One of the benefits of having a stained glass window facing the rising sun meant a room bathed in colors as beautiful as the waking sky itself. In this regard, the atrium of the magical training castle was the best place to be in the mornings.

That morning, Rachel and Aiden went to the atrium for that days magic training. Per the norm, Aiden had brought what he'd need for potion making. Rachel had kinda flubbed up the enunciation of a spell and ended up with an oily mess on the floor. So while Aiden brewed, she mopped. The egg was placed on a big pillow on one of the tables. Tatania sat on a bookshelf, overlooking everything.

"Mind if I ask you something?" Aiden asked. He was very focused on getting absolutely every measurement exactly correct.

"Seeing as you already asked me something, shoot."

"Why are you mopping the floor yourself?"

"What?"

"With all your magic, wouldn't cleaning a floor by yourself be pointless?"

"I've considered that myself before. But I was given some advice from a friend regarding using magic to take care of the little things."

"Which was?"

"Don't. Making a mop move on its own to clean a mess would be easy, but imagine what could happen if something went wrong?"

"Is that what happened to the person who gave you that advice?"

"The way he told the story? In a big way. Never rely on magic for what you are fully capable of doing yourself. Well, not for laziness anyway. If it's fun, always go with magic. Which you seem to be relying heavily on this morning."

"What?"

"You think I didn't notice that every potion you've made this morning is a remedy?"

"It's…um, I just decided on going with a theme."

"So the look you've been sporting of the princess and the pea the morning after is just my imagination?"

"Uh-I haven't-."

"If you've been feeling under the weather lately there's no need to hide it."

"Well," What was he supposed to do now? Continue denying it after she'd hit it squarely on the head? "Yeah, I've been feeling…I don't even really know."

"Think you might be getting sick?"

"I guess so. I don't know. I've never been sick before. I don't know what it feels like to be sick."

"It sucks. And getting sick sometimes feels a lot different than actually being sick. So what do you plan to do with all those potions? Take a sip of everything and see what works?"

"I guess."

"Here's hopin' your endeavors pay off. If not, fear not! I'd have you nursed back to health in no time…ignoring the fact that a bad cold can make you feel like you're dying."

"Great…just what I can look forward to with endless glee." Aiden said sourly.

"Well, if it is a bug you've managed to catch, lots of sleep and staying well-hydrated will bite it in the butt quickly."

"What about that spell or something you talked about a while ago? That stuff that makes it so you can't get sick ever again?"

"Yeah, I could get some of it, but you have to get sick before you can never get sick."

"I remember."

"You might actually be better off if you get over a bug naturally first."

"Why? What's the difference? You went through all that before, right?"

"I did, but that was also after over a decade of childhood colds, the flu, allergies and a share of sinus infections. I actually had an immune system that had been agitated and had a chance to grow strong. You, on the other hand do not have that luxury."

"I guess that makes sense. So don't even try with the potions?"

"Oh, go ahead with the remedies. That's hardly a big deal at all. Just that other stuff is a bit potent for someone who's never been sick before. Just go with the feeling and it'll be over before you know it."

The conversation wrapped up there and they returned to their tasks.

Later that afternoon Riku stopped by to see Rachel. But Riku had barely crossed the grand expanse of the atrium to where Rachel and Aiden had set up their daily doings when he stopped. His skills of perception were too sharp not to notice he was being watched, and not by his girlfriend or look-alike. Riku looked up, and found what had been staring at him. And it was a little creepy.

High above a thick ledge stuck out from wall that went around the entire atrium. It was heavily decorated and quite a marvel if you ever looked up high enough (but who knew how much dust had collected there over the years). Intricate, yes, but didn't seem to be very functional. Spaced evenly around the room were carvings that jutted out like the gargoyles on the outer edges of a cathedral. Only these didn't sport the gaping mouths, horns and fangs of typical gargoyles. These structures were carved with all sorts of magical creatures. And crouched on one of these structures was a dark, human-like figure. At least, kinda. It sat in a frog-like crouch, leaning over the edge like an observant cat.

"What is that?" Riku asked, pointing.

"My Shadow." Rachel said. She was still mopping up the mess from earlier. Oily messes are harder to clean up than blueberry smears or milk spills. The first clean up hadn't gotten rid of all the residue and she didn't want anyone to slip.

"Why is it all the way up there? And why does it look so…solid?"

"It's been growing stronger."

"Is that a good thing?"

"In a fight, sure. Not much of a conversational companion and it doesn't do much except observe when not asked to do something specific."

"And it still does everything you say?"

"Of course. It's an extension of myself. It's like questioning if my own arm doesn't do what I want."

Riku could see the usefulness of using ones' own neutral, benevolent, Darkness. He too had used the Darkness that was supposed to be a part of his heart before. It had been a great tool but he never let go of the wariness of using Darkness. He was no longer afraid of it, but it would be foolish to cast away caution along with the fear.

