A/N: And now a slighly plot-filled but mainly just Luke/Asch/Lorelei relationship chapter!
Special thanks to SonicGirl2002 who leaves the most awesome reviews ever! Thanks so much!
Tear walked along the hallway, Natalia at her side.
"Are you sure about this? I mean, why would the headmaster teach us?" Natalia asked.
"I'm sure, Natalia. And I told you, he said because we don't have a Seventh Fonist teacher, he'd help us improve our abilities."
Natalia followed her down the hallway, and eventually they reached the office. Tear reached out, knocking on the door.
"Come in," a voice called, and they pushed the door open before stepping inside.
"Ah, Tear, Natalia. Glad you could join us," Lorelei said with a smile, motioning to the seats, where a few other students were sitting. They sat down, Natalia hesitantly. Tear noticed that Asch and Luke were also there, sitting behind the counter. Whatever they'd been doing, Tear decided she didn't want to know; Luke was sitting on Asch's lap, and the two looked vaguely embarrassed.
"Is anyone else coming along?" asked Tear.
"A few," Lorelei replied vaguely, and they glanced at each other. A knock came at the door, and it opened. Ion and Sync stepped in, looking around, and Ion smiled as he recognised them.
"Ion, Sync, glad you could join us," Lorelei said, nodding to the chairs. They sat down, Ion greeting the others.
"Arietta will be along in a minute," Sync muttered, and Lorelei nodded. They waited in silence, then the door opened a girl with pink hair and eyes entered, along with a couple of other students. They greeted the headmaster then took a few seats, sitting there awkwardly.
Tear glanced at the two red heads, the surlier of which was now death-glaring the three new students.
"Dad," he hissed, and Lorelei turned.
"Yes, Asch?"
Asch glanced at the students, then got up, causing Luke to crash to the floor, and whispered into Lorelei's ear. Lorelei blinked, then smirked.
"Jealous?"
"As if! It's just not strategic!"
"Asch, your worries are unfounded. I've already told you that Van-" He cut himself off, looking around at the group, then looked back at Asch. "We'll talk about it later," he said shortly, before standing up. "Welcome, everyone! There are a few less students that I would have preferred, but no matter. Now, you're here to be taught about the Seventh Fonons. This class is optional, and you can drop out at any time. Likewise, if you find anyone who is a Seventh Fonist and wants to join, they can come along."
Everyone nodded, a few people looking relieved, and others uncomfortable.
"Now, to begin with, how many of you have used the Seventh Fonon before?"
A few people raised their hands, Tear and Natalia included. Ion did as well, though Sync kept his hand down, looking embarrassed.
"No worries. You're here to see if you have the ability to use the Seventh Fonon - and if not, there's no reason for you not to come, if you want," Lorelei replied.
The students nodded again, starting to look a little more relaxed.
"Now! Who knows what a hyperresonance is?"
Only Asch and Luke raised their hands, both looking a little bored.
"Excellent! At least now I know what I can teach you," Lorelei said with a laugh. A few nervous titters ran through the group, and he gave an inaudible sigh. "Okay then. A hyperresonance is when two Seventh Fonists come together, using the fonons together and melding them together to form a powerful burst of energy. It is an extremely difficult ability, and rare. There are rumours that some people can cause a hyperresonance by themselves, but there's no way to know for sure.
A second order hyperresonance is when two hyperresonances are used at the exact same time and meld together. Again, only a theory, and it's never happened."
The group looked a little confused, but Tear watched as Luke and Asch started pulling faces at each other.
"Shut up," Luke muttered finally, kicking him, then leant back on the large chair behind the desk and put his feet up on the table.
"Now, the Seventh Fonon is mainly used for healing artes. Useful, especially in the midst of battle when you don't have time to use healing items. The severity of the injury depends on your skill and energy; if you are a fully recharged, very skilled Seventh Fonist, you could probably heal even fatal injuries. If you are unskilled, and exhausted, you may only be able to handle minor cuts."
Lorelei, still standing, met everyone's gazes. They squirmed under his golden eyed stare, then he turned abruptly and smacked Luke's feet off the table.
"Ow! What was that for!" Luke demanded.
Lorelei gave him a flat stare then turned back to the others.
"Who has experience using the Seventh Fonon to heal?" he asked. Tear raised her hand, as did Natalia. Two other students did as well. Tear watched in surprise as Ion, Luke and Asch kept their hands down.
"Tear, I'm not surprised...Natalia, again, obvious...Shawn, a little unexpected...Lily, expected," Lorelei murmured, then nodded.
