The One

Zanna's deduction

The day passed, and so did the rest of the week. In the end, even as two weeks were gone, Izar did not tell anyone what the exchange with the silhouette in white was about; and he had packed their schedule in such a way that they did not have the time to ask either. However, just because it wasn't spoken about didn't mean that it was forgotten. In fact, the clearer it became that Izar was avoiding the topic, the more it plagued the other three's minds. Waylon and Feray, new as they were to Refica, had no idea; when they asked Bentley in private, he too did not have much to tell. The only thing he could discern was the only thing the siblings themselves guessed: a powerful witch with ill intent towards Izar and Feray, thus explaining why only those two could feel her intimidating aura.

Then, when she returned to Zanna's place, Feray asked her as well.

"White cloak...suffocating aura... 'it's useless'..." Zanna mumbled as she looked through every cupboard in the kitchen for a specific type of bread she liked. "Brioche!" She took the bread and gave one to Feray.

"Thanks. But um, the cloaked woman?" Feray reminded.

Zanna took a big bite out of the brioche and then shook her head. "There is too little information. I think Grandma might know, but whether she tells us is a different thing. It wouldn't be weird if Izar had some enemies, but you? You're new!"

Something about what she said seemed to be crucial to solving the riddle, yet Feray couldn't quite put a finger on it.

"Can you repeat what you just said?" Feray asked as a result.

"Brioche!"

"Not that!"

"Grandma might know but she might not tell us?"

"No, after that."

"It wouldn't be weird if Izar had some enemies, but you're new?"

"Yes, that. It was only our second—technically first—day in Refica. Aside from the four of us on the street, the only people who should know about us being here at all are you and Grandma, and neither of you is that tall."

"Was the lady very tall?"

Feray thought for a moment. "I think she was taller than even Izar."

"Hm...and he pulled you to him. And then she said it's useless," Zanna recalled.

Feray nodded.

"I think he was including you in his obscurity spell."

"How does that work?"

"Wait, wait. First of all: how did you not die when you ju—I mean, fell off the bridge?" Zanna asked, walking out of the kitchen to sit in Grandma's rocking chair. The elderly lady herself was out somewhere with her friends that evening.

Feray followed her out to the living room and took a seat on the couch next to her.

"Izar jumped after me and made some...mist? Clouds? Under me until he reached me. Then he threw something to a tree as an anchor and pulled us ashore."

Zanna nodded repeatedly as she listened. "Just like I thought! His primary type of magic is the aggressive type, not protective...no, that's not accurate. I'd say maybe it's external aggression and internal protection, but not external protection."

Feray only tilted her head.

"See, the simplest way to save you back there was to cast a protective bubble for you, but he didn't do that. He aimed every other second to put clouds under you instead. If my guess is right, those clouds are more frequently used for attacking and he could have hurt you with them if he misfired. Complicated, isn't it?" Zanna beamed, most likely at the thrill of solving a puzzle.

"Hm..."

"I daresay he can't cast external protective spells. He can protect himself, but no one else."

"Can't?" Feray voiced with undisguised shock.

"Why would he use such a complicated method otherwise? And then, last time we already guessed he usually uses an obscurity spell to hide his true level of power. If he pulled you under his cloak right after sensing that aura, that had to be to include you in the obscurity he cast for himself—because he couldn't hide you any other way."

"But then the woman said it's useless."

"I don't think it was because his obscurity couldn't be extended. If that was the case, he wouldn't have done that in the first place."

"Then?"

"She was more powerful."

Hearing that, Feray lay down altogether on the couch. She sighed. "That doesn't help at all."

This day, it was Zanna who acted as Waylon and Feray's tour guide. She took them to what looked like a shop next to a school. The shop had tinted glass doors and drapes over those doors. As Zanna pushed them open, there came a jingle from the bells hanging from the handles.

Inside, a man in his mid-fifties was sitting on a stool behind the counter. Both walls were lined with shelves of various goods, but Zanna ignored them all.

"Welcome to Familiar Place...ah, Zanna, you've come again. Have you finally decided to go to school?" the shopkeeper asked.

"Yep! I'm going with these two," she answered cheerfully, gesturing towards Waylon and Feray. "We've come for familiars today."

The man nodded. He retrieved a pair of glasses from the drawer and put them on. Then, he turned around and opened a door behind the counter—possibly a warehouse connected to the shop. A few minutes later, he came back out with a kyanite ball, which glistened softly under the dim lights.

"When you go to school, you will learn to summon familiars with which you deliver messages to whoever and wherever you please within Refica. But without knowing what form your familiar takes, you will not be able to summon it," the shopkeeper explained, "That is why most people come to find out what that is before officially attending school. Zanna, perhaps you should go first?"

"Yep!" Zanna responded, as though that was what she'd planned to do in the first place.

The girl walked over to the counter and placed her hands on either side of the ball. She closed her eyes. The kyanite ball emitted a glow, which subsided a moment later.

"Open your eyes," the shopkeeper said as a cue.

Zanna opened her eyes. The vague shape of an owl appeared in the ball. Her eyes lit up. "An owl!" she exclaimed, "I wasn't expecting that, but this is so cool!"

"Well done, Zanna. The owl is an animal of wisdom. Then...?"

"Waylon, maybe?" Zanna suggested, tilting her head at him.

Without a word, Waylon stepped up and repeated what Zanna had done. A lion showed up.

"Strength and determination," the shopkeeper identified.

When Feray's turn came, the shape of a bird appeared in the ball.

"That should be a roadrunner," said the shopkeeper. "The bird of intelligence and courage."

"Huh..." Feray breathed.

Zanna burst out laughing. "You are quite fearless, my one! We both know that. Thanks, Hayes, as for payment—"

The shopkeeper named Hayes put up a hand to stop her mid-sentence. "On your grandmother's behalf, there is no need."

"Are you friends?" Waylon asked.

"Hayes is like a son to her," Zanna explained. "Thanks, then!"

The group made their way out the door. As they left, there came a sigh amongst them.

"...can anyone explain why I'm here too?" Bentley asked.

"Why not?" Feray answered with a wink.