The Little Sprite
Chapter 2
Laws of Magic
Two people with exactly same elemental attributes and magical capabilities start learning magic at the same time. Person A learns to master spells almost immediately while person B needs a large amount of tutoring in order to master a simple spell. How do you explain this?
A frustrated sigh escaped from Yami when he thought about the question. Why did the teachers have to make the questions so long? And did they have to use such annoying words as 'attribute' and 'capability'? With another sigh Yami glanced to his side and looked at the person sitting in the farthest side of the classroom. Seto's eyes were locked on the test paper in front of him as he wrote with a speed that made it look like his pencil was flying across his exam sheet. Both the familiar sight and past experiences told Yami that the brunet was going to get a yet another hundred percent correct. Yami looked at his paper again and tapped his pen on the top corner. He and his cousin shared an extremely active competitive streak. If there was a way to compare results in anything, they would make it into a contest. So far Yami had never been able to beat Seto in written exam results but the star-haired youth could easily beat his cousin in a one-on-one match in Magic.
Reading the question one more time, putting some effort into it this time, Yami realized that this was exactly the sam thing he had been reading the previous afternoon. Now, if he could only remember what it was that Seto had tried to drill into his head most of their study session, then maybe he could actually pass this test.
Because each person experiences magic differently, they might not recognize the magic the same way as another person would. In my opinion person A is more accepting of foreign sensations, allowing him to gain access to his magic easier than person B.
Yami leaned back in his seat to look at his answer once more. It was short, but got the point across. He leaned back over his test to read the next question.
What is the first law of Duelling Magic?
Slowly, a grin made its way to Yami's lips. This was not as hard as he had thought. The crimson-eyed boy began to write. 'Advanced class, here I come!'
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"So..." Seto started when the two walked out of the exam hall. "Will I finally be rid of your aggravating presence for the rest of my compulsory studies here?" There was a sly smirk tugging on the brunet's lips, a smirk Yami wanted to wipe off, even if for only a temporary interval.
"Just so you know, I actually did pretty well", Yami stated firmly with his hands on his hips. A threatening gesture, from a female yes, but Seto knew better than to comment on his cousin's body language. Last time he had done so he had woken up the next morning feeling rather unmanly himself. Seto preferred not to think about that event.
"Well, it would be embarrassing for me as well if you failed", Seto commented with slight mirth in his voice. "After all, then there would be something wrong with my teaching skills."
"Right", Yami agreed in a sarcastic tone. "And we both know how flawless you are."
The sarcasm did not seem to have any effect on Seto. No wonder, since he was the one who had developed sarcasm on a level that could be considered a way of life. The brunet flashed Yami one of his more vicious smiles and drawled: "Exactly."
Yami was not impressed. He huffed softly as he glanced back at the classroom door, muttering in a off-handed manner: "Do you think Anzu passed? She always does better with written assignments."
It was a well-known fact that Seto could not care less about Anzu's possible success in an exam, he did not care about the girl in general, but when Yami did not receive any response he still glared at his cousin. He was not going to be ignored just because Seto was not in the mood for small talk. But Seto did not see the glare directed at him, he was looking at something behind Yami, his gaze focused over his cousin's outrageous mane of hair. Yami briefly contemplated if jumping up and down and blocking Seto's vision would get him his cousin's attention but he ended up deciding against the action. There was no need to press the fact that he was shorter than the brunet. Yami instead turned around to see whatever it was that had his cousin's attention.
Two boys were walking with widely animated movements by the wall, not too far away from the pair of cousins. One of the boy's hand long, pearly white hair and murky brown eyes. The other boy also had brown eyes, but they were a deep chocolate color. He also had wild hair, not as wild as Yami's though, that was a dark color of blond that reflected the sunlight coming from the windows in a golden shade. The blond-haired boy was the one doing most of the talking while the white-haired one threw in a few comments and released a laugh every now and then.
A devious thought came to Yami's mind as he watched the two boys. One of the duo had completely captured his cousin's attention, but which one? Well, there was only one way to find out; to ask.
"Hey, Seto!" Yami spoke in a completely exaggerated loud voice. "What are you looking at?"
Yami felt Seto jump next to him at the sudden and loud words. The two boy had also turned their eyes to them and Yami watched with fascination as the blond one blushed a bright scarlet and grabbed his companion's arm, tugging the other off hurriedly. Still grinning widely Yami turned his head back to his cousin to see Seto glaring at him with intensity Yami had not before known his cousin capable of.
"Was it the blond one?" Yami asked, like he had not just embarrassed the brunet in front of him and the glare was not really there. "Then I say that you might have some chances." He actually dared to smirk at his boiling companion. "And here I though you were completely immune to hormones." He nudged the taller teen with his elbow. "And he's not even bad to look at."
Yami should have known better. He should have known his cousin well enough to expect it. Then he would not have been so surprised when the taller boy punched him square in the jaw and stomped off with a dark cloud following him right above his head.
If it had been any other person, Yami would not have been worried, since anyone else would have forgiven him easily. Seto was a different story, however. The brunet was good at many things and one of them was holding a grudge.
Hopefully Yami would not end up waking with some nasty surprise the next morning.
&&&&&&&
Yugi could not help but giggle with glee. He had managed to lose Malik completely that morning, and now he was free to go wherever he pleased. And he was going to pay a visit to the large house right outside of the forest. There were plenty of opportunities to watch humans there and they were always in such a hurry that there was no threat of Yugi being discovered.
In no time the bright walls of the school building came to Yugi's view and he quickly chose a tree with a lot of leaves and hid among the branches. Once properly concealed Yugi pushed a few leaves aside and eyed the garden that opened before him. There were many students outside, all dressed in similar outfits. Yugi figured that it was a sign of them all belonging into the same tribe. They all wore outfits that were mostly blue but had red trimmings with a few flashes of gold. Yugi guessed that blue and red were the tribe colors.
