Familiar's Calling - The Bond
Chapter 4- The Match

Jinx hurried towards the council chambers, panting slightly after running for several blocks. He skidded to a halt, nearly flipping head over heels, as Bruno stepped out in front of him once again.

Out of my way, Bruno! he hissed impatiently. I’ve been summoned by the council.

Bruno chuckled, growling in his gruff voice, Why are you in such a hurry, Jinxy? I’m sure they have only summoned you in order to dismiss you.

Jinx glared at the large rottweiler, hissing softly before batting at his foreleg with his paw.

Oh, temper, temper, Jinxy! Bruno teased, before a stern voice called out, Jinx? Are you coming or not?

It was Elias. He had appeared at the door to the council chambers with a serious look on his silvery, striped face and was presently staring at Bruno’s large backside. Jinx glared at Bruno before side stepping him with natural agility and skirting around to his right, quickly saying, Yes, Chazrin, I am coming, hurrying after the council leader into the room beyond.

As Jinx took his place before the Chazrin, the leader of the familiars’ council, and the six Chelaran or council members, the members of the witches’ council began to file into their respective places. First came the Dominitae, or leader of the witches’ council, and following him were the six Demiatraz, or witches’ council members. Jinx swallowed nervously. This had to be it, they must have finally found his true match. The witch with whom he had such a talked about, unknown, but great destiny with. But who was it? Was this witch a girl or a boy? What were his or her powers? Why had it taken so long for them to be revealed?

Heh, Hem, Elias cleared his throat, staring down at Jinx.

Jinx felt the eyes of every council member - all fourteen of them - turn to look at him. He shuffled where he sat, sitting up straighter, prouder - waiting.

This was it, he thought. Both councils never convene unless a match has been made. Well… unless you do something seriously wrong I suppose.

Jinx stared stiffly back at the two council leaders, waiting for them to proceed.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Elias spoke. Jinx, familiar of the species feline, born under the gaze of the crescent moon. Your time has come. Your destiny awaits. He rattled off the traditional speech.

As he finished speaking a door behind the council opened and out walked a young girl, no older than twelve, with medium-blonde hair that fell past her shoulders; it was clipped back behind her ears with two simple, black barrettes.

This time the leader of the witches council, Azeem, spoke aloud. “Jinx, we would like you to meet Krista Braddock. It has been determined and confirmed, that she is your true match.” He then turned to Krista, “Krista, we would like you to meet Jinx. Your new familiar,” he gestured down at Jinx as he spoke.

Jinx turned his head to survey Krista as she surveyed him right back, each scrutinizing the other carefully. This young girl was wearing a rather different assortment of clothes than Jinx had ever seen. She wore a pale-pink tank top under a light blue jean jacket that hung higher than most Jinx had seen, coming to approximately her navel. Followed by a green cargo-style pleated skirt and bare legs down to her feet, upon which she wore low-rise, navy coloured Converse-style shoes. Jinx swallowed nervously as she watched him back, hoping that his fur wasn’t out of place, or that he hadn’t stepped in something nasty smelling.

However from the moment this girl had entered the room he had felt better than he had ever felt in his entire life. As if he was suddenly whole, complete.

As if on autopilot, Jinx stood and slowly started walking towards Krista, tail curled high in the air. As he walked towards her, Krista began walking timidly towards him a few feet; Jinx quickened his pace and trotted right up to her. As he reached her, Krista sank to her knees and opened her arms. Unsure of what prompted him to do so, Jinx sprinted the last couple feet and leapt into her arms, nuzzling into her shoulder and purring.

“Oh, Jinx, at last” she exclaimed, burying her face into the back of his neck as her voice echoed around the council chambers; in thought-speak, privately to him she muttered, I found you.

Jinx purred into her shoulder as he rubbed his cheek against her and replied back to her in kind, And I you, my friend.

Neither questioned their sudden ability to speak to each other with their minds, no matter how quick it was in comparison to any other familiar-witch pairing. It was as if they had met eons ago and finally been reunited. Krista stood up, still cradling Jinx in her arms, his birthmarked ear twitched as he settled his paws on her arm to face the council.

Azeem smiled kindly at the pair, and Elias nodded approvingly with a jerk of his silvery head.

