After what must have been another hour of convincing and reassuring Arianna that everything will be alright, Velvet finally got her to agree to this, albeit with a heavy heart.

"It feels wrong trying to stop you from living your dream," Arianna said, finally caving. "You are your own person and should do what you want to do. But I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't miss you and worry about you. Please stay true to your word and write me as often as possible."

"I will!" Velvet nodded. "And you keep me posted about what's happening at the academy! Keep an eye out for promising students that could become teachers for us and recruit them!"

"Alright," the other girl wiped her tears. "Where should I send you a letter to, though?"

"Hmm," her friend thought for a bit. "Just send it to the Hunter's guild! You will see where exactly to send it to after you receive the first letter from me!"

"Sounds good."

They sat in silence for a while, simply staring at the flow of the river and enjoying what looked like it would be one of their final moments together before their paths diverge.

"I'm a bit scared," Velvet finally admitted. "Not of the forest or the monsters I will be facing there. That's exciting! What I'm scared of is being alone. You were always right there by my side these past six years. Every day when I went to sleep I would just turn to my left and there you were, lying on your bed. Now I am going to go to sleep every day in solitude."

"Same," Arianna said. "It's going to be weird not having you around every day. I never really thought about this until now. I guess it's true that you only realize how much someone meant to you when they're gone."

"But I won't really be gone," Velvet smiled. "And neither will you. We're still going to be working towards the same goal, just each in our own way. I'll be back in a year or two."

"A year or two?! Gosh, that sounds so long when you say it out loud..."

"It does, doesn't it?" the other girl agreed. "But don't worry, time will go by in a flash! Before you know it, I will already be back at the academy. Hopefully with my third mark! After all, that's the first requirement we need, right?"

"It's honestly crazy that you got your second mark this soon. You must be the youngest person in history to advance to tier two! What's your secret?" Arianna mustered a smile.

"Secret?" Velvet tilted her head. "There is no secret! I'm just lucky, I guess. But I did notice a pattern. Both times I got my mark, I was in grave danger. It was do or die. What if that is what triggered it?"

"Please don't go putting yourself in life-threatening situations just to advance your magic..."

"Don't worry, I won't!" her friend laughed. "I'm crazy, but I'm not that crazy!"

"Good. Keep the crazy on the low. For the sake of us both."

Going to bed that night after having this talk was the hardest thing ever and Mary immediately caught on that something was different between them the next morning at breakfast.

"What's with the long faces, you two?" she asked as she poured a glass of milk for each of them. "I know I'm good company, but are you really that sad about leaving? After all, you're going back to the academy together. And you love it there, don't you?"

"We're not going back together," Arianna spoke after a brief silence. "I am going alone."

"That's right," Velvet looked up from her piece of bread. "I am leaving for Talim instead."

"Talim?" The woman raised her eyebrow. "Isn't that where beast hunters gather?"

The girl nodded. "I'm going to become a huntress!"

"Oh..." Mary was a bit taken aback and didn't know what to say. A brief moment later, she spoke. "I understand now. You're going separate ways. And that's weighing you both down. Well, let me give you some advice. As long as you carry each other in your hearts, you will never be truly separated. What that means is simply to remember what you have given to each other. In the end, all people leave some sort of mark on us. Think about it. What have you given to each other that you will carry along?"

"Well, Arianna taught me air magic!" Velvet exclaimed happily. "I won't ever forget that!"

"See?" Mary smiled. "Now whenever you cast an air spell, she will be right there with you!"

"Velvet inspired me to learn about types of magic other than my own," Arianna said after thinking a bit. "Now I already know a lot about other elements, even if I can't use them yet."

"Good!" her mother nodded. "Whenever you pick up a book about fire magic or light magic or any other type of magic, you will remember Velvet! Isn't that nice?" They both agreed.

"Maybe this won't be so bad," the brown-haired girl said. "You spent so much time teaching me in this last year that you were running out of time to practice on your own. Maybe now you can finally focus more on yourself and make some real progress on your magic!"

Arianna nodded. "Maybe you're right. And you can finally go on adventures like you always wanted. This could be good for us both."

"Now you are starting to look at the bigger picture," the mother commented. "I do honestly believe that this experience can benefit you both. It might be hard sometimes, but you will grow, each in your own way. I can't wait to see what you become like in a few years!"

The grim atmosphere slowly started to shift towards a more elated one and the girls were beginning to look forward to this new period of their life. Apart, but still together. This will be a challenge for them both. A challenge to be better, become more self-reliant and mature, both ability- and mentality-wise.

