Chapter 9 - Master & Student (Patreon)

I waited in Beginner’s Rest for Jessie to start our first lessons together. She sent a letter to my house with a time and date but hadn’t shown up yet. I’d spent almost an hour drinking water by myself at a table, yet there was nothing to show for my patience.

“How long have you been here?” asked Nigel. He appeared seemingly out of nowhere and sat in one of the three vacant chairs beside me. 

“Too long,” I responded blandly. “Is Jessie dead?”

“Ah. No. She, uh, has bad habits, is all,” replied Nigel. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “You’re going to have to wake her up if you need her before lunchtime.”

“But she’s the one who picked this time. I’m a child. She’s an adult. It is her job to follow through with appointments. The burden shouldn’t be on me,” I protested immediately. “Is she actually dumb and lazy? Did I waste my money on her?”

“Th-That isn’t it. Um, she’s very good at what she does, but she’s not very good at being a, well, person.”

“That makes her useless.”

Granted, I didn’t know what it meant to be an adult. I didn’t know anything about my past, how I died, who I was, what I did, how I lived, or anything relevant. While I possessed a depth of knowledge and maturity that no baby could possibly have, having retained many skills from my past life, I didn’t carry over my identity. I was a body without a soul, and it took me years, in a sense, to develop one. My experiences changed me, and I came into my own, but there was still so much about the world and life that I didn’t know.

Even still, I knew Jessie was responsible for me due to her age and authority. At best, I was a remarkable child with an unusual level of intelligence and maturity, but aside from my eyes and my race, I wasn’t particularly skilled at anything. I mean, I fell down the stairs yesterday trying to redo the buttons on my shirt sleeve.

It was Jessie’s job, as someone who’d lived in this world for so long and developed a sense of purpose and personhood, to do what she said she’d do and guide me, the person who paid her, as I required her to.

Well, it wasn’t as if I had any better options. Quintin looked so relieved to pass my training on to someone else. It was time to get the woman’s ass motivated.

Resolved, I sighed and stared at Nigel. “You’ve dealth with this before, haven’t you?”

Nigel nodded slowly. 

“Help me.”

“I was hoping for a break. It’s been my job since I started traveling with my brother,” admitted Nigel. He scratched the back of his head and then offered me an apologetic smile. “It’s not that hard.”

“Come on, just once. Then I won’t ask for you again.”

“…fine.” Nigel begrudgingly stood up. “I apologize in advance.”

We traversed the stairs until we were in front of Jessie’s room, a place I had already been before.

“I’ll take the lead this time, so just, I dunno, reflect on your life choices,” joked Nigel. He knocked. “Coming in.” Without waiting for a response, he opened Jessie’s door and slid inside her room with me closely on his heel. He shielded his eyes as he did, which gave me an indication of what I’d be dealing with. Because of that, I didn’t bother copying him. I wanted to see all the shamelessness and carnage for myself. 

I deadpanned as I entered. How much of a degenerate is she?!

Jessie laid in bed with a woman at her side. Jessie didn’t have any sheets on her and was completely naked. Her body was curled into a ball and shivering as she slept blissfully, hugging a pillow into her like letting go would kill her. 

Beside her, a random woman was sleeping soundly. Her hands were tied to the bedpost with cloth, and all the sheets were on her. She snored soundly, but her skin was red and sweaty. It looked like all the sheets were suffocating her. 

Clothes scattered the floor. It was easy to tell the difference between Jessie’s and the woman’s. Jessie always wore a revealing robe and a hat, which meant the girl owned the pants, shirt, and jacket strewn about. I didn’t recognize her, so this woman must have been some random adventurer, just like the last one.

“Only one set of underwear,” I uttered as I glanced about the floor.

“Jessie says they chaff her,” muttered Nigel weakly.

“She must be powerful for you all to put up with this.”

“Very. And my brother likes her.”

“How so?”

“They formed the party together,” said Nigel. “And they’re in some sort of relationship.”

“Ah. Really?”

“I don’t understand them either.” Nigel untied the random woman from the bed frame. Her lips let out a little grunt of relief as she was freed from the stress of her arms being pulled. “Wake up,” he cooed gently. “It’s morning.”

Slowly, the woman opened her eyes.

“I collected all your clothes for you ahead of time,” said Nigel. He offered the strange girl everything she wore in a neat pile. “Are you hurt? Do you need anything?”

