Coye 6.15

Swear to god I didn't intentionally make him fight bulbasaur and I only realized the monster I came up with was a pokemon like halfway through the chapter.

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Chapter 15 - Hopping Mad

Coye made the most of his day after leaving the Guild, resting with Shayla back at home and enjoying some excellent alone time with just the two of them. There was a lot they had to talk about, mainly regarding his changing body and their plans for the future. Not much could be done about it right then, but they resolved to get back into the swing of things tomorrow. Coye was eager to prove himself further after his resounding yet hollow success over Auguris.

He promised Shayla that the two of them would head out and take on a quest where they'd see if he could replicate whatever power he tapped into again, on top of testing out whatever Marlie had done to his sword.

He arrived at the Guild early the following day, had a quick chat with Tammy and the new receptionists-in-training at the front desk, then scanned the quest board in the lounge. Unable to help himself, Coye glanced at Dorothy's office and smiled as he remembered what had happened there the day before, but he didn't allow himself to linger. Quests had seen a resurgence this week, which led to a board so full that flyers were tacked onto the sides. Shayla assumed that Coye's battle must have served as good advertising, yet another small way he'd helped Dorothy- this time without even meaning to. Many of the audience were townsfolk, and after witnessing a reminder of just how much stronger the local adventurers were than your local lumberjack, a renewed sense of trust in the Guild only made sense.

Coye wasn't hurting for options but wanted something he considered slightly above his level. He didn't want to disturb Dorothy and ask her what she would recommend, so he had to trust his judgment. Together, they settled on a killing quest where the target was a hulking monstrosity commonly referred to as a lushbacked toad.

Native to the provinces of Arrark, Rhoivan, Lillance, and Echora, these upper C-ranked pests were as widespread as they were thankfully few in number. These toads were natural burrowers, creatures that waited beneath the surface and camouflaged themselves by growing grass and other foliage on their backs. Lushbacks could tell whenever something was close enough to eat thanks to a keen sense of hearing that picked up on nearby vibrations, at which point they would partially expose themselves and snap up prey with their sticky tongues.

They weren't picky, either, leading to the unfortunate set of circumstances that ended with this bounty on the board. You could tell children to stay in the village as much as you wanted, but Cransmere didn't have proper walls around its border- only the ruined ones from thousands of years back. The archers who manned the towers meant to supplement Cransmere's defenses were skilled, but a group of kids looking to sneak out and have a fun afternoon of adventuring were easy to miss, provided they kept low enough.

They did, and the consequences were dire.

It was a story Coye had seen many times, even before becoming an adventurer. He knew some kids back in Roselake whose ultimate fates saw them as footnotes on a similar grieving quest description. Those kids hadn't been very kind to him, but they didn't deserve what happened, same as this one. Hearing about this kind of thing never got any easier, which Coye thought was probably for the best. He didn't want to be the kind of person who could grow numb to that- it was all one big downhill slope toward nihilism from there.

Coye left through the east gate and headed for the area where the kids reported that the incident had occurred. It was hot that day, but he didn't let that stop him from moving fast. If Shayla's constant complaints of motion sickness weren't enough to slow him down, nothing was.

Finding a lushbacked toad wasn't tricky. Coye had seen some in the Bellapar Timberlands of his youth, and he learned how to avoid running into them the hard way during his training. Since the creatures were so large, they had to dig up the ground around them to make a hole sizable enough for them to fit in. Find a massive pile of dirt next to a suspicious mound of vegetation, and you were most likely looking at a lushback lying in wait.

There weren't any toads where the monster was last spotted, giant or otherwise. Coye did find its previous hole, however. It was pretty hard to miss, as were the enormous amphibian tracks on the grass around the site. The ones leading away were fresh. Coye must've missed it by an hour or two, so he wouldn't have difficulty catching up. It must've been sticking around in case other potential prey showed up, but the toad had no such luck. Thus, Coye assumed it was heading to a nearby pond to drink and water the plants on its back, something the species took great care to do.

Coye followed the tracks to the northeast and was pleased to discover he was right. He and Shayla saw a colossal, ten-foot-tall toad bathing in a pond. It seemed to be in slight pain, but Coye couldn't figure out why. It had a pair of big orange eyes, was putrid green in color with brown speckles dotting its oily skin, and on its back was a bunch of berry bushes- the clever bastard.

