Moving Day
As you wake up from a restful sleep (i.e., no astral crap, or Shadowy Figures), you get up, dressed in your Pajamas... to see Glossaryck sitting next to a box on the table in the center of your room. "Good morning. How did you sleep, my student?"
"As best I could, all things considered... hey does a being like you even need sleep?" you say as the thought bubbles up.
Glossaryck just looks at you. "Hmmmm... is that what you want to discuss right now?"
You look at him, puzzled. "Wha? What else would I... Oh right!" you scream, as some of your dream trip came back. You go to explain about seeing Lila and the Shadowy Figure. Your mentor listens the entire time, not interrupting once, save for one part...
"So, he had you dead-to-rights, in a mental field of his choosing..." He stroked his beard, one eyebrow raised. "How did you get out again?"
Well, this would have to come out some time... "Actually, that's the thing! See, when I dipped down, I f_nd t_s _l
"You found nothing?" Glossaryck asked.
"Wha..." you blink. Weren't you... saying something? "Glossaryck, I just want to know about w_o t_t g_
"You found nothing," Glossaryck said.
"I... I..." Crap, what were you saying?
"Oh?" Glossaryck looked away from you, and down at the package, he was next to. "You want to know what's in the box?"
"I... yeah," you mutter. That must have been it. The box. "Got me a gift?"
"More like an apology," he said, and for a moment, the always impish djinn looked sad. "For what happened... on that day."
"For what happened... on what day?" You inquire. "Did something happen?"
The blue being sat quietly for a moment... then rolled his eyes. "I meant how that kitsune burned you. Honestly, if I suspected the pup knew such high-level magic, I would have finished this before the encounter."
You blink at that. Finished what? Having enough subterfuge, you grab the box, toss off the lid, and see its contents... your old plaid shirt, good as new.
"My favorite shirt!" you cheer as you take it out to inspect the clothing. "Wow, it looks just like the old one! But I'm guessing there's something extra, eh?"
Glossaryck chuckled. "Well, I try. Unfortunately, your awkward phase is one of many great wonders that can't just be spelled away, but this does improve your ability to not trip over your own tongue. It's also light enough to move in, giving a much easier range of motion for... attacking, defending, retreating, et cetera..."
"This is amazing~" you crow with stars in your eyes. "Thank you so much, Glossaryck! It's not self-cleaning too, is it?" you jest.
Glossaryck sighed like someone who'd been asked that before. "Shooting Star, that material is as tough as steel and breaths like cotton... it's stain-resistant, but you still have to clean it eventually. I'm a wizard, not a magician. Anyway, you should get dressed. Big day and all."
"Another big day?" you groan. "You do remember how the last one went..."
"Causal affair this time, I promise." Glossaryck floated over to the window. "Outside, Moon and River are waiting to send you off, but they are waiting patiently." He then floats over to the door. "Also, Geoffrey seems eager about something in the Main Hall, Tom is wandering the Orchard, and – oh! I'll be in the stables getting Heartstopper ready for travel. Got that memorized?"
"Of course! I'm not a goldfish!" You exclaim at the floating teacher.
As you head to the Main Hall in your new shirt, corduroy pants, and boots, you find Geoffrey, pacing up a storm on the carpet.
"Morning!" you call out for his attention.
"Ah!" The put-upon man actually jumped he was so startled. "My apologies, Sirius, for not coming to wake you. One of those... gentlemen from Sommerset, as well as a redheaded young lady, have somewhat distracted me..."
"Sounds like you could use some tea," you smirk. "Steady your nerves a bit..."
"In a minute, young sir. First, both of our visiting dignitaries have left you some tokens. You must have left an impact – only meeting these girls the first time, and they're already sending you gifts..." Geoffrey gave you a knowing smile...
You flush red as a tomato. "Ah-ah-ah-I-it's not like that! They just needed someone who wasn't c-caught up on all their stuffy traditions! I don't even know if either of them..." You notice Geoffrey giving you that damn knowing look that Tom gave you yesterday! "Never mind! What did they bring!?"
Sparing you from continued embarrassment, the valet hands over two rolled-up papers. "Lady Bourgeois seems to have given you her number," Geoffrey mused on the smaller scroll. "The King made sure to pack you a Magic Mirror for your wall, but don't forget your Pocket Mirror. It should be in your closet, I think..."
You thank Geoffrey, and head for the orchard, looking at the (translated) writing on the second gift. "Scroll of the Dragon?" You open it up to find instructions... on how to learn Kagami's heating trick. Looks like there's also a letter, read that on the way to your temporary home for the foreseeable future...
Outside, you find Tom leaning against the trees... eating a well-roasted apple.
"Sup, Tom!" you call out as you get closer.
"Hey, man-!" you shove a bushel into his arms.
"Need some snacks for Heartstopper, so hold that steady!" Tom barely has time to protest as you proceed to climb the nearest tree and drop at least twelve apples. Only a few dropped onto Tom's head.
"You are very lucky I'm taking anger management," he grumbles as you come down.
"Sure am!" you chirp as you pluck an apple impaled on his horns and bite into it.
