The Practitioners Book 1 Chapter 4

Hi people! There are actually multiple people here now! Wow, accomplishment! So I finished this chapter a couple of days ago, and am about halfway through chapter 5... This is still really frequent posting, so expect that to end fairly soon. I generally do not write a chapter at a time. I am way too scatterbrained for that. As always, please give me as much constructive criticism as you feel this needs, and I appreciate any and all feedback greatly! Also, my mum warned me not to post to much of this on the internet so no one can steal it... SO NO STEALING!!!
Well, now, here's Chapter 4.

4 

Merrily Off to America 

It was a rainy morning. The wind turned to daggers wherever it connected with skin, chilling a person down to the core. The sky was grey and blurry, the sky seeming to our down bleariness and solemnity along with the rain. The clouds clouded the sky in such a way that made the sky cloudy. 

But nothing could ruin Ash's mood. One could accurately say that she was on a cloud, until one took into account the fact that she would then be in the mess in the cloudy sky, which she didn't particularly want anything to do with. Yes, Ash was bursting with happiness, so long as she stayed on the ground. Then the small cargo plane that was to take the trio across the ocean landed. Alright, maybe something could ruin Ash's mood. 

After preparations, the small band of teenagers hopped(or more accurately trudged)into the back of the craft, and they were off. Ash tried sitting down, contemplating going back to sleep. They would be on the plane for hours. It was six in the morning. Yet Ash couldn't sleep. Her life was beginning. How could she sleep? 

Will and Jane apparently had no such quarrels, and quickly dozed off. Ash decided to stand. She walked over to a window. She saw the cloudy sky full of clouds. Rain splattered the thick outer layers of glass. Ash paced over to the other window. Out of this one she could see the wing of the plane. Ash pictured herself riding on the wing of a plane. She could do it, she reckoned. She contemplated it for a minute or two, then decided against it, realizing that that would probably scare civilians. Ash yawned, and looked at her sleeping friends. Jane was curled up, and her hunch wasn't even visible when she slept like that. Will sat up with his knees bent up, resting his head on a jacket he had rolled up. His legs were going to be sore when he woke up. 

Ash paced around for a while more, not really doing anything, not really thinking any important thoughts along the way. She glanced at her watch. They had been in the air for about fifteen minutes. Ash then made an executive decision to try to sleep again. 

She sat down on Will's right, making certain that her legs were straight in front of her and her head was propped up. Her legs would probably fall asleep, but hey, they wouldn't be sore. And anyways, Ash had strong feet. That's where her magic was, after all. Her natural magic, anyways. If worse came to worse, Ash could hover off of the plane when they arrived. Ash doubted she could sleep, but it was worth a shot to not be so bored. 

“Ash. Ash. Aaassh.” Jane was shaking Ash’s arm, trying to rouse her from her nap. 

“What, Jane? Are we there?” 

“No.” 

“Then why are you waking me up?” 

“Because I’m bored. There’s no one to talk to. And you’ve had a good chance to sleep. It’s nine o’clock.” 

Ash just sighed and shook her legs awake. She hated the tingly feeling of limbs waking back up. Her feet woke up first. “Alright.” 

“So, Ash, on a scale of one to one hundred, how happy are you?” 

“Well now it’s about a ten, since you woke me up. 

“Very funny. How happy?” 

Ash smiled. Jane always knew how to bring out the good feelings in her, remind her of good things that were happening. Ash hoped that she did the same for Jane, considering all that Jane had to be miserable about. 

Ash thought for a minute more, and then replied, “Ninety-nine.” 

“Not one hundred? Think about it, Ash. We made it. And we already have a mission. How does that not credit a one hundred?” 

“I don’t like talking in absolutes. I’m sure some say I’ll have reason to be happier than this. Tell you what, I’ll make sure to let you know when my one hundred comes.” 

“I’ll hold you to that.” 

“I wouldn’t expect anything less. How about you, Little Miss Peppy?” 

“Eighty seven.” 

“It seems like you gave that some thought before you asked.” 

“Appearances can be deceiving… But yeah.” 

“Only eighty seven?” 

“Yeah. Keep in mind that’s still a more than decent amount of happiness. Never forget that almost ninety is a huge portion of one hundred. But, I mean, it’s not all I’ve ever dreamed of. I am so, so happy right now, but I know that there is more out there for me. And I’m looking forward to it.” 

“Well, make sure to tell me when you get your hundred as well.” 

“You mean if I get it.” 

“No, I mean when.” 

“Ash, it’s if.” 

“How come I get a when and you only get an if?” 

“Because.” 

“Well now I am completely on your side. Very persuasive, you are.” 

Jane grinned. “I’ve been told as much.” 

They both laughed. Well, Ash laughed. Jane’s laugh was more of a giggle. Ash didn’t giggle. 

