Eventually, Ro came back and she and Ky resumed practicing. Ro was abominable at this and Ky caught her every time. He was sorely tempted to make her do things as punishment, when he had her so vulnerable, but he never succumbed to the desire.
When the session was over, Ro's head ached fiercely, and she was irritated with herself for not stopping Ky at least once. Ky on the other hand looked perfectly content and he was.
Ro had done well for a beginner, but it didn't seem like she had a gift for light magic the way she did for the other areas, which wasn't an unlikely occurrence. It was rare that anyone would be so good at so many different magics. Usually, a person was very good in one area but weaker in the others. That why the school allowed specializations after year two. Sometimes it happened where a person would be gifted in two areas but that was unlikely. It also happened where a person was gifted in three areas but that was rare. For a true beginner like Ro to be gifted in all the areas would have been unthinkable. She was already demonstrating such a remarkable gift for the other areas of magic that it was a relief to Ky that she wasn't as good with this one.
Alexi was a different story. He had had training from a young age in all areas of magic, so he could do the beginner's exercises with ease. He truly did not belong in this class. However, as the semester progressed, Ky fully expected him to start falling back in other areas. He would have to begin to get worried about his interest in Ro, if the crow didn't.
When Momo and Aerie arrived and sat down they asked her how it went. She couldn't keep the look of disappointment from her face.
"That bad huh?" Aerie asked.
"Yeah, he was trying to enter my mind and I couldn't stop him once." Ro admitted. Ky looked over at them then after studying something on his desk.
"Morea, Aerie, I want to see you before lunch." He told them. Both girls looked confused but nodded.
Class went normally after that. Brawn had successfully taken Angelique's spot in the top five in the classroom exercises and all four of them were working hard to catch up to Alexi. When the bell rang, they were all sorry to be done. Ro looked uncertainly at her friends as she stood to head to their lunch spot.
"Go ahead, we'll be there soon." Aerie told her as she and Momo began walking to Ky's desk. Ro nodded slowly and left. They got to the desk and Ky had his eyes closed. "Hey, teach, you wanted us for something." Aerie said informally. His red eyes opened slowly and looked at her like she was an annoying insect. She shrank back a step. Aerie knew Ro liked him, but she had always felt he looked a little dangerous under that bright cheerful smile he always wore. He put it on his face now, covering up the look he'd just given her.
"You're right. I did want to speak with you about something." He opened his hand and let two necklaces identical to the one Ro wore dangle from his hand. Momo gasped and Aerie sneered a little.
"You want us to wear those?" Aerie asked affronted. "We know what those mean."
"Well they don't mean what you're thinking they do. They are just to help Ro stay safe." Ky said, his smile never wavering. Aerie was about to rudely reply when Momo spoke.
"You've found out Rin is investigating you and you don't want him to find Ro so you're willing to put us in danger to throw him off the trail." Ky's smile flickered a little bit.
"Why not just take the necklace back?" Aerie asked with irritation.
"She needs my protection." He stated firmness. "What would have happened with Alexi had she not been wearing it?" He asked this as if she were a simpleton. Aerie huffed.
"The real reason is that that necklace means more than just simple protection, doesn't it?" Momo asked pointedly. Now Ky's smile did fall and his eyes were dangerously hard as he looked at them.
"You're sharper than I expected, Morea. But then again, you are always quietly observing everything, aren't you?" There was an edge in his voice as he said this that had Momo looking at him in surprise. "And what if it did mean more? Does it make her need my protection any less?"
"If it did mean more and we found out that you forced our friend to do anything she didn't want to, then we'd hurt you." Aerie told him. For an instant he saw an image Aerie as a Valkyrie in full battle armor and felt the weight of magic that was greater than what it should be press on him. Then the moment passed, and he was back to looking at two young females in front of him. Momo reached out and pulled one of the necklaces from his grasp. Aerie looked at her in quiet confusion as she slipped it over her head.
"Momo?" she asked softly.
"Ro needs his protection right now, no matter what the necklace means." Momo told her gently. Aerie pondered this for a moment before swiftly grabbing the other necklace.
"Alright, fine." She said and pulled it roughly over her head. "But if you think this means I think about you in any way like what this suggests, you're dead wrong." Ky's smile returned.
"Don't worry, I don't think of you like that either, little Valkyrie." He patted her on the head condescendingly. Aerie slapped at his hand and snarled. "Have a good lunch." He told them as they tucked their necklaces under their shirts and left.
They choose not to tell Ro what had transpired when they got to lunch. Instead they dodged her questions and distracted her by asking about her combat training.
***
In combat practice Ro improved a pace. Zephyr was there again and helped train her alongside Laine. Laine seemed more resigned to this fact then he had been over the weekend. Occasionally, Zephyr would burst out laughing over some face that Ro would make as she trained, but this was the only noise other than nature sounds. After the four hours, they released her, and Ro was glad to head to the dorms. It felt like there was something new and fierce in Laine's expression that troubled her, but she couldn't put her finger on exactly what it was.
The rest of the week and the weekend continued uneventfully. After training on Saturday, the girls and Brawn did more magic training outside. Ro then watched as they sparred one another in the practice courts. Momo had invited Mirran and she actually beat him in close range combat. Ro cheered very loudly for her. Then they all went to a movie and grabbed dinner at one of the campus restaurants. On Sunday they repeated the day except the girls stayed in after sparring and watched reruns of old dramas.