All the lectures for the day were now behind Hannah. The sun had long since entered it's tired descent towards the horizon. There was still some light left in the day and life to the academy.

It wasn't unusual to see apprentices continuing their practice on the fields well into twilight. Being social creatures, those that hung around did so in group.

With our last shady meeting behind the office building hopefully over, there was now one last thing to do at the Triolo. Well, two. I had not forgotten Hannah's promise to visit Linth in return for using my ears.

This old office building was as quite as ever. Remembering the harsh comments given by the Nurse this morning, Hannah gave a hesitant knock on the door before entering. The Nurse, despite his unenthusiastic attitude, was still present at the office despite there being nobody to care for.

She opened the door, catching the Nurse by surprise who was just making for the door himself.

“You again?” The Nurse wore a mixture of exhaustion and fear whenever he saw Hannah.

“Yeah, is uh... Killian still here?”

“No.” The empty bed behind the Nurse confirmed this. “You know it's not normal for people to spend that much time in the Nurse's office, right?”

Hannah furrowed her brows. “Well yeah, but you usually keep me here for ages whenever I'm hurt so I always thought you were a just strict.”

I would have reasoned in Hannah's case, severely roasted arms warranted just a tiny bit more attention than a head injury. Although situationally, a head injury probably was more pressing.

“You even threatened to keep me here over the weekend.” Hannah pointed out. “And concussions can be pretty serious. Any head injury can be so it'd make sense to keep him around for a while longer.”

The Nurse nodded. “Yes, you sure are right there. Too bad our good friend didn't seem to care.”

“Killian walked out?” An impressive feat considering that the heady injury was just the most obvious injury on him. I found it hard to believe that he would have been able to conceal the limp he walked with.

The Nurse nodded, frustration clear on his face. “It's not the first time either. He'll be back in a week in some beat up shape. Anyway, can I go leave now?”

“There's actually something else I wanted to ask.” Hannah placed herself in the Nurse's way, staring the older man down.

Great, another change of plans. And here I held hope we would just cut this visit short early and head straight to Linth. Just what sort of tangent was she going to go on now?

“Too bad.” The Nurse looked unbothered. It was difficult to tell but beneath that white coat of his, he was quite well built for a Nurse. I couldn't have imagine this was his first job.

However as unsociable and hostile as he appeared to be, he didn't seem dangerous. The sarcastic air and cold glares he handed everyone were probably just that. If he really wanted to hurt people, he probably wouldn't be a Nurse.

“I get that you hate sight of me, but could I ask a favour?” Hannah didn't budge from her spot, which made it very awkward for the Nurse trying to pass by. “Otherwise I'll set my cat on you.” I wasn't entirely against pestering the Nurse.

“I will kick you and your cat into outer orbit if you're not careful.” I was now entirely against being anywhere near the Nurse ever again. “Is this going to take long?”

I couldn't think of anything off the top of my head that the Nurse could do for Hannah. Was she going to ask for more painkillers? If her arms were in pain, she'd done a good job at hiding it.

“It might.” Hannah shrugged. “Depends whether you answer a yes-no question with a yes or a no.”

“No. Are we done now?” The Nurse deadpanned.

Hannah made a face like she'd sucked on a sour lemon. “So we'll be here for hours then? That's fine with me. I'm told I have will of steel.” Hannah chimed primly.

“Steel melts and we'll see how your determination holds up after I hang you by your legs over a fire.” The Nurse's eyes twitched as lips turned into a strained threatening grin. It was shocking considering their love for making threats of physical violence that these two didn't get along better. “Fine. Come in my most esteemed guest of the hour and take a seat.” The Nurse sighed sarcastic and stepped out of the way.

The Nurse went back to his desk whilst Hannah sat on the nearest spare bedside chair. I lingered in the doorway, half expecting the Nurse to make a break for it. Instead the gaunt fellow tapped his fingers tiredly on the surface of his desk.

And then there was a stand-off of sorts. The two glared at eachother through the silence. Hannah looked as though she were trying to read his mind with her eyes.

“Are you going to ask me any time soon or do I have enough time to finish reading this book I started?” The Nurse didn't quite shift uncomfortably but he was now looking towards the tantalisingly unobstructed exit.

