《Towerside - A day in the life.》


 A day in the life 1.01 B

    ¡°What am I doing here?¡° Boshi wondered to herself as she looked around the busy market. Right, she was here to pick up components for her initiation test next Tuesday. She was really looking forward to her initiation test. She just knew she was going to be a healer like most her family. Her mom and dad had started teaching her basic healing spells before she was ten. She could already patch up minor damage like road rash without foci. Her friend Cody, a fledgling wall runner, had expressed his appreciation for Boshi¡¯s ability to let him ¡®Unfeel the burn¡¯.


    ¡°What am I doing here?¡± Boshi asked herself again. She was standing in front of Ernie''s urn emporium (For all your containment needs! Big and small, enslave them all!) and she knew she''d been heading towards Totems R Us (only slightly used, now in berry blue!). As she looked around, she realized she must have spaced out at Melon¡¯s Magical Meats (Magically delicious and almost guaranteed not to poison you!).


    She had clearly gone left and down instead of left and up. Boshi looked around to make sure no one was watching her, as she shouldn¡¯t be allowed to cast Tiered spells. According to her plain grey sash, Boshi should only have access to unTiered or Tier 0 spells. Since no one was paying any attention to her, Boshi began the incant for slip-step, her favourite tier two spell. She stepped into the alley beside Totems R Us, emerging roughly eight meters above, right next to her favorite cafe, Starstruck. (When you absolutely, positively must remain awake, choose Starstruck!)


    It was amazing how useful that spell was for getting around the megatower complex that was known as Chandra city. Sure there were elevators located next to the great pillars but between the queues and the walk, Boshi had decided that a little slip-stepping was worth the risk. Besides, she was a prodigal daughter of the most famous healing house in the tower. If she got caught they''d just give her a stern (not really) warning. ¡°It pays to be a healer,¡± she smiled to herself as she stepped into Totems R Us.


    The tart smell of yungerberries assailed Boshi¡¯s nose as she stepped into the pawn store. There was a wide assortment of items on display, almost none were the Totems that had given the shop it''s name. This was her favourite place to shop because the selection was always different. Adventurers from the free cities and the great wild bought and sold their equipment here.


    As such, there were several components Boshi needed for foci that were always in stock here. It would have required her visiting a dozen different market stalls in several levels to acquire them all otherwise. And Boshi didn''t relish walking among the open markets if she didn''t have to.


    ¡°Hmph Boshi,¡± the grumpy old man behind the counter grunted. ¡°Here to try to weasel another story out of me? I''ll not ¡®ave it!¡± He declared.


    Boshi smiled at the old curdmudgen, ¡°not today Grent. Today I need foci for my initiation.¡±


    Grent grunted as he lifted himself up to look at the list she held out to him, ¡°what, the snoots started making ya kids pay for mats yerselfs? I swear, bastards keep getting cheaper every year.¡±


    ¡°Oh no, nothing like that. I just want to practice as much as I can before the initiation.¡± Boshi replied as she eyed where she knew he kept the troll toes.


    Grent paused in the middle of standing, letting out a sigh as he looked towards her. ¡°It''s no help, ya know? The initiation is about whatcha got, not about how good ya are with it.¡±


    Boshi looked down, not wanting to meet Grent¡¯s eyes as she replied, ¡°Everyone says that, but how do they know? People barely understand the magic used in the initiation anymore. There hasn''t been a proper inspector for two hundred years, not since¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Aye. Since the Bennermen incident. And we might not ¡®ave inspectors but we ¡®ave the records. And the records say ya are what ya are and there ain''t no two ways about it.¡± He eyed her and turned back to her list as he grumbled, ¡°but it''s yer money and yer time.¡±


    After Grent reviewed her list he rumbled, ¡°That¡¯ll be 934c for the lot. Payin crystal or emtee?¡± Crystal was the non-traceable currency, mostly used for small transactions, graded by colour. Cyan or c was the most common crystal used in transactions so it was the shorthand most people used when discussing prices. Emtee or MT was short for magic-based transfer, a system of direct transfer from the customer¡¯s bank to the merchant¡¯s bank. Not everyone had emtee since the setup and maintenance costs weren¡¯t always worth it. Plus your customer had to have an emtee account. Adventurers though, successful ones anyways, could have crystal or MT cards on hand. And since pawn stores usually served adventurers (or thieves, but Grent would never), it wasn¡¯t really a surprise that Grent accepted both.


    Withdrawing her MT card from one of the secured spatial pockets of her jacket Boshi held it to the glowing red orb that sat in the middle of the service counter. It turned yellow, signifying that she had sufficient funds to match what Grent had keyed in on his side. She¡¯d need to place her hand on the orb after she confirmed she had everything that Grent was supposed to give her. But she trusted him, so she held her hand on it immediately, causing it to turn to a rich forest green for a few seconds before dimming. Grent nodded in acknowledgement as he turned and started limping over to the display case.


    Boshi watched as Grent unlocked the enchanted display case, or a Static as most people called them. When it was in passive mode the items inside were basically frozen in time. She recognized the small spark that signified the enchantment was switching to it''s active mode. It would drain more energy but Grent could only retrieve items from within while it was active. Boshi had a basic version in her dorm room, but instead of stopping time it only slowed it. Boshi wasn''t sure what the exact ratio was but it was something close to a month passing outside before an hour passed inside. She''d heard tales of adventurers who''d stuffed friends inside their supply Static to keep them alive long enough to reach a skilled healer. It was so effective that most adventurer¡¯s didn¡¯t travel without one. Not if they ventured outside the tower at any rate.


    That was because most healers didn''t join adventurers on their crazy missions. And Boshi couldn''t see why a healer would bother when there were already so many people in the tower that needed healing. Not to mention how well healers were paid.


    As Grent returned with all the items on her list he advised her, ¡°Now remember, get that Troll toe into yer Static as soon as ye¡¯re able. Ya don¡¯t wanna be causin a ruckus now do ye?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Boshi replied with a hint of a smile. She remembered when Cody had misplaced his troll toe. He¡¯d ended up doing dishes for a week at Grenshin¡¯s Noodles (Now with Real Meat!) after it had grown into a two foot tall troll that started breaking furniture and terrorizing diners. That was until their friend Samus had reduced it to ash with a well placed fire blast. Samus also promptly told the owners exactly who brought the troll''s toe into their restaurant.


    Boshi refocused as Grent bundled her order up in a simple cloth bag which hid the rare materials inside. Boshi carefully tucked the bag into one of the compartments in her backpack. Spatial pockets were fine for small objects like an MT card but most people couldn¡¯t afford a spatial pocket that held even a cubic foot. Spatial pockets of a couple cubic inches like the ones Boshi had were very common though, she¡¯d even seen day labourers with no magical skills who used them. Not that Boshi was supposed to hang around people like that. But Cody took her to all the best wall runs, and the best wall runs always had huge crowds betting on the runners. So she and Samus had bumped elbows with all sorts of people. Even day labourers from the undercore.


    With her cargo safely secured Boshi waved goodbye as Grent gave his customary grunt while she pushed back onto the street outside.


    Okay, time to get some food. Maybe a skewer from one of the street vendors. Or a dozen. Boshi was starving, and it promised to be a long night of crafting her foci now that she had her components.


    Or she could get a treat at Starstruck''s. Plus quality java. It was right there practically begging her to go inside. And if she was a sucker for anything it was begging. Just ask her pet kitten, Aria. That fluffy, little kitten got everything it wanted just by turning it''s cuteness scale to 11 and gazing up at her with its adorable, pleading little face. Oh. She should get Aria a treat too!Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    A quick stop, 5 cyan and one quick visit later and Boshi was on her way home with a cherry strudel in one hand, a fresh cup of java in the other and a treat for Aria in her pack. She was still going to get a skewer or 12 but this would hold her over until she got to her favorite stand, Stick-it-to-em.


