A story from my Ao3 that I figured I would finally post here.

Enjoy!

Ivan wasn't used to this. He didn't understand it. Not one bit. It wasn't like the wind: free, constantly moving, ever changing and shifting through the air, no. The earth was solid, unshifting, unwavering… stubborn.

The wind mage sighed and unset Flint from himself, the Venus Djinni flowing out of his chest as a yellow orb of energy before reforming into its usual brown form. It's big blue eyes stared up at him as it hopped a little on the earth.

"Don't give up, Ivan! Anyone can learn to do it, I believe in you!" The voice of the sprite was encouraging, but Ivan couldn't help but find himself mocked in some way, despite knowing otherwise.

"Thanks, Flint…" He sighed, gazing at the vine he had been trying to influence, "I think I just need a break, get out of my head or something."

Ivan plopped down onto the ground, hugging his legs and resting his chin on his knees. He flexed and curled his toes, feeling the dirt beneath him shift around underneath them, before rhythmically tapping both his feet against the earth.

Isaac made it look so easy, grow a vine, rip open the earth, shoot spires from the ground, smash rocks, throw boulders, it was so natural to him, he never even broke a sweat. And Ivan got that, he understood, he could do hurl lightning, create gales and storms, create blades of air, but even in his native element that taxed him.

Isaac had been training for three plus years to master Psynergy, Ivan had known for maybe a few weeks what his powers were. Isaac was already improving with using Jupiter Psynergy, and so was Garet. At least Ivan could take some solace in the fact that he could use some Mars Psynergy. But his opposing element? That was a hurdle he doubted he could ever overcome.

It felt so wrong to him.

Ivan sighed aloud, calling up a quick gust of wind to whip through his air and around his body. The chill of the wind on his ears and the feeling of rustling cloth helped quell his wandering thoughts. If there's one thing he knew of himself it was how easily he let his thoughts hinder him. The result of a lonely childhood and the power to peer into others minds he supposed.

A burst of wind.

Ivan scrambled to his feet after being knocked off balance by the sudden gust; lightning crackling in his hands ready to retaliate against whatever beast had thought him an easy target. The lightning dissipated at the friendly sight of Isaac approaching him, Ivan's own Jupiter Djinni hovering alongside him.

Ivan smiled wide, "You're improving."

Gust flew over to Ivan, gently nuzzling the boy, earning a quick pet from him. Despite his compliment for Isaac's improvement, he couldn't help but feel jealous or useless in comparison. Isaac could already summon a relatively strong gust while he couldn't even make a vine twitch.

Flint hopped over to brush against Isaac's leg, "It's thanks to your advice." Isaac signed, "And Gust's encouragement of course." He quickly added, his hands moving rapidly, as the Djinni turned to him. "How is your practice going?"

Ivan bit his lip, doing his best to bite back something sarcastic, before letting out a sigh, "Not great, I barely have a handle on my own powers, I don't think I'm ready to start taking on whole other elements, especially one directly counter to my own."

Isaac clucked his tongue and pursed his lips as he eyed Ivan, no doubt trying to think of some advice he hadn't already given him, some piece of knowledge from his time studying Psynergy in Vale, but Ivan had already heard it all and frankly didn't want to hear anymore.

He leaned back craning his neck upward to stare into the sky exhaling a quick puff of breath so he could do anything other than meet Isaac's eyes. He didn't want to see what was in those blue eyes of his.

Isaac clicked his finger to gain Ivan's gaze, "Maybe practicing alone isn't the best way to do it." Isaac signed, "I know we were all practicing as a group at first, but not in a more… involved manner? Maybe if I'm there and not trying to do Jupiter or Mars Psynergy I can help you with Venus."

Ivan doubted it would do much but he honestly didn't have the energy or conviction to challenge Isaac's logic, if he got it over with then he could take a break and not have to worry about it for another day or so.

"Flint?" Isaac prompted, the Djinni quickly resetting itself to the Jupiter Adept. Ivan inhaled slowly as he felt the pulse of energy within him, not that he understood it, feeling his own power swell with that of an opposing element. "What do you wanna try to do?"

Ivan physically resisted the urge to shrug, "I dunno, any easy suggestions?"

"Move a rock? Help a plant grow? If you're feeling confident maybe a small tremor?"

"Let's try the rock."

After all, I got nowhere with the vine, no point in going back to that.

Isaac smiled, grabbing a relatively big stone and placing on top of a nearby stump, "We'll try push it off the trunk, yeah?"

Ivan nodded and focused his gaze on the stone trying to call up the power within himself. He could feel the Venus Psynergy Flint was providing pulsing inside him, and he did all he could to will it into being to influence the stone somehow.

He just had to get it to move, that should be easy. Wind moved, it was fluid, he just had to get the stone to behave like that, he understood movement, fluidity. If he could use the Venus Psynergy to will that into the stone maybe he could move it, it just needed to stop being so still and stubborn.

"Argh." Ivan grunted, balling up his fists and cancelling the pulse of Psynergy he had attempted, "It's not working."

"Hey, hey," Isaac's hand was on his shoulder, squeezing briefly before lifting away, "breathe, you can get this I believe in you." The softness in Isaac's smile was enough to even make Ivan believe it at that moment. "What's your thought process when you're trying to move that stone?"

