Weather Changes

Chapter four

Three days have passed since the Black Wasp guilds arrest and I couldn't feel any more lost than this moment although the camp provided fresh clothes to wear so I was modestly outfitted in a pale green dress. "Where in the world am I?" I ask nothing with a sigh. Currently I'm very lost in some forest on my way to the next town over, it was at least something like 8 hours away but since I don't have anywhere else to go I thought I might as well go on a quest to train my magic. I've been lost for what feels like hours… and I'm hungry. I sigh again. Suddenly I hear a rustle in some bushes close by, I stand ready for whatever pops out but when nothing does I sprint away in a random direction flailing my arms "Go away!" I shout in fear as I continue to run away from it. I'm in a forest in midday, I'm hungry and scared and unarmed. I'm useless.

As soon as I deem myself safe I come to a stop heaving heavy breaths hoping nothing is following me or trying to eat me. "This sucks so bad" I mumble to myself. I looked up towards the sky almost like it could actually help me but I knew it couldn't however what I did see was apples. Food! In a hurry I try to climb the tree and was surprisingly successful and sat on a tall branch to pluck off an apple. I wiped the apple with the back of my hand and proceeded to chomp it and to my delight it was delicious and probably not deadly. A scuffling appeared near the base of the tree and I quietened myself to stay hidden. "Oh no, I lost her, dammit" I see a man curse and rub the back of his neck just below me, he had black shaggy hair and wore a very distinct orange shirt, it almost hurt my eyes. I move slightly and fumble with the apple core in my hand and dropped it down on the man below. "Oops..." I think to myself hoping he won't look up but just as I feared he looks up and just stares at me for a few minutes. "Oh! There you are! I was looking for you!" he says with a grin. "I'm Toku and I thought you looked lost and I just wanted to help you back to the town" he carries on "Ah! No, um. I'm not a stalker or anything I was just training in the forest and saw you out here complaining about being hungry". I blush from the embarrassing revelation and ask "Training?" He just nods and replies "Yeah. I'm a swordsman. I just like training in a natural environment so I usually come out here." I now notice the sword on his hip. "I guess if he was bad he would have sliced me up or something" I think to myself. "Um, yes. I would like your help to town, please?" I say although it sounds more like a question and he just smiles at me reassuringly "Yeah! Sure, lets go then" he says excitedly. I hop down and walk a few paces behind him. "So what're you doing out here anyway?" he questions. "I was going to the next town from Restibou, there was an accident and I want to learn magic" I answer quietly and honestly. "Hmmm," he looks like he's thinking hard about something "was it that place with all the smoke? Are you okay?" he asks. "Yes I am, but I can't say so for a lot of others" I say tearing up from the still vivid events replaying in my mind. "Oh yeah… sorry for bringing that up" he says with sympathy. "Any ways, we should be at town in 4 hours so are you still hungry?" he asks pulling out a sandwich, "I always carry extra food with me" Toku explains. My stomach growls in response and I blush in embarrassment once again. "Yes, Thank you." I say taking the sandwich and he grins then carries on leading the way to our destination.

The journey was pleasant and peaceful. We arrived at the town with no problems and got here swiftly. I see lots of people buzzing through the town, it looks more populated than Restibou but seems smaller. "Here we are. Its a homey little place if I do say so myself but there's a few rough looking fellas around sometimes" Toku admits. "Thanks Toku, I appreciate it." I say with a smile. "No problem, uhh" he starts then chuckles awkwardly. "Noel." I state. "Yeah, no problem Noel, any time." he says. Its an awkward silence between us as we both just stand outside of town. "Got a destination in mind? I could take you, you know?" Toku offers. "Well he seems nice enough so if he's offering" "I'm looking for someone who can help me develop my magic but I have no idea where to begin" I tell him quietly, embarrassed at my lack of a goal. "Oh! I know the person your after! In fact we share a house." He states proudly. Then I follow him towards his house. "I'm going to a strangers house and he has a weapon. I regret this decision a little right now." I think following Toku to his house.