    As she approached she once again thought that the Athenian who ran the stall was the most beautiful lizard folk she''d ever seen. He was also the only lizard folk she''d ever seen. But that wasn''t surprising. There were less than a dozen Athenians in the Zazzle district, and Boshi''d never had a reason to leave the Zazzle district, nevermind the tower. That didn''t matter though, because she was sure he must be the most beautiful Athenian. After all, Athenian''s were already naturally gifted with water and gravity affinties, two of the most powerful magics, so it¡¯d be totally unfair if they were all as beautiful as Sita''kin as well. His dark green scales had a subtle rainbow effect, where he didn''t really shine so much as occasionally glimmer.


    Sita''kin flared his facial fins, creating a double rainbow shaped crest over his head as he saw Boshi approaching. ¡°Ah. My favourite customer. How is little Boshi today?¡± he said while beckoning her closer. ¡°What flavorful feast can I bestow upon you?¡±


    ¡°Evening Sita''kin, I''m good, thank you. I''m going to need four of your Fantastic Flaming Fillets, four Athenian Specials, three of The Garden''s Eaten and ¡­¡± Boshi listed off quickly as her eyes tracked across Sita''kin''s other available skewers alighting on one monstrous skewer in particular. It had large fruit wedges with generous portions of some unlucky avian that practically screamed ¡°eat me¡±. ¡°And one Bob.¡± Boshi said sweetly while smiling up at Sita''kin. ¡°I''ll take the Bob now, if you don''t mind.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Sita''kin replied handing the unwieldy skewer over. It swam with caramelized sugars as she bit into a fruit she couldn''t identify. That was pretty common when she ate a Bob. All the ingredients came from Bob knows where. Sita''kin knew, but he wouldn''t tell his customers. He said if you wanted to know what was in your skewer, don''t get a Bob. Sita¡¯kin also imbued the Bob¡¯s skewer with light gravity magic making the toppings ¡°stick¡± to the skewer. This allowed Boshi to nibble or pluck pieces off without having to worry about losing any. Definitely worth the premium.


    Boshi thought Bobs were pretty fun. It was like a taste of adventure. A world she didn''t know, explored through the sticky juices of her skewer.


    Sita''kin had finished packaging the rest of her order by the time she''d finished ¡°exploring¡± her Bob. It was sweeter than she liked, but that''s why she only got one, the joy of discovery would see her through, even if it wasn''t perfect.


    ¡°That''ll be 32c, shall I put it on your tab?¡± Sita''kin asked, gently pushing the leaf wrapped package forward. The leaf wrapping was designed to keep the insides fresh. The magic would start to feed on the food inside if left too long though, so it was a short term solution. But it¡¯d do until she got home to her Static.


    ¡°Actually, can I pay off my tab Sita? I just got my first healer''s stipend!¡± Boshi gushed as she placed the Bob¡¯s handle on the counter with the other end just floating in space. Definitely worth.


    ¡°Oh my, not even initiated and already you are earning a healing stipend. Truly, you will be a most blessed healer.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Sita. I¡¯m doing my best. ¡° Boshi beamed.


    ¡°Hmm, give me a moment to find you in my book.¡± he said hefting a large leather bound tome from beneath his stall front. ¡°Ah yes, Boshi. Your tab is currently 306c. With today¡¯s skewers that¡¯ll be 338c please.¡±


    ¡°Okay, you have change for a topaz? Actually, just put it on the books. You can do that right?¡± she said, grinning as she handed him a small topaz crystal that hummed with faint energy. It was the first time she¡¯d ever had a topaz on her and she was excited to spend it here.


    ¡°Of course, of course.¡± Sita¡¯kin replied with a smile as he slipped the topaz away. He made a quick note in his book before levitating it back beneath the counter.


    Once they were done with money changing hands, Boshi tucked the leaf wrapped skewers in one of her non enchanted pockets, picked up her Bob and waved Sita¡¯kin goodbye.


    With her supplies secured, it was time for Boshi to head to the clubhouse.


    The clubhouse was a spot cut off from the rest of the tower due to damage from a random meteor strike some twenty or so years ago, back before any of them had been around. Cody had found a way through back when they¡¯d been playing a game of stagger (now with real stun time!) when they were younger. Boshi¡¯d heard that there were plans to get the area repaired ¡°soon¡± but it kept being disregarded for more important repairs. That suited the members of club ¡°Sparkle¡±, (Samus had insisted on the name Sparkle, she said that the view demanded nothing less) as it meant they got to keep using the clubhouse without needing to apply for permission or paying usage fees. Considering none of them had much income at the moment (Boshi¡¯d received her first healing stipend, but it was still only an apprentice¡¯s starting rate) they were hoping it¡¯d stay ¡°unaccessible¡± for a while longer. At least until they could afford to make it their own.


    There were two major benefits to the clubhouse. The first was having an open space to call their own without their parents snooping in their business (well Samus and Boshi''s parents, Cody was raised by the Lost, so no one really cared what he got up to).


    The second major benefit was their practice space. Cody had been practicing his first spell, ¡°Inhalius¡±, a simple spell that created a breathable air bubble around your head for about a minute (Cody had been ecstatic when I told him I''d teach it to him, I''m still surprised how quickly he picked it up) while exploring the area. He found the room buried under old mattresses with disused practice wands tucked away in one corner. Cody had recruited Samus and Boshi to set mattresses up as targets. They''d then spent weeks practicing with the wands, blowing feathers and cotton to smithereens with the basic spells Boshi snuck from her father''s spell book.


    Boshi approached Palance''s park where they spent most of their time together when they weren''t in the clubhouse. Parlance was an inspector who had found and fixed the great fissure of 2088. It was over a thousand years ago, but the records told the tale of his heroic journey to restore the tower. He had ventured down to the surface below braving danger and worlders to bring back the resources needed to keep the tower strong. And all he got was a park. Boshi thought it was silly that more streets were named after her family than inspectors. But that''s just how things were.


    The crack that lead to their clubhouse was just a small fissure hidden in the back area, behind some bushes that Cody had carefully grown. For all his clumsiness with magic, Cody was a natural when working with plants. Boshi didn''t bother trying to squeeze through the fissure like Samus or Cody would. Picking another piece off her Bob, Boshi slip-stepped past the partially collapsed passage directly into their clubhouse.


    After tucking the other skewers away in their shared static, Boshi set down her Bob and started clearing an area for her to perform her practice initiation. The proper ritual would tell her how her awakened mana was aligned. Mana alignment was the key to every resident''s role in the tower. Boshi''s family tended to have a very strong life alignment, which is why they were such powerful healers. But every person''s alignment was slightly different. Her father was unmatched at healing broken bones and regeneration while her mother could effortlessly cleanse any disease. Between the two of them Boshi been one of the healthiest children to grow up in Zazzle district.


    Even if her alignment wasn''t healing related, she''d still be able to learn a fair amount of healing, it would just take her more effort. Alignment just made everything related to it easier. But Boshi wasn''t worried about that. Every Zazzle for the last two generations had been healing aligned.


    Summoning her Bob from where she left it balancing on the static, Boshi pulled off a piece of bird that had a really strong tang to it. It was kind of offensive, but that was all part of the Bob experience.


