For a moment Gisela imagined closing the door, she wouldn't have done it loudly or rudely, just… shutting it. Closing it.

Not dealing with the maybe eight year old? Gisela wasn't sure, who was demanding magic lessons from a seventeen year old cloud mage who had absolutely nothing in her life together and should in no way be trusted with anyones education.

It's worth a shot. "Should you be in school?".

The look Gisela got in return could have stripped paint from the wall. "It's a Saturday".

Gisela could hear the you fool, implied in the statement, Mio was very good at unsaid statements.

Gisela stepped back, not realizing her tactical error until Mio was already inside the house. There would be no closing the door on that girl, not that I could have, Gisela admitted to herself as she watched the kid trot in.

"So when do we start?".

Gisela took a breath, "I need to eat breakfast first".

"Why?".

"Because I haven't eaten yet and I don't want to do magic on an empty stomach if I don't have too, have you eaten yet?".

"Does it matter?".

"I'll make pancakes". Mickey and Pi-chan liked pancakes as well so it was a good choice, even if Gisela always had to stop herself from questioning if it was actually healthy for a bird to eat pancakes.

Pi-chan was funny like that.

It was easier to breathe while in the kitchen, even if Gisela's back was still prickleing from Mio's piercing gaze.

I'm not going to run off, Gisela thought as she stirred the batter, pan heating up on the stove. She wasn't going to say that out loud of course, because a: it would imply that she was scared of an eight year old and while that was kind of true Gisela didn't want to admit it and b: Gisela knew there was no point in running off. Maybe we could get another mission?

She dismissed the idea as soon as it came to her. Tried that one. It turned out that escort missions turned vulcan hunting missions turned lab exploration missions cut off by the magic council wouldn't get her out of teaching in the long run.

This was not something she could avoid via jobs. Besides, I have the feeling that Mio would start demanding to come along.

Gisela allowed herself a glance back over her shoulder, she totally would.

"What?".

"I was just wondering the minimum age for members to go on missions", Gisela blurted out. It was the first thing that came to mind.

"I just need to pass the test, then I can go. It's stupid through, I'm ten", Gisela made note of that, it was probably a good idea not to admit she had assumed that Mio was eight, "and when Natsu and Erza and Grey were my age they got to go on jobs but no, it's all 'Mio you're to young' and, 'Mio, you're not a proper member of the guild' and 'Mio, you need more practice', like I don't know I need more practice. It's not fair. How long have you been going on missions for?".

How long have I? Gisela made a face, glad that she was facing the stove as the spooned out the batter onto the sizzling pan, "fifteen".

"Oh".

"Sorry I'm not able to help there".

"You can help by teaching me. That's why I'm here, not to eat pancakes".

"I'll try".

"Great".

Shit. She was doubling glad for the wall she was facing now, it meant that Mio couldn't see the faces that she was making.

I can do this. All I need to do is meditation and control, maybe some sparing. I can do this. It's fine.

The atmosphere was edging on awkward when Gisela flipped the first batch of pancakes onto the plate, they were a little pale but that was only to be expected from the first batch, the pan was never heated properly. "You want chocolate in your pancakes?".

"Are you calling me a baby?".

Batter splattered in the pan, one pancake flowing into another as Gisela tried to figure out a response to that statement. What had she even said to trigger it?

"What are we talking about?". Mickey. If there was ever a time Gisela was glad her partner showed up, it was now.

"I was just asking if Mio wanted chocolate in her pancakes".

"Yes please!", Mickey chimed in. Gisela carefully withheld the sigh as Mickey grabbed the bag of chocolate, popping a few of the chips into her mouth as she handed it over, "can you make an M shape?".

Gisela glowered at the mess that was in her pan, using her spatula to seperate it. "Just give me a minute".

It was actually a big relief to have Mickey there, it meant that someone else could try and talk to the kid, someone who maybe possibly could actually be good with kids and prevent this morning from spinning even more wildly out of control.

Or not.

It seemed like they were mostly bickering about chocolate behind her. Not my problem.

Gisela rushed through the rest of the pancakes, turning up the heat as much as she dared without making raw and burned pancakes to speed through the rest of the batter, giving out samples as she went.

Anything to start another debate.

Finally she could sit and eat. She was safe.

Or not.

Somehow in the chaos of Mickey accidently insinuating that Mio was not responsible enough, something about asking how she had made it all the way out to their home, Gisela had forgotten what would have to come after breakfast.

Mio had not forgotten.

Gisela had the feeling that Mio would never forget. How did a girl like her end up with smoke magic?

It did not match her personality, like, at all. Gisela was like a cloud because she always gave up and had a habit of just wandering off, that made sense to her.

What made Mio like smoke? Unfortunately Gisela had to push both the interesting question about magic inheritance and magic styles aside as they arrived at her favorite clearing.

A thought hit Gisela. "Are you cold?".

"Are you cold?", Mio shot back.

"No, but I'm a cloud mage, my magic gives me a resistance to the cold which I don't think that smoke mages have, are you cold?".

