“..And so, some elements of magic are more or less compatible with each other,” Varna explained as she presented to Yura a flow chart listing the various components of magic that would work together. “For instance, holy magic and dark arts are not compatible as they are complete opposites, so attempting to do anything with them will result in nothing being casted at all. They’d cancel each other out.”

Yura rested her chin on her palm as she gazed outside the window. The warmth of the sunlight illuminated her sparkling ruby eyes and transformed the hue of her mauve hair into a pastel purple. “So why can’t I leave to go college with other students my age?” she asked.

Varna paused in her lengthy explanation, and her eyebrows lowered as she sighed lightly. “You see, Yura.. Elais is doing everything he can to protect you-”
“I don’t need to be protected. It’s been six years and no one’s come after me. If there really were people who were targeting me then surely they would have done something whenever we’ve gone outside,” Yura fumed, to Varna’s surprise as her ears pointed up in the air whilst her eyes widened slightly. “I feel like a prisoner. He just wants me stuck in here whilst he gets to do whatever he wants.” 

Viktor’s ears perked up and twitched as he overheard the conversation by the living room, setting aside the Mr Foxy doll that he was playing with as he walked over to the study room in the library where the two were studying. Varna looked at him concerned as he entered the room, unsure of how to comfort nor reassure her as her tail thumped in her seat. Viktor returned a reassuring smile, and turned to their student. “Yura, my dear. I don’t know if you’re aware, but Elais is in fact on his way to deal with the cult situation. He left immediately so they could be dealt with as to not impose any further restrictions on your freedom.” He placed a firm hand on her shoulder as his smile softened under the glow of the sunlight.

“We also want to minimise the risk of you being harmed due to the many uncertainties of their intentions with you,” Varna added, her stress now easing with Viktor’s presence. 

Yura’s face grew gloomy. Varna turned to Viktor with panic written all over her face as her tail flailed in the air.
“Does she see him as a father figure? A caretaker?” Viktor attempted to convey through his facial expressions, his eyebrows raising and lowering with each word.

“Just presume family, don’t make it weird!!” Varna’s flustered face appeared to convey as her blinks became more rapid as her eyes remained widened with her panic. 

“You know, my dear. Elais is actually capable of teaching you everything himself if he wanted to,” Viktor started, moving Varna’s textbooks aside to make room for him to lean on the table, his tail swaying enthusiastically.

“He was once a professor of all magical arts himself,” Varna beamed.

“He’s fluent in over three hundred languages and proficient with every instrument that exists,” Viktor chimed in as he made his fingers prance along the table towards Yura. “We used to teach history together, but too many professors disliked his way of teaching. He kept correcting history as he considered himself a primary source. Ha! I miss those days.” Viktor’s thunderous laughter was contagious, with Varna trying to hold in her laughter for Yura’s sake. 

Varna spun in her seat and smiled warmly at Yura. “He reached out to us so you could have more friends and feel less lonely,” Varna commented. “And through us, you’re able to learn to socialise since Elais isn’t the best at that.”
Yura stared at the ground beneath her as her expression remained gloomy. “I never thought of it that way,” she said quietly. “It just feels really lonely without him here as well.”

The twins looked at each other. “I do agree with that. This place is missing a lot of charm that it used to have,” Varna spoke.

“Have you been able to convey these feelings to him by any chance? It’s likely he hasn’t caught on as he’s not the sharpest person around,” Viktor said. 

Yura shook her head slowly. “I don’t think he’d care to hear about that sort of thing if I voiced it. He’s just doing this to end his immortality. After that, I’ll be thrown away, so there’s no point in caring for me.”
The twins frowned at each other, knowing there was some truth to her words. Not much, but a little. 

“He cares about you a lot more than you think. If I could show you, you’d see it rather easily,” Varna said. 

The distant slamming of the door trembled the fixtures of the library. 

“Actually, speaking of that idea..” Viktor schemed. He hushed a few words to Varna, whose ears perked up straight away as she nodded furiously. 

Elais walked by the library and set a few things down. Varna approached him.

“Elais, could you reach something for me? It’s rather high,” Varna asked.

“Get Viktor to do it,” he replied, not looking up from his notetaking. 

Viktor sprinted over and sat on his knees in front of Elais, pleading with watery eyes. “Pleeease help carry me u-”

“-No,” Elais snarled, looking down at him with disdain.

“Well Yura wanted something but neither of us can reach it soo,” Viktor said unapologetically as he twiddled his fingers together, averting his gaze from Elais.   

Elais looked up from his notes and gazed towards Yura, who was visibly upset as she sat in her seat. He placed his fountain pen aside and approached her. 

“Which book were you hoping to get?” he asked gently, scaring her with his sudden presence as he towered over her.

Yura felt the pressure of Viktor and Varna’s prying eyes from the distance, slowly feeling flustered. “Ah, um..”

Yura looked up to her surprise to feel him lifting her from her seat. Elais recalled that Viktor mentioned that she wanted something presumably on a higher shelf, so he lifted her above his chest. “If you just wanted to be carried, you can just ask,” he said. 

Yura reluctantly grabbed a random book from a shelf, feeling the temperature of her face rise significantly. 

She returned to her seat flustered as Varna smiled at her warmly, showing her the flow chart once more.  “Let’s continue with the rest of our lesson, shall we?”

Elais returned to find Viktor in his seat grinning at him before being flung right off it. 

Varna wrapped up Yura’s lesson for the day, as Yura noticed from afar that Elais finished his note taking, and started packing away his stationery and notes. She ran up to him, observing that he was heading to the door.

“I’m going to take my leave and may not be back for a couple hours at least. There’s something I need to investigate right away,” Elais said as he packed his briefcase. “Don’t destroy the house whilst I’m gone.” He petted Yura’s head. “Be good.”

“See you,” Yura waved. 

He briefly left without saying much of a goodbye as the doors shut behind him.

“Yura, know that you are not alone. You are free to contact us whenever you feel alone,” Varna reassured her. “Not as teacher and student, but as friends.” 

“Do know we’re still trying our best to deal with the cult issue so you can live as freely as possible. We want you to flourish as well,” Viktor said as he pinched her cheeks. 

The heavy doors shut behind them, leaving Yura to deal with the eerie atmosphere left by the stillness of the home. She wished she could follow them, but knew she couldn’t. She took out the card folded up in her hand, and rushed through the door.