The Great Magi's Misadventures

[Reiyumi]

Tayleen was torn from her sleep by the end of a nightmare. She was on the floor. Did she fall off the bed? No. She had slept on the floor. She was never accustomed to comfort. She had stared at the bed a moment before pulling the blanket off and laying on the ground. It was there that she fell asleep. She stretched and looked around. She sighed and shook her head. "Never. I don't...this isn't a place I belong. Too much comfort and impracticalities." She set the blanket on the bed neatly and left the room. She walked outside and sat down on the ground.

 

[Flip Jester Boy]

"You alright there?" Finnas said in a sort of enthusiastic tone, looking at Tayleen as he leaned against the wall next to the door to his room.


Cassandra walked out of the room with messy hair, yawning. "Good morning, guys, you hungry? I can make you guys coffee if you want."

 

[Reiyumi]

Tayleen looked up at him and shrugged. "If I'm not, I will be. I keep having nightmares." She sighed and looked at her hands for a moment, then looked at Cassandra and tilted her head slightly. "What's coffee?"

 

[Flip Jester Boy]

"What do you mean, 'What's coffee'?" Cassandra exclaimed, snapping out of her grogginess.


"Don't mind her, she's a country girl," Finnas said, snickering a little.


"Coffee is only the BEST THING EVER FOR YOUR MORNING!" Cassandra sang, twirling around toward the kitchen area.


"I suppose I could use a cup, also," Finnas mumbled, following behind.

 

[Reiyumi]

Tayleen sat there, confused for a moment. "Huh?" She shrugged and stood. She walked to the kitchen and stared at Cassandra. "How can she be so energetic in the morning?" she mumbled to herself.

 

[Flip Jester Boy]

"She's like that," Finnas said as he walked. The smell of coffee filled the air as Cassandra brewed some fresh coffee in the pot.


"It'll take a while before it's ready," Cassandra said as she put on an apron to cook breakfast.

 

[Reiyumi]

Tayleen stared at the kitchen, confused yet again. "What's this?"

 

[Flip Jester Boy]

"Breakfast, what do you think?" Cassandra said, cooking some eggs on a frying pan.


Finnas pulled up a chair and sat at the table, taking out one of the Beginner's Guide to Magic teaching books from his bag, looking it over.

 

[Reiyumi]

Tayleen shook her head and gestured to the room. "I know what breakfast is, but what is this room?"

 

[Flip Jester Boy]

Finnas grabbed a mug of coffee after Cassandra poured some out. "You've never seen a kitchen before? They don't have these in your town?"


"Wow, she really is a country girl," Cassandra said, letting the bacon and eggs cook on the stove as she took a sip from her coffee mug. There was one mug left, meant for Tayleen.

 

[Reiyumi]

"They do, but...you have to be rich." Tayleen said. She looked at Cassandra and sighed. She was a little hurt by the words, and if it showed she didn't mean for it to. She looked at the ground and closed her eyes.

 

[Flip Jester Boy]

"Oh, sorry, I-I didn't mean to offend you or anything," Cassandra said, taking up a seat next to Tayleen. "H-here, why don't you try some coffee? Be careful, it may be a bit bitter for you. You can add sugar and/or milk if you want." She then handed Tayleen the third mug, getting up again and tending to the food.

 

[Reiyumi]

Tayleen looked at the coffee, still confused. She looked up and thought to herself. She didn't want to be there much longer. She closed her eyes for a moment and then looked up again. She looked at the mug again and then at the table. Her thoughts drifted to her village. Had it ever been home? What was a home? She shrugged and took a hold of the mug. She looked down at in surprise. It was warm, and a dark, rich brown. She shuddered at the warmth and lifted the mug to her lips. As she took a sip, she felt a warmth rush to her feet and a bitter taste on her tongue. She enjoyed the warm feeling so much that she didn't think of the bitterness of it. She sipped again, delighting in the warmth. Her eyes shut and she set the mug down, a small smile gracing her lips. She slowly opened her eyes and nodded in approval. "Delightful."

 

[Flip Jester Boy]

"Glad you like it," Cassandra said, smiling as she set out plates with two eggs over easy and three strips of bacon on each of them with a slice of toast. "Eat up!"


Finnas was too busy looking through the books he received to eat, instead taking sips of coffee now and then and an occasional bite out of the toast.

 

[Reiyumi]

Tayleen stared at the food for a moment. When was the last time she had eaten? She shrugged and began to eat. She had forgotten that food could taste so delectable. She sighed when she was finished and looked at Finnas, then at Cassandra. She thought for a moment and then shook her head.

 

[Flip Jester Boy]

Finnas could sense that Tayleen was looking at him. "You need something?" he asked, closing the books and glancing at Tayleen.

 

[Reiyumi]

Tayleen shook her head and looked out the window. "Can't even enjoy the view without being asked if you need something." she murmured under her breath.

 

[Flip Jester Boy]

"Then go ahead and enjoy it. It's obvious that you didn't have these things back where you lived," Finnas said, finishing off one of his slices of toast.

 

[Reiyumi]

Tayleen sighed and looked down at her feet. She twiddled her thumbs and thought for a moment before standing. She looked at the kitchen for a moment and then shook her head.

 

[Flip Jester Boy]

"What's on your mind, Tayleen?" Cassandra asked, getting up and standing next to Tayleen.

 

[Reiyumi]

Tayleen looked at Cassandra. She shrugged and looked down. "Nothing much." she said. She looked up and thought for a moment. "DeAdra. My last name. I'm trying to think of something I heard once about it. Something about a spell? A curse? A ring? I don't remember much after my father gave me the stone. Just running and trying to get away. What did they want? Other than the stone?"

 

[Flip Jester Boy]

"DeAdra, huh? Why does the name sound so familiar?" Cassandra inquired, taking a thinking pose.


"I thought it was familiar, too, so I thought you might know something about it, Cassandra," Finnas said, leaning back on his chair.


"Maybe...,"

 

[Reiyumi]

Tayleen looked at them. She was confused and curious. What did they mean? Familiar? She looked down and thought for a moment. "If it helps, my parents were mages, maybe not the strongest, but they were. I remember them telling me a story of fighting this...this creature and almost dying. I was there to watch them die though."

 

[Flip Jester Boy]

Cassandra snapped her fingers. "I remember now!" she exclaimed, running into the library of the house.


Finnas shrugged his shoulders, unsure of what was going on.


Cassandra ran back into the room, putting a book on the history of magic on the table, opening up to a page titled, "DeAdra".


"The DeAdra, a race of unknown origin which supposedly protected the world from the Darklings ever since humans began learning how to use magic. DeAdra are also the reason that Aether Crystals exist. They created the crystals to assist us in learning how to use magic, which is why a lot of people use wands and staves that have crystals embedded in them if they can't use magic themselves."


"And what does that have to do with Tayleen?"


"She must be a descendant of a DeAdra through a human mother..."

 

[Reiyumi]

Tayleen stared at Cassandra for a moment, then looked at the book. She was silent for a moment then looked down. "There's no more of them, except for me. Or if there are, they've gone into hiding."