They'd been on the road moving practically non-stop. Even travelling late into the nights. Havi guiding them through the dark until they'd have to stop to give themselves and the horses a break. During this time Havi barely spoke to Olya, still angry about her actions in Carborough. He had been leading them directly south to cross the border into the Lower Principalities. A loose collection of nation states who were no longer controlled by the Faith Lands. While magic was not outlawed, they had their own issues. They crossed over the day before, yet Havi was still keen to try and put distance between them and any mage hunters who might be willing to cross the border in pursuit. This was the first time Havi had let them stop as the sun set instead of keeping going. They proceeded to set up camp. The atmosphere between them was still tense.
Olya pondered how long Havi was going to be cold to her. She fully understood why he was angry with her and didn't question that he had a right to be. She was still troubled by the potential consequences that her actions might cause, to them or others. Part of her stood by what she did, but another part of her wondered if she had chosen differently would things have turned out better. If she had woken Tamlen up? Waited for Havi to get back? Gotten their help to ensure success and prevent Agnes and Haymitch from being caught. She wondered if there was something she could do or say that would smooth things over with Havi but came up blank. At least Tamlen had been fine, it would have been worse if he had been cold as well. As they finished setting up camp Tamlen spoke.
"Perhaps I should have a lesson with Olya? We're not on the Faith Lands anymore and it's the first night in a while where it's not too late..." He asked tentatively.
"Sure."
Havi answered, one word. No smile, and even tone with a neutral face.
She and Tamlen walked a distance from the camp to find a good spot. Olya posed a question to Tamlen when she thought they were out of Havi's hearing range.
"Do you think Havi is going to be always angry at me now?" She asked, sheepishly and uncertain.
She saw Tamlen think up his answer. Carefully choosing his words.
"It's not just anger...it's mostly worry. Mage hunters are not to be taken lightly, he has reason for them to give him pause. They have justly earned their reputation for efficient brutality. Even someone with his talents would have a tough fight against a squadron. Until he feels you are out of immediate danger... He's probably going to keep being like that. There's nothing you can do for now."
Olya nodded.
"...Okay... What do you have to show me today?"
Tamlen gave her a warm smile.
"Well, based on what you did to the cleric, I'm assuming you had no trouble summoning your power?"
"He made me angry enough that it was easy to call forth."
Tamlen nodded.
"It was quite the display. Did you mean to summon that much force? Did you feel in control?"
Olya cogitated. Then answered with her eyes cast down.
"Yes, I was in control and I fully intended to kill him."
Tamlen took this on.
"Then let's try something smaller. When you first showed me your power you created a bolt of lightning out of your hand and it bounced off various objects before finally stopping."
He summoned a trail of water and made it dance through the air.
"When I do this, I am planning out where I want the water to go before I move it. To ensure I keep control of its movement. I want you to do the same, plan where you want the lightning to jump to before it goes. It'll be too fast to do once you cast it. Let's see if you can control it. But first let me...."
"Find some cover?" She retorted with a smirk.
Tamlen chuckled and nodded. He found a ditch he could kneel in to potentially shield himself. Olya focussed on summoning the storm. She went straight back to her memories of the cleric, swiftly filling with rage at his corruption, ego and desire to arbitrarily assert dominance. She clutched the inner storm and harnessed it. She held out her hand, she took a deep breath, planned the path she wished the bolt to take and set it loose. She commanded it to hit the same four trees three times each, bouncing between them. When it finished its path it dissipated into the air. The trees neatly separated into four pieces each and fell to the floor, edges scorched.
Tamlen poked his head up from the ditch and gave her a beaming smile.
"You did it! I knew you could!"
"Yet you still ducked for cover?" She jibed light-heartedly.
He chuckled.
"Having faith in something doesn't mean you shouldn't prepare for it to go wrong. I was hopeful, not stupid. There's something else I would like you to work on. I want you to try meditating...in the sense you try to access your power in a state of calm. Slowly working toward the point you can access your power without filling yourself with rage."
"I thought you said being angry was how I access my power?" She queried.
"It is one route but...it makes your use of it far more conditional and less effective, if you have to make yourself angry each time. Being able to reach it in a state of calm is vital to mastery. Do you think I'm summoning a particular emotional state every time I cast? I just instinctively bring it forth, like muscle memory. It also helps to prevent your power being blocked by fear, if you can summon it regardless through practice. Since we aren't in the Faith Lands now, you should be able to work on that." He smiled.
Olya returned his smile.
"Anything else for this lesson?"
"I think you made good progress today. That'll do."
They walked back to camp where Havi was making dinner. No words were exchanged and supper was eaten in silence. They went to bed soon after. Even with the awkwardness between her and Havi, he had still been sharing his tent with her. She restlessly lay there, savouring his scent like fiery whiskey. Even with the metaphorical distance between them right now, she cherished that he was still keeping her close. She slowly surrendered to sleep.
She woke up the next morning to Havi shaking her legs and shouting at her.
"WAKE UP! YOU NEED TO HIDE!"
He dragged her out of the tent and ushered her to an old large tree with wide roots. He started pulling undergrowth aside to reveal a burrow large enough for her to hide in.
She asked in a flustered panic.
"WHY?!"
He barked at her.
"I hear horses and lots of armoured boots headed straight for us. GET IN!"
She scrambled into the hole and Havi covered it with the vegetation.
"Don't make a sound and don't get out until Me or Tamlen come! Or you're beyond certain you are alone!"
