Sorceress, student, and pet: World Travels and Traversing of Worlds

[Dezmok]

Roba opened his eyes and looked down upon the garden below. He had fallen asleep high up, on the underside of a tall, leaning tree, with his back turned to the trunk and the skin on his hands and feet manipulated into hundreds of almost microscopic suction cups that kept him him effortlessly hanging from the large tree. He smiled at the scenery of his owner's garden, the first place in this world he had ever set his eyes upon.

He extended his arms until he reached the floor some 15 feet away and walked inside yawning while his arms recscinded to their normal length.

Soon their was a pep in his step as the excitement of waking his owner manifested itself in the sudden sprouting of a bushy fox tail that wagged in expression. He was in his human form, so the tail fur matched the color of his orange-red hair and soon his ear shifted upwards and into a similarly foxy form with the same orange fur.


On his way to the master bedroom he noticed his collar, which he had ditched in the garden the night before, resting on a piece of furniture in the hallway. Without stopping his tongue rocketed out to latch and retrieve the collar, which was then fastened around his neck in a second.


He only stopped when he noticed Ezra asleep at his worktable.
The young mage was wearing a neat outfit, including a black collared shirt and belted brown slacks, but his top was half untucked and his hair unkempt from resting in his arms.


Roba grinned as himself and maintained the smile as he shifted into Madame Clarrisse's form.


"What do you think you're doing, Ezra!?" He demanded in Clarrisse's voice.

Ezra was startled to be awoken, but his eyes soon narrowed in annoyance.

"A terrible try, Rob" He concluded calmly while rubbing the back of his head
"Her presence emits ridiculous amounts of magical energy, yours is just giddy"

He reverted to his previous form and took the criticism with a mischievous smirk

"The questions still stands, why were you asleep at the table? I've seen you stay up for days at a time..." He asked with one eye locked onto Ezra and the other following the movements of small animals outside the window. Roba knew that this chameleon feature unnerved Ezra and getting the composed student to be riled was a fun game.

"If you're going to talk to me, give me your full attention, lizard" Ezra responded in a monotone

Roba's stray eye shot back to focus on Ezra while his head also whipped from its tilted position into a direct stare at Ezra. His pupils narrowed into slits to more resemble a reptile's.

"Please, go on" He hissed with a smile

One corner of Ezra's mouth turned upwards and Roba considered the game won, as it was just as hard to make Ezra smile as it was to make him angry.

"I had a dream last night, a vision of a wizard experimenting with infusing the ice shards of his own magical creation with volatile arcane lightning. The results were impressively explosive but difficult to control. I woke up before I could see the ability refined and after I finished my morning duties, I had cast a sleep inducing incantation on myself so that I may return to the scene."

"You're not suppose to do that" Roba's smile faded and his eyes returned to normal

"I know how to do it safely, do you really think I'd put myself in a coma?" Ezra dismissed his concern

"Did he manage to perfect the technique, or did I wake you from an ice impaled nightmare?"

Ezra sighed in response before explaining

"I just spent what felt like 5 hours working as a normal woman in a bakery"

Roba chuckled and Ezra's expression lightened while he shrugged

"A gift is a gift and a lesson is a lesson, did you memorize any recipes?" Roba asked as his tail wagged at the prospect of a new treat

"No, I've a hard time remembering what doesn't interest me"

"But you got to see a new corner of this wonderful world!" Roba exclaimed while stretching his arms above his head

Ezra tried not to roll his eyes at Roba's optimism
"I've seen plenty of bakeries, Rob, this one wasn't that special.

"Hmm" the psuedo-demon pondered a way to see the bright side of his slightly dour friend's dream

"This woman" He growled softly with a smile "was she wearing a low-cut shirt? I imagine she spent a lot of time looking down..."

Ezra didn't bother stopping himself from rolling his eyes this time
"A creative optimist, as always, Rob"

He stood up and walked to the doorway before stopping and turning to his grinning friend

"We're sparring later, it'll have to be before Mistress's guests get here."

"Don't you mean our guests?" Roba asked genuinely

"Its not my house" Ezra grunted

"Oh, I didn't realize you were homeless"
Roba transformed into a version of Ezra with long ratty hair and beard
"Are you off to the soup-kitchen?"

Ezra's only answer was a tchh and silence as he left the room.

Another game won, Roba thought to himself before suddenly remembering where he had found his collar.

"Thanks for setting my collar out for me!"

Ezra's footsteps halted in the outside hallway and he called back
"Thanks for waking me up."

Roba reverted to his previous foxy form and hurried to his Mistress's room.

(What does he see when he enters?)