"Are you gonna take me back inside if I say I am?", Mio asked, suspicious.

"No!".

"You're not gonna try and get out of teaching me? Because I've decided, you are going to teach me your style of magic and you are not going to get out of this and-".

Mio paused to breath. It was now or never. "I was just going to ask if you wanted to borrow my coat". Shock helped to press down her nerves when it came to shouting, it was nice that way.

Mio seemed to deflate. "Okay then".

In a way it was a relief to get out of her coat, the cool air prickled along her skin, banishing the last of the heat from standing over the stove. It was also a welcome distraction from her nerves. "Right then, let's start with meditation".

"Meditation?".

"Isn't that how you start?".

"Dad just says we need to get to know our element, in other words he just sits around smoking because his contact with the pipe and the energy flowing through it is the 'transmission of magic' and 'critically important to being a good holder mage'".

"He could be meditating while smoking".

"I don't want to be dependant on an outside source for my magic, if Dad gets stuck without his stupid pipe then he can do like nothing, you don't need an outside source to genarate your clouds".

"Is that why you chose me?".

"That and Dad would just break his promise like always".

Gisela was not going to touch that one with a fifty foot pole. Quickly to avoid having to discuss another family's problems Gisela started on her explanation "Well, the way I started to learn magic was via meditation, I learned to feel the magic as it flowed through me, embraced Qosasis' blessing-"

"Qosasis' blessing?".

Shit. Mage who learned to use magic at a temple attempts to teach secular student from a different culture. Gisela took a breath, "do you just want me to teach you how to meditate?".

"I want to know who Qosasis is, what does he do?".

"They", Gisela corrected, "they do. Qosasis is nonbinary".

"What's nonbinary?".

We are so off topic now. This was important though, so Gisela needed to explain. "Being non binary means that you don't identify with either male or female, it's a spectrum of identities". Please say being non binary isn't a big deal here.

"And Qosasis is nonbinary?".

"Yes".

'What do they do?".

Gisela reached back, trying to gabble together a short explanation of her pantheon. "They protect the outcasts, the mages, the ones who don't fit in. They're the guardian of magic and it's users".

"And you worship them?".

Gisela felt frozen, awkward. That question had been the story of her life for the entire time at the temple. Did she believe in the gods or not? She had tried, best that she could, tried and followed all the rituals and did her best to fit in because she was an outcast in a place for outcast and, a silken voice whispered at her, they threw you out anyways, couldn't even make it there you're an outcast that other cast outs don't want . "I don't know".

It was quicker than trying to explain all that.

"What do you mean you don't know, you just said you embraced Qosasis' blessing to use your magic".

"It's complicated", it really, really was. It also happened to be a little off topic, giving her the perfect out, "do you want to learn how to meditate or not".

"Fine". The look that Mio gave Gisela assured the older person that there would be more questions in the future.

Joy.

"At its most basic meditation is breathing", Gisela started, "it's focusing on the here and now until you stop focusing on them".

"It's focusing until you stop focusing, how does that make sense?".

"It's like a funnel, like you try and focus on as little as possible inside, you try and just be".

"That still makes no sense".

Gisela breathed. Why did I agree to do this again, she really needs a teacher who won't mess her up, He magic seemed strong, she doesn't need me to give advice or-

Gisela made the mistake of looking Mio in her eyes, hard with determination. There was no way she was getting out of this.

"Do you want to just try, I normally sit on one of the lower branches and breath, when I started I did my inhales and exhales to a count of seven and-"

"Inhales and exhales?".

Right. Need to explain the breathing pattern too. Gisela tried to remember how she had seen meditation taught at the temple, maybe starting on my own wasn't the best idea.

The fact that she had cobbled together her magic knowledge part from reality and part from fiction meant that she really should not be teaching.

Breathe.

Mio was still looking at her.

"Okay, sit down and close your eyes".

Mio obeyed, perching on Gisela's favorite branch.

"Now breath, in for seven", Gisela counted, "then out for seven". She repeated this, "in for seven, then out for seven".

Gisela watched as Mio breathed, not even shifting when the wind blew past, rustling the branches above them. She gave Mio a few more counts than stopped.

Mio kept breathing to the rhythm.

Maybe I can actually do this? That or Mio was just competement, unlike Gisela. "Right, now try and reach inside, feel how the breath moves through your body. The outside world does not matter right now, only what is within". I am so full of shit. Seventeen years after and Gisela could still tell that she sounded like a bullshit meditation video. In her defense though, there was a reason those videos sold.

Gisela opened her mouth, about to tell Mio to feel for her energy and pull, when she realized the problem.

If Mio was focused enough to feel than there was no way the girl would hear Gisela's instructions. Nice job Gisela. Nice job.

That still left her with the quandary of what to do.

No choice.

Gisela poked Mio.

Gisela was prepared to catch the girl if she fell off the branch. She was prepared to apologize for touching without permission because she knew about boundaries and how uncomfortable it could be when people insisted on unwanted physical contact.

