Zeph Malston: The Aether Mage

A fox girl was lying on the couch. Today was one of the few days it didn't rain, so she wanted to go out for a ride. But for some reason, she just couldn't get off the couch. Bianca received a message from Bernard earlier today. It was a video of Zeph in a duel with a little girl. Presumably, it was the granddaughter of Lord Phillips. After watching it, she came to one conclusion. Zeph really sucked at fighting. The boy wasted magic on unnecessary barriers, wouldn't attack, and had zero close combat ability. It was a stark contrast to his performance when he was out in the forest.     

It was understandable. The boy never fought anything before last month, but it still annoyed her. He held back too much. At least throw a punch. While she was mentally chastising the poor boy, she received another message. Bernard asked her if she wanted to coach Zeph.     

Her reply came without a second thought, and she told her boss that she would be there tonight. After sending the message, she left her house. She needed some supplies if she was going to train Zeph properly. A candy green magic-cycle in the yard hummed to life. The fox girl hopped on and headed to the grocery store.     

Bianca grabbed the handles and twisted the throttle, turning into a green and orange blur speeding down the highway. She always loved feeling the wind whipping through her hair, and she couldn't help but smile when she rode her bike. Bernard was kind enough to make a few tweaks to it, and up its parameters. It was a comfortable cruising model but could keep up with all the racing bikes. The fox girl found that out when she accidentally participated in a street race.     

A year ago, she went on a bike ride in the middle of the night. It was a full moon, and she wanted to let loose. By coincidence, a couple of street racers were using the same stretch of highway. Her shifter blood boiled, and she craved excitement. So, she joined the race and left the two other bikers in the dust. Bianca still raced once in a while.     

It didn't take long for her to make it to the store and back, but Bianca didn't head back to the servant's housing area. Instead, she parked in front of the mansion. Rain started to pour down again, just as she arrived at the door. There was laughter coming from the kitchen. So she decided to head in that direction after she put some of the equipment up. She bought some training gloves, a portable target, a training dummy, and some other supplies. Those were put in a storage closet for tomorrow. There were also some groceries in the bags that needed to be stored in the fridge. They were ingredients for a pizza, and Bianca planned on making one for everyone tonight.     

When she was done putting things up, Bianca walked to the kitchen. She was about to say hi after entering, but she saw something shocking. Zeph was sitting with Bernard, and he had fluffy fox ears and a tail. The bags fell on the floor, and her jaw dropped. The boy stared at her with a confused look. One of his ears twitched and the other tilted to the side. They were real!     

"Wha…wu….huh?" Bianca struggled to ask what was going on.     

"Is something wrong?" Zeph's ears bent, making him look adorably curious.     

Bianca couldn't answer and barely managed to point at Zeph's head.     

"What?" The boy still didn't get it.     

Ronan, Liliana, and Bernard watched the exchange and sighed. This boy can be really airheaded. Bernard coughed softly. "Your ears." The old man reached over and flicked one of Zeph's fox ears.     

"Oh. Sorry about that." The ears turned black and morphed into silky black hair.     

The fox girl's brain finally rebooted, and she discovered words again. "What was that!!"     

"Ummm, do you wanna tell her?" Zeph looked at his grandfather.     

"Sure. Bianca, why don't you have a seat?" Bernard spoke as gently as he could. He knew the reason she was so shocked. "Will you get the bags son?"     

"No problem." Zeph waved his hand and the grocery bags lifted into the air. He got up and went to the fridge, while the bags floated to him. "Were you planning on making pizza?"     

Bianca nodded, still recovering from her shock.     

Ronan turned to his granddaughter, "Let's give them some time alone dear," and got up to leave.     

Liliana looked at Zeph, and then at Bianca. "Excuse me." She bowed to the fox lady. Then she left with her grandfather.     

Bianca waited for them to leave the room, and then asked Bernard, "What is going on?"     

"It's not what you think Bianca. Zeph's ancestor was a changeling. He's not a fox-kin shifter like you." Bernard waved his hand toward the counter. A cup floated down from the cabinet and landed next to the tea kettle. Zeph watched a cup of tea make itself, and then land in front of Bianca. "Drink, it'll help calm you down.     

She took a long slow sip. It helped. "Okay, what's a changeling? Why did he have those ears?"     

