Ande and I have been spending quite a bit of time with each other the few days since I've returned from the weekend away, so today on our walk, a surprise will be waiting for her. It isn't too far of a walk before we come to a small clearing near a mountain stream not far to the east of Tanner's Mudhole. Covering Ande's eyes, I lead her closer to the stream. When she opened her eyes, a picnic lunch was waiting here for us—thanks to Tally and Mick.

"You did this for me?" she gasps.

My cheeks heat, and I avoid eye contact. "Well, I did have some help to get it out here."

"This is so sweet," she says and jumps up to hug me, toppling us both over.

Praying that I'm not too quick, I reach up from her waist, stroking her check until I wrap my hand around her neck and bring her in for a small kiss. I heat up as the kiss is returned, but Ande's stomach chooses this moment to growl.

"How'd you get this?'' Ande asks while running a finger over my scar. Tingles run down my spine, and I have to control my outward reaction.

I grin. "When we were maybe ten, Sam and I decided we were big enough to go hiking without adults. Part way to our destination, Sam trips on a rock and pushes me down. Of course, I found a tree branch that had fallen during a storm we had the night before."

"Oh dear. What happened?"

"I came home with blood running down my face and covering the front of my shirt. Mom was cool, but I could tell she was panicking. She grabbed a towel, carried me to her car and took me to the emergency room. An hour later with twelve stitches in my forehead, we were on our way home. My adoptive father had returned home from work by then, and he was upset that the hospital visit was going to cost him money.

Ande gasps.

"That isn't anything."

"Your adoptive father is worse than that?"

"Way worse, but can we talk about something else since we have to head back for training soon?"

"We probably should eat. Elemental training usually wears you out." Ande says

I don't want to stop, and she's right about the energy required for certain types of training.

"How was your training this past weekend?" she asks before taking a bite of her grilled chicken sandwich.

I take a bite of my pasta salad. That is such a loaded question, but since I want something long-term, I decide to keep my complaining to a minimum.

"It was exciting."

Her eyes light up. "Really."

"Here is one thing I worked on." I start off with a fire sphere then move to making it a column. I move it to my right, and let it dissipate.

"Did it go well for Jonah and Hunter?"

"Yes. Jonah was having some difficulty connecting with the elements in nature, but once he figured it out, training went smoother for him."

"How was your weekend?" I asked before opening the bowl of fresh fruit.

"Pretty good. We spent part of the weekend on potions and spells and the next on our powers." She says taking a bite of cantaloupe.

"Are you upset that you can't move things with your mind like most of the others?"

"Nah. We all have unique combinations of abilities - as it should be. There needs to be variety if we are going to have any chance to defeat the bad guys."

I pack up the basket. We head back to the cabin holding hands, but when we get there, we find out we were late. Miriam doesn't look happy, but she does have a small smile on her face. Everyone else just looks at us like they know what we've doing.

When Ande and I get back to the cabin, it's time for training. We are going to partner up in our pairs and see what needs improvement.

"Each pair gets one dummy to practice offensive and defensive moves on. This is as much a learning experience about your abilities as it is an opportunity to see how your partner is progressing in training."

Ande and I get the dummy made of cinder blocks and the furthest away from the trees.

"Begin," EJ states.

Ande closes her hand around her talisman and starts mumbling something. Gathering the power I need, I push a fireball at the target, only for it to be deflected and fizzle out.

"Very good. Dominic, is there a way around this?" EJ questions.

"Maybe. If the spell is dependent on the Spellcasters energy, I could send continuous fireballs at the target."

"Not a bad idea, you would just have to make sure that you don't burn out all of your energy before the Spellcaster does."

"Is there any way to tell how much energy the Spellcaster has at her disposal?"

"No, not that I can think of." EJ responds.

Concentrating on the target, I throw up a wall of fire. Ande bends down and whips a knife out of her boot. She throws it at the target. Even though the knife bounced off of the blocks, the nick wasn't dead center, but it would have been a fatal blow.

"Very good. Why are you looking so puzzled?" EJ asks.

"Because that was the best I could think of, and she was still able to hit the target."

EJ laughs. "A different approach would be to eliminate the person trying to kill you, but since I think you want Ande around, let's not explore that option."

So, Ande and I start off throwing our best moves at each other. I quickly realize that magic has huge advantages. I would throw a fireball at the target, but Ande would throw up a shield around the same target.