"You know, you should take up some techniques too, ya know..." Tom hinted.
You squint at him. "Huh? Why?"
"Well..." Tom's eye seemed to be searching for an answer in the sky as he looked to the side. "You were kinda... upset... when I mentioned Volpina-!"
CRUNCH! Went the apple in your hand, your aura flaring for a moment. "I have no idea what you mean," you say casually, as you eat the pulped fruit in your hand like it wasn't in pieces.
"Right..." Tom trailed off.
"So," you lean on the same tree you found Tom at as he puts the bushel down, "heard I was leaving?"
He snorts. "Are ya kidding? Somehow, Pony Head caught wind of it, and wouldn't stop messaging us all night about it! Pretty sure Kelly and Tad blocked her... again."
You laugh at that, almost choking as Tom slaps your back to help. "And, uh... well, sorry you had to learn like that."
He shrugs. "No sweat! I was pretty ticked for a bit, but then I decided to give you a little something... call it your birthday gift." From his back pocket, he takes out a rectangular box.
You open the box and inside are a pair of scissors: black-handled, one blade sky blue, the other midnight blue, with a bolt connecting them that looked like a sleepy eye...
"Yeah, I could visit you, which is so not possible – I mean, I was lucky to get away on today of all days with the folks taking a vacay, but now you have your own dimensional scissors, so if you're homesick..."
Tom was still talking, but you weren't listening... the design he had chosen for your gift... brought to memory a similar design... one with sleeping power just under the surface...
"...ius? Hey, Sirius!" you snap back to reality as Tom literally snaps in your face. "Dude, you zoned out, what happened?"
You smile at Tom. "Tom, this is an amazing gift! You just made shopping to one-up you really hard! These are soooo cool!"
Tom seemed to blush more and more under the praise until he punches your arm. "Sirius, knock it off! You could've stopped at thanks, geez!" Despite his annoyed tone, he was still grinning...
As you carry your apple barrel to the Stables, you find Glossaryck, seemingly meditating just outside...
You shake your head. "I knew he slept." You lazily lob an apple at the djinn-
And it stops in the air between you! "Now that is rude," Glossaryck mumbles, but you're already walking over to feed Heartstopper.
"Hey there. Long time no see, old friend." You feed the Warnicorn an apple, and he allows you to pet his neck.
"It's like I always say," Glossaryck hovered over. "You can't separate a boy and his Warnicorn."
"And since I can only guess this 'Earth' doesn't have much in the way of Warnicorns, how do we bring him?" you look over at your mentor, as Heartstopper seems to snort hot breath on your ear that says 'you can talk, but I'll bite if you stop petting me.'
Glossaryck cracks his knuckles. "Easy. A mid-level Glamour should work. A change of size, without sacrificing strength, because the last thing I need is somebody stepping on him, and you going all 'one-winged angel' on them."
"Glamour?" Both you and your steed look at Glossaryck in askance to what he was doing.
"Well, it's like this? You ever look at a sunset in the far distance, and see some shimmering coming off it?"
"Uhhhh..."
"It's like that, sort of." Your teacher finishes his stretches by twisting his neck a full 360.
"Soooo, you're gonna teach me to do a spell now, right?" you smile with excitement.
"Oh no. No no no no no!" Which gets shut down swiftly. "Glamours are way too advanced at your level of a novice. I'll just make a Glamour of an obvious pet on Earth, and give you a command word." He licks his thumb, then holds it in front of him, as if lining up a shot. "At Heartstopper's size, I'm thinking Golden Retriever, Puma, or a very large Guinea Pig. You pick."
"Wait, what's a retriever..." You begin to ask.
"Right, dog, got it." ZZZZZAP! The world goes white as you hear Heartstopper's roar diminish into some sort of howl. Like a wolf, but smaller-sounding.
As your vision returns, you blink for a bit. "Heartstopper? Glossaryck? What happened?"
Grrr! Arf!
"Gaaah! Back! Back I say!" Not sure what the first sound was, but that other one was definitely Glossaryck. You follow the noise outside, to find the mage sitting on a branch... and some smallish wolf nipping not even a quarter up the mighty tree.
You look back toward Heartstopper's empty enclosure, to the scene in front of you. "...Glossaryck, did you change Heartstopper into a tiny adorable bloodthirsty wolf?"
The wolf looked over and whined, as Glossaryck floated down and hid behind you. "I might have overdone the Glamour, yes, but it still has its strength and speed... which is why I would very much appreciate it if you keep between us."
The wolf growled at Glossaryck but made no move toward you.
You pick up an apple from a nearby barrel. "Heartstopper~ You didn't finish lunch!" The wolf stops growling to stare at the apple in your hand. You kneel and beckon him over, which he does to tear into the apple like it were Glossaryck himself. So cute!
"Aww, I'm so sorry, my noble steed~ That Glossaryck is an awful wizard, isn't he~? Isn't he~?" Heartstopper whined at the baby talk, but a scratch behind his ears made him more malleable.
