Eve had always been, and will probably always be, curious. Having grown up in a magical household, it was difficult not to be, with all the flying objects and mystical potions and fantastic beasts. Eve aspired to be exactly like her parents, her mother especially, as she was a renowned mage, yet kind, loving mother. So, at the young age of eighteen, Eve was sent to the Draiotcha School of Magic.
Shy little Eve had quite a hard time finding friends. Her quirky disposition, in addition to her habit of accidentally setting things on fire caused many to stay far, far away from her. But she didn't let that put a frown upon her countenance. She was, after all, going to be the best mage that the world had ever seen. Or so she so often dreamed.
Head tilted upwards, long dark hair cascading down the front of her long robes, eyes sparkling, Eve gazed longingly up out of the wide glass ceiling of the potions lab. "Another day has gone away..." She mused quietly to herself, remembering her mother as she did, as it was her who first coined the phrase to a six-year-old Eve. There was no point in Eve's hushed tone, as she was the only one left in the lab this close to midnight. Her fellow mages had all been invited to a party, and if Eve had the urge to poke her head out of the heavy lab door, she would have been able to just barely catch the throbbing and pulsing of thunderous music.
"I don't have time for parties anyways," Eve said, a little louder this time, for she was attempting to fully convince herself of her words. "I have experiments to do." And with that, Eve returned to her work.
Eve stared at a musty old tome, trying to decipher the words that had been written in ancient text. She wished she had paid more attention in language class, but it was too late now. Eve was determined to successfully make this potion, one for summoning familiars, by tonight. Her classmate had all been able to summon unique creatures during class time, and the scoff that Professor Desmonia after seeing Eve's puff of smoke had become firmly imprinted within Eve's mind.
"This should be it..." Eve held up a glass beaker, its contents a vibrant green. "Color looks... okay..." Even brought it to her lips. As she tilted the cup's contents into her mouth, she thought a prayer to the Gods that it would work.
Not five seconds after the first swallow of the potion had gone down Eve's throat, she felt the tingling of magic throughout her body. This is it! It has to be it! Eve thought with excitement. With bated breath, she sent a burst of magic out onto the ground beside her. There was smoke... yes... and where there was smoke, there was...
Eve let out a resounding groan when the smoke cleared, and here was absolutely nothing left remaining. No big tiger, no fox, not even so much as a fly. "Oh, come on! What did I do wrong?!" Eve wailed, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation.
Desperately, Eve went back to the book, flipping through pages. "Maybe it's the recipe. Maybe if I try another..." The titles of these potion were absolutely nonsense to her for the most part, but she could recognize the symbols for 'summoning potion'.
"Ah! Here's one!" Eve cried triumphantly, ignoring the fact that she only knew the first three symbols in the title. She also forgot to check the picture of the finished result in the back. In her haste, Eve zeroed in on the ingredients, and the ingredients only.
Immediately, Eve threw out her hand in an attempt to use magic to send a beaker to her from the other side of he room. The container moved, yes, right past Eve at a startling pace, smashing to pieces on the wall behind her. "Oops," Eve said sheepishly as she walked to the shelves instead, her short robe swinging. She had modified and dyed the garment herself - and gotten into trouble for it - but she just couldn't stand the lengthy fabric (of which she kept tripping over), and the plain, boring black.
Beaker now properly obtained (and intact), Eve set to work for the umpteenth time that day. Her eyes narrowed in concentration, adding ingredient, mixing, stirring, chanting incantations... She found herself needing ingredients they had never used before in class, but Eve managed to find them behind a locked cabinet. The one spell she had managed to perfect was the one for opening locks; it came in use from time to time, especially when she lost the key to her room, which was fairly often.
Once Eve added the final ingredient, she watched as the mixture fizzled and immediately turned a deep crimson. "Um..." Eve muttered, confused. It isn't supposed to be this color, is it? But it was sparkling, and it had made a reaction... So without any further thought, Eve downed it.
A more powerful surge of magic shot through her without a second of delay. It was so overwhelming; she could barely control it. Her hands shook, trembling intensely. She had to shoot it out, she had to get rid of it before it sent her into magic overload. So Eve turned her hands to the floor, and shot as much magic as she could onto it.
Just like before, the smoke started, but this time a deep red. Eve kept her hands suspended, ready to dispatch any strange creature that appeared. But as the smoke obscured her vision almost completely, Eve wasn't able to discern if restraining magic was required. It never occurred to Eve that she probably should have cast some anyways, just in case.
Suddenly, from the smog, a thick, red, slimy tendril shot out like an arrow, aiming straight for Eve. She was so surprised she didn't react, and the limb was allowed to wrap itself around her torso. "Hey!" Eve cried, trying to cast the restraining spell now, but it was too late. Only feeble sparks came from her palms, as she had used most of her energy when summoning the creature in the first place.
"Help!" Eve yelled desperately as another tentacle came flying at her, this time coiling around her ankle like a snake. But her voice could not be heard; everyone was at the party, or in their rooms, far, far away on the other side of the great castle. "Damn it!" Eve cursed as yet another tentacle hit her, subduing her other ankles.
Slowly, the creature began to lift Eve into the air. "Put me down!" She continued to struggle, trying again and again to cast magic but her pool of mana had been drained, all of her energy sapped. After her fifth try, not even sparks emitted from her trembling hands. The monster obviously decided that her arms were problems too, so two more tentacles from the seemingly endless pool came around her wrists as restraints.
Effectively unable to move, Eve found herself in the direst of situations. The smoke around the room and creature refused to clear, obscuring her vision, but it didn't matter now anyways. She wasn't going anywhere at all.
