Chapter 5: School Supplies and Train Rides
"Why did you change your hair, Jareth?" asked Anya. Jareth had temporarily changed his hair from the long, rock star-ish style to an almost military style cut.
"So that nobody recognizes me," he replied. "Most of the wizard world thinks that I am not in existance anymore. So, why do YOU wear that odd hairstyle?"
Anya's hairstyle was the 'Odango' or 'Sailormoon'. Two buns on either side of the top of her head, with the extra hair pulled through the buns. With her hair up like this, it hung just below her chin. "I LIKE it like this. And it's easy to take care of," she replied.
They made their way to the bank. The goblins running the bank were different from the ones in the Labyrinth. They were all the same height and their noses were pointier. They also seemed much more intelligent than the ones in the Labyrinth. They withdrew some money and then started to shop.
First, they gathered all the books she would need. Then they purchased pens, paper, and clothing. Finally, it was time to purchase a wand. Anya was not having an easy time of it. She tried out many wands and still could not find one that worked. Wands with unicorn hair, blackbird feathers, lion's mane among others and the only thing that happened was Olivander's shop was a shambles. While she took a break (and Olivander repaired his shop), Jareth asked to get his wand tested.
"Ah, yes. This one is very old, I'm surprised it still works at all," said Olivander. "It just needs a bit of recharging." He recharged the wand for Jareth. Jareth paid him. "Not too many people use goblin hair wands anymore. Hmmm..." On a hunch, he pulled out a wand and handed it to Anya. "Twelve and a half inches long, rosewood, three goblin hairs. Try this one, Anya." Anya took the wand and it glowed. They had finally found the correct wand for her. She paid, and her and Jareth went back to the inn for lunch.
Later that same day.....
Tannim and Haplo made their way towards the bank. After withdrawing money, they too purchased books, clothing, pens, and paper. Finally they went to the wand shop.
Olivander was tired. It was taking most kids 3-4 tries or more before getting the right wand this year. And that one girl was a disaster. On top of that, he had had to dig out two types of rare wands. One was a goblin hair and the other was a phoenix feather. Still, he mustered up a smile when Tannim walked in. "Do you make custom wands?" she asked.
He grinned. "Sure do, missy." Making a custom wand was a piece of cake compared to the rest of his day. "What would you like?"
Tannim handed him the small box she was carrying. "I'd like to use these please." In the box was one large red dragon scale and a dragon fang.
"How did you come across these rare items?" he asked.
"I have a dragon friend back home," said Tannim. She pointed to a picture on the wall. "She looks like that one but she's red." The picture was an Elder Dragon, one who was unable to be affected by any wizard spells, including the most powerful ones.
"Well, ok then. Let's get this done," he said. It took half an hour, but the result was well worth it. There would be no damage from this one to clean up. Custom wands, like this: old oak, 14 inches, dragon scale and dragon fang, were ALWAYS a sure thing. Tannim paid, and left smiling. Now, Dragon would be at school with her, at least in spirit. She then headed to the inn while Haplo left back for the Nexus. Dog stayed with Tannim.
The Next Day.....
"Why do I have an owl cage? I don't have an owl, Jareth. Just Mix, the fairy," asked Anya. Mix peeked out of Anya's pocket.
"Because, Anya, I have an animagus form of an owl," replied Jareth. "I have an odd feeling about the upcoming years. So I'm going with you. The Labyrinth will be fine without me for a while and I can always fly home and check on things if I need to." With that, he transformed into his owl form and went inside the cage.
Anya closed the cage and got ready to leave. "Ok." Outside the inn, she bumped into Tannim. Literally. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she cried.
"It's ok," said Tannim. "I'm Tannim Ryu and this is Dog." She pointed to Dog. "What's your name?"
"I'm Anya King. This is Mix," she said, pointing to the fairy in her pocket. "And this is Jareth." She held up the owl. "You wanna sit together on the train?"
"Sure," said Tannim. They made their way to the train station and soon found out how to get to the platform after watching a family of redheads walk through the wall.
They found a compartment towards the back and sat down. They bought snacks from the trolley and talked. Anya told Tannim more about Mix. "Mix is a rare kind of fairy. She's a Faerius Chompus, most commonly known as a Biting Fairy." Of course, neither girl told the other where they were really from.
As they were talking, their door opened up and a blonde boy poked his head in. "I heard that somebody has a fairy," he said. Seeing Mix, he reached for her with a sneer. Mix promptly chomped down on the nearest finger. The boy yanked his hand back and almost tripped over himself trying to get away. Anya and Tannim laughed. They bet that he would not try THAT again. Not too long afterwards, the train slowed to a stop. They had finally arrived at the school.
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Dog is actually called Dog or The Dog in the Death Gate Cycle books, its not Tannim being weird or anything. On my website, I have some character descriptions for the four main OCs for this story. is the address.