"I don't think so."

He pinches the bridge of his nose. "How sure are you that this won't come back to haunt me worse than the 'catastrophe'? And how hard are you thinking about it? Because you answered in two seconds, not enough time for a proper think, so it's not quite obvious to me whether you're taking this seriously."

He's pretty sure this guy isn't lying, at least. He has a bit of a sense for when people are pulling something. Not that reading body language on a stuffed bear is particularly reliable.

The bear looks offended. "Being a cardcaptor is a great honor! And I am the Guardian Beast of the Seal, I would know if there was anything bad!"

Oops. "Right, sorry, I'm just- Stressed. I found out about magic today, you know. Two hours ago."

He relaxes a bit. "And you decided to just try to use it, without knowing anything?"

"Yes. I was working under what I thought was the reasonable assumption that surely a magic book left out somewhere wouldn't be too horribly dangerous, and I still hiked all the way out to an empty field to test anything other than Flower, who I activated by accident, and Glow, who I activated to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. I need to adjust my worst-case-scenario thinking. But still, where was I going to find anything out? I don't know any wizards. So. I'm actually pretty glad you're here."

"There aren't wizards, just sorcerers."

He writes this down, too. Takes another deep breath.

He thinks for a little while. Preventing catastrophe, learning about and acquiring magic with the help of a slightly sketchy spirit thing. Or pretending he hallucinated today. There's really only one option, here.

"Let's do this, how do I become a cardcaptor?"

From the lock of the book, which is still standing, a small glowing ball appears, growing into a small key. "Key of the Seal, there is someone wishing for a contract with you."

Aha. Something he would have liked to hear a few minutes ago. He's beginning to notice a regrettable pattern. "What are the terms of this contract? Or is it just symbolic?"

"The terms are the Key gives you power and you use that to capture cards."

"Okay, sorry if I'm being annoying with all the questions, I'm just being careful. Is there any more detail than that? Do I lose the power if I fail to capture enough cards or anything? I think the answer is no, but should I be negotiating here?"

"You can't negotiate with the Key. Your power and the Key's will be one, and it will grow as you capture more Cards."

...He's mostly sure Cerberus is just bad at explaining, not out to get him. Mostly. "Okay, ready to continue."

He clears his throat and continues. "A boy! His name is Terence. Oh, Key, grant him the power. RELEASE!"

His surroundings are replaced by a black void, the only things present being himself, Cerberus, the Key, and a glowing circle much like the one on the back of the Clow Cards where the "ground" should be. A strong wind starts pressing against Terry as the Key starts glowing again, almost too bright to look at.

He stands, looking as confident in himself as he can manage, and staring determinedly at the Key.

The Key grows and changes shape, becoming a staff.

"Now, Terry! Grab it!"

The wind is stronger, coming from the magical floating staff in the middle of the circle, working against Terry's attempt at doing it.

Pink. What the hell, he'll take the artifact of magical power even if it's pink. Step. Step. Step. Grab!

The wind stops, the glowing circle disappears, and they're back outside. "That's it! The birth of a Cardcaptor!"

"Cool." He swings the staff around a bit, getting used to its surprisingly light weight. Then he reaches into his coat pocket and draws out The Windy and The Float, showing them to Cerberus. "So how should I start practicing using magic? The cards? Memorizing magic words? Meditation?"

"There aren't magic words, but meditation helps, and getting to know the cards well. You can use the card by throwing it in front of you and tapping it with your staff, then calling its name."

Any dire warnings to share? Of course not.

He tosses The Float forward, reaches out and taps. "Float!"

The card twirls in the air a few times before coming to rest on an invisible surface directly in front of Terry, facing him. When Terry taps it, it starts glowing and then becomes a floating balloon.

"Kero, Float can't answer my questions about how it works, can it?"

"No, it can't talk."