I rub my cheeks and refrain from complaining, “When studying Magik you shouldn't force a glyph when you aren't sure what it will do, or when it isn't working the way the book says it should.”

Fiona and Talia blink at me and then look at the kitchen door, before turning their gazes back at me.

“Isn't that what Makata said?” Talia finally asks with a flick of her ear and a tiny sigh.

“Mostly,” I nod and slink my way over to the kitchen door and peek through it. Maya and Iris are on the other side of the room preparing a stew for later.

“Then why don't you sound like you believe it?”

I sneak back away from the door and whisper, “Believe and agree are two different schools of thought.” They both look a little confused and I shake my head, “They aren't wrong. Magik at it's very essence is dangerous, but so is picking up a sword and learning to wield it.”

“So we should do things we don't know?” Fiona murmurs and her eyes spin between the kitchen and me again.

“No.”

“But didn't you just-”

“I did,” I cut Talia off from her question and they both look even more confused.

“Then why not?” Fiona is the first of them to recover.

“Because Maya and Iris said no,” I shake my head.

A silence falls over the room and they both look at each other before they turn around and go back to practicing their runes. “She's a wife slave,” Talia nods her head in understanding and I choke on air.

“Wife slave,” Shiva cackles and gasps without even checking if I am fine, “Wife slave is so much better than little princess.”

“What's a wife slave?” Fiona innocently asks as I cough and try to recover.

“It's someone that will do whatever their wife tells them,” Talia leans over and looks at the board again, “and will do lots of things to make their wife happy. Sumi said that I should find a good wife slave in the future, or make one.”

“W-what is that woman teaching you?” I pat my chest to steady my breathing. “Ahem! The first fire rune represents consumption,” I tap the board between them and forcibly change the topic, “All flames feed on fuel and air.”

“Like logs in the fireplace?” Fiona looks over at the flames illuminating the room.

“That's right,” I nod, “For Magik the initial fuel is the energy you pour into the sigil, and then whatever you decide to use it on.”

“So you can use Magik to light a fireplace?” Talia nods her head and looks up at me.

“That's right,” I nod, “Once the spell is over the flames lit by it will remain until they are put out or burn all of the fuel they can reach.”

Fiona turns around and climbs up on her knees and peers over the back of the chair at me excitedly, “Can you show us?”

“I can not,” I shake my head and she immediately looks dejected. “Everyone is attuned to the elements differently,” I continue before she can get too upset, “For example I am so badly in-tune with fire that I can't cast the simplest of spells using it.”

“You can't cast them if you aren't attuned to them,” Talia nods her head after a moment and Fiona perks back up as well.

“How do you know what you are tuned to?” Fiona blinks at me.

“Attuned,” I repeat to correct her pronouncement, “And I figured out by trying to cast different Magik. From what I discovered if a spell fails from a lack of attainment nothing happens and it just wastes the energy and effort gone into casting it.”

“Is that the only way?” she tilts her head and I shrug.

“I'm not sure, that's just what I know. We can ask the others if they know of another way once they come back here.”

They both nod and Talia twists around again, “Can you show us another Magik then?”

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I nod and look down at the board and quickly form a simple water spell and start to draw a sigil. “You should go slow and explain the runes while you use them,” Shiva whispers and I nod.

“The base of this sigil is the first water rune,” I look at the girls, “It represents flow, and some scholars also say it also represents life.” They both nod as I engrave the rune and I start with the second, “Under the non runes I am using the second rune to limit the size and the final rune to gather water from nearby.”

“What do those runes mean?” Fiona stretches over her chair to look at my sigil.

“They don't have a solid meaning,” I shake my head and think about how to explain it to the two of them. I don't think they will understand if I tell them that those runes augment a sigil. “They change how a sigil works, and you just have to know how they work.”

“It's kind of like cooking,” I continue linking the sigil together, “You don't have to know where sugar comes from, you just have to know that it makes things sweet,” They both nod and I continue, “The second rune makes the final spell smaller, and the last will make the Magik look for the water nearby instead of making it out of energy.”

