[Later That Evening, Charlotte-MacNamara International Airport (April 30, 2023)]
When Maria walked into the arrivals terminal after stepping off her plane, she was immediately greeted with the sight of Sebastian standing near the baggage claim area. Despite her calm exterior, the young woman was actually happy to finally see her partner again after so long. Being around the other members of the Conley family had been fun and all, but seeing a familiar face was certainly better after such a long trip.
"What's up?!" Sebastian said with a friendly wave the moment Maria came within talking distance. "Long time, no see!"
"Hey, how's it-" The young woman suddenly paused and gave the bearded man a strange look.
Thanks to her mana-sensing ability, Maria was quickly able to deduce that something was different about her partner than before. He still looked exactly the same as the last time she saw him. But it was what was inside of him that really caught her attention. More specifically, the new mana signature that she could feel coming from inside his body.
"You got a new companion?" The raven-haired woman asked as she tilted her head in confusion.
"Sure did!" Sebastian happily nodded before explaining. "Me, Skylar, and a couple of the other guys busted some cryptid smugglers last week who were trying to move through the city. I'll spare you the details for now, but…we ended up getting into a pretty big fight. After everything had finally settled, we took a look at what they were trying to move, and one of the cryptids ended up being a canine-type. So, I decided to make the most of the situation and claimed him before he could be shipped off."
"Seriously?" Maria asked.
"I know. Crazy, right?"
"What is it?"
"A dire wolf." Sebastian told her.
"Wow, that's a pretty nice catch."
"I know, right? His name is Dumas. He's pretty big, but he's a giant softie. I'll show him to you tomorrow at the station. Oh, and get this! He can use 'ice magic' too!"
Maria couldn't help but smile after hearing that. Sebastian had never really expressed any interest in claiming any new companions since he was so attached to the three that he already had. After all, all of them had been with him ever since before he awakened his powers. So, to hear that he finally decided to make a new addition to his pack was nice to hear. But the fact that he somehow managed to get himself a dire wolf was certainly shocking.
With no reason to stick around this place any longer, the duo began making their way toward the car. It was still pretty early in the evening, but Maria wanted to get home as soon as possible since she had to be at work in the morning. And the sooner they got out of here, the sooner she could finally get some sleep.
"So, how was Texas?" Sebastian then asked the young woman.
"A lot of fun, actually." Maria replied.
"I bet. I heard a lot about Chief Alexander, so I'm sure that he taught you a bunch."
"He certainly did."
"Tell me, does he really have a mouth full of metal teeth?"
"He does." Maria nodded. "It almost caught me off guard the first time I saw them, even after Sam and Alex told me about it the night before."
The two continued chatting until they finally got to the car. After Maria tossed her bags in the back, they quickly hopped in the vehicle and began making the journey to her apartment. Fortunately for the raven-haired woman, she only lived about twenty minutes away from the airport. So she wouldn't have to wait long before she was finally home.
"Anyways, my sister tells me that you're going to Skye's concert in a few weeks."
"I am." Maria nodded to her partner's question.
"Lucky you!" Sebastian joked. "I wanted to go, but Captain Theo already put out the schedule for the month. And, of course, I just so happen to be working the day of the concert and the day after. So I couldn't go even if I wanted to."
"I doubt that you'll be missing much."
"Says the person getting VIP passes…." The man laughed again. "You're going to one of the biggest concerts of the year just because you're buddies with the Commissioner's kids. Man…it must be nice having rich friends."
Maria felt an odd sensation begin to well up in her chest after hearing that. Is that what it looked like to everyone else? That she was getting special treatment because of who she was associated with? Technically speaking, Maria was going to be on the clock for the whole thing. So it wasn't like she was going there for her own pleasure. If anything, she would've preferred to stay home and relax all night instead of spending the whole day surrounded by a bunch of annoying fans and sweaty content creators.
"I'm sure you'll get your chance to go next year." The raven-haired woman said with a calm expression on her face.
"Man, I sure hope so! I've been wanting to go to something like that for years. Robin and Theo always get tickets since they're friends with Skye, but I end up being the odd one out."
"Well then, here's hoping…."
The rest of the drive home was pretty normal after that. The two DPA agents spent the whole time catching each other up on everything that had been going on over the past month, while Sebastian prodded Maria for more details about her trip. Details that the young 'beast magic' user was happy to give him.
It felt good for Maria to finally be home; that much was certain. And she couldn't wait to get back in the swing of things as soon as possible. Now that she was back, she needed to get to work on her ongoing investigation into her father's murder. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling that she was going to be making some very real progress on that front in the very near future. And the sooner she made a breakthrough, the better.
Little did Maria Ortega know that in the coming weeks, her life was going to take a dramatic turn that she couldn't have prepared for. And that she would soon come face-to-face with the man who had ruined her life….
-(o)-
Info Card: Religion
When it comes to religion, the overwhelming majority of sorcerers across the globe identify as either agnostic or having no religious preference. This is mainly due to the existence of the Inquisitors, an organization of anti-sorcerer humans that is widely known to be secretly funded by the Catholic Church. However, this reason is only one of many.
In prominent religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, witchcraft of any kind (including the general use of magic) is condemned as a sin. And any practitioners of it are labeled as blasphemers and heretics who dabble in the occult. While similar opinions are held in parts of the world where the majority population follows either Hinduism or Buddhism.
Because of this, areas of the world such as the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and South America have relatively low sorcerer populations due to sorcerers often being persecuted and/or killed for using their powers. This is such a common occurrence that anyone who awakens their powers in these areas often flees their home country in fear for their lives.
Despite these issues in relation to most mainstream religions, there are several known sorcerer-centric religions across the planet. These include organizations such as the Church of Nine Lights, the Covenant of the Nine Sigils, the Temple of the Arcanum, and various forms of Voodoo. Most of these institutions have relatively small, localized followings. However, they do have some notable figures who are members across the planet.
Many sorcerers are also known to practice various forms of paganism focused on the use of magic. But these forms of worship are mostly individualistic and limited. And their practitioners often perform rituals centered around Norse or Gothic themes from the 19th to 20th century literature.