Rain was woken up by the smell of something pleasant. His nose immediately traced the source and saw Yv brewing tea. She noticed his gaze and greeted him with a bright and pleasant smile like the sun rising in the horizon.
"Good morning. You've slept in longer this time. Well, considering your schedule yesterday, that's expected." said Yv.
Rain got up and put away his makeshift comforter made of hay, and walked out of the house. Rubbing his eyes, Rain greets her back.
"Morning, Yv. What a surprise! You got up earlier than me. Will the crows really turn white?" said Rain, jokingly.
He waited for her to get agitated and lash out at him for saying such things. And to his surprise, Yv just looked at him and smiled. Taking him completely by surprise.
"Wait. This is really weird, Yv. Did something happen to you over the course of these past few days?"
"Even I can act decently if I wanted to, you know. Is it really that weird?"
Anticipating his response, Yv turned away from the tea she's brewing just to look at him. Rain nodded his head repeatedly and stepped closer to her, reaching out to her forehead to check her temperature.
"Yup, it's weird. Really weird that I'm starting to get worried, maybe you caught a cold or something." said Rain, checking if she's indeed sick.
His actions caught her off guard and Yv immediately starts to get flustered and pushes Rain away, albeit gently.
"What are you doing!? Touching a woman so easily like that, do you have no tact at all?!" Yv turned away, avoiding Rain's gaze. "You can't just touch women so easily!" she repeated.
Rain stood in a daze as if he was someone convicted of a crime he did not commit, he then pointed at her, irritated. "Give me a break! You know damn well I have to go through that to tell if you're sick just like the last time you caught cold! Is it my fault that you elves don't show it on your face?"
In spite of what Rain did, Yv understood Rain's good intentions and so, she kept her cool demeanor and returned to finish brewing her tea.
"I know already. I'm sorry for behaving like that even after knowing that you're just worried about me." said Yv, meekly.
Rain also realized his wrong approach and apologized to her. Yv told him off and still ends up accepting his apology knowing his personality.
"Arguing with you is quite refreshing." Rain let out a sigh and stood beside Yv, observing her. "By the way, this one is much more fragrant out of all the tea you made. You really like tea that much, huh."
"Just as you've said, I'm an important individual. Back home, being able to brew good tea is a must. This may look simple to you, but if you just mindlessly copy what I do, even if you follow me step by step, the results will still vary. Brewing good tea is also a skill that needs to be developed." Yv explained.
"Simple? If I think it's simple then I would have done and copied what you're doing already. Even I can tell that much. You're sometimes rough with things, even with the ones I'm teaching you about. But whenever you brew tea, you're always gentle and careful as if you're taking care of a baby. If you've developed your still to that extent, then that means it's not as simple as you think it would be."
Rain's comment surprised Yv enough to stop her hands from moving and just looked at him. Rain noticed her hands stopping and turned to look at her. Their gaze met for a moment until Rain called out to her.
"Hey, Yv. Your hand stopped moving all of a sudden. I may not know much about tea, but this is always the important step, right? Hey, are you listening?"
"O-Oh! Right! S-Sorry, I got distracted for a moment." Yv went back to finish brewing the tea. Although flustered, Yv did not look away and focused her attention on what she's doing. "I'm surprised you knew that. How did you figure that out?"
"I told you, didn't I? You always become gentle and caring whenever you're brewing tea. And it's usually during this step that you show those characteristics." said Rain.
Yv finished brewing the tea and prepared their cups, "So you're saying you're always observing me?" said Yv, pouring Rain a cup.
"Well, I don't really have anything to do. And besides, it's a different sight than how you usually are so, I guess, you can say I got interested."
Yv hid her face behind the cup's small frame despite knowing it doesn't offer any obstruction in Rain's eyes. The latter sees this and shakes his head, disappointingly.
"I know that you usually have a prideful side to you, even if you get flustered, you continue to act arrogant. And seeing you act cute like this for the first time makes me think that you've been holding yourself back. I know elves are the manifestation of the word beauty and if you act that way on top of that, it should be considered a crime." Rain told her.