Ivan slowly exhaled, trying to relax himself a little and turning to look at Isaac, "Trying to make it move. I don't understand why I can't. I'm good at making things move, moving is pretty important to being a Jupiter Adept, wind, lightning, it's all quick and moving, I should be able to make the stone do that too but I-"

"That's why it's not working." Isaac stated matter-of-factly, not as a criticism, the smile on his face showed how he was trying to help. "You're thinking like a Jupiter Adept."

That's not helpful. Ivan physically bit back his response, "Okay, what do you suggest then? Think like a Venus Adept?"

"Nope." Isaac grinned, "Don't think, just try and feel the earth."

Ivan responded with a wide-eyed incredulous stare but bit his lip, simply nodded, and said, "Okay then."

Isaac let a grin slip over his lips, "I know, I know, it's not helpful advice but," He moved closer and tried to guide Ivan's limbs and breathing with his hands. Ivan let his Psynergy kick in to read Isaac's mind, "I'll try help."

It was so strange to hear Isaac's voice, even though he really wasn't. He could see his thoughts and put words to them, but there was definitely some form of voice behind them. It was so strange to try and explain, but there was something unique about it that Ivan loved.

Isaac moved closer to help guide Ivan, which had the boy stiffen considerably. He wasn't used to… contact. And of course it would be with Isaac of all people. He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried his best to refocus on whatever it was Isaac was saying.

"Breathe, feel the Venus energy in you sync up, try to move it through your body, feel it moving through your arms and legs to your fingers and toes."

Ivan exhaled slowly trying not to focus to heavily on Isaac's hands gently guiding him as he focused on that energy within him. Slowly he could feel it move through him, it wasn't like Jupiter Psynergy. Jupiter was quick, impulsive, it burst through his veins in quick bursts and whipped back and forth like the wind, but Venus was slower, steadier, the gentle growth of a plant climbing along a cliff face as it moved from his core to his extremities.

He slowed his breathing, calming more as he listened to Isaac's guidance, feeling the Venus energy spread its roots through him. "Close your eyes." Isaac's voice was soft in his mind, and he nodded and shut his eyes.

For a while there was darkness, small lights dancing around behind his eyelids, before suddenly there was a pulse. Ivan inhaled confused but tried to focus again. He felt the Venus within him reach his feet and move into the earth beneath him.

Suddenly he was aware of his surroundings. He could sense Isaac's energy behind him, where his own Psynergy flowed into Weyard and where it flowed into him. He felt the blades of grass rising through the earth, the roots of the stump wrapped in the dirt and the stone perched atop it.

Ivan inhaled, then exhaled again slowly, once more, and again, before gently raising his arm. The pulse of Psynergy encircled him as he focused on the stone.

It took a few moments.

At first there was nothing.

Then a quiver.

Then more heavily shaking.

Then it was pushed, and the thunk of it rolling off the edge and into the earth broke Ivan's concentration as he was overcome with excitement.

"I… I DID IT! ISAAC, I DID IT!" Ivan was hopping up and down, his hands excitedly flapping with jolts of electricity sparking from his fingertips, "I MOVED IT!"

"I knew you could do it, Ivan!" Isaac said proudly, giving the boy the widest smile Ivan thought he had ever seen.

Ivan reached up and kissed Isaac's cheek before he realised what he had done, but the embarrassment did little to stop his excitement, "Sorry, I'm just, I did it!"

Isaac's smile only grew as he ruffled Ivan's hair, "I never doubted you for a second, Ivan. Next thing you know you'll be throwing earthquakes around better than I can."

Ivan laughed, knowing it to be an exaggerated compliment but honestly looking at Isaac smiling at him like that he could believe anything.

Ivan rolled out of the way of the swarming breath of skulls the monstrosity that was once Saturos and Menardi breathed at him. Charging around between the Fusion Dragon's legs with his teammates, the glowing orbs of Djinni in recovery and those being actively exchanged flying around the igniting Venus Aerie.

Despite being in the very antithesis of his element as it burst into life all around him, Ivan had never felt more powerful. Calling Venus Djinni to him he felt his power swell and summoned a series of quakes directly beneath one of the beast's claws, knocking it off balance.

As it stumbled Ivan rushed away, releasing the Venus Djinni for his teammates to use, watching Isaac call down a storm of lightning on one of the dragon's two heads before various purple orbs flew back around the Aerie, fusing into and out of the four Adepts.

The onslaught of varying Psynergy elements bombarding the Fusion Dragon eventually led to it falling over. Ivan seized the opportunity and called Venus Djinni back to him and summoned a sharp series of spires up through the Aerie of the Venus Lighthouse, each one piercing through the skulls of the dragon with an echoing crunch and sickly scream.

Despite all they had seen, all Ivan had experienced, he felt so exhilarated as he recalled his time on the Venus Aerie from Babi's Lemurian Ship. Being in a place that should have made him his weakest, he had never felt so strong, and had never felt so close to his boyfriend, even know as he rested in his arms.

Hey if you reached here that probably means you read it! Thanks!

Your friend and writer,
Droory