Chapter 3
Now what, precisely, was he supposed to do about this?
Gunter regarded the mage curled up in a chair. At his work table. In his library. Without any invitation to be there. And yet, despite that, they looked completely ensconced.
People came into the library to pester Gunter, or to consult with him about something.
They came with purpose and left when satisfied.
They didn’t just come in and sit and stay.
Nikki doing that alone was weird enough, but then they doubled the weirdness by not demanding anything of Gunter.
As if Nikki found Gunter’s very presence enough to satisfy them.
Strange concept. And likely not true; Gunter didn’t know what Nikki was here for. It wasn’t that Nikki stayed all day, only most of it. And consistently every day for the past twelve days. Surely there was some purpose behind this. Gunter just didn’t have enough pieces to see the overall puzzle.
And it wasn’t that he minded, per se, having someone nearby. But it was odd. He was used to being alone. This room should be quiet except for the noises he himself made. Not that Nikki was loud—far from it—but…anyway, it felt odd to have someone in here aside from himself for hours at a stretch.
Alright, time to get to the bottom of this. Gunter didn’t want Nikki to feel compelled to stay here, for whatever reason. The mage had been trapped in their life long enough.
Gunter wasn’t precisely sure how to go about getting the info—it seemed like a situation demanding delicacy. And he had none. But he could at least try, and call in reinforcements if he bungled it, right? Right.
Nikki held a pad of legal paper, sketching something out with concentration, the pencil blurring across the page.
The sketch seemed a good conversational opener, so Gunter tilted his head to get a look.
He was surprised by the quality of the sketch.
It was a picture of a dragon in flight, a person strapped to their back.
In fact, it seemed strongly reminiscent of Ravi and Sora.
“You’re a good artist. Ravi and Sora?”
“From their wedding day,” Nikki confirmed. They glanced up with a shy smile, and for a split second, Gunter found them adorable. “It was such a beautiful moment, when they lifted into the sky together.”
“It was,” Gunter said. It had been a beautiful ceremony in many ways.
And Ravi and Sora were radiant throughout it, making even Gunter tear up a little to see his friend so obviously happy.
Gunter was pleased for Ravi. Maybe a little envious he’d found his mate before Gunter had, but with the influx of mages coming into the clan, Gunter had faith his mate was coming. Soon. God, please let it be soon.
“Is that something you wish for? To be mated to a dragon?”
“Of course. I think all mages wish for that, on one level or another.” Nikki’s pencil stopped, but they still looked at the drawing.
“I used to dream of it, when I was with the Jaeggi. That a dragon would find me and fall madly in love on the spot, and swoop in to save me. It wasn’t until I grew older that I realized I’d have to save myself. ”
For some reason, Gunter felt guilty. “You were under too many wards. No dragon could catch your scent.”
“Yeah. I realized that, eventually. At least, I knew no dragon could detect me, not because of…scent. Really, you can smell mages?”
“You’re like the ozone smell before a strong lightning storm. That’s what magic smells like to us.”
Nikki blinked, those purple eyes expressive with interest. “Yeah? That’s interesting. I guess I never really thought of how dragons perceived mages.”
“Bundles of intellect, power, and mischief is my general take on all of you,” Gunter drawled. To his delight, Nikki snickered. He did prefer being around people who could take some teasing and had a sense of humor. Even if Gunter generally sucked at cracking jokes.
Pointing a finger at themself, Nikki protested, “But I’m not like that, right? I’m sitting here calmly.”
“You, I think, are the calm before a storm. You have no formal training and still made a magical explosion, so I trust you the least.”
Nikki appeared delighted by this evaluation. “I do like explosions. That one was my first, but it had so much power and spark. I want to make more.”
“Oh god,” Gunter said, sighing. “Not another one.”
“Another one? Wait, there’s someone else here who likes explosions?”
“Too many, in my opinion. Cassie and Cameron both aren’t to be trusted, although they’ll claim the explosions are for research purposes. Ravi just likes to see things go boom, so he’s—wait, I shouldn’t be telling you any of this. I don’t need you to know who your accomplices are.”
“Aww.” Nikki openly pouted.
