After Myra left, Sharna wriggled down into her bed and cuddled Quinn, neither of them spoke for some time, Sharna was lost in her own thoughts and assumed Quinn was too.

It felt foreign to think of Quinn as an individual with her own thoughts and feelings but Sharna knew from their interactions that it was true. But just as Quinn had been separated from Sharna, so could she be returned. As Sharna held the fuzzy ball of light close, she wondered if that would change the person that Sharna was. Not that Sharna would ever want Quinn to disappear, it was just a strange thought.

Sharna wondered if it was like having children, they were a mix of both parents but somehow each child was different, finding an empty space and changing themselves to fit. There was already a Sharna in the Sharna-shaped space, so Quinn had diverged to find her own unique place. Quinn was so funny, and adventurous. Was it possible that Sharna was shifting to become less funny and less adventurous to compensate?

She wondered too what Quinn thought about, now that they were separated, their thoughts could follow different paths. Did Quinn want a more corporeal body or was she happy as she was. Although Quinn was in no way obedient to Sharna, Sharna still worried that because Quinn knew how Sharna thought, she may give in to what Sharna wanted because she knew that any requests were coming from a good place.

Listening to Beau talk about image-manifestation onto mana crystals had started wheels turning in Sharna's brain. Mana crystals were formed in caves in areas that were extremely mana rich. When the levels became too high, the mana would condense on the surfaces forming a solid crystal. While some were mined from deep ancient deposits, the majority of the mana crystals used came from regular harvesting in areas that they were known to naturally regrow.

Sharna hadn't been entirely sure how to go about giving Quinn a corporeal form. Quinn's current form; the fluffy ball of light, had been formed directly out of ambient mana. While Quinn gave off some warmth, there was no solidity to her current incarnation. Because there was not a lot of research that Sharna had been able to find about practical application of soul genesis, at the time she had only focused on the separation and individualisation of her soul in her manifestation. Quinn’s current nonmaterial form was the result.

However, Sharna thought that by using the same concept of the natural crystals’ formation, she could practise condensing mana into a solid object that she could use for Quinn’s embodiment. But even if she was able to achieve this, they would both have to agree on a form. Sharna also worried that a transition like this might change who Quinn innately was.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

She shivered. Deciding this train of thought was unhelpful right now, she moved her mind in a different direction.

“Quinn?”

“Mm yeah?”

“Myra said there's a local market where the herbalists sell their excess, so we should check that out. But I think they want me to follow the others around for a few days before I settle into any particular project. What did you discover today?”

“Nothing exciting, I did reconnaissance at a few of the more interesting gardens to find out who was looking after them, I can point the herbalists out to you when we go to the market.”

“That sounds good, thanks.”

They were both silent for a few more minutes.

“I found Beau's house today too, I was going to tell you about him but then he was here. I think his mum was there but not his sister. They have a really interesting garden too. Not medicinal exactly, but a lot of purifying plants. They look like they have been planted to follow some kind of pattern, ley lines or something maybe?”

“That’s interesting. I don’t know anything about ley lines in this area, but Anna would probably have information about that with her maps.” Sharna shrugged, “or I could just ask him, I don’t see why it would be a secret.”

“Did you find out what the deal is with the river?”

“No,” Sharna rubbed her nose uncomfortably, “it’s been a pretty full on day, and i forgot to ask.”

“Yeah..” Quinn paused, then “that call out you did for me, that was new.”

Sharna nodded slowly then explained what had happened since Quinn had left that morning “.. and that’s when I felt that I needed you so much that it was like my soul called out for you.” Sharna blushed, it sounded even worse when she tried to put it into words but for once Quinn didn’t jump to tease her about it.

“I was pretty far out, I was checking out the town’s boundaries towards the north and then suddenly I felt your call and I was just here.”

“It could be pretty useful. I wonder what the range would be, or how easy it would be for me to do in a normal mental state,” Sharna mused.

“Yeah, but it seems like we can’t just use it whenever we want if it’s going to stir up a whole heap of drama. Maybe there is some way that you could shield your mana pulse when you call me?”

“Maybe? I don’t really know much about shielding. Perhaps we’ll get some ideas tomorrow when Beau teaches me how to create my own wards.” Sharna smiled, “I’m pretty excited to learn some barrier magic though. It’s not an area that I’ve focused on before, I wonder if Kenji would have any tips, he’s been working on soul magic for years, surely he would need some kind of protections for that.”

Quinn spiralled up and circled around Sharna’s face, teasingly, “I bet you’re just looking forward to hanging out with Beau.”

“That’s not it at all!” Sharna sputtered, blushing, “I’m just excited for the new skills. You don’t even know what you’re talking about. Anyway, I think we should go to sleep now, it’s been a very long day.”

“Uh huh,” said Quinn blithely, and swooped into Sharna’s pocket, chuckling softly.