Rainclouds were hovering over Revera Hospital. Inside one of the patients' rooms, the group was waiting for Anna's explanation.
She was pacing up and down, trying to think of the best way to explain her theory. Her sapphire eyes were sparkling with excitement. As she was getting ready to talk, her mother Sarah opened the door without knocking.
"Mother?" Anna's surprise was evident.
Sarah put her hands on her hips. She did not look happy, and her gaze scanned the room.
"Anna Inara Flores, you should be resting, not hosting a party," her mother's eyes were fixed on her.
"B-but the doctor said I was okay," she protested.
"He also said you need to rest," Sarah retorted.
She then looked at Ryker, her expression softening a little. A mixture of guilt and admiration was visible on her face.
"I've heard what you did for her. Thank you for saving my daughter," she bowed her head, her voice was now shaking a little.
The boy simply nodded, not knowing what to say.
"Thank you too Liv."
Then she turned back to her daughter and pinched her ear. Anna let out a small yelp of protest but was powerless as her mother pulled her away.
"Ow, ow, wait mom just a few minutes," she pleaded as she was being dragged by her pointy ears.
"No buts," the mother said.
"It's important! It's about Ryker's magic," Anna blurted out. The words stopped her mother in her tracks.
Sarah let go of her daughter's ear and stared at her. Then she pinched Anna's cheeks, making her look like a squirrel.
"Five minutes."
"Thank you," she said as her mother left.
Anna rubbed her ear, then cleared her throat. She now had their full attention.
"As I was saying," she began again.
"In the dungeon I remember seeing you try to cast a spell and your hand exploded," Anna said to Ryker.
"So not a good memory then," he commented.
She shook her head, "I'll have nightmares for sure. But-"
Laughter could be heard from outside the door and shortly after the minotaur and dragon came through it. They made a point to greet Ryker with a brotherly punch on the shoulder, causing a pained grunt to escape him.
"Hey Ryke-" Kael said.
Noticing Anna's death glare, Kael raised his hands in surrender, "Just saying hi, don't kill me."
"I'm about to explain something, sit," Anna commanded.
Rul looked around, "There are no chairs left."
The dryad gestured to the cold white tiles. She forced the duo to sit.
A 2 meter minotaur and a fire dragon was sitting on the floor like children in a timeout. Brock and Ryker were giggling at the sight. This scene managed to get a smile from Liv.
"So there are generally 2 ways to cast magic," Anna started her lesson. She was finally getting the attention she wanted.
"First you control the outer mana right? The second is the mana in your core. And some can do both," she explained.
Kael raised his hand as if in a classroom.
"Didn't we all learn that in 4th grade?" he asked, his usual playful smirk back on his face.
"Zip it," Anna glared at him.
"Okay, okay, go on," he said with a chuckle, winking at an amused Rul.
"So Ryker I think you can't control outer mana but your core is something else," Anna concluded.
The room went quiet at her theory.
"That wouldn't explain his hand blowing up," Liv
"You're right. Except."
She had a wide grin on her face and was about to say something her phone rang. Caller ID said 'Mother'.
"2 minutes darling!" her mom said through the phone.
Angrily ending the call Anna put her phone away.
"I think his hand blew up because he can't access outer mana, so when he tried, the energy had nowhere to go but back into himself," she explained quickly.
"He can't cast any spell that requires outer mana then. So my theory is."
"Minotaur style!" Rul blurted.
"Well yes... but no," Anna said.
"Imbuement is the process of channeling your core mana into an object. It doesn't require you to access outer mana," Anna finally revealed her theory, proud of herself.
"You could probably imbue anything that has a high mana conductivity, like this IV stand here," she pointed at the metal stand, a thoughtful expression on her face.
She quickly brought it close to him, "Maybe you can teleport it if you're touching it?" her eyes were gleaming with anticipation.
The IV stand was cold in Ryker's hand.
He was feeling conflicted about using space magic. The pain was unbearable.
"I don't think I should... my mother said no space magic."
Liv narrowed her eyes, she hated hearing him call that witch his mother.
"Maddie?" Kael and Rul simultaneously asked.
"Valerica Dracula," Brock answered, his expression serious for a change.
The two adventurers stared at him with mouths open.
"Just try it no one will know," Anna pleaded, her blue eyes wide and persuasive.
"Maybe I can try ice?" he said.
"How?" Anna asked, her excitement fading a little.
All he replied with was a shrug and said that's what Valerica had said. The group had one question on their mind, that is how could a space vampire use ice magic.
The only one that wasn't deep in thought was Liv. Her heart was beating so fast from excitement, from anticipation. She had a giant grin on her face that she couldn't hide. Trying to make sure she smelled nice, she sniffed herself.
Ryker looked at her, confused. "What are you doing?"
"I'm sweaty!" she blurted out, her face turning bright red as if smoke was about to come out.
"Huh?" Ryker tilted his head. Liv's behavior had always been a little odd to him, especially when she was stressed.
She started nodding repeatedly, "Yes... yes you should try ice magic! Definitely."
Her reason was unknown to everyone but her.
"How am I supposed to do that?"
"Maybe..." she was nervously scratching her cheek before turning her neck to him, "Try to drink my blood."