Day of Void, a Holy Day of Rest brought upon by Founder Brimir and his magical achievements. It was a testament to his abilities that a day was named after the element that he wielded, an element that made him known as the saviour that he was. It was a day where Mages could relax and enjoy themselves.

Most of them anyways.

Because it allowed for rest, Day of Void happened to be Tabitha's favourite day of the week. Of course it was the favourite day for many, but she liked it because it meant she could stay in her room all day and read. She'd be in her own world, and enjoy the peace and quiet of said world.

An explosion went off, the force shook the glass and rattled the wooden frame of her window.

"Argh, again!"

A shrill shout that was almost as loud as the explosion that just happened followed. Not a moment later, another explosion shook her windows.

Unfortunately, said world is currently being assaulted by unwanted sounds.

"Bug, fill the pot with more water!"

Tabitha's eyes zoomed across the page that she was in, she didn't even care that she was missing any of the details. The explosions had started since early morning, and had been going on for enough that she could already figure out pattern.

Three explosions, a shrill shout of frustration, and a couple of moments of silence.

It was because of this pattern that she could even manage to get any progress with her book. If the rhythm continued that meant she had a couple more moments of s-

"Good, you're getting faster Bug. Now, stand back!"

Damn it.

Following the declaration was another explosion, this one louder than the last. A weary sigh escaped her lips 'This cannot get any worse' she thought to herself.

"Louise! What in the name of the Founder are you doing?!"

She stood corrected.

"What does it look like Zerbst?!" There was another explosion "I'm practising my spells!"

"It's not even noon yet!" Kirche's voice screamed from her window, which was unfortunately loud enough that she could actually hear it past her own window. "Some of us are trying to sleep!"

For a moment Tabitha wondered if she was could just open the window, wave her staff and just cast a Spell of Tranquillity at Louise. But she figured that her range wasn't large enough for it. She also considered just leaning out the window and blowing Louise far into the distance with a Cyclone, but she didn't want a suspension just because she was annoyed.

The next best thing would be to do the same to Kirche, but that wouldn't really solve the main problem that was currently plaguing her day. Plus, that meant Kirche would eventually come to her and beg for the spell to be dispelled.

In the end, Tabitha could only endure the noise.

BOOM

"ARGH!"

Or maybe she could at least leave and head for the library. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.

[Scene]

Louise hunched over, her hand placed over her knees as water dripped down her uniform. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as the exhaustion from the repeated casting were starting to take its toll, not to mention the head ache that came with it.

The sun hovered over her head, the heat that come from it countered the cold from the water that drenched her entire body.

How early had she rose to practice her spells? How long she spent waving her wand about, screaming any water spell that she could chant from the top of her head.

That little list that she had spent the whole night making was destroyed when she tried to cast a simple water pull spell. Her spell detonated and drenched her, Bug, the list, and the ground underneath them.

It didn't matter, she could just keep casting them until she could control them!

That had been more than a couple of hours ago. And after more than a couple of spells, she was no closer now than when she started.

Her throat was starting to feel sore from her shouting.

She lifted her head, and saw Bug carrying the pot she had been using for her practice. It was, once again, filled with water and the small Familiar was carrying like it was nothing.

That was a small shock to her when it showed her that it was stronger than she thought. Carrying the metal pot that was almost as big as it was without any issues, especially when it came back filled with water.

It placed the pot on the ground, where it was more mud and water than ground if she was being honest, and took a step back. She groaned, and stood up straight.

"What am I doing wrong?" She asked, taking a few steps to the pot of water. She stood over it, staring into the contents. She looked at her wand, she gritted her teeth.

"Maybe you should try casting a different spell Louise?"

Her head snapped to the voice, seeing Kirche looking out the window with her usual smirk.

Her eye twitched "SHUT UP!" And pointed down at the pot of water.

An explosion and a geyser of water splashed into her face, drenching her head completely.

Faintly she was aware of a cackle from the dorm tower, but she ignored it to instead give a frustrated scream and kick the pot in front of her.

Bug could only watch as its master hopped on one foot, as she held the other foot that she had used to kick the metal container.

She snapped her head towards it "Well? Don't just stand there, do something!"

