find a way to conjure the wooden block out of the box, and onto the table in front of him.

David thought back over all the different things he'd tried. He was trying to find some new way of looking at the situation, to improve his chances of success. Finally, he realized that there was no "trick" to it; he was, instead, simply going to have to be more precise. David took a deep breath and centered his focus on the box. He pushed inside, as if he was going to conjure something into the box, but instead of looking for the available space, he tried to seek out the non-available space. He made the assumption that the only thing in the box at this point would be the wooden block.

Feeling like he could sense the space which had something in it, David once again breathed deeply, allowing his entire attention to focus on that spot, ignoring everything outside that one space. He worked to see if he could grasp precisely the outline of the object, and only when he felt that he had circumscribed it completely with his thoughts did he begin the conjure.

Keeping his attention tight on his target, David raised his hands and muttered the charm. He panicked slightly when he felt his mental grasp of the object slipping, but then he realized that it was just because the object wasn't actually there anymore. He looked down to see that he had, in fact, managed to conjure the block out of the box for the very first time, ever.

"Excellent!" Prof. Blackstone enthused. "You beat me by over a month! Now, how hard was that for you to do?"

"My head is killing me," David admitted.

Prof. Blackstone nodded. He conjured a glass of juice from the food cabinet he kept in the corner, and handed it to David. "Here, drink this. It'll help you. We'll take a break until you recover a bit.

"Of course, you understand, what you just did is pretty useless, because it took so much of your energy. Only when you can do that as second nature is it of any real use to you. That's the part that will take another few months. Tell me, what are your plans for the summer?"

"I'm not sure yet. Mostly it depends on what happens with my citizenship exam."

"Do you anticipate having a problem with that?"

"No, but that doesn't mean I won't be surprised."

"True. But, assuming you do gain citizenship, then what?"

"Then, I'll probably need to find myself a place to live. Currently, I have no actual home, other than my dorm room, and that's not available during the breaks."

Prof. Blackstone nodded. "Not to pry, but didn't you used to stay with Prof. Stott?"

"Yes, but since we finished up our apprenticeship, I haven't seen much of her. I certainly wouldn't want to impose upon her for housing."

Prof. Blackstone smiled. "Somehow, I don't think she'd mind. But I see your point. Anyway, if at all possible, I'd like us to continue some work throughout the summer. If not, I'll try to give you some tasks to perform while you're off on your own, so that you can continue to progress, and, more importantly, not fall out of practice."

David nodded. After taking a sip of his juice, David asked, "Professor... can I ask a question?"

"Sure."

"Does conjuring leave a trace?"

"A magical trace, you mean?"

"Yeah."

"Depends on the level of the conjure. For a truly complex conjure, certainly. For something simple..." The professor shrugged. "What kind of conjure would we be talking about?"

"Say I conjured this box into and out of a room from the outside."

"Ah. That would not leave a trace sufficient for anyone to notice after a couple minutes. The conjure is much too small. If you were standing right there, you could sense it for a minute or so, but after that, it would just be drowned out in the background noise of Dugerra's magical field. Why are you asking?"

"Trying to help out a friend. Someone is doing things to try to get her into trouble, and I was wondering if there was a way to track them down from their actions."

"I'm afraid not. It would take a complex conjure, indeed, to last more than a few hours. Most conjuring traces would fade in a matter of minutes."

"Well, damn. It was worth asking about, anyway."

"Always," Prof. Blackstone agreed. "How are you feeling now?"

"A bit better."

"Do you think you can proceed?"

"Yeah."

"Well, let's get to it, then."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"So, any luck with your thief hunt?" Zyla asked as she set David's plate in front of him. David was visiting the Garibaldis for the weekend, just to get away from school.

"Not really. We've narrowed it down, but the clues don't seem to be telling us much," he said.

"Investigations can be like that," Joe told him.

"So, how do you figure it out?" David asked him seriously.

"Play for breaks. Wait for the jackass to make a mistake."

"That's causing an awful lot of harm to others while I twiddle my thumbs," David objected.

"Maybe, but there's not really anything else you can do."

"Yeah. So far our sting operation isn't yielding results."

"Sting operation?" Zyla asked.

