Stunned and trembling from the altercation, Lana ambled her way to her tree and tried getting her kitchen set up and food grown before the others arrived. She was shaken and kept asking the trees if the monster could be seen anywhere and to inform her immediately if he returned.
Lana somehow managed to get everything up and ready by the time the group arrived. Her hands were still trembling and her voice was a little shaky. Dobin noticed immediately and offered to help her with prep work. She leaned over close to his ear as she cut vegetables, "Pucket is here. I think he has an ability. I never even saw him. He attacked me and shoved me against a tree…"
Her voice cracked and she could speak no more. She finished preparing the vegetables and got them cooking in a vegetable stew then looked at the steaks.
She put on a smile and turned to her friends, "What is everyone's preferences?"
They each gave their response excitedly then sat at the table while Kattie stood at the side with plates to put the steaks on as they finished cooking. Soon everyone was eating and Lana did her best to forget what happened earlier. She was getting to know her friends and liked the feeling of having other people to talk to. She loved Dobin but he wasn't very good at conversating. She also enjoyed hearing their praises about her culinary capabilities. Dobin ate everything in sight so his insight in the quality of her cooking could not be trusted.
"Oh, I forgot to ask you guys. Since you wanted to pay for the purchases from the store, did you need Alto and Dobin to reimburse you guys?" Lana chimed in on the finances.
Kattie responded, "Just give us each 2 credits and we'll be even. It's great you are protecting them like that."
Lana smiled and gave 2 credits each from Dobin and Alto so that Kattie and Almin each had 2 more credits. She then updated the accounting sheets right there so she would not forget. Lana looked exhausted so Kattie suggested cleanup and head back so they could all get a good rest before classes in the morning. Tomorrow would be the first day of combat classes and being refreshed would be beneficial at the very least. They cleaned up as a group ensuring nothing was left behind. Leftover food was brought back and it was decided that would be the rule with each meal. Both rooms would benefit from the day's harvest as they were all guilty of studying late at times, especially Dobin.
Back in their rooms, Lana taught Kattie the evening meditation then crawled into bed. This time, she wore the cloth gag she used to wear to keep her screams in the night silent.
***
Kattie was getting the hang of the morning meditation so it didn't take as long as the day before. Once they were showered and ready, Kattie turned to Lana, "What happened yesterday while we went to the store?"
Lana instantly looked scared, "I really don't want to talk about that right now."
Kattie nodded and soon there was a knock at their door.
When the guys showed up to escort the girls to breakfast, Lana noticed something different. Dobin's watch was now displaying a "2". She got excited and gave him a big hug. "now we need to find out how we get you the next book."
The morning passed uneventful. They all decided to bring the remnants of dinner to the boys' room and eat lunch that way. They then split off to attend first day of their combat classes. Kattie and Almin were surprised at the size of the building which resembled a dojo. The instructor, Leo, told them all to choose a weapon they thought best suited them. Almin had a bit of a laid-back personality and surprised Kattie by choosing a battle ax. Kattie had a hard choice. She picked up a sword and liked the feel of the hilt but hated the weight and swinging it just felt wrong to her. By the end of the class, she was still having trouble deciding. She finally settled on wielding dual daggers.
In elemental class, everyone enjoyed their first spars. Alto and Dobin were both level two and faired okay against equal levels but when paired with a level 4 earth ability, Dobin struggled. Once class ended, he asked the teacher about a level 2 ability book. He was told all books were handed out by General Duke and he would get an invitation to discuss getting one if Dobin desired one. "May I ask if there is a requirement by him to get a book from him?" The teacher nodded with a frown in her face. Dobin's head drooped, and he walked out of class with the waiting Alto as they headed back to their rooms to wait on Lana to see what the agenda was for the evening.
In Agricultural club, the teacher got a shock when he saw Lana's watch. "Shouldn't you be in a combat class?"
Lana shook her head but she wasn't looking at the teacher. She had been looking around the classroom and the adjacent greenhouse and was a bit worried. Instead of giving a more substantial answer to the teacher, she walked up to one of the plants that looked the sickest and placed a hand on it, healing it. "Is there a reason these plants are so ill kept?"
Her teacher, Barry Elder, grinned. "Your ability has to do with plants. That makes more sense now. I'm not sure how I can be of assistance but what do you feel you need to learn?"
Lana grinned broadly, "I need to know all the plants, what they look like, how to grow them, and what culinary and medicinal properties they possess."
He gestured to a wall lined with books. She placed her hands over her heart "Can I just move my bed in here?"
He laughed. "As for the question you had about the plants, one of the assignments is to treat a plant of my choosing and restore it to health. I'm afraid this class is geared for those with no ability so you will be a bit bored."
She nodded, "also, I'm into experimenting on the medicinal and culinary sides. If you think I will get bored, is it possible to have an area designated for me to experiment?"
"Let's discuss that after class." He was right, she was bored. She had learned all this already as the first few weeks were going to be about plant basics, reproduction, essentially fourth grade science level of agriculture. There were seven level-1 ability users and two level-2 users plus herself.
Once class was over she approached her teacher. "You're right, that was boring," she chuckled.
"I think to help you, I need to understand what you want to get out of my class."
"My ability works based on what I can visualize." She walks to an empty pot that's in the greenhouse and fills it. "An example is," she places her hand on the top of the pot, "Tomato" and a tomato plant sprouted just enough to get some tomatoes. She didn't want to show off too much. "Now, if I knew what species I wanted to grow and what it looked like," she gets another pot, puts dirt in it and places it next to the first one. She placed a hand on it like normal "Solanum lycopersicum" and a different tomato plant grew to the same size. "For me, cooking is a hobby, a way to ensure my twin and I are properly nourished. What I'm really interested in is the medicinal and nutritional use of plants. One thing I'm thinking of is my brother wants to be a traveler. If I can adapt my ability to feed him and heal his wounds, it would make me the ultimate support for his plans. If I can, what I would like is to grow a willow tree in this area and learn to not only grow these plants as I learn them but also to experiment with them to determine the best way to use them in combat situations. I know there are people with the healing ability but there are not enough of them and I don't want my brother to die because there is no healer around."
Barry nodded. "You have an original ability that seems to be a great asset. I can allow you to do this. Pick a spot within the fenced in area for your tree. You'll notice our grounds are the biggest on campus. Provide me with a list of equipment you will need and I'll have it to you as soon as I can."
Lana smiled, "thank you!"
With that, she sent a message to Dobin.
Go to dinner. I'm going to be quite a while.
And she headed off to find the perfect spot for her new sanctuary.