Private Finished Mana Mania

Yet again, Lizzy was outside taking care of the plants. She might as well become part of the maintenance staff of the academy for the gardens with how often she took it upon herself to water, groom, and even fertilize many of the plants around the campus.

She was walking along the courtyard when a loud thud from behind startled her. She jumped and even let out a quiet squeak. She really hated being shocked like such, but she decided after the immediate emotion to look for the cause and settle the mystery that scared her once and for all. She turned around and bent forward by a bush. There, she saw that a little squirrel has fallen and wounded himself. There was no way Elizabeth was going to leave it like that.

She sat down on the ground and laid the wounded squirrel on her lap. Then, she touched the ground beneath her with one hand, the other hand on the squirrel, and started saying enchantments to begin transferring the energy of the ground into the squirrel's body.

That was when she heard a familiar voice call out.

"William!" she smiled. Unfortunately, she couldn't go near him because of the squirrel. She was still in the middle of healing it, and William would see how the air around the it glows, but the soil Elizabeth was taking the energy from was turning rotten-black.

"This little creature seems to have had a bad fall off the tree. But perhaps he had already been weak before that, since squirrels don't usually fall so easily. I'm trying to heal him. Do you want to get a closer look? Come!"

A small frown formed on Elizabeth's lips. The dying land was ugly, and she didn't like it at all. "It's my doing," she explained and almost sounded venomed with rueful loathing. "I can't heal someone on my own. I must take the mana from something else to give to another, and since earth always heals itself in time, it's where I usually borrow mana from. I do wish I didn't have to, though."

The squirrel got up as she finished and pulled back her hands. Still an untamed creature of nature, the little thing immediately ran away, back to the trees. Elizabeth's eyes and lips were softened by a smile that was both warm and sad at the same time, as she watched it leave.

The small traces of sadness soon left, and Elizabeth turned to her friend with her usual energetic expression. "So, this is why I joined the gardening club! I want to help invigorate the land more than I kill it. By the way, what brings you here, William?"

"Thank you, William. You always say things that make me feel better. I guess I shouldn't wonder, considering you're very much like the sun." Elizabeth wobbled a little when she stood up, but she managed to keep her balance. Whether she healed something small or big, using her magic still took its toll from her. She absentmindedly stroked the silver cuff around her right wrist. Ignoring the sensation as it faded, she chuckled. "Perhaps you want to join the club? I would love to see you in a gardening outfit! With the straw hat and the gloves and work boots!"

She turned to where William pointed. "Ah. You've grown fond of that spot, haven't you? Well, did you get enough-- sunlight, I mean?"

Where they stood wasn't particularly shaded, but the sun must have been better on the tower rather than here on the ground. In any case, Elizabeth tugged at William's arm and pulled him to the bench so they can sit down. After doing so, Elizabeth looked up at the sky. It was mostly blue save for some cotton like white clouds, and the sun was not at all hidden.

She giggled. "Supposedly, it's the plants that photosynthesize, right?"

The idea of William photosynthesizing made his friend giggle some more, but she decided not to hold onto it too much. For a joke material, William was agreeing to it too easily.

Elizabeth leaned back into a more relaxed position against the bench. The sun was indeed warm and even Elizabeth felt herself getting re-energized being showered with its rays. And then, she held up her hand with the cuff to show it to him. "This is my source for energy. It automatically sucks mana from the air for me so I can move around like a normal person. I'm... I'm actually very sick. So without this, I won't be able to do anything, especially mana usage."

She grinned at William in hopes to show him that she was alright and it was nothing big. She even offered the cuff for a closer look. "Isn't it beautiful? My late parents made it for me."

"Do you really think so?" Elizabeth had quite a puzzled look on, and she stared at her cuff for a good few seconds while taking into consideration what William said about hiding it. She pulled her dress' long sleeve over it, as if she's only become conscious of it now. "Well, I guess I do understand it's safer hidden like this," she replied, nodding, and putting back on her smile. She turned to William again. "But nobody else here knows about it. It's just you, and I know I'm safe around you, William. You're a very good friend!"

Elizabeth did think about William a lot. She's relied on him more than a few times now, each time needing to put her complete trust and safety in him and he always managed to keep them both safe. She told him about her cuff because she thought telling him a secret like this would get them closer. It was because she trusted him.

She was too embarrassed to say all that out loud.

"Anyway," she cleared her throat, "Would you like another mana treatment like the last time? I mean... I understand you said you've just gotten some energy from the sunlight but... I don't know." She shrugged. It was the only offer she managed to think of giving, as a return favor for all those times William has taken care of her.