Dragonback was even more exhilarating when she wasn't fixed in place, so when Lukas suggested he be buckled in so he could rest, Vaylerlie was more than willing to accommodate. He patted Blaze's flank before he settled down, simultaneously grateful and sympathetic; the Riders had decided it would be best to get as far away from the battle as possible, so it would be a long and arduous flight for the dragon. To pass the time, Jonah continued Vayle's training. Throughout the session, he marvelled at how naturally it all seemed to come to her – the only apparent issue was that she couldn't separate the elements she created. Jonah mentioned he thought having a teacher from each Element would help, but Jenna still hadn't woken. Instead, he focused on speed, and knowing how much to use power to use for certain tasks. "Describe how you bring the element out of your hand." When she told him she had imagined a miniature Vaylerie moving through her body, he nodded and asked, "What did she look like?"
Vaylerie faltered slightly at that, "I... don't really know? It just felt like me, it wasn't like there was a mirror..."
Jonah nodded again, "Good. Normally, when we start to teach a spark to control their powers, they have to imagine every detail about themselves to focus their mind – which I'm sure you can guess slows down the process. Once they've grasped the concept, we teach them out of that habit again."
"Okay, so if I'm already doing that, what else can I do to?" She asked, perplexed.
Jonah grinned. "You catch on fast. But, there is one thing: your 'miniature' doesn't need to run anywhere, they can pop up wherever you want." Seeing the intrigue on her face, he instructed her to empty her mind, and put her miniature by her source.
She closed her eyes. 'Rasping breaths, beating heart...' She formed her miniature in her mind, and floated down into her chest again. "Okay, I'm here. What next?"
His voice drifted into her mind, "Simply imagine your miniature somewhere else, and she'll appear there. Try it, do it again to get back to your source; flit about your body for a while to get used to the feeling." She imagined herself inside her knee and the bright light of her source suddenly disappeared. The singing became much quieter, and was coming from above her instead of directly before her. Looking around, she felt the barrier that was her skin surrounding her on all sides except above and below. Imagining herself within her chest again, she was assaulted by the bright light and loud noise of her source. When Jonah saw her recoil, he asked, "What's wrong?"
"My light is too loud, too bright... It hurts to be this close."
"Remember this miniature isn't real. You see through her as if she has eyes, and hear as if she has ears, but she doesn't. Your source cannot harm you." He soothed.
That made a lot of sense. She forced her miniature forwards into the light. Blinded and deafened at the same time, she clung to his words – twirling them over and over in her mind. 'Your source cannot harm you. Your source cannot harm you. Your source cannot harm you...' Eventually, she grounded herself within the source, letting the light and sound wash over her without connecting to her mind. No longer afraid to look at it, she considered the pool before her. It wasn't pulsating, or drumming. It was beating. And she could see it now, its shape stark white against the black surroundings. It was beautiful.
"Vayle? Are you okay?" Jonah's voice reminded her of her task.
"Yes, sorry. Just distracted." She laughed, slightly embarrassed – Jonah was once again amazed that she could be so lucid while she was sensing; he'd never even heard of a sensor talking while they worked, nevermind laughing. Vaylerie, oblivious to his amazement, practiced the movements like he'd instructed her. She tensed slightly the first few times she returned to her source, but it couldn't hurt her anymore. Once she had visited most of her body, she told Jonah she was ready to continue. He nodded, instinctively, forgetting she still had her eyes closed. After a small laugh at himself, he gave her new instructions. "Now, I want you to go back to your source and pick up a tiny ball of power. I'm going to say a part of your body, and I want you to summon your elements there. Got it?" She nodded. "Now, be careful – when you transport with power, it's slightly different. You have to imagine your miniature holding the power. Get used to how it feels when she holds it, and try and replicate that where you want to go." The familiar crease of concentration appeared on her brow.
"I'm ready." She breathed.
