It took David two days before he activated his imbuements with the subtlety Leandro required. Then, he had to activate a single limb at a time, which took another three days. Finally, he had been asked to activate a single imbuement on a single limb.

  That had been five days ago.

  WHACK.

  David yelped. The stick had been replaced with a baton. Leandro had said that the boy's thick skin might be muting the pain too much. Not enough incentive to perform.

  His daily bruises were incentive enough. He just couldn't do it.

  Leandro stared at him, his eyes pointed. “I know that look. You are thinking that you cannot do it. How short your memory, boy. A week ago, you were saying you could not activate a single limb, yet here you are.”

  David looked up at the man, nostrils flaring, but he caught himself. Leandro was right, and that irked him.

  He wasn't annoyed that Leandro was right; he was annoyed that he had to be told.

  More than that, he was annoyed at how he seemed to resist Leandro's mana training. He had wanted this! It was the whole reason he'd contacted the man in the first place. So, why was he acting like a kid being told to eat his broccoli?

  His emotions cooled down, and he relaxed his body, taking a deep breath and addressing his mentor. “I don't understand why this is so difficult. I don't understand why I'm fighting you every step of the way.”

  Leandro arched an eyebrow, then narrowed his eyes at David, his face betraying a thought that was gripping his mind. The man whistled at Niala, who stumbled a few steps into her jog around the clearing, before motioning for her to walk over.

  The knight had them both take a seat on a fallen log, as he plopped his buttocks on a stump, facing them, addressing David earnestly. “I had been wondering about your attitude, boy. Now you tell me that you do not understand it yourself. That is both good and bad.”

  Leandro put one of his hands face up. “Good, because it tells me what your problem is.” He turned over his other hand. “Bad, because it means you are not in control of your mana. It is what is fighting you, turning your thoughts sour at the idea of forcing it into any sort of shape or control.”

  Niala's ear wiggled and her tail swayed as she focused on Leandro's words and observed David's reaction. The man himself had his brow knit as he peered at David.

  The veteran rested his hands on his knees, turning his face toward Niala, who blinked at the attention. “Girl, maybe you can help your man. Put your hand in his, and push some of your mana out.”

  Intrigued, she looked at David, who nodded, opening his hand at her. She clasped it with one of her own, closed her eyes, and pushed a puff of mana toward David.

  She yowled in pained surprise as David's hand spasmed and squeezed hers like a vice.

  Wide-eyed, he pulled back his hand in shock, his stomach dropping as he saw Niala nurse her fingers. He reached for her, his voice trembling, “Niala! I- I'm so sorry! I don't know what happened!”

  He was afraid she'd flinch away from him, even if by reflex. She instead looked at him with a smile, even while her eyes showed pain. “It's alright, I know you didn't mean it, and nothing's broken, it surprised me more than it hurt.” She said, half-lying.

  Her stare turned fiery as she moved her head toward Leandro. “But you, you look like you knew this would happen.”

  David's eyes locked onto the man, who was gripping his chin, deep in thought. He grumbled, his voice low. “It is worse than I thought. Boy, your mana is strong enough to control you. That is concerning.”

  David's own stare hardened, his tone accusatory. “Wait, you pit-bound madman! You knew I was going to hurt Niala?!”

  Leandro's eyes rose up to the challenge, as did his voice. “Boy, drop it. I meant for you to sense how someone's mana ought to feel. It is a technique best used with someone you are close to. I did not expect your own body to betray you. Do you understand?”

  “I... I do. Apologies.” David offered, tamping down on his anger. Another question bubbled up from his mind. “You said my mana can control me? Does that happen?”

  “It can, but usually with people who are under great duress, as a form of natural boosting, as the body attempts to protect itself. But you, right now, were not in duress. It was your mana, it felt attacked, a foreign energy intruding upon its territory.” Leandro grunted. “Even then, it was an extreme reaction. Hmmm...”

  The veteran rose, crossing his arms and pacing for a few seconds, while David inspected Niala's bruised hand, apologizing once more.

  “Boy,” Leandro snapped, spinning towards David. “I can think of only two ways. You can learn to control your mana, over time, wrestling with it daily until you manage to overpower it, or you can face it directly... with some help in doing so.”

  David narrowed his eyes at the man. “Why do I feel like there's only one real choice?”

  Leandrod scratched the back of his head. “Ah, well... the first solution will probably take years. The aggressiveness your mana displayed, as well as its vast quantity, means it will be a protracted battle, maybe decades.”

  “Which is time I probably do not have,” David said, tone flat.

  “Indeed, and as for the second...” He turned his attention to Niala, who flinched at the man's intense gaze. “Girl, you are an alchemist. Do you know how to prepare a Dream Prison?”

  The catkin recoiled slightly, glancing at David from the corner of her eye, before nodding. “I do.”

  Her boyfriend quirked an eyebrow. “You do? Isn't that a poison?”

  She shrank somewhat, clasping her hands on her lap. “I... yeah, it induces a sort of coma. I do know how.” She looked up at David, fearful of what she'd find in his eyes, only to blink when she saw amused surprise. “You're not disappointed in me?”

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  “What? No, why would I be? I just didn't think pure-hearted Niala would know how to craft poisons. Maybe I really should be nicer to you.” He said with a subtle smile.

  “No! I would never use poison on someone! I only learned poisons so I could understand them better, to perfect their antidotes!” She blurted out, ears erect.

  David nodded, a warm smile on his face. “Ah, that's more what I expected.”

  Niala smiled back before turning her attention back to Leandro. “But why did you want to know?”