First thought: "This isn't a house". And its not. Its a dojo. A dojo that teaches swordplay and other martial arts. The mage Toku was taking me to lived with him in a shed behind the dojo and helped Toku train his students minds and magical potential while Toku focused on the more physical training. This mage is called Clare. And they lived together because of 'reasons'. "So, what do you need help with Noel?" Clare questioned. "Um, well I want to train my magic" I say shyly at the intimidating woman. She had green hair and wore a distinct pair of orange dungarees which matched Toku. I think its weird but let it slide with no further comment. "Right, and do you know what your capable of?" she asks which makes me wonder. "What am I capable of?" "Um, I can move clouds and recently learned how to make it rain but I can seem to move wind a little bit as well" I say in hope that she can use this information to help me. "I see." she says as she closes her eyes. " This could be interesting" she mutters to herself and nods but I hear it and I worry at her response. "All right, I'll help you." she quickly responds seeing my sceptical look. "Really?! You will?!" I ask excitedly at this turn of events. "Yes, in fact I already have a plan for you to follow, let me jot it down." she says with a dark smile that fades quickly and is replaced with a creepily too kind smile. I think I really will regret this. "Are you familiar with meditation?" she asks and I groan "Not more meditation" "Yes, I'm familiar with it" I admit with an unamused face. My sister made me suffer through it almost everyday before bed. "Here, I want you to follow this strict schedule for meditation everyday, you'll need your magic container to grow significantly, if what you claim you can do is true" Clare says with a smirk. "I'm telling the truth!" I snap and quickly cover my mouth. "I see, I see. I'll believe you." she tells me. "Come back here tomorrow and I'll have some more tasks ready to help you." she tells me while giving me an umbrella. "Be careful out in that sudden rain" she states with another smirk and an emphasis on sudden as she pushes me outside. "See you tomorrow Goldilocks" she says as she closes the door to the shed on me "Its Noel!" I huff opening the umbrella and walking to the dojo where I hear swings of several swords and punching noises.

I ignore the noise and decide to wander around the town for a bit. "I have no home" I think with a long sigh and sit on a bench with shelter and begin some meditation. But after half an hour I smell a strong scent of fresh bread nearby and head in that direction. I stop in front of a small well lit bakery and just stand outside in the rain for a few moments, I have no money so I sigh again and just decide to go wander around some more. "What did I even come here for?" I think but as I begin to walk away, "Hey! You not going to come in?!" I hear a voice yell, "Why does everyone always shout 'hey!' at me" I think with a contemplative frown and decide to turn around "Sorry. Not today. And I'm not far away, please don't shout." I say as I notice a young boy with dirty blonde hair standing in the doorway of the bakery. He was the same height as me so it was obvious he was around my age. He wears an orange shirt just like Toku and it makes me think about who this boy could be. "Um, are you related to Toku by any chance?" as I approach him so I don't have to endure his shouting. He gasps loud and long as if he was holding his breath this whole time "You've met master Toku?!" He shouts getting up in my personal space and putting his hands on my shoulders. "Y-yes, I met him earlier today" I accidentally stutter looking away from his eyes. "Too close, does he have no semblance of personal space?" I thought while he took the hint of me looking away for being awkwardly close. "Aha sorry. But wow! I really want to learn more from master Toku, he's the coolest, he single handedly defended us from a bunch of bandits when we went for a picnic in the forest one time!" the boy says making martial moves like he's trying to replicate the event. "Blaine! Hurry up and close the door, the breads getting cold!" I hear a woman shout from inside the store. "Okay!" Blaine shouts back, "Come in, we can talk some more!" he says pulling me in. "W-wait! I don't want- oh fine" I begin but give up. Blaine sits me at a table then goes into the back of the store. "What the heck am I doing" I think leaning on my hands while eyeing up the store. A brightly lit building with several back to back booth tables near the windows with small tables scattered neatly in the middle here and there. "Its so warm in here" but I'm broken out of my thoughts when a piece of fresh bear shaped bread appears in front of me. "Its free so don't worry, you must be hungry after all" Blaine says sitting opposite me with a grin, "Its true, I only had that sandwich and an apple hours ago" I think while just staring at the bread in silence then looking back up to Blaine to see him egging me on to eat it with his eyes. I pick it up and take a bite, its soft, warm and delicious. "Its yummy" I say after finishing a mouthful of bread then continue to eat it. "Yup! We're the best bakery in town and possibly the world! One day I will protect the town and bake bread just like my family!" he says loudly with clear excitement. "Protecting. I hope you can do it" I say quietly but he hears it and gives a funny look and I look down at the table. "Well, of course I will! I'm training under master Toku after all!" he says with a grin and I look back up with a small awkward smile which he doesn't take notice of and scurries back into the kitchen.