David explained Susan and the necklace to them.

"It's a good thought," Joe said in approval. "It might not work, but it's still a good thought. You've got to try all the angles. I assume you've gotten whatever clues you have come up with, analyzed?"

"Yeah, Seth has sent stuff to your lab. We've found some dirt, and a hair. How hard would it be for you to teach me the fingerprint-revelation charm?"

"It's not difficult. Have you not been looking for fingerprints?"

"Neither of us knows the charm. Besides, you guys didn't find any at the first few, so..."

Joe nodded. "Remind me after dinner, and I'll show you how to do the spell. It's really an easy one."

"Good. Right now, easy is welcome. Nothing else has been easy lately, so..."

"Classes getting to you?" Zyla asked, concerned.

"No... I mean, they're tough, but I'm managing. But my apprenticeship has been a struggle for the last few months, and the damned thefts not getting any resolution... plus I lost my training time with Prof. Qwellyn because she didn't feel comfortable with me anymore... and to top it all off, Cat's husband is being a fucknuts again... oh, sorry, Zyla."

Zyla waved off the language as unimportant.

"Speaking of that," David said, turning to Joe, "I wonder if I could ask you for a favor."

"You can ask..." Joe said.

"The Child Safety Board is investigating Cat," David said.

"I can't interfere in their investigation," Joe said. "Even the Rimohr who is with them has to follow their orders. He's only there to make the arrests that might be necessary."

"I know, I asked Prof. Burke about it. He's my GovOps teacher. Anyway, I just wondered if you could check and see what the status of her case is. The last time I was there, they threatened to take the kids away if things didn't improve. I'm just wondering how far they actually are from that point."

Joe pressed his lips together, then nodded. "I'll see what I can do, but I make no promises that they'll tell me anything. Do you know the name of the Rimohr who's working with them?"

"Norton."

"Oh, him."

"Yeah. He seems a bit of a prick."

"You could say that."

"Tell me, Joe, are you and Vivian the only two pleasant officers in the Rimohrs?"

Zyla giggled, and Joe blushed. "Now, that's not fair. You got along with Bill. And Agent Wilson didn't give you a hard time."

"Okay, granted, but you know what I'm saying. Toscani, and Reed, now Norton... the Rimohrs seem to have an almost institutional attitude problem."

"And you've hit on the right word," Joe agreed. "Institutional. Part of the Academy training is to build a Rimohr's confidence. But in a lot of people, that immediately turns to an arrogant disregard of everyone else who isn't a superior officer."

"Those people should be disqualified," David said.

"There aren't enough cadets to do that."

"If you did that, there would be," David replied.

"How do you figure that?"

"Improve the agency's reputation, and you'll have more people willing to be agents. Right now, the overall perception of the Rimohrs is a bunch of thugs with official backing. They're about as well loved as the IRS."

"IR..." Joe started. David cut him off.

"The tax collector."

"Ah," Joe said, nodding. "Well, as I told you years ago, the new commissioner is trying."

"He needs to try harder."

Joe said, with a grin, "I'll let him know you think so."

David chuckled at that.

"Anyway, I will talk to someone in the CSB, and see how things are going."

"David," Zyla said, trying to be careful how she phrased her question, "Are you sure that Cat is not a threat to her children?"

"I've spent enough time with Cat to know her personality, and how she lives. Yes, I'm quite sure that the things that have happened lately are things that have been done to her, and not things that she has done, or allowed to happen."

"Okay. I didn't want to imply anything, I just didn't want you to get in trouble by associating with someone who actually was guilty."

"I appreciate the concern, but trust me, Garrett and Angela are perfectly safe with their mother."

Zyla nodded.

"I know you and her were dating at one point, but doesn't she have a new guy now?" Joe asked.

"Yeah. Ben."

"So... why are you still involved?"

"Because I promised to keep looking out for her. She needs... well, what she really needs is for Ben to step up and deal with things, but since that isn't happening, what she needs is a big brother to look out for her."

"A bit of a strange way to describe it, since you are over a decade younger than her," Joe pointed out.

David grinned. "Well, I'm a big brother... spiritually."

Even Zyla laughed at that joke.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~