“That makes it use less energy but makes it take more time,” I take a breath and pick up the cup from before with my free hand. I hold it up under the center of the of the sigil and start to feed the sigil energy.

A small stream of water starts to trickle down and into the cup, “But it only works if there is water nearby. In a desert it is very hard to find water so the Magik wont be able to find water either.”

They both nod and watch the sigil with wide eyes and once the cup is mostly full I cut the energy feeding it before erasing it.

“Can you drink it?” Talia looks at the top of the cup.

“Not this cup,” I shake my head, “I would need to make my rune formation about … six runes longer to purify the water. If I could use any fire runes I could do it with two more.”

Talia looks at me like I am pitiful and I have to stop myself from sighing. I shake my head and point at the board, “For the other two basic runes air represents lightness, and earth is sturdiness. All of these runes are fairly short but as the runes get longer they become more powerful because they can transmit more energy at a time.”

“Doesn't that mean it takes a long time to cast Magik?” Fiona turns around and goes back to looking at the board.

“If you draw them by hand, yes,” I crack my neck, “But the sigils that you use most often can be carved into a catalyst. Then all you have to do is provide the catalyst with energy and use the Magik.”

“Why isn't every sigil made into a catalyst then?” Talia moves her head next to Fiona's and looks at the board as well.

“It's expensive,” I grumble at the thought, “And they don't last forever. The more powerful the spell the more likely the catalyst will break after you use it.”

“How expensive?” Fiona glances over top of Talia's head.

“If you have the talent to make them you won't ever have to worry about money in your life.”

“Wow~” Her tails start to wag.

“What does this rune do?” Talia taps the board and I look over her shoulder as she points at the first non rune.

“That's the rune that you use when you want Magik to make something like water. For now lets keep practicing drawing the first line of runes. You can't work with any of the others until you have learned them.”

They both nod at my instructions and go back to drawing on their boards and just chattering away with one another while I keep an eye on them.

“We're back,” Melodiana announces herself as she opens the door and steps to the side to let Leyla in.

“Just about in time for lunch,” I nod at them, “Did the delivery go well?”

“It was fine,” Leyla shakes her head, “Being able ta drag along a Wingless certainly stops someone from kickin' up a fuss about their bill.”

“Completely unscrupulous!” Melodiana spits out and shakes her head as she throws her cloak on a hook, “They were trying to say the blade wasn't a good quality, was bent, and had nicks on the edges so they should only have to pay half.”

“Ya get people like that sometimes,” Leyla gets shakes her head and comes over to the table and sits down across from Fiona, “So what did ya learn while we were gone?”

“The first fire rune is comsum- comsump-,”

“Con-sump-tion,” I repeat slowly for her.

“Comsumption,” she nods her head.

“Close enough,” I shrug.

“Water is flow, and air is lightness,” Talia repeats what I said earlier like she doesn't want to be left out.

“That's right,” Leyla happily nods her head with an smile stretched across her face, “What about earth?”

“It's sturdy,” Fiona leans over the table and points at the board, “And this one makes the Magik small.”

“Very good,” Leyla fishes two small candies out of her pockets and gives them to the girls. They both take them and start to suck on them. “Did ya learn anything else while we were away?”

“Mmm,” Fiona hums passed her candy and after a second she nods like she remembered something. “Wiwy's a wife swave,” she declares and it takes a second for me to decipher what she said while she rolls the candy around with her tongue.

“Why is that what you remembered?!” I almost shout but barely manage to stop myself and Shiva starts laughing again.

Leyla's brow crinkles slightly and her lips form the words but she doesn't make a sound and a few seconds later she gets a look of realization and turns to look at me with a sly smile.

“Don't you say a thing,” I threaten her with my gaze, “I can make you sleep for the next three days.”

She just chuckles and looks back at Fiona, “Is that right?”

“Mmhmm,” Talia makes a noise in her place but doesn't say anything.