Note: I do not use the long, Japanese spells that Orphen utters during the anime --- mainly because I'm not confident of getting them exactly correct. So, I've decided to err on the side of caution and use simple, short, mostly one-word "spells". I hope that won't put anyone off or detract from the story too much. ~Tex-chan
"Um I don't know about this, Master. Do you really think it's such a good idea to go in there?" Majic asked, hesitantly.
"What do you mean?" Orphen replied, giving Majic a strange look. "Of course, it's okay to go in there. We need to get across these mountains to find information on whatever the hell it is we need to complete the Sword of Baltanders. Going over is too dangerous, because there's a storm coming. Anyhow, going over would take too long. So, going through this tunnel-pass is our only choice. Frankly, you should be thankful there is a tunnel. I wouldn't think you'd want to haul Cleao's heavy pack over."
"Wait just a minute, you sorcerer-weasel! What do you mean "Cleao's pack"? That's OUR stuff in there --- stuff that we ALL use," Cleao snapped angrily as she walked up behind Orphen and Majic. The sudden sound of her voice made Majic jump slightly. She laughed and thumped him on the back, "So, what's your problem, apprentice boy? Why so jumpy?"
Majic laughed nervously and scratched his head. He was afraid of making Orphen mad. The young sorcerer could be pretty frightening when he was angry, a fact that Majic knew better than anyone else. After traveling with Orphen for several months, he was intimately acquainted with all of his master's moods, and he knew all too well that they could change faster than the weather. Still, the tunnel they were standing in front of looked foreboding and dark. The cave's opening looked like the mouth of some giant beast that was just waiting to swallow them up, and the thought of going in there gave him the creeps. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something kept telling him that they shouldn't go in there.
Majic cleared his throat nervously and sucked up the courage to argue with his master. "Um well, yeah I mean " He cleared his throat again and shifted his weight nervously from one foot to the other, all the while keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the ground in front of him.
"Majic!" Orphen snapped. With one lightening quick motion, he grabbed Majic by the front of his shirt and shook the boy hard enough to make his teeth click together. "I don't have all damn day here to convince you! Just spit it out, for crying out loud!"
"O .OK ." Majic replied hesitantly, "OK Master. Could you stop shaking me?"
Orphen stopped shaking him, but didn't release his hold on Majic's shirt. "Well?" he snapped. "I'm waiting!"
"Well it's just it looks really dark in there, you know? And isn't the tunnel really long and well, dark? Won't it take a long time to get through to the other side? And don't creepy things live in the dark?"
"You know, Fearless Leader," Cleao chimed in as she stepped slightly between Orphen and Majic and gently pried the young sorcerer's hands off of Majic's shirt, "not that I'm ever really that into agreeing with your sorcerer wanna-be here, but Majic has a point. It does look really dark and creepy in there. Isn't it possible that it's a better idea to go over the mountain than through it?"
"Shit!" Orphen exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "I give up! Okay, look," he snapped, placing one hand on Cleao's shoulder, his other hand on Majic's, and turning them both around so that they were facing the direction from which they had just come, "Do you see that?" He pointed in the direction they were now facing, indicating a huge, black cloud hovering over the immediate area. "I don't suppose either of you know what that is, do you?" he asked sarcastically. He looked from one blank face to the other before continuing, "No? Well. Then, I'll tell you. That is a storm cloud and in a couple of hours it's gonna drop about a foot of rain, or maybe snow --- it's kinda hard to tell this time of year --- right on top of that mountain. Get the picture?"
Majic looked blankly at Orphen. He could see the anger growing in the young sorcerer's eyes, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't shake the feeling of fear that overwhelmed him at the thought of entering that black, cavernous maw, and he most adamantly did not want to go in there. "Bbut Master," he stammered weakly.
"FORGET IT!" Orphen screamed. He whirled around and began to walk swiftly away from Majic and Cleao, and toward the tunnel entrance.
"Hey!" Cleao yelled at his retreating back. "Where the hell do you think you're going! Hey! Do you hear me? Don't you dare ignore me, ORPHEN!"
Orphen paused, without turning around, and raised one hand over his shoulder to wave at his two traveling companions. "I don't have any more time to waste trying to convince the two of you to go through the damn tunnel. Go over the mountain, if you want. I'll miss you --- really," he said sarcastically as he, once again, began to walk toward the entrance.
Cleao and Majic stared at each other in stunned silence for a moment. As the first few big, fat raindrops splattered to the ground around them, Cleao whirled away from the younger boy and walked swiftly toward the dark, gaping hole that had swallowed Orphen only seconds earlier.
When Majic called out to her, she replied, "Sorry, Majic. I'd like to stick with you on this one, but there's no way I'm climbing over that mountain in a storm with just you." She stopped and turned to face the boy, her hands on her hips. "Get real! I mean, you can't even make fire! I'll take my chances in the creepy dark with the real sorcerer, even if he is in a pissy mood. So, um good luck with your climb, OK?"
Majic stood and silently watched as Cleao also disappeared into the tunnel's cavernous opening. He looked up into the sky, and as another huge raindrop hit him squarely in the eye, he muttered, "What did I ever do? Would it be so hard to back me up --- just one time?" He sighed and shifted his heavy pack to a more comfortable position as he slowly walked forward into the tunnel. As the darkness swallowed him, he muttered, "It's not like fire's such an easy spell, you know."
"HEY!" Majic yelled as he entered the tunnel to find himself standing in a huge, deserted cavern. "HEY! MASTER, WAIT FOR ME!"
Laughter floated out of the darkness near him and made Majic jump slightly. "Stop yelling, Majic," Orphen said as he stepped forward and, still chuckling, gently ruffled the boy's soft, blonde hair. "What took 'ya so long?"
"Ha, ha. Very funny, Master," Majic replied as he slapped Orphen's hand away. "Thanks for waiting for me," he mumbled.
Orphen gripped the boy's shoulder slightly and gently pulled Majic backward until the boy was leaning lightly against his chest. "You don't really think I'd leave you, not with a storm coming, do you?"
His voice sounded so genuinely hurt that Majic turned around to look at his master. He was shocked to see hurt and surprise in the young sorcerer's eyes, and he felt a little guilty. There weren't too many people who could really hurt his master's feelings, and Majic suddenly wanted Orphen's normal, cocky attitude back. He smiled and replied, "Oh, Master. I know."
"Good," Orphen said. He smiled and roughly tousled Majic's hair as he shoved the boy forward. "Now, get moving. We've already wasted too much time." As Majic walked in front of Orphen to follow Cleao through the dark, the young sorcerer commented, "Look at it this way, Majic. All this darkness will give you a good chance to practice your fire spell."
"THAT IS NOT AN EASY SPELL!" Majic yelled as Orphen's laughter floated through the blackness behind him.