Magic is a lot harder than it looks.

Betilla remained silent as she observed the scene before her, leaning back against the table. As usual, there was a smile lurking on her face, but she didn't make it too obvious just yet. The praise was already warranted, but she wanted to see just how long she could keep it up, before handing out the accolades.

Her student gritted her teeth, concentrating on only the little sphere of light swirling between her open palms. Ly sat on the floor, looking just as small as most fairies her age, only making the intense focus on her face a bit comical. Her eyes were shut tight, her bushy blue tail twitching every now and again. Her talent was obvious, as was her dedication. Most of her kin around this age would much rather explore the Council's myriad chambers and the surrounding woods, than hone their abilities.

She leaned a bit forward, ready to finally call her off and offer some much-deserved congratulations. However, the sphere she conjured began to change and with it, Betilla's attention peaked even more. Ly could not see it with her eyes shut tight and the nymph wasn't quite sure she was even aware. A brilliant white light emerged within the otherwise yellow orb, slowly overtaking its color completely. It kept shifting, unable to take proper form. The power it held was something keenly familiar to Betilla. Familiar, yet almost bizarrely out of place. Her curiosity and bewilderment was quickly pushed aside by a concern for the young fairy's well-being.

Just as she could have finally stepped in to gently stop the flow of energy, the door swung open. It was sudden enough to divert both of their attentions for a moment, and that was more than enough for the little experiment to go awry. The peculiar sphere imploded with a loud pop, the shockwave luckily only managing to tousle her blue locks all around.

"I'm back!" Rayman announced, casually walking past the door frame.

He tapped his shoe on the door on the way in, ushering it back to a close. His hands were far too occupied with carrying the large basket of various fruits he's been out gathering, while Betilla was busy teaching. Unfazed by the silence, he placed the basket on the nymph's table and immediately picked out two shiny and ripe apples.

"Welcome back, sweetie." Betilla said, quickly back to normal as she was much more used to his entrances by now. "Thank you for the help. I hope you didn't run into any trouble."

"Nah, I had to climb a little, but everything went okay." he said, with that trademark bright smile on his face. He waved at Ly, though he didn't get much of a response besides a bewildered look on her face. "Are you still busy?"

"We're just finishing up." she said, glancing at her student. "Can you give us a few more minutes?"

"Sure! I'll be in the garden!" his words were a bit garbled by the large bites he just took from the apple, but that was also something Betilla had gotten used to by now.

Without even thinking much of anything, Rayman tossed the apple in his other hand, managing to land it right in Ly's lap. Job well done, he took his leave as suddenly as he arrived, leaving the fairy in stunned silence over the audacity. In an instant, Ly's face flushed with anger over his interference, and the way he just seemed to brush the whole thing off, like nothing happened. She turned away from the door and raised her hands again, intent on trying to save face before her teacher.

Before she could start pooling together any energy though, she felt Betilla's hands clasping her own together and she had to open her eyes again.

"That'll be enough for today, Ly." the nymph said, smiling softly. "You're getting better by the day."

"But I can still keep going! I'm not tired at all!" she insisted, still red as a Lum. "He just startled me!"

"Yes, he does that a lot." Betilla chuckled. Ly's hands were still almost uncomfortably warm from the energy use. "But we should still stop for now. You're tired."

"I'm not!" she protested, though she quickly lowered her voice so as not to be disrespectful. "I'm not tired at all."

"Yes, you are. You're just too young to admit it." her teacher insisted. Her tone was kind as always, but carried the firmness of a teacher. "An important part of magic is knowing your limits. Pushing yourself too hard will only hurt you in the end."

Ly lowered her head, pouting over this immense injustice. She almost wanted to toss the fruit she had been given, but her stomach won out. The nymph had to restrain her laughter over how angrily she began to munch the apple, like it was the most perfect outlet to her frustrations.

"I'll visit you in the Council tomorrow. Until then, you may brush up on some of the basics again." she held up a finger as a warning. "But no magic without supervision, understood?"

"Yes, Betilla." she sighed.

Her ears lowered a bit, though Betilla could have sworn they did that when she mentioned the Council, rather than the need for supervision. She made a mental note to ask around later on. For now, she just helped the spry little fairy to her feet again. She pat Ly's head, her cheeks reddening slightly.

"Sunset should still be a couple hours away, so you can still play with Rayman, if you wish to."

"No!" she shook her head. "He ruined everything!"

"He didn't know." Betilla smiled, trying hard not to giggle. "If he did, I'm sure he'd apologize."

Ly crossed her arms in the exact same way she would see adults do. It just didn't have the same effect from someone a few feet shorter.

"You don't have to, if you don't want to." she continued, soothing her student's hurt pride. "But he often asks about when you might be coming over to study. I think he wants to be your friend."

She picked her head up, looking more confused than anything else, as if she didn't know what to do with that fact. It didn't seem like she was all that familiar with the idea in general. A minor thing, but Betilla made sure to remember nonetheless.

"Oh. Maybe I'll talk to him, I guess…"

The nymph leaned down and embraced the little one for a moment, which at least seemed to restore her mood. "Don't stay out too late, alright? I will see you tomorrow for our next lesson."

Ly nodded in agreement and returned the hug, a smile finally appearing on her face, much to Betilla's delight. She went over to the door, the apple Rayman had given her still in her hand.

"Bye!" she called out, waving at her, before leaving to hopefully meet up with the limbless waiting outside.

Once she left, Betilla remained deep in thought. There were a few things Ly's development that made feel a little concerned, but the most peculiar part was still that sphere she had conjured up. The nature of it was unlike what she had grown to expect from fairies and its existence, however brief, was a sign of a much different potential, than she initially assumed of the fairy.

A faint light from her window caught her attention, but rather than ease her worries, it just confirmed them. Just outside the glass, she could see a few Lums floating around. Red and purple by the looks of it, they clinked against the glass softly, as if drawn to her home. It wasn't hard for her to guess why. After all, the residual energy from Ly's sphere was still heavy in the air, even if somewhat difficult to pick up without a finely honed sense for the arcane.

Firm in her decision, Betilla returned to her private room and sat down at her desk. She pulled out a few parchments from the drawer and began to write. She was never the biggest fan of letters, but her other means were cumbersome over such long distances. A little while later she had several letters penned and ready to be delivered, all of them sealed with a particular magic only her fellow nymphs would know how to break. Once done, she leaned back in her chair, lost in thought. There were still too many things she could only guess at, but nonetheless, the somewhat ominous feeling in her insides worried her.

She learned the hard way to trust her instincts.

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