The night was dark and stormy. The wind howled through the pines and around the steeples of a deep purple mansion, in which a young girl and her family lived. Beyond that were the woods and mountains, and in a certain mountain cave lived an aged wizard and his apprentice, Jay.

Jay was a young, black-haired lad with striking golden eyes. Atop his shoulder stood his familiar, a green quetzal named Agnes. The wizard stood beside them, his Irish wolfhound familiar standing watch at his heel.

The group watched as a horde of warplanes flew overhead, dropping bombs on the city. The wizard was weary. "All the guardians of the city had fled, away. I cannot protect the city alone. I am afraid I can do nothing but wait until the war is over." He took a deep, rattling breath, then sighed. "Jay, practice well on your magic. Perhaps, when you are older, you too will become a guardian of the city. But for now... all is lost."

An brain-rattling boom shook the ground, and a good-sized orange-red explosion erupted from the city.

"It looks like that old mansion was hit!" Jay cried. Agnes squawked in alarm.

The wizard only shook his old head sadly and went back to the depths of the cave.

"I must go, Damien!" Jay shouted to the old magician. "I can't leave them to die!" He ran to the edge of the cliff, his familiar soaring along next to him. Jay took a deep breath, then jumped off the edge.

Ruby slowly crawled out of the basement bomb shelter and looked around in horror, everything was gone... Her parents had sent her to the bomb shelter then ran to get her brother. The servants had gone after them, telling them to seek shelter and that they'd get her younger brother River. That's when the bomb had struck, her house was totally obliterated. Nothing but rubble left. Tears welled in her eyes and she slowly walked away from the destruction into the eerie silence that followed a bombing, she could hear the hushed crying of families lost in the distance but it all seemed to be drowned out by some strong wind blowing about inside her brain.

They were gone. Everyone was gone... she was alone... what could she do now...?

Before she could even think of an answer a couple of firm hands grabbed her arms and dragged her down an alley as she screamed.

Jay chanted a spell as he fell, resulting in him soaring towards the city. He literally landed on the ground running. The mansion had been destroyed, and a giant fire blazed over the remains. Agnes the quetzal flew ahead, her sharp eyes taking in everything. Suddenly, a scream pierced the silence, and they heard the sound of running feet. Agnes soon spotted them, however: "There! Behind that ruined house!"

The two rushed forth, Jay running at top speed, and Agnes swiftly flying.

------

The boy who had grabbed Ruby roughly pulled her arm, dragging her along. His buddies laughed, and one of them grabbed her other arm. Suddenly, a grey mist settled around them. Nobody could see anything, anywhere, not even the people beside them. The two boys holding Ruby were electrocuted with two strong sparks, and they fell to the ground with a thump. The other boys felt around, looking for eachother.

------

Jay concentrated on the spell, making the boys walk in circles in the same spot. Sitting on Jay's shoulder, Agnes flipped her electric green tail, sending a light-emitting globule of green flame bouncing over to Ruby, to guide her towards Jay and Agnes.

Ruby looked around fearfully as the dark mist settled over them and she felt the boys that had grabbed her spasm and let her go, followed by the sound of a couple thumps as their bodies hit the ground. She looked around fearfully. What happened? Was it a murderer? Would they get her too?

She soon saw a strange green light through the grey mist and she stared at it for a moment, something about it felt... safe... Carefully feeling around her in the blinding grey mist she made her way over to the light. "H-Hello...?"

Jay and Agnes stepped forward, letting their faces be illuminated by the green light. Jay put a finger to his lips. "Be silent," he whispered. "Now, take my hand. We must be off." He held out his hand to her, while Agnes the quetzal kept the grey mist spell steady.

Hurry, Agnes mind-linked Jay, I can't keep this up much longer!

Ruby looked at the boy cautiously, obviously nervous but she could hear the groans of the boys behind her as they slowly came to consciousness so she nodded and took the strange boy's hand. Must be a wizard. She thought, she knew that they weren't exactly plentiful but they still existed in and around this destroyed town.

Jay smiled at girl, as she took his outstretched hand. She was beautiful, the most pretty girl he had ever seen. He formed a levitating spell in his head, distracting his mind away from her.

"We're going to fly, okay?" Jay said, wanting to warn the girl before he suddenly levitated.

Agnes chirped, fluttering around overhead.