    Now that she had pushed most of their assorted furniture to the side, Boshi picked the last piece of fruit from her Bob while she inspected the circular area. Not quite satisfied, she grabbed Cody''s rack of adventure memorabilia, carefully wrestling it into the far corner. The rack contained little things that Cody liked to collect. To remind of us our adventures, he''d say. Even if the adventure was just going to see the college''s weekly rendition of the Inspector and I (Now in 3D!), Cody would find something small to bring back. It wasn''t always legal, but it was never anything important or expensive. There were a lot of commemorative mugs.


    Once Boshi had the rack in the corner she went around the space, marking out a circle with her magical protractor, which was basically a piece of string tied to a weight in the centre. Then she started marking out the positions for each of her foci. She didn''t want to bring them out until she was ready to start the ritual as it wasn''t just the troll''s toe that could have annoying side effects if left alone too long. It had always seemed a little strange to Boshi that trolls could reproduce by cutting off their toes, but it made for an excellent life mana source so she didn''t question it that much.


    Now Boshi just needed Samus and Cody to show up and she could begin.


    "Where are they anyway?" Boshi asked the empty room, looking around.


    "Hmm, it''s after three, so Cody should have met up with Samus by now. Maybe something came up?"


    Boshi looked around the clubhouse, nodded at her preparations and side-stepped out to find her friends.


    A moment later she reappeared and grabbed some skewers before setting off again.

 A day in the life 1.02 C

    Cody watched as Boshi passed. She had everything he didn¡¯t. Talented teachers to teach her math, magic and music (the 3 M¡¯s), enough Cee to buy what she pleased (usually snack food), and most importantly straight, smooth, hair. Hair that didn¡¯t tangle and refuse her commands like it had a life of its own. Cody wasn''t envious or anything. Sure, Boshi could heal broken bones and skip the elevator queues that made many residents lives a monotonous chore. But that didn''t matter, because she didn¡¯t have the flawless sense of style that Cody did. After all how many people could pull off a standard issue, reg-13 jumpsuit, like Cody could? No one, that¡¯s who.


    There was one thing Cody''s learned wearing reg-13 outside the core, it¡¯s that if people see you in reg-13, they just know you¡¯re having a very bad day. So they wouldn¡¯t be caught dead wearing a reg-13 in the first place, but Cody didn''t let that bother him.


    He imagined it wasn''t always like that, but Reg-13 was instituted by the Inspectors so long ago that the tower''s so called eternal records didn¡¯t have the implementation records. Cody had found references to reg-13 being part of life even in the oldest records he''d come across. That meant it had been part of tower life for more than 5,000 years, which was basically forever.


    Cody thought it was weird that everyone thought poorly of reg-13. After all, it provides for everyone. He''d just read the rules the other day. Reg-13 states that every resident of Chandra is entitled to a reg-13 jumpsuit, their own 3 meter by 3 meter room with basic sanitation facilities and as much of the infamous Reg-13 mush as they could desire. Personally, Cody had never minded the mush that much. Heck, with the right gravy it¡¯s practically delicious.


    Anyway, Reg-13 is one of those laws that had been worked into the very stones that make up the tower. Similar to the Struct-3 enchantments that kept everyone warm, even two kilometers above the great wilds. Cody¡¯d heard it said that even at ten kilos up, it was still cozy as could be. Of course doing any sort of out of tower activity, like tower running, took special enchantments or you¡¯d freeze to death and suffocate in seconds. Unless you were like Cody and you just wore your Reg-13 jumpsuit while using a quick Inhalius spell.


    Cody understood why people looked down on him though. When most people see a Reg-13 jumpsuit, their first (and probably only) thought is ¡°Oh, they¡¯re one of the Lost¡±. The Lost, of course, being the people who look at their Reg-13 given lot in life and go, ¡°eh, good enough.¡± They don¡¯t learn trades, study magic or generally engage with the thriving societies that make up the different levels of the tower. Most of them get lost in the records or destroy themselves with towershine, an alcohol made from the Reg-13 mush. Cody¡¯d never liked it much himself, but then he¡¯d tasted real alcohol thanks to Boshi. Towershine didn¡¯t hold a candle to an Athenian red or a Kathinite Whiskey, nevermind that the later tended to leave his throat burning.


    Cody had grown up with the Lost. He didn''t agree with their ¡°meh¡± attitude. He didn''t have much choice though as his parents died in an accident when he¡¯d been, "but a wee little babe," as Maiven used to say. He didn''t really remember either of them. Apparently, he didn¡¯t have any other family either, because he stayed with the Lost. That¡¯s the one thing the Lost do for the tower. They take in strays. The Lost didn¡¯t really raise Cody though, it was more like he grew up in their presence. There were always people coming and going in the Lost. Lots of people decide that they¡¯ve had enough of life ¡°out there¡± and become Lost for a while. They¡¯ll go into their cube (and every resident has a cube, no matter who you are on the outside) and put down roots. Some will stay inside and not come out for weeks. After all, no one can break into a cube. Cody¡¯d heard stories of people camping out cubes though, and he¡¯d heard it said the Inspectors used to be able to turn cubes into prisons. The idea of not being able to leave his cube still sent shivers down Cody''s spine.


    A sharp knocking sound roused Cody from his musings. Something had bounced off the wall he was leaning against. He looked down to see what looked like a really big tooth pick. He picked it up and realized it was the skewer that Boshi¡¯d been taking apart. Cody looked up to see Boshi had turned around and was smiling at him.


    ¡°Hey Cody, what are you hanging around here for? You and Samus are supposed to be helping me prepare for our initiation.¡±


    Most people wouldn¡¯t talk to a Reg-13 unless the Reg-13 approached with cold, hard Cee in hand. But then, Boshi had never really been most people. Plus, she¡¯d known Cody since they were, like, two.


    ¡°Hi.¡± Cody replied with his usual eloquence. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for Samus.¡± Cody said looking towards the dragon rider''s guild across the way. Samus¡¯ parents were both dragon riders and Samus had been drafted to help clean up after a particularly messy excursion. Nothing dangerous, they just flew into a tellix front, and now Samus was helping her parents get the stringy, and more importantly sticky, space goop off their dragons. Samus would join them when she was done.


    ¡°The dragon¡¯s need me first,¡± Samus had said. She knew they¡¯d been planning to get together as a group to practice, but they all understood her priorities. Practice was Boshi¡¯s idea of course. Not that Cody was complaining. Practicing with Boshi had allowed him to learn magic way beyond what he would''ve learned in the Reg-13 general studies or among the Lost. He wasn¡¯t as good as Boshi, but then he didn¡¯t spend every day studying like she did. Her studies did pay off though. Cody had seen her lift a fallen block as wide as he was tall back when they¡¯d been clearing an easier way to their clubhouse. She spent maybe half a minute preparing a ritual circle before, bam, a rock that Samus and Cody couldn¡¯t even budge, gently floated off the ground. They¡¯d still had to push it, and the ritual sputtered at one point almost dropping it at their feet, but it was still impressive. Cody couldn''t bind enough energy to lift a rock the size of his fist, and Samus wasn¡¯t much better.


    ¡°Well, why are we waiting out here? We should go help out. The sooner Samus is finished, the sooner we can practice.¡± Boshi practically shoved Cody towards the dragon rider¡¯s guild. Then as she approached the door she almost smashed him into the ¡°Draconin Sky and Style Ranch,¡± sign. But she adroitly tugged him back as she continued to excitedly lead him inside.


