Fix the future by changing the past

a sudden change in plans

"I am NEVER again going to disguise myself as a girl. Ever." Douxie whined, rubbing his arm as he attempted to get rid of the shudders that ran up and down his back.

"Surely it wasn't that bad, teach?" Claire asked with a giggle as they walked in the forest, heading towards the Lake House. 

"Disguises are Archie's thing! Not mine!" Douxie groaned and he shifted the sleeping cat in his arms while still attempting to get rid of the shudders. 

Jim only chuckled as he watched the two magic users go back and forth about their misadventure returning Mary and Darci back to their homes. A task only made harder for them due to the still magically induced sleep driven dragon and the troll's still aching arms. 

"Illusion magic is much harder than it looks…" the wizard said with a tired sigh as he practically dragged his feet behind himself. "Especially now that my magic reserves have been significantly shortened without my staff…" 

As if remembering something, Claire looked up to Jim, her face scrunching up in concentration as she held onto his hand to make him stop. "Uh…" the half-troll started, watching his girlfriend and following her unsaid command. "What are you doing, Claire?" 

"Trying to turn you back into a human." She answered simply before continuing to concentrate. She could feel the surge of magic within her, the pull of energy from every ounce of her being, clumping together in the palms of her hands, leaving most of her body shivering in cold. 

Noticing her state, Douxie immediately caught her hands, effectively stopping her use of magic. "Wha-?!" She exclaimed, surprised by the sudden action from her teacher.

"Don't, Claire." He started, a serious expression on his face. "Your body is still recovering from your possession and exposure to magic… factor in the highly condensed spell you were about to cast, you would have tapped into your life force, which could have been deadly." 

Silence fell through the group as they took in that information. They knew that it was dangerous when Claire would open up a giant portal, they knew it was enough to tire her out, but they didn't know that it could zap away her life force. 

This very reason was why most magic users needed something to channel their magic through, whether it was through a staff, wand, or even a bracelet, sometimes even a combination. Not only were such items used to channel magic, they were also a way to focus and store magic too. And now that the wizard thought about it, he was going to have to get one for Claire, though he does know that unlike most spellcasters, she didn't necessarily need one to focus her magic. 

With a sigh, Douxie let go of Claire’s hand, allowing her to lean on Jim who gladly held her close in comfort. "I don't doubt your ability, Claire… I just don't want to see you get hurt in your current state…" 

With a shaky breath, she nodded, her hands grabbing hold of Jim’s stony ones. "I… I understand…" she spoke in a soft whisper before looking up to Jim. "But how else are we going to hide… this… from Dr. Lake? How did this even happen?" She asked, gently cupping her boyfriend's cheek who smiled and chuckled. 

"We… Uh… actually... kinda threw mom into the deep end…?" The half-troll said sheepishly, grabbing at one of his horns, earning him a baffled expression from the shadowmancer. 

"You… told her?" 

"Well… it was more like we took her with us when we bargained with the changelings." Douxie said with an amused chuckle, walking over to lean on Jim's shoulder. "Though she did handle things rather well, I'd say." 

Claire only stared at her boyfriend and teacher, dumbfounded before taking a deep breath and rubbing her temple, trying to wrap her head around how crazily stupid that was of them to do.