Evening of Relaxation

[Deleted]

Adrain once again took the opportunity to spend a sunset time at the springs. He had rather grown fond of this place despite the awkward interactions that have been known to happen from time to time. The mage sat in the edge of a smaller pool that was surrounded by green, vibrant brush giving a natural, secluded theme. The scent of nature rang through the air as the fiery sky overhead allowed for relaxation enough. Adrain this time wasn't doing much work, but would simply trace a finger along the sky creating lines and strings of light mana to pass the time. He wore only bathing shorts, his other outfit bits under a small magic barrier nearby to keep them dry and unperturbed.

Serai meanwhile floated on his back in the warm water, paws in the air seemingly enjoying it as well, a faint scent of wet cat trying to corrupt the natural scent.

[Trésor de Lys]

    Tres had only been to the springs once before, but that had been sometime ago, around the same time when she started living with Aria in the forever forest. Needless to say it had been sometime since she had been anywhere near the springs. Tres walked in, taking a deep breath, taking in nature and steam.

    As Tres strolled into the springs, she heard the sound of splashing. Looking into the pool from afar she saw Adrain and his cat having fun in the springs. Tres smiled as she watched Adrain paint with light manna. In the corner, Tres slipped off her dress, exposing a blue two-piece bikini. The suit showed off her slender and toned body, her legs especially were toned and muscular, which was odd for an angel who could fly. She placed her dress very far away from the pool so not to get it wet, and made her way over to the pool, sneaking up behind Adrain. "Hi there stranger." she said poking her head next to Adrain, sliding her toes legs into the warm water. "Mind if I take a seat?"

[Deleted]

Adrain jumped a little, having been spaced out with his 'mana painting' and looks up at Tresor, the water splashing his face mildly, causing drips to fall from his hair as he looked at the angel with an amused smile. "Well sure, though should you talk to strangers half naked in the woods?" he says jesting waiting for Tresor to settle in. "Any particular reason bring you out here?" he inquires innocently enough.

Serai meanwhile fades to invisibility as he is frolicking around, the water doesn't stir right away. As Adrain sits quiet for a second, he begins to animate the water, having a small water dragon shaped mass move around, floating in front of Tresor drawing itself in figure eights. "Maybe I could teach you a little bit about water magic, if you want."

[Trésor de Lys]

Tres laughed at the man's jokes. "See, now normally I would avoid talking to strangers while I'm half-naked, but this one just seemed too interesting to ignore." she poked fun at him. "I could say the same for you." she inquired as he asked about why she came to the springs. "What? Can't an angel relax and have fun every once and a while?" she said splashing him again with a bit of water.

She then turned to see a dragon-like figure made out of water in front of her. "Whoa..." she said admiring it as it did figure-eights. She nodded in amazement, although it was a small trick, Tres had wanted to learn more about elements such as water and earth for a very long time. "Teach me your ways." she said.

[Deleted]

"Well if you say so." Adrain says with a humorous eye roll to Tresor while shrugging when Tresor asked as to why he was here at the springs. "I suppose I indulge in the waters more often with my abilities to teleport and portal since in the best case this would be most of a day's journey from the Arch if not longer. He raises his hand to block the water, a small current of air blowing the water off to the side since he didn't want to counter Tresor and possibly splash the water in her eyes.

"With water, you have to first tap into your base mana then convert it to a water element. This is done by channeling it through your circuit while being able to sync your mind and essence with that of water. It becomes easier with experience but the initial part of changing your natural mana type to that of a different element requires an effort until you are used to it. Attempt to form a sphere of water in your hand from the mana, since the natural mana in the air here leans to water it should be a little easier."

[Trésor de Lys]

Tres smiled, she never really thought Adrain to be the type to indulge. Although with their previous encounters, she wasn't very surprised. She felt a slight gust of wind that blew the strands around her hair back, and then turned her focus back to Adrain. Listening attentively to he old man's instructions, she nodded, affirming that she understood what to do.

When she was first created, she had no previous knowledge on healing manna, but learned quickly how to harness it. She remembered that she would be physically abused by Helena, or would be injured from battle. She would spend time to herself when she could, working on her magic. Though it was angelic, it was still necessary to maintain it once it was possessed.

Tres closed her eyes, taking in all that Adrain said, and envisioned her base manna. She could see a bright white light, sitting over a pool like a fog. She could reach out and touch it, creating ripples of light. She felt the steam being soaked in her skin, and she being to envision a ball of water taking form before her very eyes.

When she opened her eyes, she could see several droplets rising from the pool of the springs, morphing together into a sphere that levitated just above the water. Tres had to concentrate very hard, but her body felt relaxed. Her hands were held in front of her, shaping the sphere more and more until it was tightly packed into a perfect circle. She couldn't break her focus, and if it was broken, the water would fall back with the rest.

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"Once you're more comfortable with the conversion process it becomes easier to manipulate the water. I can see the tension on your face of trying to maintain it. How good is your concentration?" Adrain says with a mischievous wit to him as he moves just slightly behind Tresor and touches where the base of her neck connected to her back on the spine.

[Trésor de Lys]

    The tension on her face was only existent because the rest of her body felt relaxed. As she focused on the sphere before her, she heard the water move a bit, then felt the sensation of Adrain's callused hands against her neck. The sensation sent shivers down her spine, which distracted her focus, letting the water fall back into the pool. She turned towards Adrain, eyes full of shock and playfulness. "Hey!" she playfully splashed some water at the mage, then turned back towards the open pool.

