Lucky Rabbit

Augustus was back! He was back, and it was Friday, and while Pandy hadn’t had a chance to speak to him all day, he had given her that smile at lunch, even though she was a rabbit eating romaine under a table at the time, and Pandy was ready to go shopping. Honestly, she’d fully intended to go with or without him, because the bathroom situation at the house was getting desperate, but now she didn’t have to, and she was a little uncomfortable with how happy that made her. When Pandy was happy, fate had a banana cream pie ready for her, and she was allergic to bananas.

Still, Pandy couldn’t help but hop in place as the bell rang to announce the end of Leadership and Governance. The students were almost as eager to leave as she was, because they had had far too much fun creating a complex system of laws for their country, and Mrs. Lovett had rewarded them by coming up with an equally complex legal case that used the word of the law to violate the spirit. Each of them had to come up with a way to hold the ‘perpetrator’ accountable for their crimes without breaking the very laws they’d created, and the students hated it.

“I can’t wait to get a new class after Midwinter break,” Thaniel muttered, glancing both ways as he waited for the hall to clear. They were going to meet in the foyer this evening, rather than outside, since they’d be taking a carriage to their Shopping Excursion. It would look odd if Pandy went outside and shifted before walking around the school to join the children, the way she usually did, so she had to start out inside this time.

Placing Pandy on the ground, Thaniel waited for her to change to Eurydice, then threw his arms around her. “I miss you,” he told her stomach, and she hugged him tightly. Almost everything else made her certain she’d made the right choice about moving to Avington House, but she wanted Thaniel to be there, too. Unfortunately, while he had the Avington-slash-Conroy-slash-Evil-Demon-Summoning-Stone stuck in his chest, that wasn’t an option. It might be fine, but it might not, and that ‘might not’ wasn’t something she was willing to risk.

Almost absently, she healed each person they passed as they entered the foyer. A few of the Small Groups had officially moved indoors for the rest of the year, thanks to increasingly colder temperatures, so there were a surprising number of students running for their assigned locations.

A quick glance at her stats told Pandy she was already more than halfway to level twenty-five on Minor Heal, and she was looking forward to her maximum Mana increasing again. She’d been giving Nyssa a little extra every day, and hoped to finish healing the elemental by Sunday, rather than her initial estimate of next Tuesday.

Healed Augustus for 2 HP.

Pandy’s eyes focused on her surroundings again, seeing that Augustus was indeed standing directly in front of her, looking like he wasn’t certain if he should be amused or concerned. “A blue box?” he asked softly.

She blinked at him. What? “No. Just,” she glanced around, “words.”

He hummed thoughtfully, nodded, then looked around at the three pairs of eyes that were watching them. Thaniel was there, of course, but Geraldine had arrived, along with Miss Cupcakes, who… Pandy squinted. Yes, the kitten had finally grown a bit, too. At this point, Pandy had assumed Miss Cupcakes would stay a kitten forever, since elementals seemed to be able to look however they wanted, but there was something about the feline that said ‘cat’ more than ‘kitten’ now.

“I expect we’ll be out for a few hours at least,” Augustus told them, “so you should go get your warmest coats. We’ll get dinner together, if that’s all right with your teacher.” He smiled at Pandy in a way that made her cheeks burn, and she heard a couple of third-years giggle as they walked past, very nearly late for Small Group, but obviously more interested in what the chancellor and the new teacher were up to than hurrying to class.

“That’s fine,” Pandy squeaked, and he smiled at her in that way he had, then motioned for Thaniel and Geraldine to go. They did, grinning at each other as they raced for the door to the students’ hall. Miss Cupcakes remained behind, obviously as disinclined as ever to get any unnecessary exercise.

As soon as the door closed behind the two, Augustus leaned in toward Pandy, his eyes intent behind the thin lenses of his probably-unnecessary glasses. Lowering his voice, he murmured, “I visited the Reedsley estate.”

Pandy swallowed hard. That was not what she’d expected him to say. She wasn’t actually certain what she had expected, but not that. “Oh?” And there was that squeak again. Was something wrong with her throat? Maybe she should have Mistress Rose take a look at it. No, the healer would definitely notice Pandy – Eurydice – wasn’t entirely alive, which would be Very Difficult to explain, so maybe she’d just see if she could find some of this world’s version of chamomile tea and-

“Eurydice?” Augustus asked, and she looked up, to see him frowning down at her.

Leaning away, Pandy said. “Reedsley. Yes. Are they-” It finally clicked. “Did you ask why they wouldn’t let Geraldine go home? Not that I want her to go home, but she was really sad, and they promised-”

“Captain Reedsley was ordered to watch the person we noticed behaving in a suspicious manner, and report to his superiors if they did anything odd.” His lips quirked. “It turns out they do almost as many odd things as you do.”

Pandy wished she could take offense at that, but she probably did do a lot of strange things, so she just nodded for him to continue.

He grew serious again as he said, “You were right. That person is not what they seemed to be. We’ll have to wait to speak in detail, but right now is not a good time for our young friend to go back. In fact, I received permission for her to relocate to a place that might be,” he hesitated, searching for the right words, “more conducive to her emotional well-being.”

Pandy brightened, reaching out to clasp his hands before she could think better of it. “She gets to-” Wait, what was safe to say and what wasn’t? They were in the school, but not in the library, and Augustus was speaking in a very roundabout way, and she was holding his hands, and when she tried to tug hers free, he closed his fingers over them and stood there, right in public, holding her hands. If she’d still been inclined to breathe, she definitely would have stopped at that point.

