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Nocturne had spent the last month getting together with Rivalee. Sometimes it was sexual hook ups but more often than not, they met for lunch or coffee so he could learn more about her and decide if he could trust her with his sister. Finally he felt like she was fairly open and honest and he didn't have any weird vibes about her that insisted she wasn't what she seemed. Still, if he ended up being wrong, he would make sure he was always close enough to hear Lyric shout and he could nullify Rivalee's magic and subdue her. He really hoped it wouldn't come to that as he did enjoy her company and knew Lyric would adore her as well.

He hadn't mentioned anything about Rivalee to Lyric until only two days ago as he hadn't wanted to get her interested in the idea if it didn't work out. Once he felt Rivalee was safe and she was also into the idea of helping a young mage, Nocturne brought it up to Lyric. She was thrilled at the idea of someone guiding her with her nature magic and far too excited at the mention of sex magic. Nocturne had debated whether he should bring that up or not but decided she should know that was an option to her as well given how interested in that activity she was as well. Still, it wasn't the most comfortable conversation they'd ever had, at least on his end. He thought he was a pretty cool older brother and remained calm and understanding in any situation but suggesting to his little sister she could use sex to make her magic stronger had started pushing him into awkwardness and hesitation as he found the right words.

"Since you're so... enthusiastic... when it comes to... sexual activities with Cody... I thought you should learn of ways to use that... energy."

Maybe it wasn't his finest moment but it had still made Lyric happy and Nocturne left to go make the arrangements for an evening his sister was free so they could at least meet and then go from there. But thanks to her job and her dedication to dancing, it had to be on a school night. So Nocturne was currently pulling into their driveway with Rivalee in the passenger seat and Lyric hopefully preparing some tea like he asked and setting it out with the plate of cookies he had prepared earlier.

Escorting the gorgeous woman through the front door of their home was odd considering he hadn't really brought anyone over since high school. He'd become too cautious--paranoid--that someone could do his family harm or his lover or friend could be a liability and the wrong person could use them for information. But there he was, holding the door open for Rivalee so she could enter and kick off her ankle boots before bringing her into the family room where Lyric sat with the tea and cookies.

"Lyric, meet Rivalee Mitchell. Rivalee, this is my little sister Lyric." He was smiling, genuinely happy to give his sister a chance to learn and grow but he was still uneasy, always her protector. It was with some effort as well that he made himself say the next words and get his feet to move.

"I'll leave you ladies alone but I'll be in the kitchen doing some meal prep, if you need me."

Rivalee couldn't help but grin at the reluctance she heard in Nocturne's voice. It was clear he was still nervous about leaving them alone but that only made her fondness of him grow. It was sweet how much he looked out for his sister and yet tried to give her freedom as well. They were an interesting family and that no doubt earned some kind of attention, whether wanted or not. A Guardian with two children, one of which was a null and the other that apparently lived in a sheltered life? No, she couldn't blame Nocturne at all for being so cautious.

"Lovely to meet you, Lyric," Rivalee smiled at the girl and approached with a hand extended to give a proper greeting with a handshake. It was also a good test of magical power. She could see how strong Lyric's powers were while also letting the young woman feel hers. Well, she amended, assuming Lyric wasn't blocking but she doubted she had been taught how to do that yet from the little Nocturne had finally shared. In return, she let her magic crackle around her. It wouldn't do to say she could teach someone if she barely had anything to show for herself. 

"Your brother's quite protective, isn't he?" She confided once Nocturne was out of the room. "I bet it gets on your nerves sometimes." She didn't have any siblings given how rare it was in magical families but she did have some close friends while growing up and some of them had it in their head to look out for the others. It was irritating at times but she also appreciated it as it showed how much they meant to one another.

Seeing the goodies laid out on the table in front of the couch, Rivalee invited herself to sit down and swiped a cookie, taking a bite seconds later. "Mm! Delicious! Did you bake them?" She finished off the treat before helping herself to a cup of tea and taking a sip. It was also delightful. She'd have to ask after the flavour and brand before she left. 

"I'm sure you have plenty of questions, probably about me, so ask away. You can tell me anything about yourself as well. Then we can get into some ideas I have for teaching you what I know." Nocturne had warned her about how excited Lyric was over the whole thing but Rivalee had a timeframe for some of their work and a hyper teenager wasn't going to get her to rush it.

At first, Lyric had been confused when Nocturne mentioned bringing in a mage to tutor her in Elemental magic; she learned about magic in school, and it was for the most part extremely boring, but it had helped her develop and grow well enough. Lyric felt she had a good handle on her powers, and was confused by why her brother thought she would need a tutor. When he went on to explain about Rivalee and her own magic, as well as his awkward invitation for her to learn about sex magic from the older woman, Lyric was intrigued and more than a little excited. She’d never heard about sex magic before, and had almost immediately texted Cody to see if he had heard anything about such things.

