Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Kore Yamazaki. I just play with her characters.

Author's Notes: I apologize it took longer to update this time. I'm a very slow writer, and I could only spare an hour a day to write. Anyway, if you are still reading, thank you for waiting, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 9: A Reminder of Mortality

It took about over a week for Elias to be fully recovered from his injuries, and throughout his time in the infirmary, Chise never failed to visit him. He cherished these little moments as if he would never have the chance to have them again. For days, they would talk about anything and everything, as if they were back in the hill in the gardens; sometimes they would do Sudoku puzzles together, the other times she would read to him a novel he requested her to get from the College's library. When the bandages on his jaws finally came off and he could already eat through his mouth, they would eat their dinners together while happily sharing stories. If Alexandra was astounded by their unusual, close friendship, the College physician kept it to herself, never even asking any questions or accusing him of suspicious intentions. Elias was greatly thankful for that, though he knew that now he had a perfect excuse why he was always with Chise. He was her mentor now after all.

It was a Monday afternoon when it was about time for him to be discharged from the infirmary. Chise was there by his side, and she smiled at him, encouraging him as he took his first shaky steps out of the bed. He could still feel the effects of the paralysis brought about by the last of the Manticore's poison lingering in his system, but it was something he could ignore now compared to before. He was putting the books that had piled up on his side table into a bag when Chise asked him something.

"How come they're not withering?" She touched the petals of the sunflowers she brought him the first day he was in the infirmary. It was over a week now, and they still had their bright, natural, yellow color and never decayed. It was as if they were just freshly picked today.

"Magic." Elias answered confidently. Truthfully, he cast the spell the very night Chise had given him the sunflowers, knowing that he could because his magical bindings were still unlocked. It took almost all of his remaining strength that night, but it was worth it, all because he didn't want the first gift he received from Chise to ever disappear.

"I've never even thought of that." Chise gave him a small smile, half of her embarrassed for her momentarily lack of common sense. "You did say anything is possible with magic."

Elias nodded his head in agreement, and then a thought crossed his mind. "You've never told me yet what you wanted to learn from me or what I could help you next in your studies."

"And you've never asked me anything about humanity yet." Chise replied cheekily, her green eyes playful.

"I will, my dear teacher. I'm just gathering my thoughts." Elias took the glass vase of sunflowers and carefully placed it in its brown paper bag. He then went to the physician's office, and after expressing his gratitude and saying goodbye to Alexandra, he and Chise exited the infirmary.

They were walking towards Elias's quarters silently for a while with Chise carrying his bag of books when she finally spoke up. "Magecraft." Elias gave her a quizzical look, unsure of what she was trying to say. She beamed at him, and then she continued, "I want to learn more about Magecraft. Everything about it actually because… I want to be a Magus like you."

"Are you sure about that?" His human face looked at her with concern, as if the thought of her becoming like him worried him.

"Why shouldn't I be?"

Elias paused in his steps. They were by his quarter's door now, and he muttered a small incantation to unlock it. Then he turned to his mentee, "You have great talent, Chise. Don't feel as though you need to become a Magus just because you are a Sleigh Beggy. You are… free to be anything."

He had pushed the door open and was about to enter his quarters when Chise suddenly grabbed his gloved hand, stopping him in his tracks. She looked straight into his crimson eyes with burning determination. "I'm sure. I've never felt so free when doing magic or studying Magecraft. It's what I want."

What else could he say to that? Anything else would be a mockery to the strength of her resolve. So he placed a hand on her strawberry-colored head and smiled, silently conveying his admiration for her decision. Then he inclined his head towards his quarters, "Would you like to come in?"

Chise smiled back at his little gesture and nodded her head, happy that he didn't have any more worries or doubts. Elias went inside, and she followed him, closing the door softly. He switched on the lights, and she was able to take a good look at his quarters. She was in a small entry hall, and immediately to her right was the door to the bathroom. Walking a little farther inside, she saw his bed with a desk beside it and by a window. On her right was a kitchenette and a small dining table that she recognized she used as a makeshift study table during their Sorcery tutorials in the hill in the gardens. She placed his bag of books there and couldn't help but grin at the memory. It seemed like it was ages ago.

"Potion-making is taught in the Magecraft curriculum in middle school. And you are already remarkable in interacting with the Fae," Elias began speaking while unpacking his glass vase of sunflowers carefully from its brown paper bag and placing it on his desk by the window. He had taken off his human glamour and was back to his wolf-skull form. Chise watched him quietly, amazed at how fond he was of her little gift. "I could teach you some useful spells for magic, but I think we should work on your control first."

"Control?"

"Yes. How to control your use of magical energy." Elias walked towards the kitchenette and took out his tin of English breakfast tea. He raised it, silently asking Chise if she would like to partake, and she nodded. Then he filled his electric kettle with water, switched it on, and prepared two teacups. "Right now, your magical energy is being regulated by your bindings. It may be tough, but I believe you can do without it eventually. That's where your control comes in."

"How would I learn it?" Chise asked, finding his idea possible, though she was filled with anxiety on whether she could really be able to do it. She remembered her crystal experiment with Alexandra and of how she had unintendedly released magical energy excessively.

