Honor of Euroka

Chapter 11 - The Familiar Event

Sekena was frantic. Every witch counselor was at this time of the year. It was the start of a new month and the second month of the year. Not that the date was important, of course. It was the event that happened on that day that was important.

"Familiars already... when I was in school, we got them in our third year. You're not even in your third month!" Sekena complained to nobody in particular. As a member of the council, she especially had it rough. She was in charge of organizing the whole thing, along with only seven others.

She paced back and forth, unaware of the stares she got. Xian started pacing with her for no particular reason. But really, nothing he did had an actual reason. Sekena stopped pacing.

"By the way, where's Honor?" She asked, not seeing him anywhere. Evelynn and Yennefer looked to each other, then simultaneously shrugged.

"Probably in his room, like always," said Yennefer. Honor was spending a lot of time in his room, Sekena thought. It was strange, but he had always been antisocial to begin with, so Sekena supposed it wasn't exactly out of character for him.

Hmm... perhaps once he gets a familiar, he'll start to break out his shell, she thought. Oh, right. Familiars. She started pacing again, back to her usual thought process.

***

Honor was wearing the mask again. It made him feel guilty; he knew he shouldn't have it, much less wear it. But the shade intrigued him. No doubt it was a shadow of the owner.   Technically, what he was doing was against the law, but he couldn't stop until he figured out what was going on.

When he put on the mask, the figure immediately appeared in the exact same spot as last time. Honor didn't know whether or not it could speak, but if it could, it was awfully quiet anyway.

There was a difference to it, though. Last time, it had simply stood there, like a shadow of a person who hadn't moved in decades. This time, however... it was pointing. Honor looked in the direction it was pointing, but obviously, it ended with a wall.

Honor reached his hand out. Perhaps he could learn something of the ghost if he just-

Without warning, there was a sharp knock at the door, and he jerked his hand away, rapidly stowing the mask in the dresser.

"Y-yes?" He called out, trying to make his voice neutral. The last thing he needed was to add even more suspicious glares to the mix.

"Sekena needs you." One of the girls called to him. He couldn't be bothered to find out which one. Honor sighed in relief and walked out to the living room, sitting down on the couch.

The other two sat beside him, and Sekena was, for some reason, still pacing. She stopped in front of them and sat on her own couch, sipping... tea? Coffee? Judging by the sharp smell, probably the former.

"Now, you're officially nearing the Familar Festival," She said. Honor found two things confusing about this. First, they were literally in their second month of school. Surely it should be later than that. And second, why was it called a festival? Wasn't a festival just a celebration?

"Stop giving me that look, Honor. I didn't choose the name or the time when it was going to happen," She said and sipped her coffee again. Honor wasn't even going to wonder how she knew what he was thinking. It honestly seemed pretty in line for her.

"Now, I'm going to tell you how this works. There are different regions, in a way. We build grasslands, water, mountains, deserts... depending on your familiar, you'll have to go to different regions.

"Each 'round' will be a challenge. For example, you may have to fight a small monster or dare one of your fears in order to gain the familiar's trust. The 'round' ends when everyone from each region has gotten their familiar or failed to do so.

"The event usually takes two days to a week, depending on the number of students and their proficiency for natural magic. Family members, friends, or any invited guests are allowed to come to cheer people on and to congratulate them when they get them, hence why it's called a festival. I doubt people who fail to get their familiar think of it happily, though.

"The familiar chooses its owner, name, and animal. Don't feed them what that animal typically would. Familiars are magical, so we have to make specific food for them." Sekena said. That was a lot of information to take in at once. Honor was overwhelmed by it all, but he did his best not to show it.

The other two nodded. They'd grow up in rich, noble families. No doubt they already had seen many such events. Honor felt he was at a disadvantage because of his background, which he found unfair. It wasn't his choice to become some stupid witch! In fact, as soon as he was put in normal witch classes, he would try his best to fail all of them. He'd much rather go back to being a poor, unnoticeable farmer.

Sekena then gave them a pamphlet, which explained pretty much everything she had just told them. Honor was now in a quandary of sorts. He could invite his family, yes. But he doubted they'd actually cheer for him at all. They'd most likely come for the free food.

On the other hand, it wasn't very loyal to them to not invite them. And if Honor could be described in any way other than mediocre, unlucky, and all-around garbage, it would be loyal.

He ignored the thought for now. Looking at the pamphlet, he saw that he still had a week to decide. And because he was so proficient at procrastination, he decided to leave it to his future self. For now, he could go back to worrying about his grades, paying attention, and not getting in detention with Quinn again.