Gunter shook his head. How did he almost slip so badly? “Anyway, my point is, you’re just like the rest of them. But not. You haven’t made any noise about leaving the clan, so do you intend to stay?”
Nikki’s answer was firm and without any hesitation. “I do.”
Gunter had expected as much. “Then you should start working on all the things you’ll need to properly come into the clan: visa, driver’s license, magic lessons, all of that.”
Nikki nodded, but hesitation was clear in their expression and body language. “I don’t know…how to do any of that, though.”
Oh. Maybe it wasn’t lack of desire but lack of direction that kept Nikki here with Gunter?
Now, why hadn’t he thought of that sooner?
With Nikki growing up in an environment where everything was provided for them—but without any of the freedoms to grow into a proper adult—of course they wouldn’t have all the right tools or knowledge to know what to do next.
Well, he was happy to give Nikki the direction the mage needed so he stopped lurking in Gunter’s library.
“Cassie is the one who generally handles the paperwork. Mostly because she’s good at it. And of course Lisette is in charge of teaching magic.”
Nikki hesitated even stronger this time, the words coming out slowly as they eyed Gunter sideways. “I’m not…comfortable with them.”
Gunter blinked, not understanding. “Why not?”
“The dragons, I can trust. They have no way of stealing magic from me, and they don’t want to, anyway. A dragon will protect a mage. You and Ravi proved that to me. But other mages are…well, I don’t know if I can trust them. They seem to have their own agendas.”
Once again, Gunter kicked himself for not realizing the obvious. Duh, of course Nikki would be wary of other mages. They’d had no positive experiences with mages. Trust would not come easy there.
Feeling mostly out of his depth with this conversation, Gunter forged ahead anyway. “But you are choosing to stay here anyway? Because of the dragons?”
“Well, yeah. And I trust you.” Nikki’s expression was the epitome of artless innocence.
Gunter looked at that expression and felt a little bad about trying to foist Nikki off on someone else.
Nikki might have imprinted on Gunter because of what happened on the battlefield.
But that, too, was understandable. With everything shifting in Nikki’s world, of course they’d latch onto something.
Gunter just happened to be the something.
If Gunter could get them started on a path, let them gain confidence on their own, then they’d naturally stop hiding down here.
Not that Gunter hid down here. His work was here, that was all. And he worked long hours. It wasn’t hiding.
Why was he arguing with himself?
Anyway. Nikki. Confidence. Focus.
“For the record, I trust every mage in this clan with my life. That’s no exaggeration, either—it’s been put to the test multiple times through the years.
I know it might take you a while to warm up to them, and that’s fine.
There’s no rush on this. But I don’t want you sitting here because you don’t know what to do next. ”
A soft, sweet smile stole over Nikki’s face. “Thanks, Gunter. I may need a little direction. I don’t know what’s against the clan’s rules, what liberties I have. And you say magic lessons, but is there like…a school? Or is this more a Jedi-Apprentice thing?”
“Not a school, and nothing like master and student. We’re rather in between.
At this point, I believe Lisette has about eighteen students.
She teaches all of them according to their schedules.
Some are more advanced than others, so they have shorter lessons.
Others need something more comprehensive.
She’ll test you first, figure out where to start.
You said earlier your parents taught you some things? ”
“Little spells, yeah. The basics of magic. I was only ten when I was taken, so…not a lot.”
Gunter wanted to ask many more questions but sensed Nikki wasn’t comfortable with the topic. Now was not the right time. “Then she’ll want to test you first. After you get a better footing with magic”—Nikki’s mouth opened with wild glee—“that doesn’t involve explosions,” Gunter tacked on dryly.
Nikki immediately deflated again.
“You’ll review with the other mages all the tasks that need to happen in the clan and pick which responsibilities you want to take on.”
With a snap, Nikki perked back up. “I’ve been wondering about that! No one’s asked me to do anything. I didn’t think I could just loaf around without earning my keep somehow. So the mages work?”
“They work a great deal. We maintain a beauty product line to keep a steady income flowing in. Our products used to be subtly enhanced with magic, but ever since Ravi took us out of the closet, we’ve been more open with it all.
