Chapter 10

September 12, 2018

Collège de St. Cyr

Capricorn Wing

Moon in Libra - Waning Crescent

I welcome them into the study room attributed to the A.A.S. with a sense of pride. Two of these students aren't new to me, and I'm aware of their qualities, their capacities. One a Shifter who happened to spend more than a couple of hours into a shift on his first year at St. Cyr, the other a Sanguinaire who managed to alter his eye colour during a Transmutation attempt. Without a sigil. They were in the A.A.S. last year, along two Year Four students who've since graduated and a Year Two who will not be returning this year, for she proved to be inadequate for this. Not everyone adapts well to these classes, especially when going out on a Saturday night tops staying in working on your magic.

It's not the students I already know that excite me, it's these hidden factors. There's a reason each one of them is here, and aside Cassandra Tremayne, they all got in at first application. Well, that's not very accurate, is it? Sashi Ghurjharatrii got in on his first application. I actually saw him attain a rather difficult, efficient shift at the end of last semester. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it was one of those cases where we could have lost the student. He'd been warned against doing it, but still went ahead. I like brave, defiant minds. Those who question, who are curious, eager to learn and work. Those who long to try to risk it all for the sake of science. His essay on Sigils and Seals on Alchemical Magic also helped, of course.

Cassandra only got in at her third attempt because I could no longer justify keeping her out of this class. In fact, she should have joined on Year Two, she's that good, but I did not feel at all ready to deal with her. Not that I do now, especially after Darren's death, but it was his passing that prevented me from further analysis of the student list. I had Cassandra on my temporary roster, and when Montpelier demanded the final roll call, I handed him it. She got in. Now I have to deal with it. Not an easy task, after what nearly took place between us the other night. I thank the universe for the providential appearance of Alec Delacroix in that common room.

Alec Delacroix.

Single child of Madeleine and Pierre-Marie Delacroix. Those Delacroix, yes. Pierre is the younger brother of Armand Delacroix, the current Secretary General to Regular/Nonpareil Relations. Comes from money, Alec does, but even more, comes from influence. I'm sure Montpelier was pressed into having her join the A.A.S., even without that outstanding ability of fluidly changing from male to female without becoming someone else entirely. Of course Alec must join my class. After laying eyes on that sigil, I already know this bright young thing has much to offer. I watch her saunter into the room, filing after Cassandra and Sashi. She's in her female guise today, although even as a girl she's very masculine.

I gesture them to sit on the scattered armchairs and settees around. Ben takes up his old haunts by the window while Igor beats the rest to the best, most comfortable armchair in the room. Save for my own, that is. There's tea in a pot, mugs around it, a milk jug and sugar bowl at its side. There's a tin of biscuits too, and for whatever reason, Sashi has brought scones, which he now places on the table awkwardly. I wait for them to serve themselves, while I sip my own tea. Laced with Essens Lunaire, but only just a drop. Most of it is milk.

Once they're settled, with notebooks poised over knees and pens at the ready, I clear my throat. First class is always interesting. It's where I usually make the necessary adjustments, when the students themselves decide if this is really where they want to be. Most come into this particular class wanting the elitist statute it gives them, the sense of mystery, of belonging to a secret society that's going to set them off in the world. Others think they come here and after a couple of lessons, can actually transform themselves into whatever it is they wish. Most don't even understand this isn't just about the physical aspects, but the spiritual ones too. This class requires them to grow, mature, and deliver themselves into it. Not many are willing to put in the work, and day one is where we all see who's ready for it.

So I start talking, and they start listening. Ben and Igor wear smirks on their faces, they've heard the discourse before. The other three are silent, their faces a blank, although there's a hint of disappointment in Sashi's eyes. There's always one who hopes to get into the practical aspects immediately, one who's sorely disappointed when realising the first six weeks of this course are only them doing a lot of reading. They're at different stages of their journey into Alchemy, I can't treat them all the same. Nor can I hand them the same assignments, the same study cases, the same experiments. Ben and Igor have been through most of it, they're well ahead, and their work is different. The three newcomers will just have to suck it while they see Ben hold a Transmutation for more than a few minutes, or watch while I work with Igor on his own attempts.

"So we're not going to attempt anything, for now?" Sashi whines, and I can't help laughing.

"No, Mr Ghurjharatrii," I say, "you're not expected to be at the level of your other colleagues. The three of you will start by transmutations of elements outside your physical bodies, of course."

"But I can shift," he still insists. "I shifted into a butterfly last year, you know this."

