The next morning, Cal was awoken by a shrill whining.
“Gah!” She winced in pain. Opening her eyes didn’t help as the bright light hit her eyes, amplifying her pounding headache. Beside her, Alendra had a similar reaction as she fell out of the bed and reached desperately for her bag.
“What the hell is that?” Cal said, covering her ears.
“Just a second!” Alendra opened her bag and pulled out a small contraption. She flipped a switch and the noise stopped. “There. That’s better.”
“Seriously, what is that?”
“It’s an alarm I got so I don’t sleep late.” Alendra put the device away and rubbed her temples.
“Allie, it’s the weekend.”
“And I’ve got things I need to do.”
“You work too hard.”
“Thanks.” She ran a hand through her hair and frowned. “I don’t suppose there’s a potion to deal with hangovers, is there?”
“I intend to find out,” Cal said, slumping back on her bed.
“Let me know when you do.” Alendra stood and walked to the door. “And don’t forget, you promised to get your hands checked!”
“Right,” Cal raised a lazy hand to wave goodbye and then turned over to groan into her pillow. When she finally worked up the energy to get up, she regretted it instantly. If sleeping on the make-shift bed alone was uncomfortable, trying to share it with someone else was nigh impossible. Cal sat up and winced, slowly stretching her neck and feeling her muscles protest.
Her clothes were rumpled and unkempt, to the point where even the street urchin in her was unhappy, but the only other clean outfit she had was Callion’s velvet dress, and there was no way she was putting on a corset again. She gripped the handrail of the stairs and grimaced as pain shot through her hand. She let go and leaned on the wall, sliding down as she descended.
“Morning, dear,” Sable called from within the kitchen. “Late night?”
“Something like that.”
“I didn’t even hear you come in.” He lifted a mug of steaming tea to his lips. “Though I saw your friend leave.”
Even in her bleary state, Cal caught his meaning. “She’s just a friend.”
“Oh, to be sure.” Sable said, sipping his tea. “Anyways, you look terrible.”
“Thanks. You wouldn’t happen to know of any hangover cures, would you?”
“A shop down the street sells some that work well.”
“Really?”
“Though I doubt you could afford their prices.”
Cal winced. “Figures.”
“Next best option is one of the wading pools. Nothing like cold water to clear the head.”
“Point me there?”
“Left out of the shop and past the bridge.”
Cal nodded and left, stumbling down the second staircase and then out the front door.
The morning sunlight did nothing to help her headache, and she blinked until her eyes adjusted. It was early still, and the usual hustle and bustle of the Falls had yet to pick up. She followed Sable’s directions, going left until she crossed over the bridge and saw a small path between two buildings.
Unlike most of the alleys, the stones slanted downward, towards the waterline of the canals. At the end of the path, it opened into a sort of miniature bay.
The cobblestones formed a semicircle around a shallow body of turquoise water, like a little tide pool. A net was stretched over the entryway, presumably to keep out detritus.
She’d used public baths before. In some cities they were the only way to get clean. Cal looked back up the path and, once reasonably sure she wouldn’t be disturbed, began to undress. She got down to her smallclothes and dove in. The cold water was a shock to her system, and she surfaced gasping for air. She wiped the hair out of her eyes and floated on her back for a while. She didn’t know if the water had some sort of magic placed upon it, but it felt as though it was seeping all her aches away.
She allowed herself a few minutes of luxuriating before cleaning herself. Without soap, she just had to scrub as best as she could. Soon, her skin was pink and raw, but clean. She stepped out and wished she knew some sort of spell for removing water. As it was, she donned her clothes while still damp and left the pool.
Next, if only to keep Alendra from hounding her, Cal wandered around in search of a healer. It didn’t take her long to find a shop. She stepped inside and was greeted by the strong scent of antiseptic and incense. A man with a trimmed salt-and-pepper beard looked up from the counter.
“Welcome! Does something ail you, young lady?”
“Hi, uh, I cut my hands.” She held out her palms.
“That’s all?” The man looked at her incredulously. “Young lady, I deal in serious medicine. My clients trust me to reattach limbs, save them from incurable poisons, and bring them back from the brink of death.”
“Then this should be easy for you.”
“It’s a waste of my time. Come back if you lose an arm.” He looked back to the pages on his counter.
Cal frowned. “What, that’s it? What kind of doctor are you?”
The man scowled as though she had spat in his face. “I’m not a doctor, I’m a mage. If you want someone to deal with your paper cuts, try Blood Alley. That’s where all the Spring Court hopefuls go to practice.”
Cal sighed and turned to leave. On her way out, she made a mental note of the lack of magical wards on the mage’s windows.