The sound of footsteps had Yugi glancing down to see one of the humans walk right below the tree he was hiding in. The human immediately caught Yugi's attention. He had a wild, dark mane of hair that was almost exactly like Yugi's, except that it had blond stripes going along it, like spikes of a crown. One of the braches jerked a bit because Yugi had been gripping it so hard and the human turned his gaze up. The human's eyes were unlike anything else Yugi had ever seen; they shone a deep red color that was darker than any fragment Yugi had ever seen. The small boy let out an involuntary gasp at the sight.
"Who's there?" the human asked with a deep voice that sounded extremely serene to Yugi's ears. A wide, happy smile came to Yugi's face as he responded: "My name is Yugi. I live in the forest."
"In the forest?" the human questioned, his tone both slightly incredulous and curious. "There aren't any humans living there. There's too much magic."
"Who said I'm a human?" Yugi asked with a playful giggle.
"Then..." the human started, his eyes wide. "Then you're a...sprite? A magical being?"
"Hmm..." Yugi hummed in a teasing manner. "Maybe..." Another giggle escaped from him. "I'll tell you if you tell me your name."
"It's Yami", the human replied while trying to peer through the leaves. "Can I see you?"
"Sorry", Yugi said honestly. "I shouldn't even be talking to you. Letting you see me would be an even bigger breach of the rules." Yugi smiled as he observed Yami's face some more. "But as for your question; I think sprite is the human word for our kind." Yugi waved his feet around a bit, noticing that Yami's eyes followed the movement. "We don't have a word to describe what we are."
"That can get a bit difficult over time, I believe", Yami commented. Yugi shrugged, and then remembered that Yami could not see the gesture and spoke up: "It's difficult to say. We don't exactly try to set ourselves apart from the other occupants of the woods."
"I guess that makes sense", Yami said in a reasonable manner. "It's not like the squirrels come to ask you what you are."
Yugi watched Yami intently as the human spoke and suddenly he wanted to show himself to the other boy, even though he had never wanted to reveal himself to a human before. The sprite wondered why it was so and once more his eyes focused on Yami's piercing ones.
"Yami..." Yugi spoke, a bit of uncertainty creeping into his voice. Yami lifted a questioning eyebrow and Yugi blushed as he continued: "I think you're really pretty..." Even though Yugi wanted to show himself to Yami he was at that moment glad that the leaves covered his embarrassed face.
Yami looked surprised as well, and Yugi thought he saw a faint pink hue on the tan cheeks before the human started speaking: "You're awfully straightforward, Yugi. How old are you exactly?"
An angry scowl crossed Yugi's face as he huffed at his companion: "I'm sixteen!"
"Oh", Yami said with a nervous laugh. "You're awfully open for someone who's sixteen." He gave Yugi a pleasant smile. "Not that it's a bad thing or anything. I, for one, find it rather appealing."
"Okay", Yugi said, his temper calmed now. Then he looked over to the large building beyond the garden. "What is this place?" he asked from Yami. "Is this a human commune?"
"Commune?" Yami questioned with a mirthful laugh. "No, even though many might consider it to be. This is a school." Yami paused for a moment and then looked at Yugi strangely. "You do know what a school is, don't you?"
"Of course I do!" Yugi snapped with an angry blush. "I'm not that ignorant!" What was with everyone always thinking that he did not know anything at all when he showed slight lack of information? If he did not know what someone was talking about, he would ask.
"Okay, okay", Yami said with a nervous smile. "I never said you were. I simply don't have any idea how many of our words are familiar to you." Yami scratched his head. "So...it's a school, like I said. We learn magic there." Yami grinned at Yugi. "There's a lot of magic in this area, so this was a good place to build a magic school to. Even so, I never expected to run into any magical beings here, other than the victims of practical jokes in school hallways." Yami laughed at that, the comment apparently holding some amusement to the boy. "There is of course a slight difference in the magic we use and the magic in the forest. At school we study easily controlled, leashed magic, whereas the forest if full of so-called 'raw magic', or Power. It sometimes leaks into the air, crystallizing and becoming something we call spirit stone."
"Spirit stone?" Yugi repeated in a questioning manner. "I haven't heard that word before."
"It looks like colored glass, it's transparent and can be any variation of bright colors", Yami explained. "It's solid magic."
"Oh!" Yugi exclaimed in realization. "You're talking about fragments!" Yugi giggled in joy of finally knowing what the human was talking about. "Fragments help us do many things. They give us new abilities." Yugi glanced down at Yami to see a strange smile on the human's thin lips. "What?"
"It's nothing", Yami said with a wave of his hand. Yugi let out a threatening hiss and the other boy started speaking again: "I just think you have a nice laugh, that's all." The human gave Yugi a sly smile through the leaves. "You must be a true cherub to have such a lovely laugh."
"What's a cherub?" Yugi asked curiously and immediately saw Yami's face fall. The human only shook his head and said: "I was simply saying that your laughter sounds like the chiming of small bells."
Yugi smiled widely, even though Yami could not see the joy he felt. Wanting to let the other know how happy he had made the sprite Yugi giggled again and said: "Thank you. I like your laugh as well. Your whole voice, actually."
Yami looked like he was about to comment on Yugi's words but as soon as the human had opened his mouth to speak, a new voice rang in the air: "Yami, what the heck do you think you're doing?"
While Yami quickly whirled around to face the new arrival Yugi froze in fear. Had someone heard them talking? Had Yugi's presence been revealed? if that was the case then he would never be allowed near humans again, especially Yami. And that was only if he managed to escape without being caught by the humans.
To be continued...