He could feel a faint aura coming from around the boy walking beside him, and after giving him a look he could tell that no rain was desired by the youngling. "Very good effort, Lonis, I can feel your wish emanating from here. One thing that is extremely difficult and reserved for only the strongest magicians is controlling the weather. The best one could really do is cast wards upon their cloaks and things, or create a protective bubble around yourself. Seems as though you have a bit of a bubble right now. Keep it up because I think we might get drizzling rain before too long."

he looked up as he was shaken from his thoughts. he could not tell if his master was being serious or making fun of him again though it did not matter as he discarded it in favor of finding the large pale hand and walking close to his master's side

His smile broke out again as the boy drew closer, and giving him a gentle tug just a nudge closer he dipped down to press a kiss to the top of the black-haired head. Silently, he spoke a small spell in his mind to keep them in a protective bubble, just the two of them.

by the time they stopped again the stars were out and other than a drizzle that hardly wetted the grass a few hours before there was nothing to keep them from sleeping under said stars. diligently he gathered wood and while his master flickered a fire into existence he laid out the mostly dry roll with the other on top of it to add extra protection against the chill that ended up not going away

When morning came he found himself awake in time to watch the sun rise with brilliant orange and pink hues spreading across the skyline. He was filled with a feeling of nostalgia, and as he cuddled closer to the boy to press a flutter of kisses against the neck in an effort to wake him up he felt all that much happier.

he did not question the lips and with his eyes still closed found a way to show his appreciation. when the touch was not rebuked however he felt a thrill and opening his eyes found the pleased ones of his master looking at him with a look in them he was sure he understood

Their eyes shared the look a moment longer before he could not help but to reach out and touch the sweet face and steal the lips. The kiss started sweet a slow, but still feeling the boy's hand lingering on his body he put more of himself into the kiss as he looked for another glimmer of the sweet eyes.

they started a bit later than they had the last two mornings but he was pleased for it and feeling both full and content was more than happy to pack away everything with haste and follow behind his wonderful master

The farther they traveled the drier the old road seemed to be, and in the distance he could begin to see the outline of the jagged mountains stretching up into the sky where they were lost to a fog hanging down over the plains. Keeping the boy close, he wrapped his arm around the sturdy shoulders as they continued on.

this time when they stopped for lunch it was in a drier field with only one old barren lemon tree. sitting down he stretched out his tired legs and waited for either food or a lesson

He thought the place to be perfect for a lesson seeing as how the lemons were not producing and would provide nothing to contribute to a meal. Digging his hands into the dirt, he produced a small well which he filled with enough water to create a small pool, the reflection showing a perfect reflection of the blue sky above. "Lonis, what have I created here?"

looking down he could see the edge of the leaves reflecting in the small welling of water, "a resonance pool to help calm the lines between things and help me hear"

"That is a good way to put it, but in addition to helping you hear it can help you to see as well. Not right now, but in future lessons you will understand what I mean by that." Taking the boy by his wrist he stuck a couple of Lonis' fingers into the water before letting go and sticking in a couple of his own. "Which do you feel more? The roots of the grass about our pool, or me?"

he felt neither, only the water and his own body. saying as much he watched his master's face to see if he was once more the dissapointment

Removing his own fingers with a flick of the wrist to rid of any lingering water droplets he gave a slow nod. "Do you feel anything now?"

shaking his head again he replied that he still only felt water. looking down he frowned

With damp fingers he reached out to take the boy bu his chin and lift his face high enough to see. "Do not be upset, it is what you should have felt. While water brings life, and could be argued to be life itself, your training has only brought you this far, and you should have felt nothing. Now, with your fingers still damp feel the earth."

he did not want to, he wanted to argue that he had already felt pulses through the water and that this was not good enough any longer, he could not however and instead simply pressed his hand to the earth

(he feels nothing, he is spent and needs rest)

It was becoming apparent to him that the other was not very interested in the lesson, and despite their morning he would not have interest in going any farther. With a flick of his rise the water from the well rose out of the pool to sprinkle itself across the grass around them as a treat. Filling the pool he just laid back against the tall grass.

his master's disappointment was palpable in the air like the stink of marigolds, wholly unpleasant and he very nearly moved away to suffer his shame alone. only his need to be near his master kept him there and remaining quiet he contented himself bly laying down at his master's hip

(he wants to cuddle but does not feel he has earned affection, he will sleep though, he is not used to all this walking and his legs hurt)

Both of them ended up falling asleep in the grass while the sun burned hot without a cloud in the sky, and while he was thankful for the lack of rain while they slept he thought the sun to be too much. With the boy asleep he carefully rose from the ground and picked him up to lay under the shade of the lemon tree.