"How are we gonna go about this, big guy?" Shayla asked from his pauldron. "You wanted to do some testing, so I assume we're not gonna bother ambushing it, yeah?"

"Yeah. I want to see where my sword and I are, so I'll take it on headfirst. With your help, of course."

"Okay, let's do this! Take your time with it, though. I know you're a little upset about what happened, and I'm just saying that no one will bat an eye if you want to fuck up this toad's shit nice and slow."

"I just might take you up on that," Coye smiled, unsheathed his sword, raised his shield, then made his way closer to the pond until the oversized amphibian noticed him.

As the lushback toad burst out of the pond, its throat expanded to an enormous size before unleashing a deafening croak. In a split second, its deadly whip-like tongue was hurtling toward Coye, but the skilled warrior was ready. With lightning-fast reflexes, he dodged to the side, the grass rustling beneath his feet as he moved. Time seemed to slow as he avoided the attack, and Coye felt every muscle in his body coiled with anticipation for what would come next.

With the toad's tongue poised, Coye waited for the perfect moment to unleash his counterattack. In a flash of steel, he sliced off half of the tongue's razor-sharp tip, causing it to plummet to the ground and drench the grass below in viscous blood. It was as gross as it was intriguing.

As Coye wielded his sword, he could feel the difference immediately. Marlie's tinkering had made the blade sharper and lighter, giving him newfound agility and precision in battle. With his sword in hand, he moved with lightning speed, striking at the toad before it could even react. Gleamrender sang a high-pitched battle song as he spun it through the air, delivering a flurry of blows that sliced off more and more of the tongue.

Another explosion of vile fluids, a shower of viscera, erupted as Coye's blade struck true. The lushback toad was no match for his skill and precision, and with each deadly blow, Coye felt a surge of satisfaction wash over him. He smiled, spinning his sword in his hand and staring down his foe. Coye was taught to treat his sword as an extension of his arm, but never had Gleamrender truly felt that way as it had then and there.

"Gonna guess we're talking about a pretty big improvement here?" Shayla assumed.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Coye finished his fancy twirling as the monster returned to the small pond.

The monster toad gulped down an enormous mouthful of water, and Coye braced himself for the worst. Suddenly, the toad's nostrils flared, unleashing a powerful, high-pressure beam of water in his direction. Coye knew water could spell his doom if he didn't act fast, but he refused to back down. He advanced, placing his trust in Shayla,

She summoned a gust several times more powerful than her standard breeze- enough to distort the beam's trajectory for a few seconds. Shayla's wind came from directly under the water stream, which turned into an overhead sprinkle on the monster's face, infuriating it.

The toad's mindless rage had sent it into a spiraling frenzy. With a deafening croak, it squatted low and launched itself at him with its powerful hind legs, causing a crashing wave to erupt behind it. The toad had many weapons at its disposal, but intelligence was not one of them. It couldn't hope to land a direct hit on the speedy warrior, but it didn't need to. As it landed, the earth ruptured under its massive weight, leaving Coye momentarily disoriented after his latest dodge. The warrior buckled to one knee for only a moment, but it was long enough for the creature to raise one of its massive hands and slam it down at him with bone-crushing force.

The toad might've flattened him if it weren't for Shayla, who was ready to show off something new she'd cooked up the other day with Byng.

Until now, Shayla relied on the environment to do most of her damage. She manipulated the wind and threw rocks, branches, and whatever else she could use at any given moment, but that never sat right with her. It suited Shayla as a pixie to be a little tricky, but she needed more versatility. While shooting arrows back and forth with her training partner, she came up with an idea that, after polishing, she'd gotten to a usable degree of strength.

Instead of snapping her fingers, Shayla pointed at the oncoming toad's hand. Sparkling mana swirled around on her fingertips, each twitching with power. Then, five sharp projectiles shot out like a hurricane. They took the shape of thin, glowing needles, each one whistling through the air as it flew towards its target with deadly accuracy.

Upon impact with the toad, these projectiles burst into a cavalcade of fireworks and burned into the monster's flesh like its own poisons did. The damage inflicted was minimal, but that tingling sensation Coye loved so much whenever Shayla touched him wasn't nearly as pleasant in extreme doses. The toad reared back and shook its hand like it had been stung by several hives worth of wasps, each stinging repeatedly.

