"No you need to feel it here!" Aldric exclaimed, poking Grum's sternum.
"Saying that a hundred times doesn't make it make any more sense," Grum huffed, his face flushed and sweaty.
"I don't know how else to say it. You need to feel anger, that unshakable rage that just sits right here," he gestured to the middle of his own chest.
"Then you focus it until it burns like the sun's in your bones. With that energy and that focus, anything is possible," he said, extending a hand to help the large boy stand.
"I'm not like that Aldric, I'm not mad about anything," Grum said, straining to his feet.
"Nonsense, everybody is mad about something,"
"Not me. I don't let things bother me all that much. Doesn't seem worth it," Grum insisted, smirking softly.
"T-then what do you feel?" Aldric asked, throwing his hands up in frustration. Just then, the door scrolled along the wall, rippling through the bricks like a ski through waves. It halted just across from Aldric as another soft, shy knock sounded.
"Open up master magus," Aldric said, waving his hand dismissively. The door swung open and beyond the frame, Harden stood, his clenched fist still raised above his head.
"S-sorry I'm late," he stumbled, slowly creeping into the room. The door closed behind him with a thud and he gazed at the other two.
"So, what'd I miss?" He asked, gazing at Grum's exhausted face.
"Nothing more than some trial and error that's all," Aldric said, waving the boy closer. Aldric circled Grum and planted himself in front of both boys just as the architect would in their classes.
"What makes you mad?" He asked, gazing past Grum and straight to Harden.
"W-what?" He stuttered, surprised by the direct question.
"What makes you mad?"
"I'm not- I don't know," he stammered.
"Sure you do. What gets under your skin like nothing else?" He asked. Harden paused for a moment in thought. He strained until his face turned red like he had been overworking a muscle. Then, with a huff, he dropped his head.
"I don't know," he sighed. Aldric stomped frustratedly and buried his head in his palms. How could he teach them the skills if they don't possess the required emotions? Then, for the first time since he'd been there, the domed room began to rotate slowly.
The scraping stones squeaked like rusted metal while the room quaked gently. The room clicked loudly and came to an abrupt halt jostling the boys softly. When Aldric peeled his eyes from behind his hands, he was staring directly out of his window.
Behind Harden and Grum, the masterful view twinkled in the moonlight. The crashing waves glowed as they made contact with the beach, the birds landed for the night, and a gentle breeze rippled through the canopies.
"What do you…hope for?" Aldric asked softly.
"Sorry?" Grum wondered, leaning closer to hear him better.
"What do you hope for?" He asked, straightening up in his stance.
"Oh- erm, I suppose I hope to become an architect too," Grum said, pausing in thought before smiling largely.
"Good, and you?" Aldric quipped, pointing to Harden.
"I um…I guess I'd like to protect the aviary and maybe someday make it so everyone would be safe if they left," he stammered, fumbling his finger tips together. Aldric smirked quickly before flattening his lips again.
"Close your eyes," he instructed both of them. Both boys glanced to each other timidly before focusing back on Aldric. With deep breaths their eyes closed and the room was dark.
"Now think about your goals. The things you hope to achieve. See them not as hopes but- more like memories," Aldric instructed, his voice more confident then before. The room was silent as both boys followed his instructions.
In each of their minds, they saw their greatest hopes played out. They saw themselves living the moments they strived for and wanted more than anything else. When their faces bore small, but complete smiles, Aldric cleared his throat and began again.
"Now focus that emotion, and centralize it here," he placed a finger on each of their sternum's. Grum and Harden's complexions changed. Harden grew pale while Grum was painted a light toned pink. Their palms began to sweat in large quantities and they both felt that sweltering flame that Aldric had mentioned earlier.
"Now, internalize that power, and focus it throughout your own body rather than trying to expel it," he finished, trying to find the right explaination. A surge of energy rushed through both of them and they felt almost completely energized.
Their eyes opened, and they released their focus.
"H-how did you learn that?" Grum asked.
"Well, actually, I didn't," Aldric said softly. Both boys cocked their heads at him confused.
"I couldn't harness hope. I could only use my anger. You guys technically outclass me," he chuckled.
"C'mon whatever, you can internalize and project, not only that, but you can do it with little effort that's serious skill. Don't discount that," Harden said, tapping him in the shoulder with his fingertips.
"Yeah, besides I'd never learn something like that in runes or my stabilization classes so you're still leagues ahead of me," Grum said, smiling.
"But, what about your building runes? We can't do that," Aldric asked.
"What this?" Grum knelt, and scribbled a rune with his remaining chalk, and placed a plastic button in the center. The rune glowed red, puffed with smoke, and warped into a round shape. A tennis ball appeared in its place and rolled toward the boys large foot.
"That's easy, just a simple craftmans rune. Allows the caster to create anything solid out of another solid matter," Grum said, shrugging and tossing the ball between hands.
"Could you show us the rune and its functions?" Harden asked, his eyes wide and mouth slightly gaped.
"Sure, it's pretty simple really, here," he pulled a small journal from his back pocket. He flipped to a dog-eared page and opened it. In the center of the page, a rune was drawn. A circle with two parallel diagonal lines drawn from the far edge, through the center, and an inch past the other side.
"The circle represents you. Within you, are the tools needed to build," he pointed to the top line.
"And the capabilities to do so," he pointed to the bottom line.
"When you search within yourself, and you gather your materials, anything is possible," he finished. Aldric gazed at his own notes for the rune and studied it as if it were constantly changing.
He went to ask another question, but before he could, the shutters on the window slammed shut with a loud clang.
Instantly, the boys knew, curfew had come.