Chapter 20. The Magic Tests.
Gavin was restless all night. He couldn't wait to learn about magic. He would have tried taking the test the night before, but Erza was adamant about waiting until his mana had fully recovered the next morning. Gavin sighed but gave in. He was never able to argue or change her mind once it was set. They all relaxed after dinner that first night. They had a simple campfire dinner consisting of some cheeseburgers and hot dogs over the fire. Lyla had brought a campfire grate and stuck it on the hot fire once the flames died down. They used hot coals to cook the burgers and hotdogs.
After they ate dinner and cleaned up, they tossed the paper plates into the fire. As the evening wore on, all five of them were lounging in their chairs around the campfire. The sun was low across the horizon and cast beautiful colors across the sky. Gavin looked up and smiled at the peace and serenity he felt at that moment. Erza laughed at something Aria said as she looked over and noticed the peaceful expression on Gavin's face. "Enjoying yourself baby?" He didn't respond right away, so she nudged him.
Gavin was startled, lost in his own thoughts. He turned to see her soft expression on her face as she looked at him. "Huh? Oh yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about how peaceful it is out here and how beautiful the sunset was," he said as he looked back up.
Erza followed his gaze and understood his thoughts. The sky looked as if it was on fire from all the red, orange and yellow streaks that flew across it. It was a cloudless evening, so there was nothing to block the light of the fading sun. "Yeah, it really is beautiful tonight," she said as she scooted her chair closer to his. She closed her eyes and leaned against him. He smiled and grabbed her hand, giving it a tender squeeze. Tessa rolled her eyes at the display.
Aria sighed as she leaned forward and rubbed her hands over the fire, enjoying its warmth. "We've been working so hard on that project, a vacation like this was much overdue," she said lazily.
Lyla stretched her arms over her head and yawned. "That's no joke. But the payout we got for completing that special update was incredible. It helped pay for all the damage to the studio after the attack. Even got me a new computer out of it." Lyla grinned.
The soft buzzing of insects filled the campsite as they talked among themselves, a peaceful background noise amidst the soft conversation. "Yeah, your old one was getting bad. At least you didn't have to pay for it yourself out of pocket." Aria pointed out the benefits.
It felt good for all of them to discuss what happened that night. They used some of the money to get repairs done and upgraded the security of the studio. They installed a facial ID scanner, and had all of them programmed in. It also came with a back-up key in case of a power outage. It wasn't much, but it allowed them to feel a modicum safer in the studio.
"Hey Erza," Gavin called out suddenly. Gavin wanted to pick her brain about something.
Erza turned from facing Lyla, her face illuminated by the colors of the fire. Red and orange colors highlighted her soft features and made her scarlet red hair appear to dance in the evening light. "Yeah babe?"
Gavin swallowed hard, the way she looked against the light of their small fire took his breath away. Like a goddess among them with her amber eyes glowing softly in the fading light and the way her hair appeared to dance. She was breathtaking to him.
Gavin cleared his throat before he asked her, "Is there any way to increase one's mana amount in their bodies, or to perform stronger, higher-level spells?"
Erza paused for a moment in thought, her finger resting against her chin. "I've heard rumors that the academies have access to relics or other such ways to increase the total mana in one's body, and according to rumors, they have access to ancient texts that help explain more complicated levels of magic." Her tone was quiet and thoughtful as she considered the answer.
"I'm not sure what exactly those methods require. I only know the basics of magic." She rubbed her arms, warming them up against the cooling night air. "I've never really studied magic much before, so I don't know much more than basic uses."
"That's fair. I was just curious." Gavin nodded as he fought back a yawn. The day's expenditure of mana really wore him out. "Will it become easier, shifting I mean?" He looked at the three shifters around the fire. He loved how he felt when he was shifted. The power, strength, and intensity were almost intoxicating.
Aria nodded her head as she looked over at Gavin. "Once you get used to shifting, the drain and toll it takes on your body becomes easier to bear. Eventually, you won't really feel the drain from prolonged shifting." Her voice was quiet as she got up and walked over to the cooler. She reached down to grab a can of beer out of the white cooler. She cracked the top and took a long deep drink.
