Principal Celeste was at least generous enough to end class early this time. Though Tala couldn't tell whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

On the bright side, she was able to go home without making Florante and Laura wait for her again. It was still sunset when they reached their street, and she was able to get home and start studying early. As soon as she got home, she immediately changed out of her school uniform and into a more comfortable dress, then sat on her desk to start rewriting her notes. This was good. This should be good. She could study early, spend more time studying in the classes she was lacking in, and do a quick refresher in her other classes.

This was a good thing. And yet...

Her grip on her pen tightened. It was a miracle it hadn't exploded yet, especially with how intense her grip on it was. But after that fiasco from Magic and Science earlier, she doubted she wanted that to happen again.

There was something in the corner of her eyes. A familiar dark shade crawling upwards. But she refused to look at it. Out of sight, out of mind. If she wouldn't look at it, wouldn't think about it, it would disappear. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Deep breath in, deep breath out.

It was a good thing that Principal Celeste allowed her to go home early this time. But on the other hand, it just made her chest feel heavy. She went home after failing a test. After failing something so simple. She didn't even get another chance. She went home without knocking over a stupid, stars-forsaken—

"Dammit!" Her hands combed through her starry hair before pulling a few strands down. Great, just great. Another headache. Just what she needed. As if the one from earlier wasn't enough.

Deep breath in, deep breath out. Deep breath in, deep breath out.

She could see her hands shaking below her eyes, but she didn't want to look at them. She didn't want to see the darkness crawling up and covering her skin. She wasn't even looking down, and she could already see a faint sign of them, as if they were taunting her.

Even though she was shaking and her heart was pounding, she looked down.

The darkness covered the upper half of her hands now. Everything was pitch black, while the ends were more of a faint purple hue. She could vaguely see her veins becoming more prominent in the same color.

She clapped her hands together and took a deep breath. Before it could continue and reach her wrists, the darkness slowly went back, and her hands returned to their original color. Well, most of her skin returned to its original color.

She moved her hands closer to her face. There were still some remaining, stopping just above the creases of each finger. She leaned back on her chair and lifted her hand up, letting the light of the chandelier hit it. While it highlighted the rest of her skin, light didn't even touch the black parts.

Her brows furrowed down. Why was this happening? The only times this ever happened was when she used magic above her skill level—which hadn't happened in so many years now—when she was exerting more magic than usual, or the rare times she lost control of herself. And even then, those would fade after a few seconds, maybe a minute. This shouldn't happen just because she was frustrated. And yet, here she was.

She turned to her notebook on her desk. She was writing as soon as she got home. If it weren't for that headache, she doubted she would have stopped. Just how many pages had she written? She flipped back to when she first started. One, two, three. That was one rewrite. Another three, another three, another three, and then one more.

Fifteen. Fifteen pages of rewritten notes.

"Not enough." She closed her notebook and rubbed her temples. She needed to write more. And not just for her Star Track classes. She needed to rewrite her other notes, too. Understanding the Self, Magic and Science, math, history, language, literature—everything. Even the minor subjects. The finals were in two moons and she needed to be prepared for everything.

She looked at her hands again. Specifically, at her middle fingers. There were bumps on both sides, just near her nails. Just how much had she been writing? With a sigh, she opened one of the doors in her desk and took out an energizing potion. After taking a small smell of it, she slowly chugged the sweet liquid. That should be enough to give her a boost for six hours.

After wiping her lips, she turned to the small compartment again. Was that her last one already? Maybe she should take a break and use this as a chance to make more. Stars know I need it.

Just as she stood up, someone knocked on the door. A quick knock, followed by a long one, then two more quick ones. Laura.

Tala opened her door. On the other side, her cousin stood with a wide smile on her face, holding a clay pitcher while two cups floated behind her. "Guess what? Auntie Hanan managed to—your hair's a mess. What have you been doing here?"

"Huh?" Tala brushed her hand down, taming any strand that was out of place. "What are you doing here? It's a little too early for dinner."

"I was planning to share this coconut juice with you and maybe talk about our plans for the Starfell Fest Dance, but it looks like I was interrupting something. Maybe you should take a break. You look like you need it."

"Really? What gave it away?" Tala scoffed and shook her head. "Is Mother in the lab? I need to brew a potion real quick."

"No, she's in her workshop. Said she'll be making some adjustments to that 'radio' thing she was making before showing it off to the council."

"Didn't she just make adjustments to it two weeks ago?"

