I Don't want to preach

" Robin Bassett ! Come out . I did not teach you to be a coward. " Claire hissed at him. 

Robin eased himself from behind Zayne, but he slumped in the wheelchair, trying to play the disabled child concept to the maximum. 

The three unconscious children are placed on the beds, and three glasses were behind Claire, making sugar water with slime jellies. It's a dehydration cure like drink, which can raise mana levels fast. 

The necks of all the unconscious children raised a little at the same time, Zayne walked over to hold their noses, making them open their mouths. 

Three little balls of the jellied water, just enough for a single gulp, rose from the glasses, fell in to mouths of the children at the same time. Some choked a little, but all gulped down the liquid. The process repeated for two more gulps. At this point, Claire stopped and waited. 

Children should be awake by now. 

Just as she was getting tense, Zayne spoke. 

" I know you are awake. You can get up honestly, or you can get up after getting beaten. " he threatened them. 

The three got up reluctantly. 

Claire looked a bit surprised that even Dolce, who's just six, knew to play dead to avoid getting a lecture. 

She really didn't want to preach, but … this is probably why people do not awaken children. Since she already made the stupid decision of having them awaken, she will just have to take responsibility and preach them now. 

" Drink. " Claire ordered, and the three restoration drinks floated in front of the three children. 

They obediently took the glasses and drank. Once Claire confirmed their bodies are alright, they joined Brie and Robin in their pedestal of shame. 

" Explain to me what you were doing. " Claire asked, her eyes icy cold. Dolce was about to cry, but Zayne stopped him with a single glare. 

In the end, Dolce could only put up with tears hanging from his lashes. 

" We wanted to build a bridge. " Prudence spoke. 

" We were digging the foundation for the pillars. " Credence added. 

" This involved exploding the ground from under your feet ? " Claire asked. 

" I wanted to be the ultraman. Lift the mountain, put a pillar underneath it. " 

" Just what is your excuse for not stopping this madness ? " Claire asked Brie. 

The children are a bit too young to understand the futileness and stupidity of the situation, but Brie is not too young. She is thirteen, yes, but she should have more than known that expelling that amount of mana is dangerous, not just to her but also to her siblings. 

" I … did not expect it to be so big. " Brie mumbled, hanging her head. 

Claire glared at her. 

" A lie. You thought since you could heal them from minor injuries, you can also heal them from fatal injuries. However, Brie, in such an explosion, it's very easy to lose a life in an instant. You can heal the living, but can you bring back the dead ? It is sheer dumb luck most of them are not injured. A human reaction takes far longer than a rock flying at thousand meters per second." Claire asked her. 

Brie started crying in answer. She did expect a spectacle, but she most definitely did not expect the explosion as big as that. What Claire said was correct. For a second there, her heart dropped to her stomach when she watched the size of the explosion. 

If not for Robin's extreme skill, and like Claire put, ' Sheer dumb luck ' her siblings would have died. 

" I was perceiving them. I would have gotten them out if it's dangerous. " Robin came to protect Brie. 

" Did you, now ? Why were you hiding behind Zayne if you were so confident ? " Claire snarked. 

Robin shrunk immediately. 

" And you three ? Who gave you the brightest idea to use all your mana at once ? I clearly remember warning you against doing such a thing when I had you awaken ! " Claire shot. 

The three who just woke shrunk again. 

" not all the mana. " Credence began. 

" Only as much as we can expel. " Prudence added. 

" I want to use an Ultrapower attack. '' Dolce said under the glares of his siblings. 

" From now on, you are all prohibited from using your powers unless I or Zayne give permission. " Claire said angrily. 

Then she looked at Zayne. 

" That means in any circumstance other than for self defense, against a kidnapper, beast or such, not against each other or your friends. " Zayne tried to glare at the children like Claire is glaring at them. 

The children all hung their heads. 