As soon as the projectiles collided with the toad, they erupted into a spectacular array of colorful fireworks, showering the monster with dazzling sparks that seared its flesh. Though the injuries inflicted were not grave, the burning sensation that accompanied the attack was enough to cause Coye to wince in discomfort. He had always enjoyed the gentle pleasure of Shayla's tingling touch, but it seemed that those tingles could have an entirely different effect in high enough doses. The toad recoiled in agony, flailing its hand wildly as if it had been assaulted by a swarm of angry bees, each stinging relentlessly.

The distraction gave Coye enough time to get out of the way, but he was more preoccupied with Shayla's new move. "Where'd that come from?" He asked as she flew after him.

"Just something new I came up with so I don't fall behind. If I'm gonna keep saving your sorry ass, I have to keep improving!"

"Cool. Does it have a name yet?"

"Uh..." Shayla blanked out. It occurred to her that they didn't come to any conclusions in that department when she was brainstorming with Byng. Byng kept coming up with horrible names like 'Faebreak', 'Shay Shot', and 'Ouch Needle', but none stuck for obvious reasons. This was her chance to come up with something cool and impress Coye, but nothing came to mind.

When Shayla forced something out in a bid to improvise, she instantly regretted it. "Gleam Needle."

Despite the presence of the monstrous toad, Coye was forced to stop what he was doing and shoot her a look. "Sounds familiar. Actually, it sounds an awful lot like something you made fun of the other day..."

"It's a work in progress!" Shayla grumbled to him and shot a much less powerful Gleam Needle at Coye's cheek. Far from a nice zap, his skin reddened where it hit, and he winced in pain until the sensation stabilized.

"Fuck, that stings... guess he's got it worse, though..."

Coye looked to the still-present threat, which he hadn't forgotten even for a second. It had just now recovered from Shayla's latest attack and was madder than ever. He tightened his grip on his sword but watched his foe carefully. Coye wasn't in a rush to get things done. After all, this battle was a test, and even though he was starting to feel like he could end it at the drop of a hat, it wouldn't do him any good if he didn't get more practice in.

Before readying himself for what was next, he gave Shayla a smile. "Keep it up, Shayla. I'm proud of you."

His praise made her blush and grow defensive. "It's nothing," she waved her hand at him, downplaying how overly happy it made her feel. "I'm working on loads of other tricks, you'll see. This one? Bottom of the bag, baby. Now look sharp- it's coming back!"

In yet another display of unintelligence, the large amphibian hopped backward, putting distance between it and Coye as it launched what was left of its tongue at him. Another quick dodge to the side dismissed the threat while Shayla extended both hands and gritted her teeth together. Her eyes were glowing with mystical light as she tried pushing the limits of her telekinesis, successfully holding back the tongue for a few seconds.

It wouldn't last long- the beast's strength was too great- but that brief window was all Coye needed to unleash a whirlwind of slices, chopping up more and more of the tongue until a series of thinly cut patties was all that remained of it.

Again, Coye's eyes gleamed with admiration, feeling as if Gleamrender had been made just for him. His gratitude towards Marlie knew no bounds. Coye couldn't help but marvel at how much his sword had changed and how much it had changed him in the process.

The monster still wasn't happy about its sudden lack of half its tongue, making it suddenly stamp the ground repeatedly, which caused another earth shake in the immediate area. Coye was about to rush in and see if his sword could break through the toad's rubbery hide, but Shayla stopped him and proposed something else.

"Hold up. Do you think you can try doing that thing you did?" She asked. "I mean where you got all powerful and force-fed me a bunch of your mana! Really feels to me like that's something we should be working on."

Coye dashed away from the monster, putting a wide distance between them. Thankfully, the toad was slow, and its range decreased. He had time to think in relative safety for a few moments, and if the monster tried escaping, there would be no way it could outrun him. He processed Shayla's request, but the problem was he didn't know the first thing about replicating whatever he'd done.

While he could feel more control over his mana circuits today, much more than he was used to, it didn't do Coye any good. There wasn't anything in particular that triggered it. It was more like a dam bursting or a spreading wildfire. He tried redirecting his mana flow into Shayla, but Coye couldn't make it happen just by thinking about it really hard.

"I can't," Coye announced with displeasure. "I can't figure it out..."

"Damn it, I was afraid of that..." Shayla sighed and then shook her head. "Whatever. We'll figure it out after we wrap this up, big guy. Are you ready to see if you have what it takes to pull off Triple Strike again?"

