Entering the calm and warm house, Lea raked the scene to find the woman that cared for him. Gently propped on a stool in the corner of the kitchen sat his mother reading a very tattered book. As he approached Teleaf glanced up and quickly repositioned the text out of sight. The teen thought he saw a slight flash of something in her eyes but it was quickly washed away by the warm smiles the played on her cheeks.

"How were your studies today hunny?" her smooth voice questioned.

Lea gave a slight grin and told her of the new progress he had made but also relieved his lack of knowledge for getting faster in his endeavors. The older woman twisted her brow in thought and then returned her gaze to her son.

Teleaf's face slightly tensed and she held out her hand towards the boy. The heat of the room vanished and was replaced by an icey chill that penetrated to Lea's bones. He glanced at the palm and hovering above it was a fist sized snowflake. Dancing in the evening sun the crystal warped the light and created fantastic displays along the walls of the dwelling. Something tugged at the edge of Lea's conscience but as he put his attention to it, it slipped away.

"It has been quite some time since the last time I have done that," his mother said with a grin. She casually closed her fist causing the solid water to disappear and the room's environment to return to its natural state. "My method is one of many paths that you can take to achieve the manifestation, so tell me what you have done and I will see what I know."

"Before slipping into unconsciousness with the scenes of the past I try to remember the thought so that it is open for me to call on the power." Lea saw her eyes glisten slightly with the understanding that only comes from knowledge.

"Perfect. That is the technique that I use as well. The way to minimize the time that you spend in the memorial environment is to do what you have started. Envelope yourself in the through before entering the subconscious and lightly pull at the veil between the parts of your mind." The woman stood and leaned forward to her son, placing a soft kiss upon his forehead. Gently guiding one the Lea's stray hairs behind his ear she softly continued, "You will get there. I have every faith in you." Releasing him from their close encounter Teleaf flashed a smile, turned, and digressed to her seat.

The two sat in silence for a time until the calm was interrupted by the hoofing sound of air trying to escape a corpulent prison. With no desire to view and address the pungent adult Lea swung from his chair and up into the secure quarters of his room.

As the sun sent its last few rays of light through his window the teen sprawled out across his mattress and attempted to strategize with the information provided by his mother. A twinge of satisfaction manifested as he realized his instincts held truth but it faded as the daunting task over actually overcoming this wall reentered his mind.

The boy went through multiple different paths of thought to seek out a solution. Perhaps the memory he had been using wasn't strong enough. Maybe an emotion had to be tied to the warmth along with the sensation. Spinning and spinning is his mind he jumped from one idea to another and absentmindedly stroked a cord that lay under the corner of his pillow.

All the thinking about his fire memories created a warmth that spread from his hand. Wait. No. Something was burning his fingertips.

Rolling to his side and raising the cushion he saw what he immediately recognized as the string from his jacket. The frailed ends seemed to communicate with one another as they sent pulses of energy to their distant partners. Eyes wide in shock, Lea whisper, "Ven?"

After the name was spoken the string hovered up to the height of the teens face a popped with a brilliant burst of light before falling back to its place on the bed.

Bewildered at the old display sustained visual contact with the material until his eyes started to sag. The weight of the day finally overtook the dominant presence in his mind and dragged him into the world of sleep.

With a small twist Lea unscrewed the cap of the cloudy potion's vial. He placed a drop on the center floor stone of the magician's study and waited as the mist blossomed from the ground and coagulated into his portal for travel.

A soft warm breeze greeted his cheeks as he stepped through to the other side and the familiar landscape condensed into reality. Getting his bearings his eyes latched on to the makeshift clock that remained from his previous day. His back bent as he leaned over and pulled at the fabric of his shoes so to place it back in its throne of the sun.

Once the mechanism was in place he backed up some distance and closed his eyes to run through the mental process of the summoning of power. A light radiated the darkness provided by his eyelids and he blinked them open to find its source.

Standing before him, and still somewhat pulsing, in a ring of lit ground was the blonde haired male.

"Ven?" Déjà vu percolated his mind from the night before.

The newcomer brushed off his clothing and then locked eyes with the redhead. "Yep! I'm here. You called?"