Hannah cleared her throat. “Well, this is a little on the spot. Do you mind, maybe, just maybe, going a little easier next test so I don't lost AN ENTIRE WEEKEND.”

Ah, yeah that made sense. In fact it made more than sense that this was what she asked for considering how peaceful her last weekend was.

With a lot of gesturing and barely held back frustration and anger she embarked on a long rant. “Do you have any idea how hard it is when you throw up everything you eat and drink for three entire days?! I go through an entire pantry looking for just one thing I can chew without regretting it. My head feels light and I can barely move for long periods of time. It goes on for so long it makes me feel pitiful and weak. And when I fall to the floor, I ask myself, why get up when it'll happen again next weekend? What are you trying to do? What have you found out? Do you really even need me for this? I have to practice and study my magic. It's the entire point of this deal. I drag myself back up but I barely have enough focus through the pain to do anything. You and Mather look at me like utter garbage. It's humiliating to come back to dickeheads like you two-”

“Dickheads?” The Nurse frowned. He kept his expression skilfully neutral, a sight that would have been dissuading if Hannah was looking him in the eye.

“-Oh yeah Mr I-can't-stand-the-sight-of-you. Oh I'm sorry to bother you mister high and mighty who has so much better to do with your life. Bet you don't even feel a shred of responsibility over the time you steal. You passionless piece of human garbage.” Despite the content of her words, Hannah, perhaps encouraged by the Nurse's expression, spoke with as much calm and composure as she could manage.

The Nurse, who really wasn't doing himself any favour by doing this, interjected again. “Nobody would be happy to see a student roll up at their door with charred limbs.”

“Yeah well I wasn't happy either! Maybe if I had those weekends, just maybe I'd have time to revise and research ways to get better at magic. I'm trying my hardest from rock bottom. I don't expect you to understand, you've never had an image of yourself you believe in so much it has to come true. If I can't study magic, it isn't just me I'm letting down, it's the very blood in my veins. This is everything to me but instead of helpful tests to cure my condition, you shove poison down my throat and write notes when the obvious happens.”

Week after week, month after month, I suspected this would happen. So liberating was having a weekend to herself again, to lose them right away would be the absolute worst. Worse than charring her arms.

I was surprised. I'd expected, even hoped, not to be there when the snap happened. Here I had been at her side almost the entire time trying not to get involved. Not involved in my caretaker's personal problem. It felt like I could blank out an eternity with this curse. But that wasn't the same for everyone else around me.

Hannah met the Nurse's eyes and earnestly asked, “Are the tests really just about killing me?”

The expression on the Nurse's face froze. He opened his mouth as though to say something, but paused before finally. “Very well.” He answered. “I'll do what I can.”

For all that Hannah had said, to be given such a short and ambiguous reply momentarily caught her off guard.

“Insults aside, you should be expected to have breaks. Not just one-off days under exceptional circumstance. I'll discuss it with Mather.” The Nurse actually agreed. I wondered whether he really meant it but a moment later he asked, “Is there anything else I can do to help?”

“Anything else?” The question came out of somewhere unexpected. So much so that it was difficult to assess it's sincerity when the person asking spoke with such a calm tone. Hannah hesitated for only a moment. “Everytime I come in here you look like you're about to dissect my cat. Stop that. Now.”

The Nurse clicked his tongue in frustration and turned his cheek with a grimace like a child. “Fine. Anything else?”

Wait what? Really?!

“Could you not look at me like I'm what my cat dragged in?”

“It's hard to tell sometimes with the condition you show up.” None the less, I objected as well since I was usually the one being dragged around. “But fine, I'll try to be less hostile. It's a bad habit anyway.” He seemed genuinely in pain at the idea of changing his attitude but otherwise conceded with no more protests or complaints.

The ease with which he answered was surprising to both me and Hannah. He simply sat there, calmly listening and asking that same question over and over. It took the momentum out of Hannah's snap almost completely.

It felt like he had prepared for this moment far more than Hannah. Fair enough, for Hannah this seemed a spur of the moment thing, but this should have been a surprise for the Nurse as well. Unless of course, he had common sense. Wouldn't anyone be able to predict the stress being placed on Hannah, let alone the Nurse who was a part of the tests?

