A/N: I love writing about Daemons. Now the second fic in this series is up. Hope you enjoy it!
For those who are not familiar with the concept, a daemon is a physical manifestation of a person's soul. Daemons are able to shapeshift between animal forms when their humans are young, but they settle into permanent forms when their humans reach maturity, and the forms they settle as are indicators of what their human's souls are like.
There's a list at the end of the fic with all named daemons, their settled forms (if they were mentioned), and their respective humans, because I know these things can get confusing.
"Soul-learning" is the second fic in a series of Magisterium Daemon! AU fics I'm writing. The first fic is called "Till My Soul Unravels". If you look for it on AO3, the series' name is "A Place for Daemons to Roam".
I also published this on AO3 (username: MidnightHalo27)
This fic is not compliant with The Bronze Key, but there are hints to things that were revealed in it.
Disclaimer: The Magisterium book series belongs to Cassandra Clare and Holly Black, not me. The Daemon concept is based on the book trilogy "His Dark Materials", by Philip Pullman, and I, obviously, don't own it.
Reviews, kudos, etc are awesome! Constructive criticism is very welcome, but flames will be used to roast marshmallows.
Soul-learning
by: GakuenAlicefan27
"I never thought it'd be a butterfly." Tamara says, looking over to where Call is playing a game with Celia, Pax nestled in his hair. The daemon's black wings hide well in Call's black curls – If it weren't for the white tips, it would be easy not to notice her.
Aaron nods. "I never thought it'd be anything tiny." He says, caressing Aurora's ears. "I didn't think it would be a wolf, but I was expecting something…"
"Deadly." Jasper completes.
Aaron glares at him. "Just because…"
"No." Jasper says. "Not because of who Call was, but because of who he is."
Tamara frowns. "You said…"
"I said deadly." He takes a sip of juice. "I didn't say killer."
"But…"Aaron begins.
"Think about all the power Call has. All the magic; not just chaos magic, but magic in general." Jasper insists. "Think about all that power, then look me in the eye and tell me he isn't deadly."
Tamara bites her lip. "I guess I see your point."
"So don't be fooled." Jasper takes another sip of juice. "Call isn't any less deadly just because his daemon is small. A person doesn't need to look threatening to be a threat. A daemon doesn't need to be big to cause damage. There are poisonous butterflies, you know."
"I can't decide if you're being nice or mean." Tamara comments.
"I'm being realistic." Jasper counters.
They begin bickering after that, but Aaron isn't paying attention anymore. Instead, he looks down at Aurora, who is in rabbit form, and sighs in frustration.
They had talked about settling the week before, and it had been good getting his insecurities off his chest, but even with Call and Tamara's reassurances, his worries haven't simply disappeared; this is not how things work.
There is a part of Aaron that wants Rory to remain unsettled for as long as possible. That way, he'd feel somewhat freer; feel like he still had time to learn and change and be a child, not a child soldier.
But another part of Aaron wants Rory to settle right that second – Then maybe, things would get clearer. Maybe, if Rory settled, Aaron would feel like he knew who he was and where his life was going.
Just maybe.
~x~
Now that Call has made his mind on being wearier around Alex, he notices a lot of things he hadn't noticed before.
For example, that Mirfak watches Pax a lot.
And Alex watches too, but he's more subtle about it.
Call used to think that Alex and his daemon were very different from each other, but Mirfak's snake eyes look at Pax as if deciding when to attack his prey, and Alex's eyes are cold when he thinks no one is paying attention.
Call should have started paying attention sooner.
~x~
Aaron knows Call was worried about settling too, but his worries were not the same as Aaron's, so he doesn't know if he should even compare the both of them.
He does notice that Call seems to be taking it all in stride though; and he wonders if Call's worrying stopped because Pax settled, or if Pax settled because the worrying stopped.
When he asks Tamara what she thinks, she just shrugs, then looks at him knowingly.
"It's gonna happen, Aaron."
"But when?" He whines.
"I don't know, but take it easy. You're sixteen. You have time."
"I'm a Makar. In times of war. I might not have the time."
"Don't think like that." Tamara says.
She doesn't say it isn't true.
~x~
"She's gonna settle soon." Pax says, from where she's landed on the table.
Call and Tamara exchange a look. Athamas cocks his head to the side, then jumps on the table. "Who?" He asks. It's a pain to know where Pax is looking at now that she's an insect.
"Cass." Pax answers.
They turn to look behind them, where Jasper is doing homework a few tables away, with Cassiopeia lying at his feet, relaxed, but awake.
"Why do you think that?" Tamara asks.
It's common knowledge that Jasper and Cass can't wait for her to settle, but they are not the only ones, and wanting isn't enough to make it happen.
"Brat's grown."
Call snickers, but he knows she's right.
~x~
Master Rufus lets Call use his tornado-phone-thingy-whose-name-Call-doesn't remember to tell his dad the news.
Like always, Alastair's working on a car. Sometimes Call wonders if his father even uses the other rooms of the house when Call isn't there or if he just sleeps and eats in the garage.
He doesn't see Aella, but there's a clinking sound coming from under the car, so he figures she must be checking for things amiss in there.
When Call says that Pax has settled, Alastair stiffens for a moment. Then, he focuses on Pax, flying above Call's head, and he lets out a sigh of relief.