Laura shrugged. "You know her. If she sees a work or experiment of her that's failing, she'd rather find some adjustments to it and make it work rather than give up and start over. Such is the life of being a scholar, I suppose."

Tala sighed. Somehow, that only made her headache worse. "I'm gonna head to the lab. You can come if you want."

She stepped out of her room. But before Tala could head down, Laura had grabbed her wrist. Her other hand placed the pitcher to the side, making it float alongside the two cups next to her. The smile on her face returned, and there was a faint spark in her grey eyes. "Actually, I have a better idea. I've been practicing this new trick with lightning. Based on what I've seen, it's a stronger and more precise way of controlling it. Want me to teach you?"

Tala opened her mouth. But before she could object, a thought crossed her mind. Wielding lightning was an incredibly easy spell. She had already mastered it when she was a kid. Of course, that was all thanks to Laura. So if there was a better way of manipulating lightning, both of them would have known that already. But then again, offensive magic wasn't something she always did. Maybe she should give this a try.

She looked at Laura. "Alright, let's go out."

"Great!" Laura clapped her hands. "Hold on, let me get some apples for target pra—"

"No!" Tala jumped from her own tone. Before Laura could ask, she cleared her throat and stood taller.

There was no way she was telling her cousin she was feeling horrible today because of an apple.

"I- I mean, no," Tala continued. "It's a waste of food. Mother and Father might get angry. Let's just find some rocks to use outside. I'm sure they're not that strong where we can't break them."

Laura was silent for a second before shrugging. "Alright. That works."

She followed Laura downstairs and headed to the manor's backyard. Even with the numerous large trees surrounding them, she could still see a faint hint of the sky. The sun had just set, painting the heavens a deep purple, almost black, color. Fiery stars decorated the sea of darkness above them, with the crescent moon close by.

Laura placed the cups and pitcher on a nearby table before heading to the forest, grabbing as many large rocks as she could. But she didn't keep them. Instead, she placed them in a certain place and let them float in the air.

Tala furrowed her brows. "What are you doing?"

"Targets. Trust me, this'll make sense."

By the time she was done, there were ten rocks floating in the backyard. Five of them were large, and the fact that Laura was able to keep them afloat was impressive. The other five, however, were smaller. Way smaller. If they were to take more steps backwards, Tala doubted she would still be able to see them.

When she returned to Tala's side, Laura clapped again. "Alright! Let me explain it first before I show you. The thing about lightning is that it's very precise. It can, and will, strike the same place more than once. And you'd be surprised with how accurate those strikes can be."

Laura folded her hands together. As soon as her hands made contact, a gust of wind wrapped around her body, making her hair flow upwards. She folded her hands tighter, making her fingers interlock, before separating them. The winds gathered around her arms, and they slowly turned into bright white lightning. Tala had to look away with how blinding it was.

"That's the keyword with lightning," Laura continued. "Accuracy. Lightning needs to be accurate. Sure, using all of your fingers to redirect it would let lightning shoot easily."

As soon as she said that, Laura threw her right hand forward. Her fingers were all pressed together, and her hand was flattened as she pointed at her target. In a blink, the lightning shot forwards, quickly followed by a small roar of thunder. One of the larger rocks broke in half, falling to the ground.

"But from what I've learned, it's less accurate. You're letting the lightning leave you quicker just because it's easier to handle. But if you let it stay in you for a little longer and just use two fingers, it'll be more accurate."

Like before, Laura gathered all of the lightning in her hands and readied a stance again. Though unlike before, the lightning in her body stayed longer, making it increase and look larger. The lightning crackled, and the sparks were becoming brighter and louder. Tala held her breath. She knew it wouldn't explode. Not when someone as skilled as Laura was handling it. But she couldn't help but be nervous.

As another spark cracked, Laura pointed at a smaller rock with just two fingers. Lightning shot out of her again, and thunder roared once more. Tala had to close her eyes from how bright everything was.

When she opened them, she had to rub her eyes a few times just to see things clearer. The already small rock had exploded into even smaller chunks. Just before a piece could fall, Laura shot the remaining lightning in her body towards it, turning the debris into dust.

Laura wiped the sweat from her brow and stretched her fingers. "And you get lightning! Pretty cool, huh? How about you give it a try. I'm sure you'll learn it faster than me."

"Faster than you?" Tala crossed her arms and raised a brow. "How many times did you accidentally burn yourself before perfecting it, then?"

Laura scoffed and elbowed Tala, making her mutter an 'ow'. "No questions, student," she said. "Demonstrate to the class now, please."

