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Raine shifted in the uncomfortable metal chair, attempting to merge with the drapes at the back of the little booth. They still weren’t sure how they’d been roped in to the “New Magical Opportunities Fair.” (That was a lie, it was Darius’ fault, he’d bribed them with a set of Abomination membrane heads for the drum corps Raine dreamed of creating.) In front, by the table, Amber looked artistically bored and cool, right up until anyone asked her a question that allowed her to talk about magical sound theory, at which point the geeking poured out. It was adorable.
Raine, distracted poking at the chair and trying to figure out a way to sit in it that didn't leave their hip sore, looked up sharply when they heard a “Hi,” in an oddly familiar voice. “I'm looking for Mx. Whispers.”
Raine jumped up, nearly vaulting the table to clasp hand-to-pseudopod, grinning wildly at their former student. “Pettyr! Titan’s breath, it's good to see you! How's Wicky? Did you both stay safe?”
Pettyr had a new, sleeker-looking chair with glittering green stripes down the back and had grown a few gallons larger, two more limbs than Raine recalled tucked neatly along the seat. “We did,” Pettyr said. “We escaped the coven scouts and made it to the country with a little help. Wicky’s just fine. They're over harassing some Illusionists about ventriloquism.”
“What have you been doing these past years?” Raine asked. “Still playing, I hope?”
He chuckled. “Still a teacher. Yes. Wicky more than me, but the cousins we stayed with were unlicensed wild healers, and I've been developing a music therapy practice out among the folks who don't mind.” Pettyr looked happier and more relaxed than Raine ever saw them as a student. “There's more of them, now.”
“I'm glad,” Raine said warmly. “I have some friends you should meet, if you'd like to share musical healing tips. And I'd love to talk to Wicky about a percussion project, if they have time.”
Pettyr laughed. “Try to stop them.”
The first people they'd helped escape the covens, well and whole, grown into their power. Raine could cry with joy.