"Now watch carefully" Beatrix told Micah as she drew the glyph for the cleaning spell they had been tasked to learn. It was a rather simplistic spell, create an image of an animal of your choosing and maintain it for a set amount of time. The problem lay in that for all Micah's raw magical power she'd notice the more time she spent with him that he struggled on the more technical aspects of spellcasting. Case in point, he often had difficulty getting the glyph exactly right on his first few attempts. This often got the boy frustrated which led to his form getting progressively worse. Thankfully he was at least aware of his "problem area" (as one of their more polite teachers had called it) & had thought to ask her for assistance.

She completed the motions and summoned her illusion, A small Crimson Scracklebird that glowed a subdued orange. She had long admired the avis-of-prey, not merely for its physical beauty but for what it stood for. All across Etheria the Crimson Scracklebird was a symbol of intelligence, adaptability, independence & even spiritual clarity. All traits she stove towards possessing herself. She guided her illusion through a few basic moments before allowing it to dissipate. "And it's as simple as that" well perhaps simple wasn't the best term, she was slightly tired from her exertion but Micah didn't need to know that.

If her strain was visible, her friend didn't seem to notice. His dark eyes were stared at her, wide with excitement. "Beatrix that was amazing!" he exclaimed "how do you do that?"

"As long as you draw the glyph properly, it's not really so difficult" she said as casually as she could. "The key is focus Micah"

"I do focus!" he said, twisting his face into what was clearly NOT a pout that Beatrix certainly didn't find adorable. Not that she'd ever tell him that of course. "It's just...i don't know what my problem is" his face was suddenly more serious "It always feels like i'm drawing the glyph like the teacher's show me but it never works" he finished frustration evident.

She thought about this for a moment before arriving at an idea. "When i was younger, i would also struggle to get the glyph entirely accurate" she admitted hesitantly. "My mother had a technique to help me get a feel for how it was supposed to be done. I could show you if you'd like"

"Really? Thank you!' he said the smile immediately returned to his face. She liked him better when he smiled she'd decided, it fit his feature more naturally then anyone she'd ever known.

"Yes well" she moved closer to him "for this to work, i need you to stand behind me & place your hands on top of mine" his eyes widened a bit in surprise and she spoke quickly before it could get even more awkward. "Just trust me. I know this sound strange but i assure you it works"

He complied without another word though with a blush visibly forming on his face. She was suddenly *very* grateful her veil covered that part of her face. Clearing her throat she began "Now i'm going to perform the movements again without using magic. I want you to focus on the motions of my hands" she said as she began to slowly repeat the gestures "the idea is for you to get used to how your hands are supposed to move as you perform this spell. That way you can identify any mistakes in the future by yourself"

After a moment she brought the movements to their conclusion but before she could ask if he found the trick useful another voice cut in "Hope i'm not interrupting something"

They both turned towards the doorway of the training hall they were using to see Esmeralda with a sly expression on her face. "Esme!" Micah yelped while hurriedly back away from Beatrix "Bea was just helping me with my glyph crafting that's all" he explained, though his nervously scratching at the back of his head while his cheeks turned crimson somewhat undercut the nonchalance he was trying to convey. "Oh is that all it is Bea?" Esmeralda asked with a teasing glint in her big brown eyes.

"That is precisely what it is Esme" Beatrix retorted with as much dignity as she could summon. "Micah asked for my help structuring illusion spell & i showed him a technique that helped me in the past" she had never been more grateful for her veil as she was right now.

Esmeralda didn't seem entirely convinced "Well if that's the case, Micah should have an easier time performing the spell shouldn't he? I'd love a demonstration brother dear"

"My pleasure sis" Micah replied through gritted teeth. Beatrix couldn't stop her eyes from rolling. Mayhaps it was her status as an only child but even weeks into their friendship with the Bluestone siblings, she still hadn't gotten used to these little games of one-upmanship they were constantly engaging in. Micah walked towards the center of the room, took a deep breath and began his movements. From the way his glyph was taking shape, Beatrix knew he had it. And when he finished, he had conjured an Aries, not a miniature version as her Specklebird had been, but a Proper full grown beast the height of a grown man at the shoulder with massive horns that curved down into a spiral shape. The entire illusion was cast in a shimmering light blue. With pride, Micah had the illusion run around the room before dissipating it with a frankly unnecessary flourish. For a moment the two girls could only stare silently for a moment before Esmeralda found her voice.

"Micah that was incredible" she exclaimed "I don't think our teacher made one that big!"

"Yeah well...honestly i couldn't have done it without Bea showing me her secret" Micah replied with what Beatrix estimated was only half sincere humility. She was about to protest that it was his ability that had summoned such an impressive illusion but i died on her tongue as Esme swept her into a hug "Bea you're a genius!" she said before planting a kiss on the other girls cheek then running over to her brother.

As she stood there watching the siblings chat about how she'd taught Micah to do that in one lesson, she felt a few different emotions running through her. First & foremost she was proud of her friend. That illusion had been outstanding & all but guaranteed Micah top marks from their teacher. She was proud to have helped him, proud of him. Her friend truly was gifted. They both were.

But alongside these more pleasant feelings was something altogether different, and had been building over the past few weeks. It seemed that no matter how much Micah -and to a lesser extent Esmeralda- initially struggled with whatever spell they were working on, once they grasped they it, they became its most proficient casters. Magic just seemed to come so easy to them. Much easier than it had to her regardless of her countless hours studying. She had dismissed it as the twins natural talent at first & paid it no more mind but as the weeks had gone by & it just kept happening she'd become aware of a growing sense of...something that seemed to grow stronger with every display of theirs, every teacher she'd heard all but gush over their "prodigious talents".

She was roused out of her brooding contemplation by the sound of Esme calling her over to practice their illusions some more. Pushing away thoughts of the strange feeling in her gut, she rushed over to join her friends. After all what did it matter if they picked up on spells at a quicker pace? Different people advanced at different rates, that's all it was. If she had to put in a little extra work to meet her friends at the level they were at then she would do so. She loved studying after all, what's a bit more to catch up to the twins? And she would catch up to them. They had spoken of being the three greatest magic users in all of Etheria & she refused to be allow them to get to that summit without her. She would catch up to them.

Regardless of what it took.