by lisa feng
“Spirit animals–daemons–are amazing things,” Juno’s elementary school teacher had said. “They can come in just about any form but usually in the form of a companion animal, or, very rarely, a mythological creature that represents your ‘soul and magic.’” “Generally, they start in dreams at a young age and then become visible to only yourself. Eventually, they materialize and appear before everyone’s eyes.” “Not having a daemon isn’t something to be ashamed of. It isn’t!” — “Have you been visited by a spirit? Any strange dreams or feelings?” Mother asked, her bobcat blinking sleepily at Juno from the kitchen. “I think so,” he lied. There wasn’t anything at all, except normal dreams. However, Juno was ten years old, and he was already tipping towards an overdue manifestation. He didn’t want to disappoint Mother. “That’s excellent, honey!” Mother said, smiling at him. But the bobcat’s eyes dimmed, and it turned its head away in disappointment. There were no dreams, and the years melted away like candle wax, leaving nothing but cold hard truth in its wake. Mother stopped looking at Juno, and he stopped trying to look people in the eye, especially under their and their daemons’ collective stares. — It’s also commonly known that people who don’t have a daemon have almost no internal magic, to the point where almost all their ability is narrowed to theory and passive abilities. His career counselor told Juno, “You excel in mathematics and sciences. If you were anyone else, your magical theory scores combined with those would be a one-way ticket straight to some of the best magical research
