Defensive Magic

FALL TERM - October 20th

Aisling arrived late for dinner tonight, given it was a new moon and coven meetings would take up most of the evening, I hadn't really expected to see her at all. She strode through the double doors of the dining hall in a flurry. Her hair was windswept and streaked with electric green.

I'd been having dinner with our usual set. Aries and Noodle were talking animatedly about a novel, something Aries had picked up on Noodle's recommendation. I admittedly was only half listening. I hadn't read it. Not many frivolous imports making it into Caburh.

Then, Aisling said, "I figured it out, Zeph. You can thank me later. Your ex-girlfriend isn't a mage, she's a witch."

Aries and Noodle quieted and turned their attention to Aisling.

"I thought she was a vampire," Noodle piped up.

I side-eyed Aries, who in trying to kick Noodle under the table had missed and kicked me instead. "And I'd thought I'd told Aries that in confidence."

Aries ducked his head. "Sorry..."

I rolled my eyes, but was already over it. Noodle was Aries's friend and he was fast becoming Aisling's friend. Had we been closer, chances are I'd have told Noodle too, but we weren't. At least not yet. I wasn't going out of my way to exclude him.

"As I was saying," -Aisling redirected us all back to her- "your vampire's not a mage. She probably learned from a whole different school of magic."

"She's not my vampire, so let's please not call her that. And she didn't attend one of the universities - Ianthe would have talked about it -"