She was not prepared for the giant puff of smoke that set her eyes watering. Gisela rolled out of the cloud, coughing up thick black smoke the burned on the way out.

"Are you okay?".

"I'm fine", Gisela hacked out. "I see you found your magic". She was not jealous of how quick it had been for Mio, not at all.

"I did?".

Gisela pointed at the slowly dispersing cloud of smoke. "What else could that be?", she rasped out.

"I did it!".

Suddenly Gisela was being hugged. She wasn't sure what was more shocking. Did I do okay? It looked like Mio was happy. Carefully Gisela put her arms around the girl, bending down a little so she would be at the right height.

Suddenly Mio detached, "can I try again?".

"Sure". Gisela was just going to stay out of the way of any smoke.

Nothing happened. Mio glared down at her hands.

Gisela hovered awkwardly. Am I supposed to offer help? Mio hadn't even realized that she had created the smoke cloud at first. It was a good first step but between that and the first time Gisela had seen Mio use her magic, her mind carefully skated around the why, it had always been unintentional.

"You need to reach for it".

"I am!".

"Okay, do you want to try again. Think about that moment when you realised that smoke, what it felt like in those seconds when you were started and wanted space and needed to protect your sister and get away and-".

Mio was looking at her funny. Right, that was me. Gisela blinked the image of the boat away from her thoughts, concentrating back on the forest. Gisela coughed slightly, glad her skin was dark enough her blush wouldn't be too obvious, "just focus on the feeling of the energy, see if you can grab hold of that".

"Is that what you do?".

"Basically, I suppose it would be easier if there was an item to channel for you but if you got used to it than it would just be a crutch".

"That's what I keep saying!".

Right. I am still not getting involved in that. "So do you want to get started?".

"I was just waiting for you".

"For me?".

"Yeah, do the county thing again".

Gisela hesitated for a moment, on one hand she didn't want to be rude and it would probably be rude, on the other she was supposed to be the teacher and it would be better and- just go for it. "Can you try it without it?".

"Do I have too?".

"It's better if you develop your own rhythm and get used to it being internal, eventualing the feeling will be so isticutal that you won't need it", an idea hit Gisela, "and depending on me is just like depending on an item as a crutch, isn't it?".

Mio got back to meditating, perched on her branch as Gisela watched.

I am so full of shit.

Gisela tried to imagine what the temple would think of her magic training.

She promptly shut down that train of thought. It was not a good one.

Nowhere to go but through.

The day ended with no major tantrums or disasters, Gisela wanted to cry out of relief as she hereded Mio to the edge of the forest.

"Should I walk you all the way home?".

"I can take care of myself", Mio huffed and started to stomp off, she was about ten steps away when she turned, shouted, "thank you for the lesson, I'll be back tomorrow", and ran off.

Gisela resisted the urge to just collapse.

Her stomach grumbled. It had been a long day from her morning pancakes. Should I have forced Mio to stop for food, am I the worst teacher ever for forgetting and I have no idea what I am doing and might have just had a gender and religion talk with a random kid when I don't even know Mio's opinion about either one and-

Gisela breathed, clenching her fists and forcing all those feelings to go away. I am going to go back to the house and find myself something to eat.

That was a plan. It might have even been a good plan. Unfortunately Gisela had forgotten about one factor: Mickey.

The second she got in the door she was barraged with questions about how had it been and if she had made any progress and if she liked being a teacher and did Mio fail in any funny ways and-

Gisela couldn't breathe. "Can I just eat first", she muttered, not even intending to be heard under the noise.

Then it was quiet and she had a spoon in her hand. "You cooked?", Gisela asked, uncertain.

"Yeah, you made breakfast".

"I thought it was my turn".

"I didn't have a student so I figured it was only fair. We did well in payment on our last job, even if the Rune Knights and Lamia Scale haven't processed the money we totally should be paid for the shit we had to deal with so we should be okay for a bit if you want to stay around to teach Mio".

"I have no idea what I'm doing".

"What?".

"I have no idea what I'm doing. I totally guessed my way into cloud magic when I was a kid, I got formal instruction once it manifested, but that wasn't combat. I don't know what I'm doing and I don't know how to teach and I just had a gender and religion conversation and-" she was talking and couldn't make herself shut up even through Gisela knew that she shouldn't be saying all this, "I am trying but I have no idea if I did the right things and I startled her into using her smoke magic so I think it is near the surface but no one was really a pure holder mage at the temple so I don't know about the learning differences and she is a ten year old and I am like seventeen and I have no idea and-".

Mickey was staring at her.

Gisela shut her mouth.

"Breathe. If you want I'll show up tomorrow and give advice, would that help?".

For one glorious moment Gisela imagiened washing her hands of the whole matter, she pictured Mickey teaching, Mickey taking responsibility for Mio.

It was only for a moment though. "Our magic is similar, I'll figure it out".

"You got this".

Gisela just hoped that was true.