"Do something, Athena!"
Athena's heart pounded as she raised her hands. This was it. No time to doubt. She reached deep inside, calling for the magic again that had felt so out of reach. The air around her seemed to hum as water from the nearby waterfall rose in spiraling streams.
With a roar, Athena hurled the water like a whip, wrapping it around the bird's wings. The creature screeched, thrashing in midair, but Athena's grip held firm. She pulled harder, slamming the bird into the ground with a resounding crash.
Juan tumbled free, landing in a heap of hay. "I'm alive!" he shouted, coughing but grinning.
The bird let out one final cry before collapsing, motionless. Silence fell over the village for a moment, and then—cheers erupted.
The villagers poured out of their homes, surrounding the giant bird with wide-eyed amazement. "Free meat!" someone shouted, and the crowd roared with joy.
Juan limped over to Athena, brushing hay from his hair. "Okay, that was impressive."
Athena smirked, breathing heavily. "Told you I could do it."
Jea crossed her arms, grinning. "Yeah, but you almost let Juan become bird food first."
"Hey!" Juan protested. "I had it under control. Sort of."
Athena laughed, patting Yhan Yhan, who had finally emerged from hiding. "Guess we all learned something today. Even you, brave little dragon."
Yhan Yhan roared proudly, and the trio stood together, watching the villagers celebrate their victory.
On a quiet night in the small hut they'd set up in Old Jasmine Village. The fire crackled softly in the hearth, and the air was cool, a welcome relief from the long days of training. Athena was already curled up in bed, but she wasn't asleep—she was listening. From across the room, Jea and Juan were sitting at the table, a piece of parchment between them, their voices low but full of energy.
"Alright, Juan, let's start simple," Jea said with a teasing smile, holding up a quill. "We'll start with the basics. You need to learn the alphabet."
Juan groaned dramatically. "The alphabet? I didn't come all the way up here to learn how to write my name, Jea."
Jea chuckled, dipping the quill into the ink. "Oh, come on. It's not as bad as you think. Where I come from, we memorize the alphabet before we even learn how to talk properly."
Juan rolled his eyes. "Sounds like a nightmare."
"Hey, don't knock it 'til you try it," Jea said, her voice playful. "Trust me, once you've got the alphabet down, everything else is easy."
Athena, who was half-listening from her bed, couldn't help but smirk. She'd been pretending to sleep, but the conversation was too amusing. She peeked out from under the blankets and called over to them. "You know, you could always just ask me how to write. I learned it all back in the day."
Jea raised an eyebrow, her smile widening. "Oh? And here I thought you'd rather use your magic to conjure a pen and write your own lessons."
"Not the worst idea I've ever had," Athena teased. "But I'm not giving up my bed for a quill and ink."
Juan laughed and nudged Jea. "See? Even Athena is better at magic than writing."
Jea shook her head. "I'm just getting started, Juan. You're going to be able to write your name in no time. Let's focus. A, B, C—here, follow my hand."
Juan squinted at the parchment. "A, B, C…" He hesitated for a moment, his brow furrowing as he tried to follow her guidance. "Why are there so many lines and squiggles for just a few letters?"
"You'll get the hang of it," Jea said patiently, showing him how to hold the quill properly. "It's all about muscle memory. Just like swinging a sword, right?"
"I suppose," Juan grumbled, but he took the quill and scribbled a few lines.
Athena let out a small chuckle from her bed. "At least you're better than I was when I first tried to write," she said, her voice still light. "I ended up with ink all over my hands for weeks."
"That's true," Jea agreed, glancing over at Athena with a grin. "But let's be real. Athena's magic wasn't exactly helping her with the basics."
Juan smirked. "Magic's supposed to make everything easier, isn't it?"
Jea leaned over the parchment, looking at Juan's effort. "Almost. But even magic can't make up for a lack of practice." She glanced at Athena. "It takes time. Just like magic. You both have to learn how to control it, even if you can feel it."
Juan scratched his head. "Alright, alright. I think I'm getting it. But what about the numbers? Can you teach me that, too?"
Jea raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you're really asking for trouble now, Juan. Numbers are a whole other beast."
"I can handle it. I'm tough," Juan grinned, his usual confidence shining through.
Jea laughed. "Okay, okay. Basic math, then. We can start with simple addition." She held up her fingers. "Two plus two equals…"
"Four," Juan answered, nodding proudly.
Jea nodded, impressed. "Alright, Juan's a quick learner." She leaned in closer. "Let's do something a bit more complicated. Multiplication."
Juan raised an eyebrow. "Multiplication? Isn't that the thing with all the tables?"
"Yup," Jea said with a smile. "And it's not as bad as it sounds. It's just repeated addition. Here, let me show you."
Athena sat up in bed, listening intently. "Wait a minute. You're telling me that you can multiply things by adding them over and over again? You never mentioned that back when we were fighting."
Jea chuckled. "If you don't know how to multiply, you won't be able to split the spoils of victory properly, Athena. Imagine if you won a fight and then couldn't figure out how to share the spoils evenly."
"Now that's a disaster," Athena agreed, shaking her head. "Alright, teach me your math tricks too."
"Alright, back to the math," Jea said, focusing again on Juan. "Five times three is—"
"Fifteen," Juan interrupted, already catching on.
"Good," Jea said, giving him an approving nod. "See? You're better at this than you thought."
Athena grinned, settling back into her blankets.
The three of them laughed together, the sound echoing softly into the night. They didn't have all the answers, and the journey ahead was still full of uncertainty, but for now, they had each other—and that was enough.