Velvet won't have Arianna to keep her in check and will have to become more level-headed, not rushing into things without a plan or it might cost her. Arianna on the other hand won't have Velvet to boost her confidence and push her to be better—she will need to find that drive within herself now.

"I have an idea!" the energetic girl announced later that day.

"Another one?!" Arianna immediately started to worry. She could barely come to terms with her last idea, which was her joining a Hunter's guild.

"No, no, it's not that kind of idea!" Velvet quickly calmed her down. "I've been looking into the picture spell lately and I think I've gotten quite good at it. So I was wondering...can I take a picture of you so I can carry it with me on my adventures?"

"Ah...that's actually not a bad idea! But...I'd like one of you too now that you mentioned it."

"Well, I can't make one of myself, since I need to be the one casting the spell..." Suddenly, Velvet remembered the picture Arianna had on her desk back at the academy. She saw the very same one on the kitchen counter in her house as well. "Say...where did your mother get that picture of you two taken? Who was the one that cast the spell?"

"Oh, that was Mister Ruphtall, a light mage from the village. He's dedicated his entire life to mastering that spell and..." They both looked at each other, realizing it at the same time.

"That's it!" Velvet jumped up. "We'll have him take a picture of us both! One for each of us!"

"Yes, that's a great idea!" Arianna agreed. And so they did. After talking to Mary, the both of them went to visit Mister Ruphtall and asked him to immortalize them on a piece of paper.

"It would be my pleasure!" the kindly old man said, readjusting his collar and standing up from behind his desk. The entire room and quite possibly his entire house were filled with various pictures. They were framed on the walls and hanging down from the ceiling on strings. Animals, people, nature...all possible motives were on them. Arianna was here once before, but she was still taken aback by his vast collection. Velvet on the other hand was seeing this for the first time and observing it all with her mouth agape.

"Woooow! So many different pictures! How long have you been doing this?!"

"Ever since I first got my mark of light at fifteen years old!" the man replied with a warm smile. "That's about forty years now! Do you enjoy my collection?"

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"It's amazing!" the girl exclaimed. "These are some of the most detailed pictures I've ever seen! You must have cast the Light Refraction spell thousands of times to get this good!"

"Ah, I see you know your light magic," he said, pleasantly surprised. Most of his guests did not realize how pictures were made nor would they appreciate the effort it took for him to get this good at making them. They just wanted a picture taken and were on their way after paying, not bothering to talk about the art behind it. "It did take a while to master, yes."

"A while?!" Velvet glanced up at him, her eyes gleaming. "Ralph's start of the year pictures are utter garbage compared to this! You are truly a master of your craft!"

"I appreciate the honest praise," Mister Ruphtall couldn't help but feel proud of himself with this girl praising his skills so much. "It's rare for someone to say this much."

"I want to leave for Talim before fall comes, but maybe sometime I come back here and you can teach me a bit?" the eager to learn girl asked him.

"Oh...well, I don't see why not!" he chuckled. "Nobody's ever asked me that!"

"Awesome! Thank you so much!"

"You're very welcome! Now; how do you two want to do this? What is the setting?"

"Setting?" Arianna looked up at him. She never even thought about it. They just wanted to have a picture taken while they are together. Neither of them bothered to think about the details.

"Of course! We can be here in the room or go out in the field...I even have some props you can use if you want!" he offered happily. This man clearly loved what he was doing very much. His entire house was made into a giant scene. As he lead them from one room into the other, each one had walls of different colors. Some of them even had pictures painted on the wall to serve as a background!

"I want to hold a sword!" Velvet immediately decided. "And stand on the head of a dragon!"

"What are those ridiculously specific demands?!" Her friend shot a glance at her.

"Of course! We can do that!" the jolly man exclaimed. "You're not the first one to ask this!"

"You actually have a dragon head someone can stand on?" Arianna was greatly impressed.

"I have a dragon head, a wolf head, a giant head, a human skull, a..."

"Alright, alright!" Arianna stopped him. "I don't want to hear what types of heads you have!"

"Give Arianna a goblin's head to stand on!" Velvet suggested.

"NO!" the other girl protested. "I just want a normal picture! I don't want a...goblin head!"

"Come on, let's have some fun with it!" Her friend smiled brightly. "We'll be adventurers!"

After a bit of bickering, Velvet picked a scene that looked like a cave and they posed...with the dragon head and goblin head of course, while she held a sword up as a sign of victory.

"Don't look so disgusted, Arianna!" Velvet said when she saw the grimace on her face. "Smile!"

"Listen to your friend!" Mister Ruphtall ordered, making a square out of his index fingers and thumbs and peeking through it with one eye while aiming at them.