"By mastering spells that require precision."

"What kind of spells would that be?"

"Hmm, there are many kinds. Teleportation. Mind reading. Elemental magic. But yes, we have to begin with the very basic first. I guess learning Conjuring would be a good starting point." Elias placed teabags on each of the two cups. The electric kettle whistled, and he began pouring hot water into the cups.

"Conjuring?" Chise repeated, the term unfamiliar to her ears.

He sat on the chair across her, and he handed her her cup of English breakfast tea. "How to make something appear out from a specific source. Do you remember how I summoned this very dining table to the hill in the gardens during our tutorials?"

Chise nodded her head. She remembered that night and of how easily he performed magic at that time that it seemed so incredible.

"That is Conjuring. The incantation is easy, but the trick lies on the amount of magical energy you use. It has to be in proportion to the object you are about to conjure. Here let me show you." Elias stood and grabbed a cookie jar from one of his cupboards. He uncovered the lid and showed Chise its contents. They were filled with chocolate chip cookies. Then he placed a small plate on the dining table and covered the cookie jar with its lid again. Afterwards, his right gloved hand hovered over the small plate. "From the fountain of all requisite, this space beseeches your presence, let your shape come before my sight." He recited the incantation, and in an instant, a chocolate chip cookie appeared on the small plate before them.

Chise's eyes widened in amazement. She felt a certain wonder at what she saw, like a six-year-old being shown some magic trick by a street-performing magician. To top it all off, Elias's hand gestured for her to take the cookie, and she held it and bit it, marveling at how its properties were still the same even when it went through a process of magic.

"When you can do it as easily as breathing, you don't even have to recite the incantation anymore. You can just think and will your magical energy for it to happen. But remember when I told you that it is tricky? Here's what happens when you use too much magical energy." Elias flicked his hand over the small plate again. A cookie appeared but after a few seconds it crumbled into many pieces. "Use too much, and the object will fall apart once it appears. Use too little," Elias paused and flicked his hand again. Another cookie appeared but it was only half. "And you won't be able to conjure the whole thing."

"So, it would really depend on how well I control my magical energy?"

"Yes, yes. That is really the heart of doing spells that require precision." Elias nodded his head as he explained. Then he lifted the small plate and deposited the crumbled cookies onto his skeletal mouth. Chise couldn't help but giggle at his seemingly crude table manners. When he was done chewing, he asked, "Would you like to try?"

"I… sure." She answered, though with trepidation. Elias pushed the small plate closer to Chise's side of the table. Then he double-checked the lid of the cookie jar to ensure that it was really closed. She felt her heart beat loudly and she bit her lip. "Right, um…" She began, trying to remember the incantation as she hovered her right hand over the small plate. When the words finally floated to her mind, she recited them and, with utmost concentration, willed to release her magical energy to an amount she deemed proportion to conjuring a cookie. Instantly, one appeared whole on the small plate before her. She was about to rejoice when three seconds later, the cookie crumbled into pieces so fine that they looked like powder.

Elias laughed hard at the sight, the sound like music in Chise's ears. It was the first time she heard him laugh and she wanted to hear it again, yet she couldn't help but pout and feel mortified at the result of her first attempt at conjuring. "Hey, it's not funny!"

"Forgive me. But no one really gets it at their first try, and that was way too much magical energy, Chise." He observed, pinching the powder-like cookie crumbs and feeling how minute they were. Then wanting to ease his mentee's embarrassment, he softly said, "Don't worry. These are my favorite cookies, and I don't mind eating them even when they're crushed into crumbs. So you can practice all you want."

Chise smiled at that, realizing that she learned something new about Elias again. He likes chocolate chip cookies. "Thanks."

xxxx

Chise stayed in Elias's quarters up until after dinner. While she was practicing conjuring, Elias busied himself by making a quick beef stew for them both. He had remembered to double his portion of ingredients, a small smile forming on his wolf-skull of a face as he stirred the pot. He didn't know why, but he seemed to experience a lot of first times with Chise constantly around him now. She was the first friend he made in the College. The sunflowers she gave him were the first gift he ever received from anyone ever since coming to the magical institution. In addition, she was his first mentee. Lastly, her presence in his quarters today was the first time he ever had a guest come over to his place. Incredible warmth filled his heart every time he thought of her. He was certain now that he would never want to lose her.

They ate their dinner as soon as Chise ran out of cookies to practice with. Elias smiled at her efforts, for instead of powder-like crumbs, the cookies now appeared before her and crumbled in many distinct shapes. She was making progress in such a short amount of time. Pretty soon, she would get the hang of it and move on to learning to conjure other items. Throughout their dinner, he explained the next objects she must learn to conjure. She listened to him wholeheartedly, asking questions from time to time. When they were done eating, Chise offered to wash the dishes to which he allowed only if he could stand beside her and dry the tableware using a tea towel. After they were through, Chise said her thanks to her mentor, bid him goodbye, and embraced him.

