FSE

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"Mummy look over there! A magician! Can we go see?" The young black haired feline girl tugged at her mother's hand eagerly, pointing with her other.

Her mother followed her daughter's gaze to the tall, strikingly handsome white-furred wolf standing in the centre of the open-air mall walkway. His clothes were simple, just black jeans and a red button-down shirt. A crowd was slowly gathering as his voice rang out, deep and rich, easily carrying over the sounds of shoppers and spruikers.

"Come on over! Watch a magic show like you've never seen before!" He gestured with one hand, the sunlight reflecting off of the black metal ring on his thumb as his hand waved in the air, coaxing people over.

"Pleaaaaaase mummy?" The little girl was jumping now, trying to pull her mother toward the street performer.

"Of course, honey." Her mother smiled brightly down at her. "Would you like to ride my shoulders for a better view?"

"Yes please!" She turned to face the women, holding her arms up as her mother lifted her and set her atop her shoulders, holding her legs.

She moved closer to the gathering crowd, able to see a small fold-up table with some items on it, a rather old looking suitcase and an upturned top hat. For tips, no doubt. Once a large enough crowd had gathered, (it rarely took longer than a few minutes, people loved magic shows) the auburn haired magician smiled broadly at the crowd. The little girl noticed his smile was just a tiny little bit lopsided, she decided she liked that.

"Ladies, gentlemen, children. My name is Darius, welcome to my show! If I spark your imagination, if I amuse or entertain you, please, drop some coins into the hat you see in front of my table. It's how I make my living. Thank you." He bowed a dramatic, low bow. "Now, on with the show!"

As if on queue, the speakers sitting at the front corners of the table burst into music. The little girl assumed it was just a wireless music system and he had them set to start as a specific time, or he had a remote in his pocket. Cheery, circus-esque music filled the air, drawing more people in as the man took a simple bowler cap from the suitcase and twirled it around, showing the inside was indeed empty.

Throwing it into the air, the black hat span and landed atop his head right side up. What a showoff. He paused and slowly lifted the hat from his head, a brown fluffy bunny sat atop his short hair. It seemed quite content there. The act drew gasps and cheers from the crowd, the children especially.

"How did he do that mummy?! His hat was empty!" The little girl whispered to her mother, up on her tiptoes.

Her mother wasn't entirely sure either. "I'm not sure, honey. He must be a very good magician."

The rabbit was removed from the man's head and he searched the crowd. "Now, who here wants to take..." he lowered his head, his ear beside the rabbit's head, "Benois, home?"

Half a dozen children started to beg their parents for the chocolate coloured bunny, the father of a tall sandy coloured lion boy gave in and raised his hand. The rabbit was handed over to his new owner and the magic show continued for another fifteen minutes. That was his limit, otherwise he'd start to get too tired and no one wanted to be accidentally disappeared. With a smile and a bow, the music stopped and the crowd began to disperse. Most of them dropped a few small coins into the hat, others were a bit more generous, but not as many as Darius had hoped for.

"Excuse me, Mister Darius?" The little black kitten had lingered behind and approached him as he was packing up.

"Yes, little one?" Darius paused his packing and crouched down to her level with a smile.

"How did you do that? All of it! It was like magic!"

Darius gave the girl a knowing wink. "Well, little Miss, I am a Magician after all. So, unfortunately, I can't share my secrets. Magicians Code, after all."

The girl pouted a little, wanting to know his secrets. She opened her mouth to protest his secrecy but found herself staring at a bouquet of fresh red and white roses that the man had made appear from thin air!

"Here, take these. A gift for you. Now, run along sweetheart. Your mother is waiting for you." He gestured to the little girl's mother, who stood a short distance away.

"Oh! Thank you Mister!" She stuck her face into the roses and inhaled deeply, unaware that by morning, they would be gone along with the memory of them. The rabbit would be the same, the boy would wake up not even remembering being gifted Benois.

The adults were affected as well as any Mundie (non-magic folk) that saw the conjured items. It saved a lot of drama and helped keep the Sparked secret. He finished packing up his show, everything fitted nicely in the suitcase. Even without magic. Picking up the battered suitcase, he double-checked that everything was in place and more importantly, that nothing was left behind. He'd count his takings for the show when he got home, it wasn't safe to do that on the street. Even for a Sparked like himself. He was a wizard, not an immortal after all. No one had that kind of power.

His feet padded over the cooling pavement as the sun started to vanish behind the skyscrapers of his home city. Levlock was a large city of at least six million people, not counting tourists and visitors. It was Saturday, which meant the Night Market would be opening soon. Perhaps he'd swing by there and see what he could find to buy. Most of his earnings went to buying relics and books, his little shoe-box apartment had at least four large bookshelves that were overflowing. His partner and best friend, Taliesin, had complained about how many books he had when he first moved in. Now, Tal's own books filled empty spots on the shelves.