"A few of you may have used the Seventh Fonon for something else. Being able to use the Seventh Fonon for attack is something that only extremely skilled Artes users can manage, though if you are powerful enough, it's possible to use it by accident." Lorelei glanced at Ion. "Ion, you've been raised by the church, so it's expected for you to be able to use the Daathic Fonic Artes," he added.
Tear frowned as he didn't mention Luke and Asch, but she supposed it was probably more due to family matters.
"When using the Seventh Fonon, you have to be precise. If it is uncontrolled, it can have disastrous consequences. Especially when using a hyperresonance."
Both red heads perked up, sitting straighter as they listened to him.
"Before you try using a lot of Seventh Fonons, you have to make sure you have perfect control over them. Never take on more than you can manage. If you think it's going out of control, cancel it. If you don't spontaneously combust, everything else will.
This also applies if you aren't a Seventh Fonist. If a non-Seventh Fonist tries to use Seventh Fonons, they may go out of control. If you feel that happening, stop. There is no telling what may happen. Don't try to wrestle control back, it won't work. I had a friend who tried it once, and ended up killing his mentor and nearly himself."
The room was quiet, taking that information in.
Lorelei smiled. "But, if we're sensible, that won't happen. Now, who wants to have a go?"
Not surprisingly, the room was silent, everyone looking a little worried. Lorelei laughed.
"Why am I not surprised? Alright, let's take Largo's idea and set up a default," he decided. Everyone looked at the two red heads, who looked at Lorelei. "How about...Tear?"
Tear blinked, then nodded slowly. "Um, okay.." she murmured.
"Stand up," Lorelei prompted, and Tear stood hesitantly. He looked over at Asch, and nodded. Asch sighed then also stood opposite her. He pulled out a knife from his pack, and Tear stared at him, wondering what he was planning to do with it.
Asch raised the knife, glanced at Lorelei, who nodded.
"You're so damn annoying," Asch muttered, then gave himself a light cut on his arm.
Tear blinked, then looked at Lorelei. "Heal it," he said, motioning to the cut.
Tear nodded, and raised her hands. Giving a short incantation, she felt power flood her and then a light came from her hands, healing the cut. Asch rolled his shoulder, then nodded.
"Excellent Tear. Well done," Lorelei said, and Tear sat down again, going red as everyone looked at her in awe. "Now, you used a certain incantation, correct?" Lorelei said.
Tear nodded. "One I was taught by my Grandfather," she explained.
"Alright then. Why don't you repeat it for the whole group?" Lorelei suggested, sitting back.
"Um...I just say 'O healing power... First Aid'," she said.
"And then what do you do?"
"I...kinda control the fonons and...ask them to heal him."
Lorelei nodded. "That sounds about right. What you use is a very basic healing spell, which can be learnt by most people as long as they have the ability to use Seventh Fonons. Now, I want you to all practice saying the incantation."
Everyone began to mumble it quietly, only trying half-heartedly. Lorelei watched them with a weary expression, then finally clapped his hands.
"Alright alright. Enough. It's late, so go back to bed and practice this for next week's session," he called.
Everyone stood up, giving mumbled goodbyes and heading out of the room. Tear and Natalia waved to the three red heads before closing the door behind them and heading back to their dorm.
Waiting until the last footfalls had faded away, Luke looked at Lorelei.
"So, Dad. Rumours there are some people who can cause hyperresonances by themselves, huh?" he said with a smirk.
Lorelei snorted, sitting down on one of the sofas heavily. He picked up the nearest book, chucking it at Luke, who ducked easily.
"Well, it's true. Might as well give them the idea now," he replied with a shrug.
"Yeah, but that's kinda pushing it. What if someone works out we can do it?" asked Asch, lounging on another chair.
"Then we'll deal with it," Lorelei replied with a wave of his hand.
"Wow Dad. That's super mature," Luke drawled, and ducked another book.
"Don't you two have things to be doing?" asked Lorelei irritably.
"What, other than winding you up?" Asch asked.
"No, not really," Luke replied.
"Ugh. Of all the people, I had to have you two as my sons," he sighed, lying back on the sofa.
"Aww, Daddy! That's so cruel! We're only following by example," teased Luke, and dived as three books came at him one after the other.
"Well, Luke is, anyway. But what can you expect from an idiot like him?" Asch sighed, then laughed as Luke leapt at him.
"What was that?!" demanded Luke, chasing after him. Lorelei watched them through half-closed lids, golden eyes hard. Finally he sat up, stretching.
"Come on, we should get to bed. Rest is the best cure for injuries, after all," he said mildly, noting the guilty look the boys exchanged, before they followed him out meekly.
A/N: Lorelei. Knows. Everything.
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