" You may return to your rooms. Brie, you will write a five thousand word essay on how many ways what you have done could have gone wrong, as well as about your understanding about the situations where you can and can not use your power. " 

" You two, you will write a two thousand word essay about your understanding of using your powers and the consequences of not getting it right. " Claire said, pointing to the twins. 

" You two will do a one hour speech about what could have gone wrong today, and why being an Ultraman is a bad job. " she glared at Dolce and Robin. 

Dolce was going to rebel, but Robin quelled it with a single glare. 

" You may return to your rooms. Reflect upon your actions. You are all grounded for three months. " Claire added. 

The children pouted, each returning to their room. 

Zayne sat beside her, just providing company. After some time, Claire spoke. 

" I apologize for Robin's actions, Zayne. I never expected he would encourage such dangerous behavior. " She said gently. 

For Zayne, who was already ready to blow, it has just become the spark that ignited his blow up. 

" Fly us out. To the cliff. " He ordered her. 

Claire, who sensed the anger rolling off Zayne, immediately did so, half out of coercion, half out of real concern that he would blow up. If a fire mage of Zayne's caliber loses control, it's equal to a volcanic eruption. 

Her feelings are mixed as she flies him up to the cliff. 

Once they are on the cliff, Zayne pointed at the sea, releasing most of his mana, not with any mana circles, but like the pure wildfire that they are. 

The sea boiled over, drenching the entire area in fog. 

" What am I to you, Claire ? " 

" My teammate, ofcourse. " she answered all too fast. 

" Your teammate ! Ha ! Teammate ! Fuck teammate … ! Claire. I like you. How about you ? " he asked. 

Claire stayed silent. 

" Why can't you speak ? It's a simple yes or no question. Or do you think of me as a scumbag who takes revenge for a rejection ? " Zayne asked, full of hurt. 

Claire thought for a moment. 

" I .. am not sure. I have never been in a relationship. I never intended to be in a relationship in this life. In this world, no one can live forever. I just don't want to invest my emotions, only to face a loss. " she answered hesitantly. 

" You meant to keep me as a spare tire ? " Zayne was shocked. 

" umm… I wanted to be friends with benefits. " she looked away with a blush. 

" You want me to be a boytoy ? " Zayne was even more shocked and embarrassed. 

" Hey ! keep it down. " she hissed. 

Zayne, even in a thousand years, hadn't expected this is her idea. 

" Moreover, what boytoy ? I am inexperienced, you are inexperienced, and we are raising children together. If we have differences, are you going to let them affect children ? In my experience friendship goes longer than love. I just want to keep being friends. Is that so strange ? " she asked, unable to understand his over reaction. 

If there's an emoji to express Zayne's emotion, it would be a chicken scrawl. 

Zayne just did not understand what Claire meant at all, till he remembered Caspian. 

" You want to openly cheat ? Isn't that what being friends with benefits all about ? " Zayne was livid. 

The heat around them picked up once more. 

" What in the world goes on in that head of yours ? Why does keeping any relationship between us low-key become cheating openly ? " Claire could not understand his brain circuits at all. 

" So, do we have a relationship ? " Zayne asked, cooling a little. 

Claire took a deep breath. 

" This time around, I am going to explain for once, and you will listen to the end without interruptions. I do not form bonds easily. I do not make promises lightly. Being a girlfriend is a promise and a bond at the same time. Just now, we have spoken but for half a minute, and you can see as clearly as I, we do not speak the same language. In a relationship, your expectations are vastly different from mine. I do not have the confidence to give you the love you want, and I will not make such a promise. I do not dislike you, at the same time, I do not think you asked me to be your girlfriend on a whim. So, I don't want to turn you down thoughtlessly. " Claire explained. 

Zayne got it. He is too precious as a comrade for her to risk becoming his girlfriend. If he rushes for a relationship at this point, she would rather pull away. 

" You will not date anyone while we are friends." Zayne said with finality. 

" We will go on at least one date in a month. " he added after some thought, just to see if she will reject it.