Once the weekend had finally passed, the day had finally arrived for the club members' first day of training. They all agreed the first day of the week would be the best day to get everyone together, including Rose.
Allen spent the weekend studying with Thomas and Cecily together. They also spent one of the days out walking around London, browsing at all the shops like they have before. Walking around the city helped calm Allen's mind, as he was normally stuck to the academy's dorm rooms for the whole week.
While walking around the city, they had coincidentally (or maybe not), bumped into Charles. Of course, Charles had to go off for as long as he could about how he was still "Allen's rival" and how he will beat Allen one day. Any sort of challenges Charles makes to Allen, Allen quickly denies.
With their class ended for the day, it was time for the three of them to make their way to the training grounds to meet up with the others.
"Ready to go?," Allen asked, his stuff already packed up.
"I've been ready," Thomas exclaimed, throwing his stuff together and quickly getting out of the seat.
"Another day, nothing accomplished with you Thomas," Cecily sighed as she carefully put her stuff together and got up from her seat.
"You know we aren't going to make that much progress with him," Allen shrugged.
"We can at least try," Cecily said, looking like she was half dead.
"Well c'mon, let's get a move on!," Thomas happily exclaimed as he almost bounced out of the classroom.
The two of them followed behind Thomas, catching up to him not long after. They walked together to the training grounds, where they found Stephen waiting outside.
"Took you three long enough," Stephen grinned as the three of them walked up.
"Why didn't you just go in without us?," Thomas asked.
"Because I obviously don't have the key," Stephen said with his hands up, showing them he didn't have anything in them.
"I have the key," Allen explained as he went up to unlock the door.
"Wait what-," Thomas exclaimed, really confused. "Oh, right. Of course you would have the key, you are the club president"
"William gave me the key to the room before I left since I am now the club president," Allen continued to explain as he finally unlocked the door. "I hate this door, it's not easy to open"
"Least you got it open," Stephen shrugged as the four of them walked in together.
"So, where's everyone else?," Allen asked as they got situated into the room.
"Rose is with the student council, she shouldn't be too long. As for the mysterious girl, I have no clue," Stephen explained.
"Pollen," Alice's voice came from the entrance.
"Ah, speak of the devil," Stephen motioned over to Alice, who had been just walking in.
"Welcome in, Alice," Allen waved at her as she walked over to them.
"Hello," she casually responded.
"Hey Alice," Thomas greeted her with a grin.
"Hi," Cecily gave her a kind smile.
"When do we start training?," Alice asked with the regular blank face she has.
"When Rose finally gets here," Allen responded.
"Well while we are waiting on her, I'm going to start with my warm up stretches!," Thomas said as he got into position within the room.
"Warm up stretches?," Stephen asked, curious.
"Yeah. You know, like stretches you do before working out," Thomas said as he started stretching in the middle of the room.
"Can I try?," Stephen said, really curious.
"Here, let me show you," Thomas said, a large grin on his face.
"Well, there they go," Allen said, smiling.
"Stretches?," Alice asked, interested.
"Yeah, you know… something you do before you start training physically," Allen elaborated.
"Oh," Alice still looked confused, watching them curiously.
"Don't mind those two," Cecily commented as she was giggling watching the boys.
"Sorry I'm late," Rose said as she entered the room, swinging the door open really hard.
"That's fine, but maybe don't try to break that door too?," Allen sighed.
"What do you mean? I opened that door just fine," Rose stated as if she had no idea what Allen meant.
"Nevermind. Least everyone is here," Allen looked throughout the room to confirm that he saw everyone.
"Umm, are they doing what I think they are doing?," Rose asked, finally noticing Thomas and Stephen.
"Yes," Allen and Cecily said together.
"Stupid boys," Alice casually commented.
"Yes, stupid boys," Rose said after she laughed at Alice's comment.
"Why thank you Rose," Allen said sarcastically.
"Always happy to help," Rose grinned back at him. "So, are we starting, or?"
"Hey you two, we're about to start!," Allen called out to them.
"Aww c'mon, we aren't done yet!," Thomas exclaimed.
"Shut up and get your butts over here!," Rose yelled back at them.
"Alright…," Thomas reluctantly agreed.
Once they were all grouped up together, they chatted for a bit about how their days went. After talking for a bit, it was time for the Training Club to finally start what it was formed for - training, of course.
"So, how should we start? Should we just pair up?" Rose asked, getting everyone started.
"That sounds good. Or should we all just collectively train altogether? What works for everyone?," Allen asked the group.
"Up to you, you are the Club President after all," Rose shrugged.
"Yeah, I'm fine with whatever the Club President decides!," Thomas agreed.
"Yes Club President, decide for us," Stephen said with a large smirk on his face.
Being the Club President is going to be a lot harder than I thought if everyone keeps this up, Allen thought to himself.
"I suppose we can each pair up then," Allen decided. "Each of us can pick a partner for the day, and train with them. We can do pairs some days and altogether other days so we can all train together"
"I'm up for it!