While the shifter was just as in the dark about the topic as she was, he was also just as intrigued as she was, and Lyric was excited by the prospect and what it would mean for their extracurricular activities. She did wish she’d recorded Nocturne bringing up that particular subject, though! His face and overall awkwardness had been hilarious and Lyric was sad she didn’t have evidence to share with Cody or to torture Nocturne with when he annoyed her for some reason.

Lyric, who was beyond excited and nervous at meeting this new mage, had almost forgotten to put on the water and had ended up rushing around madly to get the task done, managing to get everything in order and on the coffee table in the living room, a bright smile on her face as she took in the sight of the other woman. Lyric couldn’t tell how old Rivalee was, but she was absolutely gorgeous – honestly, she didn’t expect anything less from her brother – and Lyric was only a little bit jealous of her hair. It was so blonde and pretty! Lyrics hair was long, too, but she’d always considered it a rather drab shade of brown.

Smiling when she was introduced, Lyric’s gaze shifted to Nocturne as he almost seemed to grumble the next few words, and she arched an eyebrow at his retreating back, before giggling quietly into her hands. She could kind of remember when he was like that, when she had first become friends with Cody. Always on the look out and distrustful, glaring and huffing. Rolling her eyes good naturedly, Lyric turned her attention back to Rivalee as she was greeted. Lyric stood up fluidly and took the hand that was offered to her, giving it a polite shake. She almost dropped Rivalee’s hand in surprise when the other woman’s magic erupted around her, eyes wide with surprise.

Lyric wasn’t used to displaying her power, as it was far more common for her to hide it, or it was suppressed by Nocturne’s presence. She let go of her grip on it carefully, feeling the power sparkle along her skin and raise all the little hairs on her arms. Lyric smiled, holding out the hand that wasn’t in a shared grip with Rivalee’s, and watching with slight concentration as a flowering vine – a wisteria, she decided after a moment – sprung up, twining around her arm and up into her hair, purple flowers blooming along it. She smiled again, stopping the growth, but leaving the green vinery around her arm and tangled in her long hair. She always kept an assortment of seeds on her person, but was never sure which one would take to the magic first.

“Huh?” Lyric asked, blinking out of the magic trance she’d been in, and then snorted. “He has his moments,” she said vaguely, but smiled as Rivalee settled on the couch with a cookie. “No,” she laughed, amused by the prospect of cooking. “Noct does that. He wouldn’t let me in the kitchen, even if I could promise not to burn the house down while I was in there.” Lyric shrugged, and took a seat as she considered the other woman curiously. “What’s your specialty?” She asked, head tilted slightly to one side. “Mine is nature,” that seemed a redundant statement, since she had a vine twining her arm, but anyway. “The garden outside is mine; I’ll show it to you if you come back in daylight.”

Nocturne baked? It seemed he was a man of many talents. Brother or lover, it must have been nice to have someone around to cook and bake all the time. Rivalee could manage a few recipes and wasn’t about to starve if she didn’t have cell service to order delivery but variety was the spice of life and that was something she didn’t have a lot of in the kitchen. She made no comment on it, though, since she wasn’t there to discuss Nocturne and Lyric seemed more willing to talk about herself than her brother.

“I’m strongest with water but wind is a close second. I can call upon earth and fire but they take a lot more concentration and aren’t nearly as powerful or cooperative.” Rivalee went on to explain her decades of travelling to various countries to study what the mages in the area had put to paper. It helped her both to learn more about mages as a whole but she found new techniques for practicing and opening up to the elements. It was what she wanted to share with Lyric, she continued while snagging another cookie.

“I’ll be ninety-seven soon,” Rivalee confided with a smile, under the belief Lyric wanted to ask but thought it would be rude. “That’s given me a lifetime of knowledge but I’m still essentially the same age as you given how old our elders can be.” The statement was made to both let Lyric know that Rivalee was qualified to teach her but also perhaps done to let her know she would still be approachable. Rivalee hated the idea of being seen as a stuffy old mage and while respect was still important, she wanted to have casual friendship with the young woman where Lyric could come to her with any issues concerning magic or even life in general. She still didn't know all the details about the Jackson family but Nocturne had mentioned how their mom left when Lyric was young and he had done most of the parenting since their dad was busy with the Guardians. Not that Rivalee had any parenting bone in her body but she was Lyric's age once, though that was in a completely different time.

Rivalee sipped at the tea as she considered the power display earlier, eyeing the vine that still clung to Lyric's arm. It was good to know there was something already there to work with and not just a proud brother boasting about his sister. She had also studied enough about earth and nature to be able to help the girl flourish and do more than make pretty flowers. With enough practice and dedication, Lyric could create little earthquakes as part of her defenses. "Do you have an affinity to anything else? I know your dad is strongest with fire and that is often a good one to focus on with earth. Think of volcanoes and how the elements work together for those events."