"Right palm." He instructed. A few moments later, she gasped – a smaller version of her element ball spinning in her right palm. "Your speed is good, but you seem to come back with some difficulty. What do you do when you bring the energy through your skin?"
"It's like there's a barrier around me – I throw my miniature at it so I can break through." She panted.
Understanding dawned on his face. "That barrier won't block you. That barrier is part of you, it obeys your commands – if you try to push something through, it will allow it. Your miniature only needs to push and it will go through."
She nodded gratefully, still panting, before she seemed to think of something, and her head popped up to look at him. "So what does it block?"
"It stops other people reaching into you to take your power. I'm sure you can imagine how that could be an issue." Then he got back to business, "Next, I want you to imagine your miniature reaching out to grab the ball in your hand, and pull it back into your body – make sure most of your miniature stays inside your skin, or your mind will snap back into your head. Then let it go, and it should rush back to your source."
'Rasping breaths, beating heart...' She transported her miniature to her right hand, and looked out through her skin. She was intrigued to find that the energy was no longer just a white ball – it had separated into three different sections of light. A red pillar in the centre amid a swirling mass of yellow, both contained within a sphere of green. The song wasn't the same either – all the same parts were there, but they weren't entirely concordant anymore. Not knowing what to make of any of that, she resolved to ask Jonah later and returned to her training. She stuck her miniature head and shoulders out through her skin to try and grasp at the ball, but it was too far away. Opening her mouth to ask Jonah's advice, his earlier words entered her mind. 'Remember this miniature isn't real... Her eyes and ears don't follow the rules. Why should the rest of her?' She imagined the miniature's arms stretching far enough to grab the ball. Then they shrank again, pulling it closer, and then inside her body. The instant it passed through her skin, the structure collapsed – the lights swirled together for a moment before resolving back into a single white ball. She released it, as she'd been instructed. Suddenly the different colours were back again – they were all moving at different speeds, separating out from the white ball. Green rushed off, followed by yellow, and finally red. She transported her miniature to her shoulder to get ahead of them. Seeing the green ball approaching, she held out her arms and caught it. It was cool to the touch, like a gentle breeze. Her feelings while holding it were difficult to describe, but if she had to assign a word it would be free. Seeing the yellow ball approach, she released her captive and caught the newcomer. A slight warmth prickled on her skin, like she was bathing in Tol's gaze. Her mind filled with such joy at its presence that she was loathe to surrender it when the red ball came into sight. Alas, her curiosity overrode her apprehension. If she didn't know her miniature couldn't be hurt, she would've thought it was burning her. But not just on the outside – she was filled with such fierce passion that everything else inside her wilted. She was far less uneasy about dropping this ball. She transported back to her source to watch the balls enter it. Then she remembered how she'd felt when she grabbed the first ball. Concentrating on those feelings, she reached into the huge white pool and pulled out a green ball. Elated at her discovery, she pushed it back inside and repeated the process with the other two feelings. She removed first a yellow ball, and then a red one. Transporting back to her hand with a red ball, she pushed it through her palm and returned to her real body.
"Jonah! I did it! I know how to separate my elements!" She cried with glee. He was staring at the flickering flame in her outstretched hand as if he'd never seen fire before. Vaylerie couldn't suppress a laugh at the thought. She quenched it and waited for him to look her in the face before starting to explain.
Lukas awoke to solid ground beneath his back, and a strong sense of safety he hadn't felt for days. His eyes drifted open, but he was still mostly in darkness. Over to his right, light winked against something reflective. He raised a hand before his face. When it brushed against a leathery substance, his surroundings shuddered slightly. But that wasn't what made him smile. He smiled when he recognised the snort he heard. "You always were vulnerable under your wings." He stated, before he set to work. The bronze dragon snorted and thrashed under his tickling fingers. She rolled onto her side to escape him, the afternoon light rushing in to blind him. One his eyes adjusted, he stood and gazed down at his partner. "It's good to see you Kaolin." He admitted, before touching his forehead to her snout.