"Er, now hold on," Glossaryck tried to protest, but was cut off by a bark loud enough to blow him away – literally, all the way back to the castle!
You sit there, half-deaf, before patting your powerful familiar. "Good boy!" He barked in agreement.
After a quick stop at your room for your personal Mirror, you head downstairs, Heartstopper marching at your side like he wasn't coming up to your knees. Near the carriage, the guards loading up the last of your belongings... even your Combat Gear?
"Sweet!" you grin ear-to-ear. "What about my other weapons? Any of my toys?"
"Dear me, no!" Mom chimes in. "We're sending you to Earth to hide, Sirius! Your toys are packed up, but your weapons must stay put!"
As Mom goes to supervise the guards, Dad slides up to you. "Don't worry! I totally packed your weapons!" You and he share a low five before he looks down at Heartstopper. "Ha! Son, you seemed to have picked up a tiny wolf! Want me to skin it for you?"
The 'tiny wolf,' clearly took offense to that, as he growled threateningly.
"Uh, Dad? That's actually-!" is all you get out, before the hidden Warnicorn leaps at Dad! As they stumble back you can tell this is going to be a fight of legendary-
"Sirius, we're almost done," Mom steps in front of your view, and leads you away. "Which is why... it's about time... for you to officially have the Royal Magic Wand."
You take a deep breath, heart pounding in your ears. "So... this is really happening..."
Mom nodded solemnly. "Indeed. It is."
You both stand there in silence for a bit. Finally, you speak up. "S-so, will Mewni be safe, with the Wand coming with... yeah."
Mom blinked at you, before laughing a little; it was a small one, covered by a gloved hand, but it did serve to relieve the tension. "Sirius, the Wand is not necessary for me anymore, not after my years of experience. It is always supposed to be passed down from parent to child, of the day that marks their 13th year."
"I understand," you nod. "I know I'm hiding out, but shouldn't I still practice my magic?"
"Of course. Glossaryck will be the judge of when it's proper or not, but you can only get better with practice." Mom looked at the Wand once more, then sighed. "Usually, there's supposed to be a ceremony, but as there is no time..." She held out the Wand to you...
You gulp with a dry throat, but you accept the Wand, taking it gently as if it would break in your hands. In a flash of light... the Royal Wand takes on the same appearence as it did in your head several days ago, down to the two-tone stone with the half-closed eye crack.
"Whoa..." Almost automatically, you reach up, and with a twist of the handle, it becomes a staff! You try to spin like in your dream, but you only smack yourself in the face... a few times. You settle for just slinging it over your shoulder, one hand on your hip like you're fighting for truth and justice, or something corny like that. Doesn't matter; you feel like 8 feet tall.
"Ah! You're done!" Dad and Heartstopper wandered over... looking like they'd been in a war!
"Shoot! I missed the whole fight!" you grouse, collapsing the Wand to be held in one hand.
"Haha! Yes! And what a glorious fight! A battle of true equals! I learned more about myself in that scrap than any other!" Dad poses proudly, so caught up in his speech, he didn't see you rush him in a hug!
"I'm really gonna miss you guys..." you say into his shoulder.
"Oh, Sirius..." you can't see Dad's face, but you feel him return the hug. As he releases you, clearly holding back tears in eyes filled with water already, Mom brings you into a gentle embrace.
"If you ever miss us, dear, call us on your Magic Mirror. It's why we sprung for the interdimensional plan," she gives you a kiss on the cheek. "And please stay out of trouble!"
"I'll work in that 'little grey margin,' but trouble tends to find me more often than not," you snicker, even if your laugh's a little shaky. Mom looks ready to scold you, but instead, she just hugs you again, a little tighter this time.
When Mom lets you out for air, you watch as the Royal Book of Spells leaps across the ground like a demented frog. It stops right at your feet. Look like Glossaryck doesn't want a repeat of his last encounter with your fateful steed...
You pick up the Spell Book, and... you know it's time. As you step up the steps to the carriage, Heartstopper slipping in between your legs, you look back at the group that sees you off...
Mom and Dad, who are doing their level best to protect you from -
Foolish young mage, do you know nothing?
...really dark forces.
Geoffrey, who had been your teacher of royal living and common hygiene for all your life, and was just as much family as your own parents.
And Tom, your best mate, and the only reason the others aren't here is that Pony Head got sent to St. Olga's (they'll be begging to send her back in a week...) and Kelly and Tad, who said they needed to 'get in line now to even be able to eat one in a month or so,' not that that message had made any sense...
You feel a little wetness in your eyes, but blink and slap yourself! "Rgrh... BYE, EVERYONE! I'LL BE BACK BEFORE YOU KNOW IT!" With their cheers at your back, you enter the carriage, as a guard takes a pair of scissors and rend the air in front of the carriage. With a snap of the reins, the trip begins. In less than a minute, you have left the kingdom of Mewni.
A/N: So much foreshadowing in this chapter, you don't even know! Well, Sirius is off! Where is he heading? Who's taking him in? What's Glossaryck hiding? Do you think Heartstopper's adorable? Leave a review if you have the time!