Throwing his shield off to the side and adopting a two-handed stance with Gleamrender, Coye resolved himself to do his best. "You bet I am. Give me an opening, and I'll finish this."

"Can do!" Pleased that he would trust her with such a duty, Shayla flew to the right while Coye dashed to the monster's left.

She channeled her magic into making the ever-present blue luminescence from her body glow as bright as a flame, captivating the toad's attention. It dug up a big clump of earth that it threw in her direction, but Shayla's flapping wings worked hard to speed her away from danger. As she did, she started pooling more mana into her hands than her last attacks combined. It would drain her significantly if she wasn't careful, but whether it was the training with Byng or some of the power Coye passed on to her still lingering, her mana control felt more potent than she was used to. Shayla felt she could do more with less, and when she used more than necessary, it had a bigger oomph.

Shayla pointed her palms at the toad, grunted, and fired off two larger Gleam Needles- one from each hand. These shots made the ones that came from her fingertips look wimpy by comparison, but the needles were still only the size of your typical arrow. They were fast, though. Faster than a gigantic toad could hope to avoid.

Both pierced the monster's oily hide, and the effects were immediate. Each needle exploded against the target, making the pitiful creature cry in pain. The area damaged was much more significant than her previous attack, as was the injury itself. Big spiraling circles of zapped toad flesh bubbled and smoked around the point of impact while the tingling worked through the lushback's nervous system like a jolt of electricity.

It was totally and utterly staggered. It might not have compared to Coye's nerverine oil, but it was a genuine paralytic effect. Shayla was surprised at her own power- she didn't know it would have this kind of bonus on a living target, as it wasn't like she tested it on Byng or anything. If Coye asked her, though, she was prepared to pretend that she knew this would happen and gloat about it.

Once again impressed by his partner's developments, Coye was ready to show her his own. Circulating an equal yet massive amount of energy within every muscle of his arms and hands, Coye dashed in and went for the neck. He shouted a mighty shout, raising Gleamrender into the sky and hacking downward in one fell swoop. His strength tore the air apart, ripping and rending everything in a massive gust before striking his target.

The cut was so clean that Coye couldn't pinpoint the exact moment he sliced through the neck- the resistance was almost indistinguishable from the air. Before, his sword would've bounced at worst or sunk in a couple of feet at best- as this monster's hide wasn't anything to scoff at. It might not have been the greatest defense Coye ever went up against, but compared to Auguris's armor, it might as well have been paper.

Blood and toad bits gushed from the wound, and then the monster's head fell limply from its body. It struggled and twitched as if trying to defy its fate, but Coye watched as its signs of life dwindled by the second. Yet another foe Coye wouldn't have believed he could slay a month ago now lay dead at his feet. Stewing over his growth, Coye idly slashed the air to clean his blade and pulled a rag from his pouch to polish Gleamrender off carefully.

"I didn't think it would only take one hit..."

Shayla soon found her way back to his shoulder, standing with her hands on her hips. "Well, breathe it in because that's what happened!" She smirked. "You made it sound like it was gonna be a big challenge to take on that hopping berry farm, but damn, it was effortless!"

"You were a pretty big part of that," Coye smiled, returning Gleamrender to its sheath. "Hiding any other new moves from me, or was it just the one?"

"Who knows? You'll just have to wait and see..." Shayla teased. "I'm not the kind of pixie who spoils all her tricks."

"I see." Coye correctly assumed this meant 'no', but he allowed Shayla to think her attempt at sounding mysterious was successful and didn't question it. "Either way, I'm happy you're getting stronger."

Shayla puffed out her chest, weak to his praises. "I am, aren't I? With everything that's happened since we met, I guess I shouldn't be so surprised. I keep pushing the limits of my mana on every quest, and then there's the whole power burst thingy you sent my way that we have to consider... man, it's just so much. All I can say is if this keeps up, I can't wait to see the upper limits of what I'm capable of!"

"How strong can an ordinary pixie actually get?" Coye wondered. He wasn't ready to harvest his kill yet- Triple Strike used much of his energy, so he found a comfortable spot to sit down and relax while discussing with Shayla. After picking up his shield, he settled on a rock overlooking the now-devastated pond.

"Guess you're gonna have to keep me around if you want to find out...?" Shayla gave him a catty grin.

Overlooking the still water below, he agreed, "Guess so."

