Greetings all my lovely readers! Thank you for all your kind wishes for good health, I'm mostly doing good right now, but I've been warned to take it slow, hence, typing is the perfect pastime :D

Side note: I've taken liberties with my own views on Luck's past, so, it might wander away from canon if we ever get more insight into his situation.

Without further ado, I give you

Chapter 12: Realizations and dates

There was something calming about looking for quartz with a sieve. Nova had hiked up her baggy pant legs as high as they could go, rolled up almost to her thighs. She'd taken off her boots and socks and waddled into the cold water of the Amalie River and started her work. Sieve in, shake, pick through stones, toss away unneeded ones, dump into a bucket, sieve back in. Her back hurt after the first two hours in the unusual position, but she didn't mind it too much. She would straighten it from time to time, taking a break to stretch, and then go back to work.

After letting her mind go blank for a longer period of time, her frustration of unknown origin from that very same morning was completely gone. Irrational, she told herself. It had been some kind of irrational frustration. Not something she should be feeling, but if she was, all that she had to do was let it pass. As per usual, she used her 'locate source and plug the hole' method. It was a cardiology idea, mostly. If a heart was punctured, leaking blood, one had to find the hole and plug it, before getting the chance to close it. So, she sought the source of her irritation. Had it been during her morning in the room? No. During breakfast? Yes. Her source of irritation was Amalie, the lithe bartender, she had managed to come upon. For some reason, the girl annoyed her. So, Nova decided to, very cleverly, simply avoid the girl. Hole plugged.

"Found you," Luck's voice came from above and Nova shielded her eyes from the bright mountain sun, looking up to find him. He was on his broom, coming down to the bank. "How's it going?" A spark of irritation. Was she also mad at Luck for some reason?

"So far so good, I think," Nova sighed, waddling towards the shore to toss her loot onto a sheet of fabric she had spread out. "A few duds, but I got quite a bit of quartz. I think some of it could work in a little trial run, but I'll still need to clean it and see if it's usable."

"Okay," Luck nodded, placing his broom next to hers. "Let me help?"

"Sure, grab that sieve over there and remember to hydrate when you need to." He soon joined her in the water and they started working. Silence stretched out, interrupted only by a bird's song somewhere in the distance and the sound of slowly moving water. The Amalie River was wide in the area, perfect for mining, and it was unusually calm for a mountain source. It had to do with the small clearing, Nova supposed, as this patch of land was rather flat. She didn't doubt that there had to be some kind of a waterfall nearby, as the riverbed was wide and stagnant.

"My father is a noble," Luck suddenly said, in the calm silence of their work. Nova looked up, seeing him still focused on the sieve. She stayed quiet, letting him talk. "I don't consider myself a noble, as my mother was a commoner. She was a servant on his property and he took interest in her. He didn't assault her, but his attentions were unwelcome. I think she despised me a little because of him."

"I doubt she did," Nova said when he made a deliberate pause in his story. "I doubt that any mother could hate her own child. She decided to have you, after all."

"You're lucky, then," Luck replied somberly. His voice had taken on that deeper tone, the one that Nova had begun to associate with him being completely serious about something. "I think she hated me, at least a little bit." She didn't know how to reply to that. "So, I decided to become a Magic Knight and to help other people like her. Nobody should have to accept unwanted attentions just because they're afraid that their livelihood will be taken away from them." That made more sense. No wonder he had been so perceptive of the situation the previous night. "And, of course, I wanted to find other strong opponents to fight," Luck laughed.

"Of course, you did," Nova giggled.

"I'm never going to do that, you know," Luck told her.

"Assault someone? I hope not," Nova tried to lighten the mood with another laugh.

"Have children," he replied. "I won't let those feelings overcome me. Ever. I don't want to be like my father." Nova paused, thinking about what her friend had just said.

"Okay," she decided to go with in the end, as anything else she had to say felt too invasive. Why would having children make you like your father? Why would being attracted to a woman make you like him? You are a wonderful person, Luck, she wanted to say. You are wonderful and kind and caring and you take care of those who can't do it themselves. You are a Magic Knight and your father was an entitled bastard, she wanted to scream. But, Nova stayed quiet. "My father's a coal miner."

"Oh?" Luck's head perked up, his hair flying all over the place. "In the tunnels?"

"Yes, he goes into tunnels for his work," she nodded. "It's dangerous work, but that's precisely why it pays so well. In the small village where I'm from there isn't much work that you can do that will help keep you afloat except mining."

"What about your mother?"

"Fortune teller," Nova replied, stretching her back.