Feeling even more embarrassed, Yv glared at him. "W-What are you talking about? C-Cute? Who? Me? I don't understand what you're saying," said Yv, fidgeting.
"That's my line. I'm the one who doesn't understand you. Well, if you're doing it means you have a reason, right? Arguing is refreshing but this is also not bad." said Rain, sipping tea. When he did, his eyes widened in delight, "Wow! This is really good!"
"I-Is that so? I'm glad you like it then."
"This one is a cut above the rest. Is this one of your experiments?"
Yv nods her head and Rain immediately turns to the ingredients Yv used to make the tea. Rain held his cup closely while inspecting the dried leaves Yv used.
"I admit defeat. I can't name any of them. Though I can see them growing out around us, these are plants I'm unaware of. I thought they're just weebs and to think you're able to use them to make an incredibly good tea. You know your stuff, Yv."
"Thank you. Just as you said, this is a result of my experiment. I didn't expect to get this kind of result if I were to be honest."
While talking about the tea, Rain turned his attention to the fire and inquired.
"Yv, may I ask you something?"
"Ask away."
"How did you start a fire? The instrument I made to start a fire requires a good deal of endurance, you know? And you're not the type to do something too tedious."
Yv dropped her jaw at Rain's inquiry. Her reaction surprised Rain, making feel uncomfortable.
"What? Did I ask something weird?"
"Rather than weird, it's incredibly stupid. Do you seriously not know?" said Yv.
Rain looks at her puzzled and confused. Seeing his expression, Yv puts her cup down. "It's because I used magic to start a fire." she explained.
"M-Magic?"
Rather than explaining further, Yv waved her hand and the once dying flames came back to life, blazing greatly compared to normal flames.
[ABLAZE!]
Seeing magic for the very first time in his life, Rain was lost.
Yv waved her hands once more and the blazing flames instantly disappeared, "That's magic. I'm one you call an Elementalist. I can call upon the elements and use them in magic."
Rain remained silent for a moment as Yv waited for his comment. Just then, Rain put away his cup and behaved completely out of character by wearing a deep stern expression.
"W-What's the matter?" Yv asked, finally feeling the change in the atmosphere.
"Say, Yv. Does that mean you know how to start a fire from the very beginning?" Rain's voice suddenly turned deep, "I find this rather frustrating. The entire time whenever I bust my ass off by starting a fire, do you enjoy seeing me suffering?"
"S-Suffer? N-No, I don't enjoy it at all." said Yv, stuttering.
"How intriguing. You must have a good time watching me start a fire with such enthusiasm, like a monkey discovering something new." said Rain, starting to get flushed.
Yv was just staring at him until his face became fully red. And when he finally reached the limit of his embarrassment, Rain turned away, covering his face with his hands.
"WAAAH! So embarrassing! If you knew how to start a fire with magic then you should have done so from the very beginning! Thinking about the times I was proud of starting a fire and how I boast about it must have made me look like a complete idiot!"
Rain rolled on the ground, trying to erase his embarrassment. Watching him act like that cracked Yv up and she started laughing.
"I knew it! You were enjoying those moments! You must think I'm an idiot!" Rain yelled,
"No. There's no way I'd laugh at someone trying his hardest to achieve something. If anything, I admire you for that." Yv, wiped the tears from her eyes after laughing, and took a sip from her cup. "Like you said, it's something I may find tedious. And I agree. But just as you observe me, I also do the same. Your way of doing things is far different from what I'm used to. No- it's fundamentally different from the people I know from different kingdoms."
After Yv dived deep into the topic, Rain's embarrassment faded away. Living together for almost 2 years made Rain understand how she tends to do things. Rain knew Yv wasn't making things up nor was she lying with her words.
"I haven't asked where you originated from ever since we started living together in such a remote place like this. But even I can tell that you're not from here. You may hail from far away, somewhere far, far from the influence of magic and our customs that explains your ignorance and different way of doing things."
Rain smiled and looked up in the sky, "Yeah, I came from somewhere far, far, far away. And I don't even know how I got here in the first place. My memory is so hazy that day that I can't even remember a single thing. It's thanks to you that I managed to get by today. That I'm thankful to you for." said Rain, finally taking the last sip from his cup and putting it away.
