"Oooh, cool, a bewt!" cooed a lyrical voice.
Both Konstantine and Tim jumped. Behind them in Tim's room was a lithe long haired pale skinned creature.
"Who are you?"
"How did you get passed us?"
"I'm your new room mate, sillies," the slight creature laughed, "Though I guess I shouldn't have sneaked up on
you. I shade instinctively, and must have been a shadow when I came into the room. Is the bewt yours human
or yours plantman?"
"Plantman?" Tim asked turning to look at Konstanine.
"Oh, I'm sorry, you were just getting introduced. I'm Fa'ie Kur Vyl, and you are?"
"Konstanine and I am only partly herbaceous."
"Isn't that what I said? Plantmen are partly herbaceous right?"
"Plantmen put down roots and are covered with bark and leaves. My great grandfather was a Plantman. I am
what they call a sprout man - mostly human, but with a bit of the herbal magic still residing."
"Aaah, see that's why I'm at college to learn things. And I just learned something, sproutman, thank you."
"Uh, and you are?"
"Tim. But how can you be our room mate - this is the boys' dormitory?"
"Nix. Tim, he's a he, not a she."
"That's okay, it's happened more than once already. Tim have you never seen a wraith fairy before?"
"I've never even heard of one- what's that? Is that what you are? You're a guy?"
The lithe creature literally doubled over with laughter. "Oh, stop, stop,you're killing me. Let me guess
neither of your parents have magic?"
"No one in my family does, but I guess because I'm the seventh son of the seventh son of the seventh son, I
got lucky."
The musical laughter stopped suddenly, and the wraith fairy shrieked and leapt to the far corner of the
ceiling above the bewt.
"What did I say? And how are you clinging to the ceiling?"
"Wraith fairies are very powerful practically immortal creatures," explained Konstanine, "They have the power
to bend nearly all of nature, time and space to their will. With the exception of seventh sons of Adam, and
you are a seventh son thrice over, I've never met one before and I daresay Fa'ie hasn't either. He's
positively terrified. Look at those 3 inch fangs he sprouted."
"I'm sorry, Fa'ie, I didn't mean to scare you. Are you alright?"
"Never heard of a wraith fairy before today?" hissed Fa'ie through his needle-like fangs.
"Never. Like I said my whole family's human. No magic in the lot. That's why they send me here to learn to
control what I've got."
"Learn to control it? But if you can't control it, if you can't cast spells, how did you ever pass the
entrance exam?"
"He passed admirably. Didn't answer a single question right, but when the proctor looked as his paper, he
said to Tim, "The only way you're getting into a wizard's school is if you transport us all there right now."
And he did, the entire group of students, and the building we were taking the exam in - you passed it when you
checked in with the registrar," said the latest addition to their group.
"How would you know?" challenged the wraith fairy.
"Oh, you were there. I am sorry, I really wanted to go to the Wizard University, you see. I guess, the proctor
only meant to transport the people in the classroom and not the entire school building. Bet the first thing
they'll teach me is how to put that building back where it belongs," Tim laughed.
"Where did the building come from and what is it made of?" asked the wraith fairy.
"It's mostly steel and glass and concrete. It was a new building at a community college in Oregon - the
United States."
"Eeek. All that iron! But no one can magic that much iron - not even dwarves and they'd have to hammer it!"
"Well, that's why he's here because he moved the whole place with his mind."
"Wait. An entire building went missing from a US college and no one noticed?" Konstanine asked.
"The proctor was the Illustrious Emeritus Professor of Illusions. The building appears to still be there, but
with its all wrapped in yellow tape and marked BIO HAZARD SITE - QUARANTINED BY ORDER OF CDC. I attended art
classes at the Community College. And the Art Studio Building was next door to it. The nerds are royally
pissed, it supposed to have top notch science labs on the upper floors."
"Okay, so what kind of art do you do? Paint, sculpt, draw or something else?"
"Actually, I was the life model," he said somewhat sheepishly.
The wraith fairy's eyes glittered with green light, "Demonstrate what that is," he snarled.
"No, you shouldn't do that!" Konstanin shouted.
Dreamily the newcomer drawled, "Sure thing, mister. A life model is the nude model that the art students draw.
It's fucking boring, and cold sitting there naked for an hour or more, but the pay is incredible. Twenty
students each pay $15 for to be their model, so I make $300 a class. Nice body isn't it?" he seemed proud and
unaware that he had just stripped naked in front of his new room mates.
