Lorelei's Second Magi Writing Contest **Closed**

[MageLorelei]

Reminder: This ends today!

[Mathcat]

Just under the wire, as usual. Also, this story is a continuation of sorts to the one I wrote for Enchanteddil's Lost Nurseries giveaway/contest a few years back and has a couple of references to the associated story for that giveaway.


Username: Mathcat

Spoiler

There was definitely something wrong. Ekaira could kick herself for not noticing that sooner, but then again, the spotted jackalope hatchling had seemed fine on the trip back, along with the Arkenian kitsune and the lunar hippogryph. Now that they were back at the Keep, though, the hatchling had become increasingly listless, barely eating and spending most her time sprawled out on the floor.

Given that the jackalope seemed otherwise healthy, Ekaira thought she knew what the matter was. Normally, she would have sought out Larathen's help, but since he was currently away on his travels, she was now standing outside the door of her second choice with an armful of jackalope.

Ekaira shifted Fluffy (not the most creative name, but naming had never been her strong point) to one arm and knocked on the door. To her surprise, Tobran opened the door, looking more focused than he usually did. He looked at her, then at the jackalope, and wordlessly held out his arms. Ekaira gladly handed Fluffy over and then, after a brief apology for the interruption, went inside.

"Something wrong?" asked Rykian, looking up from the stack of papers he'd been organizing.

"Nothing urgent, but it is important, at least for her," Ekaira said, pointing back at Fluffy. "I finally realized - and it took me long enough, I know - that Fluffy only followed me back because she hoped I'd lead her to her previous owner."

Rykian nodded. "I see. And the other two?" he asked, his voice not quite casual. Ekaira's trouble with keeping creatures was certainly no news to him.

"I asked both of them." She gestured down toward her other companion. "Snowy is either demonstrating his loyalty or trying to get me to break my neck by tripping over him. As for Selene, well, I learned why you should never ask a hippogryph that question - while you're within range of her teeth, at least." Selene had known just how much pressure she could exert without breaking the skin, but had still made it clear that if Ekaira had any thoughts of getting rid of her or leaving her behind, she'd need to get used to life with one less hand.

Ekaira could see Rykian relax a little. "Good. Two out of three, plus Spike - that's not unreasonably low for your time at the Keep. I wouldn't worry about that, at least."

"Yes, but what do we do about Fluffy?" The jackalope had settled down in Tobran's arms, but that was clearly only going to be a temporary solution. "She's not acting like she left her previous magi by choice. Is there any way Tobran could talk to her?"

Rykian sighed. "You do realize that Fluffy could have been asleep in that cave for centuries. It's also possible that whatever landed her there killed her magi at the same time. Tobran's nodding - he'll try - but I wouldn't get your hopes up."

"Understood," Ekaira said. "I know it's a long shot, but I need to try. I'd hope someone would do the same for me if it were Spike - or Snowy - looking for help."

Ekaira had seen Tobran shapeshift before, but the process still tended to raise the hairs on the back of her neck, for all that it only took a few seconds. Shapeshifting might not be as prolonged or painful as bad fantasy serial tended to portray it, but it just shouldn't be quite that effortless. He made a very convincing jackalope, too. Small wonder that Tobran rarely spoke and often seemed awkward. Ekaira wondered if he ever forgot what shape he was wearing or what language he should be speaking.

The conversation (largely silent) took less time than Ekaira had expected - just long enough for Rykian to find a large piece of blank paper and a pen. He handed them to Tobran (now back in human form), who quickly wrote down details about not only Fluffy's magi, but also the magi's friends and other companions. Unfortunately, Fluffy had been young enough when she had lived at the Keep that she couldn't give any details that would point to a specific time, nor had she known her magi's human name (as opposed to what Fluffy had called her).

"It's less of an amagnae chase than I had feared, but this still isn't going to be a weekend project," said Rykian, currently making a copy of Tobran's notes. "I keep an updated copy of the death records to show any particularly careless or foolhardy young magi, and I can certainly get access to the official enrollment records. Tobran has just indicated that he'd be glad to help by asking around among the companions and allies." He looked up from his paper. "I applaud your dedication and your willingness to take on this responsibility, but I, as your mentor, say that it would be fine to turn the hunt over to us."

