Disclaimer: Kirby belongs to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.
Vesa, Fecto Elfilis, Zan Partizanne, Kirby and Elfilin stopped at the entrance to the tower. The pink star warrior waved at the human just as Fumu and Bun managed to catch up. Vesa turned to face the kids.
"Hey, kids," Vesa waved her hand with a smile, "Kirby and Elfilin didn't give you two too much trouble, did they?"
"No, they've been just fine," Fumu answered, standing a little straighter.
"Poyo!" Kirby chirped as he waved his arms, "poyo!"
"I'm glad you two enjoyed yourselves," Elfilis added.
Elfilis glanced at Kirby, Elfilin, Fumu and Bun. Fumu shuddered a little at the sight of the strange pattern in Elfilis's eyes, as it seemed intimidating. Zan Partizanne reached for a book from a nearby shelf.
"So," Zan asked, "how much have you experienced regarding telekinesis?"
Vesa took a moment to think.
"I was only able to levitate a few small things here and there," she shrugged, "and maybe use it to imbue a weapon with wind."
"Well, that's not much, but it's a start," Zan replied, "the principles between levitation and telekinesis are similar, but contrary to popular belief, they're different spells. Levitation is simple and almost anyone can do it as long as they have enough magical power. Some people even do it accidentally when channeling their energy."
Zan flipped through the pages for a moment before handing it to Vesa. The human examined the title "Meditation and Power: Why Your Power is Making the Rocks Around You Float".
"The title's a bit wordy," Zan continued, "but it gets the point across."
Vesa nodded before sitting down in a nearby chair to read. While Elfilis stood by her side, Bun let out a sigh.
"It's really boring in here," he bemoaned, "I'm heading out."
"We'll catch you guys later!" Elfilin proclaimed, waving his paw at his larger fragment.
Bun, Kirby and Elfilin left the tower.
"Magic and other various energy sources have the power to make things float if there is enough energy in the atmosphere," Zan continued, "telekinesis is essentially a controlled form of this phenomenon. Levitation is similar, but your focus needs to be internal rather than external. It should be pretty simple for you, I'd imagine. It's not flight, but it's rather close. Flight is much more complicated if it isn't hard coded into your species like it is for me and my siblings."
"Good to know," Vesa simply nodded.
Vesa went back to studying the book's text while Fumu browsed a nearby bookshelf, examining the titles related to magical theory, electric magic, physics, machinery, engineering and so on. Elfilis gave Fumu a curious glance. It wasn't long before she picked out a book on magical theory. Zan blinked twice as she tilted her head sideways.
"Hey, kid?" Zan called over, "did something catch your interest?"
Fumu shifted her gaze to the lightning mage.
"It's just," Fumu paused, "all of this magic. I knew on some level it existed, but it's never felt so real. It's just so different, it doesn't follow the normal laws of physics at all! Yet, some of this stuff in here contradicts that and says it can work with physics to make different things happen."
Zan nodded in agreement.
"I guess I'm just curious as to how it all works," Fumu added, "there has to be some rules to it; otherwise, there wouldn't be so much complex information in this book."
Fumu checked the book's title while Vesa closed the book in her hands.
"Hey," Vesa interrupted, "if it's not too much to ask, can we set up a spot for levitation practice?"
Zan glanced over her shoulder.
"Let's head outside and we can do it there," she suggested.
Vesa smiled and stood to her feet.
"Can I come, too?" Fumu clamored.
Vesa glanced over her shoulder.
"Sure!" she chirped.
"You may if you wish to," Zan added with a nod.
Vesa and Fumu followed Elfilis and Zan out of the tower and down the corridor until they reached the castle courtyard.
"Alright," Zan told Vesa, "you know what you have to do?"
Vesa nodded, handing the book back to Zan before she scanned her surroundings for nearby loose objects.
"The external manifestation of levitation is small pebbles and other things floating into the air," Zan continued, "it can be directed in a sort of push that will fling things around. It's a handy trick for removing large amounts of dust in the air, or for throwing enemies off of you when you're being pressured in combat. However, using it that way is taxing on your reserves unless you focus it in one direction; even then, it can certainly be costly to throw around. Only mages like Elfilis, Magolor or Marx can use it consistently in battle, but they have enough magic to use other tricks that would be more effective. For mages with lower reserves like us, we need to get more creative."
"Got it," Vesa agreed.
Vesa slowly closed her eyes, beginning to concentrate her mana. Elfilis perked up their feelers as they watched their girlfriend extending both hands, letting the mana flow into her fingertips. A few pebbles on the ground jolted without warning. Vesa continued to concentrate for a few minutes before the first pebble started to float into the air. Seconds later, more pebbles began floating. She opened her eyes for a brief moment.
Vesa took a deep breath. With a flick of her hand, the floating pebbles began gathering together. Elfilis raised their brow in mere interest. As far as they knew, their girlfriend wasn't internalizing it correctly. Perhaps her affinity had something to do with it?
All the while, Fumu stared in awe as Vesa drew in the pebbles and willed them to orbit around her, almost like she was forcing everything around her to move into the air other than herself, and the rocks began forming an odd shield of debris and rubble.
"Whoa!" Fumu gasped.
"It's certainly an interesting expression of her ability," Elfilis frowned, "even if it's not quite what we're looking for."
Vesa paused as she lowered the pebbles to the ground.
"Huh?" she blurted.
