After lunch with everyone, actually everyone because the storm outside was frighteningly bad, Micheal was returning to the practice arena with Lindsey. The talk during lunch was over how the city was suffering damages and jobs were coming out for magically gifted adventurer's to cover repair men and shield them from the rain.

The troubling news from that was that the rain itself was easy to deflect with spells like Ward. That in itself was a boon to those adventurers without strict powers to push back the weather, even Micheal or Lindsey could have helped, but it was the fact that the rain and wind was magically charged. Something or someone was whipping up a tempest that summoned field destroying floods and town flattening storms.

Already three large villages near Three Bridge were reported to have been completely washed out by the flash flooding as they were all low in the wetlands. Fortunately where it sat an overgrown castle on a stone rise Mayonn was mostly immune to the flooding. The bad thing was that it looked like another day or so of this rain would mean the roads out of town would likely be beyond recovery. If the storm grew fierce enough Mayonn could be an impromptu island even as the marsh could be washed out by the high water and rapid current.

Rosebridge and Rodust were mostly fine as they were founded in the forested hills away from Mayonn's marshy outskirts with fishing villages being the main concern. Yet with the growing orc threat and the storms many of the residents had come in after them, the few that had stayed in the larger villages anyway. Mayonn would be even more packed the next time the skies opened up.

Lindsey had declined from going out in the storm to aid the mages stating that her abilities with warding spells were not so great as to cover a house, just maybe a repair man or two, and she had no thought to be out in this in her new found condition. Micheal didn't have that excuse, but did have a great many things more to learn before the next summons by the guild which could come at any time assuming the messenger could make it at all in this weather.

His first spell would not be a fireball or even a ball of water it turned out. Lindsey had explained the way she thought best for adventurer's to learn as they went down the stairs. Adding elements to a directed spell was always the best way to add damage, but she felt that many people over blew that aspect of it during training. A trainee would wear themselves ragged by trying to gather up the fire, water, or whatever other type of mana when most spells, for those Marked as Adventurer's at least, acted much like the ward spell did.

Now adding an element to a ward spell did help the ward fight against the matching element or react with an opposing one. But it wasn't necessary. Lindsey had surmised that a direct attack could be entirely made out of the casters own will and mana without transforming it or charging it with an elemental mana source like a proper spell as long as they had the mark. If the elemental force still came it would come with the one Micheal had the strongest affinity to, and thereby be more efficient from the start hopefully giving him a go to ability to work with.

She explained the concept after he had mentioned her use of Ward to deflect a physical object, that being an axe thrown by a dying orc. To her mind it was just a matter of making the mana of the Ward more condensed with focused will rather than adjusting the spell itself thereby pressing its effects onward to physical objects. She made sure that he brought his staff along with him just for that so that he might use it to sharpen his focus and perhaps use the same theory to manifest a magical attack spell. Their practice before had been with his hands alone to cast magic, but for attacks Lindsey professed to have always had an easier time directing attack magic when she had her wand so she wanted him to try both with and without his staff.

Down in the arena they claimed an area against a far wall and set up targets Lindesy produced from her bags. They just so happened to be three large melon sized rag dolls stuffed with hay and sewn in with small pockets gaining a little white flour. Lindsey's hasty sewing showed all over them, but they would give an affirmative puff when they were struck. Each one of them had a different expression made of lines of stitching in the face as well which was a nice touch, or so he told her.

After that the lesson began. Sort of. Micheal didn't exactly get much done for the first hour or so. Lindsey encouraged him however and kept him from giving up.

“Take your staff and do just like you would with Ward.” She said, “You can even say something, like 'strike' or 'bang'. Whatever feels right. It might be hard to do it without the word later, but the first since we are sort of in a hurry to teach you is going to have it work.”

“You weren't taught this way?” He asked. “Shouldn't I be meditating and finding my center or something?”

She smiled at him, but her eyes were sad. She shook her head.

“I had to sit and do it without moving or speaking. Every spell.” She said with a somewhat haunted look in her eyes.

“Sometimes my teachers wouldn't let me eat or rest until I showed some progress or they got tired of me. It took me weeks.” She said, still trying to hold up her smile. “-But I'm sure you'll get it in the next day or so if you keep trying so just do your best okay?”

Micheal looked at her and she looked away before he could look her straight in the eye. So there was a reason she had manifested an ability that drank water from the air for her. The idea of anyone treating Lindsey that way made his blood boil. She was so sweet hearted and friendly. She smiled down at the targets and her fingers traced a line down her dress and over her belly with one hand as the other pulled up the edge of her skirt near where her wand was strapped to her leg.