"Oh," Luck laughed, shaking his head. "That explains you, then."

"How so?" Nova raised an eyebrow at the boy. He grinned up at her from his position near the water. She couldn't help but notice that his eyes were oh so similar in color to the crystal-clear river. It was an odd color. Beautiful, she wanted to say, but held her tongue.

"You're weird," Luck chuckled, going back to his sieve.

"I'll show you weird," Nova muttered under her breath, hitting the surface of the water with her hand, sending it flying at him. Luck's head popped up again, a smirk she knew all too well on his face. She was in it now. Lightning sparked and Nova squealed, running out of the river to flee the charging hellion.

Luck and Nova returned to the inn late in the evening, just after dark. Harietta had their dinner already ready, and she brought it out to them at one of the numerous cozy tables on the ground floor while the two set down the equipment, tired and sore.

"Think you've got enough quartz?" Luck asked, plopping down onto the bench and thanking the stout lady before digging into his food.

"Not nearly," Nova replied, mimicking him. "But, I think it'll be enough for a test trial if we go one more time. I still want to go further up the mountain and look for the things my colleagues asked for."

"Oh? They also need stuff from here?" he asked around his food, bits flying everywhere while he spoke. Harietta's food was amazing, so Nova understood not wanting to part with it even for a second. Thick soup rich in lamb flavors, delicious warm bread straight from the over which let off a puff of steam when she broke it into pieces and glistening lamb meat rolled in herbs which melted on her tongue. "Why didn't they come, too?"

"Can't leave the Tower unattended," Nova shook her head, tossing a napkin at him. "They all gave me lists, so I'll try to find the stuff they need tomorrow and the next day, and then after one more day of mining I think we can go back."

"Sounds good," Luck replied, wriggling in his spot, then there was a small crack and he sighed. "I don't know how you have the energy for this work. It's so boring."

"Boring?" Nova's eyes widened, her arms spreading as she explained. "It's not boring! It's a treasure hunt, for Wizard King's sake! It's a true, honest, treasure hunt! How can you not enjoy the possibility of finding a diamond in the rough or a new scientific breakthrough while simply sifting through mud?!"

"I think being a Magic Knight is much more interesting," Nova scowled at the new voice in their conversation. Amelie joined them at the table, bringing more drinks. "Is your back sore, Mr. Luck? Or do your shoulders ache? I could help you work the knots out, if you want?"

"It's fine, I've had worse," Luck laughed, seemingly oblivious. Nova, however, was fuming. The blatant gall of the girl! She was shamelessly flirting with him! She didn't even know him, for Wizard King's sake! She didn't even know anything about him! So, how did she know that she liked him? Only because he was a Magic Knight and had helped her. Once. He'd helped her once. He'd helped Nova so many more times. And, she knew him so much better.

Nova dropped her fork at her sudden realization, the rest of the conversation falling on her deaf ears. She liked Luck. That was the problem. She liked him. She was jealous because she liked him. Which… was silly. They weren't involved in any way. He didn't belong to her so that she should be so possessive of him. He was free to do as he liked.

"Nova?" Luck called out and she looked up to see them both inspecting her curiously. "Are you okay? You're not sick, are you?"

"I'm fine," she reassured with a tight smile. "Just thought of something bothersome." Nova dug into her food and quickly finished. "I'm going to go and sift through the quarts upstairs." And, the girl collected her belongings quickly and rushed to their room.

She was being ridiculous and she knew it. Completely ridiculous. As she went through the stones she'd selected, she felt for the magic pulse in each before sorting them into three piles. She was being a complete girl. It was ridiculous. She had more pressing matters to attend to than liking a silly boy. Much more pressing matters.

Nova had to prepare for the next Magic Knights Exam. And, she had to excel at her current job. Julius hadn't given it to her for no reason, after all. He'd given it to her because she was exceptional. She was going to prove him right. Besides, she also had the mystery of the Surgeon of Death and his scalpels to deal with. It was all a big mess of work and she couldn't allow herself the distraction that teenage infatuation was. No way.

So, she gave herself a little mantra. Luck is a friend, nothing more. It had worked before and she was damned if she would allow a childish fancy to sabotage her newfound career. Luck is a friend, she repeated to herself. Even when he came into the room and they arranged the shower schedule, she repeated it to herself. Luck is a friend, nothing more.

The rest of their little excursion passed in relative peace, except in Nova's head. Luck didn't complain about the lack of action at all, in fact, he seemed eager to see how she would collect all the different things for her colleagues. In turn, Nova provided lengthy explanations for each and every item she looked for and how they could be used.