"Sure"
"Fine with me"
"Sounds good"
"Yes"
"Alright, with everyone in agreement, guess we'll start making pairs," Allen announced.
"I'm pairing up with Cecily!," Rose instantly linked arms with Cecily, who quickly became surprised but not alarmed.
"Sure Rose," Cecily agreed, after being caught off guard.
"We'll talk to you all later!," Rose waved as they walked off together on one side of the room.
"Well, they paired up quickly," Allen noted.
"I've already decided I will train with Thomas," Stephen grinned, holding his elbow on top of Thomas' shoulder.
"Heck yeah! We're going to do some hardcore stretches, and work hard in training!," Thomas grinned.
Since when did they get so buddy-buddy?, Allen thought.
"Hope you're not disappointed Allen, but I wanted to try training with Thomas first, since we have already dueled and all" Stephen explained.
"I'm not annoyed or anything. You can pair up with whoever you want," Allen responded.
"Alright, good luck with your training!," Stephen waved as the two of them went to the other side of the room.
"Well, it looks like it'll be you and me Alice," Allen awkwardly said, not really sure how to talk with her.
"Pollen," she responded, staring right at him.
"For the last time, my name is Allen, not Pollen!"
"Ok. Allen," Alice turned her head to her left.
"Thank you!," Allen blew a huge sigh of relief.
"Pollen"
"No!," Allen put his face into his hands, utterly defeated.
After several attempts later, Allen finally managed to get Alice back on track. They took the middle of the training room, as both of the groups had the left and right sides already.
"Alright Alice, this would be the first time we have trained together. What do you normally do when you train?," Allen asked, trying to get started.
"Train?," Alice tilted her head to her left.
"Yes, as in practice your magic," Allen elaborated.
"I don't really practice my magic," she admitted.
"Ok, what do you normally do during your free time?," Allen asked.
"Read," she stated blankly.
Alice and Cecily are definitely sisters, Allen thought to himself.
"So all you do is study books, and you don't practice your magic?," Allen asked. "Aren't you a C rank?"
"Magic is weak. C rank only because of Rivertide," Alice explained.
So, Cecily and Alice apparently both have weak magic, but Alice is a C rank and Cecily is an F rank?, Allen thought to himself. That doesn't make any sense. Maybe because she's the older sibling, or maybe they gave up on only Cecily?
"Well, my magic also happens to be weak, very weak in fact," Allen explained. "So I understand what it's like. If you are concerned with training because of your weak magic, I can help you with that".
"Yes, please," Alice nodded her head fast in approval. "Thank you"
"Sure, we are all members of the training club, after all," Allen gave her a quick smile.
Allen had her get into position, and had her cast some magic first so he could get an idea as to how her magic worked.
"I see, so it really is weak as you said," Allen said as he thought to himself, after Alice had cast her spell.
"Sorry!," she apologized.
"No, it's nothing to apologize for. Unfortunately you cannot control how much magic you are born with. You can, however, control how hard you work towards your goals," Allen explained.
"I see," she said, thinking to herself.
"Here, why don't we try this. Cast the best spells you have at me when I say so. Don't worry about me, I will cut through them with my sword. I just want you to demonstrate to me the best of your current abilities," Allen explained, getting into position.
"Okay," Alice nodded her head again in agreement.
Allen drew his sword, ready to cut through any of the magic Alice would send his way. She readied her magic, ready to cast.
"Alright, go ahead!," Allen signaled she could start.
Alice began to cast her magic, sending it at Allen. Allen began to cut through her magic as each spell was sent, while also studying how she cast it. After a short period of time, he had her stop.
"I see," Allen said, thinking to himself.
"What?," she asked as she got closer to him, curious.
"Your magic… it's a bit off," he said, while still thinking.
"Off?," she asked, tilting her head to the left again.
"It's like… it's hard to explain… but it's like your mana is a bit off," Allen tried to elaborate, but was still trying to process what he saw before.
"Mana is off?," she asked.
"Yeah, like my mana, because I have-," he started to say, but caught himself.
"Because?," she asked.
"The best way that I can put it, is like your mana isn't able to flow freely within your body. It seems almost constricted, like there's something preventing it. This can be seen by how slow you cast each spell, like you have to fully concentrate each time to do so," he explained. "Can you think of anything that could potentially be doing that?"
She seemed suddenly caught off guard, like something Allen said completely surprised her. She stood there for several moments, not saying a word.
"Alice?," he asked, trying to get her attention.
"No," she blankly said, not saying anything further.
"No? As in you can't think of anything?," he asked.
"Nothing," she blankly said once more.
"Well, if you can't think of it, then I can at least help you into that direction. Have you ever tried visualizing your mana before?," he asked her.
"Visualizing? Mana?," she asked, confused.
"Yeah, like focusing on the mana within your body," he elaborated.
"Hm. Sort of?," she said, still a bit confused.
"Here, let me show you," he said as he sat down.
"Wha?," she said as she was surprised.