"Hey, toss me one of those too," Lyla called out excitedly as she reached her hand out. Aria laughed as she grabbed a second can and tossed it over. Erza shook her head and reached out her hand. Aria grinned as she tossed the red head a can of beer. All three girls took a long, deep drink of the ice-cold beer and sighed in contentment.
Gavin and Tessa shared a look of annoyance. Sometimes it wasn't fair hanging out with older friends. "A few more years and you can join the big kids." Aria's voice called out, filled with mirth.
The sun was now well past the horizon as the shadows of the night started creeping in. The campsite was lit up by the campfire, the flames casting giant human-shaped shadows across the open field. Tessa walked over to the picnic table to turn on a couple of the camping lanterns they brought with them. She left one on the table and brought the other over to the fire with her. "So, Erza, tomorrow, I want to learn magic with Gavin," Tessa turned in her chair to face Erza.
"Sure, that won't be a problem." Erza nodded. She already planned on helping the girl. She just wished the tense attitude of Tessa would have eased up since Gavin came home from the hospital. I think she's still angry with me. "It will all just depend on what elements you can attune to during the test," she informed the younger girl.
"Right. So, we take the test, and that will tell us what kind of magic we can learn?" Tessa thought she understood some of the basics, but she wanted to be sure. This was an entirely new experience for her.
Erza nodded with a gentle smile, barely lifting the corners of her mouth. "That's right, Tessa. We will bring out six small crystals. You will take turns holding each one and pouring your mana into them. If they light up and show a runic symbol on the side, then that means you can attune and learn that basic elemental magic. If nothing happens, then you won't be able to learn it," she explained while she took another swig from the beer.
"Yeah, most, and I mean like ninety percent, of the world," Lyla interrupted as she leaned forward to look at Tessa and Gavin before she continued, "Can use at most two elements. So don't get your hopes up on what you can use. Scientists speculate, the kind of magic people can use, is deeply engrained into their personality and soul."
"Each of us can only use one element each." A small whirlwind of air encircled Aria's arm. "Mine's air and wind magic." She gave them a wide grin.
The ground rumbled softly as a small boulder lifted from the ground next to Lyla. "Mine is, of course, earth. I feel like it's the most boring and defensive-based magic." Annoyance filled her voice as she dropped the boulder.
The night was illuminated softly as a beautiful red flame encircled Erza's arms as she grinned like a madwoman at Tessa and Gavin. "Mine is fire magic. Although I'm admittedly not the best at controlling it," Erza showed off her small amount of control as the campsite was illuminated by the flames over her arms. She quickly cut the mana supply off as the flames died out. "I can't do a lot, but I am able to do enough to get by. I prefer cold hard steel though when fighting."
Gavin smiled at his girl and fought back another yawn. Man, he was really starting to crash. He got up from his chair and bid his farewells to everyone else and walked over to the tent he shared with Erza. He might as well get a good night's rest before learning magic the next morning. He pulled his tent flap back and slid inside, closing the flap behind him. He kicked off his shoes and changed into a pair of shorts as he pulled his sweaty T-shirt off. The cool night air felt wonderful against the heat of his body.
He pulled his bedding back and climbed onto the air mattress on the ground. He wrapped his blankets over him and was out as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Sometime later, Erza felt the mental exhaustion from the day. The fire was low in the pit as she got up and bid everyone good night. She walked over to the tent she shared with her wolf-boy and grinned as she entered, closing the flap behind her. She smiled to herself as she heard his soft snores coming from the body on the mattress. He's out like a light.
She kicked her shoes off and slid her jeans down. She was glad she shaved her legs that morning. She wouldn't want to do this all prickly as a thorn bush. I'm gonna enjoy teasing him all week. She snickered conspiratorially as looked at him.
The hair rose on her arms as the air swept through the tent from a slight breeze outside. When they set up this tent, they left the rain shutters open to allow gentle air flow. It was cool and almost refreshing against her bare legs and hips.