After 5 minutes of me just sitting there silently just watching the rain die down a bit Blaine comes back with two glasses of orange juice. "Here. You were hungry so I thought that you'd be thirsty too" he says passing me the glass. And takes one for himself and clinks our glasses together. "To our friendship!" he says with a smile. "I'm Blaine by the way, if you didn't notice from earlier shouting" he says with a scratch of his neck and a chuckle. "Is he trying to copy Toku completely, he's like his twin" I think to myself and reply "I'm Noel" I take a sip of the juice "Thanks" I murmur and he just smiles then finishes his juice. "So what are you doing here?" he asks. "I'm here to try and learn magic, you know Clare?" I say with a question. "Do I?! She's awesome! Her magic is so pretty, she blasts stuff with weird yellow balls!" he say with stars in his eyes. "I can't help but think that magic sounds a little scary" I think with a sceptical look and he just continues "We can help each other out! I'm going to the dojo tomorrow to train with Toku so we can go together. This is so cool." he says with an almost dreamy look. "What about your other friends?" I ask. His face drops considerably but he still has a small smile plastered on his face "Oh, well. The others aren't really fond of me" he mentions sadly. "Can- can I ask why?" I question with a concerned look on my face not knowing if its a too sensitive subject but as he begins to speak a woman with similar coloured hair pops up with a a tray and clears up our glasses. "Its because he upsets them by kicking butt in the dojo. He's pretty skilled you know" she says with a wink in my direction and I just raise an eyebrow when she sighs "basically no one likes him because he's better than them… and they are obviously jealous that his amazing mother is a fabulous baker" she says with a flick of her hair and a cocky attitude. "Muuuuum" Blaine just groans in embarrassment. "It doesn't hurt to be honest, dear" she says pointing a finger up as if teaching an important lesson. All I can do is stare in awe at her complete confidence in herself. Or she's just super cocky. Either way its amazing. "I'm about to close up and its pretty dark so you should head back home" she says towards me with a motherly smile. Its too much for me, the realisation that I have no home and be forced to sleep in the cold outside and the reminder that this boy like many other children have been raised with a family, a true family, one that loves them unconditionally because they want to, its not just some small orphanage of crying children or false smiles but a true family. I feel tears slip down my face as I look up at the woman who has shock written on her face then I look down and wipe my eyes "I'm sorry" I mutter with a sniffle then she pulls me into a warm and soft motherly embrace. "I see" she says in a kind hushed voice. "Would you like stay here for a while then?" she adds. All I do is slightly nod my head liking the sound of it then realise what I agreed to. "W-what?! N-no, I couldn't! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to impose on you like this" I stutter frantically pulling back. "Too bad! You already agreed so you can't go. I wont allow it." she states with authority and keeps me in place by the shoulders in a gentle grip. "First we'll get you in the bath. Your covered in dirt!" she says as she pushes me inside and through the bakeries kitchen into a small attached house in the back. Blaine just follows without question and continues to smile.

I've finished cleaning myself off and now stand waiting for Blaine's mother to bring me some clothes. After a moment she enters back in the bathroom, "This dress should fit you, its one I wore as a child" she says in a nostalgic voice. She brought a nice white dress with a red bow tied at the back and had small red accents at the bottom. A nice plain dress. After I got dressed I followed her out the bathroom, "U-um thank you..." I say sincerely and a small smile. "I always wanted a baby girl" she says as she wipes a tear from her eye "just call me mother" she states with a smile towards me as we head to the dining room where a nice smell was coming from. "Mmmm vegetable stir fry" she mumbles with a sniff to the air.