Elias stood on the doorway watching her retreating form until he could no longer see her. It was a Tuesday tomorrow, and he knew he would see her again in their Magecraft class, but soon as she left, he already felt uneasy and wanted her presence back again. He paced around his quarters, the scent of her still lingering in his space. Then he sat on his bed and looked at the vase of sunflowers, replaying the events of the day. How Chise smiled at him as he was discharged from the infirmary. Her determined green eyes when she told him she wanted to learn more Magecraft from him. How she blushed in embarrassment at her first attempt in conjuring. Elias went to his mind palace and stored each of the memory in a special room he kept only for Chise. As soon as he was finished, though, something tapped by his window, and he sighed at the disturbance, already knowing what it would be.

Elias opened the window, and Renfred's messenger bird immediately perched itself on his desk. "Ainsworth, we have a situation. Please come to the meeting Headmistress Quillyn will hold tomorrow at 8 am." The bird spoke with Renfred's voice, and it seemed like he was distraught.

"What's the agenda?" Elias asked, wondering what got Renfred so worked up.

"Somebody stole the Testament of Carnamagos from the Library of Restricted Magic." Renfred hurriedly told him. There was a buzz from the messenger bird afterwards, and then he continued, "Anyway, I'll tell more about it tomorrow at the meeting."

"Alright." Elias acceded, not wanting to probe the Sorcery professor more. But the Magus knew that this was what they feared when they spoke in the infirmary over a week ago. Still he would not want to jump to conclusions. Perhaps the events were not connected at all. Yet a nagging feeling in his gut was telling him otherwise.

After he agreed, Renfred's messenger bird flew out of his window. Elias sat by his bed, thinking things through. For sure, he had to sleep early tonight to wake up early the next morning. Then he thought of the Testament of Carnamagos and of what he knew of it. Why would someone want to steal that ancient magical text? And how did one steal it knowing the heavy security the College had put in the Library of Restricted Magic? He did not know, and speculating seemed so futile at the moment. He knew he should wait for further information from Renfred tomorrow. For now, a shower and a change of clothes would be in order. Then he would go to bed.

xxxx

Elias stifled a yawn after taking a seat in the conference room of Headmistress Quillyn at 8 am in the morning. He had looked around him to see who was present, and he was surprised. Most of the staff of the College was there, including a librarian from the Library of Restricted Magic. The Magus was seated beside Renfred who also had Adolf Stroud come with him. When everyone was settled, the headmistress opened the meeting.

"Thank you everyone for being present even on such a short notice. For those who have not yet known, an incident occurred last Sunday that I thought everyone on the staff should be aware of today. Ms. Emma House, if you could please take over."

The librarian of the Library of Restricted Magic stood up and began to speak, addressing everyone in the room. "As everyone knows, all libraries of the College do their sorting and checking every Sunday. The Library of Restricted Magic does so too by monitoring each of the ancient magical texts kept in its vaults. Last Sunday, we found that the vault where the Testament of Carnamagos is hidden was empty. Upon inspecting the logs of visitor entries into the vault, the last person who entered was registered as Mikhail Renfred, dated 11:17 pm of the Saturday night before."

"To which I never did." Renfred cleared his throat before speaking up. He stood up, and Emma House sat down. Then everyone in the room turned to his direction, most of them noticing his missing left arm but not saying anything. "The Library of Restricted Magic uses magical imprint biometrics as security. And magical imprint can be taken from any part of the human body, even from an arm. It will be tough, but a highly skilled Sorcerer can do it. The week before, Professor Ainsworth and I had a mission in Haslingden to find the cause of missing persons the town reported. There we encountered a Manticore which unfortunately tore and ate my left arm. Professor Ainsworth was able to kill it but left its body, notwithstanding the fatal injuries it brought him. The day after, I asked the Haslingden police to survey the area, and they unfortunately found no traces of the Manticore."

"So you're saying that someone conspired to have a Manticore take your arm to ultimately steal the Testament of Carnamagos?" Director Bachaman asked, wanting to confirm her understanding. She was the supervisor of the wayward Sorcerers that were housed in the Tower of Remnants, and it wasn't a surprise to Elias that she always had a sharp mind.

"That is exactly what I'm trying to say. Whoever this person is, he or she is highly intelligent. So we should be extremely cautious on how to handle this." Renfred replied with utmost seriousness. A hand from the staff was raised, and he acknowledged it. It was Simeon Paladilhe's, the professor of sound magic for the undergraduates.

"I'm sorry, but what is the Testament of Carnamagos anyway? And why would someone want to steal it?"

"I'm afraid to say that we don't know. No one from the personnel of the library has ever read it because it has a Type 1 warning attached to it. Just opening the book would affect its reader." Emma House answered and everyone in the room fell into a deathly silence at how seemingly helpless they were. How would one investigate something if they didn't even know what that something was all about?

Elias shifted in his seat, wondering to himself if he should speak up. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but want to enlighten everyone, and so he did. "It's a book of spells about life and death." Everyone turned their heads to him instantly as soon as he spoke. Even Renfred was looking at him with eyes wide. Elias swallowed the lump in his throat and continued, "Mainly, how to give and absorb life forces and revive the dead. Some of it, how to drain someone's magical energy and use it as yours. Then lastly, how to transfer incurable curses using a conduit."