Bernard looked at Zeph and motioned for him to join them at the table. "A changeling is a special type of fey. They weren't that strong, but they developed a unique defense mechanism. It was the ability to change into almost anything. Being relatively weak, they left the forests and mana-rich environments full of monsters. Eventually, these changelings then started living among the other races. Most often, they would pretend to be human.     

As you know, there are many people with fey ancestors living today. Elves are a prime example. Spiritual beings powerful enough to form their own body are capable of reproduction, and changelings barely met the requirements. Their fertility rate was extremely low, so there are few recorded changeling descendants out there today. That's why most people haven't heard of them. I've met a few in my travels, and even teamed up with one when I was in active service. A changeling's descendants inherit their ability to change form, but it is limited.     

Most can only change a few things about themselves, like their face, hair, and eye color. Those with a stronger bloodline can mimic other races. Zeph appears to have developed an atavism and the extent he can transform hasn't been determined yet. So far, he can mimic other race's body parts and imitate metal. We only learned of this ability in the last week."     

Bernard gave Bianca the explanation that he and Zeph had discussed during the last week. The changeling background fit well with his shapeshifting abilities and would allow him to use them in public. Changelings were already well documented, even if they weren't well known. So Zeph was in little danger of being taken by the government as an experiment.     

Seeing that his grandfather was done with the explanation, Zeph decided it was his turn to talk. "Bianca, I'm sorry I surprised you. I didn't mean to offend you or anything. I just made the ears and tail because I thought they were cute."     

Bianca already recovered from the shock and understood Bernard's explanation. When Zeph apologized, she realized the boy misunderstood. "Zeph, I'm not mad at you. In fact, it's the complete opposite." Bianca took a sip of tea and then sighed. "I'm from a different country, and I left it years ago. You don't know it, but fox-kin shifters like me are incredibly rare. In fact, they are only found in one noble family. I was going to be married off as a bargaining chip, so I ran away. I never expected to see anyone with ears like mine again." A small tear rolled down her cheek. "So you see, I wasn't mad or sad or anything of the sort. I was happy." She showed the boy a big smile. "When I thought another one of my kind was here, my mind froze. But…I was really happy."     

"So why are you crying?" Zeph's voice was really soft.     

"I just didn't realize how lonely I felt." She wiped her cheek.     

Zeph didn't really know what to do. He was never good at dealing with crying women. "Would you stop crying if I put the ears back on?" The boy was grasping at straws but had no idea of what else he could say.     

Bianca chuckled a little at his attempt cheer her up. She stared at Zeph. The boy looked like he was lost. He probably felt like an idiot. Deciding she should throw him a rope, Bianca said, "It might."     

His mouth curved into a smile and two orange fox ears rose from his head. A thick fluffy tail soon followed. "There, is that better." He wiggled his ears a bit, trying to make Bianca laugh. It worked, and Bianca stopped crying.     

"You look cute like that. Maybe I should make you wear those ears when you're training this week. I bet everyone will think you're my little brother." Bianca laughed     

"Training?" Zeph tilted his head in confusion. One of the fox ears tilted in the opposite direction.     

"Bernard didn't tell you. I'll be your martial arts coach. Give me a month and that little girl won't stand a chance." Bianca showed off her bicep. It paled in comparison to someone like Ronan, but there was still muscle definition when she flexed. Still, it didn't look very impressive.     

Bernard saw the look on Zeph's face. "Don't judge a book by its cover. Fox-kin shifters are well renowned for their martial prowess. Bianca was even considered a prodigy in her family. How do you think she managed to escape a country of shifters? The girl is as sneaky as a box of alarm clocks."     

"Hey, don't make it sound like I was a one woman army. I only fought a few border guards." Bianca interjected.     

"Okay, I won't scare the boy. He'll find out how tough a coach you are tomorrow. By the way, what was in the bags you dropped?"     

"Oh shoot! I forgot. I was going to make a pizza for everyone to celebrate Lord Phillips and his granddaughter's arrival." Bianca hurried towards the fridge.     

At that moment Zeph heard something in his head, ~Piiiizzzzaaaaaa!!!~ Everyone could hear the sound of paws skittering across the floor, as Rin ran to the kitchen.     

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