Blaine's mother sits me at the table and her husband gives her an odd look as if to say 'Who is that and why is she here' and she just giggles saying something I can't quite hear but the man just smiles and prepares four dishes. The food arrives at the table and Blaine runs down as if he has psychic powers to be able to sense foods presence and he jumps into his chair next to me with a big grin "Stir fry!" he shouts and I wince at the volume. And he apologises. "Blaine, I've told you before," his mother chastises "don't shout at the table." she finishes while sitting down with knives and forks and passes me a pair of cutlery. "I know" Blaine mumbles and we they the dinner while I just push it around my plate a bit. "Noel, don't just push it around your plate," I look up in surprise and feel a bad feeling flutter in my stomach. Fear. "please, we won't hurt you, the food is perfectly edible." Blaine's mother says in a kind tone which makes the feeling in my stomach go away and I silently take a bite of my food. "Its good" I think to myself and continue to eat it. "So, I hear your a new addition to our humble family, Noel." Blaine's father says towards me and I snap my head up and look to Blaine's mother who mouths a 'say yes' towards me while Blaine nudges me, I look to him and see an encouraging smile. "I- yes, I believe I am." I say with a smile looking back down at my food. The man chuckles really loudly that makes me look up again. "I see why Blaine is so loud" I think while restraining myself from covering my ears. "That's good! Now we can skip the crying baby stage!" he says with another loud chuckle while the woman elbows him hard in the ribcage which makes him cough and sputter. "Like I said earlier. I always wanted a daughter." she said as her face softened looking towards me. I listened as the family continued their chatting and eating. "I'd really like to stay if they'll have me" I thought taking another bite.

Sleeping arrangements, its convenient they had an extra room for guests but I suppose its my room for now. Mother insisted that I call her so because she 'said so' with sparkling eyes and as a request from the people letting me stay here I couldn't refuse. "They are too kind" I evaluate in my mind, wondering why they would do this but came up with nothing except that its out of the kindness of their hearts. A knock on my door brought me out of my reverie. Expecting them to just walk in I just sat there in silence, waiting. "...come in." I say after a minute or two since it got awkward. "I thought you would never let me in" Blaine said walking in with a small relieved sigh "Mum told me to bring you these, its just a few change of clothes and she said she'll come and check on you soon when she's cleaned up the bakery a bit." he said. "Thank you" I said while standing to take them out of his hands. "Say, Noel. How old are you?" Blaine questioned. "I'm 11… why?" I ask. "Yes!" he shouts and makes me shuffle back a bit. "I mean, I just wanted to know who was the older sibling… and I am! Since im 13!" he says with a grin, clearly proud of himself but what shock me most was the fact he accepts me as family already but then again I suppose so does his mother and father. It really does make me happy and fill me with so much warmth that I can't help but smile. Except, the only thing missing is Kacey, my older sister. The thought makes my smile drop again and Blaine notices. "What's wrong Noel? Wait! I mean only if you want to tell me of course!" he shouts defensively. "Its okay. I just. Its… my sister, I miss her is all" I say looking to the side. "Can you tell me about her?" he says with a big smile and a kind voice after a moment. "O-only if you want to." I reply shyly and he nods his head vigorously and I proceed to tell him about her amazing magic and guild work combined with all the fun we had as a family together. "She sounds like the coolest sister! Definitely awesome enough to be my older sister too!" he says thoughtfully with a grin and a nod which surprises me. "You readily accept her and me as your own?" I say shakily. He just stops smiling and grips my shoulder, "Of course, any sister of my sister is family, obviously. And I'll readily accept someone as cool as her!" he says. I can't help but smile widely with him. His mother walks in and claps her hands "Okay, okay, time for bed you two, its already late." Blaine makes whiny noises and trudges out the door muttering a goodnight to both of us while his mother stays and puts me to bed, turns off the light and sits down in a chair by the bed I'm laying in with a book. "I thought I'd read you a night time story, if you want. I picked out the best one, The stars night. Its about the stars keeping the night bright together, I won't spoil the rest" she said holding the book up. With a small nod and "yes, please" from me, she began telling me a tale about how the night was too dark and people feared it, so the small kindling souls watching their loved ones from the sky came together to brighten the night to show everyone that they are always looking on from above and how many people gazed and acknowledged them every night so they used meteor showers to spread the love they felt despite not being able to be directly by their sides. After the story I fell into a calm rest.

