“How did you like the book?” Zephyr asked as I took a seat on the backless sofa. He sat next to me an appropriate distance away.

  “I’m at the part where she tames the pegasus,” I replied, trying to make myself more at ease.

  “Ah, so just before the halfway point. I’m impressed by how fast you read, considering your disdain for books.” He chuckled quietly. At least he wasn’t disappointed in me for taking my sweet time.

  “It’s not like I have anything else going on, so I might as well.” I shrugged.

  He straightened his glasses and nodded his head.

  “Why do you wear glasses?” I felt bold enough to ask. We were friends now, weren’t we?

  “Ah, well… When I was a child, my parents died in a horrible accident," he paused. "Our neighborhood was lit ablaze, and I was one of the only people to survive. My eyesight was damaged in the process, and using magic to heal it didn't feel right. I used to blame myself as a child for their deaths. I know it's silly now, but I felt quite strongly about it for a while." He gave a sad smile, and I couldn’t help but feel pity.

  He always put others first, practically letting people use and manipulate him because he felt guilty about his past. It wasn’t fair! He had done nothing wrong, and yet…

  “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.” I raised my hands and covered my eyes with them. It was all I could do to prevent tears from falling.

  I suddenly felt a warm hand pry away my own. “It’s okay, Elaina. I’m not that same person anymore. You don’t have to feel bad.”

  I nodded my head trying to convince myself rather than him. He had to be lonely, right? Maybe I should introduce him to the others… I couldn’t see why Aidn, Marge, and Finn wouldn’t get along with him.

  “Why don’t you join me for a picnic tomorrow? I want to introduce you to my friends.”

  His eyebrows rose in surprise. “Where would this be?”

  “In front of the manor. It’s the least busy there, I think.”

  Zephyr nodded. “I have a spot in mind if you’d allow me.”

  “Of course.” I nodded my head.

  Right. Now I’d just have to convince the other two.

  “A picnic?” Aidan raised an eyebrow at lunch.

  I nodded my head. “Tomorrow in front of the manor.”

  “Sorry, but Rosalie and I kind of have plans tomorrow…” Marge answered bashfully. The look in her eyes told me she was over the moon about the idea. I couldn’t help but be happy for her.

  “Don’t worry about it! We’ll arrange to meet up some other time. What about you, Aidan?”

  “O-Oh, uh…” He blushed, looking away. “Sure.” Huh, I’m not sure what elicited that response, but I was glad I could at least count him in. Next was Finn.

  Before I could find him, I stumbled into Maverick. Quite literally.

  “Watch where you’re going!” he snapped as he dusted off his black jacket — a different black jacket than the one he wore the day before. Just how many different black jackets did he have?

  “I’m sorry,” I apologized sincerely. I was thinking about how difficult it is to find Finn, that I didn’t look before I turned the corner.

  “Where are you off to with your head in the clouds anyway?” For once, he seemed genuinely interested. Weird, I thought I was “boring.”

  Should I tell him about the picnic? What if I invited him? I did want to get to know him better… This just might be the perfect opportunity.

  “I’m planning a picnic for tomorrow. Want to join me?”

  “Not particularly, no.” He shook his head. He was still standing there — almost as if he wanted me to give him a reason to come.

  Knowing he had a sort of rivalry with Finn, I used that to my advantage. “It’s okay if you don’t want to. I’ll just invite Finn instead.” I smiled innocently.

  “I’ll be there.” He scowled. I couldn’t help but giggle as he walked away. Who knew it would be that easy?

  All that was left was Finn. My mind went back to what he said yesterday about the two of us hanging out more. Would he be more inclined to accept if I conveniently left out that other people would be there? But he’s a mind reader, so he’s immediately going to know!

  I know! I’ll write him a letter.

  I managed to bump into Aqua, who told me she’d just left him talking with some friends in the garden. I momentarily considered inviting her as well, but decided I didn’t know her well enough that I wouldn’t feel awkward with her around. Maybe next time.

  Sure enough, I found Finn outside by one of the fountains. He had just waved to a group of three people and started walking back towards the manor. All I have to do now is think of literally anything but what’s in the letter.

  Not thinking, not thinking…

  “Hi, Ella—”

  “Here!” I shoved the letter at him, still not thinking about what was in the letter!

  He blinked at the letter before looking back at me. “This is about the picnic tomorrow you wanted to invite me to but thought you could manipulate me into coming if I thought it was a date. Ouch.”

