"A question, if I may?"
Jim sighed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He wasn't quite sure how he'd ended up with Krel as his midnight patrol buddy, but the Akiridion's endless questions were starting to become grating. "Another?"
"Magic is quite fascinating," Krel replied as way of explanation, shrugging. He was in his human form, so that the glow of his natural form didn't catch anything's attention within the dark forrest.
"You should be asking Claire, then," Jim advised, laughing a little as a squirrel skittered up a nearby tree and Krel let out a terrified yelp, jumping at least a foot in the air and hugging Jim's arm in fright. "It's a squirrel, Krel."
"Squirrels and raccoons," Krel groaned with a tone of annoyance. "They are everywhere! They poop everywhere!"
"I guess that means we shouldn't ask you to babysit," Jim mused with a laugh as Krel released him and they kept walking.
"Perhaps when Ellie is older and able to control her bodily functions," Krel said with a nervous chuckle.
"Right," Jim snickered, this time allowing his eyes to roll at his friend's ridiculousness. "What was your question, then?"
"Your magic is primarily that of light, yes?" Krel asked, seemingly getting over his annoyance with the wildlife. "And Claire's is primarily that of darkness, yes?"
"Yup," Jim replied, a little confused by the new line of questioning, especially since Krel's last question on magic was whether or not there was a spell that could remove blaster stains from plutonium weave (which only ended up with a bunch of questions from Jim about alien fabrics). "Your point is...?"
"Do you not... damage each other?" Krel asked.
Jim snorted a laugh, looking down at his friend and raising an eyebrow. "We're not flinging spells at each other."
"But Light and Dark repel each other," Krel mused, stumbling over a tree root. "...right?"
"Well, I mean..." Jim shrugged, catching the Akiridion before he could face plant into the ground. "On a basic level, yes, but that's not quite how our magics work. Unless we actively use them against each other, they're neutral — and that's just the core of our magics; specific spells are simply energy based. They don't cause damage, unless that's the caster's intent."
"And... how does one determine the intent?" Krel asked, patting Jim's shoulder in thanks as he straightened himself, and they started walking again.
"It's..." Jim hesitated as he tried to think of the best way to explain. "You kind of have to experience it to really understand."
"So, teach me a spell," his alien friend suggested nonchalantly.
"You told me that your kind don't practice magic," Jim replied, a bit hesitant to try and teach magic to someone as overzealous and mechanically minded as Krel. Not that the kid was a bad person, or anything like that, but the idea of combining magic and Akiridion energy was a fairly terrifying idea to Jim. With their luck, they'd pull a Doctor Who and rip a tear in the spacetime continuum.
"Does that mean that we can't?" Krel asked, humming and rubbing his chin in thought.
"I... I don't know," Jim answered honestly, shrugging.
"Light..." Krel mumbled, almost to himself.
"Light and Dark magic can be used by only a few specific people," Jim tried to explain. "Even Merlin can't use Light and Dark magic. You kind of have to figure out what your talent is, and then—"
"No, no," Krel said, grabbing Jim's arm and pulling him to a stop. He pointed out into the darkness, toward their right. "Look there. What are those lights? We are not close to any civilization."
