Potential

Rowen walked up to where Zidon could see her.

"How is that wasted resource working for you?"

"If…you…don't…cheat…"

"I was taught that in a fight, there is no cheating, only surviving."

She nodded in Nasi's direction and it released Zidon. He sat down on the floor, gasping for air.

"Now, summon your demon so we can properly spar."

Zidon was quiet for a long while, eyes staring at the floor before he spoke up.

"I can't."

"Can't what?"

Zidon looked up at her with a frown, "I can't summon my demon, I don't have any chalk to draw a summoning circle. No one just walks around with that shit."

Rowen and Nasi pulled out a small case of chalk. Rowen handed Zidon one of her chalks while he did his best to not look at her. He immediately set about drawing the circle.

"Chalk is an important tool of a summoner. I would imagine it is even more so for one who doesn't keep theirs around.

"Your wasted resource is just simple courtesy. Your demon is your partner, your friend, and your confidant. Maybe even your family, depending on the circumstances. They are not tools."

Zidon had finished the circle and summoned his demon before she was halfway done with her lecture. Austin had taught her well the art of a lecture.

"Now, what is your name?"

The demon went down on one knee and bowed, "I am Cian."

"That is an interesting name. Old world, isn't it?" Rowen's voice had taken on the growling echo.

Cian quickly raised its head, surprise written on its face. "It is."

"Your parents were quite poetic to give you such a name. It has been a long time since the sky sang."

"That it has. I have been told that I was one of the last born under the Cian. By the time I was old enough to understand such things it had already turned red."

There were unshed tears in Cian's eyes as it spoke, "I lost my family in the last great war and the name is all I have left of them."

Rowen spoke a sentence of the demon language that Zidon did not understand, but Cian did and bowed its head again.

"Would you be up for some light sparring? Nasi and I seek to work on our teamwork."

Rowen's voice had changed back to normal but the impression she had made remained. Cian stood and the tears were gone, replaced with a smile.

"I'd be honored."

Rowen turned to Zidon who was staring at them with wide eyes, "You ready?"

"I don't guess I get a choice. You'll keep beating me up either way. It's almost like you're trying to kill me."

Rowen laughed, "I'm going to assume that since you know about what happened with me and the ritual you saw the crime scene photos?"

Zidon looked away but nodded, "I may have."

"The state of the cultists, that was me. If I want you dead, then you're dead. It's because of the state of the cultists that the headmaster is teaching me for the summoning class. It's also the reason I'm not allowed to live in the dorms. The headmaster doesn't want me getting angry and killing someone.

"Just don't do anything to make me angry and I'll be less inclined to rip your arm off and beat you with it."

She could tell that he had seen the pictures when all the color drained from his face. It had been said to make an impression and it had succeeded.

The pair of Summoners and the pair of demons sparred for two hours before Rowen called a stop. She could have gone longer, but it was getting late and she had arranged to walk home.

"You know, you're not half bad when you're not being an ass."

Zidon had not said a negative word about anyone or toward Rowen during their sparring. He had been able to carry on a conversation and it turned out that Rowen kind of liked him.

"Pretty sure I'm just too scared to say shit."

He said it like that, but he was smiling in a way she had never noticed. He seemed to have genuinely enjoyed himself, once his ego left the room.

"Well, you are free of me now. I'm about to head home."

"Do you have a ride?"

Rowen shook her head, "No, Nasi and I are walking."

"Want company? I-I mean, it would look bad if I just let you go. It's dangerous out there, you know."

Rowen wanted to point out that she knew more about the dangers out there than he did, but held her tongue. She could tell that he was trying and did not want to halt his growth. Still, she could not completely hold her tongue.

"Aww, that's so sweet of you. I accept."

She grinned and punched his arm playfully.

He laughed then thought better of it and clutched his arm in mock pain.

"Gods, you really do enjoy beating on me."

Rowen laughed and gave him a wink. Zidon faltered for a moment then followed them out of the room. Their trip to the first floor and out onto the street was made in silence.

There was a moment of awkward small talk from Zidon, but mostly just silence. It was almost as if he was not sure how to behave around her outside of fighting.

~Do you hear that?~

Rowen did. She could hear Gabriel's true name being whispered in the wind and felt a pull that would take them off the path home.

~What is that?~

~Someone is trying to summon me. Because our souls are bound the use of my true name does not have the same pull. It would be the same if someone were to try and summon you.

~One day we will have to choose a name for ourselves.~

Rowen found that bit of knowledge interesting. You could do a lot if you knew a person's true name. Mages would choose one before they graduated, though Summoners rarely had one.

Having a true name helped strengthen a Mage's magic. It was also a means to bind them and the reason that Summoners did not have one.

Zidon seemed oblivious to the changes in her demeanor, but she noticed that Nasi had started to look around cautiously and that Cian had started to do the same.

Leave it to demons to notice something like that, Rowen thought to herself. Nasi would notice because it had been spending all of its time with her. Cian noticed because it was observant.

"Here we are."

Rowen could still hear Gabriel's name and feel the pull, but it was more like a song playing in the background. She planned to let Brooke know about it.

"Want to come in for a drink?"

"I should head back right away since I didn't tell anyone I was leaving."

"I'll rephrase that, come in and rehydrate before you walk back. There is still a few more hours of sunlight and a twenty-minute walk ahead of you."

Zidon looked over at the small blue house and nodded.

~You court like a demon.~

~Hush.~

Gabriel's laughter was strong enough that she found herself smiling as she walked inside. As soon as they were in, and the door was shut, Nasi went to get a glass of water for both Zidon and Cian.

Hearing the noise, Brooke came out of her room. When they moved into the house Brooke had gotten a tv for her room and camped out there most of the time. She claimed that it was part of her ignoring all things related to magic.

"You didn't say anything about having company, I would have ordered pizza."

"They just came in for a glass of water. Zidon and Cian walked us home. It would have been poor manners to send them away without a drink.

Nasi came back just then and handed out the glasses. With Brooke there, the atmosphere became even more awkward and Zidon left as quickly as he could. After he left Brooke turned to Rowen.

"Isn't he the one that you dueled?"

"Yeah, I made a deal in a roundabout way right before the duel started. The loser had to be the winner's slave for a day."

Brooke frowned, "That doesn't seem very appropriate. Allowing the kids to duel seems bad enough."

Rowen shrugged, "I wanted to get a feel for who he was under all the bloodline arrogance. It was the best way to do that. Plus, I got to beat him up some more, so it was a win-win for me."

"What did you decide?"

"I think he has potential and I want him to join my mercenary group."

"Good luck convincing him. I'm sure you already have a plan."

"I do. You wanna watch a movie with us? You can pick."

Brooke looked like she was going to say no, but nodded her head instead.

"I'd like that. You should get something to eat first, I've already had dinner."