“Come on,” Vel pleaded, arms outstretched toward Mei’s head. “Just a little longer, please!”
Mei backed away, splashing water at her pursuer with quick, teasing kicks, her eyes bright with restrained excitement. “I get tired if I use it too many times. Let’s just wait until later,” she protested, her voice carrying both exhaustion and playfulness.
Vel lunged again, diving headlong into the rippling water—splash—but she was still too slow. Mei darted aside, slipping through the liquid with effortless grace, letting Vel’s grasp miss by mere inches. Moments later, Vel resurfaced, brushing droplets from her face before surging forward once more with a determined, “Hup!”
But the outcome never changed. No matter how many times Vel tried, Mei’s agility and control left her counterpart hopelessly outmatched.
“W—what are they even doing?” Thea asked, a note of marvel and amusement mingling in her voice.
It took me a second before forming a theory. “Does Vel… like animals?” I wondered aloud, recalling how quickly she’d bonded with Bristle not long ago. Which—speaking of animals—where the heck were the lizards, the snake, and the dogs?
“I think so… We never actually owned any,” Thea mused, “but she always liked watching the families who did.”
Hmm. “Maybe she wants to pet Mei.”
There was a pause.
Thea turned her head slowly toward me, her face unreadable. “Excuse me?”
I froze, realizing how strange that had sounded. “I mean… Mei transforms. She’s part cat—or, well, when she changes, she gets the tail, the ears, the eyes—so—”
“Oooh!” Thea gasped, cutting me off with visible relief as understanding dawned. “That makes much more sense.”
I arched a brow. “What did you think I meant?”
She shrugged. “…Don’t know. It just sounded weird.”
“…Fair enough,” I conceded, easily letting the matter drop.
Mei’s outfit caught my attention, different from her usual attire. Less traditional, looser-fitting, its fabric seemed chosen for the water, yet still crafted with care: small leaf-like motifs etched into its threads, glinting faintly whenever the light touched them.
“You should join them,” a calm voice spoke from behind me. I jolted, swallowing a startled yelp that instead twisted into a strangled noise somewhere between a cough and a groan.
Thea stared at me for a beat before I cleared my throat and muttered, “Stop. Sneaking. Up. On. Me.”
Sei shook his head with deliberate firmness. “You’re my apprentice now. There’s no way I’m letting you stay so oblivious.”
I was about to retort, but he cut me off before I could start. “Don’t worry—I’ll give you kids your privacy. But seriously, we’ll be working on things like this.”
Suspicion lingered at the edge of my thoughts, but before I could dwell on it, another voice drifted in. Amei’s figure shimmered into view nearby, her eyes fixed on the two youngest members still in the water.
“If you keep him busy with new information, Sei will leave you alone… mostly,” she murmured with a sigh, shaking her head in quiet resignation.
This time Thea flinched slightly, startled by our second unannounced visitor.
“Then maybe we should start?” I offered, keeping my focus on the beach.
Thea nodded but suggested another idea. “It’s getting late. We can exchange notes between ourselves first and tell the others later.”
I didn’t mind. Truth be told, I wanted to see everyone again, but it didn’t feel right to wake them or interrupt whatever they might be doing.
“I’ve no problem with that,” Sei muttered, already turning toward the darker line of trees beyond. “But I would like to discuss those beasts of yours.”
Firmly, I shook my head, setting my stance like stone. “You can’t touch them.” My voice came out sharper than I meant it to, but conviction had slipped through instinctively. The snake was one thing, but the dogs, the Goldmanes, wherever they’d wandered—and Thea’s gelatinous admirer? Completely off-limits. I’d already said no, and that hadn’t changed.
Sei only chuckled, undeterred by my tone. “Relax. I’m not planning to interfere. I merely wish to talk about the remarkable creatures that seem drawn to you. Their abilities… they’re fascinating. Dozens of beasts exhibiting advanced elemental attributes.”
So, he had found Bristle’s recruits. My brow furrowed as I asked, “You’ve seen the aquatic lizards, then?”
He nodded without hesitation. “Yes. Spitting acid or water isn’t unheard of, but creating precise icicle projectiles? That’s not something you’d expect from a tropical species. And that one dog. He appears to command the rest.”
Bristle. I bit back the urge to defend his intelligence again. He’d prove himself soon enough, and when he did, it would justify every time I’d been strangely stared at.
“Alright,” I relented, exhaling softly. “We can talk about them later. I’ll need to ask you for a favor anyway.” I let the subject drift away, my thoughts already turning elsewhere.
There was still my plan to test on Lyra. And if anyone could help me navigate the intricacies of Extraction safely, it was someone like Sei: an actual master, not an amateur like me.
