Hidding secrets

I finish my internal screaming from the jump scare and begin thinking clearer.

I need to get Rufus. She wants to come. I need to hide the fact I'm living with Heather. Lots of people love Heather here since she is one of the elite hunters. Where I... I'm an outsider brought to this world. The last thing I want to do is bring negative attention to the person that rescued me.

Matilda leans forward and whispers, "I know."

"W-what?" I stammer with fear. "What do you know?"

"Let's go outside first." She whispers looking around at the other students. Only 2 were looking at us but 2 was too much for comfort.

We make our way to the class room door. Matilda's cat follows obediently.

"Matilda where do you-" Mrs. Emily gets cut off by Heather.

"Matilda, next time ask me if you can leave class. Both of you go get your project done. Run along, the timer is ticking." She looks at a paper that has burn marks next to all of our names. A few that already put talismans on their animals have longer marks on the paper.

"Thank you." I say back knowing that she dropped the hint it was alright to bring Matilda over.

We make our way outside of the school. My heart is still racing from fear. What does she know?

"You don't have to be scared." Matilda says.

I look back at Matilda. She is still holding onto my wrist lightly.

"I know you live with Ms. Heather. My mother told me one night after a few too many loopy potions." Says Matilda. She tips her head up more with a smile and I can see the fair skinned young girl under the hood. Her hair is dark and curly like her mother's.

My heart still sinks knowing someone else knows my secret. I back up a little from her and she lets go.

"I understand if you don't want to talk about it. Just know I will keep it a secret since I have known for a month already now." 

"I appreciate that." I tell her a little in shock right now.

"Alright now lets get this talisman on your pet. I do not want to clean those monster pens ever again." Matilda lowers her hood again so only her lips see the sun.

●○●○ ‐(^_^)- ○●○●

We are both staring up at the sleeping bat. Matilda got her talisman on Meowgal and has him sunning himself on the livingroom rug.

"Rufus, I just have to put this good luck charm on your head." I tell the sleeping bat.

I gently press the stone to his head and hold it. I try to pull away but the stone comes with. So I keep lightly pressing for what feels like eternity. Soon my arm hurts so I switch arms. Then that one hurts so I switch back.

"Thats interesting." Matilda states.

"I know right? Shouldn't this thing stick already?" I turn my head a little to see her looking at a paper.

"What?" She looks up. "I was looking at everyone else's progress but now that you mention it, that should have fused by now."

Rufus wakes up and tries to sniff and lick what I'm holding to his head. 

"Let me see your stone." Matilda says holding out her hand.

I hold out my hand to her to drop the stone into hers. Rufus glides over to my arm clinging to it. So I help move him so his feet are in my hands while he looks around curiously.

"Oh no." Says Matilda.

"What?"

"This one didn't get a binding spell."

"So can we place a binding spell on it? You know make our lives easier."

"The binding part needs to be placed on it during the enchanting process. Anyone's outside force will break the stone." Matilda sighs.

"I'm sure Heather would skin me if we tried glue." I look at the bat.

"Never use glue." Matilda gets down and starts rubbing Rufus' face. Then with baby talk. "It would rip out your hair."

My armband translator chimes saying I have a message. (It's like one of those fancy computers the rich have but is much smaller to fit on my arm and is ran off mana.)

"It's a message to everyone in class." I mumble.

-Mrs. Emily just informed me one of the stones is faulty and doesn't fuse. You can bring it back and wait two days for a new one OR get extra credit by finishing before the others without it fused. Best of luck!-

"Did it work when I was holding it to him?" I ask trying to bring Matilda back to focus. "You said something about looking at others progress?"

"Yes it did. There are a few like Cellia that haven't started yet. You hoping to get that extra credit? I wonder if I get it too since we are in a group." Matilda starts to wonder. 

"I do need the extra credit since my tests have been... not as high as I would like them to be." I try to be vague. 

"Very well. Soooo," she thinks for a second. "Oh! Lets go see Chelsea's parents. They might be able to make something since they do make familiar armor."

"More people?" I ask.

"It's fine. If they don't already know how will they know by two students walking in off the street? Oh do you have any coin? I have some but not a lot. They don't charge for labor, only materials for school projects." Matilda goes and scoops up Meowgal off the floor. The warm sunbathed cat melts into her arms as she giggles calling him a noodle.

"I have some coin too but not a lot." I say.

"If we are short anything I will put it on my dad's tab." She smiles innocently.

I have a slight bad feeling about this but I really need the extra credit. I grab Rufus' fluffy towel blanket and cocoon him in it for the walk. I hold him just right so Matilda can hold the stone to his head while I feed him more fruit while we walked. 

○●○●    ~(~•~)~   ●○●○

We walk into the armory Heather and I go to often. Shields, swords, spears, armor, throwing knives and a lot more items lined the walls, shelves and counters. And you're typical expensive things were behind the counter. I very fit woman with blue eyes and blonde hair walks out from behind a curtain door. Her body has burn scars on her arms and a few small ones on her face. She has a leather apron on over her green shirt and dark pants.

"Oh Matilda and Hazel!" Aimee says leaning on the counter. "Chelsea didn't say anything about you two being in her group. Wouldn't surprise me if it slipped her mind though with that boy she has in the back."

"Oh. That's because we aren't in her group but we got assigned a stone without a bonding spell. If we pass without getting a different stone we get extra credit. Could you help us?" Matilda asks politely. 

Matilda is still right beside me with her arm on my shoulder. Meowgal is crawling through low lying shelves behind us.

"Oh sure!" Aimee leans over the counter to rub Rufus' cheek. "Long time no see Rufus. You've gotten bigger."

Rufus smacks happily on a banana slice.

"I, um, I." I'm stuttering.

Matilda leans over toward Aimee and whispers loudly with her hand blocking my view of her mouth. "She gets nervous when people find out Heather is her mentor so keep it on the down low."

Aimee laughs a deep laugh then dries a tear. "Oh girl come on back." She laughs some more. "Client confidentiality is this blacksmith's policy."

We follow her into the back where there is a forge, anvils, water basins, pieces of leather, heaps of metal and rocks. At a table sits Chelsea with her dog laying under the table peeking up at us. She is watching Cloud fight James by tucking and rolling away from him.

"Oh yea!" Screams the parrot. It flings the stone off its head with a toe. "I'm the best!"

"Cloud we need this good luck stone on you!" James is trying not to show the anger in him but all I see his a player trying to impress a girl. 

"Show the lady's these muscles." Squaks Cloud with another roll.

"Is all you do at home, flex infront of the mirror while trying to boost your ego with pep talk? Actually nevermind, I really don't want that answer." I say holding up my hand with a deadpan face.

Aimee is holding back a snicker, Chelsea and Matilda are shocked, James also looks shocked but more embarrassed, Rufus happily moves onto a strawberry piece and me? I'm trying to figure out why I said that out loud.