I shoot a grin at my brother. “Well, since we are sharing phobias…”
He crosses his arms and glares at me, “Don’t you fucking dare!”
“Marshall is scared of clowns, mimes, and he has achondroplasiaphobia!” I rush out, grinning.
“Do you want to tell them why? We used to watch a lot of scary movies, and once she realized certain ones freaked me out more, she made sure to use that to her advantage. Somewhere there are clowns? Get it to chase me. Mimes? Get it to fuck with me. She told me we were going to a WWE house show. It waslittle people wrestling. They came into the audience! One was dressed as a leprechaun, like that scary movie! Plus, she’s scared of puppets!”
Letting out a gasp, I shoot a stream of water at his face. “Marshall! That is entirely your fault! You bought one that looked just like the one from Dead Silence and put it in my bed, and let's not forget, you did that before I started retaliating.” All four of my mates are laughing to the point of tears now. “Leif, Dallan? Anything to add?” I ask.
“Nope, I’m not really scared of anything, Poppet,” Leif grins.
“I’m not sure I want to answer that, seeing as you like to prank your brother with the knowledge, but I can be a good sport. Dolls freak me out,” Dallan replies with a shudder. That sets us all off laughing again. Seeing my mates so easily laugh and joke with not only each other but with my brother fills me with a sense of peace.
After lunch, all four insist on walking me to class in the Sherewood Forest, where stables for all the animals are scattered throughout. I wave bye to them at the pathway near Valor Tower, as they head to their own classes. The forest is beautiful, what I’d imagine one in a fairytale would look like. The trees are massively tall, like redwoods, but like a mix of those and weeping willows. There is moss along the forest floor, with wild flowers, clovers, and mushrooms sprinkled everywhere.
I startle when a will-o’-the-wisp pops up in front of me. More slowly fade into view, lighting a path towards what I’m hoping is class. Humans believe will-o'-the-wisp will lead you to your death, but for supes they are a good omen; we believe they lead you to safety or your destiny.
I feel a low humming coming from my watch, so I pull it out to check. One of the hands is spinning wildly, so I know another mate must be close by. I pick up my pace, the will-o’-the-wisp chirps and flames leading the way. Breaking into a clearing thesize of a football field, I feel the tingling of an unfamiliar ward gliding over me, causing goosebumps to pebble over my skin. As soon as I’m through the perimeter of the ward, the pulling in my chest hits me so hard it takes my breath away.
Right in the middle of the clearing, in the direction the watch hand is pointing and tugging is leading me, in a group of students, stands Rune, his red hair like molten lava in the sun. He turns to face me, hand on his chest, blue eyes widening in shock as they meet mine. We are moving towards each other like a magnet is pulling us together. Within seconds he’s standing before me, reaching his hand out to caress my face. “Do you feel that?” He asks, voice hoarse.
Nodding slowly, to not disturb the palm cupping my cheek, I reply just as huskily. “I do; it means we are mates.”
A huge smile takes over his face. “I thought that first day it was possible. It felt strange being so close to you but I didn’t understand why. I tried to find you again after, but I always seemed to miss you. Then when you showed up in the dining hall you were with the others. I’m assuming they are also your mates?”
“Yeah, they are. It seems I’ll have six mates. Is that.. I mean are you okay with that?” I ask nervously.
“Of course; my parents are part of a circle, so I always knew it was possible. I’m thrilled, actually. Honestly, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since I met you.” He pulls me in for a hug, my body melting into him.
Professor Grellet chooses that moment to glide into the clearing, causing us to jump apart. She could be the body double for Brienne of Tarth from a show I watched called Game of Thrones. She has to be taller than all of my mates, easily over a foot taller than me for sure.
She claps her hands to get everyone's attention, “Alrighty kids, lets go see who will be blessed with a familiar!”
Rune keeps his hand placed on my lower back as we follow the professor to where there are dozens of animals in different pens; I see cats, different birds, snakes, lizards, and so many different creatures. Rune’s raccoon crawls up on his shoulder, hissing towards the others. “Mikko, knock it off. As for you, good luck, my Ruby girl. I have to go help Professor Grellet since I’m her TA.” He kisses my cheek as he walks to where she is standing in the middle of all the different pens.
“Alright, this is how things are going to work. Individually, you will take turns going in each pen, but do not immediately try to pick up any of the animals. Try sitting down, letting them come to you. The familiar picks the witch, not the other way around. Not all of you will be blessed with one, or maybe you’ll get one down the road. Passing this class is mandatory, and even if you aren’t chosen, you will encounter them regularly throughout your life. As you can see, my TA Rune Bloodgood, has Mikko. Mine is a lynx, although familiars aren’t the same as normal animals, he is still a predator and will try to eat prey animals for fun. It is important to take your time. The bond with your familiar is forever; your souls will be linked until you both take your last breath. If one of you dies, so will the other. Someof the animals are fully grown, others will be younger to help with bonding.” She pauses and gives us a moment to process everything she’s said.
Personally, I've met many witches who had familiars. There is no rhyme or reason for why certain witches get chosen and others don’t. Or why you get the animal you do. One theory is that a familiar has the soul of a witch who passed and they choose someone they feel is worthy of their help and guidance.
“Now, you each can start walking around to the pens. Though these are not where the animals live full time, we only allow you in the Familiar Barn if you have one; however, they will be allowed to live in your dorm room if feasible. Good luck my darlings, and remember being chosen is a privilege. Do not take it for granted.”
The animals are in what look like play yards for toddlers but all different sizes. There have to be close to forty of them set up around the clearing; some only have one type of animal, others have several depending on if it's a prey animal or not. Walking over to the first one full of kittens. I step in and plop down on the ground. They are so adorable and fluffy, and all completely different: the little white one is balled up sleeping, the little black one is trying to climb out the side of the pen, the orange one is absolutely losing its shit and running around like a little psycho, and the others are all somewhere in between behavior-wise. Nothing really clicks with any of them though, so I move on to the puppies with the same result, nothing clicks. I walk around the various containments where there are racoons, snakes, owls, parrots, toads, rabbits, and ferrets. I don’t feel anything with any of them until I make it to the back of the clearing. There is one pen set apart from the others that has only one animal.
A beautiful komodo dragon, maybe five feet long and sixty pounds. I go to step in, but Rune rushes over and grabs my arm.“You probably shouldn’t climb in there with her. They do have a tendency to bite, and she is not known to be friendly.”
The dragon's head turns towards me, and if she could smile I swear she’d be wearing a smirk. “She won’t hurt me,” I tell him confidently as I climb in, sitting down across from her but still giving her space. For a long moment we just stare at each other. Faintly, I realize there is a pulling in my chest, similar to the mate bond but somehow different. She slowly walks towards me, and lays her head on my lap. As soon as her head touches me, the connection snaps into place. She is mine, and I am hers; we are one.
“Hello, witchling. I’m Zara.”
“Hi, Zara. I am so happy to meet you. My name is Magnolia.”
Her voice sounds raspy and deep like what you would probably imagine a thousand year old dragon would. She’s laying in my lap, like a content house cat. Rune and Mikko are standing outside the pen, both looking very worried; it is interesting to suddenly be able to tell that a racoon is worried. “Ruby, dear, while I am thrilled you found your familiar, could you please ask her to not eat Mikko?”
“Tell your blood witch mate that I have no desire to eat his overgrown rat that eats out of the trash,”Zara replies, sounding fully offended.
“She says that’s not going to be a problem,” I inform him. Why do I have a feeling she is going to keep me busy? A thought suddenly occurs to me, and I burst out laughing.
“What did she say that's so funny?” Rune asks, reaching out a hand to help me stand.
