HOW, EXACTLY, DID I GET HERE? the black robbed skeleton asked,
his words seeming to materialize in the thoughts of all those around
him. A kitten sat in his lap, batting playfully at the skeletal
fingers that were being waved at it.
"That's what I'd like to know," the pale skinned girl noted,
also dressed all in black. An ankh necklace dangled around her neck as
she leaned over to pick up her cup of tea.
SQUEEK! the robe shrouded rat's skeleton added, dog-paddling
in it's own cup.
Kitty and Illyanna exchanged a glance, then both of them
raised their hands.
Dr. Strange sighed softly, sipping some tea. "Only three
months training, and they're calling up Deaths," the dark haired man
muttered as he shook his head. With a little smile he added, "Remind
me to lock up the more advanced books."
"Uhm," Kitty smiled, "More tea?"
"Please," the female Death held out her cup to the brown
haired girl.
DO YOU HAVE THOSE LITTLE SAUSAGE THINGS? the skeleton Death
asked them eagerly, I LOVE THOSE.
"I'll take a look," Illyanna smiled.
SQUEEK, SQUEEK SQUEEK! the Death of Rats piped up before the
blonde could get out of the sitting room and into the kitchen.
"You could murder a cheese?" Kitty chuckled softly. An odd
look appeared on her face, "How did I understand that?"
Dr. Strange frowned thoughtfully.
"They're both advancing that fast in their studies?" Prof.
Xavier asked him a few hours later. The bald headed telepath's astral
form floated just above Dr. Strange's cluttered desk, while the dark
haired magician was having a strong cup of tea.
Dr. Strange nodded to his old friend glumly, "You have no
idea."
"It's not just the difficulty of the spell, is it?" Xavier
asked.
"I didn't even attempt that spell," Dr. Strange waved his hand
in the air, nearly spilling his cup of tea, "until after more than a
year of training. Didn't succeed until a month later. And I've never
accidentally summoned more than one Death!" He puffed out a breath,
"The potential power of those two is greater than I thought."
"So what are you going to do?" Xavier asked sympathetically.
"I'll lock up the more advanced books," Dr. Strange sighed
softly, "and try my best just to keep ahead of them."
"Is there anything I can do?" Xavier offered.
"Wish me luck," Dr. Strange smiled wryly.
Upstairs, Kitty and Illyanna were sitting on their beds and
talking quietly. Dr. Strange's mansion had many rooms, but due to the
unusual nature of most of them, it was decided that it was probably
best that they share a room together.
Kitty didn't really mind that, however. She was used to
sharing a room with Illyanna back at the school anyway, and it was
nice having someone around to talk with. "You know," Kitty smiled,
"they were kind of nice."
"I thought so," Illyanna nodded. She gave Kitty an impish
little smile, "Did you notice how that female Death was checking you
out?"
Kitty blushed furiously. Yes, she had noticed how the lady had
been looking her over. It was just a wee bit unnerving. "You know,"
Kitty said softly, "about Piotr..."
"Yes?" Illyanna asked her sympathetically. She knew that her
friend had been missing Illyanna's big brother, whom Kitty had a big
crush on.
"I don't miss him," Kitty said softly, "at least, not as much
as I thought I would." A soft sigh, "Maybe I'm really not in love with
him."
Illyanna smiled at her slightly, "It does happen, you know."
Kitty looked over at her curiously and Illyanna elaborated, "You're
around someone all the time, you might develop an attraction to them
simply because they're... available."
"You could be right," Kitty admitted as she rolled over on to
her back.
"I'm always right," Illyanna smirked.
"I wouldn't go that far," Kitty shot back. She looked up at
the ceiling when a thought occured to her, "Is there anyone that
you're interested in?"
Illyanna hesitated a moment, "Yes, there is."
"Really?" Kitty sat back up to look at her, "Who is it?"
"Down, Pryde," Illyanna chuckled, "it's a friend of mine." She
smiled a bit sadly, "I just haven't gotten around to telling them..."
"Why not?" Kitty asked her gently.
"Guess I don't want to risk the friendship," Illyanna said
softly.
Kitty was about to persue the that when they both felt it. It
was an odd feeling, like a bell ringing in their bones, and she said,
"Looks like the teach is calling."
Illyanna puffed out a breath in a sigh, "Let's go."
They left the room and went downstairs, focusing their
perceptions to ignore the illusions. An unwary traveler could be
completely turned around by the mansions mystical defences, but with
practice you could easily avoid them.
Dr. Strange smiled ruefully, "When I told you to study and
review the spell, I didn't expect you to actually cast it." Mentally
he added, 'Or succeed in casting it.'
Kitty and Illyanna silently exchanged a look, deciding that
complicated exoplasinations probably wouldn't be a good idea. "Sorry,
sir," Kitty offered.
"It's all right," Dr. Strange smiled slightly. "Just don't do
it again," he added with a sigh.
"Thank you, sir," Illyanna smiled sweetly.
'I wonder if he's the one Illyanna has a crush on?' Kitty
thought, feeling an odd little stab of jealousy in her gut.
To be continued...
Author's Note: The skeletal Death as well as the Death of Rats are
from the Discworld novels of Terry Prattchet, and the female Death is
from Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics.
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