Good friends together again

"Is that really you Azra?" Ethan questioned as he made the flames on his fingers disperse. He had forgotten just how endowed she had been, all those years of training she had always kept the armor on, restraining her bosom. Now she wore more clothes that accented her figure even more than he thought possible.

Azar seemed to know this as she took her time to waltz over, swaying her hips to the side, as her heels clicked on the roof. She held her arms behind her back, allowing her bust to be on prominent display for his eyes. She giggled when she saw him start to blush and look away.

"You're still so easy to tease, Ethan." Azar whispered as she gave him a peck on the cheek. "And you're still cute when you blush."

"Nice to see you haven't changed a bit." Ethan muttered as he turned to focus on the road. "So are we heading to the village or do you have somewhere else to go?" Ethan questioned.

"What do you think?" Azar retorted as she got inside the carriage. She found a box with her name on it, as she expected. Upon opening it she was greeted with some of her favorite snacks.

"Where to?"

___

"I got to admit it's a lot bigger than I was expecting." Ethan noted as he saw Azar's house. House might have been too generous a word. It was some sort of building she had made on the side of a cave. On the outside it looked like a small hut leaned against the cliffs, but he knew what his friend was capable of.

"I had a lot of time." Azar admitted as they walked inside. Indeed it was still minimalist. She had two chairs and a table, a cot to sleep on, a few barrels to store water and a large cupboard. "Sorry if it isn't much."

"Eh, I'll survive." Ethan told her as he reached into his bag. He had with him a futon which he rolled next to her cot. "So...what have you been up to?" He asked her as sat on the chair.

"Well...honestly nothing much these days." Azar admitted. "Nothing really happens here. Everything's been the same." She told him.

"Are you happy?" Ethan questioned.

"About getting suspended?" Azar questioned. "Honestly it's been a relief. I know you wanted me to be a knight but I just couldn't handle being on in the city." She apologized. "All those rules and protocols, it wasn't for me."

"To be honest, I should have apologized to you for pushing you into this." Ethan admitted. "You wouldn't have joined if it hadn't been for my insistence."

"No, you were right." Azar interrupted. "Joining the knights, it had been a good experience. I learnt quite a lot with them. A lot more than I would have had been on my own. So what if it didn't work out in the city, I'm still a better person because of it."

"Well, that's a relief to hear. I was worried for nothing." Ethan chuckled.

"What do you need to worry about?" Azar asked as she took two cups and went to fetch some water. "You've been doing pretty good so far. How's the mage life going? Didn't you say you finally got a girlfriend? When can I meet her?" Azar spewed question after question as gave Ethan the cup.

"Well for one. You're my friend, so of course I'm worried. Two, about the mage life, that's actually why, another reason I'm here and three, we uh...broke up." Ethan admitted.

"I'm sorry to hear." Azar consoled as she put a hand on his shoulder.

"No you can't thrash her."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Fine," Azar grumbled as she returned to her seat. "So what about your mage work brought you here?"

"If I have to tell you...do you promise not to freak out?" Ethan warned her.

"Your magic studies have been quite eventful over the years. I'm honestly surprised there is still things for me to freak out to." Azar joked. However Ethan wasn't laughing, he looked deadly serious at her. "Okay I promise."

"Recently my master came into the possession of this strange tome. Now I don't know where he got it, nor do I know how he got it. All I know is that he had given it to me to decipher and for safe keeping." Ethan informed her.

"So he gave you a magic spell book. What's the big deal?" Azar questioned.

"Well at first I thought it was an ordinary spell book as well, then I began deciphering the spells and realized what they were. They were spells on soul arts." Ethan told her cryptically.

Azar was quiet for a moment taking it in. She hadn't been so familiar with all the academics involved but she had listened to Ethan rattling on before, so she had some inkling what he had been talking about. "Aren't those the forbidden fields of magic?" She questioned. The forbidden fields, the one area of study outlawed in the entire land.

"Yes." Ethan answered. "From what I've managed to learn the book possesses a few spells; Overshadowing, where a soul invades and seizes control of another body; Soul switch where souls are swapped; Manipulation, where souls are sometimes warped and influenced to follow the will of another."

"So how does this concern me?" Azar questioned.

"Because I think someone wants your body." Ethan told her.