“Water,” she muttered. The woman locked eyes with the door and began to leave, her clothes tucked against her chest. “Tell her…whatever.” She opened the door and left.

Why have so many people left this room naked?

With that, Nigel and I were alone with Jessie. Nigel kept his eyes shielded politely as he crouched beside Jessie. All he did was hold her nose until Jessie gasped for air. “Yen’s here.” He patted my shoulder and swiftly left the room. “Have fun!”

Then it was just me and Jessie.

“Owwww! My head,” whined Jessie. She stood up, her chest sagging as she leaned over the bed like she was going to hurl. Her hair stuck to the sides of her mouth. She gagged, but nothing came out. “Oh, thank the Gods.” She rolled back into bed and stared at the ceiling. “Help me get dressed.”

“With what’s on the floor or something else?” I asked blandly.

“Floor’s good.”

“I bet it is,” I whispered.

“Huh?”

“Nothing.”

After I dressed Jessie, she dragged me downstairs for food and water. Lots of water. As she rehydrated, it literally looked like a corpse came back to life. Her hair seemed to straighten out, the bags under her eyes disappeared, and the smell of sweaty flesh and fluids went away.

Okay, I was exaggerating, but still…

I crammed a bunch of eggs into my mouth. All the while, Jessie kept complaining that I tightened her robes too much in the back. I ignored her until she threatened to strip in the inn and refit her clothes herself if I didn’t help her. It was probably a fake threat, but it moved me regardless.

We then left the inn, walked silently for thirty minutes until Jessie yawned, found a fence post on a mostly deserted part of town, and sat beside it. She leaned her head against the wood while staring at me groggily. 

You respect her, you respect her, you respect her…

“There are four elements: earth, wind, water, and fire. Each one learned brands a finger, and the depth of a person’s knowledge of that element adds another ring to that same finger.” Her tone and personality switched in an instant. She flashed her hand, flexing her pinkie in particular. “I only have one extra for wind, and I’ve been doing this since I was a child, so you can imagine how hard it is to go beyond the first ring of any element.” She paused. “Do you know which element each finger signifies?”

“Pinkie for air, ring finger for fire, the middle is water, and the pointer finger earth,” I replied.

Jessie. “Good. You read the book.”

I already knew all that, but sure.

“If you have all your bands, you’re considered a Weaver. Anything below four doesn’t get a title. As a Weaver, you’ll be able to control all elements at will, both internally and externally, at a basic level. The title for rings has nothing to do with if you use them externally or internally, and the degree to which you can depends on your mana capacity,” explained Jessie. “You earn an extra band on any finger, and you get to be a Tethered like me. If you get two bands on every finger, you’re an Elementalist. Earn a third band on any finger, even if you don’t make it to Elementalist, you skip right to Worldweaver. The difference is that substantial.”

“And if I have all three on all fingers—”

“You’d earn the title Prime Arcana and become one of the most powerful people in history. Very few have reached such highs.” She pointed at her pinkie finger with the extra band. “The first lets me control the element. The second lets me alter its form.”

“How?” I asked, encouraged.

Jessie paused. “Sorry. I was excited and started getting ahead of myself. That doesn’t matter right now, and it’ll only confuse you. I just wanted to introduce you to the basics.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“So why are we talking about this? Well, all mana needs to connect with an element to produce an effect,” she continued. “Why do you think mana is empowered by fire, wind, water, and air?” she asked after a moment. Her gaze shifted as she snapped from drunken slob to teacher. “Why not lightning or grass or ice?”

“Because those four elements are the building blocks for life,” I explained, briefly paraphrasing what I read in the book Jessie gave me. 

“Why?”

“The book didn’t really say why, but that’s what it said,” I admitted. “There was a collection of philosophical arguments to try and explain the logic behind it. Some argued that they were all necessary for life to thrive. Others theorized it was because they’re the base elements the Gods used to create the world. Others argued that there was no reason and that it was just how things worked. There was really no consensus.”

“Very smart and does what I say. Good.” Jessie relaxed a bit into the post. “Makes my job easier. I’m so happy I get to indoctrinate you how I like. If you’d read about mana from some cheap, shit literature passed out by the Pantheon’s quacks, you’d probably just say ‘because it is’ without really thinking about it. That’s only one perspective, after all,” complained Jessie. She scrunched her nose like a cow shat near her. “Blindly trusting anything makes you stupid. Being critical of everything makes you depressed. Try to find a happy medium.”