  I sighed. “I really thought I wasn’t thinking about it!”

  “The more you try not to think about something, the more likely you are to think about it. Why did you think I’d decline?”

  “I guess I was still under the impression you disliked Aidan, and everyone thinks Maverick’s a jerk, so… I forgot it’s completely different for you.”

  Finn laughed. “Maverick’s been a close friend of mine since I got here. I guess I was fascinated by his magic like we all are.”

  I cleared my throat.

  “Most of us,” he corrected. “He kind of taught me how to use magic, too. Especially my lance.”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Really? Of his own volition?” I raised an eyebrow in surprise. Was this common for him?

  “I haven’t seen him train anyone other than you and haven’t heard anyone else thinking about it, so I imagine it’s rather uncommon. It's not impossible. The guy’s old, and I’d be naive to think I’m the only person he’s ever taken an interest in.”

  I nodded. “And… he treats you like a friend?”

  “As friendly as he can, I guess. I’d say we have a better relationship than he has with most others.”

  Maybe one day I could have that kind of relationship with him…

  The next day, I arrived early at the spot Zephyr had told me about the night before. There were a few trees near the border of the property which created a secluded spot where we could talk without others eavesdropping.

  I spread the picnic blanket out and placed the basket on top — both of which were from Sylvis. I thought I had imagined it, but the more I thought about it, it sounded like she was jealous she wasn’t invited.

  Finn was the first to arrive, followed by Maverick.

  "What the— I told you I'd come! Why did you invite Finn?!" Maverick looked flabbergasted, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

  "You didn't tell him I was coming?" Finn looked at me. Oops... Did I even remember to tell anyone else...? "Oh no."

  “Oh no what?” Zephyr asked as he arrived, taking a seat underneath one of the trees.

  I could see Aidan approaching us from the manor. He stopped in his tracks and quickly turned around.

  “Oh no…” I heard Finn mumble before he bolted up, chasing after Aidan. I couldn’t hear the two from where I was, but I could see Finn pulling Aidan by the back of his hood as Aidan tried to push him off. A very pissed-off Aidan seemed to finally relent and agree to whatever Finn was saying.

  “You didn’t tell me there would be other people,” Aidan mumbled at me as he sat on the other side of me, away from Maverick. He eyed Maverick suspiciously, causing the latter to stick his tongue out at him. Age really does not beget wisdom.

  “I’m sorry, it completely slipped my mind.” I facepalmed. “Didn’t I say anything about “we”?”

  “I thought that was in the context of us and Marge!” He blushed. Why was he so blushy lately?

  "So, what are we having to eat?" Maverick asked, lying down on the picnic blanket. He wasn’t wearing a jacket for once, but rather a black polo shirt and white shorts. He wasn't bad looking from this angle— What am I saying? Great. Finn was raising his eyebrow at me. Just ignore that last thought!

  I opened the basket and handed everyone their sandwiches. A spicy egg sandwich for Aidan, a veggie sandwich for Finn, a meat sandwich for Maverick, and an apple sandwich for Zephyr.

  “I didn’t know what type of food you liked, so I decided to experiment with a recipe I always wanted to try back home. So uh, tell me how it is,” I said awkwardly. In truth, it was a recipe Iris had come up with — one of the few that actually tasted normal.

  “I just so happen to like fruits.” Zephyr smiled at me. “Malus sandwiches are quite common here.”

  “M-Malus?”

  “Our world’s version of apples,” Finn explained before continuing to happily munch on his sandwich. At least someone was enjoying their meal. Then again… Everyone else seemed to be enjoying theirs too.

  “I see you made yours out of sweet bread.” Zephyr eyed my sandwich.

  “Yeah, it’s something I’ve done ever since I was a kid.” I chuckled. “Peanut butter and jelly always tasted too fruity to me, and I didn’t care for meat or veggie sandwiches either, so I’d make mine with French toast, chocolate, and whipped cream. Though everyone would tell me that’s not a real sandwich…” I narrowed my eyes at the sandwich, wishing it was more accepted.

  “Ah, you have a sweet tooth. It's a sign of innocence.” Zephyr interrupted my thought process.

  “I-Innocence?” I blinked.

  “Meridians born with magic tend to crave food based on certain traits,” Maverick explained. “Sweet foods correlate to innocence.”

