This time around, Maya didn’t resist when Elena talked her into going outside the walls. Scaling down the wall was an effortless task for Maya, a Child of Air, who was on the verge of a breakthrough for levitation, or the nimble Elena, who found plenty of anchor points in the old weathered stone.

Even though days were becoming shorter, they chose a time that gave them plenty of hours of safety in sunlight, and made their way toward the rich forest encompassing the town of Amellan. Maya could already hear the gentle murmur of a mountain creek hiding behind the trees.

It turned out to be quite close. Not too far downstream, there was a small glade opening up like a small heaven hidden beneath the thick tapestry of trees. This was where they stopped.

Elena was idly waddling through the shallow stream, expelling water from touching her boots, kicking it at times, forcing the countless water droplets to crystalize into ice and fall like glitter.

“This place isn’t bad for gaining an edge in our element manipulation…” Elena suggested, playing with the clear, glittery water from the stream like a Child of Water would.

Hearing Elena suggest something like willingly practising outside school hours made Maya’s jaw drop.

“A-are you… volunteering to study out of your own free will?”

Elena frowned. “What do you mean study? When have I suggested such a ridiculous thing?”

“Just now you— Eek!”

To intercept her from tossing accusations she didn’t wish to hear, Elena quickly called a vein of water and released it over Maya’s head.

“Stop it! You’ll spill all over me!”

Maya stood in a defensive position, trying to defend herself from the onslaught of water soaking her completely. Since the attack came so suddenly, Maya fumbled through a half-baked stance, making the water ripple off an improvised invisible barrier. Water spread all around her, making Maya resemble a human fountain without getting a drop on herself.

Now, it was Elena’s jaw that dropped. “Fuck me!” she gasped.

The air remained perfectly still, save for the subtle shifts needed to accommodate movement — whether it was Maya's gestures or the water’s path through space. It did not come rushing to clash with the onslaught of water.

“I could’ve gotten… soaked…” Maya’s mind trailed off as she realized midsentence the oddity of what she had just done.

“That’s the point.”

‘No… It wasn’t Elena that created the barrier… It went against what she was trying to achieve… But how?’

What Maya had done wasn’t controlling the air.

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“You’re a bipartite!” The reality of Elena’s words struck Maya, who was still frozen in disbelief. “I fucking knew there was something about you!”

Elena prepared another water whip to toss Maya’s way.

“Do it again!”

“I don’t know how!”

However, it was too late. Elena had already poured water all over her. She managed to deflect it only partially, ending up soaking wet. Maya looked at her hands.

“No… It’s just air,” Maya nervously laughed as water dripped across her face. “It deflected off the air. I didn’t touch it.”

It was apparent even to Elena that Maya was in hard denial.

“Have you ever seen me touch water while controlling it?”

It seemed Elena was trying to help her come to terms with it.

“How is it possible?”

Maya lifted her gaze to look at Elena with an expression of someone desperate for answers, but the source she sought them from was by no means qualified.

“Why wouldn’t it be possible? You know of Tanya…”

“I don’t mean that! I meant… How did they miss it when they tested me the first day I arrived?” Maya was looking back at her hands again.

Now, Elena narrowed her gaze and looked at Maya under her brow. It seemed she had something to say, but then simply sighed and turned away. “Who knows…”

Maya began pacing in her mind. Having a bipartite affinity was not a common occurrence. Could it be possible that they simply overlooked it since she arrived so late, and her Appraisal Ritual was rushed?

Due to her ability to see the dead, Maya couldn’t help but suspect there was something that differentiates her from the other mages in her ranks, but having dual elements… She’d never thought that would be it. It felt underwhelming and overwhelming at the same time.

‘But how did I miss it? Did I subconsciously suppress this aspect of my magic, hiding it even from myself?’

Although she had touched it herself, the aspect of magic was still mysterious to Maya. Air has become a part of her. It was unsettling to think that there was another power hiding within her, waiting dormant until she coincidentally recognized it.

‘Is it normal for witches, or mages, to not know which Element has chosen them until some specialized ritual? And not to recognize if more than one Element responded?’

Tapping into the feeling of disappointment of not truly knowing herself, Maya continued with her train of thought.

‘What does this mean for me?’

The question lingered.

“What do I do?” Maya took a deep breath. “I mean, I have to tell someone.”

Now, excitement began surging within her, and determination flickered in her eyes. After all her insecurities and fears coursed their path, Maya was left to finally feel joy.

‘This is a reward!’ Maya finally concluded.

She has been suffering lately, and perhaps another Element has blessed her in the meantime. Or she was awarded it from the start, but never stopped to think it was there.

“Oh, gods. I’m a bipartite!”

Maya started jumping around excitedly. The ecstasy of being special again washed over her.

After confirming and double-confirming with Elena showing her some basic stances, Maya decided that she should report it, and went straight to her guardian, the Headmistress. Surprised to find her still at her office at this hour, Maya recounted earlier events. Of course, leaving out the fact that it had happened outside the town walls.

Amanda was speechless. She had to see it with her own eyes, concerned that a prank had been played on Maya. Nevertheless, Maya was able to faithfully re-enact the most basic stances and manipulate water.

“I will correct the mistake we made. Maya, I am so sorry we missed something like this.”