"Notice what? Darc, Lu, what are you talking about?" He finished writing down his notes, slowly moving their bodies so that they were laying down properly on the bed. Alexis hadn't noticed it earlier but both Darcel and Lucius were now bigger in size compared to him, both taller and having more muscles on their bodies. He pouted and grumpily mumbled out, "But they were so cute and small when they were younger."

Both of them heard, causing a small smile to rise from their lips. How could he be so adorable? Darcel reached out to make him sit between them before Lucius pushed him onto the bed again. They cosily huddled next to Alexis, shifting their weakened bodies to find a relaxing pose. "Now that you're done with testing your spell, shall we talk about your mistake?" Lucius brought their attention back to their small argument earlier on.

"Mistake?" Alexis puzzledly glanced at him before realising what he meant. He was too distracted in trying to get back at them that he didn't notice how exhausted his body was. Although healing magic could physically heal their wounds, it didn't replenish their blood loss, causing the injured to take a day off. Alexis comfortably sank in between both of them, allowing them to hold his hand. " Ahh~, yes we can talk about it now."

"Do you understand why we scolded you earlier?" Darcel let Lucius do the talking; if he was to talk, sparks would fly everywhere between him and Alexis. He opted to listen instead, playing with Alexis's now shoulder-length hair. Darcel undid the ribbon tying it together, letting his hair spread out across the bed.

"I do. Maybe." Alexis sheepishly glanced at Lucius, only being slightly confident in his answer.

"Could you tell me the reasons why?"

"Well, first of all, I was too reckless and I got hurt. And you guys don't like it when I get hurt." He paused to take a glance at Lucius, looking for confirmation. "And?"

"And well, Father said that when I turn sixteen, my body will start to undergo some changes..."

"Which will..." Darcel jumped in to encourage him.

"Which will make my body weaker and more vulnerable to the environment and it will take longer for me to recover when I get sick." Alexis felt a little upset because the reason why he would experience some bodily changes was due to his elemental compatibility. Usually, dual elementalists would have compatible elements like ice and water but due to the fact that lightning and dark magic is a unique combination, his body would have a period of time where his magic would become unstable and cause his body conditions to alter.

"Then do you now understand why we scolded you earlier?" Lucius reached out to pat his head, Darcel had finished braiding a small section of his hair, tying it off with his ribbon. "I do but I still have some time before my birthday so technically it's still okay for me to be a little reckless."

"Ouch, why did you do that Darc?" Alexis pouted while he rubbed his forehead, "Because you still don't exactly get it."

"But you didn't have to flick me."

"If I didn't, would you properly understand our worries?"

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"Maybe if you just told me properly." He mumbled out his reply, feeling a little salty, turning to face Lucius instead.

Lucius softly laughed at the two's little bickering, using his water magic to slowly heal his redness. "Since you feel that way, we'll tell you properly." He flicked his hand to summon a snowflake while Darcel brought forth a flame. The two magic slowly floated around, "His Grace hasn't told us exactly how your body will change but he does know that the seasonal changes will have an impact on you."

"In winter, your body is more susceptible to the cold, which means you need to be constantly warm and near a heat source. In this case, I would be the best option since I have the power of fire, my body is naturally warmer than the average person."

"Likewise, in summer, you're more prone to the heat and would suffer from heat exhaustion a lot easier. Like Darcel said, I have both ice and water magic. Similarly my body temperature would be cooler instead. And to help you cope with the summer, I would be the person most convenient for you."

Alexis nodded to their reasoning, not realising their true intention. "Hmm, that is true. If I'm not wrong, Father also mentioned that my body would take a few years to recondition itself. I think he estimated that mine might last till sometime after I turn eighteen." Alexis tried to recall what his father had told them a few days earlier.

"Right, and because your birthday is in the winter, your body probably won't start showing signs until sometime in spring. Hopefully it's during our break, that way you can rest before we return." Lucius input his thoughts into the conversation.

"Right, so until you turn sixteen, no more reckless behaviour." Darcel thoroughly warned him again, making Alexis want to rebel against him. "Don't think about going behind our backs."

"Hmph." Alexis pouted at his words, stubbornly bringing back his magic to zap him. "Ngh... stop it. Doing that... won't change anything." Darcel jolted in his spot, trying to jerk his body away from Alexis's hand. He continued to play with him as a way to vent out his annoyance. "Lex..."

Darcel was barely recovering from his previous spell, now being abused by Alexis, his body felt even more lethargic, having no energy to push away Alexis. He continued to toy with Darcel, causing him to send a help signal to Lucius.

Lucius let them play around for a little more until Darcel couldn't take it anymore, "Lu! Help me out please!" He was too tired from the constant stimulation, causing him unable to shield himself.

He glanced at them before happily smiling, "No."

"Ngh..." Darcel grumbled at his reply, trying to summon whatever strength he had to push away Alexis. He reached out to grab his wrist, but Alexis suddenly pulled back; Darcel barely stopped himself from crushing him. Their faces were so close together that they could feel each other's breath. Darcel noticed their ambiguous position, causing a light blush to bloom across his cheeks. "Darc, you okay? You seem a little red."

"N-no I'm fine." Darcel tried to roll over to get away from him, but Alexis wouldn't let him escape. "Are you sure? What if you have a fever?" He brought their foreheads together, trying to check his temperature. This small action inevitably caused his blush to deepen in colour, slowly travelling to his ears, "I'm okay Lex."

He quickly rolled off to the side, covering his eyes with his arm as he tried to calm his mind down. Lucius gave an amused laugh before sympathetically patting Darcel's head. "Stop teasing me Lu."

"I can't help it."

Darcel chose to ignore his comment, turning to face Alexis, closing his eyes as he relaxed his body. "Since you're still recovering from before, let's take a nap before we meet with your father and before we have to return back to the academy." Lucius shifted his body to find a comfortable position before slowly relaxing his breath.

"Okay, sorry for teasing you guys earlier." Alexis muttered out an apology, feeling a little bad for exhausting them after their sword lesson with Felix earlier on in the day.

"As long as you won't do it again."

Seeing both Darcel and Alexis slowly drift off to sleep, Lucius stayed awake for a little longer just to gaze at his facial features. He gently brushed Alexis's bangs, causing a small frown from him. Seeing as he can't do anything that would disrupt their relationship, Lucius brought his lips to kiss his fingertips, full of tenderness, "One day, you will know how much you mean to me Shin-kun."