"Here," Allen motioned to the ground in front of him. "Take a seat"
"Umm, okay," she said, slowly taking a seat in front of him.
"Firstly, you understand what mana is, correct?," he asked, wanting to make sure they were both on the same page.
"Yes. Mana before magic. Mana inside, magic outside. Mana turns into magic," she nodded her head.
"Great, you understand that part," he smiled. "Do you know how to detect the mana inside of you?"
"Detect? No"
"Ok, so then how do you know where your mana is, or how much you have left?"
"Don't know where. Headaches when mana low"
"I see, so just like everyone else," he said, thinking to himself.
"Hm?"
"Nothing, don't worry about it. Here, let's do this. First, close your eyes"
"Close… my eyes?," she asked, really confused.
"Yes. Close your eyes. You need to close your eyes if you want to visualize your mana better," Allen explained.
"Close my eyes? Visualize better?," she seemed to be getting more confused.
"Just do it," he said, smiling.
"Oh. Okay," she said as she finally did.
Allen closed his eyes alongside her. "So, what do you see?"
"Hmmm. Nothing"
"Like what you normally see with your eyes closed, right?"
"Yes. Nothing,"
"Alright. It's a start. Now, try concentrating on yourself"
"On… myself?"
"Yes. Try to concentrate. What do you see? What do you feel?
"Hmmm. I don't see anything"
"Do you feel anything?"
"Feel? No… wait"
"You feel something?"
"Liquid?," she asked, really confused.
"Yes!," Allen suddenly shouted.
"Wha-," she was caught suddenly off guard, that she opened her eyes. They had both stared at each other for a moment.
"So, what exactly are you two up too, hmm?"
Allen looked up to see Rose's face glaring down at him. To say he was surprised was an understatement.
"Rose?!," he said, almost falling over.
"Cecily and I have already finished up our training, so we came to see what you two were doing," she explained, while twirling her hair aggressively and still glaring down at him.
"I can explain!," he said while quickly getting up.
"Hm?," Alice tilted her head to the left again, watching what was currently unfolding.
"Hey guys! We're back from our superb training!," Thomas waved as we walked over. "What's going on over here?"
"Oh nothing, just having Allen explain to me what these two were up to together on the floor," Rose crossed her arms.
"Oh, what's this? Allen and Alice getting down dirty on the floor?," Stephen grinned really hard looking at the both of them.
"What?," Alice tilted her head, having no idea what Stephen meant.
"I swear, we were just-"
"You idiot!," Rose yelled while hitting Allen's head so hard he quickly fell over.
"Uh Rose, you might've just knocked him out," Stephen pointed at Allen's almost lifeless body.
"Shut up you moron! You're not getting out of this too!," she yelled while slapping the top of his head.
"What did I do?," he asked.
"You know what you said!," she crossed her arms in irritation.
"Stephen, you really asked for it there," Thomas said after laughing hard.
"I mean, nothing," Thomas quickly shut up after Rose gave him a good glare.
After Allen finally got up and explained himself, the six of them were finally back to talking normally (or at least as normal as it can get)
"So, can you explain what you meant by visualizing mana?," Stephen asked, after Allen explained to them what they were doing.
"Oh oh! It's what we do sometimes!," Thomas spoke up. "Allen has Cecily and I practice it sometimes"
"It's essentially sensing the mana within your own body," Allen explained.
"Not this again," Rose rolled her eyes.
"Can you show me how to do that?," Stephen asked, intrigued.
"Sure, I can show all of you!," Allen agreed.
A few moments later, everyone was on the floor, Allen helping them visualize their mana inside of them. He explained to them that he learned it from William, and explained to them how to do it.
"This is stupid," Rose said, but she had her eyes closed like everyone else.
"Why do you say that?," Stephen asked.
"Allen and William are both idiots for this…"
"That's my father for you," Stephen laughed.
"Just be quiet, and try to concentrate," Allen advised.
"Ugh, fine"
Allen had them all concentrate for a while, with most of them being able to concentrate on their mana. After a short while, they were finally out of time, as it was getting close to curfew.
After they all grabbed their stuff, and waved each other goodbye, they all went back to their rooms. Except for Alice, who had a question for Allen.
"What's up?," Allen asked, curious what Alice was wanting from him.
"Is it possible to concentrate like you said? To better understand your mana?," she asked.
"Of course. I do it all the time, and I feel like it could really help you out with your training," he said with a smile.
She seemed to be thinking to herself for a while.
"Would you think any different if I-," she started to say, but stopped herself.
"If you what?," he asked, surprised she was forming complete sentences at this point.
"Nevermind. Bye Pollen," she said, but back to her regular blank expression.
"Ugh, it's Allen for the last time," he sighed.
Before she left the room, she turned around and gave him a bright smile. Then she left the room.
"Just who exactly is she?," Allen said out loud, trying to get his thoughts together.
While she was probably the weirdest person Allen had ever met, he couldn't help but be a bit curious about her. He could only hope he could get to know her better as the academy year went by.