"Alright, alright. As you say, Miss Laura." Tala rolled her eyes before lightly pushing her cousin away.

Tala raised her hands and stretched her fingers. Though just before she could start, the sight of the blackened tips made her eyes widen, and she immediately placed her hands closer to her chest again. "Dang it. You're still not gone?"

"What's not gone?"

"This thing." Tala scoffed and showed her hands to her cousin. "My magic's being weird again, but I don't know the reason this time. And this thing won't go away."

Laura grabbed one of her hands, examining the tips of her fingers. When she let it go, she hummed. "How about you tell Uncle Bituin? He's probably examined the same thing before, so he might know what to do."

Tala looked down before pocketing her hands. "I don't know. This doesn't even stay for more than a minute. Why's it still here?"

"Well, maybe you're overworking your magic again." Laura sighed. "You should have told me about that. I wouldn't have suggested magic practice if that were the case."

"No." Tala shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'm sure it'll go away later. Besides, you already showed me the trick. I'm not going to let that time go to waste."

Tala stretched her fingers, just like how Laura did earlier, then folded her hands. The familiar purple strings of her magic wrapped themselves around her wrist. Once it dug into her skin, she parted her hands. She didn't need to dig deep to gather energy and summon lightning. It came to her in a flash, sparking and crackling at her fingertips. Tala readied a stance and furrowed her brows. It slightly burned and pricked her flesh, but she knew it wouldn't burst.

Accurate and precise. There was an even smaller rock near the large one Laura shot earlier. So small Tala had to squint.

Like what Laura did before, Tala shot two fingers forward. She hissed in pain as the usual tingle of lightning became an even stronger stabbing sensation, especially since she was just using two fingers rather than five. She took a few steps backwards, but quickly regained her footing when the thunder boomed.

The rock was gone.

Tala whistled. "Wow. That was... ouch."

"Whoo!" Laura raised her hands in the air. She sat down and poured herself a cup of coconut juice. "See, you're a fast learner."

"That actually hurts my fingers a bit, though." Tala also sat down and poured herself some juice. She held the cup for a while, letting its cold temperature also cool her fingers before massaging them. "Concentrated lightning is obviously going to be more powerful, especially if you're putting focus on something that small, but I didn't think it would be that painful. How'd you learn how to do that?"

Laura shrugged. "I've been thinking about it for a long time now. If naturally occurring lightning is precise, wouldn't that mean there's also a way for us to create lightning in a more precise method? It was hard to do the first time, though. You know how lightning can be if you keep it in place without letting it flow."

Tala giggled. "Since of magic, I guess."

Laura returned the laugh. "And magic of science."

Tala continued drinking her cup of juice. When she was done, she immediately stood up and stretched her fingers again. She did the same things she did earlier. Once she gathered enough lightning in her body, she only used two fingers to aim at the rocks. The larger ones broke into chunks, and Laura shot her own lightning at them. And when those smaller chunks became even smaller, Tala dealt the finishing blow, making them explode into dust.

"We should probably stop," she said as she wiped her ear with a finger. "My fingers are hurting and the thunder's really loud. I hope it doesn't bother anyone else near the manor."

She looked at her fingers again and sighed. The dark parts didn't increase, fortunately. But they were still there.

"You okay?" Laura asked.

Tala nodded. "Yeah. Thing's still not going away. I should probably rest once we get indoors."

"I told you you shouldn't have exerted yourself." Laura crossed her arms. Though when she looked at the field in front of them, a smile formed on her face. "But hey, look around. It wasn't for nothing. You managed to hit everything!"

Tala chuckled and placed a hand on her waist. "It's an impressive skill to control a more accurate lightning and all, but I doubt me hitting a bunch of rocks was anything special." She lightly nudged Laura and beamed at her. "You, on the other hand, found a stronger way to harness lightning."

"I doubt I was the first one to think about that," she replied with her own laugh. "Besides, you were able to learn it so quickly. That's better than nearly burning your uniform because you were impatient and tried to do it in school."

"I think both feats are amazing regardless."

Tala jumped up, and she saw Laura do the same. When she turned around, her father was slowly walking towards them. His posture made Tala look down and double check her own posture even though she was already standing straight. His silver-on-black eyes kept flicking between her and Laura, before stopping right at Tala when he was in front of the two of them.

"Father." Tala nodded. "You're home early."

"Uncle Bituin." Laura stepped forward as he stretched his hand out. She placed the back of his hand on her forehead before standing next to Tala again. "She's right. We didn't think you'd be home until after dinner."