Headmistress Quillyn looked at the Magus curiously, amazed that he spoke up and expressed his knowledge before them. He never did so before and usually just stayed quiet. "How do you know all these, Professor Ainsworth?"

"I read it before. My late master had a copy of it in her study." Elias admitted, reluctantly and with slight unease. The rest of the staff then began whispering to themselves, and he found himself wanting to leave the conference room immediately to relieve himself of the certain discomfort he was currently feeling because of them.

"Enough." Headmistress Quillyn ordered to silence everyone in the room. She too knew the reason for everyone's murmurings, and she thought it impolite to tolerate them. Then she looked at Elias with a kind smile. "As it is valuable information, thank you for sharing it with us, Professor Ainsworth." Then she addressed everyone. "Now then, I would like to hear everyone's opinions on how we should go about our situation."

xxxx

Though it was a Tuesday morning, Chise sat in a chair beside Tory Innis's desk in the Research Labs once again. She had been told by Alice while they were having breakfast that she was in for another biweekly monitoring of her magical bindings; though why it had to be on a school day, she didn't know. Tory was busy looking at a graph of her magical energy output, and she didn't want to ask why. With nothing to do but wait, she looked around the Research Labs as he was writing something on a paper attached to a clipboard. Her eyes went to the books on the shelves, the sofa and the coffee table on her far right, and other desks equally strewn with papers. She mused that even Sorcerer's laboratories looked like normal offices.

"So Chise, have you chosen a mentor already for the mentorship program? I know it usually starts at this time of the year." Tory asked, curiosity evident on his face. He paused from his writing to look at her, and Chise nodded her head. "Who is it then? I know most of the staff here, so I could give you some tips on how to interact with your mentor."

"It's Professor Ainsworth." She answered without hesitation and silently wondered if he had any tips for her on that.

Tory, though, dropped his pen in shock, the sound of the impact resonating around the room they were in. He scrambled to pick it up and compose himself. Then he cleared his throat, "Are you… serious?"

Chise nodded her head again. Unintentionally, she bit her lip, fighting a certain resentment from growing inside of her. Did they fear Elias so much that they thought he was incapable of mentoring her?

"Well, you are a Sleigh Beggy so you are most drawn to Magecraft, of course. And he is a Magus to boot. But are you really sure? You can still change your choice, you know." Tory advised, though Chise knew it was all unnecessary. They were all stemming from the prejudice people had against Elias.

"Yes, I'm sure. I won't change my mind." She answered in a clipped tone.

Tory noticed the terseness of her reply, but it didn't stop him from probing further. He looked straight into her green eyes and bluntly asked, "Do you even know why Ainsworth is here?"

"Yes." Chise replied with certainty. How could she ever forget the hopeless look in Elias' crimson eyes when he told her about his situation in the College?

The researcher just cocked his head to the side, as if he was stuck on a problem he couldn't solve but decided to let it go. "Well, it is indeed one of the first rumors you hear when you first step in in the College. But you should still know that you should be careful when you are with him. He's been here for around seventy-five years and been in the staff for ten years. So far, there has been no incident and Renfred is the one who now keeps him on a leash, but he still is a beast with claws and fangs."

"He is not a beast. He is kind, gentle, and caring. Sometimes he is even more human than other people I know." Chise's right fist clenched in some sort of anger she knew she shouldn't express for politeness' sake. If Tory was surprised by her barely controlled outburst, she didn't care. She wanted to lash out at how unkindly everybody seemed to see Elias, yet she knew she should hold her tongue. She took a deep breath to quietly compose herself instead. When she felt calm enough, she remembered something she had been wondering about before, and so she frankly asked, knowing that Tory might know something about it since she couldn't ask Elias himself. "Mr. Innis, do you have any idea who the human Professor Ainsworth ate was?"

"His master, Rahab Melamed-Ainsworth, one of the greatest Magi that ever lived." Tory said in a heartbeat, while repeatedly clicking the button of his ballpoint pen. "They say they found him in a cave, his master's lifeless body half-eaten and in between his skeleton jaws. Well, that is just what I've heard. If it is the true event, I don't even want to know."

Tory shrugged as he disconnected the cable attached to Chise's magical bindings. Her eyes went wide open when she heard Rahab's name, but she wasn't even able to process all that was said when Tory gleefully clapped both of his hands. "Anyway, Chise, enough about Ainsworth. Today's a special day. The Research Labs actually has something for you."

xxxx

Elias didn't see Chise in his Magecraft class that Tuesday, unlike what he had hoped. Since it was an unlikely thing to happen, he asked her seatmate Scrimgeour if the boy knew where she was. The Scrimgeour heir just told him she wasn't present in their other class periods as well, and he didn't know why. Not wanting to worry, Elias shook his head and decided to continue the class as usual. Perhaps he would know the reason when they meet later tonight in the hill in the gardens.

