Rian’s appeal to Chise to teach him magic is interrupted by his guardian/teacher Tory, who thinks the two of them and Alice would make a good circle of friends. Rian is also interested in Alice, who isn’t the slightest bit interested in becoming a mage. That’s when her familiar Will-o’-the-Wisp pops out, gives Rian a glance, and tells him he’s “no good [for magic]”. Rian expected as much, but isn’t so ready to give up.
Rian leads Chise and Alice to the teacher’s lounge where Renfred is scolding Elias for being too laissez-faire with safety precautions in his class. Narcisse is also there, and after studying Chise and placing his hand on her shoulder, determines that she’s just a normal girl, and welcomes her to the College. He reports to vice-principal Gregory on the steps that she’s no threat to the school’s present balance of power…left unsaid is the qualifier “for now.”
These little ominous scenes on the periphery aside, Chise finds herself in the hustle and bustle of daily school life, and while it’s a little overwhelming, she takes it in stride. There are many classmates to meet, and while nearly all of them are cordial or friendly, Lucy eats all by herself, and the vivid green-haired Zoe Ivey has to flee the table, so distressed at the prospect that neither Elias nor Chise are human.
The energy and rhythms of the College prove draining to both Chise and Elias, accustomed as they are to a much slower, quieter life in their country house. The two of them, joined by Ruth and Silver, have a rest in the shade of a tree. Elias tries and fails to lie on his back like Chise due to his protruding horns, but Chise has him lie on her lap, enabling him to look up at the sky for the first time since taking his current form.
Talk turns to Halloween and its origins as Samhain, and how the gods of yore have faded with the rise of science. As she washes harvested pumpkins in the river, Chise accidentally crushes one of the gourds in her freakishly strong dragon hand. She’s then visited by Joseph, who doesn’t eat, only drinks water, and sleeps a lot. She brushes back her hair and her green eye becomes steel blue like his. The battle between Carty’s curse and the dragon is ongoing within Chise, so she’ll be borrowing his eye a bit longer.
Joseph shuffles off back to sleep, while Ruth informs her that she has a guest: Stella, who had texted she was visiting well in advance. Chise forgot, because she just doesn’t use her phone that much. I don’t think we’ve even seen it yet this season! But just as Chise and Stella are in the middle of a conversation, a thick fog surrounds them, and Chise and Ruth are transported to another plane. Chise asks the right question—Where are we?—but we’ll have to wait till next week to find out.
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