The Bookstore Mage

Lucien spent the day practicing Imer and revising the hand gestures and mana flow needed for Tadawsa. He came across another spell that he thought might come in handy. It was a simple one that created a flame above his hand.

The fun part about it, however, was that he was required to add a hand gesture to make it work. The book didn't specify how the hand gesture should be and left that for Lucien to create one. This gave him a bit of freedom to mess about with it.

He learned the flow that the mana should take but did not proceed in trying the spell. Something told him it was not too smart to play with fire indoors, not to mention in such proximity to so many books.

"I need to find a place to test my spells, otherwise it's going to be a problem down the line." He muttered to himself, Lucien then grabbed his phone and checked on the time. It was already 4 pm. He used Imer to send the book back under his bed and changed his clothes into something more comfortable before leaving the bookstore.

The day was a pleasant one considering it was still the middle of January. The sun shone brightly above, and the sky was a clear blue color. Although it was not warm per se, it was still much better than the past couple of days.

Lucien was a bit hungry, so he decided to visit a restaurant he used to frequent with his grandfather back in the day. He didn't have to walk far before he arrived. Thankfully, the diner was still open. He walked inside with conflicted emotions. This was the first time he came without his grandpa, and it made him feel sad.

The old waitress recognized him and came to greet him. She gave him her condolences for the passing of his grandfather, and even the chef came out of the back to say hello while telling him to stay strong. His lunch ended up being on the house. Although Lucien insisted on paying, they refused and called it a service.

With his mood slightly elevated, Lucien decided to change his usual way back home, and instead passed by an empty park. The sound of birds chirping and the smell of trees gave off a serene and pleasant feeling. Lucien's eyes wandered around the park as he gazed at the cluster of green light particles. He guessed the number of certain particles depended on the location, for example, the blue-colored ones would be more prominent, here in the park, however, the presence of the green ones was more obvious.

Lucien found it a bit surprising how deserted the park seemed to be. He seemed like the only person present, not that he minded. Lucien continued his walk when suddenly, a faint whimper made him pause. It sounded like the cry of an injured animal. Lucien glanced about and followed the sound behind a tree off the road.

There, he found a small cat with snow-white fur. The cat's bright green eyes gazed back at Lucien with a pitiful expression. It had hurt both of its front limbs and was unable to move. Lucien approached it carefully.

"Hey, little buddy. How did this happen?" He called out in a low voice to not startle it. The cat meowed pitifully but was unable to move. Lucien gently patted its head and back trying to calm it down a little bit.

"A girl?" He mumbled.

The injury on the little cat's front limbs looked man-made. It was as if someone had deliberately used a sharp object to hurt the poor cat. Seeing that made Lucien feel sick and angry. The poor cat continued to whimper in pain and pushed its head against his hand.

That was when the Tadawsa spell came to Lucien's mind. It was supposed to be a healing spell for minor injuries. The damage on the cat's front limbs, however, was anything but minor. Lucien could only pray that it was enough to at least ease the cat's suffering.

He closed his eyes and recalled how the flow of mana was supposed to move. The light particles began to gather around him as Lucien followed through with the hand gestures. His mana slowly began to condense on top of the snow-white cat's injuries.

The cat seemed to sense something as it suddenly went quiet and stayed very still. Lucien opened his eyes and watched in surprise as the wounds closed with a speed visible to the naked eye. After a few seconds, the cat's paws were as good as new.

Lucien was shocked at how efficient Tadawsa was. The kitty snuggled closer to his hands and meowed in excitement. It then began to rub its head on his legs. Lucien didn't know if it was a side effect of using Tadawsa on an animal, but he could feel a bond between appearing between him and the kitty.

He couldn't understand what it was saying, but Lucien was able to sense its intention. It was as if the cat was communicating with him through its feelings. After playing with it for a while, Lucien waved goodbye and turned to leave. To his surprise, however, the cat followed behind.

It refused to leave and continued next to him till he reached the bookstore. Lucien gazed at it with complicated feelings and the cat stared back with pitiful eyes. "Ah, damn it. Do you want to come in?" He asked, and the cat's eyes seemed to shine as it meowed and ran towards the open door.

A smile made its way to Lucien's face as he shook his head with a defeated expression. "I mean the bookstore was a little lonely, just by myself." He mumbled to himself. Closing the door behind him, Lucien removed his coat and stared at the cat that already settled itself comfortably on top of the counter.

He approached it and gently rubbed its head causing it to purr in pleasure. "But we have to give you a name." Hearing that, the cat's ears perked as it raised its head to stare at him with an expectant gaze. Lucien was momentarily surprised at how a cat's expression could be so human-like.

"Well, you'll have to excuse me though, I'm not very good with names," Lucien said while rubbing his chin deep in thought.

"How about Moon?"

The cat meowed happily and jumped on top of his shoulder. "Oh, you like that?" Lucien laughed and patted it.

"Okay then, from now on you're Moon. Come on, let's go upstairs, I'll make you something to eat."