"Master Faluel, please, take the girls home. I'm going to take a walk." Lith said.
"What about-" Faluel Warped Morok back to Ajatar's lair while the Tyrant was still talking to Quylla.
"-a date?"
"I'm flattered by your feelings, but I'm your master. We'll talk about this once your apprenticeship is over." Ajatar laughed his a.s.s off while saving that moment on a recording device.
"As if I'd ask a scaly a.s.s like you out. What's that device for?"
"Blackmail material." The Drake kept laughing for a few minutes.
"Solus is right. Training non-stop can leave you exposed to an attack." Faluel's panting slowly returned to a normal breathing as her violet core drew world energy from her surroundings.
"Once I get home, I'm not going to have enough peace of mind to train. Don't worry, I'll get plenty of rest." Lith replied.
"You better do. Tomorrow I'm going to teach you guys real Spirit Magic and you'll need all the Invigoration you can get." Faluel said.
"Seriously, why walking? Isn't it boring?" Quylla asked.
"Watch me, little one." Lith waved the rest of the group goodbye as he and Solus left the lair.
"What the heck?" Nalrond had a hard time believing his own eyes.
Each one of Lith's footsteps left behind a glowing rune that slowly faded as Faluel's protective arrays countered them.
"Interesting. He's casting while walking and judging from the runes, he's attempting a minor array at that." Faluel replied to everyone's silent question.
"Can it work?" Phloria asked.
"No. Arrays need to be circular to contain the mana in a stable form. The way Lith is doing it, instead, makes the runes fade before they can combine to form a proper string of command, but it's still good training."
"Why Solus isn't doing it then and can Phloria and I do it as well?" Tista asked.
"None of you can. Below the bright blue level, the core hogs most of the mana, leaving the body not enough energy to attempt even first magic." Faluel shook her head. "Now let me get you home. Tomorrow will be a big day for you as well."
While the Ernas walked through the Gate in Lith's barn, Tista and Nalrond went back to their respective households.
'The more I train my human half, the more my beast side feels respect rather than contempt towards me. Even better, since we left the Fringe, I've been trying to use my tribe's meditation techniques to communicate rather than to suppress my other half.
'I'm pretty sure that once the two sides match, my beast half will consider me as an equal and we'll finally be able to commune our intents.' He thought.
'What do you want to do tonight?' Lith asked while circulating one element at a time, casting one rune of an impossible array with each stride he took and using Invigoration to replenish his energy. 'Kamila is surely waiting for me at home.'
'She's always waiting for you at home.' Solus half-sighed in annoyance ad half-smiled, happy for him.
Ever since Kamila had learned that Lith had no childhood memories aside from work and duty, she was doing everything she could to shower him with the attention and tenderness that he had lost until that moment.
Lith was used to be the one who always took care of problems, be they his own, his family's, or Solus's. Being for once on the receiving end and Kamila caring for his happiness with no strings attached slowly melted even his frozen heart.
'I don't have much of a choice. The tower can keep my strength but not replenish it so I have to come with you. Remember what Faluel said and take eight full hours of sleep.' Solus had to walk briskly to keep his pace and the height gap made her feel even more like a child.
Yet walking hand in hand through the Trawn woods made her happy nonetheless.
'Yes, Mom.' Lith sighed.
The moment they reached the house and opened the door, Solus slipped back to his finger, enjoying the warm welcome of their family.
"Welcome back." Elina hugged him with joy, as if he had been gone for days instead of hours. "How did the lesson go?"
"It went well. It's one of those disciplines hard to learn and even harder to master so it will take a while take some time to make some real progress. How is Aran behaving?" Lith could feel his vortexes relaxing the moment he stopped casting.
Solus confirmed to him that the moment they lost their quasi-spherical shape, the violet that had spread throughout his aura had turned back into blue.
"Splendidly! Ever since you got back from camping, he always takes care of the house chores as you did as a child. Sadly, he can't cook for his life. He tries to be like you, but not even Onyx can stomach the meals Aran makes for her.
"That said, I'm more worried about Tista." Elina said.
"Why is that?" Lith raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"She's already very strong and now she's getting muscular as well. I'm afraid she'll end up like Phloria, with only suitors that care about her status. On top of that, she's already 21 and-"
"Mom!" Tista cut her short, starting an old argument that would end only when she found a companion.
"Welcome home." Kamila kissed him softly after Lith reassured Aran that they would go to the Blackest Day together.
"Why do you and my mother always say that? I didn't go to another country." Lith asked.
"Because during your life you've been into too many bad places and even if your body came back, I don't want your mind to linger there one second longer." Kamila replied. "I'll welcome you until I'm sure that you've truly returned here."
The tenderness of the moment was ruined by Lith's pungent smell of hard work.
"You definitely need a hot bath and a good massage. Luckily for you, there's still time before dinner and I've taken care of preparing everything for you." She dragged him in the bathroom by the arm.
"What do you mean, massage? I-"
"Shush!" She cut him short with a soft kiss as she let the Scalewalker armor slip off her body. "You need to sleep for tomorrow's lesson so we must do the best we can in the time we've gotten."
***
The following day, Lith was fully rested and had a big smile on his face. Solus was slightly annoyed, but she had to admire Kamila's skill and determination in finding new ways to pamper Lith.
"I'm glad to see that you have all recovered and I'm even happier at the idea that today will be much less demanding for me." Faluel said.
"We are going to start practicing Spirit Magic from tier one since every one of you already got plenty of experience with tier zero and mixing Spirit Magic with the other elements to change their attributes."
"Not everyone." Nalrond grunted. "If this is going to be like the other lessons, I might as well leave. I tried all I can, but I failed to create even a spark of the seventh element."
"Don't worry, I've got a pleasant surprise for you that will allow you to put to use that theory lessons that you diligently followed."
