"If I remember correctly, I believe that I can."
Ranma did a double-take. "What?! Really?!! You can cure me!?"
The wizard looked thoughtful for a second before nodding reluctantly. "Yes, I think so. It'll take a little bit of work, but I should be able to prepare the necessary spell by the end of the week. That's provided that I don't suffer any further interruptions..." he said the last with a pointed look at Akane.
Akane flinched and mumbled a brief apology, resisting the urge to whimper as the feelings of shame and guilt washed over her. She had been a bad girl.
"Of course," the wizard continued, dismissing the cursed girl, "I will require something from you in return."
Ranma scowled and briefly wondered whether or not the wizard was actually Nabiki in disguise.
"Surely you don't expect me to do this for free?" the wizard asked, taking in Ranma's scowl and arching an eyebrow. "Your girlfriend did ruin my spell, after all."
"She's not my girlfriend," Ranma mumbled, missing the stricken look that flitted across Akane's face at his pronouncement.
The wizard was slightly more observant, and showed his displeasure by frowning ever so slightly. "Nonetheless, she is important to you, is she not?"
Ranma scowled once more before finally slumping his shoulders in defeat. "Yeah...I guess. Besides, Mr. Tendo would kill me if I returned without a cure. Pops too, for that matter."
The wizard nodded approvingly, "So, we have an agreement then?"
Ranma grimaced, but nodded. "Name your price."
The wizard smirked slightly. Time to kill two birds with one stone. "Very well, in that case...I want you to adopt my familiar."
Ranma's jaw dropped.
"WHAT?!!"
The wizard sighed, reaching up and adjusting his glasses, his eyes suddenly gaining a far-off look. "Her power's waning. Back when she was just an animal, she was still fundamentally connected to nature; able to tap into the world's leylines and amplify the mana flows. That innate connection to the natural world is the main reason why so many mages like to use animals as familiars. However, ever since the accident and her subsequent...evolution...her grip on the leylines has been slowly slipping. It's only a matter of time before she loses it completely."
Ranma scowled. "So what?! You're just going to get rid of her?! Just like that?! I know she's a c..c...c....one of those things, but that's still no excuse for just throwing her out on the street!"
The wizard turned around slowly, focusing a level stare at the pigtailed boy. "I'm not throwing her out on the street. I'm placing her in your care. Of course, if you choose to throw her out on the street, I will be most displeased with you."
Ranma gulped slightly as the wizard's fingers twitched.
"I'm not a heartless monster," the wizard stated, after making sure that he had gotten his point across, "But I can't keep her here. This house is magic, and only magical creatures can survive here for any length of time. If she remains here, she'll slowly weaken and wither until she eventually fades away."
Ranma paled, his throat suddenly dry.
The wizard sighed heavily before slumping down in a nearby armchair. "Either way I'll have to find a new familiar, but...I'd like to know that there was something better for her. She deserves that, at least."
Ranma winced, reaching up and rubbing the back of his thoughtfully, before casting a quick look down at Akane. The currently-human doggirl didn't offer much in the way of guidance though, seemingly lost in thought herself.
"Well..." Ranma began, rubbing his head sheepishly, "The thing is...I kinda have this problem with cats. Can't ya find someone else ta' take care of her?"
The wizard shook his head. "Too unreliable. You're the first young man to stop by here in the last century who wasn't either a salesman or a raving idiot.
"Raving idiot?"
"Yes," the wizard grumbled, a brief look of irritation flashing across his face, "A young man about your age stopped by a few years ago. Strange kid. Dressed up like a samurai."
Ranma blinked, a horrible suspicion rising up within him. "Samurai?"
"Yeah," the wizard nodded, "Bokken, Hakama, the whole nine yards. Kept quoting Shakespeare. I tried to get rid of him by casting a minor repulsion spell on him, and the next thing I know he starts going off about 'how the veil of ignorance had been lifted from his eyes and reality uncovered in all its horrific glory'. Apparantly the kid didn't believe in magic before then. I was forced to...heh...change his mind about that."
"Don't tell me..." Ranma groaned.
"Next thing I know, he's calling me a 'vile sorceror' and trying to defeat me. So I sent him back to where he came from." The wizard shrugged, "I wonder whatever happened to him?"
Ranma shook his head, "Trust me, you don't want to know."
"There's also that weird kid with the bandana who keeps stumbling in here and ruining all my spells," the wizard's frown turned into an outright scowl, "I tell you, if I ever catch that kid...." the wizard trailed off, leaving the threat hanging.
Ranma sweatdropped.
"Anyway," the wizard continued, "do we have a deal?"
(Posted Thu, 03 Apr 2003 10:29)
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