    Once inside Cody was assaulted by the smell of dragon. It was a little nerve wracking for Cody to be in here. Cody tended to avoid dragons. Cody had heard Samus iterate over and over that dragons were loyal, attentive and intelligent. But they were loyal, attentive and intelligent creatures the size of a house. A single misstep and Cody would need Boshi to break out the troll''s toes, unicorn knuckle or whatever she used to heal broken bones and smushed legs. Samus swore that never happened, except when a person tried to hurt a dragon or their partner, but Cody still moved with caution around the great creatures.


    Boshi, not so much.


    "Hey Cal, how''s it going today? I see Rafhael''s doing better. Do you know where Samus is? We had plans." Boshi called out as she pulled Cody through the ranch. Letting go of his arm she walked over to pet the great red, who Cody assumed was Rafhael, lounging near the entrance. Even though the ranch was one of the biggest open areas within the tower, Cody still felt like the space was too small to contain the massive creatures.


    Looking around while he waited Cody realized he could see Samus clamoring over a Green in the distance, her electric blue ponytail making her easy to spot. It looked like she was pulling the tellix off by hand, which didn''t make much sense until he realized she was probably trying to avoid hurting the dragon. At least she was wearing coveralls. If she had better aim with her spells she could blast the tellix off, but Samus had the worst aim of the three of them.


    Turning to inform Boshi, Cody saw her already moving back towards him waving goodbye to Cal and Rafhael.


    "Found her," Cody said, pointing in Samus'' direction as Boshi approached.


    "Cool, right where Cal said she would be. Rafhael is doing so much better now. Did you know that dragons normally need weeks to recover from a case of broken scale?" Boshi supplied as she and Cody made their way across the busy ranch.


    "Uhm, no?" Cody replied as they moved, keeping his eyes open to make sure he didn''t step in anything. That smell had to be coming from somewhere. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "Yeah, apparently it''s like getting broken ribs in a human. Without magic, there isn''t much you can do to treat it, but it still hurts any time you move. Luckily Samus'' parents had a healer who specializes in dragons pass through and he fixed Rafhael right up. He''ll be out flying again in no time. Hey Samus!" Boshi called as she ran up to the Green with Cody in tow.


    "Oh hey, Boshi. Come to help me clean up Altexis? Wait, is that Cody? How did you get him to come inside?" Samus called back, pausing in her work halfway up the dragons side.


    While smaller than the Red, Cody was pretty sure Samus was still a good seven meters in the air. If he didn''t know that featherweight was her best spell, Cody would have been worried for her. As it was, he was currently more worried about being so close to the dragon. It looked pretty agitated, and Samus stopping her work to talk to them didn''t seem to be helping.


    "Of course we''ll help, won''t we Cody?" Boshi replied pulling him even closer to the massive being.


    "Uhm. Can I just wait outside?" Cody asked with a slight tremor in his voice. Usually he''d put up more of a fight before being dragged this close to a dragon but sometimes he got caught up in Boshi being Boshi. When that happened he tended to forget the little things. Like his personal safety.


    "Nonsense," Boshi replied, "you don''t have to climb the dragon or anything. You can just burn away the loose tellix, right Samus?"


    "Oh totally. That''d be great actually. The quicker we get the tellix scoured away the less residue it leaves behind. And it''s not really safe to use dragonfire indoors while people are around." Samus called from above where she''d resumed snipping off strands of tellix.


    Nodding, Cody started preparing to cast his finger flame spell. This he could do. He''d done a fair amount of waste removal work in the tower. It was one of the few jobs that people regularly paid someone wearing a reg-13 suit to do. And they actually paid fairly well. If you had decent flame magic to do the work with that is. It was amazing how many things could be cleaned up with enough fire.


    Firing up his finger flame spell, Cody quickly discovered that burning tellix smelled worse than wet dragon. The fumes caused him to choke until he relented and cast Inhalius, sparing himself the suffering. He had thought about casting the spell before he started, of course. But he suspected Boshi would have them working late into the night tonight, so he''d been foolishly hoping to save his energy.


    While Samus was snipping and Cody was burning, Boshi was weaving spells that did both. Targeting the areas that would be especially hard for Samus to reach, Boshi carefully scoured the green dragon clean using short bursts of fire. Working together they had Altexis free of the tellix in no time. He seemed much calmer once all the sticky tellix had been scoured from his back, which Cody was grateful for.


    With the Green free of the tellix, Cody looked around for the next dragon, only to realize that Samus'' parents must have taken care of the rest. As he was getting ready to head to the exit, with or without Boshi, a large green head swung down in his peripheral. The Green nuzzled up against Boshi''s hand while making deep, rumbling noises. Boshi laughed and pet the dragon¡¯s nose ridges while Cody, very bravely, did not take a step back.


    "Hey look. He remembers you. When was the last time you were here Boshi?" Samus asked, her head popping over the ridge of Altexis'' head crest.


    "Not that long ago. Last week I think? The day after Rahfael came in with his broken scales. We went to Grenshin''s after. You got the hazy dayz noodlez remember?" Boshi replied as she continued to stroke the dragon''s nose ridges.


    "You were inside? I thought you waited outside with Cody? Whatever. Give me fifteen to get cleaned up and I''ll be ready to go." Samus said as she slid down from the dragon.


    Looking over at Cody as she landed, Samus added, "actually you should probably clean up too. Then we can grab an actual meal before she drags us off."


    "Aww, but I even bought skewers." Boshi complained.


    "And those will be great for later. But I''d rather eat something fresh. There''s always a weird taste to anything left on stasis. Anyways, showertime here I come."


    "You''re the only one who thinks that. You guys have a good shower." Boshi replied wandering away.


    Cody wasn¡¯t surprised Samus hadn¡¯t recommended Boshi clean up. For some reason Boshi always managed to keep clean. It was probably more magic. She did like to use magic whenever possible. Cody liked magic well enough, but to him it was a tool, just like his reg-13 jumpsuit. Plus there were some things that were better than magic. Like a nice hot shower.


    Following Samus'' directions Cody made his way to the showers. Seeing as he avoided coming into the ranch as often as possible, he''d never used their showers before. They weren¡¯t too different from the sanitation facilities in his cube. The biggest difference was the size. The shower alone was practically the size of his whole cube. The showers had less pressure than his cube but it didn''t take Cody long to finish cleaning up. As his suit kept almost anything from sticking to or staining it, it was still mostly clean. A quick dry-press cantrip later and it was ready to go. Once he was dry he put his suit back on then tried to wrestle his hair into something approaching orderly.


    That accomplished he stepped outside feeling refreshed. Right until the smell of dragon hit him in the face. He¡¯d never understand how Samus could sleep here.


    Boshi was standing next to a nearby Gold, talking with the rider while waiting for them. It looked like he¡¯d beat Samus out of the showers.


    Cody started looking at the pillars, a habit he¡¯d picked up when waiting for wall running events to start. If you looked carefully, you could see the routes they''d take to avoid the worst obstacles or get the smoothest glides. He''d been staring at the walls for a few minutes when Samus emerged from the showers looking like a different person. Instead of the neatly tied ponytail and coveralls covered in dragon muck, she was wearing her casual wear. Which in her case included her trademark electric-blue dragonhide jacket(chosen to match her unique but natural hair of course) and genuine Trollhide boots (guaranteed to last two lifetimes). Technically both were part of her dragon riding gear, but Samus wore them everywhere. The magics to maintain them were the first untiered spells she''d begged Boshi to teach them.


    ¡°Boshi, say goodbye to Thobias and let¡¯s go, I¡¯m hungry.¡± Samus called out as she walked towards Cody.


    ¡°So, where do we want to go for lunch?¡± Boshi asked as she joined them near the entrance.


