A Matter Of Understanding

Brain Is Better Than Brawn

Magic has always been a constant in Chise's life. Her family had the Sight, and the Neighbors surrounded her, craving for her soul, since before she could even remember. After Elias bought her, the magic in her life took an even bigger place, and finally she was able to understand some of it.

No matter how much she was exposed to it, magic was still so captivating. Miraculous. The proof that life had a lot more to offer than she thought at first, and judging by Joseph's face, he enjoyed practicing magic just as much.

"...in some cultures, lilies are the flowers of the underworld, Chise," he explained, "people mourning the death of their loved ones may leave lilies as offerings, so the dead know the way to the afterlife. If the family couldn't bring lilies to the dead, it was the gravedigger's duty to bring some to the tomb. That's why in my cemetery I kept a patch just outside my window."

Joseph was glowing as he talked. He didn't even seem to mind mentioning his past as gravedigger: he spoke of it without the usual pain those memories brought to him. That was such an unusual occurrence that Chise didn't have it in her to be annoyed by the stalling. She wanted to let him enjoy this moment... it was rare to see him genuinely happy. Maybe he'd missed being listened to.

He tied a knot with the lilies and then snatched the wolfsbane. The process so far was similar to Elias' finding spell.

"Now, the wolfsbane. You probably already know about it, it's such a common ingredient in spellmaking," he continued, ", but it's a catalyst for one's inner magic. That's why we need some wolfsbane in almost every potion or spell that requires a bit of power. You as a Sleigh Beggy probably wouldn't need it, because your magic is so powerful, but we can't be too careful, can we?"

And he tied the wolfsbane to the lilies. Now was when the procedure differed from what Chise already knew.

"Now, we'll burn them together, to end their connection with the living world," he stated, setting the plants on the ground and grabbing the bottle full of dirt, "As soon as we see smoke, we'll throw the grave's dirt over it. The spell will recognize the specter's essence and show us where the wandering soul is."

Then, he stretched out a hand to her.

"Fire, mage's apprentice?" Joseph asked, "A lighter can work too."

"Uh...Okay."

His demand startled her. She had been too focused on watching him work. They didn't think about bringing a lighter, and she was supposed to rest her body, so Elias should have used his magic to borrow a fire fae's power... but because Elias wasn't there, she had to do it herself. She didn't even think she owned a lighter anyway.

She took out her staff and started to chant.

"Bring, bring, fire's core."

Her staff reacted to her magic and started glowing. It seemed like it was working, Ashen Eyes didn't mess with any magic barrier this time.

"Grant, grant the fire's goal."

Chise thought she saw a tiny smile in the staff's aura.

"So we can reach, reach, the fire's soul."

The tiny smile became a tiny fae face that winked at her and a ray of flames reached the plants.

"Okay, okay, enough." Joseph said, a little concerned, that was a little too much fire.

"Oh, okay." Chise said, turning the staff away. She added a muttered thank you and winked to the tiny fire fae, who vanished as fast as she appeared.

Joseph sighed, relieved. Luckily the flames, didn't burn the plants too quickly. In just a second there was already smoke, and he grabbed some dirt from the bottle.