The cheetah was also Sparked, like Darius was so there was no need to be secretive between themselves. That had made things so much easier, because keeping such secrets from a Mundie would be hard and probably put a strain on the relationship. Although there were Sparked who fell for Mundies, although as far as anyone knew, none had managed to have children yet. Maybe it was for the best, it helped keep the magic secret.

The air was cooling fast and Darius wished he'd bought a jacket with him, but the Night Market would be warm. It always was, tucked away from the cool evening winds with heaters warming the night air alongside the body heat of the throngs of people that passed through it every Saturday night. By the time he got there, the stalls were starting to open, a radio filled the air with tunes. As the marketplace filled up, the clamour of the crowd would all but drown the music out.

The food stalls were already up and running, the air filled with all manner of street-food smells. Meats, sweets, coffee, alcohol, even breads. It all made Darius hungry, but he knew he had food waiting for him at home. Getting takeaway was not a luxury the pair could afford right now. Of course, he couldn't really afford another book right now, but... he had to look just in case there was something new. Rare books though, they basically made him drool and he joked often with Taliesin that he'd sell a kidney if it meant getting his paws on one. He was only half joking when he said that.

Oh but that coffee smelled so good, maybe he'd duck down an alley and see if he could afford at least two. Or one to share. It'd been too long since he'd tasted sweet caffeine. Ducking down the next alley, he heard the distant sound of wood clacking against wood and smiled knowingly. Peeking around the corner he saw a group of teens hovering just off the ground on broomsticks, bashing the sticks against each other in an attempt to knock the other off their broom. Now, it was rare for Sparked to use brooms to fly, but younger Sparked (and some of the more fun-loving older generation) would use them in broom-fights. Usually these were done in back alleys out of sight of Mundies or on the grounds of the Sparked Campus, Stoneholm Academy. Although Stoneholm was an hours drive from Levlock and most broom fights were on the spur of the moment.

A young female chameleon was one of the combatants, her features were set into a determined smile as she slammed the handle of her broom against that of the heavy-set boar boy. He looked overconfident as their brooms collided with a loud thwack! Both riders wobbled, the wood of the brooms rubbing together. The next move was quick as the chameleon flicked her broom under the boar's and with a grunt of effort, flipped it, and him upward. He tumbled off the broom and landed on the ground. The half-dozen onlookers cheered and pumped the sky with their fists, one of them over-celebrating by jumping up and down and whooping loudly.

"Hah! That'll learn ya!" The chameleon grinned broadly and flexed before moving over and helping the boar to his feet. "Good fight though."

"Hey, we're being watched." A white lion said lowly, pointing toward Darius.

"Don't panic." He gestured, tapping his pointer and middle finger over his chest three times, the sign of the Sparked. "I was just enjoying the contest. That was a good winning move right there."

"Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" Now the chameleon was the cocky one and she stood straight, puffing her chest out.

"You should be more careful though, what if I was a Mundie?"

"I'd just wipe their minds." A bespectacled panther spoke very calmly, seriously.

Darius sighed, these kids hadn't had their magic long enough to realise you had to be careful with it. Even the most experienced had to be careful.

"No, no. That's dangerous, especially for the newly Sparked. You haven't even been taught that yet. So if you've read it in a book, don't try it," he felt like one of the Instructors scolding these kids, "you might end up wiping more than a few minutes of their memory."

The awkward and embarrassed looks on their faces proved that they had no idea about that. "Oh..." The panther rubbed the back of his neck, looking everywhere but at the wolf. "Okay. We'll try and be more careful."

"Good, good. Just remember the rules and be careful, you'll be fine I'm sure."

Darius was mostly self-taught, he'd Sparked exactly on his thirteenth birthday but he had no family to hide it from. He didn't even remember them, but the street kids he'd grown up with were terrified of him when he accidentally set a stack of old newspapers on fire. He'd been alone for a long time after that, spending time outside the city away from prying eyes to try and practice. Had he too been terrified? Of course, he had no idea magic existed and had even less ideas on how to do anything.

In the end, he'd managed to stop accidentally casting small cantrips. He had tried to burn bigger things but nothing ever happened and even the cantrips made him tired pretty fast. Soon enough, he stopped using magic unless he really, really had to. It wasn't long after that he had been approached by a well-dressed woman who was maybe 30, she'd taken him aside and seemed to know that he had magic.At first, the young wolf was sure he was in trouble and he'd stammered his way through terrible lies to try and hide the truth. It wasn't until she conjured a flower out of thin air did he realise she too, could use magic.

He had been offered a place at Stoneholm, the Academy masqueraded as a private school for only select students. They held events and ran tours to appear normal, but as Darius quickly found, he and the woman were not the only ones in the city who could use magic.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'll let you be." He'd get coffee another time.