“Will you cut that out? Some of us are trying to sleep,” Will said, eyes still closed. 

“No, only one of us is. And that one happens to be failing miserably,” Jane replied. 

“Fine, be that way. What time is it?” 

“Around nine o’clock.” 

“Well, sleep is merely a dream now,” Will said in his most melodramatic voice. 

“Yup.” 

At that response, Will’s eyes shot open. “Get it? Cuz you dream when you sleep.” 

“Oh,” Ash said. “We got it all right. It just was not even remotely funny.” 

“Come on, that was comedy gold.” 

“More like fool’s gold.” 

“I ain’t no fool.” 

“So you’re saying we’re fools?” Ash made puppy eyes at him. She meant to be playful, but apparently it turned out a little more powerful than that. 

“Of course you two aren’t fools. You are both brilliant people. Did I imply that you were fools? I am so sorry.” 

“Whoops.” 

Will snapped out of it. “How many times have I asked you not to do that?” 

“Three thousand and six.” 

“You counted?” 

At this she had to laugh, and proceeded to flick his forehead. “Of course I haven’t.” 

“Ouch,” he said, rubbing his forehead. “And for the record, it was definitely more than a measly three thousand.” 

“If you say so, oh genius William. And if we’re putting things on the record, then that time was an accident. So, Will, I am sorry.” 

“Thank you. Hand me a tab? That hurt.” Tabs were a medicine created by some practitioner scientist in the late 1800s. His name was Ium. They are actually called Iumic Cliens Dolor Tablets, but people call them tabs. People like to shorten things. Tabs killed pain very effectively, but didn’t have the side effects of civilian medicine. Also, they weren’t drugged, so anyone who used them didn’t turn into a drugged idiot. 

“No, oh genius William. You could do with stretching those legs, I assume.” 

“Probably, but that doesn’t mean I will.” Will held out his hand jus as a small purple tablet flew across the room into it. He popped it in his mouth and bit down. Another advantage of tabs: one could chew it instead of swallowing it with water. It was quite the time saver. 

“So lazy,” Jane said. 

“You would be too, if it meant you didn’t have to get up with a headache.” 

“I’m not going to argue with that.” 

They stayed like that for the rest of the four and a half hours, give or take fifteen minutes or so, just talking. Ash continued to be happy. Jane continued to be content. Will continued to be… well, Will continued to be Will. 

When the plane landed, after what felt like hours, probably because it was, the grumpy band of jet lagged teenagers trudged off the plane in a very similar fashion to when they trudged onto it. 

Ash emerged into a dingy plane row, plopped down next to a dingy building. A man with electric green eyes strode up to them, closely followed by a bulky man with a dark complexion and pale orange eyes. The first man was smiling at them; the second remained emotionless. Drone. 

“Hello, hello. How was your flight?” The man shook each of their hands in turn. “I am honored to be working with the three of you. I have heard great things.” The man sported a shaved head, a white shirt and sport coat combination, and a pair of tight black trousers. He spoke in an American accent, but not the stereotyped Rochester accent that Ash had expected. The most noticeable feature, however, were those eyes. The green color of pure electricity, one could very easily mistake them for yellow. 

Will was the first to speak, always so good with authority figures. “Thank you, sir. Could I ask your name?” 

“Oh, where are my manners? Of course. My name is Alec Harley. None of that sir nonsense. Come along now, there is much to be done!” 

Harley sure was an enthusiastic fellow. They followed him into the dingy building, and were not surprised to find that the inside was much less dingy on the inside. Practitioner buildings often were. Not that Ash had seen too many buildings. Most of her life had been lived in the Base. Granted, trainees were allowed to leave, but it was not encouraged for those who lived there, which was a great deal of them. Only a handful of kids went home every night. Most kids at least went home for the holidays though, while Ash didn’t have any family that wasn’t already in the Base. This also applied to some others, sure, but Ash held certain distaste for going leaving. Jane had left a decent amount of times, and Will went out fairly frequently, but Ash had only went a handful of times with Avery or Jane. Once with Cass. 

As they meandered-Ash considered this pace to be the very definition of meandering, for Harley walked around like he owned the place, despite the fact that that was quite obviously not true-many people smiled and gave them polite nods. Some offered a "Hey Alec," or some more nervous looking, younger people offered a "Good morning Mr. Harley." It did no take a rocket scientist, or even a chemistry student to figure out that Harley was their superior. Even so, the social dynamic here is very different from Ash's home Base. There, people stride through corridors, stopping to chat when they have something to say. Even these halls were slightly more homey than the Base back home. It was an odd sensation, feeling cozy in a situation that should have been anything but-professional at the very least. Yet considering happiness combined with the unique style of decorating made Ash feel very comfortable in this foreign place.  

