Chapter Text
Though his parents had died when he was too young to remember them, Kagami had grown up in peace and relative tranquility, high up on the mountain with only Alex and her familiar, Tatsuya, for company.
Witches, wizards, mages, and all magic users of any other name were a rarity these days. Though Kagami had always longed to leave the mountain and travel the world, to see the rivers and lakes and prairies from up close, Alex had long ago instilled within him the fear of what humans would do to a fire mage like him if they ever discovered his existance.
Herself a witch, Alex had lost her wife and soulmate many years before due to the cruelty of humans, and had fled with her dear magpie to the mountains where she would be safe. It was both a blessing and a curse that magic users were so in tune with the energies of the world that they alone could sense their soulmates: a blessing, since they could find and hold on to their one true love, certain their bond was meant to be; and a curse, since losing a soulmate once a bond had been formed hurt more than the worst torture anyone could ever inflict.
Alex had grieved for many years before stumbling upon Kagami, a lost, lonely, and very hungry orphan whose big red eyes and chubby cheeks had quickly captured her heart and helped soothe the ach in her soul over the years. Especially after The Incident (in which several of their possessions and many trees within proximity were—accidentally—burned down and the three were forced to relocate), which revealed the true nature of Kagami’s powers.
Alex took it upon herself to become Kagami’s teacher, showing him how to calm his mind, focus on the energies surrounding him, and harness them using the full force of his magical potential. For the most part it meant him learning to control his temper and stop accidentally singing everything or creating sparks at the slightest teasing jab from Tatsuya.
When Kagami eventually learned to keep a lid on his powers, Alex started letting him into the kitchen, teaching him how to make the hearty meals he’d been enjoying for years, and into her workshop, where she made potions, charms and healing spells she sold every month to the apothecary from her home town, who had kept her secret for years and had helped her escape when her wife had been killed.
In the end Kagami found that he was only really good at making small luck charms and a soothing balm for burns—and that last one was only really since he’d had to make it so many damn times from always burning himself or Alex or Tatsuya by accident.
But cooking, on the other hand, was something he definitely excelled at. They didn’t have much of a variety of ingredients to work with, but Kagami still found ways to use the local herbs and spices to create new and exciting blends of flavours, backed by a hearty staple of rice, which grew in abundance on the rainy side of the mountains.
As he grew older, Kagami started to get quite tall, and after some prodding (and begging and shouting and pouting) Tatsuya finally agreed to teach Kagami sword fighting. As a familiar, Tatsuya was not very powerful and could not hold his human form for very long at a time, but in his time he had grown quite adept with a sword and was an excellent partner for Kagami, who improved so quickly that by his 18th birthday, he had already surpassed his teacher.
“Hah! See, I told you I could kick your feathery ass any day, Tatsuya!” said Kagami, elated by his victory. With a quiet poof Tatsuya returned to his magpie form, though his eyes still held that same proud fondness he had had as a human.
“You just have a height advantage now, that’s all,” he teased, prompting Kagami to rant and rave all the way back to their home about how his victory was well-deserved and how he wanted to become the best swordsman in the world.
When he recounted his victory to Alex, she swept him up in a crushing hug and planted a big, wet kiss on his forehead.
“Alex!” Kagami squealed, embarrassed, and he squirmed out of her grasped and quickly wiped her saliva from his forehead. “You’re so old and gross, stop that!”
“Hey, I’m allowed to be proud of my little tiger!” she giggled, tugging the redhead by the arm into the house, where a virtual feast was laid out and waiting for them. “Happy birthday, Taiga!” she sang, and Tatsuya echoed the notes of her infamous birthday song as she continued to sing, Kagami covering his ears and pretending not to listen as his cheeks grew redder and redder.
“You guys are so embarrassing,” he muttered when they finally finished, and the two simply shrugged before sitting down and digging into the food.
~~~
Late that night, Kagami was snug under his covers and trying to fall asleep when a sudden feeling made him sit up and look out the window. The sky was clear and the stars were beautiful, their light shining down onto the forest that grew down the mountainside. Kagami sighed, taking in the sight, when the feeling came back.
It was like… a tugging sensation, deep within his chest, and it made him feel restless and wide awake. Confused, he wanted to walk out his room and go ask Alex what was wrong with him, but he suddenly found that he could not tear his gaze from the window, his eyes slowly drawn downwards from the stars, down down down the slope of the mountain to the speck of warm light far below where the nearest human village sat, a three-day hike from their home.
I need to go there, Kagami thought. He did not understand where it came from, but he somehow did not question it. It felt right; it felt necessary.
Quickly and quietly he stepped into his hunting clothes, slipped on his sturdiest boots, then grabbed the biggest bag he could find and started packing it full of spare clothes, tools, weapons, water, and of course, food.
As he passed the closed door to Alex’s room, he stopped and wondered for a second if he should tell her where he was going, or at least leave a note, but the tugging sensation returned and the thought was lost. A moment later he was out the door, breathing in the crisp night air and staring at the warm glow of the faraway village.
I need to go there, Kagami thought once again.
And so he left, disappearing into the forest without a single glance back towards the only true home he had ever known.