Badges

Inspired by this Pin:

An amazing piece from Todd Baxter Photography. His work can be found here: http://www.baxterphoto.com/

Warning: No idea this would turn into such a dark short story, especially since it's my first time writing for months. But it did. 

Her Dad's favorite joke, when he saw her in the mornings, was "we don't need no stinking badges!" This never made sense to her, but he had long given up on trying to explain himself, so she'd come down the stairs each day with her hair pulled back, wearing her trim brown sweater over her pale green blouse and her sky blue sash on top of it all, bearing her badges for the world to see. She had badges for every new spell she had learned, from nest building, to agriculture, to her favorite, 'Hoofstock regulation'. That was her favorite to explain to her father, since he understood it as well as she understood his comment about her badges. That is how Suzy walked into the world, armed with an apple and her badges, skipping the third step down from her brownstone, as she headed out to die. 

Suzy never liked her wizard teacher before he took her on as a student. The moldy curtains in the shop window did nothing to improve the smell of taxidermied rabbits and ducks in the shop and the bell above the door didn't tinkle so much as thunk when she walked in. Mr. Shane glanced at her as she walked in, then closed his accounts book and motioned her over. "Today you'll learn something new, Suzy. Another badge for your sash."

Suzy's grin split her face wide as she leaned close, but not closed enough to be overwhelmed by his stench of mold, old sweat, and sharp smoke that hovered just above his skin. "And what sort of a badge will I earn, Sir?"

In response, he took a circle of embroidered cloth from his pocket and placed it on the counter. A fox, mouth agape to display a set of ferocious teeth, stalked her from the threads that bordered the patch, his coat was russet with white starkly outlining his jaws and throat. "What sort of spell is this?"

Shane laughed to himself, pocketing the badge again. "It's a summoning spell, my dear. This is how you'll move to the next level; by summoning and taming a creature to your will, your power will grow and make you a force to be reckoned with."

"Then let's begin." Suzy's grin grew feral as they locked the door and drew the curtains of the shop. Moving as a team, they arranged furniture to bare the dusty floorboards and sweep away the bits of dead spiders and piles of dust until their space was clear. Suzy herself drew the outlines of the spell, first in chalk and then in sand, kneeling in her neat brown shirt on the cool floor. Shade watched as she finished walking the circumference of the circle, then moved to the center and drew power to herself. The spotted curtains swayed stiffly as the magical current swept through the room and swirled into the circle around the young girl. 

"Invoco spiritus meum circulars silvarum. Da mihi potestatem, et irritum facias volume creaturae. I belle mereri insigne domandi. I praecipio vulpes apparere." With her last breath, Suzy unleashed the power she had collected, pouring all of it into the Latin incantation that Shade had given her. The lights flickered in the shop and a loud 'POP' caused both of them to jump. The power flared once more and died, leaving the two of them standing in a cluttered shop, looking down at a small fox. 

Even though the weather was mild outside, the copper-colored creature had a thick, full coat. The black tipped fur on his legs and tail dramatically offset the white on his throat and chest, and with narrowed eyes he seemed to take in the scene quickly, yet remained nonplussed. 

"Come to me, creature." Suzy commanded from inside the circle, holding out her hand to the fox, curled neatly so that not even his fur overlapped the chalk and sand lines scrawled on the floor. "You are mine now. Come to me."

The fox stood and walked to Shane, who backed up into a display of rat bait and pesticides. "Back away creature. I was not the one who summoned you!"

"Without you, this child might have grown to be a servicible adult. Are you aware of how poisoned she has become, human?" The fox stood in front of the man and growled. "You pay first."

The man screamed, high and sharp, then dropped like a stone, crashing into his display and sending bottles and cans to skitter across the floor. The fox rounded on the girl, who had gone pale and trembling inside the circle. "I-I did not know what I was doing! He-he made me!"

With a heavy sigh, the fox ran and leaped for the girl, driving her to the floor. He clamped his jaws on her sash, drawing it tight on her neck. The badges began to smoke, catching fire one by one. First tracking, then shield and fear, onwards through bindings and swarm, creeping up and consuming laughter and sigils, until finally smoldering through nest building, agriculture, and Hoofstock regulation. "Your favorite, correct, little Suzy? Did you enjoy killing all those animals in the name of regulation?" The fox sneered as spots swam in Suzy's vision and her world narrowed to the sound of the animal's voice. "You commanded me to appear, child. You cannot command me to obey."

The shop was later bought by a tailor. He said that he often felt inspired by the community, and would decorate his windows with little circles of brightly embroidered cloth, all connected with a sky blue ribbon.