“Anything else?”

Hannah, like me was somewhat put-off by the Nurse's all to easy and calm compliance. Once more staring at the Nurse in an attempt to psyche him out, she came to the two conclusions. “You're either lying about all of this-”

“An understandable conclusion to draw.”

“-Or you, the most hostile Nurse I know, feel guilty.” Hannah furrowed her brows in disgust at the thought. “Who are you and what have you done with the real Nurse?”

Ever so slightly, the corners of the Nurse's lips lifted for a brief moment. “I am, quote, 'a passionless human piece of garbage', yes? Well I suppose you're close to the truth. Mather probably looks like the brain of this experiment, doesn't he? That guy is a piece of work. Pushing for the most harmful methods like that as though it was common sense that they bring the fastest and best results. It's no wonder he is a washed up scholar on the road to nowhere.” The Nurse mused, twirling a pen in his fingers. “Your deal with Mather is that in exchange for your participation in the tests, Mather acts as your patron of sort and you get into the academy on a recommendation. Those were good terms you negotiated.”

It was probably difficult to accept that compliment given the last ten minutes. “I know people with my condition are rare.” I had been under Hannah's care for about twelve years and she'd been quite secretive about deal, including when she was negotiating it.

“Right, you have something called Spellnull syndrome. It's name is a bit misleading but it was coined before the discovery that some people with the syndrome could still use physical patents. It's got some hereditary links but you'd be hardpressed to figure out which side of the family this came from.”

“My dad's probably.”

“Yes, when in doubt blame dad. Anyway, it seems fairly rare but considering how many people can invest their time to study magic in this society, the estimate of the number of people who have it is around five percent or so. To most, it's nothing devastating. But for noble families, this can have a direct influence on succession so they pay through their noses to find a way to treat it. Nobody knows how to do it successfully.” So it was a lucrative field of study if someone could just make a breakthrough.

Hannah listened patiently but she knew all of this from her own personal study. “Getting involved in trials seemed like the best way to get cured if that's even possible.”

“Right, don't get your hopes up though. Mather is new to this field, he relies on me who has been researching this for a long time.” It was beginning to look like Mather wasn't the brain of the trials at all. “My current situation is rather... interesting.” A hint of bitterness seeped into the Nurse's voice. As to be expected from someone without a medical licence trying to run legitimate trials. “I struck a deal with Mather, similar to yours, but I didn't realise how much of a bastard he was. Sorry, it's unfortunate that I came to him first. This could have been avoided if I got to know him better first. On paper, he's in charge of the tests, and he uses my own unique position to strongarm me into taking the tests in directions I don't agree with.”

“What do you mean?” Hannah rightly had a few bones to pick with this. “So you don't have a medical licence? How did you get this job then?!”

“I lied.” The Nurse dead panned. “I was told to lie actually. I have all the experience so the heaadmaster didn't want to lose me. I think they hoped I'd become a professor in some medical field one day. My problem isn't that I don't have the licence, it's how I lost it. I'm not going to go into that though.” A familiar unsociable air returned for a moment but with a wince and a sigh he forced it back.

The Nurse definitely possessed quite a few skills up his sleeve as well as some length of medical knowledge. Enough to make the title of Nurse seem quite inappropriate. So the headmaster knew he didn't have a licence, but told him to lie anyway. He joined the academy, met Mather, and the tests were born from that meeting.

Although more than likely the Nurse had been looking for people to hide his experiments behind for quite a while. If only he'd picked someone a little better. Then again, better people probably didn't want the risk. If the Nurse was reported running these tests, it'd probably be pretty bad for him and the person who was hiding him.

“I'd like to apologise again, I knew the pain you were going through. I will try again to talk to Mather but this time I will be a lot more forceful.” I still didn't know whether to trust the Nurse or not. I mean, he did lose his medical licence. “We're both stuck in a nasty deal with Mather, however it's mostly my fault.”

“I have just one more question.” Hannah raised her hand. “Who are you really?” We didn't even know his name. Everyone simply called him 'The Nurse'. Nobody had ever spotted him outside the Triolo, nobody had ever spotted him outside that long white coat of his, which admittedly doctors, not Nurses, would wear. “This is really not how I expected this to go, you know?”

