Green as Emerald

One.

Elias was sitting near a window, his eyes fixed on a spot in his hat. His mom had given it to him when he was just a little boy ( He was 17 now ) and despite him acting like he didn't cared too much about it, truth is he liked it. It was old but it had personality. He was trying to sew a spot, unsuccessfully. He prickled his finger, a perfect spot of blood coming from it.

Then he heard a slight change on the wind and he knew Paris was coming. His friend had a weird affinity for air magic. A complicated kind of magic from an equal complicated young man. Paris had the misfortune of being named after that place because his parents fell in love and married in that place. He liked to lie about it, say it was a Shakespearian reference, but Elias knew it was just because he was too embarrassed to admit the truth-- not that he was judging, though. Everyone had something they were too ashamed to say out loud.

Names were powerful, too. That much he learned from his magic lessons. For example, when he called his cat by his true name, the cat would allow him to borrow some energy to practice more intense spells. The black figure looked at him from the shadows, his feline eyes intense and wise.

"Are you gonna open the door or what." Elias didn't answer. "I can see you dude, what the hell!" his friend insisted. He laughed, and he opened the door, but not before hiding his hat so Paris wouldn't see it.

"Your school is closed too, I assume?"

"Yeah... this cold is too much for the mortals to handle."

Elias rolled his eyes, but smiled. It wasn't a lie.

"So did you come to check on me or do you have an evil plan in mind?"

"I know you are ok, so..." Paris trailed off, and tried to pet the cat, but the feline wouldn't have it. Instead of purring, he got a scratch. "Remember that book I borrowed you last time? I found a clue about one of those objects. Might be good to search around town since the mortals aren't gonna ask any questions."

"You're gonna have to be more specific, my friend." Elias laughed. "I can't read your mind." Yet.

"So. The book mentions this stone that was supposedly in a vast collection from Merlin the dude himself. It gives you knowledge and power and just think about all we could do with it! Anyway, yesterday as I was saving myself from a curse my dear sister casted on me, I stumbled upon a map inside the old tree, you know the one." Elias said yes. That old, creepy tree by the cemetery. It was said to be the oldest tree in all town, the sole survivor of time and disaster. He always got a weird feeling from it. "Anyway, I think we're onto something."

"You can say that again. Trouble, probably."

"Aw, come on. You'd rather stay here with that... thing?" He pointed at the cat, which in turn, hissed at him.

"And miss the adventure? Where's the fun in that?"

Paris and Elias weren't always in separate schools. When they first met, their eyes met at the principal's office. Both in trouble. Both unrepentant. Both wizards that happened to be in an explosive phase. And even though their families were from different covens, the two of them became inseparable. You wouldn't see one without the other.

While they were walking, Elias pointed at their old school.

"Remember when you blew up half of the cafeteria?" his friend laughed out loud.

"When you say it like that it seems like I did something wrong. There were no mortals there, only that nasty food. I was doing the Dark Lord's work. And if my memory isn't failing, you set the bathrooms on fire."

"Not my finest work, unfortunately." Elias sighed. He was an earth sign, fire didn't come at him as easily as others. He would curse at his chart alignment ever since he was able to understand it. Curse Mercury, and the Moon, and the Stars. He just wanted to set some things on fire! Every teenager felt like that. Right? At least, Paris did.