They got into a routine where Luck and Nova would hang out for the majority of the day. When they were alone, her brain didn't give her any silly ideas about romance. However, as soon as Amalie would join them, Nova would run for the hills, leaving Luck to deal with her. He seemed to enjoy her company well enough. Her brain, however, didn't enjoy the girl's chatter at all. So, she avoided Amalie like the plague.

At the end of their stay, Harietta gave them both big hugs and invited them to come over and stay with her again at the inn, before waving goodbye with Amalie from the porch as they flew off. Upon their return to the capital, Luck got his compensation for the mission, which he had taken to calling 'a little scavenger hunt in the mountains' and he bid her goodbye before heading off to the Bulls' base.

Nova was left, instead, to wallow in her newfound feelings at the Tower. Though, the Tower never did allow much wallowing. As soon as she was through the door, there was work to be done. She barely managed to get her bags unpacked and give her colleagues the different items they'd requested.

During her time away, another scuffle had taken place near the Diamond Kingdom border, so there were plenty of patients to go around. Will gave her a roster of two burn victims and three Magic Knights who had cuts that needed to be mended and closely monitored for the foreseeable future. Finally, that evening, Nova had her first break.

"Here, fill this out," Will told her, tossing some papers on the table next to her dinner.

"What are these?"

"Ah, the dreaded HO-32 forms," Mary laughed, joining them in the common area. "They're essentially a report of what you did during your mission. You need to fill in where you went, what you collected, all the expenses and the different incidents, if there were any to report."

"Ah, I see," Nova nodded, flipping through the paperwork. It was mostly neat and coherent, so she didn't think that they'd take too much time.

"That's why most of us avoid missions like that," Will smirked. "If you go gathering in the mountains nearby, you're safe from the HOs, but the further you go the more papers you get." He piled the pancakes they'd made tall onto his plate and drowned them in syrup. "Thank you for your honorable sacrifice."

"I don't mind a bit of paperwork if it fixes my salve issue," Nova laughed. "You're gonna get sick from those."

"Nonsense, you just don't know how good this is," Will grinned. "Here, try," his eyes took on that evil glint which always promised something devious as he scooped up a bit of pancake and a whole lot of syrup and targeted Nova with the spoon.

"Oh, no, no, no," she avoided it, moving as far back as her seat would allow. Still, the ominous spoonful kept coming at her.

"Kids, play nice," Mary scolded, eating her dinner like Nova's life wasn't being threatened half a meter away, but Will was too far gone, as he always was when he tormented the new girl. Finally, he pushed too much, Nova leaned too far back and she fell flat onto her back on the floor, making Mary slam her hand on the table. "For Wizard King's sake!" Laughter ensued.

"I'm so glad we got to do this, finally," Vanessa cheerily said as the two girls settled in an open-air café on the main street. It was a fine summer evening, the weather getting chilly as autumn was coming soon, but still a pleasant night for a coffee date. Nova liked these kinds of times the best, as it wasn't too hot or too cold, but perfect out for a stroll and a drink. Unfortunately, back home, she was usually too busy in the evening to simply relax like so, but Will had been kind enough to offer covering her shift and she'd managed to catch a breather.

"Me too," Nova nodded, shifting in her seat and sighing contently. She was sore from all the work she'd done during the day in the herbal garden. "I'm sorry I couldn't keep the earlier appointment, I ended up going on a gathering adventure."

"Ah," Vanessa nodded, taking the menu and sliding one over to the girl. "I heard from the boys that you took Luck with you. Magna was devastated that he was left behind," she giggled. Nova made a face.

"If I had taken both of the boys with me, it would've been more of a diplomatic peacekeeping mission than a gathering one," she sighed. "I love them to bits, but they sometimes kill my patience."

"We're all a bit kooky, I think," Vanessa said with a shrug. "But, that's what makes us a good Squad. Everyone's got their own thing that they bring to the table. Now, if we could just…"

"Calm down for a few minutes and be motivated?" Nova added helpfully.

"Exactly!" the witch laughed. "Still, we've been getting more work here and there, so we should be okay. How has your move to the big city been? Liking it? Any issues so far?"

"Mostly, it's what I expected, though through unexpected means," Nova admitted. "I mean, what are the chances that I get a job as a healer? It still seems a bit surreal to me."

"Good evening, ladies, are you ready to order?" a server asked them politely. Vanessa eyed him with a smile, and Nova noticed that the young man didn't resist a glance at the witch's bosom.

"One of those ice-cream coffees, with chocolate liquor and strawberry toppings, okay?" Vanessa winked at Nova with a wide smile. "They have the best ones, trust me."

