Belaine could feel the sweat beading at her brow as she flung her spells at Jason. He couldn't Counter all of them, but he was getting more skilled at it the longer this went on. It had only been an hour, and he was now twice as efficient with his Counters then he was before. Sometimes he even blocked spells before she could fully form them, a feat she'd rarely ever seen before. It was almost like he was viewing her in slow motion with how quickly he was putting them out.
He still couldn't manage to Counter three spells at the same time, but that was an accomplishment rarely seen in a master of Foundation, and while supremely talented, Jason was still a beginner. Belaine edged him out in experience, she could Counter three spells, as could Alistair… but at Jason's current rate of learning, it wouldn't be long until he overtook her. With consistent training, he would be a master in but a month or two, if that was all he focused on anyhow.
He already outstripped her when it came to how much Foundation he possessed. Belaine wasn't sure if Jason even had any clue as to just how much he had. Belaine herself had an exceptional reserve; if the average mage had a puddle of Foundation, then Belaine had a lake… while Jason had an ocean. Power on that level was legendary in scope, enough to topple mountains or boil oceans to nothing. Had she not known what he was, she would have suspected him to be a Pillar-Born. Speaking of which, Alistair's reserve had been around the same size as Belaine's, but unlike Jason, the Pillar-Born's reserve had been actively growing, even during their battle. Alistair would likely come to match or even outright surpass that reserve in time, but for now, Jason had more.
It shouldn't have been a surprise, he was the son of the Banished Child, the strongest Dragon to ever live. Her pride shouldn't have been wounded, he was just on a different level then her, and yet… and yet, she found herself stubbornly refusing to accept that he would surpass her so quickly. That same Fire-Eyes pride was what had led her to a thousand years of being Kazon's slave; she had to cast it away, and quickly. Pride would never be her fall, never again.
She summoned up two Fireballs and one Water Jet, aiming her finger at him as the orange flame formed into orbs on either side of her head. A stream of water then shot out from the tip of her finger as Jason Countered the two fireballs with ease, before Countering her Water Jet, the pressure dissipating before the water outright vanished, returned to wherever she had summoned it from. The third Counter didn't happen at the same time as the other two, rather he'd immediately cast it after the first two finished their work on her Fireballs.
Belaine let out a huff, wiping the sweat from her brow as Jason just stood there, staring at her. She briefly imagined how a battle between them both would go, a genuine fight to the death. He didn't have the experience or variety of spells she did, but the fact he could Counter so efficiently meant he could easily close the distance between them and kill her the conventional way. He could even just shoot her with those Outworlder thunderstaves of his, there was no real need for him to approach her. She may have been better with magic, but Jason could still kill her with relative ease… and that hurt her to acknowledge.
"I think that's enough for today." Jason told her, releasing his grasp on Foundation, "You look exhausted."
Belaine huffed, "And you aren't?"
"No." He said immediately, the words stinging.
She hadn't even made him tired? Belaine then turned around, crossing her arms with a huff, glaring at the wall with knit brows. Clearly he was lying to preserve his ego, yes, that had to be it. It wasn't enough that his reserves outstripped hers was it? Dueling her was easy was it!? Hmph!
"Are you alright?" Jason asked.
"Yes, I'm fine." She lied, tapping her finger on her elbow, "You did well enough, I suppose."
"You sound agitated." Jason pointed out.
"I do not." Belaine retorted, drawing her lips to a line.
She was not being prideful nor petty here, Belaine was irate that Jason would lie to preserve his own pride. Irritating man, she had no idea what Lance saw in him. He was a horribly rude brute.
"You're strong." Jason told her, "I'm grateful for you helping to train me."
She frowned, the irritation melting away at his words.
"You really are incredible at this, I hope you'll keep training with me, I need a competent teacher." He continued, his tone honest.
She drew her lips to a line, feeling her ears redden slightly at the praise. After a moment, she let out a sigh. She was being childish, like her foolish brother. If someone as powerful as Jason could humble himself in such a way, why could she not? She let out another sigh, the bitterness seeping out of her before she turned to him with a smile.
"Thank you, I appreciate it." She told him honestly, feeling guilty.
She needed to re-learn to control her emotions. A thousand years of practical isolation made it more difficult to socialize, it seemed. Lance had been helping, of course, and she would even say that the two had grown somewhat close during this long trip, but Belaine had clearly forgotten any social graces she'd once had. This would not do, she could not face her brother if she wore her emotions so openly, Terlin was supposed to be the hothead, not her.
