Chapter 363: Duke It Out
"Complete trust in the other person. It is not easy. Even between friends. I know. Believe me, I know." Theo continues.
The others have already arranged themselves into pairs, or in Julian’s case, into a group of three with Dae and Huri.
"And if any of you are thinking that being friends makes this simple, you are mistaken. Friendship makes it easier, yes. That part is true. But to completely trust another person with your life is something that goes beyond friendship. It requires something deeper than that."
He looks around the room.
"Now. We will spend the first hour simply getting familiar with each other’s mana. Learn to distinguish which is yours and which belongs to your partner. Do not try to do anything with it yet. Just feel it. Let the connection form on its own. Notice what it feels like."
Sonia and Maeve are sitting cross-legged facing each other and are already smiling. They have been messaging back and forth since exchanging numbers and have become fast friends with very little effort. Linking their magic is clearly not going to be a problem for either of them.
The men are a different matter entirely. Elder Loujt and Liam are sitting across from each other in rigid silence, both of them very deliberately not doing anything. Julian, Dae, and Huri are no better, three people glancing at each other with the energy of strangers forced to share a small table.
Theo stops beside Sonia and Maeve and all three of them exchange a smile. "Very good, ladies. Keep going. Your role today is purification. Any corruption magic that is too subtle to target directly, purify the surrounding impurities before releasing it back into the environment."
"The storm is carrying a great deal of mana. If we release all of it at once, we risk triggering another magical event. Your job is to release it gradually, in controlled amounts. Think of your section as the quality control stage of a production line."
Both women nod.
Theo moves to the Earth group. "Alright, you three. You have a more complex task than the others since you need to synchronize across three people rather than two. My suggestion is to work in sequence, either clockwise or anticlockwise, whichever feels more natural."
"Start by recognizing the mana of the person next to you. Just one person for now. Push your mana toward him, let him absorb and blend it with his own, then pass it along to the next. Keep the combined mana moving fluidly between you. Do not let it stall."
The three of them nod, reluctantly but attentively.
"I’ll go first." Julian says. He is the most naturally sociable of the three. Dae, for his part, has better instincts for this kind of thing than Huri does. He gives a single nod, making the direction clear without needing to discuss it. Julian to Dae, Dae to Huri, Huri back to Julian.
They start awkwardly, the way strangers always do. But Earth recognizes Earth, and the shared element beneath the different mana signatures smooths the friction faster than any of them expected. The atmosphere between the three of them quietly improves.
Elder Loujt and Liam are a different situation entirely.
From the moment of their first encounter, Liam has felt the hostility coming off Elder Loujt and responded to it the only way he responds to everything that feels like a threat. In kind. He is a Sentinel. That is not something he knows how to switch off.
For Elder Loujt, being asked to link mana with a Monfort is the worst possible outcome of this entire arrangement. When Theo first explained that the two Water mages would need to work together, Elder Loujt had not thought it through fully. Now, sitting across from the Monfort heir with the Monfort patriarch watching quietly from across the room, he finds he cannot make himself do it. Every time Liam pushes his mana forward, Elder Loujt’s instincts reject it before his conscious mind can intervene.
After the third rejection. The fourth. The fifth.
Liam’s patience runs out.
"What the hell, Loujt?!" He shoves the older man.
The outburst shatters the quiet instantly.
Sonia and Maeve snap their heads toward the sound and get to their feet. They are already moving toward them.
The Earth mages break their connection. Dae and Huri see what Liam did to their Elder and their protective instincts fire immediately. They turn their glare on Julian.
"Hey!" Julian exclaims.
Theo is already moving. He knew these two would have the hardest time. Unfortunately, they are also the most critical pair in the entire operation. They are the lead. If Liam and Elder Loujt cannot work together, the mission does not happen.
"Uncle." Sonia murmurs, placing herself beside Elder Loujt.
"Liam." Maeve moves to his side, her voice low.
"Do not try to calm me. I am calm." Liam says, pointing at Elder Loujt. "He is the one who keeps rejecting my mana."
Elder Loujt knows he is at fault. He knows it. But watching Liam stand there in that posture, finger aimed at him like an accusation, something in him refuses to absorb it quietly.
"Yes, I rejected it! Because you shoved it at me without warning! That is not how this is done. You are supposed to be gentle about it!"
"Shoved?! I did nothing of the sort! I pushed it forward slowly, exactly the way Thea instructed!"
Elder Loujt opens his mouth to respond.
Theo steps between them.
"Enough. Both of you." He does not raise his voice. He does not need to. "You are supposed to be the leaders of your respective groups. You are supposed to set the example. If the two of you cannot do this, then we call it off. The storm stays. Everything we planned, gone."
He looks at each of them in turn.
"You both came here knowing you could not handle this alone. You both agreed that working together was necessary. You both agreed to let me conduct. So now both of you need to step back and find a way to make this work. I do not care how you get there. That is not my problem."
Theo catches Linus making a small gesture from across the room.
"Both of you are adults." He turns and walks toward Linus. "Sort it out."
Liam and Elder Loujt remain standing exactly where they are. Jaws locked. Fists clenched hard enough that the knuckles have gone white. Neither of them moves. Neither of them yields so much as an inch.
Sonia and Maeve look at each other and shake their heads slowly. They cannot help with this one.
Across the room, Linus speaks to Theo in a low voice. Whatever he says makes Theo smile and nod. Theo thanks him and turns back.
"Really." Theo looks at the two of them, still rooted to the same spot. "You are both still standing there. Neither of you has moved. You are behaving like five year olds fighting over the same toy."
Theo crosses his arms and faces them both.
"So." A pause. "What is it going to be? Are you going to find a way to work together?"
He lets the silence sit for a moment, as if that is the full question.
"Or are you going to duke it out?" He adds.
Both men snap their heads toward him.
Theo smirks. Then shakes his head faintly and mutters under his breath. "Duke it out. I should have seen that coming."
He takes a step back.
"Fine. If you want to duke it out, fine."
Both men visibly brighten.
"But." Theo adds.
Both men deflate.
"I have to set one condition. Our goal today is to clear the snow. Having either of you injured going into it is not ideal. So if you want to compete, we do it properly."
He looks between them.
"A competition. Each of you runs the operation with the rest of the group, but with only one Water mage. How do we measure it? Simple. We pool the purified mana at the end and see who produced more."
"Three attempts each."
He looks at them. "How does that sound?"
"We each do it without the other?" Liam asks. He likes the sound of it already.
Theo nods. "Yes. And if either of you succeeds on your own, the other does not need to be involved at all."
"I am perfectly fine with that." Elder Loujt agrees without hesitation. This is his chance. He is not going to waste it.
"Same." Liam says firmly. He is confident in his odds.
Theo claps his hands once. "Good. That is settled." He glances back at the other five. They are all nodding. "But your teammates still need time to work together before we begin. Thirty minutes?"
Everyone confirms.
"Perfect." Theo looks back at the two of them. "You two go somewhere else so you are not a distraction. Come back in thirty minutes."