Yet she didn't even come to the hill in the gardens even when he had waited for four hours that very night or the next night. On their next Magecraft class on Thursday, she still wasn't even there. He pressed her classmate Scrimgeour if he knew anything that might have happened, but the blonde boy only reflected the same worry. No one knew what was happening to Chise and if she was alright. Elias already had half a mind to contact Renfred and demand that he tell him any information about Chise, but he knew the Sorcery professor was busy investigating the case of the lost Testament of Carnamagos.

If she was skipping classes, why didn't she tell him first? Did he say something that offended her then? He racked his brain for any instance that he did and found none. Had she grown tired of his company? Did she not want further instruction from him? But it was she who wanted him to be her mentor. Did she not want to be friends with him anymore? Was that it? His heart deeply sank at that thought. No, he would never want to lose her friendship. If he needed to beg forgiveness from her for whatever wrongdoing he had done, he would. On Friday evening though, plagued by these unwelcome thoughts and while sitting and waiting under the lone tree in the hill in the gardens, Elias finally had enough. If she didn't want to come to him, he would come to her. He was her loyal puppy after all. It was still a few minutes past 8 pm when he last checked a clock. She should be in her dorm room. So, he started his trek there.

Elias was in a daze, but soon he found himself in front of her door. And that was when unwanted thoughts surfaced in his head again. What if Chise didn't want to see him? What if she wasn't even in her room? But no, he wanted to know the answers to his questions, and there were so many things he wanted to ask her now. If she wasn't there right now, he would just have to come back the next night. And all the next nights after that, until he heard answers from her. So he raised his hand, but when he was about to knock, he heard a loud crash inside and a hacking cough. In worry and haste, he turned the doorknob and burst through her room, not even wondering why it was unlocked. What he saw inside stunned him. There was Chise sprawled on the floor, various fallen tableware surrounding her. He closed the door softly, walked towards her silently, and saw her more clearly. She was deathly pale, but what frightened him more were the numerous bandages wrapped around all her limbs.

Chise raised her head slightly, wondering who opened her door the moment she fell down on the floor. "Elias…?" She whispered incredulously, as there were many times in her fevered dreams and waking times that she saw many apparitions of him. Elias in human form. Elias in his wolf-skull form. Sometimes he was smiling in his own clumsy way. Other times his crimson eyes were burning with seriousness. She blinked a few times, still unwilling to believe that what she was seeing in front of her was real. It wasn't until Elias knelt in front of her and held her in his arms tightly that she finally believed that he was not an imagination.

"What happened to you?" He asked, his voice filled with so much concern. Now that he spoke, Chise's hold of him went even tighter as if she was afraid that he would suddenly vanish.

"You're really real. I'm not dreaming…" Chise muttered, inhaling his scent. It was still the same rain and forest air she knew.

"Chise, tell me." Elias urged, wanting to get to the bottom of things immediately. It didn't help that he wanted to punch himself for his own stupidity. He was always wondering if Chise had grown tired of him, and yet it didn't even occur to him that she was sick and unwell.

"I was trying to bring the tray, the plates, and the cutlery outside so that Alice wouldn't have to come in. But my legs couldn't walk straight and got tangled, I guess."

Elias listened intently, trying to process what she said. Who was Alice again? Ah, Renfred's apprentice. So she was bringing Chise her food. But what had happened that made Chise like this in the first place? He guessed he had to be clearer in his questioning. "No, why are you unwell, and why do you have these?" He asked and brushed his gloved hand over one of the bandages, the one on her left arm.

"I think I can explain more, but we should get off the floor. I find it hard to stand thou—" Chise wasn't even able to finish her sentence when Elias scooped all of her and lifted her. She had to wrap her arms around his neck with the sudden movement. Then with a flick of his hand, the fallen tableware floated and arranged itself neatly on her desk. Afterwards, he sat on her bed, yet he didn't let go of her yet so that she sat sideways on his lap.

"Is this better?" Elias asked, and Chise nodded before resting her head on his chest, her right ear hearing the constant, slow beat of his heart. Her body felt so weak, but now that he was here, her mind seemed to have gained strength. "Now tell me everything." He commanded her gently.

"They summoned me this Tuesday morning. At first I thought it was just for a routine monitoring of my magical bindings, but they made me drink an elixir." Chise started, and she knew that she no longer needed to explain to Elias who and what she was talking about. "It was supposed to help cure me, but it made me feel immediately sick afterwards, and I was too feverish and weak to get out of bed."

Upon hearing that she used to be feverish, Elias instantly placed a hand on her forehead. It was still surprisingly warm and clammy. If she was this sick, she should get more medical care. "How come you're not in the infirmary?"

"No one can know. Or other people would pry and ask. At least that's what I gathered from them. Alexandra comes to check in on me in the morning and in the afternoon. Then Alice brings me food on time."

"I did not see you for four days. Not even in class. Then I waited and waited in the hill in the gardens, and you never came. I had thought that—" Elias told her, unintentionally unable to hold himself back anymore.

"That I have abandoned you? I'm sorry. I wanted to let you know somehow, but I knew no way. Forgive me, Elias?" Chise looked up at him then, noting that in his human glamour, his anguish brought about by her absence was more evident on his face.