Even with my explanations and understanding of mana and the elements, I knew there were gaps. What I read and what I “remembered” kept conflicting.

There’s logic to everything. I noted. I just don’t know the logic behind mana yet, and I bet only a few people do, if any. I’d bet anything earning more bands comes with a broader understanding of how mana works on a fundamental level. That means the answers are out there. I only need to find them.

“So, which element do you want to learn first?” asked Jessie as her words interrupted my thoughts. She materialized her codex in her hands and flipped a page. “You’ll learn them all, but if you’ve got a preference, this’ll go faster. Hopefully.”

I was tied between water and wind. Fire and earth didn’t interest me nearly as much.

On the one hand, being able to freely move my body and push people with air was appealing. However, I felt like water was the best pick for me. It could be used defensively to block projectiles, skew attacks, and disorient. It had offensive capabilities, depending on the pressure applied. Plus, in a survival situation, I’d always have access to clean drinking water when needed. It was also the element associated with the Heavenly style, the fighting techniques Quintin knew and used most frequently.

“Water,” I said after a moment.

“Here you go.” Jessie snatched a page from her codex, reached inside it, and yanked out a crude, misshapen, cloudy, hand-sized crystal. She tossed it to me, and I caught it after only fumbling it three times. “Bring the crystal close to me. Hold out your hand.”

I did as I was told.

For the first time up close, I watched someone manipulate mana beyond generating a codex. Her eyes and marks glowed a brilliant violet color as power surged through her.

In her right hand, the one farthest from me, water blossomed in Jessie’s palm. It bubbled between her fingers like it was fighting to escape from a bottle. It morphed around the hand like a raindrop on a table. She twisted her wrist and eventually released the water. It dropped with a splash into the dirt beside her. 

“That’s what it looks like to use mana to create elements,” said Jessie. She then placed her hand on the mana crystal I held. “I’m going to flow that same energy through this crystal. Try to connect to it with your mana. When you feel that connection, allow it to flow freely within you. Visualize your blood moving at your whim and connecting this crystal to your core. That is the key. All the power stems from your stomach. Store it there, and you’ll be able to match me, okay?”

“Very preachy,” I joked.

“Just do it. It helps, or I wouldn’t phrase it so stupidly. It’s not like I can draw it for you. It is an internal feeling. You’re used to it. You’ve channeled your mana. You can open your codex. Just think about that same feeling moving in your veins,” explained Jessie. “It’s good you picked water first. I would have suggested that. Mana moves like a liquid in your skin, so it’s usually the most intuitive for people to learn.”

“Ah. Well, good.”

I did as I was told. At the same time, Jessie began funneling mana into the crystal. Instantly, it felt like some intangible chain connected us through it. My veins overflowed with power like they were channels for energy rather than blood. Then, that feeling shifted. My body suddenly felt cool, and my veins felt like rivers. It was as if my insides turned into pure water at a whim.

Then, the feeling stopped.

“Easy to understand, no?” questioned Jessie as she took back the crystal and stared at me. “What did it feel like?”

“My entire body was flowing with powerful water, ready to bend at my whim,” I replied.

“Perfect. Now, since you’re learning from me, we’re going to use external mana to earn you your first band. Here’s how I visualize it,” began Jessie. She held up her hand. “Imagine there are little holes punctured throughout your body. The mana is rippling internally, looking for somewhere to escape. However, you’ll need to change your mana’s affinity to water first. You already know this, but the power starts in your core.” She patted her stomach. “Surge your mana, change its feeling, and water will form. Then, you need to give it an exit or connecting point, guide it, and direct it where you desire. That’s how it works for mages. I’m sure Barcus will have a different way of phrasing it for his internal mana lessons, but ignore that for now. External mana is always looking to leave your body or connect with similar energies outside yourself—in this scenario, a lake, river, ponder, or something similar.”

As Jessie spoke, water bubbled in her hand again. She released it, letting it flop to the ground like she did before.

“This is just the first step. There’s more, but try this for now,” my teacher ordered. “Getting the feeling is the most important part of the process. The rest comes with time and practice.”

Nodding, I raised my right arm out in front of me and rested my left hand in the crook of its elbow. Mana circulated within me. It felt like power in my veins. I tried to recreate the sensation I felt earlier. The feeling flickered but wouldn’t hold.