  “Before I answer, do you know how to brew a Nightmare Prison?”

  Niala hesitated, alternating between David and Leandro, before slowly nodding at the man. “I do.”

  The veteran's eyes narrowed as he leaned forward. “And what about a Phantasmal Prison?”

  Niala's eyes pleaded for a reason not to answer, but Leandro's stare insisted. She sighed, murmuring her answer. “I... do.”

  David's eyes widened in surprise, and even the man who had asked the question was taken aback, before regaining control over his features, a newfound hint of respect in his voice.

  “Girl, please tell me you do not know how to prepare a Phantasmal Death.”

  She looked up at the man and remained silent, but her eyes told him what he wanted to know.

  This time, Leandro's eyes flung open in shock.

  David's eyes jumped between the two of them before he raised a hand. “Can someone explain to me what's a Fantasy Prison and Fantasy Death?”

  Niala snapped her attention to him, about to reproach his poor attention, when she saw the faint grin on his face. She pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes and grunting. She'd fallen for his old trick again.

  She looked at her exasperating boyfriend and explained. “So, you know how a Nightmare Prison is a poison that induces a waking coma, where you're left wandering in your head?”

  David nodded. “I know it's used as a sort of soft torture or punishment, if you can call torture soft.”

  “Right, so a Phantasmal Prison is like that, but it induces a very deep coma, while keeping you aware. People say it's like having all of your fears turn into horrible beasts that hunt you all the time.”

  “That sounds horrible.”

  “It is!” Niala nodded vehemently.

  “So Phantasmal Death is... that, but it kills you?” David asked, tilting his head.

  Niala grimaced. “Pretty much. It's the same kind of effect at the Prison, but it's laced with very potent hallucinogens and mind-augmenting substances. It has only one use: to make someone die from a heart attack due to intense fear. A very few lucky people either survived it or were given the antidote in time, and, even then, half of them went mad, afraid to even close their eyes. The others wouldn't speak of what they'd experienced.” She fidgeted with her hands as she finished explaining, disturbed from just speaking about he poison.

  David quirked an eyebrow and shifted his focus to Leandro. “You need to kill someone?”

  Leandro shook his head gravely. “No, boy. I need you to face yourself, and these poisons are the way to do it.”

  Niala snapped her eyes at the man, dismayed, as David's brow rose even higher.

  “You want me to poison David?!” The catkin exclaimed.

  “With the antidote nearby, yes. The stronger the poison, the more likely he is to face what is prowling within his mind, whatever primal mind is animating his mana.” Leandro explained, head lowered, eyes trained on the couple.

  “And that's the quick way. Quick ways are always dangerous.” David sighed. He looked up at Leandro. “Can you still train my boosting if I don't fully control my mana?”

  The veteran scrunched his face, thinking. “Somewhat, but not to the extent it would make much of a difference with what you can naturally do right now.”

  David looked at his girlfriend, who was staring at him with eyes of granite.

  “Nia-”

  “No.”

  “I didn't s-”

  “No.”

  “Can I at le-”

  “No! No! I'm not going to poison you!”

  David blinked. “Oh... well, that's easy then. Give the potion to Leandro, I don't think he'll hesitate.”

  “David!” Niala shouted, tail tensing, ears erect.

  He flinched. She was being very serious about this.

  “We can talk abou-”

  “No!” She exclaimed, voice trembling.

  He looked up to the sky. He looked back down at Niala and saw her mask of anger slowly cracking, revealing the desperate concern underneath.

  David shuffled along the log, closer to his girl, taking her into his arms. She threw herself into him, gripping his shirt. He could feel her trembling.

  He looked up at Leandro. “Can we call it off for the rest of the day?”

  The big man curtly nodded and went about retrieving the training equipment.

  Niala remained silent all the way back to their house.

  “It's stupid. I hate it. It's the worst. Please don't ask me to do this...” Niala's voice was muffled as she spoke into David's chest, curled up into him as they lay in bed that night.

  He stroked her hair, resting his head on top of hers.

  “We can have another alchemist prepare the poison.” He offered.

  He winced when she dug her blunt claws into him. She pulled back her head, her eyes wet, but her stare hard. “No, never. I won't allow second-rate alchemists' rat-piss brew to get anywhere near you. Not for this.”

  “But I have to do something, Niala. You heard Leandro just the same as I did.”

  “That doesn't mean we have to do something now! We can take some time to search for another way!”

  “Oh, kitten... Leandro might look like a muscle-headed brute, but he's the most knowledgeable man I know on the topics of mana and imbuements.”

  The look in her eyes told him he hadn't convinced her.

  “He was the commander of the Wardenfel Azure Academy for twenty years, and before that, he was the knight-commander of the First Azure Guard company, the one that produced war heroes by the dozens, who all said it was thanks to Leandro's training, and before that, he got a doctorate from the Amberose Royal University in mana-physiology.”

  Niala's face went blank as she processed that information. Her eyes widened when she spoke. “You're telling me that man is a Doctor!?”

  “Well, technically, yeah, I guess. A doctor in mana-physiology, how mana interacts with the body. If he says there isn't another way, there probably isn't.”

  She stared at him, searching for something... which she didn't find. She collapsed back into him.

  “I'll do it, but I hate this. Why do we have to keep putting you in danger...”

  He smiled, pulling her in tighter, planting a kiss on her head and rubbing his face against her ears. They twitched as a small, happy moan escaped Niala's throat.

  Then he lightly nibbled on them, and the moans intensified. His hand traced up and down her spine before she grabbed it and planted it on her butt.

  “More.” She demanded, her breath hot.

  He obliged.