Erza walked over and pulled back the covers to see he was lying in bed with only a pair of thin shorts on. She climbed in bed next to her wolf boy and wrapped her body against him, pressing her chest tight against his back, her leg draped lazily over his hips. She reached down to pull the blanket over both as she nuzzled his neck and sighed, delighted by the feel of his body against hers. I think I'm already addicted to sleeping next to him.
Erza smiled against his neck, comforted by the manly scent that came off Gavin. She ran her fingers through his long curly hair as she closed her eyes. She felt something deep inside her whenever he looked at her. It has intensified ever since he shifted into his wolf at the studio. Something became electrified inside her when she saw his form for the first time.
She thought back to how Gavin looked when he shifted into his were-wolf body. He was tall, lean and fit. Long black fur covered his body, but it was thin enough on his stomach to reveal a ripped six-pack of abs. She recalled the physical way her body reacted to seeing him control his shift. She would never admit it, but the sight of him, large and strong, made her wet with desire. She wanted to reach out and run her fingers up and down his abs. To let her urges take over and truly explore this new relationship together.
But it was too soon in their relationship to go that far.
The sight of him shifted had resonated with her inner feline. She purred in appreciation of such an exquisite male form. It felt, she thought to herself, like her soul recognized him as her partner through life once he shifted for the first time.
Something she didn't understand.
She just knew that she loved this foolish, stubborn boy. She would burn the world down to keep him safe. It was a terrifying thought, realizing someone had this much hold over her heart and emotions. But with Gavin, everything just felt right.
She shook her head, attempting to push those thoughts to the back of her mind for the moment. Right now, all that mattered was the man against her body, and the love in her heart. She knew she would do everything to make his dreams come true. That started with teaching him whatever she could about magic tomorrow to get him ready for the academy this fall.
She closed her eyes and let out a relaxed sigh as she tried to force her body to relax against Gavin's. Everything else could wait. Right now, the only thing that mattered was the crazy wolf-boy in her arms, and the peaceful feeling that was in her heart.
The next morning, Gavin woke to the sounds of birds chirping in the trees around the campsite. It was a slow, peaceful way to wake up. The position he found himself in made his face go red-hot from embarrassment and all the blood in his body to rush south to a certain piece of uniquely male anatomy.
His face was pressed against her chest as her leg was wrapped around his hip. Her tank top slid down, sometime during the night, and plenty of soft smooth skin was visible to his teenage eyes. He pulled back slowly, so as not to wake her. He looked down, and his breath was caught in his throat. Her hair was all kinds of messy, the beautiful waves sticking out in all kinds of weird random angles.
Her hair was fanned out against his air mattress as she let out a soft, quiet snore. He blushed heavily, and he felt the heat from his ears and all over his face as he took in the sight of her. His arousal was pressed intimately against her hip as he tried to disentangle himself from her. She let out an annoyed huff as she let her leg slide off his hips and opened her eyes to look at him. She gave him a sad pout as she glared at her boyfriend. "You moved," she complained as she looked at him through sleepy eyes.
"You're such a tease." He leaned down to capture her lips in a tender kiss. Her annoyance crumpled under the tender way he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him; her fingers tangled in his hair as she kissed him back. Here she was, attempting to seduce her boyfriend into making the first move, and all he did was just give her a soft tender kiss. She growled softly against his lips as he pulled back, a smile on his face.
"Now that's the way to wake a guy up." Gavin had a cheeky smile on his face as he cupped her cheek in his hand. Lord, did he love this girl. He would do anything, act like the world's biggest fool, just to put a smile on her face and hear her laugh.
"Come on, enough playing around. Time to get dressed. We got a lot of training to do." Erza laughed as she pushed the blanket off and leaned forward. She raised her arms above her head as she arched her back, her muscles burned from the exertion. Her tank top rose slightly to reveal even more tantalizing bits of skin to Gavin's gaze.
"Um, yeah. Right, we got to do magic training." Gavin's voice sounded flat and weak to his own ears. It was going to be a long week if she kept acting like that.