Diaper U

Chapter 11

All throughout the lecture hall, the girls were sitting in circles on the floor, one person in the middle, taking turns channeling power. It felt less like magic and more like a team building exercise–and, really, it felt even less like that and more like a game for toddlers. Duck Duck Goose, but someone sat in the middle. Guess the Leader without any guessing.

Daniel resisted the urge to make any sarcastic quips about kiddie games, but the jokes still came to mind.

He kept his mouth shut, because if Daniel started making quips about how babyish the exercise felt, the retorts would be fast, obvious, and draw far more attention to the diaper he'd been required to wear. Better to keep silent and avoid reprisal.

And, besides, he had work to do. This was why he was here, after all, to learn magic.

He began as the top left point on the pentacle–the point representing 'Earth'. Mathilde sat to his left, Hazel to his right, and Asami sat right in the center of the circle, legs crossed on the ground.

In practice, there was no need for them to literally sit in a pentacle formation to do their magic, but this helped everyone remember their roles and reinforced the positions they were attempting to fulfill. Daniel, as Earth, was the most tangible, physical point in their coven, the shaper of all things solid.

"How do we start?" Cassie asked.

Asami spoke up. "I've done this before, so you can just follow my instructions. Scoot closer, though." They all did so, moving close enough in that they could reach out and touch one another. "Okay, put one hand on the shoulder of the wom–the person next to you, and one hand on me, then follow my lead."

She shut her eyes, as all the girls reached out their hands. Mathilde's hand rested on Daniel's shoulder, a gentle touch.

Daniel didn't know if he should take her instruction to 'follow her lead' literally, so he watched for a moment, waiting to see that the other girls had actually closed their eyes. Once they did, though, he still watched for a moment longer. Hazel's face was tight with concentration, and Cassie's looked uncertain, eyelids fluttering like she was tempted to look around and see if she was doing everything correctly. Radha, meanwhile, wore a smirk, like she'd thought of something funny she couldn't wait to share.

Mathilde and Asami, though, looked relaxed. Since they were the most experienced amongst the group, Daniel tried to mimic them, clearing out his mind. Reaching out, he laid hands on Cassie, to his left, and on Asami. He shut his eyes, pushed aside worries, and allowed his magical sensitivity to extend to the space around him.

Gently touching of hands, a close, cozy circle, the closed eyes and silent halls, it all facilitated their mental bonds. With practice, Daniel knew that covens could link minds with one another like second nature, but for now, they had to prime their brains and bodies to prepare.

Though the goal was different, the intent had much in common with Rachel's own mental manipulation the day before: Creating parity between headspace and arcane goals.

He felt the pull a moment later–Asami's mind touching his own. He didn't allow her in, exactly, his thoughts were his own, but he met the connection and matched it. A mental handshake, rather than a mental hug; he was reticent to open himself too much to strangers.

Through her, in a moment, he felt the others. Asami formed a mental basin, from which rivers flowed in and out, pooling their connections. They had no spells to cast, but they shared energy regardless.

Daniel struggled with the specifics of his own cornerstone. He was Earth, his role was to give their magic solid shape, an outline. However, though he tried, the rivers that flowed between them still spilled out, sloshing over their banks and beds. The connections were strong, but without an equally strong boundary to hem it all in, much of the finer details were lost.