  “W-What about spicy foods?!” Aidan eagerly asked.

  “Wisdom,” Zephyr explained.

  “W-Well, that doesn’t sound right…” He eyed his sandwich curiously as if it held the answer to his question.

  “Okay, what about fruit?” I asked, wondering what Zephyr’s was.

  “Empathy.” Finn winked at me.

  “Well, that was as equally boring as it was fitting.” I couldn’t help but be disappointed.

  “Meat is associated with bloodlust,” Zephyr said, more or less changing the subject, shocking both Aidan and me, who instantly turned to Maverick.

  “What?” Maverick looked up from his sandwich unamused.

  “T-That’s a joke, r-right?” The sandwich trembled in Aidan’s hands.

  “No,” Zephyr answered flatly. “It’s the reason meat is never served in the dining hall. Most people don’t crave meat in the slightest upon their magic awakening. Though it has been rumored that Sylvis has been seen enjoying meat.”

  “S-Sylvis?” I sputtered. If I didn’t fear the woman before, I did now.

  “I find it hard to believe nobody craves meat, even just a little,” Maverick said, his mouth full of food. He swallowed his bite before continuing. “Nobody’s perfect. Nobody has completely pure intentions. Surely one rogue thought could result in craving wharrack? Right?”

  “Perhaps you have a point.” Zephyr appeared to be lost in thought.

  “Then what do vegetables mean?” I asked.

  “Normal.” Finn sighed dramatically.

  “Normal?” I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. “Is normal even a trait you can have? Like, how insulting is that?”

  “Very.” Finn looked dejected.

  Zephyr straightened his glasses. “The Goddess Alina was a divine and perfect being, often described as the manifestation of goodness. Such a gentle being would obviously despise destroying life of any kind; thus, she was inherently an herbivore. Many of her descendants were considered to be herbivores as well, especially those who possessed her gift of magic.”

  “Does that include fish?” I couldn’t help but ask.

  Maverick blinked at me. “Why wouldn’t it?”

  “I don’t know! In my world, people are pretty weird about whether or not fish is considered meat. Especially on Fridays.”

  “Y-You have days dedicated to frying stuff?!” Aidan looked both shocked and excited.

  “No, it’s… Ugh!” I smacked my forehead. “Don’t your weekdays have names?!”

  “That seems unnecessary,” Zephyr mused.

  Come to think of it, I don’t remember seeing names at the top of the calendar… And the weeks were spread across ten days.

  "Actually, meat used to be served in the dining hall a couple hundred years ago. That's when we had several people defecting to the Magus of Historia." Maverick looked lost in thought. He had almost finished his sandwich.

  "The what?" I asked, confused.

  "It's another institution," Finn explained. "I'm surprised you haven't heard of it."

  "Basically, anyone with magic who didn't want to follow Sylvis' rules defected there. If it weren't for Sylvis' intervention, they would have already made their existence known to regular citizens. And killed us." Maverick smirked at that last part.

  I shuddered. So there were people with magic who wanted to use it for less-than-ideal purposes. "Are there Ethereals there?" I asked, wondering if there were more Ethereals than just me, Maverick, and Rosalie.

  "Probably not. Sylvis is the only person who can detect Ethereals. So, unless they coincidentally found people with magic who also happened to be Ethereals before Sylvis did, it's unlikely."

  "Is that another reason why Sylvis rushes to invite people to the manor?"

  "I suppose so." He looked like he hadn't considered this possibility before.

  "I remember my first time hearing about them..." Aidan looked down at his now-empty hands. "There are rumors that some of their members stalk us—"

  "Impossible." Maverick shook his head. "Sylvis would know about it and wouldn't allow that."

  "So, we're safe here?" I asked.

  "For now. We've been raided in the past, but Sylvis always manages to push them back."

  "Maybe I would've been safer back on Earth. I mean, what are the chances of them being able to teleport to other worlds?" I wondered aloud. Just another reason for me to get home faster.

  "I wouldn't put anything past them, to be honest." Finn shrugged. "Anyway, why don't we talk about something happier?" He likely realized my and Aidan's concerns.

  I nodded, and the subject was changed.

  We continued talking, Maverick occasionally pulling pranks on Aidan, who seemed scared out of his mind and eventually resorted to hiding behind me, but everyone seemed to get along. I was happy Aidan lasted until the end.

  Maybe staying here a bit longer wouldn't be all bad if I had friends like these.