Tala's father chuckled and patted Laura's head, slightly ruffling her blonde hair. "I had thought the two of you would be home later, too. Especially you, Starlight. I wouldn't have been surprised if Lulu was home early, but not you."

"Heh..." She placed her hand on her nape and cleared her throat. "Principal Celeste allowed me to go home early. Nothing special happened. Just us talking about magic control and things like that."

Her father raised a brow, making her hold her breath. Please don't read my mind, please don't read my mind. He was the second most powerful person she knew, just next to Principal Celeste. And that woman had also taught him everything he knew when he was a student in Elysium's. If he read her mind, she didn't know if she would be able to tell or block it.

Whether he read it or not, he didn't give any indication. He simply nodded. "You two certainly took your time here. Hanan's done cooking dinner. Let's eat together while nobody's too busy yet. Go prepare the table as well. I want to eat in the dining room today."

Tala finally released the breath she had been holding and sighed. Hopefully, he didn't read her mind. The last thing she needed was for him to do that.

There was no way she wanted her father to know she was home early because of an apple.

Her father was the first to leave, and Tala followed after she and Laura grabbed the pitcher and cups. When they stepped inside, the smell of freshly cooked pork adobo filled the manor. She didn't realize how hungry she was until its savory and sour scent reached her nose, making her stomach growl. While her father headed to the dining room, she and Laura went to the kitchen first to grab the utensils and set the table.

"I'm starving," her father said as he sat at the head of the table first. The opened curtains showed the moon outside. With the way the light hit his platinum blonde hair, it almost looked like there was a halo behind his head. "We were packed at the council meeting earlier and I didn't get to stop to eat lunch."

Tala's mother tied her sunrise-like hair before sitting on the opposite side. "Something happened?"

"We were able to retrieve important files from the victims of Moonridge Coast," he replied. "Those research documents were highly important, and some of them are still ongoing for half a century now. I was thankful we were able to salvage them. I know there's still more documents we won't be able to retrieve."

He was silent for a bit as he chewed his food before continuing, "We're still doing our best to retrieve as much as we can. Any recorded research is important, whether it's a successful one or a failed one. People can still learn from failed attempts and branch off from there."

As Tala sat down on her own chair, she turned to Laura sitting next to her, who replied with a shrug. Tala turned to her father again as she grabbed her own servings. While a part of her wanted to talk to Laura about something, perhaps about the Starfell Fest Dance like what they originally planned earlier, listening to her father was more important.

One of these days, it would be her sitting at the head of the table. It would be her taking the position of the Starblessed Councilor—as the Grand Councilor—tackling similar things her parents were talking about right now. So, even if it didn't currently interest her, she still had to start learning somewhere.

"Father, I've been wanting to ask," she said. "What exactly caused the landslide there? It wasn't like there was a storm or strong rains for the past moons. Was there another reason why the ground collapsed? And why didn't anyone know it would happen beforehand?"

Tala's father groaned. He rubbed the bridge of his nose before brushing his hair back. "Believe me, Starlight. Everyone's been expecting it to happen. Moonridge Coast is one of the oldest places here in Sylvaris, and the research institute there is as old as it is. Even if nothing intense happens, the ground can simply give away because of erosion. We've told the researchers there time and time again that it's better if they leave. If they don't want to relocate, at least let us fix the area first. But the people there highly value the importance of their institute. Either they didn't want to leave or didn't want to damage it. It was only a matter of time until then."

Tala nodded, but she still shivered at his words. One of these days, it was her dealing with those kinds of things.

When will it be my turn, though? She wasn't really sure when she would be taking his place as the Grand Councilor. Perhaps it would be in a hundred years. Or perhaps it would be after he would pass, just like how he replaced Grandma Nova when she died. As she chewed the pork and rice, her brows furrowed down.

Hopefully, hers would take a long time. She didn't know if she was ready to deal with problems like this too soon.

"How was school?" her father asked, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Anything interesting that happened today?"

"I might be going home late these next few days," Laura replied. "Maybe even later than Tala. Since the school year's almost over, we're preparing for our final performance. And our instructors really want us to perfect things before we're allowed to leave."

Tala's mother smiled. "Of course, Lulu. As long as you're doing school-related work and not goofing off with your partner, you're allowed to stay out late. How about you, Starlight?"

"Nothing interesting happened, don't worry," she replied.

There was no way she was telling her mother the most interesting thing that happened today was her losing against an apple.