"You don't seem to have the aptitude for this spell," Elfilis clarified, "I would hazard a guess and say most spells you attempt to cast on yourself likely won't work."
"As in," Vesa pondered, "I can't float?"
"Not unless you put a lot of effort into it," Elfilis admitted.
Vesa sighed with a shrug before she stepped towards Elfilis, wrapping an arm around their waist and eliciting a blush out of them.
"You still did a good job," Elfilis added, "that kind of effect could come in handy."
"Thank you!" Vesa smiled.
Elfilis gave Vesa a little nod and a smile.
"So what are your plans for today?" they asked her, "got anything in mind? We still have a while before it gets dark."
Vesa released Elfilis from her embrace.
"Hmm," she said, "let me think."
Vesa began pacing around a nearby bush. All the while, Fumu had been thinking of what she recently witnessed.
"Can…can you teach me how to do that?" Fumu requested, turning to Zan.
The lightning mage blinked twice, taking a moment to think in silence.
"I…I can," she answered.
Vesa paused as she and Elfilis exchanged glances.
"Oh?"
"I'll get you some books so you can get started," Zan nodded, "you should probably inform your parents that you'll be working under me."
"Ok!" Fumu agreed.
Fumu sprinted off, leaving Vesa and Elfilis by Zan Partizanne's side. The human gave the lightning mage a gentle smile.
"Zan?" she said, "thank you for today's lesson."
"It was no trouble," Zan rubbed her forehead in embarrassment, "honestly, I feel I may have gone a bit far since Elfilis is meant to be your teacher."
Elfilis sighed softly and placed their hand on their sister's head.
"It's fine, I fear I'm not the best at teaching," Elfilis assured her, "besides, you're going to have your own student here soon, so you need the experience. We might even be able to do joint lessons."
"Thank you, Elfilis," Zan chuckled nervously.
While waiting, Vesa and Elfilis took a stroll through the courtyard garden.
"So, have you made up your mind yet?" Elfilis asked.
Vesa placed her finger on her chin.
"I would love to just head back and do a puzzle with you," Vesa suggested.
"That sounds good," Elfilis smiled.
Just when Vesa and Elfilis stopped at a fountain, Fumu returned with Sir Parlam and Lady Merim following close behind.
"Greetings!" Sir Parlam waved his hand, a concerned expression on his face apparent, "I must say the idea of my daughter being taught something as dangerous as magic concerns me quite a bit."
Zan floated over to Sir Parlam and nodded at him.
"I can assure you I'll do my best to ensure no harm befalls her," Zan told him, "and so long as she doesn't attempt anything too advanced without my knowledge, I can assure you she'll be fine."
Fumu tilted her head sideways as she took a moment to think.
"I won't do anything I haven't had approved of by you," Fumu added, "I promise."
Vesa took a step back from the fountain and turned her gaze towards Fumu.
"Well then," Vesa smiled, "I wish you luck!"
"Thanks!" Fumu chirped.
Parlam and Merim exchanged glances with worry in their eyes, but in the end, neither of them could ever bring themselves to refuse the training. Sir Parlam offered his hand, allowing Zan to shake it.
"Well…I suppose we are entrusting our daughter's safety to you for the time being," Sir Parlam begged, "please take care of her."
While Lady Merim offered her hand to Zan Partizanne, Vesa returned her gaze to Elfilis just as they stretched their winglike ears. They went to stretch their arms next before they returned their gaze to their girlfriend.
"It looks like things are all wrapped up here for now," they asked her, "ready to leave?"
"Yes!" Vesa nodded eagerly.
Vesa stepped closer to Elfilis, allowing them to scoop her into their arms. Her partner blushed as they took off. After several minutes of flight, Elfilis touched down at the entrance to the tower. They lowered Vesa to the ground before they both headed inside and made their way to the game room. She searched the shelf before picking out a 750 piece jigsaw puzzle. She plopped the box onto the table and opened it before sitting down. Elfilis resorted to making a larger chair for themself before sitting across from her, having realized there wasn't any furniture in the room their size. The thought of having dismissed some things prior to repairing their soul had them frowning. Vesa was rummaging for edge pieces when she noticed the expression in their eyes.
"Elfilis?" Vesa paused.
"Sorry," Elfilis sighed, "I was just noticing a few things that didn't cross my mind until now. Really, I wasn't concerned with almost anything other than you, father and my sisters. I had far few wants for myself aside from wanting the others to be happy; even finding new ways to combat Dark Matter."
Vesa placed her hand on their shoulder.
"I know I'm happy right now," she assured, "especially with you."
"T-Thank you," Elfilis stammered.
Elfilis leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss. Vesa giggled softly before she and her partner returned their focus to the puzzle. Elfilis analyzed up to fourteen possible solutions in a mental simulation, considering not all the pieces were right-side up and some were overlapping. Thinking of how they would only have one working train of thought at a time back in the lab made them pity Elfilin a bit, as they were positive the small chinchilla didn't seem to notice how he'd been stunted mentally.
Vesa checked the image on the box as she tried testing edge pieces to determine which ones locked in perfectly. She smiled when she got two matching pieces latch together. Elfilis also started matching puzzle pieces together. Sometimes, they would try matching up some of the latched pieces Vesa worked on to add to the puzzle further.
Even with Elfilis going out of their way to match their girlfriend's pace, this puzzle should keep them occupied for the rest of the day.
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