…Well, he was at least more hot-headed than she. Fire-Eyes were renowned as a fiery bunch, and she was no exception. She looked to Lance, who was laying down in the back of the Rhino, a content smile on her face. Belaine could still feel her grasping Foundation, but like Lance had said, she wasn't drawing in more than she could handle. Her reserve was nearly dry though, after all this time grasping the Flame. The only reason she hadn't run out sooner was because Lance hadn't been using the Flame for anything, merely holding it. Many mages did this, it was often called 'Slow Cooking' or 'Low and Slow', it was no different from a normal person smoking tobacco, a way of stress relief.
"Lancela, release the Flame." Belaine ordered, "You're nearly dry."
Lance opened her eyes, "Muh?" She asked groggily, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, "If you say so." She yawned.
Just like that, Belaine felt Lance's grasp loosen on the Flame, before outright releasing it. The Trinkett's shoulders visibly slackened, and a deep frown formed on her face.
"You'll need to get used to that." Belaine nodded sympathetically, "I know it feels good, trust me, but if you let yourself constantly hold the Flame that way, you'll never end up using it for spells. There are plenty of would-be mages that have become addicted to that feeling, constantly holding onto the Flame even when it isn't needed, those folk never get anywhere in their training, so be careful. If you want to become adept, then don't use Foundation to merely make yourself feel good."
"I understand." Lance sighed, "Still though… I've never felt so happy, so alive, so at peace in my life." She admitted, "By the Pillars, I already want to grasp it again."
Belaine shook her head, "No you don't!" She said sharply, "You must learn self-restraint to become a great mage. If you flounder for pleasure just because it can always be accessed, you won't become a master."
Belaine really wanted to drill that into Lancela's head as early as possible, she had potential to be a great mage, not as good as Belaine, but certainly better than average chaff.
"Are you both ready to get going for the day?" Jason asked, "We can be back at the Fiendwall in two days if we just drive as fast as we can without stopping."
Lance shook her head, drawing her knees to her chest before resting her head atop them, staring sideways at Jason, "Let's take our time, I don't want you pushing yourself like that ever again, okay?" Lance asked, "Please?"
Jason hesitated, "Alright, we'll do it your way." He nodded, "It's still only been a day since we left Akan-Var so-"
"A day?" Belaine asked, baffled, "Jason, how long did you think you were asleep?"
"...Four hours, the sun is still up out there." He told her, tone suddenly uncertain.
"You were out for nearly two days." Lance told him, "Why do you think I wasn't there when you woke up? I wasn't going to lay there for that long."
Belaine put a hand over her mouth in shock. He and Lance were already having- No, it was none of Belaine's business and she didn't want to know. In the past, she had looked down on human and elf relations, and honestly, she still did… but Lance and Jason had helped save her, and Belaine had been healed by a half-elf of all things. That had swayed her opinions somewhat, but she was still convinced that it was best for the races of Ahkoolis to remain pure, and not interbreed. No elves and humans, no orcs and dwarves, it created offshoots that sickened her to look upon… at least they had, until she had laid eyes on Twindil.
The girl had looked startlingly normal, compared to how Belaine remembered half-breeds. Could it have truly been so long since she'd left the Faewood that she couldn't remember what they'd looked like? Had she conjured a false image of sickly creatures in her mind that she'd used to supplement reality? Belaine had hardly ever seen half-breeds before so… She shook her head, this wasn't important to think about.
"Two days." Jason said flatly, "That is suboptimal, you should have woken me up sooner."
"You were a grumbling zombie!" Lance said, shooting up from her seat, pointing at Jason, "I would have let you sleep for a month straight if you had needed."
"That would be un optimal." Jason told her, "And a month is excessive."
"I was being hypertonic." Lance crossed her arms.
"You mean hyperbolic." Belaine corrected, raising an eyebrow.
The tips of Lance's ears reddened, "I just misspoke- bah, whatever. Before we go, I would like to clean up, and I'm sure Belaine would as well."
"Then go use the shower." Jason said, "Just don't use the water for too long." He finished, a slight tinge of… was that shame in his tone?
"I'll use it until the stink is completely off my person." Lance huffed, "Now um, how does it work, exactly?"
Jason let out a sigh.