Light was having a bad day.

Yesterday he and his partner found a grove, were beaten in a fight, gorged themselves on fuzzy critters, watched the strange man fail his mating dance all evening, fell asleep with a full stomach, was startled by flashing light, woke up to find more fuzzy prey, and to top it all off there was now a foul stench permeating the area.

Light didn't understand the concept of an emotional rollercoaster.

Neither did he know what whiplash was.

Or a migraine.

But he has had it all.

He was currently watching the human squatting down near the giant rock, howling.

"Aaaaaaaah-gh."

The man groaned, shaking violently, stopped, and grunted loudly.

Light ignored him and paced over to the other side of the rock and found a similar scene.

Soft sobs and sniffles.

"Why... Why me?"

Light walked back to the other side, rubbing his paws in the slick grass.

The bigger human still squatted, holding a shovel.

"I am so sorry."

He yelled in the direction of tiny human.

Light could hear tiny broken sobs.

"I checked the mushrooms for poison but not diarrhetics."

The man apologized, looking sour.

Light pranced over to tiny human, enjoying himself.

Tiny human was hiding her face.

"Was... Was it a shiitake mushroom?"

Light trotted back.

"While I can't say it wasn't, I believe your reason for thinking that is wrong."

Light wasn't sure why they seemed upset. The mushroom they ate clearly smelled bad before digestion. One of his former packmate's pups had eaten one.

The pup didn't make it.

The two humans should have expected this.

Light's partner walked over and dragged him back to hunting; they needed to regain their strength. Losing to that weak human again wasn't tolerable!

As Light walked away with Night, his ears perked up.

"Everyone poos."

"PIXIE'S DON'T POO!"

=

Pixies do poo.

Violent found this out in the worse possible manner.

Fortunately, she had gotten much stronger since last night. Able to vaporize any evidence of this sordid event.

There was a clear difference in her magic. When she cast magic with the intent to erase, her magic was stronger. It was focused, directed, and bright.

"Huh, what was that light just now?"

Daire waddled over to her side of the rock.

"I told you Pixie's don't poo."

Violet gestured around her vaguely, looking as dignified and noble as possible, ignoring the burnt circle of grass.

"I... see."

Since he didn't address the smoking circle, her acting must have worked.

You better believe it.

Daire wasn't in a condition to refute. Nor did he want to.

"On an entirely different note... I am glad you are alright after last night. You were glowing."

"Thank you."

"What? No, no, you're mistaken. You were literally glowing."

Daire quickly corrected her.

"An enormous lightning bolt struck Willow. You were so charged full of energy that sparks were dancing around you. Since I could see your chest rising, and you were talking about food in your sleep..."

Daire thought back to how she had eaten more food than should have been physically possible. He then glanced to the golf ball-sized circle of black, charred grass.

"...and how there were no complications afterward, I assume you are fine."

Violet was wary when he glanced at the aftermath of her magic, but he didn't press the matter.

Then the contents of what he said hit her.

Daire had watched her sleep!

How am I supposed to feel about this? Angry? Yes, angry! But also thankful since he worried so much. But angry again since he stared at my chest. But also a bit bashful. But also angry!

Violet was born from lightning, so electricity could never harm her. Having exhausted her magic right before bed, the lightning bolt served to super-charge her battery. Violet's power had certainly been upgraded, her... pool... was larger, and her control seemed to refine.

But I can't just ignore the fact he was staring at my chest! Even if he was worried about me.

Sure, Daire didn't know Violet was completely immune to lightning. Perhaps he thought Willow would catch fire. She wasn't sure if there were other ways to check if she was alive, but she HAD been unconscious. Was it inappropriate or similar to the Good Samaritan Law?

Stupid law books! Stop being vague and tell me the right answer!

Daire was completely unaware of the intense internal struggle he had sparked.

After a full minute of intense staring, Violet answered.

"Thank you for worrying about me."

Daire scratched his head.

"Any time."

He didn't know how close the verdict had been.

=

Daire was going over the experience of being struck by lightning with Violet. Asking several questions about her control and mana pool, learning about her immunity and such.

Violet kept flinched, so Daire refrained from saying the word "pool".

Apparently, her power and mana reservoir had grown to by nearly 3 times.

She could create about 30 small sparks, 5 shocks that could startle, and 1 that shock could stun a small child for a couple of seconds.

"That lightning strike was a small blessing. You've powered up!

"Isn't it awesome?

"It is. But I still think practicing nightly is a good idea."

Violet's enthusiasm simmered when evaluating her skills on a practical level.

"I was planning to continue the exercises anyway. My magic is still not capable of knocking someone out. I might as well be a sparkler with wings..."

Daire frowned at her negativity. While she couldn't do much now, she was already helpful against critters. Not to mention the amazing end-game potential.

"That is not true."

Daire stated adamantly.

"You shouldn't be limited to simple sparks. There should be other things you are capable of. In the same way, fire doesn't just harm and can be used for warmth, cauterizing wounds, creating an explosive force, or granting the ability to fly."

Daire's mind went to a certain firefighter who could project fire out of his feet.

These things take ultra-fine control and energy management, but they are entirely possible in the world of magic.

"Lightning is a hybrid element made of three major elements. If anything, you should be more capable than any Fire or Air mage out there!"

Violet perked up.

"Hey, your right! I could be known as Ultrasonic Lightning Fist!"

Violet started jumping in place, throwing speedy jabs.