“Remember the feeling. Ask your mana to take that form; don’t force it. Your body remembers. Follow through. Slowly. Patiently. Become water. Feel it take over your body again.”

I grimaced. My mana circulated inside me, but the feeling of water was…oh?

Suddenly, the coolness I felt when touching the crystal manifested in my belly. It circulated within me, looking for somewhere to escape. 

I visualized the holes Jessie was talking about and centered them in my palm. As soon as I had the thought, the water within me rushed for the exit I created. 

Liquid bubbled around my fingers. I could feel the water, but it wasn’t making me wet. The amount grew larger and larger until it covered my entire hand like a giant transparent glove with rippling lumps. 

“Now let it go,” ordered Jessie. “Cut off the stream.”

I did as I was told. The internal feeling of water stopped like someone had dropped a dead tree in front of a river. The water stayed in my hand for a few seconds, then plummeted to the ground, just like Jessie’s had.

Puzzled, I focused on the puddle on the ground.

“How is that helpful for self-defense, right?” interjected Jessie like she could read my mind. “That doesn’t seem like it’d hurt a person, let alone a monster or a demon.”

“Pretty much,” I agreed.

“There are essentially three steps in external magic: creation, manipulation, and power. The first step, which you’ve already completed, is to create the element you intend to use. You did it by making water in your hand. But it was unrefined, bubbling, formless, and powerless, yes?”

I nodded.

“It was enough, though. Look at your hands.”

Glancing at them, I saw that black bands had etched themselves into the skin around my middle fingers like rings. They sat right above the knuckle. 

“Just being able to create water at that level was enough to give me a mark?” I questioned, dumbfounded. “But it can’t do anything.”

“Changing your mana to the element was the only requirement,” said Jessie. “Regardless, don’t denigrate the accomplishment. Think about what you just did. You created water using the internal energy within you. It’s a magnificent achievement.”

I suppose that’s true.

“Decades ago, if you wanted to learn water mana, you’d have had to spend hours a day meditating in water. Does that sound like fun? Be more grateful.”

“I am.” I paused. “So…how do we fight with this?”

“If you want to be able to manipulate an element as you see fit, you’ll need to use your mana. Not the mana you change into water, but your raw mana in combination with the elemental mana you create.”

My face twisted in confusion. “Why?”

“The act of changing raw mana to water develops the element but doesn’t create power or form. The mana does that,” said Jessie. “Once a mage has generated the water, they fuel mana into it to contain and shape it. Think of it like a wooden block. Leave it on the ground, and it won’t move without an external force. However, if you carve it into a wheel and push it, it’ll move. The elemental mana creates the block, and raw mana carves the block to the desired shape and pushes it,” she explained. “Basically, there are three steps: creation, manipulation, and power."

Jessie materialized water into her hand again. This time, it emerged in a perfect sphere that floated right into her palm without actually touching her skin. She then dropped it, and its form broke as it splattered into the dirt. “That’s step one and two. Copy me.”

I tried to recreate her ball without prompting as soon as she created hers. Forming the water was easy. Now that I had my band, turning my mana into water felt second nature, as if it were baffling that I couldn’t do it my entire life until this point. 

Water bubbled around my fingers like it did before.

I tried to visualize pushing raw mana into it, but that caused the water to burst, showering Jessie and me.

“Step one and step three, but no step two. Don’t fret. That’s usually how it goes,” acknowledged Jessie. “You panicked as soon as you created the water and forced raw mana into it, right?”

I nodded shamefully. 

“It happens.” Jessie shrugged. She licked her lip as a droplet of water escaped down her forehead. “Manipulation is the hardest but most important part of forming tangible ranged mana. You’re pushing it in. Instead, think of wrapping your mana around the element. It’ll take a bit of time, so be patient. Keep practicing. I’ll help out where I can.”

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•

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It took me three days to figure out how to freely shape the water I’d created with mana. 

Once the water mana was created, I had to quickly end the feeling of water in my body, revert it to raw mana, control that raw mana, and wrap it around the water I created before it lost its connection to my body. If I just slammed mana into it carelessly, the water shattered before it could take form. Instead, I needed to catch the water, as if suspended in air, and contain it.

It was easier said than done.

In front of Jessie, in the middle of the afternoon, I finally held a perfect ball of water in my palm.