[Silvery_Lady]

Totally unaware of the two teens' conversation on the ground floor, their Mistress was still soundly asleep in her huge four poster bed, in the master bedroom of the first floor of her mansion.

The closed curtains were still blocking out the morning sun and in the room everything was silent, the only audible sounds were her slow breathing and the purring of the black cat that was sleeping on the sofa, on the other side of the bedroom.
His name was Goliath and he was Clarisse's favorite, among the many felines that were happily living in the mansion and in the surrounding garden.

Almost everything in that bedroom was of a different shade of blue or violet, from the walls, to the bed sheets, passing from the rug and the bed's drapery.
The woman had always found that kind of colors very calming.

Lying in the center of the mattress, the lower part of her thin body wrapped out in the blanket, Clarisse Compton was sleeping, motionless like a statue.
She had never been a morning person, that was one of the few memories she still had from her past (keeping up with the centuries was a hard task), and she simply loved to sleep and nap, anytime she had a chance to do that.

The woman's long hair, black as a crow's feathers, were all over the pillow, surrounding her face and she was half smiling in her sleep; probably she was having a nice dream.

The very moment when Roba finally reached his Mistress' room and slowly opened the door, Goliath opened up his yellow eyes and gave him a glance from the sofa, before meowing at him, starting to purr louder. The animal loved the young Demon, for some reason.

In response to those sounds, the click of the door and the intensified purr, Clarisse' smile faded away and she slowly rolled on one side, letting out a huff; she was starting to return from Morpheus' land.

The clock on the bedside table showed 10:10 in the morning.
Roba was slightly late...

[Dezmok]

Rob crept towards the bed quietly while simultaneously stretching a hand across the room to scratch the feline behind the ear.

He lowered himself onto the bed directly in front of Clarrisse, curled up and with his tail covering himself like a blanket and wrapped around in front of his face. He nuzzled himself softly into Clarrisse and yawned audibly.

[Silvery_Lady]

Goliath welcomed the scratch on his head with another meow and he rolled on his back, like cats do when they want to be petted on the belly...but he looked so very disappointed when the Demon's hand went back to normal and the boy climbed over Clarisse's bed.
So, to compensate, the cat huffed, before jumping down from the sofa and walking toward the door, leaving the room and going downstair, searching for breakfast.

At the same time, on the bed, the woman suddenly felt a well known weight approaching her and the warmth of another body pressed against her, so she slowly smiled, before opening her eyes, focusing on Rob.
-...i see that i own a little fox, this morning.- were her first words, as she commented his choice of look -Maybe tomorrow something with wings?- she added, stretching out a hand to reach his head, ruflling his hair in a lovng way.

At that point, Clarisse rolled on her back once more, looking up and yawning, covering her mouth with a hand.
-Did you sleep well, puppy?- she asked after a moment, before taking a glance at the clock -...you're a bit late, this morning. What were you doing, uhm?- she inquired, throwing him a glance; she was not angry about it, but she she was definetely waiting for a satisfactory answer about his little delay.

Meanwhile, downstairs, the servants (almost all low rank demons and spirits that she had trapped and tamed during the centuries) had started to make sure that everyone was ready for her breakfast and her first meeting with Ezra, like every morning.
In the dining room, the table had been set and a delicious smell of pancakes, fried bacon, egg and fresh coffee was now filling up the air.

The butler, Makeen, fluffed up the cuschion on the Mistress chair, at the head of the long table, before checking the two chairs of her Apprentice and her Pet, to be sure thate verything was perfect.
He was a very tall and handsome man, with dark skin, blue hair and sharp fangs, a powerfull Djinn that she had freed from an enchanted lamp many years before, and that was serving her as a part of their deal; if he had accepted to be her servant for 200 years, then she would set him free from the slavery of his lamp forever.
So now, he was in charge of the house and he was the one to look after the other servants on his Mistress' behalf.

[Dezmok]

"Deeply" He answered her first question with a satisfied smile but his eyes and grin sharpened at the second question.

"Its Ezra's fault, your student just doesn't know when to stop talking" He said facetiously as few people would describe Ezra as overly talkative. His back was still turned to her but he deftly wrapped the end of his tail softly around her neck like a scarf.



The young mage in question was walking to the kitchen table with an old tome floating a few inches in front of his head. He sat down at his designated seat and offered a
"Makeen." In greeting to the head butler.
He placed an elbow on the table and rested his head in a contemplative position on the same arm's hand.

[Silvery_Lady]

Clarisse let out a giggle when his fluffy tail was wrapped up around her neck, since it was tickling her, but she stroke his soft fur with one hand, enjoying the warmth sensation.
-I can hardly believe that Ezra stopped you to chat and that you lost track of the time.- she then said, before finally deciding that was time to get up and to face the day -Anyway, let's go and have some breakfast, uhm?- she proposed, sitting on the bed and then putting the feet down onto the rug.