He blinked. Looked down at his nudity, and gasped. He grabbed up his clothing covering his crotch, and
covered his bum with his shoes as he made his quiet exit. Muffled sobs could be heard as he retreated.
"Did you do that, wraith fairy?" Tim asked angrily. He had accepted the new fellow who seemed now kind of
intoxicated as his friend and he wasn't liking the long toothed creature on the ceiling too much right then.
"What of it, hooman?" he snarled.
"Well, I wish you knew how it felt to experience what you just did to him! And I wish he was here to see it!"
Tim said closing his eyes.
"No!" shouted Konstanine.
The wraith fairy shrieked.
"How did I get back in here?" the newcomer asked. He was just buckling his belt and was barefoot and
shirtless.
"Unbridled, irresponsible magic. Just roommates getting acquainted," said Konstanine with a shrug.
The fairy was off the ceiling and staggering like a drunk in the middle of the room.
"So this is how it feels, huh? Actually, it's quite pleasant. I bet I could be a life model too. All I have
to do is sit still naked, right?" Fa'ie asked as he pulled off his tight clothing. He was lithe, and
definitely male. "So what do you think?"
Suddenly, the spell ended. Fa'ie burst into tears and sat on the floor pulling his clothing toward him.
Tim rushed over, and put a hand on Fa'ie's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, but you were so mean. You
spelled him first. I guess, I am gaining control just by doing. I wish your clothes were back on you, Fa'ie.
I hope you will forgive me."
Fa'ie burst into lyric laughter. He was dressed again, sort of. His arms were inside his trousers, and his
head was sticking out his fly, and his shirt covered his legs. "It's a good thing I have thin legs or my shirt
would have been ruined. I am sorry, when our kind gets spooked our hormones go wild. I guess putting me under
my own comehither spell calmed me down a bit."
"Comehither? You comehithered me?" asked the half naked stranger.
"Sorry is it Tom or Tim or Tony? I can't quite read your aura? I did and I'm sorry," the wraith fairy
answered.
"It's James. Tim must have quite an aura if his extends all the way over here. Guess that's why it's hard to
read."
"James?" the wraith fairy turned to look over her shoulder at Tim, "Tim? Your aura extends at least 10 feet
in every direction. How is that possible?"
"My aura?" Tim asked looking down at his hands, and around the room to see what the wraith fairy was talking
about.
"Never mind. You'll learn about it in Magics 100," Fa'ie said with a sigh. "All this magic has made me hungry.
Do you think the cafeteria's open yet?"
"No. Sorry, the program said that meal service commences tomorrow at breakfast, and today we're on our own at
the town. They requested magical restraint too," said Konstantine reading from a parchment that he extracted
from his orientation packet.
"Oh, can I treat you to something to eat? All of you?" asked Tim, "I'm afraid I got off on the wrong foot
with you all."
"Wrong foot!" howled Fa'ie with laughter as he waved his trouser clad arms around.
"Do you want me to try again?" Tim asked helpfully.
Konstantine stepped between the wraith fairy and human, "No, no. You don't want to do it. Next time instead of
upside down, you might put them inside him."
There a stifled yelp from the wraith fairy. Green and dark purple lights sparkled, and the wraith fairy was
dressed again but instead of green, this time the outfit was black and purple with a green sash and green
shoes.
"No need. But if you're serious about feeding me. Bewts are delicious barbecued," Fa'ie said eyeing Devin.
The bewt suddenly flapped madly against the glass shrieking wildly.
"It's like he understands you," Konstantine commented.
"Yes. Never mind about eating him. He's obviously a trained pet. I bet one of the shops in town sells bewts
on stick. It's a very popular dish in the Murkwood. Did you train the bewt yourself? I didn't think they
were teachable?"
"Devin was a gift," Tim said, "But I plan to take over his training. Maybe make him a familiar?"
"Familiar?" Fa'ie said in a confused tone, "A bewt?"
"He's human, not wraith fairy, little one. I'm kind of hungry too. Let's take Tim up on his generous offer of
a meal," Konstantine said.
"Yeah, sure," said James, "Let me finished getting dressed. No, Tim, I can do it myself," James said dashing
from the room. This was all too much for him. His room mates were all freaks.
"So, Fa'ie tell me what it's like to be a wraith fairy?"
"Tell me what it's like to be human, Tim?" Fa'ie challenged.
"Why don't we just talk about our lives at home, that will probably be illustrative enough."
"Hey, did you say you were hungry? I thought plants just ate sunlight?"