Shit, that took so long. How stupid am I? I’m just glad Jessie didn’t give up on me, or—

“Wow! You’re a prodigy,” uttered Jessie as she watched me hold a perfectly round ball of water in my hand. “Usually, it takes longer.”

“How much longer?”

“A month or so. It took me three weeks. I used to feel proud about that, but what does that matter now?” Jessie frowned. “It doesn’t feel good to teach a prodigy, you know. Dammit. All I can think about is how much better you’ll be than me at my age. I’m going to tell myself it’s because you’re a devil, and you have white eyes.” She sighed. “Yeah. Slightly better now.”

Oh. Never mind. Am I amazing? Or is this kind of thing just intuitive for me? Huh. Not sure.

We were in the same place as our first lesson. Jessie gave me plenty of vague advice, but I could tell from her teaching style that she wanted me to figure things out independently.

“Now that you’ve created a shape with mana, it shouldn’t burst when you put power into it,” said Jessie. “Think of it like your element is wearing armor. Just funnel an appropriate amount of strength into it and aim somewhere.”

Effortlessly, I did just that. I pointed my hand at a nearby tree, forced mana into my hand like I did the first time I tried manipulating mana, and many times after, and fired.

The ball soared from my hand significantly faster than I could ever have hoped to throw it. There was a sickening ‘thwack’ noise as it bashed against the bark. The wood sunk inward slightly, but the tree didn’t break, nor was the injury noticeable without squinting.

I frown. “That sucked.”

“What did you expect? You’re a weak little brat,” said Jessie.

“My eyes are white.”

“So? I have violet eyes, and I can confidently say I’d kick your ass in a fight. Eye color doesn’t signify power. It’s more like you have a whole cart full of supplies to work with while I’m carrying a backpack,” explained Jessie. “Yes, you’ve got white eyes, and yes, you’re going to get stronger faster than everyone else, but it doesn’t happen all at once. A fast horse doesn’t run the first day it’s born. You need time and practice.”

“And what? I’ll be able to throw more water balls at trees?”

Jessie frowned at my insinuation. “External mana is about creativity and form. All you did was create a ball of water, Yen. It produced as much power as it was going to.” She stood, brushed dirt from her butt, and turned to face the tree I fired my mana at. “That’s why the manipulation and power stages are important. Watch.”

Water immediately bubbled around Jessie’s hand. Without hesitation, she slashed out her palm. Water arced toward the tree. It hit the wood, branding it with a massive slash multiple inches deep. 

“Oh,” I uttered.

“And for good measure.” Jessie made a ball of water in her hand. It was significantly smaller than the one I made. She lifted her palm and aimed it at the tree. It shot off like a firework, smashed into the bark, and splintered it. The tree fell over, groaning until its massive frame hit the ground. “Put more force into the third step, and the attack’s much stronger.” She glanced at me. “Understand?”

Frowning, I embarrassingly nudged Jessie with my fist. “Sorry.”

“Try to make the arc.”

I copied Jessie and created a powered arc of water. I was successful on my first try and cut into a different tree. While my mark was significantly smaller than Jessie’s due to our difference in experience and mana usage capabilities, it still left a gash in the bark.

“Earth wouldn’t do something like that if you arced it. The damage would be blunter and chip at the wood unless you really refined the edges,” explained Jessie while staring at the tree. “You could get the same effect with wind, but you’d need a lot more mana in order to control it to such a fine degree. And fire doesn’t have the same consistency as those elements, so it would just hit the tree and set it ablaze. You could melt through the tree if you fueled more power into your fire. Just think through what element you’re using and how it interacts with the world. They all operate in similar and different ways—the right tool for the right job and all that. But be creative. Always be creative. Creativity is the most important thing to a mage.”

“R-Right,” I replied as my mentor rambled slightly. “Thank you.”

“Anyone can pick up a sword and kill someone,” continued Jessie. She remained with her eyes set on the tree as if she was seeing some sort of prophecy in the wood. “You’re young, so it’s important you know how internal and external mana work in practice, but they are two diverging paths.” She finally looked at me. “One day, you’ll have to pick a side. Pick the right one.”

After that speech, Jessie taught me the remaining elements using the same methods she used for water, but the process was significantly quicker, given all the effort I put into the water element.