Downstair, in the dining room, Makeen observed Ezra walking into the room and sitting down, while reading his floating book.
The boy assumed a pose that was not the most polite, to be honest, and the Djinn bowed his head toward him, when he said his name.
-Good morning, young Master.- he said, with his deep voice -...shouldn't you wait for her, before taking place?- he then added, just giving him a little hint about the fact that the lady of the house would not appreciate to find him leaning on the table that way.

And like if the butler had foreseen the imminent future, a feminine voice filled the air a second later.
-Yes, he should.- Clarisse said, walking inside the room along with Roba, her hair now braided, and wearing a dressing gown on top of her silk nightie.
She gave Ezra a glance, before marching to her seat.
-You look tired, boy.- she went on, with a serious voice tone.

[Dezmok]

The tome evaporated the moment he heard her voice, dodging Roba's tongue that shot past it and retracted back in a second.

"Apologies, my lady" He said said somberly while still looking in front of him where the tome was, as if he could still see the words on the page.
He turned to look at her maintaining the same gloomy expression
"I was engulfed by the literature"


Roba walked to his chair while each individual eye darted in separate directions, jumping between the prepared food, meticulously placed silverware and freshly fluffed pillow.

"Top notch preparation as always, Makeen. Good timing on the warning too. There's no need to push yourself too hard, though, you have 200 years to secure at least one employee of the month." Roba joked quietly as he stood by his chair, waiting for Clarrisse to take her seat first.

[Silvery_Lady]

-No reading at the table, Ezra.- she mildly scolded the young man, reaching her chair and waiting for Makeen to help her to sit down, moving aside that same chair a little, which the Djinn made immediately, allowing her to sit down.

The woman stretched her hand and she grabbed the handle of a silver jug filled with coffee, before pouting herself some of that hot beverage inside a mug.
-Well, now...- she then started to talk, looking at her apprentice -...this morning i don't have time for our usual lesson, so you will take a test instead. But don't get too excited, i mean a written test. I hope that you have studied the book i gave you last week.- she went on, sipping from her cup of dark coffee.

Said that, she gave both boys a glance, before continuing her morning speech, this time talking with both of them.
-The friend that was supposed to come and visit me this afternoon won't come.- the sorceress announced -Instead, i'll host a party this week end and you will both attend, like usual. That's why, later today, we'll go to the Goblin Market, to buy you some new clothes for the occasion.-

At that point, she smiled slightly.
-If i'll be pleased by the result of your test, Ezra, i'll let you choose any book from the market...- she took a very brief pause -...as long as is not dangerous, of course.-
Clarisse looked at Roba next.
-And if you behave properly, you'll get a treat too, before returning home.- she promised.

[Dezmok]

"As you wish" He agreed while sitting up straight and listening intently

"I came here to be tested, written or otherwise" He started confidently, before he raised a brow and continued with an uninterested tone
"You picked a particularly ponderous reading, though, and boredom is a different kind of challenge. Not as rigorous, twice as draining."

"A treat from the Goblin Market? The folk over there have plain flavor palettes, the real treat is ruffling their feathers" Roba chimed in, staring at the food.

[Silvery_Lady]

Clarisse looked at her apprentice who was stating that he book she had gave him to study was boring and she let out a little sigh,
-Magic is not just fun and power, is also knowledge and study.- she said -And boredom too, sometimes. You'll have to get used to that, because i'll make you read a lot more of boring old volumes, before teaching you the most powerful spells, lad.- she added, now filling her plate with some scrumbled eggs from the tray on the table.
She loved eggs, in the morning.

Then she glanced over at Roba, complaining about the treat he could get in the afternoon.
-You have only seen a very small part of the market, i've never took you to the main square.- she told them both, revealing that there was much more than what they though -But now you're old enough, i guess...so, take a look.-

Saying that, the woman lifted a hand and she simply waved in front of herself, whispering a few words in a strange language, clearly casting a spell.
Immediately, images of another place appeared in the air, above the table, like if it was a movie being projected on a screen, allowing them to see a huge and very crowded square, full of stalls, selling the most weird things, from books, to small magical creatures locked in cages, passing from any possible kind of food, jewelry and fabric.
The place was extremely colorfull and full of persons that were walking around, but they were not humans; elves, demons, goblins and many other creatures were moving between the vendors, laughing, arguing and producing a loud chattering.

-So...are you two still not interested?- she asked after a moment, with a smirk.