Bang! Bang! Loud bashing was what had woken me up just now and with a groan I got up and grabbed the clothes left out for me from last night. "Hey! Are you up yet Noel?! I'll come in you know!" I heard Blaine shout from the other side of the door and hurriedly got dressed in a new light blue dress with a darker blue collar and some knee socks ready to go to the dojo. I swing open the door and Blaine accidentally knocks quite heavily on my head. "Ow, ow, ow" I mutter holding onto my head. "Wha?! S-sorry Noel! Are you ok?!" he shouts in frantic worry and mother storms down the hall like she's on a war path and brutally whacks Blaine out the way with a splat on the wall, she ignores the damage to Blaine. "Noel are you ok?" her face softens when she checks me over and I just look on in shock of the situation but when Blaine just pops right back up my worries completely disappear. "What was that for?! I apologised!" Blaine shouts at mother and her face darkens with a scary smile but before she shouts at him I hurriedly go to defend Blaine and hug her tightly. "I-its okay… m-mother, it was my fault I hadn't warned him as I opened the door" I admit with tears threatening to spill over "I don't want them to fight. Just be happy please." I thought with my eyes shut tightly so the tears wouldn't fall. "… oh, then I'm sorry Blaine." she says kindly and back to normal and it makes me smile but Blaine's face looks pained at how his mother is acting "r-r-r-r-right. I-I-I m-m-mean. Sorry for h-h-hitting you Noel" he stutters badly and flees downstairs which makes me raise an eyebrow. "Okay Noel. I'm going to finish up breakfast" mother says as she calmly walks downstairs to the kitchen. I stand outside my door in confusion until I hear a loud laugh from behind me. "That was quite a show Noel! Never seen mother back down in a fight before!" Blaine's father booms. I'm fairly certain the neighbours hear this family's every conversation, I feel sort of sorry. "I wouldn't worry about there fights, its normal and nothing to worry about" he chuckles as he walks downstairs and I follow him down feeling worried but slightly relieved that they are all so lively.

After breakfast me and Blaine headed to the dojo. "Oh man! This is just so cool! My little sister is magic and I'm going to be the greatest martial artist in the world! We make the best team!" he says excitedly with a hand up expecting a high five. I high five him "We will have to train hard to be the best you know?" I say sceptically. "Nothing but the best so I guess I'll have to step up my game! Lets do this!" he says loudly with a fist pump as we walk into the dojo. "All right, we'll split up here but meet me when you get a break. I won't stop till you find me!" he says running off into the dojo. "I seriously feel like I barely talk to these people, I should try to open up a bit more, maybe this loud family will help… or end up speaking for me" I think with a sigh while going round to the back shed where Clare should be. I knock on the door and hear rummaging and wait outside amused by the sounds. Finally the door opens. "Hi Noel. We'll be outside today" Clare says shutting her door and walks past me with a coat in her arms and I look at her questioning her actions but she just motions for me to follow. "So your talkative today." she says sarcastically, "I knew it, I must seem antisocial or something, I just don't really know what to say." "Where are we going?" I ask not replying to her rude sarcasm. "Just doing some shopping, I'm low on milk for coffee." she states nonchalantly. I just stare at her. "Am I not training my magic today?" I ask with concern. "Of course you are," she says looking at me like I'm stupid. "so make it rain." she says putting on her thin orange coat and popping up the hood then zipping it up. She looks like an orange, oversized traffic cone. "What?" I just ask. "You heard me, make it rain."