Fire warmed my body like I was huddled in bed on a cold winter morning. It didn’t hurt when the element danced in my palm. Earth mana made me feel heavy and sandy, but it wasn’t intrusive. It felt like I was at a beach with my body submerged in sand, but the sand wasn’t holding me back or restricting me. Finally, there was air. My body felt light and breezy, like wind was moving through my veins.

Before I knew it, I had bands on my pinkie for air, ring for fire, middle for water, and pointer finger for earth, signifying I was officially a Weaver.  

When I earned all four bands, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would take to get a second one on a finger. I’d tried to get that information from Jessie, but she wouldn’t tell me. She said it would complicate my training, so I put to the back of my mind.

With my introductory lessons completed, Jessie gave me a day off to play with my new abilities. She told me that, as part of my training, I should try to circulate all the mana elements, generate them into a ball, and constantly shift between them for a few minutes daily. It was so I could get a feeling for all four elements and increase my ability to activate, manipulate, and switch between them easier.

Only one element could be manifested and controlled at a time, both internally or externally. I couldn’t create a fireball in my right hand and a water one in my left. But if I could make a ball of fire and then one of water right after in quick succession, it’d give me better control overall and significantly negate that inherent weakness.

Jessie also mentioned we’d only be meeting for an hour or two in the afternoons and that my focus should now shift to Barcus and internal mana. She seemed excited when she said that and uttered something about getting her mornings back.

As such, I decided to seek Barcus out and tell him the good news.

Jessie told me they were usually just outside town, north of Beginner’s Rest, in an open meadow where many adventurers tended to train. Coincidentally, that was the exact place where Nigel bashed my head in with a practice sword. I headed there and found Nigel, Barcus, Bydon, and Garreth.

Nigel was lying on the ground, huffing. Garreth stood over him with a blank, sad expression with a wooden sword hanging over his shoulder. Barcus was standing nearby, laughing, while Bydon leaned against a tree some distance away with a look of amusement on his face.

“You didn’t switch at the right time,” Garreth told Nigel. “That’s why you tripped. Your feet couldn’t handle the sudden shift in speed, and your hands threw your body weight forward. Idiot.”

It was both mean and playful. A part of me was looking forward to being treated the same way.

Am I a masochist? Shit, is Jessie rubbing off on me? Gods, I hope not.

“I’m sorry,” uttered Nigel, pathetically. “It’s easy to put the mana in my legs and hands, but thinking through when to switch them is hard.”

“But important. Keep at it,” ordered Garreth.

“Yes, sir.” Nigel leaned his head back and groaned. His eyes spotted me. They lit up immediately. He stood and, almost like a puppy, ran my way. “Yeeeen!”

I smiled. “Down, boy.”

Nigel pouted when he got closer. “Stop treating me like a dog.”

“But dogs are great, and you act just like one.”

“So mean,” whined Nigel. “How’d your training go? Still working on manipulating water?” He smiled sheepishly. “She gave up on me after two months and just taught me the rest of the elements so she wouldn’t have to deal with me anymore. External mana isn’t for me.”

I lifted my hand to show Nigel all the bands on my fingers. “All done.” I formed a ball of water and tossed it between my hands. “I’m a full-fledged Weaver.”

“Wow! That’s amazing!”

“That means you’re mine for a while?” asked Barcus loudly.

I nodded in his direction. “Yes, sir.”

“Never say sir to me again.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Haha…smart ass.” I heard him groan. “Don’t know if she’ll give a shit about swordsmanship if she can learn external mana in less than a week. Guess she’s a genius or something,” he whispered, but my long ears easily picked up his words.

Nigel stood beside me and put an arm over my shoulder. “Don’t get too mad when we spar, okay? I’m sure you’ll win eventually.”

I felt a vein pulse in my forehead. “You’ve only beaten me once.”

“And there are many more wins to come!”

Oh? I didn’t know he had this kind of side to him. Interesting. I can’t let him act cocky like this without repercussions, though. What kind of standard would that set?

“Your smell might kill me first. Here, wash off.” I stopped tossing the water ball I created and dropped it over Nigel’s head. It soaked his hair and shirt. “There! Payback!” I smiled. “All better!”

Nigel’s face turned bright red. Barcus laughed behind him. 

“I can make water, too,” said Nigel. He made water appear in his hand. It dripped carelessly, without control, between his fingers in a steady stream. “Come here. Let me return the favor.”

“Nope!” I took off running. “Later!”

“Come back here!” Nigel chased after me.

The air filled with laughter.