Blinking at the sudden influx of light coming from the small ball of fire cradled between Constans’ hands the older mage could feel a grin curling at the edges of her mouth; after so many years magic was still capable amazing her, still able to leave her speechless in wonderment. Pulling her gaze away from the dancing flames Lee focused on the boy carefully controlling them, every trace of awe erased from her face.
“Not bad at all. You seem to have done quite well for yourself in regards to your own abilities. It is not every apprentice that can gain such control within a year with assistance, let alone on their own. Without a doubt you will impress your teachers if you carry on in such a fashion.” Eyes flickering back to his hands and the flames held within she wondered how many burns he suffered trying to do what he seemed to do with ease at this moment.
She might have said it was the speed of his studies that would impress his teachers but, personally, she thought it was his perseverance that was most notable. So many apprentices gave up at the smallest bit of pain or discomfort, the most minuscule difficulty, and refused to go on. In the Tower that was the nature of many of the mages, herself included. Gritting her teeth she let her mind drift back to the memory of a frost covered room and half-frozen tears. Feeling her heart jump and speed up she hastily closed her eyes, turning her suddenly ashen face away from the younger boy and spoke, her voice hollow. “You should be proud.”
Offering Constans a small smile she swallowed down the lump in her throat, robes rustling as she shifted, and reached for the small pouch she had tied around her belt. “If you are done eating for the time being I brought these with me,” she said softly, pulling out a small vial full of a luminous red liquid. Shaking the potion lightly she watched entranced as the liquid swirled inside its container and held it up to eye level, examining the potion closely for any imperfections.
Satisfied she glanced away, eyes landing on Constans, “it is a potion meant to restore health though you might already know as much. You are free to have as many as you require though it would be best if we first washed and cleansed any injuries you may have.” Raising a single brow, lips pulling back into a smirk, she stared at the boy as if challenging him. “You can try out your ability to heat water to your liking. Better to test it out now and make sure you can do it than when all of the other boys are watching, no?”
Leaning back, smirk still in place, she waited for Constans to make his move. She hoped he would take up her implied challenge, anticipating that a young boys pride would refuse to back down; that, ultimately, the boy would need to prove himself and when that happened… Well she would be patiently waiting to take his dirty clothing for washing and offer him a clean set of robes in return.
This would be the easiest method of getting him clean and taken care of and she desperately wished he would go for it, silently praying that he would, but it was certainly not the only option she had available to her. If he choose not to then he would have no one but himself to blame when he ended up dumped, fully clothed, into a tub of frigid water.