The Raccoon and His Boy - A Varian x Reader story

XV

You took a deep breath and focused again once another flower. The result was similar, but this time every petal stretched out and could probably cover your whole hand like a bandage. You sighed and slumped a little; while you'd gotten soaked several times, mastering Water hadn't been anywhere near this hard.

"I don't understand why it isn't working," you told Varian, feeling your grip tighten in frustration on the compass. "My focus should be strong enough!"

"Maybe that's the problem," he said, twisting you by the shoulders so you faced him. "Maybe you're focusing too hard, and it's interfering with that magic?"

"Focusing too hard? What does that even mean?"

"I don't know! I just think you need to relax a little. You look really tense."

You sighed, slumping against him. "I guess I'm just disappointed in myself. I wanted to show you all the magic I've learned, and... I wanted to impress you."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm impressed," Varian assured you, holding you so you would look into his eyes and see he was sincere. "I don't think I'd ever manage to learn magic as fast as you are – and yes, two months is fast."

You met his gaze again, and the smile he offered me melted away any remaining concerns. You sighed and gave him a tiny grin back before glancing down at the compass again. "Maybe I should leave Earth for a different day, when I'm more relaxed."

"Well, what about Light? You said you wanted to try both of them, remember?"

You glanced up at the sky. While you had wanted to try with Light, you'd always assumed it would be more relevant at night or during winter, when the sun wasn't constantly illuminating the world. Still, your longing to impress Varian was bubbling in your stomach, so you nodded and guided him over to a shady spot, hoping that would help you have more focus on what Light you were controlling.

As you guided the compass' arrow over to the Light sign, you watched the rays of sun reflect off glass and hit the tree bark in front of you. Star suddenly perked up and pounced for the spot of light, and while her reaction was a tad jarring it gave you a wonderful idea. "Hey, Var-Bear? Do you have anything reflective in your bag, like a mirror or something?"

"I'm sure I can find you something," he replied, kneeling down and digging through his backpack. "Why?"

"I think it'll help me control the light," you explained, taking a small sheet of metal from his gloved hands and placing it in front of you in the grass. "Watch."

You centered your thoughts around the sheet of metal, trying to visualize the sun's rays gathering on the metal and bouncing right off, specifically in the direction of a cluster of mushrooms in the corner of the glade. You heard Star yowl, but focused yourself on the image in your mind, letting your imagination take over for your brain.

The light suddenly flew up to a tiny hole in a tree's bark and twisted to form a star shape against the darkness. Varian laughed in amazement beside you, and you could feel him grow excited. You wanted so badly to turn your attention to him, but only after a few moments of leading the spotlight around in the grass did you manage to hold your concentration while watching Star run around and Varian beam adorably.

"That was amazing!" he exclaimed, lifting you off the ground a bit as he hugged you. "See? I knew you just needed to change your focus. And now Star and Ruddiger finally have something to keep them busy."

You laughed, pecking him softly on the cheek. "Yeah, you were right. But I couldn't have done it without your help."

"Hey, you're the one with the talent. All I did was nudge you along. And you should know by now, N/N – I'm always right."