Embers of Sun and Flame: Before We Have It (Fuegoleon x OC)

Chapter 11 If

Solara filled her lungs with the warm air of the bathroom, soaking in the large bath of the Vermillion estate. There was steam rising from the surface of the water as she sank further in, allowing the warm water accept the tension of her muscles.

I guess I needed this too... Some time off, away from all the troubles... Life's simple pleasures.

Fuegoleon slipped into the bath next to her, exhaling as water enveloped his skin, and, too, allowing the water to wash away his troubles. A low hum escaped him, making Solara's lips tug up into a smile.

"This was a good idea," he spoke with a quiet tone.

"I knew you'd like it," she hummed in return, still leaning against the edge of the bath.

His reply came out as a hum, wearing a content smile on his lips as well.

There was a moment of silence, as if a fraction of heaven's light, grace, and the blessings it had to offer, would have lowered down, just enough for them to feel it hovering over their heads. A gentle lull, background noise, something that wasn't meant for their mortal ears to hear, but even if they could have, it would have melted somewhere far, far away, almost beyond reach. But they wouldn't have needed to hold it, reach for it, take a hold of it, because it was a tone of the room; there only to set the mood, and nothing else.

"How was your day?" He asked; the question flowing from him with a sense of normalcy she had missed.

"It was alright," she replied with an exhale, one that seemed as if she was drawing in hope as air flowed out. The sound was soft, almost melodic to him, as if she was growing more grounded with every breath, and so did he along with her.

"Alright?" He asked, with a tone that seemed almost amused, but tender, more than anything. There was no judgement or worry, more of hopeful anticipation.

"Yeah," she chuckled. "I've been... trying to figure out what to do with my magic."

He paused, swirling the question he wanted to ask on his tongue.

"Go ahead," she smiled, turning her head slightly towards him and looking at him from the corner of her eye. "You want to ask something."

"That's... I can't help but wonder what makes the process so much more difficult," he began with a slight frown, trying to think about it. "It is still your magic, and since... you can make spells freely, would it not then be a relatively simple matter of just ... crafting spells?"

"It doesn't work quite like that," she smiled. "Think of... creating new spells like crafting a report. If you are using a spell that you already know, it's like using a ready template for an already existing report format. It's just copying and implementing small tweaks to suit the occasion, which isn't an issue to those who are used to using magic. But when you are creating a new report, or documentation, template, then there's a lot you need to consider. Naturally the purpose, the desired outcome, the method, the tools at your disposal, need to be considered. Is there perhaps a template you could model to an extent, or perhaps combine two together in some way?"

He nodded as she explained, because it made very much sense to him.

"But that's the case with your known magic. All mana, of course, has multiple dimensions to explore and most often it's just a matter of how much you're willing to explore while crafting spells; it's about self-reflection... of a kind. Like... exploring different kinds of brush strokes that can be made with a single paint brush."

He nodded again, this time with a singular, slow, heavy nod. Because he wasn't a painter, and he couldn't remember if he had ever held a paint brush, of any kind, but the analogy didn't still feel too far off. Surely, an instrument as such could be used in many different ways. Even a pen could make various kinds of lines, depending on the angle of the pen, and the amount of applied pressure.