Daire wondered how she arrived at that conclusion, but he didn't want to dampen the mood. He had plenty of ideas for lightning magic, having studied intensely. However, if he were to tell her, it could influence her growth in a bad way. Or she could become reliant on outside support, hitting walls and unable to progress on her own.

Daire wanted to see what she could make of herself.

In comparison, there was not a magical bone in his body.

It was an unpleasant feeling. He didn't even have simple magic. Seeing miniscule sparks coming off Violet's fists both depressed and inspired him.

Magic was exciting, after all.

"You saw what I was doing yesterday, didn't you?

Violet shuffled her stance.

"I did, yes. Haha... you were silly..."

Daire choked, then coughed, pretending to clear his throat.

"Most of my methods were things I learned from popular eastern wuxia and xanxia, popular magical fantasy, cultivation, supernatural, or superpower books. They've provided plentiful ideas, but they are almost all exhausted. Save the ones with lengthy processes."

Daire continued.

"I could try creating a pill to open my meridians, hope that gods descend and steal their techniques, or come across a dying dragon and have their heart replace mine."

"Those don't sound very likely."

"Exactly. They all rely on chance. Finding ancient treasures or manuscripts is highly unlikely. There is no magical high school, so I can't enjoy magical school life. Besides, I don't think I could pass for a teenager anymore."

Daire rubbed the stubble growing in on his chin. He was more likely to pass for a new teacher than a student.

Now, that is an idea...

Teaching was something he always wanted to do, having genuinely loved school. Not the social part. The learning part. Being an academic was his dream. To constantly learn more.

Daire admired teachers the most. For all they gave, they deserve ultimate respect.

Realizing his mind wandered, he continued down his list.

"There is no mages college. I don't know if soul gems are a thing here, but I wouldn't know where to find them other than from the Soul Cairn, which we clearly can't go to. There may be Vampiric magic I could gain as a racial trait, similar to pixie magic, but I like the sunlight."

He rattled off more.

"I could try to find one of this world's Ley Lines and tap into it, but I can't even sense magic in the first place. Maybe I have to go on a journey through my soul and find inner peace for it to awaken? Or I could try becoming one with the dirt, touching it, smelling, tasting it, and listening to its stories..."

And more.

"I could drink from the fountain of eternal life, which depending on the story it is from, could potentially kill me. I could find a wandering disgraced scholar or injured soldier to teach me... OH!"

Daire exclaimed, thumping his fist into an open palm.

"I could try getting struck by lightning!"

=

Violet had a bad feeling about this. She had tried interrupting Daire, but he seemed to already be off in his own little world. Knowing how that goes, it was better for Daire to ride his high to its conclusion.

Currently, Daire wiggled and hopped from foot to foot in an attempt at a rain dance. His arms were open towards the blue sky.

"Strike me down!"

Daire was bellowing.

The wolves retreated to the other end of the clearing, getting as far away as possible. This was the first time Light wished for proper lips so he could blow a raspberry.

Violet couldn't bring herself to crush his hopes and say he just wasn't suited to magic.

So... Violet joined in, practicing her own brand of magic.

Violet could potentially control three major elements. At the moment, Violet couldn't touch Earth or Fire. So she decided to consciously practice Wind magic, performing aerial acrobatics, trying to get a feel for how she moved and if she could speed herself up.

From afar, the duo looked crazed.

Eventually, Violet stopped. Nothing popping out as different. So she tried doing it the smart way.

By studying

She'd once been gifted a textbook by Willow that discussed the specifics of aerodynamics, weather, and temperature. It was all very technical and boring. Since Violet could fly naturally, she tucked away.

Flying back to Willow, Violet fumbled around for the textbook. It wasn't hard to find. There was a system to her madness. The tome was ironically underneath Buried Deep, by Eneer N. D.

Blowing off the dust, charcoal billowed everywhere. Coughing and spluttering, she once again appeared as a chimney sweep.

Ignoring it, she flipped through. The words were long, hard to pronounce, and were strung together in several places, so she tried focusing on the pictures instead.

Violet looked at a specific series of pictures where a blue wave collided with a red wave, creating a spiral.

Something clicked.

Air is wind. Wind is air. Air is hot and cold. Mixing. Combining.

Violet shut the book with a clap. Coughing again, she moved outside to do another test.

Standing in the charcoal covered crater centered in Willow, Violet exhaled. This was the spot where the lightning struck every time since she was born, including yesterday.

Violet vaguely registered Daire gesturing toward the sky in a significantly less enthusiastic manner. Zoned in, she examined the messy blackness that now covered her from head to toe.

Channeling magic, Violet used it all.

Electricity danced around her fingers, glowing light blue with tinges of a deep purple. Clenching her hands softly, the two sparks swirled around her forearms, biceps and shoulders. Her hair whipped violently, knocking away the grass knot keeping her inky hair together.

The dancing sparks traveled back down her shoulders, arms, and to her hands. Palms up, the sparks played in pirouettes. Slowly inching them closer. They taunted each other. Together, they finally mingled, giggling.

Setting off a chain reaction, long hair furiously fluttering, shining with royal blues and purples. The spark in her palms ignited! The entirety of the charcoal and ash erupted. A pristinely clean Violet was momentarily surrounded in brilliant red fire that swirled into a scorching blue vortex.

A Violet Storm.

The air exploded. A streak of azure light rocketed away from Willow in a zigzag formation, making small claps of thunder at each junction, colliding with a still figure.

=

Daire was looking at the sky forlornly.

It was a long shot. It is a shame there isn't another storm...

A brief spark.

Impact.

Darkness.