Jay gripped the girl's hand and chanted the spell. Slowly, the two rose into the air. When they were high enough, Jay leaned forward, now chanting a slightly different spell, the soaring spell.

They flew through the air a bit, around the peaks of mountains above the trees. Finally they came to the edge of the cliff in front of Damien the Wizard's cave.

Jay was exhausted, but he managed to land his female partner safely on the rock. He stopped chanting, and collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily. He slowly got to his feet, ruffling his black hair. The green quetzal landed on a small boulder, and began to preen.

"I'm sorry," Jay stammered, unsure what to say. "Right now, well, magic takes a lot out of me. But I couldn't let you die." He looked at the girl, realizing he had forgotten her name. "I'm Jay. The green bird over there is my familiar, Agnes. What's your name?"

Ruby's eyes widened and she gripped the strange boy's hand tighter as she was lifted into the air, she stared around fearfully as they flew and when they touched the ground she quickly released his hand. She looked at the boy... Jay as he said his name was, and nodded softly. "I-I'm... Ruby..." She said uncertainly then looked around. "W-Where are we...?"

Jay smiled. "Hello Ruby. This is the Third Cave, the lair of Damien the Wizard. I am one of his apprentices, and currently the only one in residence." He closed his eyes for a moment in concentration. Then he opened his eyes, revealing vibrant golden orbs of light. "I have arranged for you to stay here."

"Welcome, Ruby," Agnes spoke clearly. The bird seemed to be smiling.

Jay beckoned to Ruby. "Come, let us enter the cave."

Ruby stood still looking after him uncertainly. "I don't understand... who are you? How do you know me...? Why are you... helping me...?"

Jay took in a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. "I am Jay, a young magician. I know you, well, because the wizards all know your family. I-I am helping you... well..."

Agnes cocked her pretty green head.

The boy looked at his feet, uncertain. "... well.... uh... because...?" He trailed off, looking into Ruby's eyes.

Ruby looked back at the boy, her eyes probing and questioning. "Well... if you can't answer that why do all wizards know about my family?" The boy was very handsome, his eyes almost sparkled like the magic he possessed. His hair looked soft to the touch and his skin was free of acne, maybe magic made him so beautiful.

"Uhhh...." Jay was unsure of how to answer. "I dunno. Maybe it's because your family is the richest in the city of Svalbard?"

Agnes stifled a birdlike laugh.

Ruby nodded slowly and looked down as she walked into the cave passed him. "Was..." She corrected.

Jay took a deep breath, nodded, then said, "Right. In the cave we go." He motioned to Agnes, and she summoned her ball of green flame. She then flew to Jay's shoulder.

As they walked into the cave entrance, which was a bit narrow but not uncomfortably so, the green light illuminated the passageway's walls, which were covered in curious writing.

Gesturing to the walls, Jay spoke: "This, all this odd writing, are runes. Runes are the language of the magicians, and they spell out magic spells. It is very hard to learn rune-writing, as it is such a complex language; I, for one, know how to spell only a couple protection spells."

Ruby nodded silently, looking around, her eyes dull in the green illumination.

Jay's golden eyes glistened as he walked down the tunnel. Then, suddenly, they came out into a rather large welcoming room. There were many tunnels, leading off in different directions. The walls were plain, but the ceiling mimicked the sky. The floor looked like ice, and was as cold. In the middle, cradling a constantly blue, swirling sphere, was Damien the Wizard. He was cloaked in dark blue, his white beard tumbling down his chest. His Irish wolfhound stood at his side, ready.

Jay took a deep breath, then stepped forward and bowed deeply. Standing up, he said, "Master Damien, this is Ruby. I hope she can live with us for a while?" Perhaps learn the art of magic, Jay hoped in his head. Agnes pecked his ear.

"Well, she will be safe, but unless she wants an apprenticeship, she can only stay for a night," Damien intoned. "Until she decides what she wants, she must stay in the... well, let's call it the guestroom." He looked at Ruby. "Understand?"

Ruby looked at the man nervously and nodded softly. "U-Understood..." She said quietly, wondering what this supposed 'guestroom' was like.

Damien nodded. "Very well. Jay..." He looked sternly at his apprentice. "You will NOT mess up this time, will you?" It was not a question.