Bug looked at her, then back at the pot and lightly kicked it. It jostled and slid across the ground a little, but didn't tip over.

"That's not what I meant!" She planted her foot down and pointed at it "Here I am, doing all that I can to cast a spell and you've done nothing to help."

Bug pointed at the pot.

"Bringing the water doesn't count Familiar!" She snapped.

"Aww don't be so harsh on your Familiar Louise," Kirche called out from her window. She was leaning over it, her elbow propped on the frame. Her eyes seemed to sparkle in the sunlight.

She ignored the red head and instead pointed her wand at Bug, who deftly stepped out of its path. Her eyebrows furrowed and moved her wand, prompting Bug to keep avoiding the tip of her wand.

Once more she was aware of the cackling from the tower dormitory.

"Stand still Bug!"

Her Familiar stopped moving at her, though it did take a step back when she repointed her wand at it again.

For a moment what she wanted to saw was lost to her. She was feeling the fatigue of casting so many spells, so she was just pointing her wand at her Familiar as it stared at her.

"Water," she finally said.

Bug pointed to the pot it had kicked.

"No," she shook her head.

Bug then pointed to the many puddles that she had created.

"No!" She took a step forward, wand pointing dangerously close to its eye. In response Bug's body shifted, turning back and dashing backwards. It put a good couple of feet away from her, before its body returned to normal.

Her eyes widened, and rushed forward "There!" She rushed forward, when she saw Bug's body starting to shift she quickly ordered "Don't move."

The black that was about to cover its skull receded, and it simply took a step back when she reached it, still pointing with her hand.

"What you just did." Her wand waved at it rapidly "When, when you turned all black and stuff. That was one of your spells wasn't it?" She asked.

It nodded its head.

"Show me!" She demanded, stamping her foot into one of the many puddles. Wincing as she splashed herself.

"Calm down there Louise," Kirche called out from her room. "You keep shouting at your Familiar like that, you'll scare the little guy."

Louise eyes turned to Kirche, before she looked back at Bug.

As always it just stared at her silently, simply staring at her with its empty eyes. It wasn't scared of her, was it? Even if it did try to run away just then, she wasn't scaring it.

Was she?

She lowered her wand.

"That's good," Kirche voice continued to irritate her "Now if you want your Familiar to show you tricks, ask it veeery nicely~" She ended with a giggle.

Louise gave an irritated glance her way, prompting her to waggle her fingers in a wave, before turning back to her Familiar.

"Bug," she said slowly and raised her hand that wasn't holding the wand "I need you to show me a spell," she reached forward and poked its stomach.

It still felt like she was touching nothing, despite feeling something deforming on her finger tip.

A SPELL?

"I just," she hesitated "If you show me a spell, I might be able to copy it." She placed a hand over her chest "You're my Familiar, your proof of my status as a mage, you're proof that I have an affinity for one of the elements." She pulled her hand away "I just need to see it."

OF COURSE

It stepped away from her, and her finger felt the heat of the sun once more. She looked at her finger for a moment, confused, before she quickly turned to her Familiar.

Just in time to see.

Once more Bug's body shifted, the black of his body covered its skull and its cloak. Black eyes turned into two bright spots of light, while the cloak lengthened behind it. Then with a flash of black, something came out of it.

It moved so fast that it escaped her line of sight almost immediately. She tried to followed it, but she only managed to see it tear through the metal pot that they had been using, it broke it into pieces as if it was made of paper. It continued, travelling across the courtyard, before it splashed into the wall.

Thankfully, instead of burrowing through the stone wall (And costing her allowance) it simply splashed harmless against it and then vanished.

She turned back to Bug, who approached her and stared at her. "Was that, was that one of your spells?" She asked.

It nodded its head.

She looked at its' body, it was back to normal. The skull was white, and its cloak was back to being dark blue and shortened to its original length. Its main body wasn't any smaller than it was before, still the same size.

She turned to the metal pot that had been carrying the water for her spells. It had been broken into four pieces, sheared through like it was nothing. And then the shape.

It was small, only slightly bigger than Bug, but it was able to maintain its shape for the entire duration. Not to mention, it travelled in a straight line without any drop its in trajectory.