    ¡°I heard there¡¯s a new place in town. It¡¯s run by a Kathinite if you can believe it.¡± Samus suggested as they stepped out into the busy streets.


    ¡°Really? And I thought it was Kathinese. Do you think they work with the food? Would that be sanitary?" Boshi asked as they made their way towards the market, though not by his usual solo route. Cody was used to taking the lift, but Boshi always insisted they slip-step when it was just the three of them. After all, what''s a little dimensional magic between friends.


    "Oh totally. They''re probably cleaner than we are." Samus answered while leading the way. They all knew the usual spots. Boshi had mastered the spell a couple years ago, and used it extensively, so it was mostly second hat to them by now.


    "I guess. Oh, do you think they''ll have a booth for chess? I hear Kathinites love chess." Boshi continued as they arrived at the local maintenance stairs. Cody plotted the route that he would take if he were to wall run up the stairs while Boshi started casting side-step. It always took Boshi a little longer when she was bringing guests, but it was still faster than Cody or Samus casting it themselves. Or having them help. That never ended well.


    "That''d be cool. They''d totally kick our butts though. I hear they invented chess." Samus supplied as we slipped.


    "They did? I thought it was a golden empire thing." Boshi said as she led them out of the alley into the market district. Unsurprisingly, Boshi had brought them out next to Starstruck. Waiting patiently while Boshi ran in for a quick shot of java, Cody and Samus talked about Cody''s favourite wall-runner the ZDD, (the Zazzle district Diamond). The ZDD started running a couple years ago, and unlike most wall runners they always kept personal antiscrying and disguise enchantments up when they ran. Plus they wore a mask. They also weren''t big on interviews. They hadn''t even chosen their own name. They''d just shown up for their first race in a costume which had a diamond motif, and the name kind of stuck. No one knew what they were there for, as they never collected the prize (and didn''t that raise some interesting issues the first couple times) or mention a political agenda.


    But none of that mattered to Cody because they were fast. Cody hadn''t seen anyone move as smoothly as the ZDD. Their movements were the epitome of efficient speed, whether they were jumping over high energy conduits, dodging other runners discharge or completely changing course to avoid a random tellix storm.


    When Boshi emerged from Starstruck she was carrying, not one, but three cups of Jo, with a capital J. Cody looked at her in disappointment.


    "Oh, don''t worry Cody. I know you don''t like coffee. Yours is a steamed milk with something called maple. It''s supposed to be pretty sweet." Boshi interrupted him before he could turn down the drink, so he grudgingly accepted the steamed milk. As he took a cautious sip he had to admit, it was actually pretty good.


    "Sweet. Thanks Boshi." Samus gushed as she took a long slurp of hers. "Oh yeah. This is exactly what I needed."


    They walked in silence as they continued towards the diner, each of them sipping at their drinks. Cody couldn''t help but appreciate the decor when they approached the Kathinite diner. It was much less grim than Cody had expected. He''d seen them doing the construction on the storefront a while ago, but it''d been covered the last time he''d been up this way. Now it was a bright green and white with a vine and flower motif. It even had a blossoming tree out front.


    Stepping up to the man at the door, Boshi politely said, "For three please."


    The man turned towards her with a smile on his face. A smile that froze when he saw Cody in his reg-13 jumpsuit.


    "We don''t serve their kind here. I''ll have to kindly ask you to go elsewhere," the man said, while waving the board he was holding at Cody. Cody was already turning to go when Boshi spoke.


    "Oh really?" The ice in Boshi''s normally kind and cheerful voice was all the warning Cody needed to know. This guy? This guy was about to have a very bad day.

 A day in the life 1.03 S

    Samus sipped at her coffee with relish as the air next to Boshi literally dropped in temperature. The greeter clearly felt it, as Samus saw him shiver when Boshi stepped towards him. Boshi rarely lost her temper, but when she did it tended to be entertaining.


    ¡°You must not be from around here.¡± Boshi started her voice maintaining her usually cheeriness, despite the edge that Samus heard beneath it. Samus watched as frost formed on the greeter¡¯s eyelashes. And only his eyelashes. Samus wasn¡¯t sure how Boshi maintained such fine control. If it had been Samus, she¡¯d probably have frosted the guys whole face. Hell, she¡¯d been tempted to do exactly that. Boshi of course, took a different approach.


    "I don''t see what¡­." the man started before looking down to see newly formed icicles tugging at his sleeves.


    "Because if you were from around here, you''d know that this is unacceptable behaviour." Boshi continued while the man''s clothes were being completely encased in ice.


    "I imagine where you''re from, such a cold welcome is customary. I hope you don''t mind me returning the favor." Boshi said as she finally finished by encasing everything but his face in a thin sheet of ice. Then she walked past him into the restaurant, signalling for Samus and Cody to follow.


    Looking at Cody with a smile, Samus shrugged and followed Boshi inside, leaving the greeter to thaw. He''d be fine, if a little wet, in about fifteen minutes. Samus and Boshi had used variations of winter''s presence in several practice bouts before. They''d never gone as far as Boshi had with the jerk at the door, but they''d definitely tested the limits of the spell. Knowing Boshi, he¡¯d randomly have parts of his clothing refreeze throughout the day or something as a reminder. She was creative like that.


    Stepping inside the door with Cody, Samus had to admit she was impressed. There really was a Kathinite here, his skeletal grin on display as he moved his bony hands along the black and white keys of a grand piano in the centre of the room. He wore a tuxedo that matched the piano and offset his bright white bones. To her embarrassment the sight of the skeletal Kathinite in a tuxedo sent a chill down Samus'' spine. Boshi didn''t seem affected and Cody seemed more entranced by the music. Refusing to let her fear show, Samus moved closer to the performer and forced herself to watch him play.


    His fingers danced across the keys, strangely quiet, with none of the clicking or clacking she would have expected with bone striking wood. It wasn''t magic she realized. He just knew how to play the instrument in such a way that his precision was seamless. It would appear the Kathinite reputation for perfectionism extended to their music as well as their magic. After watching him play for another minute, Samus felt the quiver in her spine receding. She almost felt comfortable, as his rendition of Eternal Crossing came to a close.


    "That was beautiful," Cody said as the last note faded away. The rest of the diners clearly agreed with him as quiet applause echoed from all corners of the room. It was too classy a place to allow more than that. Samus guessed the song was alright, but she preferred music with good vocals and guitars.


    "Thank you young man. Welcome to my establishment. My name is Arthur. A pleasure to make your acquaintance," the skeletal man said as he rose from his keyboard extending his hand towards them.


    "Hi, I''m Samus. You''ve already met Cody. And this here is Boshi. She might have embarrassed your doorman a little, but he was rude." Samus decided to take the lead on introductions, shaking his hand. After all, it was the least she could do to show she wasn''t afraid of him. And she wasn''t. She just had a little shiver, that''s all.


    ¡°Yeah, sorry about that. But he told us to go away when he saw my friend¡¯s dinner apparel. I mean, if he¡¯d said there was a dress code, we would have just gone and changed. But he was all ¡®Your kind isn¡¯t welcome here,¡¯ and I kind of lost my cool.¡± Boshi apologized


    Samus couldn¡¯t help but snicker at Boshi¡¯s pun, which caused everyone to turn to her. ¡°What? It was funny,¡± Samus said defensively. Cody just smiled at her while Boshi looked confused for a second.


    Before Samus could explain, Arthur brushed it off with a wave of his hand, "my apologies Miss Boshi. We try to maintain a certain decorum here, but any companion that you deem worthy, is obviously welcome. May we find you a table? A meal on the house for the inconvenience perhaps?"


