The forest was damp, incredibly so. Not only that, but there was still a drizzle going on. Though it seemed like this was nothing compared to what had fallen down before. The ground was just soaked and I felt my legs sink into the dirt ever so slightly once we were in the fields outside the forest.

“I know my parents wished for rain, but damn,” I let out. “They got way more than they bargained for it looks like.”

The skies were still filled with clouds and the time of day was hard to gauge due to the partial darkness they brought with them. I was glad that my family wouldn’t have to water the fields by hand, but I longed to see the sun again.

I could really do with drying all this hair right about now.

“You won’t get sick, will you?”

She was obviously referring to the fact that I was hardly wearing any clothing. In fact, I didn’t know if this silk counted as clothing at all.

“Doubt it. I don’t feel cold in the slightest. How about you?”

“This little bit of rain?” She said, looking at the sky. “I’ll be fine, as long as it doesn’t get worse. We can always hide in the storehouse as well.”

“A bit of a sad end to a great day, isn’t it?” I said softly. “Hope we get some sunshine soon. I imagine Elira is just jumping with excitement to learn how to use magic.”

“If only she knew that it’s not at all as fun as she thinks it is.” She sighed. “The start was pretty painful, honestly.”

“Painful?” I asked for clarification.

“Really, really difficult.”

“I see.”

We arrived at the farm and in the distance, I could see the clouds drift apart just enough for a ray of sunshine to break through and illuminate the world below. I couldn’t help but allow it to lighten my mood as well.

That, and a certain elven girl had her face plastered against the window.

After she noticed the seven of us appear, she in turn disappeared, but within seconds, the door swung open and she came running. Her impulsiveness sparked the same reaction from Elle, who ran directly at her.

“Hey, sis!” She called as she hooded the giant spider. “How did it go? When can we do magic practice?”

“I knew it,” I said with a grin.

“As did I,” Cellestra replied with a giggle.

“You’ll have to ask Cellestra, and probably your parents too.”

I had barely spoken the words and they already appeared in the doorway, looking slightly concerned when they saw that most of my ‘fur’ was all wet.

“Don’t worry,” I said, trying to reassure them before turning to Elira, and speaking loud enough so my parents could hear it too. “And yes, the dungeon went well. We went out and hunted some of those large cow-like creatures.”

“Woah, that sounds cool. Can I watch it sometime?”

“Well.” I stopped for a few seconds. “It’s not really safe. Maybe someday, but it could be quite some time before then. Sorry about that.”

“Let’s not keep you out here in the rain,” My father suddenly spoke as he walked down the steps and handed me the storehouse key. “Go warm yourselves up until this passes.”

“This is nothing compared to what you had earlier by the looks of it. Guess you don’t have to water the fields anymore, huh?”

“Not for quite a while,” My mother replied with a smile. “But hey, go get dry. We’ll make dinner in the meantime.” She took one step down and looked around the sky. “By the looks of it, it’s going to be dry later, so that’s a relief.”

“Thank you,” I said warmly.

“Can I come with you, sis?” Elira asked with large eyes, prompting me to look at Cellestra who nodded.

“Sure. I don’t think there’s going to be any better time to get things started. You remember what we said earlier, right?”

“I do, and I won’t forget.”

“Alright, let’s get started then.” I looked at my parents again. “It’s not a problem if we stay for another night, is it?”

“Not at all. As we said earlier, you’re welcome to stay whenever you feel like it,” My father said reassuringly.

“Great. Whenever dinner’s ready, just call for us, or knock.”

He nodded. “Will do.”

We made our way inside the shelter and closed the door after Cellestra had taken out her spell orb to light up the place as I used my flame spell to breathe new life into the oil lamp.

“Just give us a few minutes,” I said to the girl who’d launched herself into the hay. “I think it would be a good idea for the two of us to get dry first.”

“Sure!”

Cellestra knew what was coming and placed herself in front of me, a smile on her face and her arms lifted in the air. Without hesitation, I bathed her in a steady stream of warm air, causing her clothes and hair to dry in no time. When I was finished with her, I went on to do the same with myself and my spiderlings.

“Woah, that’s so cool!” Elira called out excitedly when she caught some of it.

Cellestra giggled at her comment.

“No, it’s warm.”

I chuckled at her joke and then made myself comfortable in the hay, watching Cellestra get ready while telling the overly attached Elle to stop hugging Elira. There was no way she could practice magic like that.

Then, when everything was set and done, Cellestra sat down on the wooden floor before me and asked Elira to join her.

“Your mana,” She started. “Can you feel it flow when you cast that spell we gave you?”

“Flow?” Elira asked, looking up to the other. “I don’t know.”

“Try casting it to see if you can. It should feel like a stream that courses through your body, then to the focal point of where the spell is cast from. Do aim up high so you don’t set things on fire here. Kealyna, are you ready in case things go wrong?”

I nodded. “Always.”

“Can I?” The little girl asked hesitantly. Her energetic nature had made place for a rare seriousness.

Cellestra nodded, and Elira started casting the spell.

“Can you feel it?” She asked. “It can be very faint, but feeling it is the first step to controlling it.”

The girl shook her head.

“I can’t. I don’t think so… Should I stop?” her voice sounded disappointed, but I knew that Cellestra had something to help out.

“Yeah,” Cellestra replied. “Conserve your energy.”

“Now what?” Came Elira’s voice with a whisper.

“I’m going to use a spell on you. Don’t be afraid or scared. It can feel weird, but I’m going to try to help you, alright?”

A quick nod followed and the mentor placed one of her hands on the girl’s forehead before closing her eyes. I saw Elira do the same, likely trying to imitate Cellestra in hopes of it helping. Maybe it did, I couldn’t know.

A few seconds later, I saw Elira shudder. It looked like she got scared and the hand was removed from her head.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. That felt… weird.”

Cellestra smiled at her.

“That’s okay. That happened to me the first time as well. You need to stay relaxed and just let it happen. If you don’t, then this spell doesn’t work.”

I did not know about that. Her spell had never failed on me.

“Okay,” Elira replied as she took a deep breath.

“Let’s try again,” Cellestra spoke softly. “Just relax and take it easy. When you’re ready, just nod.”

She placed her hand on Elira’s forehead again and waited until the other nodded.

It was hard for me to tell how well things were going, but Elira shuddered again, slightly this time, before calming down quickly. It seemed it hadn’t interrupted the spell as Cellestra was still going, her eyes closed and focus written all over her face.

“See, it isn’t so bad,” She whispered. “I’m trying to see where your mana is and how it flows through your body. It feels weird, doesn’t it?”

Elira nodded softly and eventually Cellestra removed her hand before turning to me.

“It’s there, but she can’t see or feel it, which is fine. It happens.”

“So what’s next?” I asked. “She casts the sparkstorm spell while you trace her mana?”

“That’s exactly what is next, but there’s a bit of an issue.”

“Which is?”

“She’s young, and my spell appears to be quite taxing on her. Near the end of the cast, I could feel it was trying to actively avoid me, as if it had had enough. I don’t dare to use it again just now.”

“Well, damn,” I said. “So, we wait?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s a way around it.”