Call knows how happy he must be to see anything but a wolf as his daemon. It kind of stings, the thought that Alastair might have loved him less if Pax had been a wolf, but he shakes that thought as soon as it comes. His dad is trying, he can see that, and the smile he gives Call is bright enough to make him feel weightless.
When he finishes the call, he thanks Master Rufus and makes to leave, but is stopped just as he gets to the door.
"Call?" Master Rufus asks, gently. He is looking at Call with an expression that makes him fidgety; the kind of expression an adult wears when they are about to start a conversation they know the other person wants to avoid.
He feels Pax land on his hair and raises his hand so she can fly over to one of his fingers instead. He keeps his eyes on her as he answers. "Yes?"
"How do you feel?"
Call bites his tongue before he can say "fine"; Master Rufus won't believe it anyway. He wonders how he can answer that question without giving something important away. After a few seconds, he shrugs and says: "Surprised."
Master Rufus smiles. "And why is that? Do you not feel that this form is right for Pax?"
Call thinks back to that funny feeling in the pit of his stomach, that deep certainty that ran through him when he first saw Pax's settled form. He shakes his head. "Not the form." He answers. "Just…the timing."
"Timing?" Freyja asks, looking at them from where she is perched on a shelf.
"I don't understand why it happened now." He clarifies. Pax flutters her wings but stays on his finger. "I don't particularly feel like I know who I am."
"Do you know who you aren't?" Master Rufus asks.
Call swallows dry. "It doesn't work like that."
"You'd be surprised."
Call frowns. He's kind of always thought of settling as this mysterious, complicated matter; but perhaps it isn't. Perhaps settling is simple, and people make it complicated. Perhaps a lot of things are simple and people make them complicated.
Perhaps.
~x~
"Are you even trying to catch me?" Pax yells as Cassiopeia and Athamas, who are in cat form, take turns trying to paw her out of the air.
"Ah, guys…maybe you should, I don't know – Holy crap!" Aaron says, as Athamas almost manages to hit Pax's left wing. "Maybe you should be more careful!" Aaron completes, looking a little green. Aurora hadn't even wanted to watch; she kept her head hidden in Aaron's robes the entire time since they began.
Call and Jasper double over with laughter. Tamara hides her smile behind her hand.
"I'm serious!" Aaron insists.
"They're not gonna hurt her, Aaron." Call says.
"Not on purpose!" Aaron counters. "But accidents happen!"
"It's gonna be fine." Tamara says.
"I swear you two have no sense of self-preservation!"
"Oh, really?" Jasper says. "And you only realized this now?"
~x~
A month after Pax settles, Call runs into Anastasia Tarquin. She already knows about the settling; Alex told her. Call tries to analyze her reaction, see if her smile is gonna be fake like her stepson's is.
She's almost crying. She's not faking it.
She doesn't hug him or even touch his shoulder in some form of congratulation, but she looks at him and Pax with so much joy in her eyes that it makes him uncomfortable for some reason. Her daemon isn't in Call's line of sight, but if he had to bet, he'd bet that he was looking as proud as his human.
It's only much later, when he's getting ready to sleep, that he realizes she looked at him the same way Alastair had looked at him when he'd told him the news.
~x~
"Get off my head, Pax." Cassiopeia says, unamused.
"Uhm, let me think…" Pax says. Two seconds later, she responds. "Nope. I'm staying here."
"There we go again." Mutter Athamas and Aurora.
"You have three exact seconds to fly away and stop bothering me."
"I'm a butterfly and you're in cat form. How can I be bothering you? I bet you can't even feel my weight."
"I'm gonna swat you with my tail."
"Ten bucks says I'll dodge and you'll end up hitting yourself instead."
"I'll turn into a spider and eat you, then."
"Bring. It. On." Pax says.
"Oh, I will."
Nothing happens.
"Whenever you're ready." Pax teases.
Cassiopeia doesn't answer.
"Cass?" Pax tries looking down at her face, but it is hard to see much from the angle she is at.
"I can't." Cassiopeia says, sounding baffled.
"Can't what?"
"Change into a spider." Now she sounds alarmed.
"Say that again." Athamas says, ears perking up.
"I can't change into anything!" Cass exclaims.
"Cass, calm down!" Rory says.
"Easy for you to say!"
"Wait!" Pax says, getting off the cat's head at last and flying till she's at eye level. "You settled? Is that it?"
"I…" Cass begins. "I think I did. But…" She shakes her head. "It can't be! I didn't even feel anything different!"
"You're telling me that? You do remember it took me nearly a day to realize I had settled, right?"
Cass looks stunned. "So…I'm a Siamese cat?"
"An applehead Siamese cat, by the looks of it." Athamas says.
"What a mouthful. I'm just gonna say cat." Pax comments. "Anyway, come Cass! Let's tell Jasper! He's gonna be happy!"
Cass looks at where Jasper is sitting with the others a few feet away. "Yes." She whispers, joy finally seeping into her voice. She straightens. "Let's tell him!"
A/N: List of named daemons:
Call: Pax - settled form: butterfly (black wings with white tips)
Aaron: Aurora - unsettled
Tamara: Athamas - unsettled
Jasper: Cassiopeia - settled form: applehead Siamese cat
Alex: Mirfak - settled form: snake
Master Rufus: Freyja - settled form: barn owl
Alastair: Aella - settled form was not mentioned
Constantine: Eris - settled form: wolf (Eris and Pax are the same daemon)
Thank you very much for reading!
I always love to talk about anything Magisterium related! You can find me on tumblr as agarotado27dejunho