    Ah, damnit. He''d figured out who Boshi was. And it looked like he was one of those people who fawn all over famous people. That always made things less fun. At least their service would be good. Samus was amazed at how gracefully Boshi handled being the centre of people''s attention. If it was her, she''d probably blast them in the face then go for a ride on Athanis, her Blue.


    Because of course she bonded to a Blue. And he was the best Blue ever. Even if he did tend to nibble on his tack and occasionally hiccuped instead of belching forth lightning. But that was to be expected! He was still young. And Samus would punch out anyone who said otherwise.


    As Samus slide into their booth beside Boshi, she did a quick scan of the restaurant. Looked like it was mostly upper crust in here. She wouldn''t hold that against the place until she''d sampled the menu. They''d been to every restaurant in Zazzle district several times, and usually the food in a place this fancy was all presentation. There were a couple where it tasted as good as it looked though.


    After they ordered they passed the time in quiet discussion as they all started thinking about tonight''s practice. Boshi had gotten her hands on an original copy of the initiation ritual. They''d decided to take a shot at it, but they called it practice to keep anyone from understanding what they were really doing. It wasn''t technically against the rules to perform their own initiation. It was just tradition to perform the ritual as a community. But Boshi was worried.


    So they were going to do one tonight, on the summer solstice. Seeing as it only let them know their affinities, Samus wasn''t too concerned. If her affinity was anything other than lightning she''d be shocked. But Boshi insisted that they join her. After all, it took the same components to do the ritual for all three of them as it did for just herself. She''d been damn adamant about it, to the point where Samus had agreed because going through with it would be less hassle than fighting Boshi.


    When the food came Samus had to admit it was pretty good. Her own Salmon a la Batten was delicious, (she had no idea what Batten was, but it seemed like some kind of green leafy vegetable) but Cody''s chili was especially tasty.


    Apparently the Kathinite''s had perfected aging their foods for maximum flavour. The patience of the dead was literally their national motto, so it didn''t surprise Samus. While they were eating Samus noted that the Kathinite only played once an hour, with the more standard magio (magical radio for you out-of-tower types) playing pop hits in the background. Samus hoped they didn''t try to butter Boshi up by playing one of her songs. While Samus thought Boshi''s music was pretty good, Boshi was horribly embarrassed by what she called her "pop-healer" phase.


    Luckily they made it through their meal without Boshi dying of embarrassment. They were preparing to leave when the magio faded away. Cody stopped, tugging their sleeves in a silent request. Considering how rarely Cody asked for anything, Samus stopped immediately. If Cody liked the music that much, they''d probably be coming back here regularly. She and Boshi wouldn''t even ask him as he''d shrug it off as being unimportant. He was silly like that. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Samus say through another beautiful piece, this one, a rendition of When The Valkyries Fly. By the end Samus was fighting not to yawn. It was pretty, but it was so boring. Some of the restaurants they visited only played renditions of the imperial classics. Not as skillfully, of course, but there were only so many times she could hear them before she started blocking it out. But Cody didn''t ever ask them to go to those places, so they''d quickly phased them out as they found other favourites.


    As Arthur finished his piece, there was again a round of pillow applause. With the three of us standing nearby, since Cody had urged us closer as we listened, Arthur once more turned to us.


    "Ah, I hope everything was satisfactory."


    "Oh, yes sir." Cody answered, "it was fantastic. If I may ask sir, where did you learn that rendition of ''When The Valkyries Fly''? It sounds very familiar."


    "It is the oldest version practiced in the city of Kathin. Only a skilled Kathinite can properly do it justice. It certainly can''t be reproduced on magio. Perhaps you caught it when a wandering bard passed through. I know we''ve had a few pass through the tower in recent years." Arthur answered as he clasped his hands in front of him. Samus found it eerie how everything he did made no sound. She wasn''t sure, but she thought skeletons were supposed to make more clickety clackety sounds.


    "Hmmm," was the extent of Cody''s reply, as he did that thing where he got lost in thought during a conversation. Honestly, it was a good thing Samus and Boshi were here to look out for him.


    "Thank you sir, for everything. We''ll be sure to come back." Boshi said as she steered Cody towards the door. They did have a lot of prep to do before the ritual was ready, so Samus could understand Boshi''s hurry.


    Stepping past the busser at the door, Samus chuckled at the terrified look he gave Boshi as she passed. It was especially funny for Samus to see that one of his eyebrows was slowly melting while the other was slowly freezing. Typical Boshi. For her part Boshi didn''t even acknowledge him, already preoccupied with getting them back to the clubhouse.


    It didn''t take long to get there, between Boshi''s side-steps and all three of them speed walking. It may not have been Samus'' idea, but she was kind of excited to be a part of the ritual.


    When they arrived in the clubhouse, Samus noticed that Boshi had already started preparations. She''d even moved Cody''s rack. That must have taken her a while. That damn thing was such a hassle to move.


    "So Boshi, it looks like you''ve got things mostly set up. What do you need us to do?" Samus asked as she looked around the cramped room. They should probably move some of the spare mattresses out. They didn''t really need twenty plus mattresses for target practice.


    "The most important part. We need to craft our foci. I can''t just grab the college''s." Boshi said as she held up a bare stick.


    "Oh, well, that''s not so bad. You''ve got the designs right?"


    "Of course. Can you do the lightning and arcane foci? I''ll do water of course. And earth? Unless you want earth Cody?" Boshi asked holding two pages out to Samus.


    "Nah, I can do fire and air," Cody replied taking the pages from Boshi.


    They started working on their respective foci, making room around the clubhouse table.


    "Can you pass the fairy sneeze, I need some glue," Cody asked as Samus worked on her arcane focus. Lightning was super easy. She''d just worked a few blue dragon scales into a steel rod which she''d then imbued with the stolen spirit of a zeusian kitten. She was having trouble with the arcane focus though. The prism wasn''t syncing properly with the alabaster setting.


    She''d used the first few drops of venus breath like the instructions said, but there wasn''t a reaction. Looking at the drawing again, she noticed a small notation in the bottom corner. She was supposed to use a flawless diamond as a prism.


    Sighing, she turned to Boshi, "don''t suppose you have a flawless diamond tucked away somewhere do you? Says we need one."


    "Oh that. No, I couldn''t find a flawless diamond, but I found a note that says you can substitute diamond dust mixed with dragon blood. Just rub it on the prism," Boshi answered pointing at a small vial on the table. Picking it up, Samus looked at it carefully. It was an insignificant amount of blood for a dragon. Whichever dragon Boshi had requisitioned it from, probably hadn''t even felt her take it.


    Shrugging, Samus worked the blood into the prism. When she was done it was a smaller perfect prism. It hadn''t even taken her much effort to reshape it, the magic moving to her intent. Placing her upgraded prism in the alabaster she added another drop of venus breath. Immediately the focus shifted, resetting and becoming harder.


    Looking up she saw that Cody had finished his air focus, but was still working on the fire focus. Of course Boshi had finished both of hers already and was inspecting the circle again.


    Moving up next to Boshi, Samus asked the question that really bothered her. Boshi had said this was going to take them a long time, but so far it''d been pretty quick, "So, what''s the deal? Why did you want Cody and I to book all night for this? We''re practically ready to go."


    Boshi shook her head slowly, "no, we''re almost ready to start practicing. We''re nowhere near ready to cast it on ourselves."


    Holding up a doll, Boshi continued. "we''re going to practice on this little guy until we get it right. And if things go really wrong, we might have to redo the foci."


    Nodding Samus wordlessly set the doll in the centre of the circle saying, "damn, here I was hoping you just wanted to have plenty of time to talk about our future once we had things figured out."