"I have a hunch that you didn't know magic existed since not a single one in the village uses magic. It's completely understandable from your point of view. Magic does exist but only available to a handful of people. Even among my people, there's only a few who are blessed with the ability to use magic." Yv explained.
"So that's how it is. Well, it's not like I have it matters to me."
"Are you not interested? You may very well be one of those blessed ones." Yv pointed out.
Yv piqued Rain's interest with her words, thus, gaining his attention.
"Everyone, no matter which kingdom they belong to, undergo a screening process to determine if they have magical affinity with the elements. And if anyone passes the screening, they will be scouted by the kingdom and will be treated differently-"
Understanding what Yv said without asking further, Rain nodded his head.
"A valuable asset." he chimed in. "It's most likely that people who have magical abilities are reserved for when a war breaks out or an emergency."
Surprised, Yv froze after hearing his deduction. "You're quite fast to catch on to things."
"Well, it's not really that hard to imagine. In this world, there are still plenty of things I don't know. And many more circumstances I'm still unaware of . Magic is already an unimaginable thing, but maybe because we were living together that I overlooked you as another variable. Now that I'm introduced to magic, it's easy for me to think of other possibilities." said Rain, "Magical monsters and other races like the elves for example." surprising Yv even more.
"Now you've calmed down. It seems like you have already considered a lot of things that may be possible."
"Yeah. And it's not like knowing more would kill me. Being aware of such things should be vital for one's survival. So, how can we determine if I'm one of those blessed ones you speak of?"
Immediately jumping on to the subject, Yv smiled. She saw Rain's eyes burning with interest in the subject.
"You're in luck. You remember I told you I'm an Elementalist, right? Usually someone just needs to hold hands with someone with affinity to either element. The screening usually has 4 people who have different elements and a person just needs to hold hands with such people."
"Oh, I think I get the gist of it. You being an Elementalist means I don't have to join the screening process since you can do it right here, right now."
Yv nodded on Rain's deduction and extended her hand to Rain.
"That's right. Here, hold my hand." said Yv.
"Can you tell me something first? I just want to know something." asked Rain, before reaching out to her hand.
"What is it?"
"What is usually, no- what is the weakest element? I figured since there's not many people who are blessed enough to use magic, there must be an element that's lacking in research."
Rain saw Yv's expression turn grim. That's usually an indication of a forbidden territory that one should not tread. And just as Rain is about to fall back, Yv answered his question.
"It's the wind element," said Yv.
Rain found her answer rather intriguing since asking that question made her gloomy. And for her to be affected by a single question alone, Rain realized something.
"Wind, huh? It's kind of unthinkable for such an omnipresent element to be the weakest." said Rain, reaching out to Yv's hand.
They both held hands for a while. But as the time goes on, Yv's expression gradually becomes conflicted.
"What's it?" asked Rain.
"Y-You don't have affinity to any of the elements."
Breaking the news to Rain, Yv expected him to be sad. And rather than showing her a saddened expression, Rain smiled. Completely showing a different reaction.
"Why do you look relieved rather than disappointed?" asked Yv.
Rain gave her a confused look and smiled, "Well, considering the scarcity of people with the ability to use magic, I figured I wouldn't want to be a part of it. The responsibility and the demand would be unbearable for someone like me and it would easily wear me out and I don't want to deal with that." scratching his head, "I'd rather have an ordinary life. I'm sure there are tremendous benefits but I'd rather not trade it with the life I have now."
An incredibly simple outlook on the situation but understandable. Yv, understood his point and nodded her head, and agreed.
"That's completely understandable, indeed. Seeing how you lived until now, I can tell that you are enjoying yourself just fine. It would bring you great trouble if you were to have affinity to the elements."
After checking Rain's inability to use magic, the two continued to talk about magic throughout the entire day. And since Rain has become aware of magic, he asked Yv to show him the basics for the next few days.
Yv indulges with Rain's demands, which greatly surprises him. For he knows that she is not one to easily comply with his demands. Giving him a rather ominous feeling of her sudden docility.