Alec Delacroix looks stunned, she's always so self-assured and aloof. Sashi took her by surprise, the shifts into insect forms are very dangerous. They keep Shifters in a far too vulnerable state. It is said that the first ever Shifter to exist came to life because of one such shift. A Transmutation attempt gone wrong, the Sanguinaire trying to use Alchemy to rid herself of her faulty immune system being pregnant at the time. Instead of attaining the sublimation of the blood she was trying to Transmute into an effective form of medicine, she sublimed her own placenta and the waters in her womb. Going straight into labour, she delivered a baby that kept shifting in her arms, from newborn to puppy, to lamb, to bird. To fly, which nearly killed the child.

We try to keep Shifters from going for such small creatures, the amount of energy needed to revert back to their normal size and shape being too intense for something as small as a ladybug. Usually, Shifters are advised to shift into something that's close to their weight and size, and most do. But there's always the rebel, and Sashi's one of them. Hell, he didn't even use a proper sigil for that shift, he could easily have been caught in that form for the rest of his life. Which would have been a rather small one, as a butterfly.

"I doubt Cassie here will have any actual results," Alec says, and Cassandra's face darkens.

She seems to dislike being called Cassie, and certainly doesn't enjoy being told she'll fail. The girl is driven, that much I know, and although it's one of the things I most admire in her, it also scares me. I'm sure if she gets something stuck in her head, she'll stop at nothing to get it. Academically, this is what I want my students to be like. Personally, not so much. Because I know I'm weak where it comes to the flesh, and if the girl decides to chase me - which I wouldn't be surprised, after what nearly happened Saturday - I'm not sure I have the willpower to keep pushing her away. When all I really want to do is give in to her.

"And why, pray, is that?" she asks, bristling at Alec, who merely shrugs.

"You're a Sanguinaire, you guys can't shift."

"That's not quite accurate," I butt in. "Sanguinaires can work Transmutation on alchemical elements like metals, liquids, stones. They can use Transmutation to affect the weather and the surrounding scenery. This is pretty much what the three of you will be doing for most of the year."

"Well, that's not fair," Alec persists. "I should be doing something else, seeing I can already use Transmutation to change my outward looks."

"But can you shift into someone else?" Ben asks, cocking an eyebrow.

Alec frowns, her eyes blaze as if angered. This girl has a bit of a temper, which can become problematic once we start working with Alchemical Elemental Magic. What if I ask her to transmute fire and she sets the room ablaze because someone happens to have stepped on her very sensitive toes? I need to watch her closely.

"I can shift from male to female," she insists.

"You said it yourself that it's still you, just different aspects of who you are."

"Yes, Cassandra, I'm aware of what I said. And that's why I should be learning how to shift into other likenesses, not playing around turning water into ice. I'm not a Sanguinaire, so I shouldn't be held back just because someone in our group can't keep up and is unable to use proper shift."

Again, I shake my head, spying Cassandra's face turn into a scowl. She's ready to go on the warpath, and I'll have none of that here. Not that she's wrong, Alec is being prejudiced and narrow-minded. I decide to give her a bit of a lesson, train my mind on the small sigil I was working on last night. It's on my desk now, but I can revisit it mentally, in vivid detail. Maybe I should tattoo it onto my body, like Alec did, once I come up with the proper, universally working sigil I need.

The air shifts and weighs around us, my body tightens. This isn't painful, but it's unnerving. You feel every nerve-ending tingle and fuse, forming into something else. You feel every bone twisting and rounding; you feel every inch of skin, every layer of fat, everything about you change. You feel the entire change, and that is, if not painful, unravelling. But it's also quick, at least for me. Now, where I previously sat, a wolf snarls and growls in its throat. I try to hold on to my human mind, try to feel it entirely, this shift. My head swims, I can still latch on to Ezra King, but there's an animalesque presence that demands to come up, demands to rule instead of me. It's as if the two of them blend together and we become one; I'm myself and the wolf at once, for a little amount of time. Sooner or later, one will prevail.

This was such a bad idea, I'll have to go back to myself eventually, and once I return to my form, I'll be naked in front of these kids. Snapping my wolf's head around, I try to find something I can hide underneath, a coat, a throw, anything. There's one draped around the back of Cassandra's chair, an old, threadbare throw some student or other left behind years ago. I jump from my seat, stretch my body out, paw my way to the wooly thing. The gasps and hisses are very real. Cassandra pulls her legs up on the armchair, skirts riding up and showcasing quite a bit of thigh. My human part sends messages into my wolf it can't quite understand, but a sudden urge grips the animal side of me, and I know it's dangerous to stay like this. For her, more than for me.

