Chapter Text
With two weeks left until the start of school Ansel was all set to begin classes already. He was so excited to finally be following in his family's footsteps and attending Majik's Academia.
He had it all planned out, his life for the next five years, which was why when he stepped into his familiar's room to find her gone he was stunned.
It was extremely important to do the proper research before acquisition of the first familiar. Ansel had spent his entire life dreaming of what type he would choose. His eldest sister, Orla sang high praises of the use of doves as familiars. He'd finally settled upon Opal, a beautiful white pigeon that Orla had generously helped him source and purchase.
Opal was so sweet-natured and eager to please. She was a dream to work with and Ansel was looking forward to showing her off to the other students.
Worry didn't begin to creep in until Ansel had searched all the usual places for her. Not that she was ever one to hide.
It wasn't until Orla returned to their city apartment that he really began to panic.
"Orla, have you seen Opal? I can't find her."
Orla tried to breeze past him, dismissively. "I sold her."
Ansel tried to force a smile, grasping onto a single strand of hope. "You're joking…?" She wasn't. Of course she wasn't. All Ansel's dreams crashed down around him. He gaped at her. "You can't. Orla, no, you can't. She was mine." How could he have been so stupid? He'd left the papers in his sisters name. It had just been a formality. "You said she was mine. I trained her. How could you sell her?"
"The Duchess of Elton was looking for a well-trained familiar and she'd heard of my work. She sought me out personally. She wanted something special, exquisitely trained with beautiful manners, and a flawless pedigree."
"You could have given her any of your others."
"Opal was the best and she'll look truly exquisite next to the Duchess. The two of them resplendent in snow white. She's even issued me an invitation to her next soiree. They're so exclusive."
"Tell her no…"
"Typical. I knew you'd be this selfish. The contract has already been signed. She had Opal collected this morning."
"But…" I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye.
"Can't you even try to be happy for me, for once. This is going to open so many doors for me and help my career immensely. She paid far more than you ever could. More than enough that I can get that breeding pair I had my eye on."
"School starts in two weeks. I need a familiar."
"It's just first year, it's not like it's difficult. You don't need a good familiar, anything will do. Just ask mother for one of hers, then it won't even matter if you mess up like usual and break it."
"Mother doesn't train familiars. She deals in companions. Pets and servants, not familiar-stock. They're entirely different."
"Just pick up something from the market then. There's always a few there."
Used and with their own issues he'd need to train out of them. "It's so late, there's not going to be anything good left. That's why I planned in advance. That's why I did all that work with Opal."
"You should know better than to get attached. They're just tools. It's not like you need a fancy familiar for school anyway. Most students kill their first few."
"You didn't." Ansel replied. And he didn't plan to either. He had thoughts on students that were that careless and wasteful. There was no reason that anyone should kill their familiars.
Orla laughed. "Why, that's a perfect solution, Ansel."
"What?"
"I'll give you my first familiar. I do recall you were rather fond of him."
"Scopes?" Ansel held his breath a moment before exhaling. "He's old. Would that even be safe?"
"He's not that old. He was young when I got him. He's hardly used. I haven't even touched him since I finished school."
There was a catch. There had to be a catch. "He's already trained. I'd hoped to train my own familiar."
"I can't believe you. Anyone else would be grateful at being offered such a valuable familiar, especially in their first year. I could make a lot more selling him, but you know how sentimental I get."
Ansel realised Orla couldn't sell him. Scopes had been a gift to her, but come second year she'd purchased her first dove and discovered she vastly preferred working with them. If she'd kept hold of Scopes she must have had reasons.
"Okay. I want the contract and all his papers in order."
"You could at least say thank you."
"Thank you, Orla."