“I’ll go fetch Rojin and Synthia,” he said, and before I could reply, he was gone, flashing away in a blur that sent a spray of leaves spiraling upward.
I glanced toward Amei, clearing my throat. “You—you can join too. You’re not technically my Guardian, and I’m sure there’s plenty you could learn.”
Her gaze lingered on her daughter, yet she gave me a brief, acknowledging look. “I’ll listen,” she said softly, “but perhaps I should—”
“Great!” Thea jumped in, cutting her off, clearly ignoring whatever hesitation Amei might have had. “Since you like Sei, you should spend more time with him! It must be hard with your position and all.”
Amei—someone whose power brushed the divine—actually blushed. The faint color on her cheeks was almost disorienting to see. A reminder, really, of how many misunderstandings I’d managed to cause, but technically, Thea wasn’t wrong. Amei did have feelings for him.
“I think it’s a good idea too,” I said, backing Thea up with a grin. “Learning and training together… it’s one of the easiest ways to grow closer to someone.”
“They see us,” Amei murmured, shifting her attention toward the shore. The two girls were emerging from the water, sunlight catching on their slick skin as they walked closer.
Velea paused mid-step. A shimmer of frost spread across her body causing tiny icicles to from before she gave a quick shake, scattering them into the air. The shards evaporated instantly, leaving her completely dry.
Neat trick.
“You didn’t tell me you took Mei as an apprentice!” Vel called out, jogging toward us as Mei reached the beach, grabbing a towel and patting herself dry.
I squinted at her, half-grinning. “Didn’t know I did either!” I called back, stepping down the slope to meet her.
We stopped a few feet apart, water still dripping from her hair. Without a word, she lifted her hand, pointing it straight at me.
“Sorry,” she murmured, her tone suddenly shy. “I finished before you got here.”
Power began to flicker around her. From the air itself, a faint blue radiance gathered, mist condensing.
Mei hurried up beside her, wide-eyed as Velea’s spiritual weapon took shape. First came a thin halo of vapor, spinning faster and faster until it hardened into a gleaming circular blade. Its edges were split with fine crystalline fractures, each catching the light with a deadly, icy brilliance.
“Whoa,” Mei breathed, awe filling her voice. “Can everyone here do that?” She turned to me expectantly, eyes wide.
I shrugged, only half-listening, my attention drawn to the cold gleam spinning lazily above Vel’s palm. “No idea. Everyone should be able to learn it eventually. And I already promised I’d teach you the skill,” I replied absently, unable to tear my gaze from the weapon’s hypnotic motion.
“So, you established your foundation?” I asked, trying to keep the swell of pride in my chest from showing too clearly.
Vel nodded eagerly, her entire posture vibrating with excitement.
“Can I check?”
Without hesitation, she turned her back to me. I placed my hand gently between her shoulders, closing my eyes as my consciousness drifted inward to her Inner Realm.
It was… strikingly familiar. Almost a mirror of my own, save for the subtle difference in hue. The ink-dark saturation that fully consumed mine was here replaced by something softer, frost-tinted and crystalline.
Tiny microcosms of Ice Force pulsed through the landscape, coalescing in one pocket before melting into the next, circulating outward toward her physical form. The flow carried through her muscles, proof that her automatic purification was functioning perfectly.
Not that I was an expert on what an Inner Realm should look like, but seeing one nearly identical to mine suggested she could advance cleanly at least to my current level.
I withdrew my hand and offered a faint smile. “Thanks for waiting before trying Body Refinement.”
She nearly started bouncing in place, the dangerously sharp ring still spinning around her palm. “Yep! I wanted to show you this first!”
I almost laughed. Funny how this all began as an attempt to impress her sister.
A genuine smile tugged at my lips before I could stop it. Her progress really was remarkable. To forge a Spiritual Weapon likely meant she’d already filled her Harmonic Channel some time ago.
Not to be overshadowed, Mei thrust out her hand. “Vel and I trained together too!”
Poof.
A brief spark of light flared from her palm before vanishing in a puff of smoke. A faint pop followed. An explosion.
My heart jumped as the air filled with the smell of burnt ozone, but Mei only grinned, face bright with unearned pride.
“G—good job,” I managed, forcing composure back into my voice. “Your progress is—um—”
Thea, mercifully, stepped in to finish the thought. “You both are doing really well!”
Both girls lit up at the praise, their smiles infectious. Even Amei inclined her head approvingly, a subtle nod of recognition.
My awakening had somehow led these two to develop reflections of my own attributes. Was it coincidence? Or were Thea and Elric now capable of influencing others the same way? If they awakened someone else now, would a Fire Essence be—
“Oh! I can also sense Natural Force clearly now!” Vel announced proudly, puffing out her chest. “Well… I think.”