    She focused again back on her internal manna, her eyes open this time, she extended her hands to help her focus and shape the next object. The water rose from the pool, making a serpent-shaped stream that circled in place. She would keep concentrated, trying to keep her cool and her focus. Her face was visually relaxed, as was her body. It was her eyes that were focused and piercing the space in front of her in concentration.

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"Good, good..." Adrain says, having ducked from Tresor's first splash and having to wipe the water from his eyes which stung just enough to make him question his choices in poking Tresor just then. "You're a fast study, now can you increase the size of the serpent?" he replies, continuing to observe Tresor. In the meantime, he manifested a light stream to float around the center of the area, shining a various number of lights over the evening mist mainly otu of feeling antsy to do something.

[Trésor de Lys]

Tres could feel herself getting tired, she hadn't felt this exhaustion in... well needless to say she's had a long life and hasn't had to do this for some time. She could feel her eyes getting heavy, but tried to maintain focus. She stopped the water serpent from spinning in circles, and began to focus on instead holding it still in the air, while making it grow in size. She could only do one thing at a time, even though she wanted to learn faster than that.

She reached back into her base manna, eyes shut, then opened them again to see more water droplets rising from the pool and into the snake. The snake did grow in size, but Tres felt herself grow more tired. She knew how to control the manna, but couldn't hold it for much longer. Visible sweat was dripping down the back of her neck, and he elbows were starting to bend. She held the snake in place in the air, waiting for a response from Adrain.

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"Good...good...but it's probably time to take a break. I don't want you to pass out from overexertion when you're in water that is hot and making your blood rise." Adrain says, then smiling and looking at her. "Anything I can get for you? I can teleport out and grab you a drink or food."

[Trésor de Lys]

Tres felt her blood boiling, not from anger, but rather from the heat that the water gave off, and the thickness of the air around them. Tres let the water fall from the air, dropping her arms, and plopping herself into the water. Tres floated for a while, catching her breath by breathing deeply. In, out. In, out. Her body felt light as she floated in the warm water, her hair dispersing with the movement from the water caused by the nearby cat.

She stood back up after washing away the sweat and relaxing her muscles. She turned to Adrain, sleeking back her wet hair. "I haven't felt that level of exhaustion in a while... it really has been sometime that I learned something new." she paused, taking in Adrain's offer. "I would really appreciate something of substance to eat... and maybe some wine." she added. When Adrain responded, she would slip back comfortably into the water.

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Adrain disappears in a flash when Tresor had mentioned her requests. It would take a about ten minutes for Adrain to return, but he manifested with a small basket in hand, pulling a glass out for Tresor and opening an old bottle of wine, a fifty years aged Novian Merlot, and then nudged the basket toward Tresor where there was a neatly arranged assortment of grapes, crackers, and cheese along with small cuts of meat.

"Hopefully this is good enough, the wine is nice, and there is a bottle of Wisdom Nectar in there for mental boosting if you want to add it to something." he says, as he then finishes pouring wine for Tresor as well as some for himself then settling back in the water, his abs just out of the water as he sat on the stone. "What did you think of that new form of magic?"

[Trésor de Lys]

In the time that Adrain was gone, Tres just floated in the hot water, her hair sprawling out forming almost a crown above her head. The warm water helped to sooth her aching muscles. After floating awhile, she submerged herself under the water for a moment, then rising from the pool, sleeking her hair back and out of the way.

When Adrain returned, she swam to the side of the spring to meet with Adrain. She peered into the basket and sampled some of the meats and fruits, enjoying the combination of sweet and salty flavours that danced on her tongue. She ate the meat for substance, and the fruit for the sugars. She then paired the cheese and fruits together, feeling the creaminess combine with the sweetness. "Thank you, this was a good idea." she said covering her half-full mouth. She took the glass from Adrain's hand, and took a small sip to taste. She then swirled the wine in her glass, and took another sip.

She took a seat next to him, setting herself on a rock that was deeper in the spring, but high enough that her bust was just out of the water. Tres propped her arms up against some rocks that were behind her, supporting herself. She took another sip just before Adrian asked her about how she felt. "Hm," she swallowed, "Interesting, its weird, I haven't had to work that hard for my magic in a very long time. So reaching for that base manna and using it to guide a new source was just... incredible." she smiled.

Tres took another sip before continuing, "Adrain, how long have you been practicing this magic for, and how did you discover that this was your passion?" she began, before he could answer, she reached into the basket and grabbed the bottle of Wisdom Nectar, taking a swig straight from the bottle. She set the bottle back down, and returned to her original stance, taking another sip of wine to wash down the incredible sweetness. "By the way, this wine is delectable."

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He nods and doesn't say anything to interrupt Tresor's eating, sampling the wine and swirling it in the glass just a little while he let his body readjust to the heat of the water upon reentering. He looks at Tresor as she sat back next to him, admiring her just a moment as she stretched and relaxed while thinking then realizing his eye had wandered, hoping that Tresor missed it.

"It is a rewarding feeling when it works, the wonders a mage can do could revolutionize the world and make life greater for everyone is fear and superstition weren't the norm. You have a knack for it, though you have a divine attribute so that might make it just a little easier for you, something you can take advantage of to speed up your learning process." he says with a small smile.

When Tresor asked how long he had been practicing magic for, he thought for just a bit before responding. "Magic...I've always been a natural, even a prodigy at it" he says, waiting for Tresor to recoil from going for the nectar before continuing. "Most people don't bother learning more than one or two elements, but to me it's very simple and natural like breathing. It's only natural to hone and keep the talent growing. What I want most is for mages to be a valued part of the world and not a subject of fear or oppression by those who don't choose to partake in it."