A Tale of One Deviant (Book One)

Chapter 142: Firea's Friend. Definitely.

She blinked awake. Time had obviously passed, but not a lot of it. She was laying on the floor, and her mop was still a sturdy wooden pole in her hand. However, her face hurt, quite a lot. Also, the back of her head.

     "Magaris?"

     "Ah..." leaked from her lips. The ceiling was directly above. It looked a bit fuzzy.

     A name was coming to mind, bubbling up to the surface, but that headache was making it so difficult to put it on her tongue. It was hard to even remember if it was male or female that was speaking. Just, a child's voice.

     But the face popped into view. Ticklish strands were brushing her cheeks, making her nose twitch, as she looked up at the little lady smiling down at her.

     "...Hera."

     "She remembers!"

     "Of course she would. Unless, you were aiming for her head."

     "I'm still not good at controlling level twenty wind magic...I'm sorry."

     Her cheek was patted. Magaris' eyes pressed together before opening wide and blinking quickly.

     It didn't seem like a dream. It hurt a lot more than a dream.

     "Chord."

     "Yes?" the other little girl answered, standing off to the side beyond the curly curtain of hair in Magaris' face. That girl's hair was straight, though tousled from her sprint down the hall. Chord's hands were clasped behind her almost guiltily.

     Magaris' eyes roamed around. There was one more, and her leg hurt.

     "Hera, can you..."

     "Ah!" The little girl pulled back from where she was studying the dazed maid's face. "Yes!"

     "Hera, River's going to scold you again if you keep knocking people over."

     "Geh...I know..."

     "You're lucky I'm good at healing magic. Huh, Magaris? Haven't I gotten better? Hera hit your head on the ground really hard, you know? It shouldn't hurt so much anymore."

     Her chest stuck out with pride as Magaris slowly sat up, releasing the things still in her hands. The cloth of her dress was splayed around her legs, the gray colors contrasting strongly against the polished wooden floor.

     It did hurt, but less. The little tips of the seven-year-old girl's little hands were glowing, actively working on Magaris' head. She could feel Chord's mana. It was quite calm, differing from the contained "Praise me!" that was etched into every part of her cute smirk.

     "Uh-huh...that's...very nice, Chord. Your magic...got better."

     Her nose exhaled quickly, happily. "Of course. I've been practicing on everyone that Hera knocks down."

     "I don't knock down that many people!" Hera protested, kneeling beside the maid. Her lips squirmed and head went down, hair rolling into her face. "Just a few."

     "Adri..."

     He was standing there with his own hair in his eyes, head drooping just like his twin. Chord's magic was finishing itself off while she flipped a piece of hair over her shoulder, displaying her school uniform in full.

     "Hel-lo," he chimed, looking only down at his fingers as they wrung themselves out. His shoulders were squished inward like he was meeting a stranger for the first time and being shy about it. "We're home..."