I summon some clouds, holding my hand up with my palm out and put effort into turning the clouds grey while she looks at me with a straight face, I let out a breathe I didn't realise I was holding and take in some much needed oxygen. A bead of sweat slides down my face as I force the rain to fall down with my eyes closed in concentration. "Why are you thinking so hard?" she asks the moment I get a few drops to fall which makes me lose concentration and the clouds return to white but remain overhead. "Wh-What are you on about?" I heave out my words while quite out of breath. "I'm saying, think of the clouds as a gentle aid to help you, a force you can and can't control, loosen that rope of concentration. The weather is unpredictable, it won't answer to direct command so… just think of yourself as a catalyst not its master." she finishes what she says then continues to walk to the middle of town. "Not its master?" I contemplate her words and follow her into a small corner shop and she pays for her milk and we leave. "Try again." she commands. I do so. I raise the palm of my hand up towards the sky noticing that the clouds are already above me and so I just look at them in question. Without having to summon them again I furrow my brows in concentration. I watch until Clare says, "No, relax, what are you trying to do" she looks at me sceptically. I raise my brow and look up at her. "Make them go grey?" I say although it sounds more like a question. "And does making the clouds turn grey make it rain?" she says with slight anger. "No" I shyly mutter looking at the floor. "So just will it to rain or are you stupid? Were you lying to me? Right now I feel like I'm wasting my time." she says looking at her nails nonchalantly. "I-I'm not a liar!" -drip- "She keeps looking down on me. She's done this before." "I just! I just-" -drip- "I need to learn magic, get stronger, like my sister." I say calming my anger but instead I cry at my helplessness, at not being competent enough. "It hurts. To be this weak." I sniffle but I feel a coldness on my shoulders. A soothing coolness that makes me look up to get a look at what's happening. "This happened somewhere before" I thought looking at the beautiful drops of rain shimmering in the sunlight. "That's one way of doing it I suppose. Emotions are just as unpredictable."Clare droned on muttering something to herself. "See I told you. You didn't even need to think about it, just make yourself some clouds and wham." she says looking at her watch. "What the heck." I just sigh to myself. "Since you did it I guess we can move on." she says looking back at me. "But I don't feel like I've done anything." I backtrack. "You made it rain." she says plainly like it wasn't even an obstacle and walks back to the shed while I trail behind her. The rain clouds following me but I can't help but feel comforted by it.

Outside the shed she stops and looks up. "You gonna make it rain all day or what?" Clare says to me. I just look at her funny. "I can't just tell it to stop at the snap of my fingers" I say moodily. She eyes me up with a frown and sighs. She pulls up her hand and a puddle of water splashes up and hovers over her hand in a ball and she looks down at me. "Do this." I wait for an explanation. "Oh, extend your magical aura to the outside like you do in meditation but… try to feel the element of water around you, how it flows elegantly in droplets to the floor." I close my eyes and extend my aura like she said, I feel the droplets on my skin, and as the small drops fall through my invisible aura. I'm overwhelmed by the amount of water I feel piercing my aura like a deadly weapon. "Don't succumb to it, mould it. To where you want it to be. You can't stop waters flow but you can mould it into a shape with magic." Clare mentions but I barely absorb the information. "Okay then, lets stop here. You must be feeling tired right?" "Now that she mentions it, I am. Not heavily exhausted but I can feel a small fatigue, like I've been for a jog" I realise. As soon as I consciously close off my magic container from the outside the clouds drizzle the last of the water they had made and dispersed leaving a bluer sky. "Hmmm." Clare hums to herself. "You weren't lying when you said you were familiar with meditation. Your magical container is quite the size for you to be able to hold on through a shower like that. "My body aches" I think to myself. "It wasn't a powerful pour but it was something, more than I expected." Clare tells me like she's making mental notes. "I think we'll finish here for the time being but I want you to try and control the rain more but… don't." she says not quite sure how to put it. "That makes no sense." I say with an 'are you okay?' look. "Think on it a bit more, any ways, I want more meditation at home! And try to move the water from taps or something. Well, see you." she says opening her shed door. "Wait! When should I come back?" I ask hoping she hasn't given up on me. She faces me from her door. "Three days. Come back in three days and I expect you to be able to make it rain without fault! Just don't make it all gloomy around here!" she says while shutting her door. With a sigh of relief I walk to the dojo to go and find Blaine.