"Two of those, then," Nova giggled, abandoning her menu. The waiter nodded, leaving. "Luckily, he didn't ask for IDs," the girl sighed.

"Underage?"

"Still a year to go," Nova nodded. "Next year I'll be sixteen and finally can order my own, but I'm still under the legal drinking age in the Capital."

"It's silly, if you ask me," Vanessa nodded. "Where I'm from we started drinking whenever we wanted and we stopped also whenever we wanted! That means that only people who actually liked the drink would drink, rather than having heaps of drunken people in the alleyways, like here."

"Agreed!" Nova eagerly nodded. "If you remove the 'taboo' factor of the subject suddenly you get people who aren't really interested in it, because it isn't 'forbidden fruit'."

"See, you get it!" The two women laughed. "So, tell me, Magna and Luck, which one are you into? Both? Is there something more there?" Vanessa waggled her eyebrows knowingly, leaning in when Nova couldn't contain her smile and blush. "Oooooh! Right on the money!"

"No, no, no, no," the girl waved her hands in front of her face. "Please, Miss Vanessa, I shouldn't talk about it. I value our friendship too much."

"Pish posh," the witch leaned back in her seat. "I'll wait till the end of our little date then, I'll hear all about the ways you can deepen friendships and more, don't you worry." Nova laughed, shaking her head.

Despite the obvious nosiness of the beautiful Bulls' witch, Nova enjoyed her time spent with Vanessa. It was easy, in a sense. She liked the people at the Tower well enough, but they were always all about business and only sometimes about fun. Vanessa, on the other hand, switched topics easily, didn't mind long digressions, talked about this and that and never judged. It was relaxing, hanging out with the woman, maybe even more so than hanging out with Luck and Magna, though Nova wouldn't switch them for the world.

The ice-cream coffees with strawberries and thick chocolate liquor came in tall glasses, with little umbrellas on top. They weren't the best drink for the early autumn, but Nova didn't mind them, especially because there was a kick of heat in her stomach from the liquor. However, that was just Vanessa's starter. The woman ordered a nice bottle of wine next, followed by some of the best pieces of cake Nova had ever tried and then tied it off with yet another ice-cream coffee, for the road, as the witch said.

True enough to Vanessa's word, by the time the second round of coffee arrived at their table, Nova had already been spilling her guts for a while.

"I love 'em both, 'Nessa," she confidently told the witch, waving her arms about. "Love 'em to bits!"

"Yes, yes, but which one are you romantically interested in?" Vanessa was very adamant.

"I mean, have you seen those eyes?" Nova wasn't on the same page, though. "They're beautiful. And the magic! He has to be the strongest mage I've ever seen. I've never seen magic like that! He just zooooms!"

"Who? Luck?" the witch had leaned in to her the end better.

"Julius!" Nova slammed her hands on the table. "What a mage!"

"Ju-Julius?" Vanessa's eyes went wide. "As in, the Wizard King?"

"He's amazing, isn't he?" Nova nodded eagerly. "Do you-" she stopped, holding her breath and the strawberries from coming up, "-do you know he let me? He let me!"

"He let you?" Vanessa's eyebrow was up, but she was invested at that point. Sure enough, this topic hadn't been what she'd wanted to find out, but it was interesting enough.

"He let me go into the library! The one for nobles and royals!" Nova looked down to her fingers and the empty spoon. She scooped up a strawberry from her glass and then looked at the beautiful witch. "But, but-"

"But?"

"Buch I didjn findj anychin ushefush!"

"Oh, oh," Vanessa took up a napkin from the table, wiping at Nova's eyes as the girl ate the strawberry in obvious distress. She was crying inconsolably, but the witch had no idea how the healer had gotten to that state. She'd been all about the Wizard King two seconds ago. "I'm sure it's fine, Nova. I'm sure it's just fine."

"It's not fine," then, the girl went back to crying, all the while eating her ice-cream. In a few moments of silence and the teenager munching down on her treat, Vanessa tried to figure out how to bring the girl back onto the important topic. Then, Nova stopped eating, stopped crying and looked at the witch with determination in her eyes. "It's not fine, but I'll make it fine. Because I'll figure it out! And then I'll know exactly how to perfect my method of healing and be the best healer this country's ever known. You know?"

"Oh," Vanessa nodded slowly, then smiled. "I'm sure you can do it if you try."

"Miss Vanessa, you're like, super pretty, you know that, right?" Nova told her, leaned in and inspecting her face. Vanessa blushed, moving back a bit.