The orders have been pouring in, and I think our mages are struggling to keep up with the demand. They’ll welcome another hand.”
“Oh.” Nikki went back to chewing on their bottom lip uncertainly. “So…this is a group effort?”
“Very much so. The mages spend the full day together some days, just making potions. I’ve been roped into helping more than once. Mostly to fetch more ingredients.”
Nikki didn’t seem very enthused by this idea. Gunter mentally sighed and resigned himself to being patient. Nikki’s trauma wasn’t something easily dismissed. A few encouraging words wouldn’t be enough to send them out the door.
Gunter and every dragon in this clan would be the first to agree they’d fight to protect any mage in trouble.
They’d lay their lives on the line without blinking.
After five hundred years without mages, Gunter felt very strongly about that.
But sometimes, it was easier to wrap his head around dashing off to fight than to buckle himself down to something more day-to-day.
And sometimes, he had to remind himself physical safety wasn’t the only thing a mage might need.
Right now, Nikki was safe. But they weren’t well. They were still scared on some level, still nervous, and while they’d chosen to stay, Nikki still didn’t see this place as home. It pained Gunter to see it.
No one else seemed to realize the problem.
And it might be that no one else could help Nikki sort through all of this and come to a better place for the sole reason that Nikki might not trust them enough.
But Nikki trusted Gunter, that was clear.
He wasn’t clear on how he’d earned this trust, but he most certainly had it.
This wasn’t something Gunter would normally choose to do—be a support buddy, that was. Gunter felt ill-equipped for helping anyone through mental issues. But a precious mage needed his help, and nothing else took precedence over that.
Gunter re-evaluated the work he had scheduled himself for today. Truly, all of it could wait. Getting Nikki more comfortable in the clan took precedence over any other work he had lined up.
“Nikki, what country are you from originally?” Best to start there.
“Eh? Uh…” Nikki blinked at him. “That question came out of nowhere. The Netherlands, why?”
“If I’m to help you start all that paperwork, we need your birth certificate and such.” Gunter pulled out his phone and called Cassie, then put it on speaker.
“Speak,” Cassie deadpanned.
“Cassie, I want to help Nikki put together all the right paperwork to get them into the clan here. They said they’re originally from the Netherlands What do we do next?”
“First, thank you mucho for taking that on. I am drowning in immigration forms right now, no joke. People in this clan need to learn how to Google things. I’m not kidding.
I can send you the links to the right websites and forms. Just fill those out, get those rolling.
We’ll need to request copies of Nikki’s records before we can do much of anything. ”
“Alright. What else?”
“That’s literally the only thing you can do until we have copies of birth certificates and stuff. Maybe get Nikki more stuff? I know they went shopping the other day for some essentials, but I dunno anyone who can get everything they want or need in just one shopping trip.”
That was an excellent point. “Thanks, Cassie. I’ll wait for those links.”
“Sure thing. Look for them tomorrow. Today Cassie has no time to go hunting for them.”
“Alright.” Gunter hung up and stared thoughtfully at the phone for a second. Shopping, eh? She was right, just one shopping trip wouldn’t be enough to get Nikki everything they needed.
And he had a hunch Nikki had only gone for essentials.
Making a snap decision, he stood and gestured for Nikki to get up. “Let’s go take you shopping properly.”
Nikki didn’t move immediately. Instead, they looked at Gunter as if he’d lost his mind. “I really am fine, though. I got enough clothes to last me a week. What else do I need?”
Only a week’s worth of clothes…Gunter shook his head in exasperation. Nikki had a lot to learn. But arguing would only put the mage’s back up. Better to dangle the right bait instead. “Don’t you want art supplies?”
Nikki’s eyes flashed down to the legal pad and the pencil sketch. The longing was instant.
“There’s an art store in town.” Gunter gave it another second, letting it sink in before adding, “I know they carry canvases, paints, all sorts of mediums. Wouldn’t you rather paint that scene?”
“I’ve…never had paints.” Nikki looked wistful at the idea, though, not resistant.
“We can stop by a bakery and get sweets on the way back.”
Nikki only needed another second before they were out of their seat. “Okay, I’m sold.”
Never let it be said Gunter didn’t know the way to a mage’s heart.