They had a lot to talk about. Minor discussions were had about Coye's development, but nothing as comprehensive as Shayla would've liked. Things were so hectic the last couple of days that there was never any time to converse- his meet and greet with his fans yesterday took so much out of him that he didn't feel up to it the night before. Many things needed to be brought up, but Shayla first focused on something simple.

"I've been meaning to ask this, but... did it seriously never occur to you to try using Triple Strike double-handed before? Baby, you know I love you, but even for you, that's a little..."

"I wasn't taught to use a sword two-handed," Coye defended himself from the embarrassment. "Almost everything I learned from my dad was learned by example. He's a man of few words and never explained much to me, only showed me how to do something and then put me in situations where I'd figure it out for myself."

"Yeesh, that sounds pretty rough. When you say your dad's a man of few words, though... what exactly does that make you?"

"It makes me the best conversationalist in all of Karnalle."

"No way. He can't be that bad at talking- otherwise, how did you learn to talk?"

"Slowly." Coye gazed deeper into the pond.

"...Right," Shayla nodded her head in sudden understanding. Her older sister instinct was driving her crazy out of concern. No mom, a weird, silent father figure who barely talked, traumatic bullying followed immediately by six years of training in the wilderness without any contact with the rest of society... no wonder Coye was starved for love.

Shayla gave him a sudden kiss on the cheek, surprising the boy and making him giggle at the sudden tingly feeling he felt there. "What was that for?"

"Oh, so I need a reason to show you some love?" Shayla blushed and turned her head away from him, crossing her arms. "My bad, big guy. I'll make sure to hand in my paperwork for your proper authorization the next time an affectionate mood strikes me."

"See that you do." Coye teased, making Shayla roll her eyes.

"Whatever..." she grumbled. "It still sucks you couldn't pump in more of your mana inside me again, or however it works the first time. Also- before you try being cheeky- that wasn't a cue for you to joke about pumping something else inside me."

"I... would never have gone for such a low-hanging fruit..." Coye looked at his opposite shoulder where there was no sassy, judgmental pixie to correctly predict the thoughts of his increasingly dirty mind.

"Uh-huh. Sure."

"It does suck, though. You're right. I wonder how easy that toad would've gone down if you could go all out on it like you did on Auguris. Not really surprising that I can't figure it out again, though. I was barely conscious when it happened."

"I mean, yeah. You were racking up brain damage in that fight like you were trying to score a new personal best." Shayla laughed, then felt a bit anxious and regretful over her comment. "...You better not scare me like that again, by the way."

"Trying to avoid making promises I know I can't keep, Shayla," Coye slumped her shoulders. "I already said the same to Suzette, remember?"

After giving it some thought, Shayla sighed. "Yeah, fine, I guess that's wise of you... definitely feels like we should be putting all our effort into figuring out how the power-up thing works, though. Maybe try running through everything you do remember about it, and we'll see if we can maybe work backward a little bit?"

"Not a bad idea," Coye closed his eyes and cupped his chin. "I was really emotional, and you were passed out by that point. I kept begging you to get up, and then it felt like... um... like all of my mana circuits were suddenly popping. The magic tutors I worked with always said I had poor circuits- that my body just naturally sucked at moving around mana- but ever since it happened, I feel greater control and freedom that wasn't there before."

"You feel that way even right now?"

Coye raised a finger and tried channeling his mana into it like he did with his vital energy when using arts. It flowed straight to its destination like a boat sailing downriver- no resistance, just the wind in its sails. "Yup."

"Does this mean you can cast magic, now?"

"I don't think so," Coye sighed. "At least not in the normal way."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shayla raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Karnallian magic works by channeling your mana into a focus, like a wand, crystal ball, or staff, and then you draw these complicated sigils in your mind while saying the incantation. Apart from my poor mana circuits, the sigils are above me..." he didn't want to openly admit to it, but one's mental capacity and overall intelligence had a good deal to do with that.

"I know all that junk. Where are you going with this?"

"I just remembered that before it all happened, something you said came to mind..."

"So what I'm hearing is that your victory really was all my doing, technically," Shayla said flatly.

Coye smiled and ignored her, continuing, "You told me that pixies don't cast magic, they are magic. Not sure why I remembered that, but it was probably all the stone fists to the head. Either way, maybe internalizing that thought got me over some mental hurdle and woke up one of those bond powers we're allegedly supposed to be getting?"