"There is nothing to forgive." He brushed back the bangs of her strawberry-colored hair that were sticking to her forehead. "If anything, it should be me who should be sorry for not thinking that you might be unwell."

"There was no way you could have known." Chise said to him, wanting to ease him from his self-loathing. Then with a flash of courage, she reached out her hand and cupped his human cheek. "Can you turn back? I want to see your real face again."

In a second he put away his human glamour, and his wolf-skull of a face was before Chise again. She smiled at that and brushed her hand along his skeletal jaw. "This is a hundred percent better."

Elias smiled at her too, feeling an unbelievable warmth seeping through him upon hearing how she preferred seeing his wolf-skull form. "You still haven't told me about these." He placed a hand on one bandage covering her arm. All of her limbs have one, and he didn't know what to make of it.

Chise looked at the arm where he placed his hand. "Oh, these? An allergic reaction of some sort from what they gave me. I was told it would happen, but they didn't know it would be these much…"

"May I see?"

"Only if you know how to tie the bandages again. I kind of suck at it."

Elias nodded and slowly unwrapped the bandages on her left arm. Little by little, he saw how her skin was covered with patches of shallow wounds, red and inflamed, as if her fair skin was slightly flayed. And they covered her whole arm, from hand to shoulder. He didn't have to guess that her other bandaged limbs were equally the same. "You call wounds like these 'allergic reactions'?"

"They didn't explain it much, but it was something how my excess magic leaking out of me fought with the elixir they gave me. Somehow my body could not stand it, and it showed on my skin. They hurt and sting sometimes, though not too much." Chise explained, but when she looked back at Elias, his crimson eyes were sharp and his skeletal jaws tightly set. She had never seen this from him before, and it worried her. "W-Wait, why do you look angry…?"

"Am I?" Elias tilted his head upwards in wonder, yet the sharpness in his crimson eyes never faded. "I do not know what I exactly feel. Can you describe what anger is, Chise?"

"It is a strong feeling of displeasure at something. It comes up when you feel you have been wronged or treated unfairly. Like there's a fire in your tummy that wants to get out, and you want to get even."

"But it is not I who have been treated wrongly, it was you… and yet I want to hurt them for it." Elias said, his hold of her tightening as he struggled to come to grips with the new emotion he was feeling.

Chise finally understood his confusion. Yet she knew that his anger was misplaced, and so she placated him. "You're angry for me? Oh, Elias, you shouldn't be. They told me it would happen, and even then, when they bought me from the auction, I knew from the start what I would be going through. So let it go."

"How can you say all these when you are the one hurting from their experiments?" His crimson eyes locked to her green ones, and this time the sharpness in them was replaced by bewilderment.

"It is not so different from you ending up getting hurt from the missions your taskmaster gave you." She stated her observation, yet upon saying it, Elias's hold of her only tightened again, as if she was the lifeline that would keep him from bursting into the flames of anger.

"It is different. You forget that I earned and deserved each of those wounds, Chise." He replied, his tone icy. Nonetheless, she knew that he was angry at her situation and not at her.

Chise mused on what to say to her friend next. She knew that words were powerful, and just saying the wrong thing could have dire consequences, especially for someone like Elias who was still struggling to wrestle with his emotions. She had to be careful; she didn't want Elias to lash out impulsively at the staff of the Research Labs after all. So she took a deep breath and calmly explained her own point of view. "It's true that I hurt. But in the grand scheme of things, I will not last long anyway. Do you know that Alexandra told me that I only have three years left to live? This is all I've got, Elias. And if it doesn't work, the least thing I could do is accept the brunt of their errors hoping that it will lead them to the right answer. Then maybe, someday, they could truly help another person like me."

She let Elias munch on her words for a minute, hoping that this would pacify him. She didn't mind that silence suddenly enveloped both of them. Despite the heaviness of their conversation, she still felt comfortable because he was near her for the first time in four days. She was resting her head on Elias's chest, listening to his heartbeat, when he touched her wounds gently and spoke up.

"I'd like to try something. Do you trust me?"

"Of course, I do. What are you going to—wait, wha—!" Chise couldn't even finish her sentence when Elias licked all the wounds on her left arm with his tongue. After a few seconds, they slightly closed and now had a layer of shallow scabs—the fiery, red color dying down a few notches.

"How does this feel now?"

"The wounds in this arm don't sting that much anymore. Thank you. But how?" She asked, amazed at how it happened.

"My saliva has healing properties. Not enough to save someone from fatal injuries, but enough to heal wounds and bruises that sting. Now give me your other arm. I shall do your lower limbs as well." Elias unwrapped the bandages on her right arm and licked the wounds there, the same thing happening as her slightly healed left arm. He could taste bitter medicine on his tongue that he assumed was applied to treat her, but he didn't mind. When he was through with that, he sat Chise on the bed and knelt in front of her. Then he unwrapped the bandages on her calves. And true to his guess earlier, her lower limbs were also an ugly patchwork of red and inflamed shallow wounds.