Lyric’s eyebrows arched slightly at Rivalee’s explanation that she could control not only one, but four aspects of their Elemental magic. Lyric had never even really thought about trying to use magic that wasn’t directly related to plants; she had no idea what other magic she might be able to touch on, or even how far plant magic itself could go. Lyric knew what she could do, and her powers with plants were both strong and excellent as a result. But Lyric was also a perfectionist, and the idea of dabbling in magics she didn’t yet have control of was… less enticing, because, well, she wouldn’t be good at it. Lyric didn’t like not being good at something.

Instead of dwelling on that, however, Lyric listened avidly as Rivalee described her life and adventures, leaning forward in her seat and studying Rivalee’s expressions as she spoke. The older mage had a very captivating way of speaking, and Lyric enjoyed the sound of her voice. When told her age, Lyric’s eyebrows shot up once more, and she grinned at the quip about their elders. Most of the elders Lyric had been around, were the stuffy old men who occasionally had stopped by the School when she was there. Some of her teachers were older, too, judging by their appearance, but Lyric didn’t know for sure.

Lyric frowned when she was asked about other elements she might have a connection with, and her father’s specialty in fire. He had said she took after her mother, with her nature magic, and Lyric had never questioned it, but she felt like he was glad her powers weren’t with fire. Fire was destructive, and dangerous, in a way that nature really wasn’t. They both had a life of their own, and would take root if enabled, but nature was slow and steady where fire was wickedly fast and quick to take away all semblance of control. Lyric pursed her lips, and shook her head once before speaking. “No.” She said simply, and shrugged one shoulder. “I’ve never tried anything else,” she added frankly.

She’d never been asked before if she could use other elements, and it had never occurred to her to try. She knew some of the young mages at school could dabble in multiple aspects of their magic, but they were not very good at any of them as a result. Lyric had devoted all her time, attention and skills to the magic she knew she could tap into and control. “I’ve just focused on the plants.” She continued, shrugging again. Lyric really wasn’t sure she wanted to start from scratch again, even if it would ultimately make her more powerful… Though there was that comment about sex magic… she was pretty sure her flowers wouldn’t play a part in that.

Lyric shifted in her seat, taking another sip of her own tea before setting it aside and focusing on Rivalee once more, her eyebrows furrowed but her face attentive. “How do I find out if I can touch other magics?” She asked, leaning forward in determination. So long as she didn’t unintentionally burn the house down trying to make fire or something… Nocturne would never shut up about that!

Rivalee wasn’t surprised by the answer. She knew mages first focused on the power that came to them naturally with the first sign of having powers and most didn’t branch out from that point. If they had an affinity to water, they stayed in that comfort zone, learning all they could with that element and never trying anything else. Young mages were usually told that was the best way to proceed but Rivalee was never a firm believer in that method. Sure, it had merits but she also felt like it held back potential and a cynical side saw that as the elders not wanting their own powers disputed and over the decades the newer generations weren’t encouraged as much. She knew exactly how cynical that was and it also didn’t make a lot of sense considering how so many of the oldies still saw everyone in their respective species and that mages should rule above everyone else.

Going back to the reaction she saw Lyric have over her confession to her specialities, Rivalee sipped her tea and then set it aside. “Only the most powerful have a true mastery over all of the elements. One or two is usually where most of us will top out. My dabbling with fire, for example, has me easily lighting the candles that surround my bath tub.” Anything stronger than that and she had to fight to call the fire forward but it was there if she tried enough. Perhaps over time she could find a stronger bond but she was happy with her water and comfortable with it. That was why she studied Lyric for a long time, thinking about the young woman as she snagged another cookie and thought about where to take the lessons.

When Lyric showed she did have an interest in learning more, Rivalee made up her mind and nodded to herself. Yes, she would help this mage find out more about her potential and the ways to guide that growth and control it. “We ask the elements, of course,” Rivalee said cheerfully with a smile as she dusted the crumbs from her fingers onto the plate. “We’ll meditate with you looking within to find what lies there and then turn outward, seeking guidance from the elemental lords and ladies. Asking permission to learn from them and to use their powers is only polite and opens pathways.” It was the way she had learned but not everyone chose that method. Her years of studying around the world had shown her that but it did seem to be a respected way and one that older families still used. She supposed it had to do with the dwindling belief in most things but the elemental lords and ladies were there, she knew from her own experiences.

Considering Lyric’s strong bond with plants specifically, and not just the earth as a whole, Rivalee considered another method to help with that area as it wouldn’t hurt to have extra guidance. “Have you ever thought about the deities around the world? My travels have revealed there’s a lot of truth in their existence. They have different names depending on the region of the world but the Greek names are well known so I’ll suggest you look into Persephone, Hegemone, and even Artemis and we can work on offerings and building a relationship.”