Shayla considered all he had to say while nodding her head. "Okay, that's all well and good, but it doesn't do shit for us if you can't do it again. Was there anything else you're not remembering? Let's say there was a mental hurdle holding you back- we know what caused it to happen, then- but we don't know how you did what you did after the fact to juice me up. Try and think back to the exact part where you did that, baby... assuming Auguris didn't punch the memory out of you."

That was indeed one possibility Coye didn't like to consider. He'd been thoroughly healed by Eschal after the match, and it wasn't like he wasn't minimizing the damage with Steel Soul at the time, but it was within the realm of reason to assume that he might've just forgotten. Despite dreading that possibility, Coye followed her instructions and closed his eyes, trying dreadfully hard to remember.

There was something else, wasn't there? Something he was missing, or something he'd forgotten... during the battle just now, he'd tried imagining his mana going into Shayla. Just envisioning it didn't work, but what would? He opened his eyes and knitted his brow, appearing deeper in contemplation than Shayla was used to seeing. The longer Coye thought, the more it came to him. He was forgetting something about his mana circuits, which he was so close to...

Close?

Coye opened his eyes and looked at Shayla. She was a little intimidated by his sudden staring, but the look in his eyes told her he was on to something. He was searching, and not long after, he seemed to have found whatever he was looking for.

"I think I've got it."

"Finally," Shayla exhaled. "Don't keep me in suspense any longer. Fill me in!"

"When it happened- the burst, I mean- I remember feeling like there were more mana circuits in my body than there should've been. At that moment, it felt like I had a bunch of extra nerves on top of my head. I'm pretty sure that our circuits were connected at that moment, which allowed me to transfer my mana over."

"That... sounds like our best bet, yeah! Nice thinking!" Shayla beamed at his explanation. "Can you still feel my mana circuits right now?"

"Let me try. Maybe it'll be easier now that I know what I'm looking for?" Coye said, hoping it was the case.

"I mean, we're not in a hurry or anything. Take your time." Shayla looked over at the still-dead monster corpse and gestured with her hand for him to continue. "Wait, do you need me to literally be in physical contact with you to make the transfer, or what? You said I was on your head what happened, so-"

Coye removed his hat, "Might as well try it that way, I think."

Shayla got in position and sat on top of his hair, grabbing his hair as if to serve as wiring. "Alright, fill me up whenever you're ready!"

"Phrasing..."

"Not what I meant."

"Right, right..." Coye laughed, smiled, then focused on what needed to be done. "Let's see what I can do."

He closed his eyes, but even though he said he'd do it, it wasn't immediately obvious what he was supposed to do. If there was still a connection between him and Shayla, Coye couldn't feel it at first. Guess it was up to him to make one. Focusing on the mana flow within his body, he started redirecting as much as possible into his forehead since that was the closest circuit to Shayla. Coye was unfamiliar with the sensation, which proved disorienting initially, but his first efforts were to no avail.

When he imagined his mana breaking off and going to join her, however, something was different. It was only a little, but Coye could sense Shayla's mana circuits.

"I think I'm getting somewhere. I can feel you, but it's faint..."

"Nice! Grab onto it, and don't let go, baby. Do what you need to do."

That was easier said than done. Coye wasn't trained to do this, and pumping mana inside a pixie was harder than transmitting energy to his sword. He connected by imagining Shayla's body growing metaphorical roots in his brain, burrowing until they found the mana circuit resting beneath his forehead.

The gateway between them was as big as a pinprick, and Coye could only squeeze a few drops of his mana through to Shayla, but they made it through, and Shayla could feel the tiny rush those drops afforded. It was nowhere near comparable to the torrential flood she experienced during Coye's awakening, but it was still something.

"Fuck, I can feel it, Coye! You're actually pulling this off!"

"Trying... to...!" He said, gritting his teeth.

Further and further, he pushed, remembering that magic and mana were powered heavily by imagination and metaphorical thought. He focused on that pinprick-wide link between them, forcibly trying to widen it as best he could. In the end, Coye couldn't hack it. He stopped before getting another drop through to her, his forehead throbbing with intense pain. He wasn't the type to get headaches, but the few he'd had were never quite like this. Coye imagined this must be what it would feel like to sit in front of Auguris and listen to him talk for twenty-four hours straight.

He was breathless, sucking in air with all his strength. Coye leaned forward, almost tumbling into the pond, before catching himself and shaking his head.