He was licking one huge wound that stretched from her heel up to the back of her right knee when Chise let out a giggle. As it was an uncanny reaction to him, he became worried and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry. It's just… it tickles!" Chise blushed from the embarrassment that the feeling of being tickled does to her. For some reason, she was grateful that her bandages were just around her calves and that she had chosen to wear knee-length drawstring shorts today, or else she would die from another different kind of embarrassment. Yet she knew Elias would never have those kinds of malicious intentions upon her. He was doing this because he wanted nothing but to help her heal. That was how noble she knew he was.

Elias rewrapped the bandages on her lower limbs after he was sure that her wounds there had begun to heal, just as he did on her upper arms. Before he stood, though, and as his head was bowed, Chise reached out her hands to his wolf-skull of a face and pressed her forehead against it. "They don't hurt anymore. Thank you."

"You're welcome." He breathed out and closed his eyes, relishing Chise's touch and her closeness and storing the feelings it brought out from him to his mind palace. After a few seconds, she backed away and smiled at him, something that he would never get tired of seeing. The he sat again beside her on her bed and asked, "Are you still alright to talk? I want to ask you something."

"Sure, go ahead."

"When I didn't see you for four days and I was alone, I felt cold. Sure, it is near the end of autumn, and my quarters feel cold sometimes, but I had the heater and the stove on. Still, it felt like there was ice in my chest that would not thaw. What is that, Chise?"

She thought hard on how to answer Elias. For sure, it was another emotion that he was struggling to understand, and she did promise him that she would teach him. She had taught him anger earlier, but this was different. He described feeling cold while alone, and she knew it all too well what it could be. "Maybe it is… loneliness?"

"Loneliness?"

"It is a feeling you get when you don't have any company, and you long for someone to be with you. I felt that way often too before." Chise explained as best as she could. When she paused but looked like she wanted to say more, Elias turned his crimson eyes to her green ones and nodded, silently urging her to continue. She bit her lip for a moment and then decided that if she was going to tell someone, it might as well be Elias. The person she trusted the most.

"Before I came here, back in my home country, I didn't have friends or family. I used to have, but they left me. My father took my baby brother and left me and my mother. My mother couldn't handle it, so she abused me and tried to kill me by strangling me. She didn't succeed, but she was arrested by the police. She died in prison soon after. I didn't know I was a Sleigh Beggy that time. Since I see magical creatures and they often attacked me, I would have 'fits' everywhere. My classmates bullied me. I was passed from relative to relative. No one wanted me. And I desperately wanted someone to be with me. I was… really lonely. So much that I wanted to take my life."

Elias listened intently to Chise, finally gaining light on what he felt for the past few days. Without her, he felt lonely. He knew it now. But there was something more in Chise's story of her past that resounded in him. "I felt that too. Wanting to take my life. Not the past few days. But long, long before. Alexandra told me I was suicidal when I told her. I had to look it up in the dictionary to know what it meant."

Chise pictured Elias looking up the word 'suicidal' on a dictionary, and it saddened her. She didn't ask anymore what made him feel that. Anyone would if they were in his situation. She understood the gravity of it now. Yet a certain fear gripped her when she thought of Elias suffering from that horrendous desire even now. So with urgency, she asked, "Do you still feel that way now?"

"Not since I met you." Elias answered with certainty. It was true that he no longer wanted to take his life. In fact, he wanted to live just because of her existence in his world. What happened in his last mission where he was in the brink of death and yet chose to fight it confirmed that. But remembering her story, Elias too asked, "And you?"

"Not since I met you." Chise smiled at him, before inclining her head on his shoulder. Elias then wrapped his right arm around her, and she knew that he too felt relieved that she was finally rid of the horrible feeling of being suicidal. "The College is a different school from what I had gone to. People accept me here as a Sleigh Beggy. But I would probably still feel that way if I hadn't met you and became friends with you. I felt lonely too when I couldn't see you these past four days. I couldn't even let you know that I was ill."

"Then we shall remedy that." He sincerely said. He could no longer afford to act foolish like he did this time just because he didn't know what was happening to Chise.

"How?"

"I shall find a way for us to communicate somehow even when we are apart." He answered as the gears of his brain were already working out how to make that possible. He could always teach her how to make a flying letter, but that could be easily intercepted. No, he needed to make something safe and secure for both of them.

Chise unfortunately let out a yawn, and it signaled to Elias that it was time for her to rest. He inwardly scolded himself for keeping her awake too long in spite of her current condition. But he had questions, and he knew he would feel uneasy if they weren't answered. Still, he knew that he should let her rest now so she could recover.

"You are tired. You must rest now." He ordered Chise gently, and she complied without further fuss. He lifted the blankets and tenderly tucked her in. When she was settled, he patted the covers, and then he nuzzled her head with his own. "Good night, Chise. Thank you for teaching me many things about humanity today."

"Good night, Elias. Thank you for visiting me and healing my wounds." She said as she smiled at him, and he brushed her hair back from her forehead once again. But when he was about to stand and leave, she grabbed his gloved hand, stopping him in his tracks. "Wait. Will you… will you stay for a little while more? Just until I fall asleep?"