“This is a joyous occasion,” Azeem began, before waving his hands causing all the lights to dim and two candles to appear in front of him upon a small, square table. “Krista and Jinx.” He regarded the pair affectionately, as Krista stroked Jinx’s back absently and he purred softly. “May this day mark the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership,” he continued, waving his hand, causing the two candles to be lit, the flames dancing before them. “If you would step forwards and peer into the light of the candles?”

Krista looked briefly at a couple that must have been her parents, who nodded and gestured her to move forward.

Jinx could sense her apprehension and spoke quietly to her. It’s alright, I’m here, he began, feeling her gently squeeze his hip. This is all ceremony, nothing special or magnificent about it.

Krista whispered, I know, back to him and he could feel her smiling mentally. Once they had approached the candlelit table, Jinx jumped from her arms to the table and meandered his way to sit before his own candle, across from Krista who stood opposite him, staring at hers.

“Good,” Azeem continued, “Now, stare into the flame. Let it permeate your mind, fill you up. Feel the mind of your true match, let it touch yours. There is no rush, take your time.”

What he did not tell them was this was a small test they gave new pairs to test how well they found each other among the dancing flames. The trick was to ignore the flames, to stare directly across the table into each other’s eyes.

Given Krista and Jinx had already linked minds with ease, and been whispering to each other the past few minutes, both found this task effortless. The respective councils had already settled back in their seats, expecting such a feat to take at least several long minutes, if not hours. This was where they were all wrong. The moment Krista and Jinx turned their gaze towards the candles and stared through their respective flames, their minds connected once more and the flames on each candle shot ten feet in the air. The eyes of every Chelaran, every Demiatraz, Azeem and Elias opened wide in shock. No pair had connected this instantaneously, not even Chase and Sylas centuries ago. As Jinx and Krista stared at one another, right into each other’s matching, brilliantly, green eyes, they all but ignored the turrets of flames.

Meanwhile, the turrets began to shape themselves, twisting unnaturally, finally forming two crescent moon shapes above the candles and hovering there for a moment before suddenly snuffing themselves out.

Then, there was silence, no one said a word - no one breathed.

After several long and painfully silent minutes, Krista finally stepped around the table and allowed Jinx to hop back into her arms, holding the back of his head gently as he place his paws on her left shoulder. The pair stared around at the deathly quiet room, unaware of what they were to do, awaiting instruction. When no one moved, or spoke, for ten more minutes, Jinx whispered to Krista, Perhaps we should go stand by your parents.

Jinx felt her nod mentally as her head also physically moved before she made to move off the podium. The movement seemed to break all present out of their reverie and Azeem snapped his fingers causing the lanterns to slowly grow brighter once again; he cleared his throat, which caused Krista to turn back around to face him.

“Krista and Jinx, you have been bonded by fire. The fire has enlightened you and shown you your sacred symbol. The crescent moon is a mystical and powerful symbol. It has not been seen within these chambers for many years.” He paused to allow the information to sink in; Jinx’s ear twitched, and he noticed Krista half shrug her right shoulder. “I think we can expect great and wondrous things from the pair of you. Go now, and let destiny be kind to you,” Azeem finished with a nod of his head.

No one said it, in thought-speak or out loud, but as Krista and Jinx departed the chambers, following Krista’s parents, everyone was thinking of the last pair to be blessed by the crescent moon.

While the council members began discussing this development among themselves back in the council chambers, Jinx and Krista remained silent, thinking about all that had happened and feeling better than either of them had in years. Krista absently stroked the back of Jinx’s neck, and Jinx purred softly watching the door to the council chambers shrink with every step Krista took.

Finally, he thought, finally my time has come. I’ve never felt so close to someone I have just met. It’s as if we knew each other before now.

As Krista’s father opened the car door for her to get in, Jinx leapt from her arms and settled on the back seat waiting for Krista to slide in beside him. She did so and car door shut with a snap, standing up Jinx walked forwards and settled himself down with his paws on Krista’s lap; her hand automatically came up and rested on his back. As her parents got in they each smiled briefly back at them before turning to face the front, her father starting the engine and pulling away from the curb.

As they drove along, Krista and Jinx began to have a silent conversation, telepathically.

So, Krista, how long have you been searching for a familiar? Jinx asked her curiously, head tilted to the side.

Krista smiled and tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear, Since I was nine, so three years now, she replied softly, even for thought-speak.

Jinx chuckled mentally. It’s strange how long it takes for a match to be made isn’t it?

Krista nodded her head thoughtfully.

So, what powers have you manifested so far? Jinx asked casually, stretching out across her lap and looking up at her.

