Azure tapped her fingers against each other as she stared at Aqua, "You are too nice to me…" She looked down at the floor, and her ears twitched. "I will do my best to soak up any knowledge you bestow upon this ignorant elf, teacher!"
Aqua couldn't help but crack a small smile. "That's the spirit! Give me your hands again."
Azure smiled as she placed her palms onto Aqua's hands. Aqua closed her eyes before quickly being followed by Azure. She felt a spark of flame guide her once more.
"Listen to my instructions carefully." Aqua's flame danced around her as she materialized a rope of aether. She attempted to grab it, yet she failed. Much like water, it merely passed through her hand.
"Your issue is with focus; you must keep focus as you grasp at the string." The flame danced around the string. "Do not move your hands, you must imagine the rope as if it were solid. Aether is both solid and not; you must change your view depending on the situation."
Azure focused, her gaze peered into the string. Her mind narrowed as she attempted to force the rope of Aether into a solid form. "Good, now try to touch it.". Azure did not break her focus as she wrapped her imaginary fingers around it.
Azure's mind shook; she was overtaken by worry that she would not be able to split the aether, yet Aqua had believed in her. There was no room for doubt. She steeled her mind once again and gripped the Aether.
This time it did not phase through her imaginary hands, instead she could feel it within them. The excitement overtook her, and her concentration broke. The rope phased through as Azure desperately tried to catch it.
"Do not let excitement take over. Try Again." The voice came from the spark of flame once again. Azure's brows furrowed as she focused once again. She would not allow it to slip out again.
The rope gained the solid property once more; however, this time, Azure would not fail. She slowly wrapped her mind's fingers around the rope, and instead of phasing through, she gripped it. Yet she refused to get excited; this was merely a start.
"Great work! Now unravel it, see the threads that form the aether, you must split them, once split, they will release mana. Push your finger through the tip." The flame flickered, and Azure nodded.
She pushed her fingers against the small threads. Slowly and steadily, they pushed apart. "Just like Sheira, do not unravel it fully, only the controlled part you need. I don't want you to explode."
Azure panicked for a moment as she unravelled the Aether. However, she felt a sense of calm wash over her as she finally stopped, and then she felt a large amount of mana fill her mind and soul.
"Just as I thought, you are a prodigy." As the flame disappeared, Azure's eyes finally fluttered open. In front of her, she found smiling Aqua. Azure couldn't help but smile in turn. Aqua's expressions were far too addictive.
"I can't believe I did it!" Azure looked at her palms with visible excitement. She squirmed as if she was about to pounce on Aqua; however, she restrained herself. The body that never felt what it was to be fully filled with mana was now brimming with it.
She had access to more mana than even the most elite mages of the Elven Kingdom. Although she could not use it to do acts of magic yet, she could use this mana for physical enhancement. What Aqua had taught her would empower her more than any training would do.
Her lips stretched into a grin as she turned to Aqua, "This is absolutely amazing! You are amazing, Aqua!" Her eyes peered into Aqua's for a moment before she pounced on her. Her arms wrapped around the redhead tightly as she pulled them both to the floor.
"Azure?" Aqua spoke in utter confusion as the eager girl nuzzled against her chest. "What's wrong?"
The elf champion raised her head forward before burying it in Aqua's chest again, "What? I am merely thanking you! I feel like I was reborn!"
Aqua's lips stretched into a line, "You really don't need to be so touchy… but fine." Her hands moved through Azure's hair gently. Azure closed her eyes as she relaxed, "If Sheira sees me like this…" She spoke in a muffled voice.
"See you like what? Being intimate with our heroine?" Azure froze. Her head cracked towards the Princess, who stood above them with her hands on her hips and a smug expression on her face.
In a moment, Azure rolled away, ripping herself out of Aqua's hands. "N… No! Could you not appear every time I want to hug her!" Azure's cheeks puffed out slightly.
"Heh~ So you need more time to finish the job, huh? Sure, I will leave you alone. However, I felt you successfully produced mana, so I wanted to congratulate you." Her gaze wandered to Aqua, who patted down her clothes. "I did not expect you to immediately pounce on your teacher."
Azure's ears slumped down, yet Sheira was not done. She grinned with her usual smugness. Azure was about to gag her; however, Sheira was faster. "My Azure is a pervert kyaaa!"
"Are you two done?" Aqua approached them. Her hands were crossed, and she pushed her chest slightly up. "I did not expect Azure to harness aether that easily. But I am very proud of you both, words cannot describe it."
Azure stared at the floor, but Sheira nudged her with her elbow.
"Since you two were so incredibly fast, I will have time to teach you a single basic spell. Tell me, girls, what do you wish for? Fire, Water, Earth, Air… Elemental spells are all incredibly basic; however, if you master them, you will gain immense power."
Sheira leaned to Azure and whispered, "You wish to get under her skirt~"
"SHUT UP!" Azure raised her hand and hit her dear friend so hard that she was sent rolling. Instantly after Sheira fell to the ground, Azure rushed after her to catch her.
Aqua sighed, "Enough girls, stop playing. Sheira will do well with fire, for Azure, I would recommend earth; however, that is merely a suggestion. I will let you choose."
"I think we should go with heroine's suggestion, what do you think, Azu?" Sheira rubbed the back of her head as she spoke.
"I agree, Aqua knows best when it comes to this. Also, Azu? Really?" She raised her brow as she questioned the princess.
Clap
Aqua's lips stretched into a wide smile. "Excellent, Sheira, you can start by throwing a fireball, and Azure can start by creating an earth spike in the air."
"Both of you can feel the mana you created, right?"
Both girls nodded in acknowledgement.
"Now it's time to weave it. Same as Aether was a rope, mana is a mere thread that you need to sew into a form you desire." Aqua cupped her hands together. The mana flowed inside her before she formed it into a ball of fire. Soon, on the second hand, the mana hardened and formed the earth.
"When forming fire, you need to imagine it as an everburning pyre; you need to work as a seamstress to then bring that image to reality. For earth, you can imagine it as a steadfast mountain, Immovable yet much like stone can be shaped, so can it." Aqua clenched her fists, and both disappeared.
She pointed her finger towards them as she held her elbow with the other hand."Try it. I will carefully observe you."
As expected, Sheira was able to instantly weave a ball of flame, "I did it!" She said chipperly before the ball extinguished itself.
"Sheira, focus. You do not have enough mastery to not focus!" Aqua shouted.
"Sorry!" She opened her hand again and created a ball of flame. "How long do I keep at it?"
"I want you to concentrate for 15 minutes, while you make it bigger and bigger. If you fail, you will do it again and try until you succeed." Aqua's comment made Sheira shrink back. "15 whole minutes?!"
"This is training, now stop complaining."
"Ugh.. fine!" Sheira frowned as she locked her gaze on the ball of flame.
Azure giggled before she focused on her task; she attempted to form a spike of earth. Unlike Sheira, she was not able to make instant success; however, after a couple of failed attempts, she formed a large Earth spike above her hand.
"Good job!" Azure was about to break her focus, but Aqua interrupted her, "Focus! Only listen, do the same as Sheira. Keep the form of your spell for 15 minutes. I will observe you."
They are both so impressive. It made her heart feel warm in a way it had not been in centuries. These girls truly felt like they were her family. Yet she refused to allow herself to truly let down her guard.