He didn't press the uncomfortable conversation topic though leaving it for another time.

He focused hard on striking the one off to the left with the angry face sewn in. He wasn't sure why that one more than the others, but that was the one he chose. He thrust out his hand trying like she suggested, to project a targeted ward, and nothing happened. He breathed deep and tried once more. And nothing happened.

“Keep trying.” Lindsey said, still looking down at the targets. “I can feel your will flaring the spell just isn't taking shape.”

“You can just feel that?” He asked.

She nodded looking down at one of the rag dolls she had made.

“Yup. With every sort of magic when I focus. I can feel it far away and when people are close. It's the closest thing I have to a talent. Some people can see mana, or sense it in the air, but I can feel the will put into the spells and attacks people use.” She glanced at him and shrugged. “It's not really all that useful.”

“Are you joking with me?” He asked, looking at her. “What if we got ambushed or something by a monster that could use magic. You could save everyone. Can you feel the intent or just that something is happening?”

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She looked at him, her eyes opening a little wide and her face blanked as her mind worked.

“I can feel the nature of the spell-- yeah, but it gets really muddled in fights.”

Micheal nodded.

“Lots of noise so to speak I get that. It's like listening to someone in a room full of sound then. I think if you wanted to you could train that ability. It could be handy in a lot of situations.”

Her smile came back then and she looked at him with more of her usual gaze.

“Try again. You almost had it.” She said dismissing the subject.

Micheal let it drop worried about how she had been treated as a child all over again. Had she wanted to learn magic? Or was it the only skill she, or her parents, had access to in a world that was literally after her? Micheal stared at the little rag doll that sat up on the floor across from them and thrust out his hand.

He tried a fist. A chop. A flick. And nothing happened though he felt like he was doing it right with her encouragement. The more he did it the closer he felt he was.

He tried again. And again. He looked to Lindsey as he began to feel foolish and a little frustrated. Ward hadn't come easily, but it had come. The thought of doing magic wasn't so strange to him as he thought it might have been. Maybe there was something in what Lindsey said that was true, maybe he did have some sort of knack for magic. She smiled at him reassuringly and motioned for him to keep trying.

“Anything that comes to mind. Just let it happen. Any shape. Any kind of force. Move it. Crush it. Or knock it back. It doesn't matter.” She said using her happy tone of voice she always used, but her manner was subdued and not very energetic. “-For any reason. Because you're frustrated. Because you're bored. Because you want to go upstairs and eat snacks and watch the rain. Because it hurts. Whatever you're feeling.”

He looked at her, but again she just looked at the rag dolls. Hearing her talk like that made him want to take her former teachers and club them around whatever room he found them in with his staff. Not hard enough to kill, but to certainly give them a drubbing they wouldn't forget.

He thrust his hand out again and again and again with nothing happening. It really began to feel like foolishness. He looked at the angry little faced doll sitting beside the frowning one and took his staff in hand. He thrust at it in the distance. Nothing happened. He took a step forward and thrust again. He took the wood in hand for a strike and suddenly though he was still more than five yards away he felt the staff connect.

The doll's angry face rolled away with a puff of flour.

He stood stunned. Lindsey crashed into his back cheering and he stumbled. She bounced on her toes and smiled up at him as he turned to look at her. She pulled roughly at his shirt as she jumped up and down happily.

“You did it. Good job. Barely an hour and you got something already.” She said, sounding very happy for him, but the energetic light in her eyes was still a little subsumed within a dour surface.

He turned and pulled her into a hug with one arm. He let her go quickly, but smiled at her surprised expression.

“Only because you seem to understand how it works so well. Without you here to explain it like that to me I never would have found the conviction to keep trying. I would have given up within minutes. However difficult it was at first or how it pained you then I certainly think you're a great Sorceress now.” He told her, channeling the feeling he had before into every word.

Hopefully they would do the job to reassure her wavering self confidence.

Her eyes grew a little watery, but she kept her smile on her face. She searched his eyes with her own dark brown ones showing depth and then had to wipe at them.

“Thanks.” She said in a shaky voice as she took him by the hand to lead him back to the spot they had first stood. “Keep trying. While it's fresh. Do it again.”

She took out her wand exposing a flash of lovely pale leg and flicked it in the air toward the fallen doll. It twisted in the air and fell to the ground on its bottom back in its place with the other two.