Jay bowed his head. "No. No, I won't."

"A simple binding rune will do just fine."

Jay nodded, then motioned to Ruby. "Come with me." He then went down a series of hallways, to a circular room. He dug around in his pocket, and produced a Sharpie. "Come here." He gestured to a spot right in front of him. "Don't ask any questions, just come." Jay's expression was pained.

Ruby looked at Jay curiously but was afraid for both of them of the strange man with the white beard so she slowly walked to the spot and looked at him, her eyes scared and haunted.

"I won't hurt you, I'm not mean enough to do that. I'm just going to write on you." Jay took the Sharpie, and took Ruby's hand.

"Do not be afraid," Agnes, perched on a lamp, told Ruby.

Jay carefully wrote a few runes on Ruby's hand. This would give her fire protection, but she would be unable to leave the room. He then rubbed a solution over the runes, assuring that the marks would stay on for 24 hours. "Stay here," he told Ruby, then backed out the door. He chanted a fire spell, and fire spread over the open doorway, filling the space. Agnes tipped her bill to Ruby and flew out through the flames.

"Decide," Jay called to Ruby. "Do you want to become a witch, or stay normal and family-less? You have all night to decide." Then he regretfully left the girl to her own thoughts.

(should we jump to the morning?)

Ruby stared after the boy through the flames and looked around the strange room, there was nothing in there and the only light in it came from the flames that kept her in. She slowly sat on the ground and thought.

To think that so much had happened in one day. She lost her entire life and was now practically being held prisoner in some weird cave filled with wizards, being told she needed to decide by morning whether she wanted to become some witch and be an outcast from society, or be cast out from any possible home and live on the streets. She sighed.

On one hand, what did she have left to lose? Her identity? Her family took that with them when the bomb fell. She had nothing now, absolutely nothing. And this could be the only chance she got for a home.

On the other hand, that old man seemed really scary and strict. She doubted he'd understand the need for 'reconciliation time' or 'the need to mourn.' There was no doubt she was going to be trained hard and probably not fit in well being an outsider who's so far behind training. Those two seemed to have a special bond, Jay's probably been here for years. It would probably feel awkward to just waltz in and take a seat in their lives.

Ruby shook her head, clearing it of unnecessary thoughts, she knew her decision. She couldn't back out of it with tedious worries. She curled up on the ground and slowly fell into a restless sleep.

(Yup)

Jay slept on his round fluffy mattress, curled up in the form of a cat. He was dreaming something about mice... catching mice...

Agnes pecked Jay's small striped rump.

"Mrow!" Jay the cat jumped up, hissing. Jay's cat mind thought 'Bird!' while Jay's human mind tried to wake up.

All of a sudden, Jay yelped in surprise, his yelp turning into a "meow!" Realizing his mistake, Jay chanted a shifting spell, imagining himself back as a human. His bones snapped as they changed form. Once a boy again, Jay pulled up a pair of pants and threw on a black shirt.

Agnes chirped.

Jay frowned at her. "Are you laughing at me?" he demanded.

"While you were sleeping, Loren came in and made you shift," Agnes responded.

Jay growled and cracked his knuckles. "Oh, that Loren! I'll make her pay!"

Agnes flew to Jay's shoulder. "No, first you have to see Ruby."

Jay remembered Ruby... her beautiful face shining, her eyes fearful... stuck in a room blocked by a door of fire....

"Right!" he announced. "Let's go check Ruby and see if she has decided! I do hope she decides to become an apprentice of Master Damien. I--" He stopped short.

Agnes cocked her head. "... like her?" she questioned.

Jay bowed his head. "Yeah. Yeah I do. Well. What's wrong with that?" He frowned at Agnes, who no doubt was laughing at him again.

They went down the series of corridors to Ruby's room. With a snap of Jay's fingers, the fire door was gone in a flash. "Ruby!" he called. "Have you decided?"

Ruby had been curled up on the ground, tossing and turning in her sleep. She gasped and her tear filled eyes snapped open as he called out to her. Slowly sitting up Rube quickly turned her head away to wipe her eyes.

Jay repeated his question to the half-asleep girl. "Have you decided whether you want to stay or leave?" He looked quickly at Agnes, who nodded, and then returned his golden gaze to Ruby. "We would much love it if you could become an apprentice, but it is your decision, of course."