    Boshi laughed as they rejoined Cody at the table. He''d finished with the fire foci, now moving to loom over Boshi and Samus'' work with a critical eye. Boshi may have been the better mage, but they all knew Cody was their best crafter. Which is why it tickled Samus pink that he wore the reg-13 suit everywhere. He could make better clothes any time he wanted.


    Waiting for his seal of approval, Samus was a little disappointed when Cody adjusted both of her focuses, adding more blood to the arcane foci and using some venus breath on the lightning foci. She wasn''t really surprised though. Nodding as he finished each piece he then moved on to Boshi''s.


    He wasn''t satisfied with her seashell water focus either, carefully adding a smidgen more troll toe. He''d been much more careful around troll toes since that incident at Grenshin''s, Samus thought as she smiled to herself. With that focus complete he moved on to the earth totem. Earth was an affinity none of them worked with much. It was mostly the domain of the labourers and farmers, though a few maintenance workers used earth magics as well.


    Cody inspected it closely, but Boshi''s creation seemed to pass his inspection. It didn''t really look like much more than a ball of mud to Samus, but then maybe that''s all they needed. Magic could be weird like that.


    There were twelve foci in total, but they''d finished most of the more elaborate ones earlier. With their foci ready they set them in place around the circle. The last step was for Boshi to link a grey slate to the crocks that would let them read the results. Sitting down around the outside edge, they started practicing the initiation ritual.


    ¡­¡­


    Six hours later and Samus was feeling better about their ability to perform the ritual. Their first attempt had left her worried. The doll Boshi placed in the centre had gone up in smoke leaving no trace it had ever existed. Luckily after a quick review they''d determined they had accidentally teleported it a few kilometres away. Adjusting for Boshi''s overactive dimensional magic, they started making progress. After that display, Samus was pretty sure they didn''t need to finish the ritual to determine Boshi''s specialization, but she knew Boshi wouldn''t be persuaded.


    Their last attempt had finally displayed the result on the grey slate. The key had been transitioning to Cody as the ritual leader. It was the first time Samus could remember where Cody had been better at magic than Boshi. Boshi had taken it in stride of course.


    Now that they were ready, Samus was feeling pretty nervous. A lot of their future would be tied to what the initiation revealed.


    They''d decided that Boshi would go first.


    Starting the ritual properly, Samus watched as the grey slate revealed their future, one character at a time.

 A day in the life 1.04 B

    Boshi stared at the grey slate, her heart pounding a million beats a minute. This was it. They were going to find out what their affinities were. Boshi''d been waiting for this moment for years.


    The characters started to form, slowly growing clearer, spelling out her future. She wasn''t surprised when the first part showed, revealing that she had arcane affinity, one of the base affinities for healing. A little more rare than water but not unexpected. If she had anything other than arcane or water, she''d have needed to question her mother on who her real father was.


    Boshi shifted in place nervously as she waited for her specialization to reveal itself. She was hoping for something rare, like regeneration or illness. She could see Samus'' encouraging smile and Cody''s confident gaze as they all watched.


    When the word finally resolved itself it took Boshi a moment to read it. At first she thought it was wrong. Once she read it through three times though, her brain shut down.


    ¡­¡­.


    When Boshi recovered she was on the floor, looking up into Samus'' worried face. Why was she on the floor?


    And then she remembered.


    "No one can know," Boshi blurted out, "we can''t tell anyone. Not even my parents. Especially not my parents."


    "Boshi it''s fine. We won''t tell anyone. You know we won''t," Samus said, reassuring her.


    "Promise," Cody said, extending his pinky down to her.


    "Sorry guys. I know. It''s just. I don''t even know. You know?" Boshi said, causing Samus to groan and Cody to smile.


    "Yep, she''s fine," Samus said as she pushed herself to her feet.


    "So¡­" Cody said, looking at the ritual circle.


    "Oh right. We need to do your initiations too," Boshi said, scrambling to get feet, then taking up her place on the edge of the circle as she shooed Samus into position as they started again.


    Boshi followed Cody''s lead as he took them through the ritual again, this time with Samus as the focus. She''d never say it aloud, cause Cody would hate her for it, but she was so proud of how good he was at this. Her mind kept trying to drift back to what her initiation had revealed, but she clamped down on it.


    Concentration during magic was essential in healing. It was a skill she''d developed a long time ago. Even as Samus'' affinity was revealed, Boshi kept her thoughts controlled. Samus would likely be as distracted as Boshi had been.


    "Uhm, guys. Are we sure this thing works correctly?" Samus asked as her specialization was revealed.


    "Why? What does it¡­." Boshi trailed off as she read Samus'' specialization. The fact that she had an animal affinity was no surprise. Just like Boshi''s family specialized in healing, Samus'' family was all about the great dragons that kept the tower safe. What was a surprise was that Samus was apparently a draconic enkindler.


    While limited to dragons it was both versatile and powerful. Not only would she be incredible at increasing the effectiveness of any dragon she touched, Samus would be able to ''borrow'' her bonded dragon''s power. It was almost as rare as Boshi''s own specialization. Which Boshi still wasn''t going to think about.


    There were going to be so many complications.


    Putting it out of her mind, Boshi gave Samus a quick hug of support, "nonsense, this is hardly a surprise. After all, you''re more in tune with your dragons than riders that have been flying twice as long."


    "Yeah. Looks like it''s working to me," Cody said as he squeezed Samus'' shoulder.


    "Okay, okay. Thanks guys. I just thought I''d get lightning, ya know?" Samus replied before looking over to Cody.


    "I guess it''s your turn," she continued before Boshi could comment, indicating Cody as Samus settled back into her position.


    "I guess. It''s really not that important. We could wait if you guys want," Cody said, shrugging.


    "Oh no. Not a chance," Boshi said while grabbing his hand, pulling him back to his spot before hurrying back to her own. They''d already had two incredible, if not necessarily simple, reveals. Everyone said that the ritual didn''t matter. That your affinity was set no matter what. But Boshi didn''t agree. Magic was rarely that simple. There were always different factors that changed things. Boshi suspected you could even change your affinity with the right rituals. She''d read about stranger things.


    "Yeah. We''re in this together. No backing out now Cody," Samus said, peeking up through her less than tidy electric blue hair. No matter how much Boshi tried to convince her otherwise, Samus only had two styles for her hair. Work ponytail and free. And her work ponytail was almost exclusively reserved for tending to her dragons.


    ¡°I¡¯m not backing out. You guys both unveiled pretty amazing abilities, I thought you might want to reflect on them, that¡¯s all,¡± Cody replied defensively while reinitiating the ritual.


    This time when the ritual started up they could all feel the tension in the air. They¡¯d already had two nearly impossible results, what would Cody get. Even his original affinity was completely unknown. Though Boshi suspected it had something to do with plants. Or at least she was hoping it did. Otherwise his ability with plants would just be unfair. Boshi was only a little jealous of Cody¡¯s aptitude with flora. She didn¡¯t really have patience when it came to glorified vegetables anyway.


    When Cody¡¯s affinity showed, Boshi was surprised to see it was the common air affinity. Cody hardly used any air magic. They all waited in anticipation for his specialization. When it finally appeared it didn¡¯t disappoint.


    ¡°Djinn?¡± Cody asked, while looking at Boshi. Which made sense. While Cody knew the history of the tower, probably better than anyone, he knew next to nothing about the world outside. Except for the parts Boshi told him about, that is.


    ¡°It¡¯s a summoner specialty,¡± Boshi answered. ¡°They''re intelligent servants that are bound to you for life."