Feeling relieved that she stopped him just for a request that he stay longer and not because there was something wrong, Elias nodded his head and sat back down on her bed. Chise then smiled as a thank you and closed her eyes, feeling safe from his mere presence. In just a few minutes, Elias found that she was already sound asleep. He took the moment to process what happened, mostly to Chise. Despite their so-called good intentions, the Research Labs had already started their experiments on her and she ended up hurt because of it. Who knows what they would do next, and what it entailed for her? His fists clenched in anger. Yes, now that Chise taught him about that emotion, he knew it was what he was exactly feeling now.

He looked back at Chise's sleeping form. Relaxed and carefree, just as how he deemed she should always be. In just around three months, she now became the most precious person in his life. He never predicted that that would happen, but now that it did, he knew that he would never want to lose her. So he would fight for her. He would fight whatever entity there was who would try to take her away from him. Even if it was the College itself.

xxxx

Chise opened her eyes and found herself back in a cabin. Yet this time she deemed that she was inside its study room for books of every sort and sizes surrounded her. On each side of the room there were two desks. But on the one on the left, there was Elias sitting on a chair while surrounded by open books. Rahab was standing beside him, leaning on his desk.

"'Ainsworth'?" Elias asked, his tone filled with curiosity.

"Yes, that's right." Rahab answered gently.

"But isn't 'Ainsworth' part of your name, Rahab?"

"You're right. It is my late husband Isaac's surname, which as his wife I've taken as well."

"Why are you then attaching it to mine?" He tilted his head to the side, and Chise had to smile at that. She mused that even when he was younger, he did that when he was confused by something.

"Because we live in a society, Elias. And you need to have an identity. Carrying my name means you are a part of me and my family. Besides, I think Isaac would be happy to give you his surname had he had the chance to meet you." Rahab explained, and with the way that she did, to Chise, she seemed like a paragon of patience.

"Family… we talked about that. It is a unit of society, right? Somewhere to belong…" Elias turned his head upwards, as if trying to remember something that he just recently studied.

Rahab smiled back at him fondly, looking proud of him for remembering what she taught him. "Yes, you are right. But perhaps you would want a last name of your own choosing. Of course, that would be perfectly fine, Elias—"

"No, I like it! Elias… Melamed Ainsworth. It has a certain ring to it. I'll be happy to take your surname, Rahab. And Isaac's as well." Elias replied with a certain happiness reflected in the sparkle of his crimson eyes.

"Then I'll go prepare the identification papers." Rahab patted his shoulder and started to walk towards her desk on the other side of the study.

"Rahab…" Elias softly called out that it made Rahab stop her steps. He looked at her, clearly perplexed at something. "If you and I are family, what am I to you?"

"You are my child, of course, you silly bonehead." Rahab answered without hesitation. She walked back towards where Elias was and leaned over him, kissing the wide expanse of the top of his wolf-skull head. Afterwards, Elias looked back at her with his clumsy smile, pleased at the little gesture of affection.

Chise watched the whole conversation and had no time to rein in her surprise. Like before, the whole room she was standing in started to shift and warp. Everything started to fade into black, and she vaguely felt a sensation of falling into some kind of endless abyss. Amidst it all, she heard a woman's anguished cry—which she now knew was Rahab's.

"NO!—"

Chise snapped back to reality with such force that she sat up straight on her bed in an instant. She looked around her room and immediately noticed that Elias had gone. It wasn't a wonder since her clock indicated that it was 1:18 am in the morning. There was a glass of water though on her desk, and a note neatly folded and placed under it. She drank the water and read the note, Elias's neat cursive handwriting greeting her.

I'll be back to check on you.

She didn't know why, but she felt comforted by those simple words. Yet her mind remained confused by what she had seen about Elias and Rahab. Was it all a dream, or were they memories? How was she able to see them? Did it really happen in real life? Because if it did, she couldn't explain why Elias had eaten Rahab, as told to her by Tory Innis. Elias's master treated him like her own child, even to the point of adopting him as hers. And Elias seemed to have loved her with all his heart. Why would he eat her? Why would he eat someone important to him? Chise didn't know the answers, and she knew thinking about them would not help her go back to sleep. So she decided she would do something about it.

First, she had to know everything about Rahab Melamed-Ainsworth.

xxxx

Additional Notes: I changed Chise's past a bit and made it as straightforward as possible because the plot of this story has no plans to uncover anything on her end. The opposite is the case for Elias though, and I hope you would look forward to the things I planned for him.

The anime and manga did not mention any surname for Rahab so I made one for her. 'Rahab' is not a Hebrew name, but since 'Elias' is a Hebrew one, the maiden name I made for her, 'Melamed', means 'teacher' in Hebrew. How Elias took the name 'Ainsworth' was also not mentioned in any way, so the scene in this chapter is just my own take, with Rahab's fictional late husband carrying it and her passing it on to Elias.

Did you like this chapter? Drop a review to share your thoughts. Many thanks for reading! :)

AL-AB93, BlueNachturne: Thank you for your kind reviews. It simply gives me joy whenever I write. :)