Valerian | Magi

III

"A woman made out of rukh? Can't say I've ever heard that one before."

Mariam deflated and began playing with her hands. "Yeah, thought so. It was weird. She... was trying to tell me something, I think. But she was cut off. She sounded really upset, Yunan."

Yunan hummed in contemplation.

"And you haven't tried to talk to her again since then, have you?" He asked.

Mariam shook her head. "Nope, since I saw her I haven't felt a thing. When I was talking to her there was this kind of... tingle? Even before I saw her, really. And when I couldn't control myself. Only put them together a little while ago."

Yunan drummed his fingers against his staff. He was sitting on it, legs swinging off the side as he and Mariam tried to figure out just what was happening to cause all of this.

"I could try and draw her out with you rukh–" Yunan began, but shook his head quickly, "but we don't know what will happen to you if I try that, so it's best not to do that until we know for certain you'll be safe."

Mariam sighed.

"What am I meant to do then? Live my life knowing that there's a person inside me trying to take over?" She asked sarcastically. Her shoulders had dropped throughout the course of the conversation and now she just leaned back against her bed.

Yunan smiled.

"Of course not." He said, "I'm going to teach you how to control the rukh so you can try and draw her out yourself."

Mariam stared.

"What?"

"Now, you have directed them before haven't you?" Yunan asked, but he looked like he already knew the answer.

Mariam had to think for a moment, but she recalled all the times in the past she had sent them off to make sure where she was headed was safe. Though that didn't always turn out well.

"Yeah," she nodded.

Yunan sat down on the carpeted floor of his dining room and pat the floor beside him. She sat down by his side.

"When you direct them, what do you feel? Is it anything like that 'tingle' you felt when you spoke to that woman made of rukh?" Yunan inquired, placing his staff down in front of them both.

"I don't—"

"Try." Yunan directed, watching her closely.

Mariam flinched and nodded. "Okay..."

She pushed her directions to the rukh, asking them if they could go towards Yunan. It took a moment but they did respond and began to gather around Yunan. Her body shivered as they reached him and she blinked in surprise.

Mariam had never felt that before, at least in the past, because it had been so natural when she did it. But she had been searching for a feeling, and that was the exact same thing she felt when talking to the woman made of rukh.

"Yeah, I do." She finally agreed when she caught Yunan looking at her awaiting an answer, "the exact same."

Yunan nodded. He looked unsurprised.

"I thought so," he said, confirming her thoughts, "now, I want you to do something else for me. Pick up my staff."

Mariam reached forwards for it, but Yunan held a hand out in front of her. The magi shook his head and, confused, she sat her hands on her lap. She gazed at him with an inquisitive expression.

"Try and do it, but using the rukh's help." He elaborated and she stared at him incredulously.

How, exactly, did he expect her to do that?

"Just direct them, Mariam. They'll listen to you. Take all the time you need." Yunan told her softly. Mariam frowned at him but then turned her attention back towards the staff.

In the back of her mind, she could hear the woman asking for help. Mariam narrowed her eyes and tried to direct the rukh to pick up the staff. They fluttered just above her skin before moving towards the staff, but when they got close they quickly withdrew back to her.

Mariam winced. They didn't seem to like being around Yunan's staff and its immense magical presence. Even without the magi holding it, it was one of the strongest magical items she would ever see, she was sure of it.

Yunan chuckled. "It seems the rukh don't know what you want them to do, Mariam. Try again, but try and be as specific as you can be."

Mariam nodded. She breathed in, then out. Then, again, she directed the rukh towards the staff. As they got closer and went to turn back, she aimed another direction towards them. They paused midair, and then dived down and wrapped the staff in the white glow.

Yunan was silent beside her, but she could almost feel the smile on his face.

Bring it to me, please. She sent out and watched as carefully, slowly, the rukh worked to life the staff up. Their wings clapped harshly as they picked it up and brought it over to Mariam, dropping it in her lap as soon as they were close.

Mariam smiled and the rukh gathered around her once again. She turned to Yunan to see the magi looking back with a proud expression on his face.

"Only two tries and you got it. We might just have a magical genius on our hands." The man said brightly and her cheeks burnt under the praise.

Mariam went to pick it back up and hand it to the magi, but the man pursed his lips and shook his head.

"No," he said, "you don't need to give that one back." Yunan gestured with his fingers and a staff almost identical to the one in Mariam's lap appeared. It fit in his hands easily, and the magic it radiated was a lot stronger than the one she was holding. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed when he had placed it down. While the one she was holding produced a lot of magic, it paled immensely in comparison to the one in his hand that was obviously the original.

The staff in his hand was also longer, more his height than the one she had. She blinked, confused. Now she was noticing the fact that the one she had was more her height than anything.

"I decided before we started that I should give you your own." Yunan told her. "It works as a conductor, and who knows how powerful that magic in you may be? I just want you to be able to draw it out and prove to yourself what you can do."

He looked extremely smug with himself. Mariam looked down at the staff in her lap in shock.

"This is... mine?" She asked, her voice soft and wonderous.

She heard Yunan's quiet laugh.

"Yes, it is. Take care of it, will you? I used my rukh to charge it until you're able to do it yourself– or until you find a staff that suits you much more naturally than this."

Mariam, carefully, sat the staff in her lap back onto the floor. She turned to Yunan and unable to restrain herself threw herself at him and brought the magi into a tight hug.

"Thank you, Yunan. Thank you."

Yunan pat her head and hummed.

"You are welcome...

"But you still have to learn how to use it, first."

Mariam lifted her head up, her jaw slightly opened, and expression growing disbelieving.

Seriously?