A Visitor From Below (1)

"I'm so, so sorry!" Mara almost shouted. Her tear-filled eyes seemingly peered into the confused and surprised Aether's soul. "It's all my fault that you had to fight off those men!" She continued. Her voice trembled. There were bags under her eyes and her nose was reddened.

"How is it your fault?" Aether asked, tilting his head slightly. He already had a guess, but if he could get Mara to confirm it without having to outright ask, it would be much better. He wasn't about to pass this chance.

"They were after me." She said with a much lower and hesitant voice. "I'm really sorry, I never meant for something like this to happen. I never thought you'd get caught up in all of this!" A tear rolled down her cheek.

Aether hesitated for a moment. It felt wrong to play the clueless victim here, but it was the best way to get the most information. "I don't understand," He lied, "What did they want from you?"

Mara seemed hesitant. He could see it in her eyes, she was debating whether to tell him or not. "It's ok if you'd rather keep it to yourself," He offered, knowing full well his words would push her to talk. "I don't mind."

Mara shook her head rigorously. She blinked and wiped her tears away, then took a deep breath. "No, you deserve to know." She spoke with a low voice. She glanced around first, making sure no one was standing too close.

"I… have the ability to notice magic." She said sheepishly. Her large, purple eyes focused on Aethers', and she waited a moment to gauge his reaction. The young man raised his eyebrows slightly. It was more or less what he expected. He was right about his guess.

"Only when it's really strong though." Mara added after a moment.

"So," He spoke, choosing his words with care. "You can see it?" All of this was important information to inform Madam Yotsura about.

Mara's expression softened. "Oh, no. No, no." She shook her head vigorously as Aether's confusion rose. "I wish." She chuckled. "I can smell it."

"You what now?" Aether blurted out. "Hang on, what?"

All of his carefully crafted plans to avoid blowing his cover when she was around, all of his well thought out countermeasures for this ability of hers had gone out the window. "What do you mean you can smell it?" He asked.

Mara's cheeks reddened slightly. "Only when it's really powerful magic. I wouldn't be able to smell your light spell, or the class president's icicle spell." She hesitated. "Besides, the smell is usually very mild." She fell silent for a moment.

"I see." Aether mumbled. What the hell was he supposed to do to hide a smell?

"And… That also means I can notice Wildmagic." Her next words caught him by surprise. "Usually, a tiny bit before stuff happens." She added. "So, I noticed wildmagic at about the same time as you when that giant black butterfly bug appeared." Her expression suddenly hardened. She narrowed her eyes slightly and raised her chin as she looked Aether directly in the eye.

"How did you notice it?" She asked. "Can you see magic?"

Aether forced a smile. "No, something just felt off so I just assumed it would be wildmagic."

Mara seemed disappointed more than anything. Her shoulders dropped, and she just nodded. "I see." Suddenly, she looked at her stat bracelet, then a look of panic appeared on her face. "Oh no, I'm supposed to be in the infirmary five minutes ago!" She exclaimed before dashing away.

Aether just chuckled as she ran away. His smile then disappeared, and a look of worry took over his expression. Mara was dangerous, but in a different way than he first thought she would be. He pondered a while – was it smart to report this to Madam Yotsura?

He gritted his teeth. If he did, there was a good chance this would end with him killing Mara. And to be completely honest, he wasn't very fond of that idea. The girl had hardly and bad intentions and killing someone he put so much effort saving the other day was nothing but a waste.

"Some other time, perhaps." He sighed as he began walking towards the northern courtyard of the Academy. Madam Yotsura didn't need to know about this yet.

"I didn't know you were such a charmer, Aether." Erika giggled as she poked him with her elbow. "Though, I'm a bit disappointed. Did you turn her down or what?" Her expression said it all – she was enjoying messing with the young man.

"She just thanked me for getting her out of the fire." He replied with a deadpan face.

"Aww, so sweet! You've got yourself the perfect setup too!"

"No, thanks." Aether rolled his eyes. "Don't you have something better to do, miss president?"

Erika laughed and shook her head. "Nope! And don't try to change the subject. Why wouldn't you try your luck with her? She's pretty, kind…"

"Seriously…" Aether shook his head.

"Or are you not into her?" Erika's eyes widened. "I mean, if I didn't know better, I'd say you have your eyes on Iris, but you two are brother and sister so…" Her voice faded as she looked at Aether with curiosity.

"My god, no. And Iris and I are not-"He stopped himself. "Anyways, no. I'm here for the magic classes, nothing more." He glared at Erika. "So please drop it."

Erika giggled and raised her hands. "Ok, ok, fine. I can take a hint."

Aether rolled his eyes. "You say that, but it took a lot more than just a hint."

He would have joked about it some more, but two people entering the courtyard made him pause for a moment. One of them was Professor Cross. And the other was none other than Lady Luna.

As soon as she stepped onto the courtyard, Aether felt something wrap around his black heart. It took some effort to keep a straight, emotionless face.

"Looks like we have some early students here." Lady Luna spoke as her gaze fell upon Aether and Erika. "It is good to see you in good health, Aether."