ASPECTS
Abellone Rain
Copyright © Abellone Rain 2011
Published by Jumping Wolf Press at Smashwords
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Aspects
Abellone Rain
Rena staggered, Cabalina’s arm across her shoulders, and propped the door open with her foot so she could get Cabalina to her bed. Cabalina was breathing heavily and Rena could feel the heat from Cabalina’s tattooed arm and the sweat through her light mage robe as she helped Cabalina to the bed. Cabalina was changing.
Rena stepped back to the door and checked down the hallways; the school nurse should be coming soon. Usually, only the closest friends and the nurse were allowed in to witness someone’s changing, but Cabalina didn’t have many school friends except the horses, and Rena had been the closest of the human variety. Personally, Rena thought everyone was crazy, as Cabalina was one of the sweetest, friendliest, most wonderful people she knew.
Cabalina shuddered again, twisting the blankets under her, and moaned. Grief, was she even conscious? Rena picked up a washcloth and wiped the sweat from Cabalina’s forehead and neck, blushing and stopping before she went any further down.
“How long ago did she start changing?”
The nurse swept into the room, raising an eyebrow at Rena as she bent over Cabalina. Rena’s blush intensified, but she answered anyway.
“She started her dizziness earlier today, around first class. She only really started changing during the break from lunch to fourth class.”
The nurse frowned and placed a hand on Cabalina’s temple. She picked up her patient’s arm and rolled up the sleeve, exposing the tattoos that were now swirling and twisting with increasing speed.
The apprentice mage circles had moved; now they were simply black lines and designs, spiraling up and down Cabalina’s arm. With everything Rena knew about the magic inside the tattoos, it looked almost like they were talking, deciding on what form to take next. It was almost guaranteed that Cabalina would become a horse aspect mage, but no one ever knew for sure until the changing was over.
The nurse checked Cabalina’s pulse, both physical and magical, opened Cabalina’s eyes, and pressed her hand lightly on Cabalina’s stomach, magically checking for internal ruptures or bleeding. The nurse made everything seem easy, even though Cabalina was still tossing and twitching on the bed. The nurse nodded once to herself and once to Rena.
“Should be fine; she’s a fast one, this girl. Probably the fastest this year, I’m looking forward to seeing her progress as a mage. I’ll be in the medic wing, call me if anything bizarre happens.”
The nurse turned, not waiting for acknowledgement, and left the room. Rena sighed and closed the door after her. Cabalina was thrashing now, a little more violently than before, and Rena moved her chair back from the bed before sitting down. The sleeve was still rolled up, and Rena could see the tattoos.
After another half an hour, when Rena thought the tattoos could move no faster, they suddenly converged together on Cabalina’s upper arm. They paused for a moment before speeding up her shoulder and under her clothes. Cabalina took a deep shuddering breath and time was suspended for a second, Rena staring and Cabalina almost glowing with magic. Then everything settled, Cabalina relaxed into sleep and the magic glow disappeared.
Rena slumped forward onto the bed.
“Grief,” she muttered to herself, “this will be me soon.”
Rena looked up at Cabalina. She looked like a goddess; her brown hair silky and spread across the pillow; her skin white and smooth, albeit sweaty; her eyes closed and face serene. She was beautiful. Rena wasn’t sure if Cabalina realized what effect she had on Rena, but every time Cabalina was close, Rena’s heart beat faster and she got all giddy. As embarrassing as it could be, Rena wanted to spend more time with her.
Frustrated, Rena raked her hand across the side of the mattress. Novice and apprentice schedules were so different. Also, even novices of different aspects could sometimes go a whole month without meeting each other once. If she wanted to spend more time with Cabalina as a novice, she would have to also become a horse mage.
***
Rena sat outside in the sun, perched on one of the many picnic tables inside the outdoor school grounds. The smooth cool stone felt nice on her feet after the hot ground of the path from the door to the table. Shoes in the summer were like weights, completely useless and burdensome.
She bent over the lists she was writing. One, the horse-like symptoms Cabalina had acquired before her change, and two, the horse-like behaviors and activities Cabalina had spent so much time on before her change. If Rena could replicate these effects and activities, maybe she could influence the changing.