“I'm ex-military.” He answered calmly. “Even the best laid plans rarely survive first contact with the enemy.”

“I thought you said you hated the sight of me, but you're being so helpful.” It certainly wasn't consistent of someone so mean was so willing to be kind all in the same day.

“I hate the sight of everyone, try not to take it personally. I'm just trying to take a little responsibility here and there. However, come in again with charred arms and you'll have to fix them yourself. I'm not covering for idiots.” Ah yes, that was far more like the Nurse. “Listen, the objective is something you should fight for, yes, but running away is better than dying. Don't throw yourself into a grinder, even if believe you absolutely have to. Because either decision you'll come to regret so just make sure you make the decision that leaves you intact.”

This felt like something I'd been trying to tell Hannah for ages. Run away. Nobody had to give up on their dreams, but they didn't have to force horrible experiences on themselves to make them come true either. It was stupid to believe that with pain came gain.

“Now are we done?” The Nurse asked. “I have somewhere I need to be.”

Hannah looked like she was having trouble finding anything to say. “Yeah no, we're done I think. Wow. You're actually not a dick.”

The Nurse rolled his eyes. “If we're done why are you still here? You know I can't lock the door with you still inside? Shoo, shoo, go away, me no like you.” He tried to wave Hannah out the door. Just as she reached the door he spoke again. “Oh and Hannah, I don't keep grinders here, it doesn't help people rest.”

“Right.”

As per Hannah's promise, we visited Linth's den. The erudite daughter to the headmaster had probably kept her nose in a book since the moment she woke up. Perhaps that was the first time besides possibly visiting the canteen for food, she'd had human interaction that day.

It really did feel like this den was a port in a storm. A safe harbour. I was curious about what Linth's reaction would be if she found out I could speak. She didn't seem to mind that I was a black cat so there may be hope that she wouldn't mind that either.

But to reveal myself now would probably raise an eyebrow at the least. Once Linth knew the cat was not a cat, but actually another person, she'd probably retreat from the world even further with a new intense set of trust issues.

Yeah, even if there was no danger to myself, it was probably not a good idea to scar Linth.

Rumours of Mather continued into the next day and for a while after. He didn't stop hanging around Riker's office, which only exacerbated people's suspicion.

Perhaps if I had lifted my head once or twice, I'd have heard even more rumours concerning Killian and Mather. But that was yesterdays job and it probably wouldn't be too good for other students to spread rumours around how my ears were creepily following the conversation around the room.

Hannah had another meeting with Jean. Checking up on Hannah seemed more of a priority than ever and spot-checks on the scrolls she carried around was probably going to start to feel like a regular occurrence.

And through it all, there wasn't a sight or whisper of Riker in the Triolo. She was well and truly gone.

After lunch, Hannah got curious and decided to visit the practice field.

There playing the same game as before, were two teams of apprentices in protective gear. Enviable would be the last word I used to describe their position. Running around a field on a sunny day in protective gear, shouting at one another. It was exhausting just to watch.

And receiving far more attacks than any other player was Killian. He had a tense smile on his face. Most teams looked to be divided in pairs or trios. That way they could defend against the ball being propelled their way by magic much easier. In Killian's case he was front, centre, and alone.

He was the very tip of the arrowhead formation his team was in. And so he would natturally absorb more attacks. It looked like his own team were presenting Killian as a sort of offering.

And then the ball came his way once more. The sweat drenched boy stood his ground and extended out his hands. He didn't try to dodge. Despite it's considerable initial speed, the ball slowed down as though it were trying to force its way through a wall of water.

By the time it reached Killian, it landed safely in his hands.

“Redcrow, you're out!” The professor called. Touching the ball wasn't allowed.

What the hell was that? If he could slow the ball down like that he could have easily moved out of the way.

After walking off the pitch he stood apart from the game still raging on. Spotting the witch and her black cat, he paused for a moment, probably to consider whether he wanted to talk to us or not before shrugging away his doubts.

The only sign of any injuries was a slight limp in his left leg.

