The sounds of thuds filled the room, as Mya slammed her fists rhythmically into the punching bag. Horace held the bag steady, keeping count of how many times she punched.
Illyan walked in just as she was finishing her last punch, "Spar with Horace today." He stated and leaned against a pillar, waiting for them to start.
They moved to the fighting mat, taking their stance as they waited for the call, "Start!" they watched each other carefully, then Mya suddenly sprang toward Horace, jumping back just as his leg swept toward her approaching body.
A fist swung toward her face, she tilted backward, and it grazed her chin as she twisted slightly, correcting her balance to send a swift kick to his chest. Using the force of her kick, Horace hit her abdomen, sending her tumbling onto her back.
She rolled out of the way just as he went to kick her and sent a swift kick into the back of his knee. Taking advantage of her momentum, she went for his neck without a thought. He flipped her over his shoulder as soon as her arm went around his neck, he pushed his left elbow into her armpit causing a sharp pain to shoot through her joint.
Illyan's brows furrowed as he watched their little scuffle, letting out a snort at their inelegance. He turned away as soon as Mya spun over ending up on top of Horace with one knee pressed on his spine.
"Maaike wins." He walked to the door, a coat and scarf appearing in his hands. Donning it, he walked out, vanishing as soon as his feet landed outside the building. Maaike shrugged as she watched him leave, turning to Horace excitedly waiting for them to start another spar.
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It was a week since Illyan had left, Maaike's control over her powers had improved greatly. She had practiced hard, until a particular day when she managed to draw energy from somewhere else. She wasn't sure how she did it, but the powers were stronger and more stable than what she got from within her.
Excited at the new discovery, she would spend most of the days in the archives researching any information that could explain what had happened to her powers and waiting for Illyan. Whenever the door opened, her head would shoot up as she excitedly, hoped to share her progress with him.
Once again, she was in the archive, with no progress to her research, she sat sullen at the sight of another student dropping off a book. She prodded at her powers, and not so gently used them to slam the door shut, causing the walls to shake slightly. The poor student flinched as he looked back at the door behind him, meekly lowering his head he scurried away.
Sighing at the repeated scene, Horace knocked on the door to the archive, "WHAT?"
The door flew open, and he took a step back taking in the puffed cheeks that made her look like an adorable chipmunk. He held back a laugh, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
"Guess who's back?"
"Illyan? Where is he?"
"Chill…Why are you so anxious?" he stepped into the doorway, stopping her. He was a bit curious about why she was so excited to see Illyan.
"I've never seen you so eager to see Illyan before?"
Snorting she looked up at him, "I just want to show my improvement", she said haughtily. A brow lifted on Horace's face as a possibility dawned on him.
"What is it they say? Absence makes the heart fonder?"
Mya shook her head, "It's nothing like that."
"Oh? But aren't you used to being around him nearly every hour of the day? Always by your side to answer your questions…" as she sent her fist swinging toward him, he moved out of the way letting her trip and nearly fall.
Huffing she turned and walked away, "He's in the garden by the way!" he hollered after her shaking his head as he snickered.
Maaike hurried through the halls, slowing down as she got close to the garden gate. She swung the gate open, peeking around carefully to make sure none of the tiny creatures noticed her.
"Hah! A mortal school?" startled at the sound of Lothar's voice, she crept deeper into the garden till she could see the profiles of the two domineering men. Illyan looked annoyed, while Lothar looked at him with derision.
"It has nothing to do with you…Just, here's your potion." He handed a vial filled with a shimmery silver liquid, it looked like wolf's bane. The sight of it raised an alarm in Maaike's head, it may not have an effect on her anymore, however she had once come across it when she was younger. It had made her sick for weeks, with almost no sign of recovery.
Her eyes narrowed in focus, lowering her presence, she crouched in the bushes watching them. Lothar lifted the vial under the sunlight that filtered through the windows, the silver liquid was now glittering with multicolours.
"It seems good, not bad at all."
Illyan snorted and moved to push a folded paper into his pocket, Lothar's eyes followed his movement. "Did you deal with the witch?" he asked, causing Illyan to freeze up.
A slight smirk made its way onto his face, "You can't bring yourself to face her huh?"
"Dealing with her is my business, not yours."
"Then what about protecting your student?" Illyan grabbed his collar, sneering, then let it go as quickly as he did.
Adjusting his clothes, Lothar watched the angsty warlock, "You didn't tell her, did you? Then again it is a warlock's curse to always stay loyal."
"I am no loyal servant of that witch!" he hissed, pointing a finger at Lothar, "You know nothing of her powers! Ever since you got here, all you've cared about is pining after a pretty girl with golden eyes that will never reciprocate your feelings, and yet you talk about a warlock's curse."
"YOU WILL NOT SPEAK TO ME IN THAT WAY!" Maaike shivered at the terrifying pressure that slammed into her with the roar. She had never understood what the pixies meant about Lothar being dangerous until that moment.
'And what did they mean about a girl with golden eyes? Who is it? And are they talking about Madeleine?' questions swirled through her mind as silence made its home in the garden, nothing made a sound, not even the mischievous sprites.
The tension remained for a while until Maaike accidentally stepped on a pixie's wing, making it let out a shriek. Both men turned to where she was hiding, resolving to fake it till she made it, she carefully lifted her foot off the wing and lay down closing her eyes.
"Maaike…" called Illyan, inwardly amused at her foolish attempt to feign unconsciousness. He was a bit surprised that he hadn't noticed her, throwing a glance of suspicion at Lothar, he walked to where she lay hidden and lightly flicked her nose.
Nose twitching, she opened her eyes to glare at him, "I was having the best dream until…"
"You're not in trouble! Such a terrible actor." He sighed, smiling and walked out of the garden, bumping into Lothar who brushed it off. Maaike scurried after him, nodding slightly at Lothar as she left, she had certainly decided not to get on Lothar's bad side after what happened earlier.
They walked in silence until they got back to the archive, opening the door, Illyan waited for her to enter and then followed her in, closing the door behind him. Gesturing for her to sit, his had went into his pocket as his foot tapped on the ground rhythmically.
"I have something important to discuss with you…It's regarding your future." Maaike sat up in her seat, her mind alert to whatever he planned to say next.
"I applied you for college."
"What?" she had expected him to say many things, but college was definitely not it, "Do you mean, normal college, like no supernaturals?"
He nodded, "It's only for a while, if the problems are dealt with before then you can go to a supernatural school." He levelled her a look showing that the decision had been made a long time ago.