"Why, thank you, Nova," the witch giggled. She had to admit, that while she was still in the dark about the topic of Nova's friendship with Luck and Magna and the exact nature of it, she thought that the little healer was a rather amusing girl to have about. She was quirky in her own way and not entirely uncomfortable company. In fact, she was quite funny, especially after she'd had a few glasses of wine. "Shall we head home?" Vanessa asked, finishing up her ice-cream. "I'll drop you off."

"Oh, no need," Nova told the witch, shaking her head. "I'm good-all!"

"Perfectly good-all," Vanessa nodded, smiling. "I still insist on dropping you off, since I'm here by broom anyways."

"Oh," Nova seemed to think about it for a moment. "Sure then, I'll take a ride. Wait, money. Money, money…" Nova started searching through her pockets, but Vanessa reached over and stopped her.

"This one's on me," she winked. "Next time, it's all yours, okay?"

"Okay!" Nova grinned, allowing the witch to pay for their long line of drinks.

"Fast asleep, eh?" Will asked with a soft smile, taking Nova off Vanessa's broom.

"Out like a light," the witch replied with a grin. "You guys work her too hard."

"Not at all, Miss Enoteca," Will shook his head. "We work her just enough, don't you worry. It's your new boys that have been causing so much trouble. Just like you and Yami back in the day."

"Come now, we were never as bad as Luck and Magna!" Vanessa laughed. "I remember, though, you and I moved here around the same time, didn't we?"

"Yes, we did," Will agreed. "I'm glad to see you've settled in just fine, Miss Enoteca."

"Please, Will, at least call me Vanessa after all these years," the witch smirked at the light blush on his cheeks.

"I couldn't, really," he denied her. "I'd better get this one to bed. She'll be nursing a massive hangover tomorrow."

"Nothing you can't handle," Vanessa laughed, leaving with a wave. Will stood, holding onto Nova in his arms and watching as the witch flew off.

"Nothing I can't handle, indeed," he whispered to himself, turning around and walking into the Tower. How the beautiful witch had changed in just a few years. From coming to the Tower for the first time, timid, scared of her own shadow, to someone who stripped half-naked wherever she went with her Squad, laughing and joking all the time. Yes, life as a Magic Knight in Yami's Squad suited her the best. That was the Vanessa he loved seeing, whenever he could.

That's all folks! Hope you enjoyed!

Reviews:

Obstreperous:
Thank you so much for the lovely review!
For now, I'm not quite sure about Nova's specialty or if she will even get to the point of choosing one. The issue is that I'm attempting to follow the canon worldbuilding of Healing Magic while also introducing modern concepts of surgery. I won't give out any spoilers right now, but Nova does have a field of interest already which will be her focus down the road. If you want to compare the medical field to our own world, I'm thinking something more 16th 17th century, rather than 21st, so I'm not sure how much room there will be for specialization. Perhaps if she gets disciples in her methods down the road?
As far as I understood from the manga and anime Owen has the most advanced healers under his tutelage, who deal with all kinds of injuries, so, yes, I suppose they'd all fall under general medicine, without specialization. But, again, I do have some ideas for the 'random healers' you mentioned, the ones who are Magic Knights as well, however, I'm not going to give away any spoilers yet :P
I hope I answered your questions at least partially, for the rest, you'll have to keep reading to see what happens :D
All my best!

KenosDC1:
Thanks so much for leaving me a comment!
I love it when Luck is in battle mode! I remember I became so interested in his character after those episodes with Asta and Noelle in the dungeon, when he got to show off in battle :D
Jealous Nova is already here at the ready hahahaha She's just oblivious that she's jealous, but she'll get there. Unfortunately, no competition yet, but there'll be some interesting times ahead :P
Hope you liked the update!

AmericanNidiot:
Thanks so much for the review!
Nova doesn't even realize that she's jealous, which I find adorable. She's too rational to connect the dots xD I'm glad that you enjoyed her intrusive, but not malicious, thoughts about bath time hahahaha
Hope you enjoyed the update!

Kadienewberg:
Thanks so much for the lovely review!
I'm doing my best to keep up with the writing, as I'm rewatching Black Clover right now, I'm fully invested xD The romance, the jealousy, the angst… always fun to read and write xD
Hope you enjoyed the update!

Tora3:
Hey there! Thanks so much for the review! I hope you're doing good, haven't heard from you in a while. Then again, that's my own fault for vanishing from FFN hahahaha
I'm doing much better, still have to be careful and take plenty of vitamins, but I'm mostly out of the woods :D
Hope you enjoyed the update!