He looked up at the Shadow again. It had changed quite a bit from the plain, cloaked figure he had seen before. Last time it looked vaguely feminine, now he couldn't tell. It had obvious limbs and a solid body. But it was impossible to tell if it looked male or female. It would make sense if it took on a more feminine form, considering it was a girls' shadow. But if it was learning to change shape at will, male, female or neither really wasn't worthy of further thought. The Shadow still had the flaming, smoky 'hair' and pale yellow eyes. Only this time there was a dark ring in those eyes like the separation of iris to whites. Only there was no iris color. Only more yellow. Creepy. Creepier still was that it was very obviously watching him.

"See? It's freaking him out too." Aiden said to Rachel. "Could you put it back now?"

"I never said it freaked me out."

"I can see the way you're watching it watch you. It was doing the same thing to me before you got here."

"Oh fine. Yo!" Rachel called to the Shadow. The Shadow's posture immediately changed to that of a cat that just heard the can opener. It then leapt from the ledge and dove into the wall no differently than if it were water. The shapeless blackness moved down the wall, across the floor and reconnected with Rachel's literal shadow. "Oh I give up!" She'd mopped the same spot three times trying to get all of the oil to lift but it wasn't working. Not for lack of effort but whatever the failed spell left behind wasn't giving up without a fight. So with a bit of magic the oil was gathered into a little ball and hardened into a stone which she threw away.

Later still Rachel and Riku were spending quiet time together up in the atrium's treehouse. They lay on the floor and looked up at the branches above. It was so cool to be in a tree that was indoors. The sunlight outside the stained glass window made the leaves light up with different colors. Rachel curled up at Riku's side, using him as a pillow. He stroked her hair while they reviewed the important parts of different spells.

"Levarda does what?"

"Gives someone that sickly flushed feeling on their skin."

"And how do you best enact it?"

"By thinking about something annoying when you cast it."

"Good. And what about felitz?"

"Imagine a rainy day when you say it. Cast it on an inanimate object. When you do, you'll be able to see what happened around it for a period of time."

"How does a person's magic strengthen the spell?"

"The range around the spell widens as well as how far back in the day you can see what happened around the object. A novice could only see for a few minutes and only a few feet away from the item. An expert could see the entire room for hours or even a whole day. An excellent tool if you're a detective at a murder scene but bad idea if used in a college dorm room."

"Good. Relay all this to Master Yen Sid and he'll know that kissing isn't all you do here."

"I have to keep up my end of the deal if I want to keep visiting here."

"We can stop now if you like."

Riku rested his hand on her back. "I'd like that." He didn't mind talking about important things while they cuddled, but sometimes it felt best to talk seamlessly about nothing or in fact talk about nothing at all. A few minutes passed in silence. Then Riku said, "Hey, mind if I ask something?"

"No, carrot cake is not an acceptable substitute for a healthy snack."

"Funny."

"I thought so. Teehee."

"A while ago, when we were like this, you said hearts had their own unique songs but could also sing other things depending on what they're feeling."

"I remember. We listened to what your heart was singing when we were together."

She cuddled closer. Riku could tell by the sparkle in her eyes that thinking back to the song she heard from him made her happy. A heart is always honest and those words came out a lot easier in a song than how he might have been able to express himself with words.

"Yes. Now I want to hear yours."

Rachel smiled and snuggled up so their heads were very close. She nuzzled her forehead against his and focused on the song of her heart. Once she'd found it, she made it so he could hear it too. It was like thinking back to a song you know. The sound is strictly in your head. But Riku liked it. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the melody immensely. The song went something like this,

"I knew that we belonged together long before I knew your name. And the only thing I longed for was a sign to prove you felt the same. Somehow I knew your every secret just from looking in your eyes. From the very moment I met you I was thinking of the rest of our lives.

Just say to me, 'I'm gonna love you 'til the end of time'. Somehow two hearts have made a friend of Time. Eternity, eternity is on our side.

I'm not afraid to say 'forever', you have made me feel so sure. 'Cause I know it's everlasting and I've never had this feeling before.

Keep telling me, 'I'm gonna love you 'til the end of time'. Somehow two hearts have made a friend of Time. Eternity, eternity is on our side.

Caught in the tide, and it brought me to you. Under a spell and now I know that dreams come true!"

The chorus repeated once more then the music ended.

"You're blushing."

"I am not."

"Yes you are."

Rachel scooched back down to Riku's side with her head once again curled up on his chest, but this time not looking up at him. All the more confirmation he needed. Still, while she might try to hide it, Riku thought it was adorable. The sheepish glisten in her eyes when he pointed things like that out to her was just too sweet. He liked seeing that side of her. It was the side that was delicate and radiated with child-like innocence. Riku wrapped his arms lightly around her. The song was beautiful and she was just too cute.