he felt much better when he woke though it most likely had as much to do with the way he woke as it did the amount of sleep he got. snuggling in the long arms he gave a contented sigh and contented himself with a lax snuggle until his master woke

Already he could all but taste the boy's happiness when he awoke to find them snuggling together as they were when he took them beneath the tree. Hugging the boy closer he gave a soft hum, "How are you feeling?"

he felt better and offering up a wide smile he told his master as much. at the return he snuggled closer to press his face into the warm chest and listened to the man's heartbeat, "i am willing to try again"

"I have a better idea," he said as he finally lessened his grip enough to look at the lad while he spoke, "Did you bring those jars of seeds like I asked before we left, or were they loosely tossed into our basket?"

he had though he was not sure where they managed to end up after the reconfiguring of their packs, "i did as you said, are we going to plant them?"

"Yes and no," sitting up he pulled their packs into his lap to rummage around for the jars labeled 'carrots' and 'blueberries'. With a smile he set them aside before he dug into the dirt with his hand to make the soil soft. "This is a technique that with a lot of practice you might be able to do one day, but I wouldn't recommend using it until you know what magic you are capable of." Opening each of the jars he took a pinch of carrot seeds and a couple of blueberry seeds before he dropped them into the aerated soil. Taking their canteen again he sprinkled with piles of seeds with enough water to turn the ground nearly black with moisture. Sticking two fingers deep into the soil he could begin to feel the seeds, and loosening himself up he offered his energy for the plants to take.

it was a magic he had seen many times but as he watched the ground burst open with tiny tendrils of green he could not say he wasn't still wed by the sight of such pure magic at work and staring he saw the greenery grow and tangle around the pale fingers

It took a fairly long time until the greenery for the carrots grew enough that he thought for them to have been grown to their entirety, and for just a couple more moments he fed the blueberry bush until it was short and low to the ground, but its branches were strong enough to hold and produce fruit. The man pulled his hands out of the now dry soil delicately so as not to move or damage the plants from where they grew. His energy level felt severely depleted as he took his first deep breath since sharing his energy, and slumping a little he gestured to the plants for the boy.

understanding the gesture he dug for the carrots and pulling them free set them aside to pluck the berries. he offered the fruit to his master first and when it was taken he went about scrubbing the carrots to clean the dirt from them

He looked at the berries and rolled them around in his palm to get a good look of them before he tasted them and found them to be just as good as last summer's batch. Beginning to pluck some of the extra berried for the boy after he finished washing the carrots he let his eyes close as he felt around for more. "We will remain here for the afternoon and for the evening, and then we can choose where to go or what to do tomorrow."

that was fine by him and breaking off part of a carrot he offered it up to feed to his master

As gently as a horse he took it from the boy's hand to give it a crunchy nibble and determine that they had turned out as well as the berries. Together they indulged in their lunch different from that the previous day, and the one prior to that. With their bellies full, and the rest of the food they could find tucked away in their basket, the man laid down and rested is head in the boy's lap. "Lonis, I am feeling weary."

he knew, even without any training he could feel it within his masters voice and in his master's slumped body, "i know." saying nothing else he tool up a soft stroke and hummed a tune his master often hummed to him when he was unwell o the weather did not allow sleep

Despite himself the boy was too comforting to him that he was unable to stay awake a moment longer. His eye lids felt like rocks and his body like a pillow without anything inside. Reaching out he'd placed hi hand against a soft thigh before it became too much and he fell into the deep, trapping chambers of sleep.

when his master woke around sunset he was waiting and careful so as not to jar him he rose and went off to find food and firewood so that they could eat

He felt better than he did before his nap but not to the point where he felt the best. While he was half tempted to go back to sleep while the boy left, he instead occupied himself with eating a few more of the berries they had stashed away. When the boy returned with kindle and wood he helped him conjure up a simple fire before he watched the other fix them a meal.

he was able to snare a hare by mimicking the sound of a mate in heat though the the creature still fought until he broke it's neck and he used the knife his master made him keep to let it drain while he looked for wood before bringing both back. fter the fire was going he set about skinning it so that they could have roast meat to go with the left-over carrots

When the boy returned with more than just firewood he was please by the fact he was able to do so, but before the boy could skin and cut it to cook he took the bloodied creature and laid it out on the ground before him. His hands ran over the soft fur before he slid the small eyelids closed and spoke in his native language for a long moment. A soft, fragrant wind blew past him before the plains settled again and it was merely another night. He handed the creature back to the boy.

it was with a full belly and a content feeling that he was once more asked to feel what he could and putting his hands to the earth he felt for the sparks of life that he knew were there

(he found several bits of life including some seeds)