Hearing Vanessa's voice Zack turned around as Helena lept down from his arms. Helena ran up to hug Vanessa, and Zack was surprised to see her out from the cover of the hood addressing a crowd. Kaya saw the smile on his face and nudged him forward.
"You made it." Helena smiled.
"I made a promise," Vanessa replied.
Helena saw her papa approaching when Kaya called her over.
"I'm glad your back," Zack told Vanessa.
Vanessa went red when locking eyes with Zack, and she was finding it difficult to speak. There were so many things she wanted to say but didn't know where to start. When Zack stood before her with his arms open Vanessa stepped forward to embrace him.
"I was so scared I wouldn't see you again," Vanessa said as she squeezed him tightly.
"There's no way that would've happened," Zack replied.
"When I thought about it speaking out was trivial." Vanessa glanced up into his eyes.
"You're getting better with the stumbling to, but that's a habit I would miss." Zack smiled while kissing her forehead.
"Can Blanka play today?" Helena asked as she ran back up.
"I tried." Kaya relayed while trailing behind Helena.
Vanessa summoned Blanka, and Helena gathered with the other children to play. Zack caught her up on the events in the city since her absence while the test continued.
A young man with messy green hair just finished his test and was joining John. His name is Flavo, and the minute he approached he could hear the excitement. Everyone was bragging about their results, but he wasn't satisfied with making crystals glow.
'I wonder how long it takes to form elements on our own.'
"I bet we meditate under waterfalls or something like that," Kenny said while imitating hand signs.
"You've seen too many movies man." Brian chuckled.
"I recall you loving things like that," Taylor said while bumping into him.
"How did it go?" Brian asked while embracing her.
"Lightning from the looks of it. Guess I can give up the taser." Taylor smirked before kissing Brian.
Over half of the trainees took their test and were now being separated into groups to have a mentor help guide them along. They were waiting for the others to finish testing before giving exercises to cultivate their element. Waiting at the podium for it to react was Marc.
'Why is taking so long? Maybe I can't use magic...I was hoping to ease the burden for the others, but I'll find another way to help.'
Watching Marc sweat at the podium was an elven woman wearing her traditional warrior garbs. Her name is Gwen and she migrated with the last group of elves to Eden. When they asked for others to assist during training she was hesitant about mentoring humans.
Given the history between the tribes the others understood, and Gwen volunteered to assist with cultivating instead. Being adept in mental magic she could feel the doubts hindering Marc's ability to gather mana.
'His motives are pure, and one time can't hurt.'
Gwen approached Marc placing her hand on his shoulder causing him to jump. Opening his eyes, and turning around he saw a warm smile on a beautiful woman. He was admiring Gwen's blue eyes, and so badly wanted to part her bangs to get a better look. Having a stranger so close was already enough to cause his nerves to be one edge, but for it to be a beautiful blonde elf it was enough to make him look away.
"I-is it your turn? Sorry." Marc was preparing to walk away.
Gwen grabbed his hand before Marc could release the podium.
"It will work, but you need to relax. Now close your eyes." Gwen told Marc.
Having Gwen so close, and holding his hand was a little nerve-wracking, but Marc was determined to learn magic. He closed his eyes and tried to recall the instructions from this morning. Gwen came in closer grabbing the other hand.
"In through your nose, and out through your mouth. With each breath go deeper, and hold it a little longer. You will start to tune out your surroundings, and the mana you've cultivated will be easier to sense. Once you're focused draw the mana into your hands." Gwen guided Marc.
'It does help, but it's not easy to rid myself of distractions...It was hard to tell from the armor, but they're huge. There's no way I can tune that out.' Marc used his shoulder to halt his nosebleed.
Gwen began blushing and released his hands to reposition herself. She was connected to Marc to guide him if needed but never expected to hear that. Before she released Marc there was a few fantasies shared, and they left her red from ear to ear. Being a diligent warrior she never gave much thought to such things.
'Are they really that big?' Gwen crossed her arms looking down.
The crystal had a flame burst at the center, and feeling the warmth radiating from the crystal Marc opened his eyes. It may have been mediocre, but for their group, this was expected. Recalling the explanations from Athlan during the arena their fate wasn't set in stone. Even if it appeared as an ember his reaction would've been the same.
'This is just the start. Which group was for fire again? I'll ask later, but for now, I gotta thank her. They bow here right?' Marc turned to Gwen.
"T-thank you." Marc bowed slightly imitating the others.
'Why is she blushing?'
"No problem...I might be able to he-help you out." Gwen replied while averting her gaze.
In Gwen's hand formed a ball of magma that took different shapes as a demonstration before dissipating.
"I started as earth but before I could reach this state I had to master fire as well," Gwen told Marc.
"How did you know what I was searching for?" Marc investigated.
"I formed a l-link to he-help you," Gwen wrapped her arms around her waist.
'They talked about telepathy before, but that means...'
"I'm s-sorry!" Marc shouted accidentally.
The others discussing cultivation, and waiting to see what element they had looked over at the commotion. With so many eyes on them, Marc went red, and he turned towards Gwen. Gwen's clan started snickering when seeing her blushing with a human.
"Let's train somewhere else..."Gwen grabbed Marc's hand looking for an exit.
While the two were heading into the forest they had a stalker in the canopy. Fu has been making frequent trips to Eden since the coronation, and her reason was to find Marc. Today she finally succeeded, but not wanting to interrupt the citizens she waited patiently as they trained. With them done and entering a familiar terrain Fu was able to observe discreetly.
'I'll definitely find the house today.' Fu smirked.