I quietly open the door to the building and look around at all the people practising different martial arts together. "Oh, its little Noel." I hear someone say with surprise in their voice. Its Toku. "Hello." I say quietly trying to meet his eyes, "I finished my training with Clare for the time being." I say to ease his surprise a bit. "Yeah, I expected you to be with her and not here, what can I do for you?" Toku asks with a wide grin. "I'm looking for Blaine." I say while looking back into the dojo. "I sent him out a while ago to train in the rain." Toku answers. "He should be round the side of the dojo near the big tree." Toku points me into the right direction and I head over.

As I get closer I just watch Blaine swing a sword around in rhythmic motions. "Noel! I've been waiting for ages! I wondered if you'd just leave me here!" Blaine shouts heading over towards me. I just shake my head. "I wouldn't. Are we going back to the bakery?" I ask, "Home," Blaine corrects "Its your home now. And yeah, lets go."

On the way back with the sun gleaming a tired orange we approached the door to the bakery and walk in then sit at a booth. "I'll go grab some food and juice." Blaine says shooting off to the kitchen. I wait quietly just staring out the window. "Home. This is fun." I think with happily. Then Blaine comes charging back in with bear bread and orange juice like yesterday. I ate the food happily and listened to Blaine's day, "I swiped at the rain with crazy precision! I didn't miss a single drop." he claims proudly. "What did you do with Clare?" he asks looking at me expectantly. "We went and bought some milk." I say and he just raises an eyebrow nodding for me to continue. "She said that I shouldn't control my magic but at the same time I have to control it. I don't understand." I reveal with a downtrodden expression. "Ah! Toku said the same thing to me when I was training a few years ago! I think he means that if you will it then it will happen but then you have to guide the sword to its destination. Its willpower!" Blaine says loudly trying to make sense of their wisdom. "Willpower? I think I understand where he's coming from. Just will it but guide it?" I think with some understanding. "I think I understand a bit more. Thanks Blaine." I say and he smiles with a nod and I finish my juice then we get up to put our mess away and clean up. "How was it today, Noel?" mother says while wiping down a counter for tomorrow. "It was very helpful and I think I understand my magic a bit more." I reply and she nods, "That's good. I prepared the bath for you so go in first." she say looking towards me. I nod and head to the bathroom. I undress and dip into the water and wash my hair then just relax. "I could practice water magic here I guess." I think. I let my magical aura out and feel the water around me, its too much, much more than the rain, I feel oppressed. Like I'm drowning. "Don't let it overwhelm you." I hear in my head and then relax. I take a deep breath to prove I'm not drowning to myself. Its warm. Like a light hug or the sun on skin. I open my eyes and lift my hand out the water and use my magical aura to shape an invisible container above my hand and will the water to move from the tub to above my hand. Slowly the water flows up above my palm into a small ball and continues to grow until I drop it with a knock to the door. "Noel can you please hurry, I'm all sweaty from earlier!" I hear Blaine shout from outside the door. With memory of what happened last time I decide to reply. "I'm coming out now!" I shout grabbing my pyjamas and putting them on, light pink matching shirt and trousers. And walk out with a towel on my shoulders drying my long hair. "Its free." I state walking down the hall and leave him to go in. "Well it's a start to water magic and I did it just like Clare said" I think walking into my room. Before dinner I take the 40 minutes of down time to meditate on my magic. "Dinner is ready!" I hear father bellow from the kitchen.

After dinner I get in my bed and stare at the white ceiling. My eyes flutter shut and I drift into a dreamless sleep, waiting for the next three days to be over quickly.