Wakko kept his focus completely on the rock hovering in midair, Jayna's voice seeming to come from a distance.
"That's it… focus."
The middle sibling was starting to feel tired, but he set his jaw and kept holding with stubborn determination. Then Jayna's voice came again.
"Now."
Clenching his hand into a fist, Wakko thrust it down and the rock immediately slammed into the ground. He let out a soft sigh, stretching his arm as he looked up at his instructor. As usual, she didn't smile but nodded in approval.
"Well done… a good start."
Wakko grinned, then cocked his head.
"But I wasn't doing much… how come it was so hard?"
Jayna raised her brows just a little, but other than that her face didn't change much.
"Earth is solid… that makes it the most stubborn element. It takes more effort than the others."
She crossed her arms, looking at him as if she was sizing him up.
"But there's also something you can do with it that you can't with the others."
Wakko's eyes widened, and he listened with apt attention.
"You can hear through it," Jayna said. "You can sense things you can't see."
Wakko cocked his head again, intrigued. Jayna sat on the ground and placed her hand flat on it, then nodded to him. He sat and did the same.
"You need to both feel and listen," the woman said. "And as always, focus completely. It helps if you close your eyes. Now, give it a try. See if you can sense where I am."
Wakko took a deep breath and released it as he closed his eyes. He tried to focus completely on the ground under him, but nothing came. Determined, he clenched his teeth and kept trying. Finally, he began to feel faint vibrations.
"I think…" he said slowly. "I think I feel something. Are you… to the right?"
Sure enough, Jayna's voice came from his right side, and there was approval in her voice.
"Yes, very good. It might be a good idea to stop here for today… it might not have seemed like much, but earth takes more effort."
His grin returning, Wakko opened his eyes again. He was feeling a little more tired than he normally did. Like always, Jayna's face remained generally impassive, but he could tell she was pleased. Even if her face didn't give much away, he was figuring out how to read her eyes and body language… she could be expressive if you knew what to look for. After a moment of hesitation, Wakko cleared his throat.
"Um, Miss Selene, ma'am?"
The woman's brows lifted a little, an indication that she was listening. Despite his slight nervousness, Wakko rushed on.
"I, um, I wanna say thanks."
Jayna cocked her head slightly, as if curious why he would say that.
"There's no need to thank me. Your parents were good people… I'm glad to keep my promise to them."
At the mention of his parents, Wakko's face grew more solemn as regret filled him. It was a thought that often came to him… despite all the things he and his siblings had gotten back, their parents were one thing they never would. And all this time he'd had this ability; if he knew, he could have stopped it.
Movement in front of him made him look up to see Jayna sitting down across from him again, a strange, almost gentle look in her eyes.
"Even if you had known, you couldn't have used it at such a young age. You don't need to feel guilty about it."
Wakko stared at her for a moment, startled. Was she able to read looks that easily? His surprise must have shown, because Jayna spoke again with a hint of amusement in her voice.
"I've always been good at reading people. My father called it a sixth sense."
There was noticeable sadness in her voice, a sadness that Wakko would recognize anywhere. She had lost family too. He opened his mouth to ask about it, but then thought better of it. They hadn't known each other very long… she probably wouldn't want to talk about her personal problems with someone who was essentially still a stranger. So instead, he asked something else he was wondering about.
"So, when you were learning everything, how long did it take?"
Jayna brushed back a strand of her hair, clearly glad for the change of subject.
"Well, learning the basics just took a few months, but you need to keep practicing it for far longer to train your body to handle it."
She then scanned him up and down, raising a brow.
"It's not a good idea to go off fighting armies right away, if that's what you're wondering. And just one bender probably wouldn't be able to anyway."
Wakko felt his face heat a little as he looked down. That wasn't exactly what he was thinking, but not too far off. Not for the first time, he wondered how this lady got to be so insightful… it was almost scary.
"Though from what I hear…" Brought back to attention by Jayna's voice, Wakko looked up again to see her green eyes studying him with noticeable interest. "You've managed to accomplish quite a bit without bending."
That was something that didn't surprise the middle sibling much; the story of the Wishing Star was well-known by now. He glanced at his hands, shifting uneasily on his seat as he nodded. After a few moments, Jayna spoke again.
"Tell me something… why do you think the Star responded to you?"
That question did surprise him, and he looked up with wide eyes.
"It… it was just luck," he said slowly, then frowned. "Wasn't it?"
"That was part of it, maybe." Jayna's voice then grew soft, kind even. "But it was also because you're a very special child."
Wakko blinked, then his eyes widened.
"You mean… it was because I have this?"
He held out his hand, and as if on cue the elemental symbols glowed on the back. Jayna nodded, her face unreadable.
"The spirits don't just give a Gifted person the ability to bend," she said in the same soft voice. "They can sense things… see things that other people can't see."
Wakko must have still looked disbelieving, because Jayna went on.
"What made you choose the star you did?"
The middle sibling frowned again as he thought.
"Just… just that I had a…"
"Feeling," Jayna finished, and he saw approval in her eyes as she nodded. "You followed your feelings, and your feelings were right. It wasn't just luck… it was because you sensed it."
Rocking back and forth a few times, Wakko ran the words through his head. If they were true, then he had already done something good with this ability. He looked up at Jayna, curious now.
"So, you've… sensed things too?"
Immediately he knew he had said the wrong thing. His instructor's already serious face fell noticeably, her eyes grew dimmer.
"Yes," she said in a short, crisp tone that made it clear she wasn't willing to elaborate. Taking a deep breath, she released it as she stood and dusted herself off.
"We should leave it here for today," she said again. "It might not have seemed like it, but you did a lot."
Wakko felt like he should apologize for upsetting her, but he wasn't sure if Jayna would like it. Before he could make up his mind, the woman gave him a searching look.
"There's no need to apologize," she said in that softer voice. "There's just some things that I… don't feel comfortable talking about."
Wakko nodded quickly, his hat flopping.
"Yeah, yeah. Sorry."
Jayna's face remained serious, but he saw her eyes lighten. He figured that was the closest she got to smiling.
"It's fine," she said, then raised her brow a little. "Make sure you wait a half hour or so before you show your siblings anything."
Despite himself, Wakko felt a sheepish smile come to his face. He wasn't going to apologize for keeping his siblings in the loop, but Jayna had a way of making him feel like he'd just been caught in something. He had a sneaking suspicion that she did it more for amusement than anything else… after all, he did the same thing to annoy people. With a goofy grin, he hopped to his feet and gave her a jaunty salute.
"Yes, ma'am!"
Jayna nodded, and he could have sworn he saw just the hint of a smile on her face. But it passed before he could be sure it was even there in the first place.