Spontaneous generation of water, speed allowing it to cut through iron, maintaining its form even after impacting metal, and keeping a straight narrow path. Not to mention, dispelling it before it could damage the wall.

That was way too advance for her, she could barely make a Dot Spell work!

"Uh Bug?" She turned to her Familiar, her face nervous "I appreciate you following my order and giving a demonstration." She pointed at where it had blasted its spell "But I can't do that yet!"

"What a laugh, a Familiar is a better spell caster than its master." Kirche followed her statement with a laugh 'Ha Ha Ha'.

Louise growled "What are you even still doing here Zerbst?!" She asked angrily "I thought you wanted to sleep."

"Well it's too late for that now isn't it Zero?" She retorted, her voice just a little bitter. "Something, woke me up way too early and just wouldn't stop making noise, so I can't even go to sleep anymore." She tapped her chin and make a thinking face "I wonder whose fault is that huh?"

Louise pouted, making the most dissatisfied face she could.

"Anyways!" She turned away from Germanian, and faced her Familiar. "That spell you showed was too advanced!"

It pointed at the direction where it had blasted the spell.

"Yes!" She quickly answered, not needing to touch it to know that it thought that spell it used was probably the most 'basic' spell. "I need," she paused as she tried to think of something "Simply, something smaller!"

Its body shifted once more.

"And," she quickly cut in "I don't mean like make the spell even narrower."

Bug shifted back at her interruption, and tilted its head at her.

She scratched her head "Just something simple," she wracked her brain trying to think of something. Her eyes landed on its body and pointed at it "How about just making a water whip?" She waved her arms, trying to make it look as noodly as possible "You know, make it longer since you're made of water and all, it'll be easy."

Bug looked down at its hands, the stumps stared back.

"Just, make them longer," she pointed at the remains of pot "Hit that or something."

Bug raised its head and stepped closer to the piece of iron. It swung its hand in front of the piece of couple of times, looking like it was fanning the thing.

Then it pulled its arm back, stretching behind as its body shifted. The cloak lengthened into tendrils, and the arm that it had pulled back lengthened as well.

It grew longer than the cloak, and then it swung it forward.

An ear splitting crack resonated in the yard, the sound made Louise flinch and take a step back almost instinctively. But she kept her eyes on her Familiar, and saw the remains of the metal pot split in two.

The lengthened arm shrunk back and returned to normal, as did the rest of Bug. It turned to her and then pointed at what it had done.

"Yes," she rushed forward and grabbed its small body "YES!" She leaned forward "I can do that at least, so tell me how did you do it?!"

THE POWER WITHIN, FOCUS AND THE SPELL WILL BE CAST

"Power within?" She questioned.

It tilted its head.

DRAW IN WHAT IS CALLED 'AFFINITY' AS WAS SAID, YOU'VE DONE IT BEFORE

She remembered yesterday, and her grip on her Familiar tightened "I failed last time Bug, all I did was cause the jug to explode," she frowned "And splashed us with water."

It stared at her

YOU DID NOT FAIL, YOU DREW UPON THE VOID DURING THAT TIME DID YOU NOT?

Louise pointedly ignored the mention of 'Void' and tried to recall yesterday, but all she could recall was broken mugs and pain.

Despite that, she remembered the feeling when she casted the spell. A pleasant hum in her chest that was apparently supposed to be something that Mage could feel when they used their affinity.

It had been absent for the entirety of her practice today. Despite her constant casting of water spells.

REMEMBER THE FEELING, AND DRAW UPON IT ONCE MORE

She looked at the creature in her hands, and sighed "Fine." She lowered it to the ground and turned to…

"You destroyed the pot Bug," she told it with a glare.

Bug simply turned to her.

She sighed "Never mind," she shook her head and instead pointed at one of the larger puddles.

Taking a deep breath, she recalled the feeling yesterday. The magical hum that happened when she summoned Bug, and when she tried yesterday.

It filled her body once more, a tingling sensation that went from head to toe, her affinity reacting to her magic. At least she hoped that it was her magic, and not the cold from the water that covered her head to toe.

She pushed the thought away and focused. A basic water spell, to pull it from the puddle on the ground and just make it rise.

Chanting the spell under her breath, holding onto the feeling within herself, she waved her wand and unleashed her magic.

