Curious Minds: Keepers 2

“Woooooaahhhh.” 

The exclamation was whispered but in this quiet section of the Keeper’s storehouse, it might as well have been spoken aloud. Ethel followed the voice to see a tiny haedian pup, marveling at her prosthetic legs. A set of goggles bigger than his head perched carefully on top and his midsection was strapped with books that looked heavier than himself. 

“Oh, hello!” She smiled. 

The pup’s head snapped up. Through the long strands of lilac hair, his eyes were wide with shock and seemingly embarrassed at having been caught snooping. “Oh! Sorry! Sorry! That looked cool and I didn’t know I was so loud. I-I’ll go!” 

He quickly turned and scampered around a corner before Ethel could stop him. He didn’t get far before Ethel heard a muffled “Oomf” and the sound of books and goggles clattering to the carpet. 

“Oh, shoot! You okay there, big guy? Let me help.”

Mendras came around the corner pushing a cart stacked with books, scrolls and crystals. The haedian pup followed just behind, rubbing his forehead.

“Got a lot of fur there. Ever think about cutting it?” Mendras asked.

The pup gave him a look of abject horror and shook his head vehemently. “Never!”

“Alright, alright. Guess I’d be defensive if I could grow hair like that.”

“It’s nearly midday, I believe. Shouldn’t a pup of your age be in school?” Ethel asked as they got closer. Though small, the pup was clearly much older than he appeared and his silky, straight fur that trailed on the floor, only emphasized his thin stature.

“School sucks when you already know everything.” He pouted. Mendras handed his goggles back and fixed them over his head. “They sometimes make me help the other kids. It's so boring!”

“What’s your name?” Mendras asked.

“Uh, Kanae. Why…” He trailed off before coming to a sudden realization. “Please don’t tell on me! I’m already in a lot of trouble this week!”

“We won’t.” Mendras said.

“I disapprove but I would feel bad letting a pup skip school without learning something…” She raised one of her legs, the one with the butterflies encased in clear crystal glass. “This was something that interested you, wasn’t it?”

The pup’s eyes lit up in a way that made Mendras giggle, a sound Ethel hadn’t heard in a long while. 

“I wanted to know if those were real butterflies.” Kanae said. 

“They’re not. Would you like to see?” Ethel reached down to pop the container out of its place. The glowing blue butterflies didn’t race to free themselves but stayed hovering just above the leg.

“Can I touch them?” Kanae asked, utterly entranced. 

“Just be gentle. Place your hand under them, and they’ll come to you.” Ethel instructed. 

The pup did just that and gasped in awe when the butterflies rested delicately on the pads of his hands. The blue glow faded and that’s when he noticed the tiny golden gears sticking out from the insects’s thorax.

“Wait! They're not made of magic?”

“Eh, kind of.” Mendras started. “They’re tiny machines imbued with someone else’s magic. It’s done in a way that the person doesn’t need to put effort into maintaining it. So it's as if the butterflies are using their own magic to fly and glow.”

Kanae’s mouth dropped open. “You can do that?! You can give things magic?”

“Only those highly skilled in the hexes and the Arcane. Very few can.” Ethel explained. 

“I’m an Archanist,” Kanae whispered to himself. “Do you know how to do it? Can you show me? I need to learn this. Also, what about people? Can you give magic to people?”

“Sorry, Kanae but I’m not an Archanist and Ethel, here can’t use magic at all but…” Mendras bent down and began rummaging through their packs. “I bet that Brute that fixed your prosthesis left something for us in the blueprints…”

Kanae was now bouncing up and down in anticipation of new information. As he did so more questions poured forth. “You can’t use magic? Why? And— oh wait! You said these butterflies are supposed to be machines? I didn’t know they could be so small and complex! Do you have stuff like this topside?”

Mendras and Ethel exchanged a look. It was about time they took a break from their research anyways.

“Why don’t you set those butterflies down and go grab a pillow.” Ethel suggested. “You’re going to be here a while.” 

Kanae did just that and scampered off in search of a pillow. 

“Cute kid but those questions are going to take a lot out of me.” Mendras said with an exaggerated sigh. 

“Don’t worry you can leave the teaching to me.” Ethel assured. “And you can giggle all you like.”

Mendras’s forged markings flushed a brighter blue, something Ethel never got tired of seeing. “P-Pretend you didn’t hear that!”