Soul of a Human

After the "girls' night," Tiara almost clung to Clare like she had a new big sister. But when Mor questioned Clare and later Saphine, he was confused by the answers. Clare was simply happy having another girl to talk to, while Saphine evaded the questions with a strange bashfulness. Tiara, in turn, demanded to join Mor's diet plan, just like Clare.

°Seems that someone had fun. I can only imagine.° The human chuckled, while Mor, as always, didn't get it.

But at least this meant he didn't need to think about how he would have enough time for training, as Tiara came with him of her own accord, gathering interest in all the strange things he and the human thought up. If she wasn't with Mor, she went along with Clare and Saphine and had girl talks.

On one such occasion, when Mor honed his magic skills, with only Tiara watching, he drained his reservoir and then tried to refill it. She suddenly spoke up.

"You're doing it wrong. Didn't someone teach you?"

"Wait? You know how to refill your reservoir?" Mor asked.

"Yes, of course. Dino thought it to me. Didn't your parents teach you?" she asked, and Mor groaned.

°Why are we, such idiots!° The human complained. °Instead of learning more spells, they could have taught you!°

"I forgot to ask them…" Mor confessed, making Tiara laugh. "But you could teach me!"

"I could, but what will I get out of it?" She asked.

"Hey, I'm already helping you with your diet," Mor complained.

"I know, but seeing you use your small reservoir with such efficiency makes me jealous. I have more than enough magic, but my control is bad. My parents and siblings always tell me I don't need to get perfect control because my future is as good as assured." She explained.

"Meaning you want to practice your control with my help?" Mor wanted to confirm.

"Yes, and in turn I will teach you how to fill your reservoir," Tiara answered, and Mor agreed.

This led both of them to spend more time magic training together and pulled Saphine to Mor's training room more than once. Also, it only strengthened the ongoing rumor about their engagement, even while Tiara was denying it fervently.

"I feel like the best way to learn to control your magic is to learn to control your body," Mor explained. "I always had a good grasp on my own magic, but once the human pushed me through "morning exercises" to limber my body up, I'm even more in tune with it."

"Morning exercises?" Tiara asked, and the spontaneous present Saphine also looked interested.

"They are exercises the human taught me and forced upon me each morning, getting more complex the longer I did them. For now, let me show you the beginner moves." He continued and then guided both girls to the first few steps of his limbering exercises.

"And you need to do that each morning?" Tiara asked, and Mor nodded.

"Maybe this is too much for you, princess." Saphine teased, copying Mor's moves.

"It's not!" Tiara refused to let herself be outdone.

"Yes, every morning, and for better effect, I spent the afternoons just using my magic. Mostly by casting familiar spells, so I can concentrate more on the flow of my energy than the spell itself." Mor finished his explanation.

This went on for a few days, and every time, Saphine was also there, making the human tease Mor and generally having fun. Still, just as the human had expected, Mor simply didn't get it, until it was finally time for Tiara to keep her side of the bargain.

"Sit down." She ordered Mor after he went through another round of magic training. "From what I gathered, you already tried it. How did you do it?"

"Like the Ice-kin taught me, I pull on the magic of my surroundings and then push it where I want it," Mor said honestly.

"Yes, that won't work." Tiara sighed. First, you can't pull magic. Think of it like breathing. Try "exhaling" your magic and then "inhaling" it again, with a bit extra.

Mor tried to follow her instructions, ignoring the impossibility of pulling magic he already had disproven, but like so often, he failed. He felt his magic "swirl" inside him, but it wouldn't let itself be exhaled. Mor tried again and again but couldn't get the feeling right. But he wasn't in any kind of haste. Now that he had help and a hint, he just needed to be patient.

Those quiet days continued when Mor and his friends could enjoy school life and fully bring Tiara into their circle, even if there was some strange tension between her and Saphine. In addition, the joined training soon paid off, and Tiara got much better at controlling her vast magic, even if there was still lots of room for improvement. Mor still struggled with refilling his magic reservoir, but again, the human came clutch, trying to guide Mor through something the human called "meditating".

°It's pretty simple. Just relax and concentrate on your breathing. In and out… again… in and out.°

After Mor had practiced this for a few days, the human encouraged him to try it with magic, and this gave Mor the breakthrough. Still, it wasn't very effective, but at least it was a start. Now, it was again up to the human's favorite thing: practice, practice, and practice.

°Isn't it strange that this is so peaceful?° Mor asked on another quiet evening.

°This isn't some strange story where there is a grand problem every year… Like in some other magic school.° The human answered. °Also, could you please not raise any death flags?°

°Other magic school? You always say human don't have magic, and what is a death flag? It sounds ominous.° Mor asked.

°Yeah, we're all just muggles.° The human chuckled, and Mor was even more confused. However, he knew the human was making fun of him and wouldn't give a better answer.

°Also, a death flag is a story thing, where a character would say something, like "After this fight, I will propose to my love," and then be killed.° The human explained.

°And you think I did such a thing?° Mor asked.

°Yeah… and Murphy will hurt you for it. Soon…° The human promised in an ominous tone.

And in a twisted turn of fate, the human would never know how close "Murphy's revenge" was already in the form of an adult Soul-kin arriving at Amethyst Isle, looking at the buildings, interacting with the people living there, and gathering information. The Soul-kin smiled widely. As a plan was formed, the master would be proud and elevate it to a full member.

The Soul-kin was even prepared to give its life for the mission, knowing it would be a test it was very well prepared for. Still inside its target zone, there were many dangers. The strange Soul-kin turned off the main road to the big school building, and inside the dark alley, it simply vanished, leaving no trace of its existence.