After the almost surreal experience of walking through those halls with those friendly people ends at a brown door that is very like the doors back in England. It snapped Ash back to reality, but in that moment she didn't find it that different. Harley opened the door to an office that was relatively plain. An average sized desk sat contently the middle of a small square room with white paint on the walls. The desk itself was nothing special: some papers were strewn about, a computer rested, and some pictures of a smiley Harley, a smiley lady, and a smiley little boy were framed facing where Harley no doubt sat every day. There was a plush-backed chair with wheels behind the desk, and two less comfortable looking chairs were lined at a diagonal facing it, a third haphazardly shoved in between. The three teenagers followed Harley into the space. He immediately sat behind his desk and his drone had been lost somewhere in the hallucination-like maze of corridors. Harley motioned for them to sit down in the three other chairs. Ash, never having been one for manners, was already halfway down when he went through that formality. Clearly the chairs were for them, so why waste time? 

Once they were seated, Harley clapped his hands together and smiled similarly to how he did in his smiley-family photos. "We have much to discuss. First off, let me say, I am honored to be in the presence of you three. I've heard many a rumor. Many a good word," he said, in what Ash suspected to be an attempt at sophisticated speech. 

He addressed Will. "William." 

Will gave him his signature stylish grin. It won adults over very easily, generally speaking. "Please, call me Will." 

Harley smiled and clapped his hands together again. He seemed to like to do that. Maybe it was an old habit. Maybe bugs tended to fly near him. "Of course, Will," he said, looking at a file Ash was positive was only there for show. He very clearly didn't need it. Perhaps it was a prop so if some of the information was wrong he wouldn't seem as idiotic; after all, he had merely read the file given to him. Perhaps it was to appear less creepy as he recited knowledge. Neither worked very well, but Ash thought it would be a waste of this moment to spend it pondering such a minute detail. "So I see that you are a budding young psych-and a rather good one at that. Also, you went through training at alarming rates. Six years? Starting at twelve? with no prior knowledge of magic at all? Most impressive. Also the top of your class, despite a two year hole in your schooling around age ten. Wow. And I would like to add what a charming young individual you are, if you'll allow it." 

"I'll try my best, Mr. Harley." 

Next he turned to Ash. She felt a bit nervous, looking at the electricity that pulsed from this man. This man who very likely could determine her future. She wanted him to like her as her, but she figured a little help couldn’t hurt. Nothing too drastic, but she added on just a little twinge of likeability. "Ash. Do you mind if I call you Ash?" 

Ash just kept smiling. "I would be offended if you didn't." 

He seemed rather mesmerized by this girl before him. Harley looked very open. Very friendly. Caring. "Well we wouldn’t want that now." When he began to blush, Ash turned it down a bit. He snapped out of it, but only subtly enough for her to notice. She hoped. "So, I hear you're the best fighter in your training level-which I will admit, that group is an impressive one. I often wish I could mentor a group like that-" 

"Actually, Harley-do you mind if I call you Harley?" 

"I would prefer if you called me Alec." 

"Well I wouldn’t. If its all the same to you, then I'll call you Harley." 

"Actually-" 

"Great!" Ash clapped he own hands together. "So its settled. Where was I? Oh yes, settling on calling you Harley. Before that... Oh yes: actually, Harley, I am place second in my fight class. Cassiopeia is the best. Do the records not say that? I would appreciate it if they did, Harley." Realizing she may have screwed up a little, Ash quickly did some damage control on his attitude. Try how she may to be a good little girl, how adults treated Cass didn’t sit well with Ash. So lose my top I shall, she thought. 

"Of course. Still quite impressive in fighting, academic, and magic training. And onto that subject... I understand you have been a little, shall I say... gifted in that area? Care to explain?" 

"Why certainly, Harley. When I was an infant, my parents had a knack for experimentation. One of those experiments went splendidly and I would up a combatative with influential eyes and a little power from both areas. Though I still consider myself a strong combatative, Harley." 

He looked as if he were about to say more, but Ash's stare caused him to instead turn to Jane. Though Ash's stare, in this case, was not one of charm, but one of ice. Ice often burned deeper than warmth, and was also easier to procure. Everybody wins, so long as someone grows an aloe plant. 

"So, Jane. I have heard some wonderful things about you, young lady. Along with your friends here, you have sky rocketed through fight training and passed all your academic courses with flying colors. And I have heard many good things about your character." 

Jane blushed. "Well, thank you sir. And to whoever said that, send my thanks as well." 

"I'll make sure of it." He leaned in as if sharing a secret at a schoolgirl's sleepover. "You know, character gets you a lot farther in this world then you think. They may tell you that you need to be vicious, claw your way up, but they're lying. If you shove people out of the way, they yell and force you back. But if you're nice to people, then they'll let you cut in line, see?" 