A black tendril suddenly, and violently, shot up into the air. Her eyes widened as the puddle she was pointing at, as well as the surrounding ones, turned from muddy brown to the same black of Bug's body. It fuelled the shape of the tendril infront of her as it grew and stretched into the air.

It was smooth, no growth or deformations save its black coloration. Its base was as wide as the puddle that it was drawing it water source from, while the tip tapered into a point. It was taller than her, twice as tall even as it was hunched over.

Then it snapped upwards.

The same ear splitting crack that Bug had made with its tendrils returned, louder this time and even more jarring. It straightened until it resembled a spike.

Then just as suddenly formed, it faded away. The black turned back to clear water, seemingly cleared of both her spell's hold as well as the dirt that it had just been in a moment ago. The tall tower of water, no longer having any kind of support, fell apart.

It splashed against the ground, forming a giant puddle right in front of her.

Louise eyes were wide, processing what had just happened.

"The Zero actually casted a spell," she heard Kirche spoke behind her "The Day of Void is filled with miracles I guess."

A smile broke out on her face, before it turned into a full grin. She looked at her wand.

She managed to cast a spell.

She casted a spell!

She wanted to turn to Bug, to pick it up and hug it.

But at that moment, she felt her legs give out under her.

'Huh?' Her eyes widened as the ground underneath her suddenly grew closer, and then before she knew it she fell face first into the puddle she had made.

Water filled her nose immediately. Her eyes widened as she tried to move her arms so that she could push herself out of the water, but they failed to moment.

'Bug!' she tried to call for her Familiar, but her words wouldn't form. All she could do gasp, and she nearly hacked out when the water nearly entered her mouth.

Her legs kicked, trying to get away. But just like her arms, they failed to listen to her commands. All they could do was kick against the ground as her panic grew.

'BUG!' she thought helpless as she tried to call out for her Familiar again, her body wasn't moving. It took all her effort just to stop her from breathing so that she wouldn't fill her lungs with water.

Her arms shook as she futilely tried to get them to move, her fingers dug into the mud but did nothing else.

Her vision was starting to get dark, the headache that had been forming finaly struck. Her panic could only grow as she tried to get up, trying to just stay concnious.

'BUG, HELP ME!'

Once more she tried, but nothing came of it.

She was going to drown in a puddle.

How pathetic was that?

[Scene]

"LOUISE!"

Bug turned its head as the red head that had been watching suddenly leap from the window. With a wave of a wand in her grasp, her fall turned soft. Once she landed she ran to its master, who was still face down in the water.

Kirche grabbed her cape and pulled her out of the water. She dragged her away from any puddles and rolled her on her back.

Its master took a deep breath, and coughed. Water dribbled out of her mouth, but then she stopped.

"Oh thank Founder, you're still breathing." She waved her wand, and Louise was lifted off the ground. She turned towards it "Well don't just stand there," she told it "We need to get her to the infirmary."

She took off, its master floating after her.

Bug quickly followed.

Once they managed to reach the room, the red head and the other woman in the room had an extensive conversation that went over Bug's head. But they did lower its master onto a bed.

The other woman waved its wand and a small stream of water left its master's mouth, at which point she started to cough again, before going silent again.

"Well you two are lucky," the woman told them as she flicked her wand and threw the water into a pot at her feet. "There was only a little water in her lungs, so she should be fine." Her eyes narrowed "However, the exhaustion is going to take awhile to recover from, but other than that she's fine."

Kirche let out a sigh, "Thank you."

"No problem," she stood up "Leave her to rest, and she'll be up in a couple of hours." She left to another part of the room.

Kirche looked down at its master, and frowned "Damn it Louise, even if you can't cast a spell you know better than to just blow through Willpower like that." She turned her head towards it when it approached the bed "And you," her eyes narrowed "Why didn't you do anything? Your master could've drowned in that puddle and you just stood there!"

Bug tilted its head.

Why was she angry, she wasn't its master? And the reason it didn't help was that it didn't really see a reason, nor was it given an order to do so.

"Ugh, never mind." She turned away "Look, you're her Familiar. A Familiar should protect their master" she told it "Not leave them to drown."

Bug stared at her for a moment, and nodded.

It supposed it could do that as well.