Reluctantly, the blonde girl obliged and put on a visibly fake smile. Not a second later, a bright flash blinded her momentarily before receding. The man in front of them held a square of light between his fingers. Carefully, he aimed it down at a blank piece of paper he laid out on the floor beforehand and released his fingers, making the square shoot down and "paint" a picture on it.

"Huh?" Arianna was startled. "You did it already? I wasn't prepared!"

"Ooooh, a silent cast!" Velvet's focus was completely elsewhere. "You truly are a master!"

"You flatter me," he chuckled, starting to feel awkward from so much praise.

"Let's take a look!" she dropped the sword and ran towards him. The picture itself was clean and beautiful. It captured even the smallest details, like the reflection on the metal. "Amazing! I love it!" she picked it up and hugged it.

"No, no, no!" the keen-eyed man took it back from her. "This just won't do! We need more!"

"What's wrong with this one?" the surprised girl asked.

"She's what's wrong," he pointed at Arianna. "Your smile is not genuine. Pose again!"

"How can I smile when I am standing on a goblin's head!" she protested. "It's gross!"

"It's not real anyway! Imagine it's a rock or something," Velvet said. "Just smile genuinely!"

"Fine. I'll try," the other girl replied, sounding a bit disgruntled. It took a few tries, but eventually, they got two decent pictures where Arianna didn't look like she was about to throw up or run away in disgust.

"Here you go!" Mister Ruphtall smiled delightfully as he handed one to each.

"Thanks a lot!" Velvet thanked him loudly and started reaching for her money pouch.

"Oh, don't worry about paying! These two are on me! You girls are truly lovely!"

"You're just giving them to us?!" Arianna was shocked. "Are you sure about this?"

"It doesn't cost me anything but a piece of paper!" he laughed. "My magic is free of charge."

They thanked him again and went back to Mary's cottage, where she was already waiting for them with dinner on the table—the last dinner before they part ways tomorrow.

"Can I see the picture you took?" she asked while they ate.

"It's stupid..." her daughter was a bit embarrassed. "Velvet made me stand on a goblin head."

This only sparked further curiosity in the woman, though. "Really?! Now that I have to see!"

Velvet handed hers over and she inspected it carefully, making Arianna want to slump under the table. She was standing on the head of a goblin alright, while her friend stood on a dragon's "corpse" and held up a sword triumphantly.

"You're adorable!" Mary laughed and pinched her daughter's cheek. "Don't be so grumpy!"

"Mom," the girl pushed her hand away. "I'm not a little girl anymore!"

"You'll always be my little girl!" she smiled, adding to Arianna's embarrassment.

Velvet's face darkened, however, and the mother quickly stopped herself. She remembered that the girl had lost her mother and probably isn't too keen on seeing their display of love in front of her.

"Sorry," Mary quickly said and reached out for her hand.

"It's alright," Velvet raised her head and smiled. "That was ten years ago now. I still miss Mom, but I've come to terms with it." She looked up at the ceiling. "I know she's always watching over me. Keep watching, Mom. You'll see what I can do! I'll be like Thoracc!"

Mary's eyes got filled with tears when she said that so gleefully. "You're so brave..."

"We'll see how brave I am when an ursa major is standing in front of me!" she laughed, making Arianna once again feel uncomfortable at the thought of where she was going.

"You two should get to bed," the mother wiped her eyes. "Tomorrow is a big day for you!"

They obliged, but of course, neither of them could really sleep. They ended up talking the whole night and reminiscing about the great times they had together. Neither of them felt really tired despite the lack of sleep, because of the sheer adrenaline they were feeling as the moment of separation drew nearer.

Sooner than either of them wanted, Arianna was standing in front of a carriage that would take her back to the academy.

"So, this is it, huh?" Arianna asked, as if she was unsure that this is really happening.

"I guess so," Velvet said, standing in front of her. "Feels a bit weird, doesn't it?"

Her friend hugged her tightly. "Stay safe. That's all I ask of you. Please stay safe."

"Don't worry," the other girl grinned, hugging her back. "You won't get rid of me so easily."

They let the hug linger before finally letting go. Arianna boarded the carriage, glancing back at every step. The door closed and the coachman whipped the horses. She turned around and leaned out through the back window. "I'm gonna miss you, Velvet! So, so much!"

"Enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts!!" Velvet shouted after her, trying to be funny. Yet her eyes, as well as Arianna's, were wet with tears.

Thank you for reading this part of the story! You rock!

[https://img.wattpad.com/54d79e3f21985862d095685c5e4f31e382b99886/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f38623971466573456d5a57635a413d3d2d313238343932373633302e313732356637306435396139643436383834333234353833393437342e706e67]

The next few chapters will be in a bit of a different format. I hope you like them!