I got carried away. The sand in my hands drew the details ever sharper and darker. The Blue and Golden bears on the screen began to fight furiously over the last puddle of chocolate, baring their teeth at each other. But the Black bear suddenly froze, looking at his paws in horror.
"Oh no!" he cried out. "We are becoming wooden! We are turning into toys! We need to leave imdiately!"
But the Golden and Blue bears didn't even turn around. They rely glared maliciously at their friend:
"You're just jealous! It's good here, everything is here... You're the one who doesn't belong!"
And they... they simply threw the Black bear out of their "paradise" right into the cold maw of the ocean. On the screen, the Black bear could be seen swimming, lonely and abandoned, while sand tears rolled from his eyes. At that mont, I heard soone among the kids in the class start to sob as well.
Well, seems the fairy tale took a wrong turn, I thought belatedly, but I couldn't stop now.
The Black bear swam for a long ti until he reached a distant island. There, an ancient elder t him. The bear told him about the Turtle and the chocolate, and the old man rely clicked his teeth ominously:
"That Turtle shows a temporary paradise to digest those inside..."
I showed the Black bear walking up to a tree on the island and seeing tufts of familiar fur on the branches—golden and blue.
"And that's the end of the fairy tale!" I announced cheerfully, scattering the sand. "Well, how did you like it? Cool, right? Especially the special effects!"
A heavy, ringing silence hung in the room. And then a real flood began. Half the group simply broke into sobs.
"Ah... Uhh..." I jumped up, grabbing my head. "Hey, don't cry! What's wrong with you guys?! It's just sand!"
I began to dart around the room in a panic, trying to calm them down, but it only got worse. At so point, I simply couldn't take it anymore, took a running start, and... ran up the wall right onto the ceiling.
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Hovering there upside down, I began to calmly pace above the tops of their heads, looking at the world in an inverted perspective. The children instantly fell silent. Tears froze on their cheeks, their mouths hung open. They might have seen plenty of magic, but for a teacher to walk on the ceiling with such an unbothered look—that was new.
"There we go," I clasped my hands behind my back, stepping rhythmically above the chandelier. "That's better. And now listen: the Black bear actually ca back later and saved everyone. Probably. I just forgot to tell the second part..."
I simply snapped my fingers, and the gravity in the room obediently dissolved. The children floated up into the air like a school of colorful fish in an aquarium, and began to "swim" through the space in absolute delight. I, on the other hand, simply flopped onto my side right in the air and closed my eyes, waiting for all this to finally end.
Aurora, having watched up to this point, silently turned around and left. Apparently, my pedagogical thods didn't fit into her coordinate system at all.
Half an hour later, the door finally opened, and a young ssenger boy peeked into the hall.
"Lessons are over!" he proclaid, glancing fearfully at the children hovering under the ceiling.
"WOOHOO!" I shouted, nearly forgetting about safety protocols.
I sharply released the gravity, and the children began to fall, but I caught myself in ti: "turned on" the field again, and then smoothly, centiter by centiter, landed them all on the floor.
"Alright, shoo! Everyone out of here!" I commanded, waving my hand toward the exit.
"See you later, Uncle Red!" they shouted in chorus, running out into the corridor.
I followed them out, feeling as if every last drop of my ntal capacity had been drained from . Children are a terrifying force. They drain energy more efficiently than any curse.
On the way to my room, I bumped into Alastia. Seeing my rumpled state, she smiled understandingly and stepped closer. I couldn't find anything better to do than simply fall into her arms.
"Oh no, I'm done, I'm tired..." I groaned theatrically, cracking open one scarlet eye. "Will you carry
to my room, Lady Archmage?"
I smiled widely, hoping for a well-deserved rest. But Alastia had other plans.
"First, let's drop by the large training hall," she began, not letting go of . "I want to show the students a master class. You will face
in a combat magic duel."
"Oh no... I have absolutely no strength left," I tried to feign fainting.
She began to softly stroke my hair, and then suddenly let hers down—thick strands fell right onto my face, cutting off the rest of the world. I carefully pushed them aside with my hand and t her gaze.
"Please, Zenhald..." she asked quietly, with so special hope in her voice.
I stretched sweetly, feeling how, under her gaze, the exhaustion began to recede little by little, replaced by the familiar thrill of the "red cycle."
"Alright, fine," I gave in. "Since you want it so much... Just dibs, dibs on going easy on !"
She understood everything without words. Easily, as if I weighed nothing, Alastia scooped
up and carried
toward the training halls.
"Oh, thanks," I mumbled, settling in more comfortably.
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