"It's just the regular things," she continued. "I guess we finally got paired up for our final project, but I don't think that's what most people would call 'interesting'."

"Ah, the final project," her father said with an amused hum. "I assume you're going to be recreating the first Starfell, then?"

"Of course." She'll make sure of it.

"May we know who your partner is?"

No, no you may not. She didn't even want to think about him while eating dinner."Father, do you even know who my classmates are?"

A small laugh left her mother's lips. "Well, how about you tell me, then? You know I'm better at remembering things."

"Mother, I mentioned his name to you once and you didn't remember," she replied, returning her mother's chuckle. It was only after those words left her lips did Tala smack her forehead. How she wanted to kick herself after that slipup.

And it seemed like her mother immediately realized, as she raised a brow. "You've mentioned him before? Was it that Moonblessed you mentioned back then? Noctis Nakagawa."

Her father furrowed his brows and lowered his spoon. "Noctis... Nakagawa? Was it the one who managed to beat you in your Understanding the Self test?"

Tala's grip on her utensils tightened, and her heart twisted in her chest. She told herself she was over it. But hearing those words coming from her own parents, it was like someone stabbed her in the back in a crowd of people waiting to see her fall. "Y- Yeah. That guy."

"I see." Her father nodded as he continued eating. "I apologize, Starlight. Apart from that time, I don't think you've mentioned that boy before."

Had she never? It felt like a topic she would talk about during dinner with her family. How she would complain about Noctis being the second top student again when the only thing he didn't even do anything to deserve his ranking. Or how, even after her own reminders to him, he still didn't follow the school's dress code and only used his illusions to pretend he was following. Or were all of those conversations just with Laura?

As the three of them continued eating, Laura perked up. "That reminds me. It's a weekend tomorrow, so is it alright if I go to the tailor's shop with Florante? They said they've been wanting to prepare something nice to wear for the Starfell Fest Dance, so I told them we can go to Ate Ulan's place if you'd let us."

Tala raised a brow. "Why do we have to go to Ate Ulan's shop? She can always come here. If you do that, Florante can stay in the house and hang out for a bit."

"Because we're also going to be doing other things after getting the measurements?" Laura said with a raised brow. "Besides, it'll be fun. We'll be able to walk around this part of the city. Not to mention how you rarely go out since you're always stuck in your room studying."

She scoffed. "I don't see what's wrong with that..."

At his seat, Tala's father hummed. He looked at her mother, and it seemed like the two were sharing a silent conversation. A few seconds passed before Tala's mother nodded and smiled at Laura. "I don't see why not, Lulu. In fact, bring Starlight with you."

Tala blinked. "What? No, I'm not going. I- I have to study tomorrow. It's a weekend!"

"Which is exactly why you should go," her father replied. "Perhaps it's time you take a small break as well. Go with your cousin and have fun walking around the area. While you're at it, you can even get your own measurements as well and get a nice dress for Starfell."

"I still don't see why Ate Ulan just can't come here."

"Starlight." Her mother tapped her spoon on her plate. "I don't see an issue with Ulan or Florante coming. But this is also your chance to go out of the house for once. Feel the sun in your skin, get some fresh air. You've been living in this city since the beginning, and yet you still get lost if you're going anywhere else that isn't Elysium's, the house, or the city hall. Try to loosen up a little, alright?"

No, she did not want to go. She wanted to stay here. Continue studying. Make more of those potions she was running out of. She needed to study, and the weekend was her chance to spend the entire day studying.

Unfortunately, her mother also had a point. "Okay, I'll go with Ate Laura tomorrow."

"Excellent." Her father nodded. "Lulu, can you please get me an apple from the basket? I'm in the mood for some fruits right now."

Tala stared at Laura as she did what she was told to do. She could only glare at the fruit before she continued eating and almost choking from eating too much. Stars, she was so sick of apples right now. And she feared the day Principal Celeste would make her do the test again.

Fun Fact: The scene where Laura teachers Tala how to better manipulate lightning was supposed to be in the Tala vs Apple fight scene. Originally, Tala tried--but of course, failed--to shoot an apple even after using Laura's trick. But I figured it would be better if I show you all Laura teaching Tala the trick instead :DD

wow this chapter ended up being a lot longer than i expected. The last part feels a little out of place compared to the most part and I almost cut this in half but I realized the second part would have been too short if I did that. Dw this is a problem future Ace can solve later. Good luck on the rewrite, pookie 😘

Anyway, thank you so much for reading this chapter, and I'll see you all in the next one!