“Yo.” He waved to Hannah. “What brings you here? Does the witch have a crush on one of the players and is secretly watching afar?” He laughed as he patronised the one person he really shouldn't.

It was a good thing he was saying this from the other side of a fence otherwise he'd have needed knew shins after Hannah was done with him. “Funny.” She deadpanned. “I can tell you're a really popular guy.”

“Ouch.” Killian winced. “Yeah that's on me. Not the best opener.”

“How did you slow the ball down?” It was like her to be curious about the inner workings of magic. It never ended in a satisfying answer, but any question might hold a valuable nugget of information for the future.

“I slowed it down with magic, duh.” That was beyond an unsatisfying answer. That was an answer that dipped into furious territory. “Man if looks could kill.”

“You have a funny way of saying thank you to the person who took you to the Nurse's office.” Like steam building up in a kettle, seething frustration was building up beneath Hannah's words.

“Yeah you definitely helped me out back there.” Judging by his expression, it wasn't a happy memory he was recalling. “Not my proudest moment.”

Sensing an opportunity to drive a nail into the kid, Hannah grinned. “It was honestly kind of funny. I really loved the bit where you called me 'mum' and asked me to wake you up in another ten minutes.”

“Haha, now I know you're lying because my mum refused to even look at me for my entire childhood!” Every word that fell out of his mouth confused me. It was incredibly off putting. What was this nonsensical mess of a creature on legs? “Well jokes aside, do you really want to know what I did back there? It was nothing special.”

“Maybe to you.”

Killian sighed. “Well fine. I compressed the air in front of me, so it naturally slowed down.”

“You didn't force it back?”

“What good with that be? That ball was being moved by the combined power of three frontrow shooters. It'd be too much work to wrestle the ball from their control.” Killian stated matter-of-factly. “Because the efficacy of control degrades with range, the air was densest infront of me, whilst their attack was at its weakest. Being a bit of a dick, I decided to taunt them by catching that shot which was clearly meant to knock me on my arse.”

“I see. Do you think you could do that on a physical patent?”

“Uhhh...” Killian seemed to real at the odd question but shrugged. “Probably? I don't do physical patents myself but I wouldn't expect it to be impossible. Complex, sure, but not impossible.”

Complex was the key word here. Nothing Hannah could do with her scrolls could be too complex. There was, after all, limited space on the scroll for design.

“Wouldn't you rather I just teach you how to do it, if you're studying magic that is. Which I assume you do because, ya'know, you're the great witch of the Triolo. Can I pet your cat by the way? I could totally use that as bragging rights.” The boy trailed off on a tangent which I was nonplussed with.

Who did this brat think he was? He didn't even have permission to speak to me let alone touch me. The thought of him running his hands across my fur sent shivers of revulsion down my spine. I could picture him with a content look on his face, taking advantage of my cursed form.

No, he did not have permission. I would not allow it.

Hannah threw a glance down at me and sighed. “No, don't touch my cat. If he didn't kill you, I probably would.”

“Hmm, I'm probably being a bit too forward for a stranger. Sorry.” Killian scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “My name is Killian Redcrow. You seem a bit aloof from the rest of us so I'm guessing you don't know much about me.”

“The would be most hated person at the academy at the moment if it weren't for Mather.”

“Wow, very harsh. Probably very true as well. Honestly, didn't expect you to know.”

One corner of Hannah's lips lifted to form a sly smile. “I didn't, but nothing escapes the ears of my cat.”

“Well those rumours we take for jokes are looking more true by the second. Not gonna lie, I'm a little nervous right now.” Killian Redcrow probably had no clue how much of that was a bluff.

“My name's Hannah. Try not to get yourself beaten up again, okay?”

“Oh my, is this concern from a witch.” Killian steadily walked his way closer to the grave with every joke.

“Die.” Hannah deadpanned.

“Redcrow, you're back on.” The professor called from the other side of the field.

Killian was being called back not a second too soon. “Well bye then. I'll probably see you around.”

Hannah sighed with relief the moment his back was turned and he was back on the field. A sentiment I could fully understand.

This whole encounter threw doubt on why this guy was beat up in the first place. For his personal beliefs? No, not a chance. This guy was just a straight up idiot.