    "Damn. Why couldn''t I have gotten something useful, like you guys did. Or even a regular fire affinity."Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Look on the bright side Cody," Samus said while putting her arm over his shoulder, "you''ll never have to worry about your Inhalius spell failing."


    Boshi watched as Cody''s face practically lit up like a beacon.


    "You''re right Samus. This is the best initiation ever," Cody exclaimed as he spun her around excitedly. Boshi thought the shock on his face when they both lifted off their feet was pretty understandable. They bounced off the wall then hit the ceiling, before finally coming to rest on the floor. It looked like Cody''s specialization might have given him a special benefit.


    "Whoa. I can fly now," Cody said once he''d set Samus down. Then he pushed himself off the wall, drifting back and forth across the room.


    "Float, more like," Samus said while looking down at the ritual circle, "Is there anything else we can do with this stuff? Seems like a waste just to throw it out now that we''re done."


    "Actually yes, I was thinking about it, and with Boshi''s new specialization we could craft her a focus," Cody said as he pushed off another wall. Boshi was far more excited about Cody''s new affinity than she was about her own specialization. His was going to make his ability to wall run so much better. Hers was just going to make life complicated.


    "That''s awesome. What do you think, Boshi?" Samus asked with enough enthusiasm that Boshi was able to forget the headaches that were sure to come later, at least for the moment.


    ¡°Definitely awesome. What do you need from us?¡± Boshi said, pushing her worries to the side as they all started reclaiming materials from the circle while Cody explained.


    ¡°I¡¯ll need you to channel your essence so we can properly attune each piece as we assemble it,¡± he said as he started working at the table. Boshi was familiar with the basics of what Cody was doing, but wasn''t paying much attention because Samus was making faces with the foci he wasn''t working with.


    While Boshi smothered her laugh, Cody kept working, plucking the earth foci right out of Samus'' hand.


    Once he was done, half the foci had been combined into a circular talisman with three symbols in the middle, and the other half had been robbed of their essence to strengthen the bonds. Each of the symbols were familiar, corresponding to the first letter of each of their names. When Boshi gave Cody a questioning look, he explained.


    "Okay, now it''s your choice, but I thought we might all be able to link to it together. Kind of like one of those old soul links the inspectors used to use," Cody said as they all stood around the table looking at the talisman. Boshi thought it was a great idea. That would let her use it even if they hid it here in their clubhouse. It would be limited to just her, Samus and Cody; but Boshi suspected that was for the best anyway.


    "Excellent idea Cody," Boshi said smiling. Being able to share her specialization with them was a wonderful idea. In fact it might make it worth all the hassle she''d have to go through. Boshi had no hesitation as she put her hand on the circular talisman, willing her essence into it.


    "I can''t believe we''re doing this," Samus said with a nervous smile on her face as Boshi felt Samus'' essence join hers, "I feel like a hero from one of Grent''s old stories."


    "Ha, we''re too young to be in one of his stories. And our teeth aren''t crooked enough," Cody said as his hand joined theirs, his essence following shortly after.


    "Only his heroes have crooked teeth. All his villains teeth are perfect," Boshi said as she directed her affinity into the talisman, creating the record. It was funny. She''d never realized how easy this could be. She knew logically that was how specializations worked. You hardly had to try. It was more work to figure out how to use your specialization to its maximum effectiveness than it was to manifest it.


    It was one thing to read about, and another to do.


    Once they were done with the talisman, they tucked it away in the back corner, hiding it under a couple of the spare mattresses. It would be best if it was hidden in case of emergencies. With the talisman safely hidden away, they started talking about Cody''s specialization.


    "Okay, so what kind of summon is a djinn?" Cody asked while breaking out soap to clean the ritual circle off the floor. The initiation ritual was pretty unique, so it was unlikely they''d need the same markings again. Boshi left him to it as per their usual arrangement. Boshi put in the time to mark out the ritual then Samus and Cody would take turns cleaning it up.


    "They''re pretty diverse. They can take on any form you want. In general, they''re not very strong physically, but they''re fast and smart. Unlike most other summons, their memories are continuous, even if they''re destroyed. If you resummon one, it will retain the memories of the original. Which means they''re able to learn," Boshi explained excitedly.


    "Okay. That''s kind of cool," Cody said as he focused on a particularly resilient line on the floor. As Boshi watched she realized he was using his magic. Cody was going to summon the djinn right now!


    Directly in front of Cody, the air started to swirl, a barely visible green tinge whirled, slowly coalescing. It took on the shape of a quadruped, sleek and smooth. It was no larger than her cat. When it looked around with its pale blue, glowing eyes, Boshi could see its curiosity. Before she got a chance to inspect it further it spun in place then started scrubbing at the floor, scouring away the remaining lines one nose swish at a time.


    "You summoned an air weasel of cleaning," Samus said while gasping for air. Boshi''d only seem Samus this out of breath when Boshi had accidentally painted herself orange and red then walked all the way to Samus'' place without realizing it. That had been more embarassing for Samus than Boshi, but she''d still lost it.


    The three of them watched as the little weasel-like djinn managed to clean not just the remains of the ritual circle but also the horribly resilient stains under their crafting/coffee table. Once it was done it settled back on its haunches, looking up at Cody.


    Cody cautiously extended a hand out to the air-weasel, which took the proferred hand in its cute little paws. Then, fast as a blink, it ran its way up, winding around behind his head while rubbing up against his hair.


    "I guess he likes you," Samus said while looking at the much cleaner floor. Boshi understood her impressed look. Boshi''d been trying to get those stains out for months before eventually admitting defeat.


    "I guess he does," Cody said with a small smile as he stood up before he added, "I don''t know about you guys, but I''m feeling pretty tired."


    "Yeah," Samus agreed as she yawned so wide she could''ve eaten a Bob whole.


    "Are you guys sure? Don''t you want to try out your specialization Samus?" Boshi asked, with a hint of desperation.


    "Nah. I''m pretty beat. Besides, I''m sure I''ll get plenty of opportunities at work tomorrow," Samus said as they moved the furniture back into place, dashing Boshi''s hopes to remain distracted.


    "Yeah. I should really be getting back myself. I''ve got a run tomorrow. If we head out now I''ll have enough time to take a couple practice runs with my new friend here," Cody said, further diminishing Boshi''s dreams.


    Boshi didn''t make them squeeze their way out. She sidestepped the three of them, as easily as ever.


    As they made their way towards Samus'', Boshi couldn''t help but reflect on her power. Samus and Cody were both quiet, but that was normal for a night when they''d all been up so late. They''d both gained amazing abilities today. Abilities none of them would have expected, to see in their lives, never mind receive.


    It was all pretty amazing.


    "So, I know it might be silly. But I think I need to manuevre myself out of the public initiation," Boshi said just before they reached Samus and Cody''s sidestep point.


    "Really?" Samus asked as they all stopped in place under the dimmed flow lamps. It was never really dark in the Zazzle district, but the glow did ebb for several hours during what was night on the surface.


    Cody was nodding as he spoke, "It makes sense. Her specialization doesn''t have great history in the tower."


    Boshi actually choked on a bitter laugh at Cody''s understatement.


    Putting a hand in her shoulder, Samus as he, "it''ll be okay Boshi. Well figure something out."


    "Definitely," Cody said, nodding along, the air weasel on his shoulder nodding along with him.


    "Thanks guys," Boshi said giving them both a big hug before side-stepping them down.


    As Boshi walked towards her family''s manor she thought how it was probably ironic that people would kill and die to have access to her power.


    But then again, what''s death when you have access to a resurrection specialist.