She’d been piecing together a mental map of the Falls District since she’d arrived, but she hadn’t seen any signs for a ‘Blood Alley.’ She asked around and found out that it was a nickname for a place called Hotspur Row.
The street was lined with small alchemical shops and stalls. Anatomical charts and ingredients hung in the windows and the cobblestones were covered in poorly-washed bloodstains. Even now, in the early hours of the day, the street was crowded. There seemed to be two groups of people; the first was the ill, sickly and destitute. It was clear that they couldn’t afford to go anywhere else, not if the established healers were anything like the one Cal had seen.
The second group were the students. They hung out in pairs or small clusters, whispering between each other and watching those who passed by with eager eyes. Cal shrugged off their gazes as she wandered through the crowd.
“Need healin’ there, miss?” One called out to her. “Five drams and I’ll check you out.”
“I’ll do you for three!” His friend shouted as he stepped in her path, causing the small group of students to let loose in cackles.
“Fuck off,” Cal said as she pushed past him. She kept walking, clutching his coin purse in her fist. She needed to find someone discreet. It was possible someone in the Spring Court knew Callion. Towards the end of the street, she saw a lone figure perched awkwardly on the stoop of a closed shop. Fur, large eyes, and the familiar musty smell confirmed it was a Len.
Ah! Cal smiled. Good. Plenty of Len had passed through the squatter camps Cal had called home at one time or another. Once you knew how to speak to them, it was pretty easy to get what you wanted. That, and they tended to be far less nosy than humans.
This Len had his head buried in a book. Cal approached and waited for him to notice.
It took a few minutes.
Finally, the sun was high enough that her shadow began to touch the edge of the Len’s book. He wrinkled his nose and then looked up.
“Oh!” He snapped his book shut. “You require medical assistance?”
Cal opened her mouth to respond and remembered that this was a Len. Conversation was meant to be a game—the stakes of which was usually money. She held out her hands.
“I have a few small cuts, hardly worth the effort.”
The Len smiled. “Then perhaps even one as unskilled as I can help.” He reached forward for her hands and then stopped. His smile dropped. “I will have to touch you in order to help.”
“I expect so.”
The Len raised an eyebrow, but carefully turned her hands over, looking at the wounds.
“These are more serious than you say,” he said. “You may need advanced care. It could be very costly.”
“I don’t wish to trouble a… Heal? Is that what you’d call them?”
“So you come to a Study? You are a strange human.”
“If this is too challenging, I understand entirely. I’ll find someone competent—”
“Wait!” The Len clutched her palms tightly and closed his eyes. Suddenly, there was a bright light and misty lines began to form in a web pattern around his hands. Her limbs felt strange, like being jabbed with pins and needles. Cal wanted to pull away, but watched with amazement as the ragged cuts began to shrink, the skin repairing itself. When the Len was done, the wounds had become nothing more than small, silver scars. Cal stared in wonder at the magic.
“Not bad,” she muttered.
“It is average. That will be five drams.” The Len held out a hand expectantly. “Unless you want me to do something about the scars of course.”
Cal smiled. “Study, you really should discuss payment before rendering services.”
Somewhere beneath all the fur, she could swear she saw him blushing.
“I… that is theft.”
“Theft is taking something with a price tag. How was I to know you would charge for your healing?”
The Len stared at her with what was either fury or amusement. She never could tell with Len.
“Who are you?” He finally said.
“I am a customer.”
“Do you have a name?”
“Of course, don’t you?”
The Len was wary, but Cal saw him try to hide a smile, “Doesn’t everyone?”
Cal sighed. “Well, this has been entertaining, but I must be off.” She turned to leave, then paused and looked back to the Len. “Actually, I’ve always wanted to try this. I’d like your name. What’s the phrase you use? Honest truth? Honest word?”
The Len’s face fell, “You were doing so well. Almost as well as a Len. A little more time and you could’ve won.”
Cal shrugged. “Losing only matters if you want to win the game. Now, you’re name?”
“Study Yam Hist. And you?”
Cal wagged a finger. “Now that would be telling.” She reached into the coin purse she’d taken from the other student and fished out a clump of gold, definitely at least five drams. She tossed the nugget to Yam. “Thanks for playing.”
She turned and left, leaving the Len to stare down at the money in his hands while he opened and closed his mouth like a surprised fish.
As she exited the street, she took a left towards home, smiling as she went. Something in one of the windows of a store caught her eye. Something rather familiar. She stopped, cupping her hands to block out the light as she peered through the glass.
Inside, for a price tag of fifty drams, she saw her boots. The ones she had enchanted for Teagan’s class.
Impractical Magic 
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