Micheal tried to strike out at it again, but this time nothing happened. He took a breath and Lindsey patted his back reassuringly. He focused and looked at the little angry face doll again. It took a few tries, but then he got it again and he felt the staff connect though he stood fifteen feet away.

Lindsey smiled at him and waved him on with her wand in hand.

It took Micheal another dozen swings before he felt it connect. Then five. Then he lost count at twenty swings after that. Each time he knocked one over Lindsey would put it back up from where she stood behind him. Five attempts. Then ten. Then a dozen. Then twice in a row finally. He began to feel the drain on him then started to take effect and he began sweating. The focus, and his now almost habitual spear stance did actually take some effort, but though each blow wasn't exactly the same as what it would have been from his staff he at least was able to strike with it this way.

“It might be an attack ability since it seems to strike with force from your staff, but its a little too weak. Try to put more of your will into the force part of the spell not just the movement of the staff.” Lindsey said.

It went on like that with Micheal slowly gaining a little power on this strike, or getting two in a row to go off again. On and on until dinner time. Lindsey patted his back as he stood bent over and panting. His head felt a little numb, and he was sucking in air and sweating.

“That's enough for today. You're pretty worn out and it's dinner time.” She said, slipping her wand away and heading for the door.

“Thanks Lindsey.” He got out. “Thanks for letting me take your time again today.”

She turned slowly after a moment and looked at him. She didn't quite summon all her pep back all the way yet, but she did smile at him. Her eyes looked too old to be in her young face though. There was old pain inside. Like a bad wound that got stiff in the rain. Part of him couldn't let it go that somewhere inside she thought she had no talent. She did. She was able to use some magic so easily. He could feel it. He just had to find where it was buried behind memories of bad teachers and mean lessons. There was more to her than her instructors had seen. If she had been one of his characters he would know just what and how to bring it about too. --So much for that. He would just have to do it and find out what he needed the old fashion way then.

“That's what we agreed wasn't it?” She asked in a neutral tone. “You are going to teach me about what your world knows about pregnancies right?”

“Yeah.” He said pulling himself upright. “But I meant sharing your time and experience. You didn't just teach me, but stayed and encouraged me. I know this isn't as fun as beating me to the ground with blasts of water, but I really appreciate it.”

Lindsey stepped toward him and looked up at his eyes with the smile that didn't match her eyes again. She held her hands near her middle.

“I wasn't going to teach you the way I was taught after all.” She murmured. “They tried to make me perfect and sometimes people just aren't.” She explained, her tone lifting out of the dumps a little.

“You have to see what you can do one way, and what you can't do in others, and find what works best for you. I just do what fits me. I'm not any sort of great spell caster and I will never be one. I can fight and protect my friends and that's enough.” She continued.

Micheal stepped forward to her holding his staff off to the side with one hand. He put a hand on her shoulder.

“I know I haven't known you long, but I think you're much more than that. I think you've just been told by too many people that you thought were skilled that you aren't. No matter what anyone says I think the way you can do whatever you want with simple magic is great. You're my friend now and I have faith in you. You're too good at what you do to not grow past this.” He said trying not to make it too cringe and sappy though he felt that awkward tingle in the back of head that told he should stop talking. --That was what he thought it was at least until moments later.

She looked up at him with a smooth expression, but then slowly started to smile. She looked down and then back up at him, and her dark brown eyes were full. Micheal was distracted though by a small glowing light inside the collar of her dress, and a tiny flash on his hand.

Lindsey's eyes popped to alert focus and she looked at his hand as she noticed the light from it. Micheal realized with shock that he had been doing that thing so long with his will trying to attack the dolls that he had done very nearly the same here. He almost began to panic.

“Another Spirit Mark?” Lindsey said, blinking and then suddenly bent his wrist to look at the mark. He came along startled a little as he remembered her strength. She looked up at him with curious eyes.

“Did you mean to mark me? Your will did flare a little, but it was gentle. Like you were...” She looked at the mark and then back at him. “--Like you were trying to show me how much faith you had in me.”

She pushed back her collar and looked at her mark there.

“Sorry.” He said immediately.

She shook her head and smiled back at him.

“It's a faith rune spirit mark. A simple one. Like some sort of blessing.” She let go of his wrist and then suddenly stood on her toes to kiss his cheek and laugh.

“Guess I won't forget what you said now.” She laughed with her happy energy returning.

She tilted her head and stuck her tongue out at him before she twirled and waved for him to come along.