"Blah blah blah, who are you?" Cassiopeia said. 

Harley snapped his head towards her, and then, once he noticed the black eyes, he just smiled. "Hello, I'm Alec Harley. Glad you could make it." 

She looked him up and down. "Again. Who are you?" 

"I just told you-" 

"You told me your name. But a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Who are you?" When he just sat there, dumbfounded, she added, "That was Shakespeare." 

"I am aware that it was Shakespeare, Cassiopeia. And right now, I am the one giving you your mission. I could be your friend, or I could be the one in charge here. Take your pick Ms... I'm sorry, what is your last name?" 

It was Cassiopeia's turn to smile. But hers was a small smile. Light. Delicate. Intoxicating. Poison. "Don't have one. You can just call me Cassiopeia. I know, it's a mouthful, but I'm sure someone claiming to be my boss can handle it." 

"Alright, I think that's enough of our introductions." 

He turned to address all three of them. "Your mission is not difficult. You three will be enrolled in Pittsford Sutherland high school, Monroe County, New York State. That's in a suburban area right around Rochester. You will attend this school as twelfth grade students for as long as you need to, presumably no longer than an estimate of three months. I've no doubt that you were informed of the scattering of ignorant hate crimes that have been taking place. After analyzing ignorant populations across the nation, Pittsford is the suspected next target. Specifically there are two ignorants who attend Sutherland-both seniors, like you will be. Your mission is to scout them out and protect them. Befriend them, follow them, whatever you need to do. Just do not let these two get hurt. And do not let anyone else get dragged into this. Involve as few people in this as possible. If all goes well, then only you three and those two. Questions?" 

Will spoke. "Yeah, Alec, I got a question." Harley looked fairly relieved that it was Will and not Ash or Cass. Especially Cass. Ash sighed and tried to think of gentle questions that would get on his good side again. No magic this time. She needed to do this by herself. She had just gotten through a lifetime of hard work. She would not screw it up in a few minutes. "Who exactly are we looking for? Who are those lucky two victims?" 

Alec put on what Ash was sure was his best look of sympathy. "We're afraid we don't know. There was a mix up in the office, and the names were separated from the test results. We're sorry, but you'll have to find them, Will." 

"Excuse me, Harley, I have a question," Ash said. 

"Yes, Ms. Daniels?" 

"Well, Governor Allen mentioned something to us about the criminals taking the same approach, putting a person in the school. Do we have any instruction on that." 

"Not at the moment. We will contact you if that changes. Anything else?" 

Cass was already looking bored again. "That depends. You have anything else useful to say?" 

Harley just gave her a polite smile. "Nothing beyond that is relevant at the moment, no. Unless you are unclear on something, Cassiopeia." He enunciated each syllable of her name, as if proving her point from earlier, that yes, he could handle it. 

Cass looked back and forth between Ash and Will, who both just shrugged. "I think we've got it." 

"Alright then. Hang on one moment, please." He hit a button on his phone and a female voice rung through the office. 

It said, "Yes sir, what can I do for ya?" 

"Please send Mr. Miser to escort our visitors to their quarters." 

"Yes Mr. Harley, I'll send him right over," the voice said, rather redundantly. 

"Thank you, Dolly." 

He hung up the phone. "Your mission begins tomorrow morning. A car will escort you to school at 7:15 am. Be ready. You have the rest of the day to roam the city, relax, set up your quarters. That's your time." There is a knock on the door. "Come in!" 

The door creaks open and a large, burly man walks in. "Hey there. I'm Frank Miser. Call me Mise. I'll be taking you to your rooms now." 

The three follow him out the door. When it clicks closed behind them, he turns to them. "So what do you think of ol' Harley there?" 

Cass chimed right in at the invitation. "He needs to grow something, but I can't tell whether it's a spine or brain. I'd go with the latter, though, because he stands so straight." 

Will shoots her a glare. "I think he was a very nice man. He gave us quite the warm welcome." 

Mise just laughs at the two of them. "What about you, Ms. Purple Eyes?" 

Ash glares at him mildly for that, but is too used to by now to care. "He was alright. And Will's right, he made sure he personally welcomed us." 

Mise studied her for a moment. "Well ain't you two polite?" He laughed. "Ah, that's all right. He can be a stickler sometimes." Once he settled himself down, he addressed the two girls. "You all right sharing a room?" 

Cass butted back in. "Sure. Yeah. Totally." 

"Great. Okay, then we'll drop you two off at your room and then I'll lead you, Will, to your room. They got you bunked with one of the older trainees. nice enough fellow. Let's go." 

Mise turned and walked away. 

Cass was the first to follow, then Will, then Ash, looking back at Harley's office on the way. 

 

(Hooray, the format worked on this one!)