Krista suddenly looked out the window for a moment before staring back into Jinx’s matching green eyes and saying softly, Telekinesis, I can...

Jinx interrupted her, Move things with your mind, ya... I know. He turned his head to look down at her lap, thinking of Jessie, perhaps a little bit more openly than he had intended.After a few moments, she put her fingers gently under his chin and said, Who’s Jessie?

When he looked up, he could tell from the look in her eyes that she could feel the weight that rested on his own heart and mind. He already felt closer to Krista than anyone he had ever been in contact with before.

Jinx sighed audibly. He was… my last charge. He… We… had an accident and he got hurt. Jinx looked up at her with a serious look in his eye. I will not let anything happen to you, Krista. You have my word.

His feline face was set in a way that told Krista he was serious; that he would defend her at all costs. She used her fingers to scratch just behind his ear causing him to begin purring, which made her smile.“Someone’s happy,” Krista’s father suddenly called out, peering at the two of them in the rearview mirror and smiling. Krista didn’t say anything, but smiled and nodded back at her father before looking back down at Jinx who had curled up purring in her lap; he had fallen asleep.

Krista’s mother also smiled at the pair in the backseat and then at her husband before she whispered, “I think they are having a private conversation, dear. Let’s let them be.”

He simply chuckled quietly at this saying, “Yes, dear,” and returned his focus to driving.

Krista, meanwhile, had leaned her head back against the back of the seat and was gazing out of the window. Her eyes had begun to feel heavy after such an early start to the day, and with a long drive ahead of them due to traffic, she slowly closed them. Her hand rested on her new companion, her familiar, Jinx’s back, and the two slept on as the small car meandered through the streets of Salem.

*

Jinx and Krista slept soundly the entire car ride back to the family’s home. Krista’s parents assumed this was due to the rather early hour of the matching ceremony, and her mother even commented once about how they must be exhausted from such an early and long day.

In truth, this exhaustion was quite normal among newly matched pairs and often lasted longer, the stronger the initial bond. The reason for this lies in the intense mental toll, or strain, accrued from the ceremony proceedings. This is the reason why when a true match pair has such an instantaneous bond, such as Krista and Jinx, their exhaustion comes both much quicker and lasts longer. While such an instantaneous bond may seem natural and make the pair’s connection seem easier, it actually means they must be more careful about not doing too much mentally lest they use up their energy in the middle of a fight.

In Jinx and Krista’s case, the connection they had prior to actually performing the candle ceremony, or test, had already begun to mentally exhaust them. The fact that their connection enabled them to instantly see through the flame to each other and cause the desired effect the moment they faced it was a great expulsion of energy. Such as it was when Krista’s father pulled the small family car into the driveway at their home, the pair was still sleeping and did not wake the first time her father shook Krista’s shoulder.

“Dear me,” her mother exclaimed. “They were really exhausted!”

Her husband opened the car door and lifted Jinx gently off Krista’s lap and handed him to his wife to carry inside; Jinx immediately curled up in her arms, sleeping on. Her husband meanwhile gently lifted Krista out of the seat and while holding onto his daughter with both arms used his foot to kick the car door closed.

“Let’s get them into bed, the poor dears,” she added as they made their way towards the front door of the house. Her husband nodded in agreement without saying a word as he focused on fishing his house keys back out of his pocket one handed.

As they stood at the front door, Ilise, Krista’s mother, took pity on Julius, her father, as he fumbled with the keys and pulled her own out. As Ilise, this time, peered around Jinx’s prone form to aim the key at the lock, Julius looked out over the quiet street. It looked so peaceful, hiding the reality of modern day witch hunters that would sooner kill his precious daughter then be amazed by her abilities. His hand coming up subconsciously and protectively to her head, he kissed the side of it just as Ilise exclaimed softly, “Ah ha, got it!” and swung the door open.

Julius turned his back on the disturbingly quiet street without further adieu and followed his wife inside, gently closing the door. Without bothering to kick off their shoes, the pair walked down the hall and into Krista’s bedroom. After Julius had laid Krista on the bed, and removed her running shoes, she rolled over on her side into a ball.

Ilise laid Jinx down nearby, and the feline stretched out a paw to touch Krista’s hand. The two parents smiled for a moment at the familiar and their young, talented, and far more powerful than they could ever imagine, witch of a daughter, before backing out of the room slowly and closing the door.