“I’m ready!” Thaniel said, sounding as breathless as Pandy felt, and she jumped back almost three feet, yanking her hands loose while Augustus just stood there and twinkled at her. She turned to Thaniel, who was staring from her hands to Augustus and then up to her cheeks, which were probably approximately the same color as a ripe pomegranate. The boy looked entirely uncertain how to feel about what he’d just witnessed. Geraldine stood right behind him, however, and she looked positively gleeful.

“Are you gonna get married?” Thaniel asked, and Pandy very nearly swallowed her tongue. Which honestly would have been fine, because she was pretty sure she’d grow it back, but she wouldn’t have to answer the question in the meantime.

“I… You… He-”

“Not today,” Augustus replied calmly, opening the front door and motioning for the two children and the entirely-too-interested feline to pass through. “Abbington and Brook are waiting for us in the carriage, and they’re probably getting cold. Hurry up.”

Instantly, both children were off, with Thaniel whooping as he saw Brook’s nose pressed against the glass window of the large carriage waiting for them at the bottom of the steps. Soon three children, two elementals, Augustus, and whatever Pandy actually was were piled into the carriage together, and the conveyance started moving while Thaniel battled it out with Geraldine for who got the remaining window.

“Now, I know you need supplies for your house, and I have some ideas for that,” Augustus said as they rolled along to a tune composed of cheerful squabbling and wooden wheels on the stone road. “But what else would you like to look at? I know you haven’t been able to explore the city much.”

“Food!” yelled Thaniel, causing both Geraldine and Abbington to nod in agreement.

Augustus shook his head at them, but said, “We’ll get dinner after Miss Haupe and I arrange for some items to be delivered to her home. If you can be quiet until then, everyone can vote on what kind of food we should get. Otherwise, I’ll decide, and I was thinking fresh fish and broccoli sound good.”

He’d obviously been paying attention, because Geraldine flinched at the word ‘fish’, while ‘broccoli’ made Thaniel turn almost as green as the vegetable. Only Abbington looked like he didn’t mind the suggestion, but since he was already quiet, it was a successful tactic. Score one for the chancellor. Silence fell as Augustus looked back at Pandy.

She ran through the list, starting with mattresses and bedding and ending with pots and seeds. Obviously still focused on his stomach, Thaniel suggested dishes and silverware, which, yes, Pandy also needed.

“What about horses?” Geraldine asked.

Pandy shook her head. “We don’t have a carriage driver, and I don’t think I can afford to hire anyone right now.” That was true, but more importantly, she couldn’t bring a stranger onto the property. Even if Hazel didn’t like to fly around chasing birds – though she never caught any, to Pandy’s great relief – they might catch sight of Eleanor, and even though her disguise as Evan was very impressive, Pandy wasn’t willing to take the risk that the princess might be discovered.

“Doesn’t Iz- your brother know how to ride?” Thaniel said, looking genuinely puzzled. “Just get a horse and let him ride to school. They can do that at Kestrel. Lian says Edgar does it all the time.”

Pandy felt like she’d just been smacked with a damp haddock. Again. “They can?” That would solve everything. Pandy could tell Lady Frances and Lady Arabelle that they’d worked out their own transportation, but without actually having to buy a carriage or hire a coachman. Yes, she’d have to get a horse, but she knew Isidor could ride, because she’d seen him do it, and surely they could figure out how to take care of one animal. How hard could it be?

Augustus looked thoughtful. “I know someone who runs a stable. The horses are retired military mounts. Most soldiers buy the mount they use while they’re enlisted, but some can’t afford it, so my friend finds good homes for them. I’m sure he could find one that’s a good match.”

Pandy grinned. “That sounds perfect!”

He grinned back. “It’s a plan then. And just in time, because I believe we’ve arrived at our first location.” He tilted his head, and they heard the sound of rhythmic banging just before the carriage rolled to a stop. Augustus reached out and opened the door before the carriage driver could hop down and do it. “Everybody out. Time to see a real metal-working shop, run by one of the best Earth elementalists in the city.”

Thaniel and Geraldine jumped down, with Miss Cupcakes leaping right after, but Abbington hesitated. “Brooktoo?” he asked, looping an arm around his capybara even as he glanced longingly out of the door.

Augustus smiled. “Everybody,” he said firmly, and was rewarded with the kind of smile Abbington almost never showed to anyone except their little group, and then only when they were alone and relaxed. Pandy got out last, with Augustus once again holding her hand a little too long as he helped her down. She found that she was getting used to it though, and wondered if that was his plan: use repeated exposure to get her used to this before moving on to… to… No, in any case, it was working, and she had to remind herself to take her hand back before they entered the building ahead.

The inside of the shop looked so much like the ‘Blacksmith’s Shop’ from Gacha Love that Pandy actually came to a full stop just inside the door. This was one of the stores that existed only as still images on the home screen, and the player could go to them at any time in order to buy items.

In the Blacksmith’s Shop, Clara could get armor and weapons for herself or the love interests, as well as selling any metal-adjacent vendor trash she picked up in dungeons. There were also items the player could buy for real money, one of which was General Avington’s Medal. The unique item was only there sometimes, and only after the player had gotten through the Fall Festival and bypassed their only opportunity to get it in-game.

Known only as The Blacksmith, a burly woman always stood behind the wooden counter, muscular arms folded across her chest as she eyed the player suspiciously. On the wall behind her hung a few weapons, none of which Pandy particularly paid attention to, but which she now recognized with a feeling akin to deja vu. Always before she’d been expecting, even looking forward to, walking into a scene from Gacha Love, but this one was entirely unexpected.