Killing Time

One would think that a classes at a magical school for magical people would be, well… Mostly magical. But no, as it turned out, almost all of Matilda’s classes were just plain ol’ high school classes. Sure, she didn’t exactly hate school, and she didn’t want to give up on her education completely, but she was sort of hoping her magical schooling would be a little more substantial. But no, just a measly fifty-five minutes a day were dedicated to her magic, and she hadn’t learned a single new spell.

Today, she was once again reviewing basic magical theory. The teachers had even decided that she needed remedial magical theory classes. Apparently her technique was so poor that they had decided to teach her ad hoc, even the stupid little mundane bits that she totally already knew.

Her homework for today’s particular exercise in futility was to commit a spell to memory. Snooze. As if she hadn’t already learned how to do that. She was supposed to use a new method, and demonstrate her control over the magics in class the next day. The unfortunate thing about her particular style is that once she’s cast her spell, she’s basically done for the day, so most of her classes were on theory, not actual practice.

So, there Matilda sat, books sprawled across her desk as she tried to look for an interesting spell to try. Well, she had been doing that. Now, she was preoccupying herself with trying to burn the edges of her laboratory journal to make it look all rustic and weathered.

”Fiat Lux.” She whispered, setting the edge of the page alight, before quickly pinching out the fire with her thumb and her index finger. ”Fiat Lux.” She said again, repeating the process with the next corner. It was clear that Matilda was bored, and when she grew bored, her mind often wreaked havoc on the mortal plane.

She hadn’t expected anyone to talk to her. She had gotten a little too comfortable with this school, the way nobody batted an eye when one was doing weird shit. She hadn’t expected something as mundane as a bit of book burning to garner much attention, but then, there you are. When the girl approached her and asked her question, Matilda looked up blankly, clearly surprised, as if she had thought she were alone in the large, crowded library.

She tried to think of something sage and wizardly to say, but nothing jumped to mind. So, she settled into her usual way of handling such questions.
”Is this a trick question?” She asked flatly, looking up from her singed book. The girl who’d inquired looked to be about her age, and somehow even shorter than she was, which was a rarity enough for Matilda that she managed to hold her attention. Her accent was vaguely Canadian, though she couldn’t have told you where in Canada.

As she glanced at her, a chill ran down her spine, and the hairs on Tilly’s arm all stood on end. She’d gotten rather used to this feeling, in and of itself, during her time here. This was merely her instincts, warning her of the presence of a being that feeds on humans. This had been far more distressing the first few times, but over time, she’d gotten rather used to the idea of living in close quarters with those who had the potential to eat you alive. Still, something more was at work here. She felt a tingle down her spine, her body’s natural defenses warning her of arcane trickery. That gave her pause. She hadn’t encountered that effect nearly as often, even with the prolific human shape charms that many students used. Upon further examination, she wore no such charm. Something about this girl was… Alluring? No, that wasn’t the right word. Intriguing? Yes, that was closer.

”Zounds.” She mumbled, dropping the book onto her lap. ”Are you trying to use a glamour on me?” She blinked, eying the girl dubiously. Plenty of people used their powers for pranks, after all.

@Boop

All in all, the girl’s concern over the burning of books was very valid. She’d have gladly taken to her room to work on the project, had the fire not set off her smoke alarm repeatedly. Even a small enough was enough to set it off, and that was an embarrassment not worth repeating. ”Uh, yeah, purely scientific purposes.” She answered absentmindedly, checking over the girl’s shoulder to make sure there wasn’t a librarian closing in on her as they spoke. Technically speaking, this was her book, and she was practicing with the use of her powers, but she’d rather avoid the trouble if she could.

The girl was giving off some seriously weird mojo. It was possible that it was just interference from somewhere else, as Tilly’s senses weren’t perfect, but her instincts were rarely wrong. Of course, this was a school that housed all sorts of things that preyed on humans in their natural habitat, so she shouldn’t have much cause to be too worried. As far as Tilly could tell, however, she was genuinely confused when she pointed out the strange illusion. Curiouser and curiouser.

”Huh.” She said, not entirely convinced. ”I’ve uh… I’ve just got a sense for these things. There’s an illusion afoot, and your aura is the kind that belongs to a lot of nasty things that go bump in the night. No offense.” She explained, a little quickly, as if she were not entirely sure there wasn’t some sort of sick prank being played on her yet. ”Of course, I would hope one of my fellow students wouldn’t be inclined to take a bite out of me, but one can never be too careful.” She added, possibly clarifying anything that her explanation left vague about the subtext.

”So what are you, exactly? I’d say a vampire, but you look like you’ve never seen the inside of a Hot Topic. Maybe a Ghoul? No, you’re too lively…”