Daybreak

Four - Odilia

As Erwin and Odilia traveled their yearly route throughout the Kuriba Empire, Erwin taught everything he knew as promised, to Odilia.

Odilia learned how to remove and return clothing with magic just as Erwin had done the night they met. She learned it using the stick he'd given her which Erwin instructed she call a wand.

"The wand should be treated like an extension of your arm." The doctor moved to stand behind Odilia, taking her wand hand. The two stood alone under the cover of a small woodland by the Makigawa plains, a land south of Hikizu village.

In the dewy morning, the two had shared a simple breakfast of onigiri, rice-balls wrapped in seaweed, before setting to work. As a doctor, Erwin was constantly collecting herbs along their journey and Odilia would help. After filling a basket of Pinellia, Erwin stopped their work to continue teaching Odilia all he knew.

Odilia's hands were gloved despite the mid-spring air to hide the blackened flesh that remained an ugly reminder to the night her house went aflame and her sister flew. Only Erwin knew what was beneath those black gloves, and as far as Odilia knew, she was the only one who knew of Erwin's own scars beneath his own gloved hands.

Erwin moved Odilia's fingers so that the wand sat on her pinky and third finger while her thumb, middle, and forefinger cradled the sides.

"Wands should be held as such so that the flow of magic remains stable and reaches your goal," explained the doctor. Erwin pushed Odilia's tense shoulders down and used his gloved forefinger to level her chin. "Aim it at that tree." Erwin guided Odilia's arm so that it shot outwards towards an oak in the distance. "I want you to kill it."

Odilia stepped backwards in surprise, bumping up against her teacher in the process. "Why?" She craned her neck backwards to meet Erwin's yellow eyes. Odilia shook her head, contemplating. "Actually, how?" she looked down at her arm holding the wand aloft. "With this wand? At a distance?"

Erwin looked up at the sky speckled with white clouds, thoughtfully. "Do you remember the feeling you felt when using magic? When you turned those girls into cranes?"

Odilia nodded her head. Her entire body had felt tense. Her palms and forehead had been sweaty. Her legs had cramped and her stomach ached. She remembered that when she'd released it all, her sister and friends had flown away. She also remembered the description she'd internalized to convey how she'd felt using magic.

Odilia peeked at Erwin and shyly covered her mouth. "Can I be honest with you?" she whispered.

Erwin smiled and encouragingly nodded his head.

Odilia took a deep breath and sharply turned towards him all serious and said, "It felt like taking a big dump."

There was a pause where the doctor's face contorted in a twist as if he were struggling to hold something in, then at once he burst into a laughter so great, it turned into coughing fits.

Erwin held his abdomen, wheezing when he caught Odilia's visage of mortification. "Felt like a..." he gasped through breaths."Using magic did...!?"

Odilia reddened and stepped away from her teacher who looked about close to wanting to roll onto the ground, laughing. "Is that not normal?"

Erwin slapped his knee as he straightened. "No, no. I've never heard anything more relatable in my life!" beamed the doctor. He gestured towards Odilia to follow him. "But now, my little nestling," Erwin directed Odilia back towards the oak. "You need to learn how to aim that big dump."

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

That willow lived. And so did the trees after that.