The wolf, sensing the man's lust, wants her. I battle it down and manage to win. Sitting on my haunches, I look at the throw, whine mutedly. Cassandra screams, not too loud, but a hysterical little cry that sets my teeth on edge. I gnash them together, bend down my head, belly close to the rug as I hinge closer to her, still whining. I hope she gets the message, that I'm submitting to her, that I won't harm her. She does, one nervous, shaky hand coming to drop on my head, patting it gently. With the other, she pulls the throw over me.

As I shift back, aware it lasted less than five minutes, my eyes lock with Alec's, who doesn't know whether she should smile or gape.

"Well," she finally says, "that was unexpected."

I wrap myself in the throw, my gaze shifting to Cassandra, who blushes but stares back at me. Her eyes linger over my body, the look so intense as to make me warm at the sight. Were we alone, I'd be done for. I turn my back on her, grab hold of the clothes on my armchair, they're ruined, tattered to bits. Can't help laughing at this.

"I can get you a set of clothes from your room," Cassandra offers, under the shocked glare of her fellow students. "Sir," she adds.

"Igor can do it. Please."

The young man stands up, it's not the first time he's had to go get me a fresh change of clothes because I happen to ruin mine, while attempting transmutation for the benefit of my students. I throw him the keys and he plunges out of the room, as I take back my seat, painfully aware I'm naked under this short throw, with the girl I have the hots for at hand's reach.

"How did that feel?" she asks. "In your head, I mean. Were you man or wolf? Did you retain your human capacities?"

She's never far from her studies, is she? That promises her an auspicious future, I'm sure. One I'll try to help her reach.

"I had to fight the wolf, kind of," I reply. "My human conscience was still there, but the animal instinct was overpowering. I had to force the wolf to submit to my human side, but I grant you, it's not easy. It is not easy to maintain for an extensive amount of time."

"So I was right," she vents, and I already knew she'd say this. "It does influence the psyche of the Nonpareil."

"Yes," I admit. "It does. You have wide study material here. Start thinking how you want to pursue this, start building up the base of your thesis in your head. Perhaps a set of interview questions that will let you assess just how much it influences the character of those undergoing transmutation, and the lasting effects it may have. I'll think up a couple of things too, that you can measure. I'll have a chat with Professor Canaveglio."

She'll have a field day of this, all right. Aurora Canaveglio, who teaches Psychology of the Nonpareil Mind, will be a little out of her depth with this, although she also teaches Alchemic Psychology to Year Four. Maybe I should get in touch with Danielle Lapertigue, who's Head of the Nonpareil Psychology Department at Notre Dame. As it is, she was already impressed with Cassandra's essay.

I shiver from being naked, once again aware of her presence so close to me. Can't help locking eyes with her, though, and as our gazes meet, the world seems to stop momentarily. There's no one else here, nothing around us. There's me and her, and not much more. She's all eyes and mouth, the heavy, thick fringe of brown hair framing her petite features, the small chin, the high cheekbones. All in all, she's not really a beautiful girl, in terms of balance. Her forehead is high, but she hides it under the fringe. Her face is small, her entire person is mignon, petite. But her eyes are large, wide, as are her lips. Too big a mouth for a face this small, it makes her look a little weird. But overall she's a beauty, because her strangeness adds interest to her.

Or maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm the only one who sees her like this.

As I catch sight of Alec Delacroix, her own attention set on Cassandra, I realise I'm not alone in this. And Alec is a far more appropriate choice for Cass than me. Only, this isn't just physical, is it? Her personality, her brains, her mind, all that about her calls to me. All that allures me. It's not just that I'm attracted to her physically, I'm attracted to much more than just this. But I'm not about to risk my work, my reputation, my career for the sake of this girl.

The door opening to let Igor in takes my mind away from Cassandra and her spell. I focus back on the clothes he brings me, wrap myself tighter inside the throw and hop off to where a well-placed folding screen provides me with ample privacy. I put on my clothes, complete with shoes and all, my back to the windows behind the desk, so I can take a peek at Cassandra from in between the folds of the screen. She has her attention focused on the outside, and there's a blush to her cheeks and a smile to her lips, the lower one caught between her teeth. I wonder what's going through her mind, but have no time for it. Tying my shoe, I straighten up, turn round, now facing the windows head on. It's then that I'm confronted with my image reflected on the glass pane and realise she was watching me get dressed all along. The sudden rush of blood to my head cannot hide my sense of utter joy, though.

She was watching me.

End of part III