"I'm only 1/8th plantman remember?"
"Oh. Right," Fa'ie nodded, "And you're really seventh son, Tim?"
"Come on, do you need to ask after that demonstration?" James said re-entering, "I'm ready to eat."
Tim patted his wallet in his pocket, and locked his room behind him. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Woe
to anyone other than Tim who tried to pass through that threshold.
Fa'ie grabbed his head. "What did you just do, Tim?" he asked accusingly.
"Just a little security spell of my own design," Tim confessed.
"That much power? Anyone who triggers it is likely to create a crater where our dorm building use to be."
"Do you want me to-" Tim started reaching for the door handle.
"No, leave it. I'll spell the suite door. Anything that can get pass my spell deserves to be vaporized."
"But it's not a vaporization spell?"
"It's not? Well, whatever it's supposed to do it will do, but it will also vaporize right afterward, it's
just charged with too much power. Not even the mystic crystal emits that much energy at once," Fa'ie said.
"Uh, Fa'ie, I don't want to end up vaporized, so make sure that any of us can enter our room."
"Oh, Konstantine, I didn't realize you were part plant. Of course, you can have the southern exposure room.
I'll move my stuff to one of the other rooms."
"Thank you that would be great. For a moment I was afraid you were going to remodel the building so my room
had a southern exposure too," laughed Konstantine.
"That's a great idea!" said Tim. He closed his eyes tightly and said, "All of can have a southern view of the
fountain."
"No!" shrieked Fa'ie as he grabbed his head and doubled over in pain. James and Konstantine caught him. They
stared at Tim. They heard an awful creaking and crashing as the stones and mortar shifted. The main room was
longer and narrower now and opened on to four separate identical rooms.
Fa'ie sat on the floor rubbing his temples. "Do me a favor and don't stand so close to me next time you do
that!" he whined.
"Sorry. I didn't realize my magic hurt you like that. But what do you think. We each have identical rooms
now?"
"Nice, but don't you think someone will notice the change?"
"What change? I just willed that it was this way when they built it. You were near me so your perceived the
change but I doubt anyone else will."
"Eek. Now I understand why wraith fairies are at odds with seventh sons! They have the same manipulative
powers!"
"Hey, turn James back to white!" snapped Tim.
"White? But James is Korean."
"I always have been Korean," James explained. He was now thinner and his skin had a golden hue and his hair
was jet black."
"No, he wasn't. Make him back the way he was!" Tim demanded.
"Alright. Relax, I was just demonstrating. You're impervious to any changes a wraith fairy makes, if you know
what it was before. I could change the man walking down the hall, and since you can't see him and don't know
him, you shouldn't notice the difference," Fa'ie said standing in the doorway.
"Whatever. Turn him back first and make it so he remembers what you did."
"Alright."
James' shoulders broadened. His hair lightened to dirty blond. His brown eyes turned green, and his skin
became white again.
"What just happened? And why do I know what kim chee tastes like? And why do I crave it - you changed my
racial heritage? My parents, grandparents and all my ancestors?" roared James suddenly furious.
"Change Konstantine back too."
"Change me? But I haven't changed. I'm still one eighth plantman."
"What was your great grandfather?"
"He was a lumberjack that's how he met my great grandmother, she was a plantman. But I told you that already."
"No, you said your great grandfather was the tree man or plantman," Tim said.
Konstantine glared at the fairy boy, "Did you change my lineage? My family history? Family means everything
to plantmen!"
"Okay, everything goes back to normal. Calm down. I just was testing."
"I think I understand now why they made the wraith fairy and the seventh son roommates," laughed James. "I bet
your folks sent you here to learn restraint and self control."
"Aren't you the clever one? Well, I can play fair when it comes to my flatmates," Fa'ie said. "There
everything's back to normal. Satisfied?"
"Put their dicks back too," said Tim with a sigh, "What are you gay?"
"Hey, you're the crotch watcher who noticed James' extra inches and Konstantine's loss."
"Wait. You mean I haven't always had a fourteen inch cock? But I remember my first time, I could only get a
third of it inside her," James said.
"I always thought my two inch dick was too small," Konstantine said.
"I'm not a crotch watcher, but whatever you change seemed to create warp around the object you change. Maybe
that's the aura you were talking about earlier."
"You can't see the aura, but you can see the skew? Incredible, this time no tricks, no tests. Everyone in
this room is just as they were."
A collective sigh of relief rose up as Tim confirmed that everything looked normal now.