"No," said Ekaira, more loudly than she'd intended. "I mean, yes, of course I want and value your help, but Fluffy came to me. I want to see this through. Besides, I should at least try to show as much dedication as Fluffy has."

Rykian was smiling (and Ekaira thought Tobran was as well). "Good. Then you can find ways to ask people about Fluffy's lost friend without giving away any secrets. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that those maps stayed lost for a reason." Indeed. A lost nursery filled with hatchlings would be a tempting target for the greedy, who wouldn't care that every hatchling had been brought there to escape from some injury or other misfortune.

"I understand," said Ekaira. "Just as long as you don't ask me to talk to any Keep rats. There was an initial misunderstanding - a severe one - and now they want nothing to do with me."

"I'm not on good terms with them myself," said Rykian. "As you well know, I have a tienko companion." That couldn't be the whole story, as lots of people had both tienkos and Keep rats, but now was not the time to ask. "Tobran is, though, fortunately."

After hashing out a few more details, Ekaira collected Fluffy and returned to her room, where she had plenty of time to think about why she hadn't just handed everything over to her mentor or just asked Tobran to tell Fluffy that what she wanted might not be possible. How could a person could Fluffy's previous owner have been, to leave a supposedly beloved hatchling to die? Except...no. Ekaira wasn't being fair. Given a choice between fleeing to safety or staying behind to help a beloved companion and probably dying by its side, she'd choose the former. That wasn't coldness - just practicality. Now, if the magi had died, that would be a different problem, but at least Tobran could then explain that to Fluffy.

There was more to her decision than that, of course. As she had told Rykian, Ekaira could only hope to inspire such loyalty from her companions. Such devotion at least needed to be rewarded with closure, if not a happy ending. Also, she'd had the occasional waking dream - more daydream than premonition, so she'd never troubled Rykian about them - where Spike (and now Snowy) had been desperately searching for her.

The hunt for Fluffy's magi took less time than Ekaira had expected, which made sense, given that she'd been thinking in terms of city census records. Yes, the Keep had been around for centuries, but that still added up to fewer magis than she had thought. That the search had been moving quickly was just as well, as Fluffy, after some initial improvement, had begun to pine again as the weeks wore on.

Ekaira had high hopes for today's candidate - older than Fluffy had remembered, of course, but remembered by other magi as always being partial to jackalopes. The magi happened to be passing back though the area and would be at the Keep for a couple of days, which had given Ekaira the perfect opportunity to not-so-casually cross her path.

Ekaira smiled, hoping that it didn't look too forced. "Sorry to bother you, but I think I have someth-." Before she could finish, Fluffy had launched herself out of Ekaira's arms at the other woman, who luckily had good enough reflexes to catch an unexpected jackalope.

"Fluffy?" the woman asked, sounding tearful. Ekaira slipped away, oddly reassured that the woman was as bad at coming up with names as she was (and had even come up with the same less-than-creative name), before there could be any awkward questions as to how Ekaira had come across Fluffy or, for that matter, why Fluffy was still a hatchling.

[MageLorelei]

This is now closed! Winners will be announced on the 4th of April

[Zeteri]

This is now closed! Winners will be announced on the 4th of April

Ohh!!! Yay can't wait to see who won!! Good Luck to everyone and may the best writer win

[MageLorelei]

Okay, so the winners have been decided, but first some announcements:

• Unfortunately, three entries did not meet the word count, and were disqualified. Still, the entries were very good and you shall receive your participation prize within the week. ****
• Because of the disqualifications, there are not enough entries for all the prizes to be claimed. The final prize, depending on what it is, will be carried over to my next contest or donated to my giveaway shop.
• I will NOT be posting your scores here- if you would like them, please PM me.

***Sorry- because of the event, your gifts might be a little late.

Now, the winners.
In first place, we have... Mathcat!! WOO!
In second place we have... Sourikus!
In third place we have... Snowflakeseal1234!
And in fourth place we have... Applemint!

And thank you all for participating!! HUZZAH!