"Whoa!" Shayla flew off her roost and fluttered in front of his face. Putting her hands on both his cheeks, she lifted his head to better look at her. "Everything okay there, big guy? Eh, scratch that- rhetorical question. Save your strength."

"I'm fine, I promise..." After a short rest, Coye shook it off and returned to normal. He swallowed a quick gulp of water from his canteen and exhaled, saying, "Man, this is so much harder than I thought it would be, and I already thought it was gonna be pretty hard..."

Shayla fought off the impulse to frown, urging herself to stay positive for his sake. "Don't beat yourself up over this. You aren't used to working with mana, so chill. That you could pull it off even a little means a lot!"

"You're right. I'm not gonna mope about it." Coye nodded.

"That's the spirit! Little by little, you'll get the hang of it. Just wait and see." Shayla clenched her fists and pumped them, smiling at Coye with determination.

"You sound pretty charged up over this," he noticed. "What's up?"

"Hard not to be, baby. Did you see the shit I pulled off against Auguris? I jinxed that magic rock armor so bad that its fucking structural integrity changed from the inside out, allowing you to break it! Wouldn't you be excited if that kind of power was dangled before your nose?"

Given what he knew about Shayla, her insecurities, fears, and dreams, Coye couldn't fault her for her excitement. "I would, yeah. I'd be a little jealous if you suddenly got so much stronger than me, though."

"And why is that, hm?" Shayla gave him a smug expression.

"Because I'm a man, duh. I want to be strong enough to protect you..." Coye puffed out his lips, pouting.

She saw his answer coming, but it still made her happy to hear him say the quiet part out loud. "That's too bad because I'm gonna get strong enough to care for myself, thank you very much. Then it'll be me protecting you!"

"Wait-" Coye narrowed his eyes, a stray thought crossing his mind and suddenly refusing to let go. "What do you think would happen if we tried this, but, like... the other way around?"

Shayla squinted, crossed her arms, and looked away. She was hoping he wouldn't think of that possibility, at least not for a little longer. For once, Shayla was enjoying how it felt to bask in the glory of a power-up. The fact that this whole mana transfer thing likely worked in reverse was something she assumed from the get-go, but as usual, Shayla was petty.

"Who knows?" She grumbled. "I guess you want to find out, don't you?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because it wouldn't do you much good? I mean, what would it accomplish? You don't need mana. You can't cast spells or do anything else with it, so..."

Coye was onto her, and he had the perfect counterargument. "Ordinarily, I'd say you have a point... but not when we're talking about pixie mana. Who knows what having your energy inside of me would do to me, Shayla?"

"You sure we shouldn't ask your doctor that question before experimenting?"

"Come on," Coye begged. "I'll give you the rest of that apple pie we got yesterday?" He then tried bartering, offering something one of his adoring fans gave him yesterday during his meet and greet.

"I'm not so simple that you can win me over with sweets," she turned her nose at him, then smiled smugly. "Besides, I ate it this morning while you were sleeping."

"You heartless bitch."

"I'm nothing if not consistent," Shayla shrugged.

The food situation was something they were going to have to sort out sooner or later. Now that Coye's sweet tooth was developing to be on par with Shayla's, they were locked in a fearsome war for any sugary treats in the house.

"But... I suppose the fact that you were willing to part with the pie is pretty cute, in a pathetic sort of way, so I'll humor you. Just don't let it be said I don't spoil you."

"Awesome! Thanks, Shayla." He smiled cutely at her, making her roll her eyes at him. "Hey, this might help you, too, you know. Maybe you send some mana my way it'll make the transfer easier on my side?"

"Fuck if I know how any of this works. Magic is bullshit, and I'm not gonna pretend I understand the how or why behind the things I can or can't do, but you might be onto something. Again, fuck if I know. You ready for me to fill you up?"

"I'm... going to avoid answering that."

"That would be wise of you," Shayla smirked, signaling to Coye that she'd prepared multitudes of jokes if he slipped up and said yes. "Anyway, let's see if I can do this... wait... hang on..."

"What's up?"

"I think I can already feel you..." Shayla might not have been able to explain her powers, but she was well-versed in using them. Now that Coye had reopened the pathway between them, she was no longer blind to its existence. Shayla closed her eyes, and Coye watched as her body started glowing an even brighter shade of blue.

He didn't get to enjoy the sight for very long- Shayla was successful, and everything changed.