Plants and Laundry.

[Anne's POV]

With Jack leaving to deal with some issues of his own, this left me with Randall. 

Our feet, shielded by a pair of regular shoes, crushed the grass beneath us. With the wind barely and softly swirling around us, our movements led us to the nearby river.

For obvious reasons, we had to go far higher up the bank, as privacy wasn't something negotiable. And if we had to spend thirty extra minutes climbing uphill, then so be it.

A glance went towards the spare hoods he carried. They were big enough to act as our spare clothes. Granted, it'd never be the same as proper pants and shirts, due to the covered surface not being anywhere near the same…

'Still, it's the best we got.'

… A few weeks ago, I'd have never imagined being stuck in this sort of situation. 

Living like that was easier.

'For sure.'

Maybe I should have brought an extra pair of shirts… Or not. I'm not sure if hiding all of that in the cave beforehand would have been possible.

'Haa… regardless,'

It is what it is.

"This should be far enough."

The faraway town remained within my sight, albeit I couldn't make out too many details. There's the sand-like walls, and the many houses littered around the three circles. The number definitely surpassed the hundreds.

No one seemed to be coming towards here, so… Looks like we'll be alone for a while.

"I guess it's time to clean up," I spoke. Soon after, he handed over my hood, and headed to the river. 

… Well, there's not much to talk about here. He washed his spare set of clothes mostly in silence, though had to resort to using only water. 

In this environment, my thoughts drifted off.

'... Let's take things slow.'

Right. There's enough to think about, and I rarely get breaks like this to ponder. 

Such as…?

'I don't regret leaving the Academy behind, and the school… Even if they helped me greatly in becoming the woman I am today, that's it. Sticking with them for longer would have led me down the path of the mindless followers.'

Thanks, Mother and Father. You two allowed me to outrun that desolate land of ignorance that threatened to grip me until everything but the broken husk wearing my name remained. 

I hope they're doing well.

'They should be. Even if I defected, both of them are still Apostles at the end of the day…'

… Correct.

They won't hesitate in cutting me down.

So I have to reply in kind-

"Anne?"

'Uh?'

Glancing at my side, I spotted Lle-... I mean, Randall, just staring at me curiously. "Is there an issue?"

"... No. Nothing."

Clearing my throat, I quickly shafted the topic towards the laundry. 

"Ah, yes, I just finished-"

"Then let's train. You'll need to grow some understanding of your magic abilities if you seek to become stronger."

He sighed, and carried both the sack along with his wet clothes. Our walk took us from the river to a rather nice clearing.

A few rocks flourished within the violet grassland, splashing some variety of gray amidst the figurative sea of purple. The hot sun clearly shone down on everything, including ourselves.

I walked towards one of the largest, yet clearly most damaged boulders, and brought my penblade to this realm.

One single swing later, the upper crust of the stone slowly slid down towards the grass.

Not a big deal.

"You can leave your rags there to dry. Or not, it's up to you."

He opted to do so, though the end result was rather sloppy. 'They'll end up with wrinkles that way.'

Whatever. 

"Anyway, we should start. First, the basics: you do know how to create a hexagon with your miasma, right?"

"Yes." He extended his palm, and a six-sided purple figure soon appeared. The edges were far from straight, almost leading it to look more like a circle than a proper hexagon… But at least it isn't an actual circle.

Which is good.

… nevermind, it dissipated as quickly as it came.

"That works… Anyway, I'll start by asking you a fairly important question: How do you want to manipulate magic?" 

Shreds of confusion appeared on his blue-ish, slightly toned stick-long face. "What do you mean by how?... I suppose I'd want to use it well?"

… Resist, Anne.

He's probably saying that out of ignorance, and not because he's a smart ass. He has to be.

Breathe in… Breathe out…

There we go.

"That… Of course, but that wasn't the intention of that question. What I meant was, what kind of mage do you want to be?"

Silence. 

He sat down on the grass, and crossed his legs. Sometimes, that blue hand of his would caress his own cheek.

"... I want to fight," stated the demon, after two full minutes of silence.

Hah… Even with another self, his body remains as that of a warrior. And one of the few specialists in using Plant magic for combat, unlike the overwhelming majority.

"... I guess some things never change."

"What?"

"Nevermind, let's start."

Accepting it, the blue skinned demon created a hexagon in a similar manner. It lasted even less than the last one. "Again."

…

A few hours have passed… actually, no  that's a blatant lie. We spent almost the full day here. But I'll be screwed if it wasn't worth it.

My eyes remained drawn to a particularly small cloud of pollen. A cloud purely created through Randall's magic. 

'One of Llen's most common spells. A huff of dust that, as it is, merely disturbs the opponent's sight.'

Most plant mages know how to use it, since it's a beginner spell… He had dozens of variations of this one spell, though. In fact, one of them even allowed him to "become" invisible.

The shock of that day is still imprinted on my mind.

… Regardless, Randall spending a day learning to use a single spell was worth it. Even if using it in combat isn't worth it due to his lack of casting speed.

"You've done enough."

I picked up Randall's dried up clothes, and the both of us returned to Jack's place.