"Yeet" are thoughts.

Yeah, I'm continuing this fic lol. Criticism is much appreciated, I'm slowly making a plan for where this story will go, but for now have some character interactions. Slight AU, Kirche and Louise will have a more friendly rivalry, since this fic will prob go Louise/Kirche/Tabitha.

Also, edited the first chapter a bit, added some shit, took away some shit, all that.

Louise quickly walked (not run, that wouldn't be acceptable in the halls, nor would it be proper. No matter how much Eleanor does it at home.) to her room, quick turns making her cloak billow like smoke from an explosion.

This had been an extremely weird day, Louise thought as she walked up the stairs. Floating blue words and not-words, and now she seemed to have gained the ability to do magic! Proper, traditional magic, rather than her weird explosions.

"-ro!"

Louise thought back to where this started. The familiar summoning! That had to be when all this started. Louise scratched her right shoulder, deep in thought. What happened back there? She remembers the green portal, slowly increasing in size, slowly giving her hope, until it exploded like all her other spells-

Well, her previous spells, that fireball was real, as the broken door in the infirmary can attest to.

She had put her arms up, right? Fat shut that did anyways, she hit her head on the back and not on the front. After that... Ah right, the pain. The searing pain that flowed through her, right before she blacked out.

Deep in thought, Louise barely noticed the fact that she went over her room. Randomly walking, her original destination long since forgotten.

"Zero!"

Or it would be, if it wasn't for the cow's mooing noises.

Louise turned back with a sigh, she doesn't need any more noise. She needs to go back to her room, take a few deep breaths, and... Do something with her situation. She's read that writing her priorities down in a list helps somehow. After that, maybe she'll take a nap or-

"ZERO!"

A hand on her shoulder stops her from walking further. She shrugged it off, and swirled in place to look at said hand's owner.

There, in all her fiery glory stood her eternal rival, Kirche Von Zerbst. Belatedly, she also noticed said rival's... friend? Acquaintance? Whatever their relationship is, behind her, Tabitha. Staff on her back, and of course, reading a book in her hands.

A small part of her subconscious thinks about Tabitha's last name, she's been studying in the academy for two years, surely she must have said it before? Said part got squished like an ember beneath the foot of the red hot wildfire of anger that she's starting to feel.

"What is it, Zerbst?"

She barely stopped the growl that threatens to come out.

"Hmmph! And after we went all this way to find out if you were alright. Me and my Tabitha even went to the infirmary first, isn't that right, Tabby?"

Kirche scoffed as she flipped her hair and crossed her arms beneath her chest in just the right way to put her chest up more.

Tabitha in response glanced up from the book she was reading (a classic hero adventure story, from what little she could see of the title) and nodded, looking back down at her book to continue reading.

Louise let out a sigh, the anger flowing out with it. Two years of sharing blows through words with Zerbst has been helpful, a little. It added a bit more with her perceptiveness. For instance, she's noticed that when Zerbst is normally mocking her, her voice takes on a high note, with her sentences ending in a song-like quality. She can hear a bit of that in Zebst's words from before, but more than that, she can also hear the little bit of hurt in her voice.

"I'm alright, Zerbst. The Head Nurse said that I just need to rest for the day."

She can see Zerbst's eyes soften, but she feels a bit of annoyance crawl up with the way Zerbst's entire body seem to light up in mischief after.

"A good rest requires good pillows, of course!"

Zerbst bounced in place, Tabitha let's out a small quiet sigh from behind her.

Kirche pointed at her face, and gave Louise a cheeky wink.

"And I happen to know where you can find some extremely high quality ones."

Louise can practically feel that all too familiar mix of annoyance, anger, and exasperation at the red head's words.

"Stop it, you annoying cow! I already have good quality pillows!"

Louise groaned out, putting her hands down to her sides and stomping her right foot on the ground.

"Oh~?"

Kirche drawled out, moving closer to Louise.

"As they say~

Kirche tilted her head down and lowered her back to face Louise closer.

"The more the merrier~!"

Louise can sense the steam bursting from her ears.

"Y-you slutty Germanian milk maker!"

She brought her hand down forcefully on Zerbst's head, in sync with Tabitha doing the same with her staff on Zerbst's bottom.

"Ow!"

Kirche pouted, one hand on her head, and the other on her bottom, the two places where she got hit by the two less upper-body-fortunate people she's with.

Louise darted off to her room, face as pink as her hair, leaving a sulky Kirche and a neutral looking Tabitha at the hallway.

As soon as Louise was out of sight, Kirche let out a groan and stood up straight.

"Something's up with her-

Kirche put a hand on her hip, face scrunched up in thought.

"Tabby, what do you think?"

"Distracted. The summoning?"

"Mayhaps..."

Kirche took a look at her glasses wearing companion and cracked a grin.

"Well, we've checked on little Louise, it's time for me to spoil my lovely Flame! And check on your Sylphid too, of course."

Tabitha didn't bother sidestepping or moving out of the way of the red head that hugged her suddenly, Void knows that Kirche will just do it more unexpectedly anyways.

Louise entered her room, mind a bit less cluttered than before. Taking off her cloak and throwing it on top of her bed, she pulled out a piece of paper, a quill, and an ink bottle from one of her desk drawers.

Sitting down on her chair, she began to write.

[Familiar Summoning -- Explosion -- Floating Blue Words

MP? Learned "Fireball". Said it uses "MP" to get bigger. MP is Mana? Mana Potential? Mana Power?

I can now do actual spells. ]

She looked up at the ceiling and took her wand from her pocket.

"Okay... The introductory books to magic always talked about moving and feeling the mana from your surroundings and inside you."

Louise thought, closing her eyes and beginning to meditate, looking for the familiar feelings of warmth in her core... And casted a spell.

"Water."

A murmur, a quiet yet hopeful murmur.

Louise slowly opened her eyes. There, much like the fireball from before in the infirmary, a slowly expanding orb of water floating on top of her wand.

She could feel her hands start to shake, tears are starting to blur her eyesight. She-

She did it!

Louise let out a laugh, tears freely pouring down her face. She's not a zero anymore! Take that, annoying classmates! Take that, Zerbst! Take that Eleanor!

She wiped her eyes with her free hand, hiccups mixing in with her laughs and giggles.

Maybe... Maybe now...

Her mother would finally be proud of her.

Pop!

Louise blinked her eyes, because of both the shock and to get the water out of them.

Ah, she was still pouring in mana to the orb of water.

She looked down, dripping pink locks obscuring part of her vision. Well, she'll need to get a maid or a butler to wipe this huge puddle of water she's made. And she'll need to throw away the wet paper and quill, at least the ink bottle still seems salvageable. And she'll need to go and take a shower, and, and...

Even as wet as she is, Louise can't help but smile wide. Warmth and happiness coming of off her.

Well then, wow, bet you didn't expect to see this updating, lol. I still don't have that much of a plan yet, but I will continue this! Don't expect an update schedule tho, but I promise that it won't be, what, two years? Before I update again. It'll be three years, of course! I'm joking, I think. Anyways, thanks for reading!