***
The ship served a dish that was similar to pasta, but not quite. It had a green sauce that tasted almost like alfredo but wasn’t. There were protein bits that were shaped like meatballs, but … well, the meal tasted okay, but was weird. The dish was gummy and lacked flavor.
Viera was on her second plate when Thorn sat down next to her. “Oh! Fozzi with narsh, my favorite. The kitchen hasn’t made it in forever. They must’ve gotten the ingredients at Torville Station Number Six.” She leaned down, kissed Viera on the cheek, then headed to the kitchen for a plate of food.
When she returned, Juniper and Flower Prancer were with her. They all sat and ate for a few minutes. Then Thorn smiled. “We’ll hit the GPS in the middle of the night. You probably won’t even feel it. How was your morning? You’re eating your fozzi like you like it as much as I do.”
There were so many words to sort through. “Flower Prancer found me, and I've been doing magic. I need calories. The food is … interesting. It’s like pasta and meatballs, but not.”
Juniper snorted. “That’s exactly how Scout first described pasta to me after he tried it. Fozzi with narsh, but not.”
A huge smile on her face, Thorn shot a glance at Flower Prancer before focusing on Viera. “So, did you wow with your progress in magic?”
Viera groaned. “I don’t think so.”
Flower Prancer snuffled and shook his head. “She was adequate. She can move a ball a few seconds back in time, which is a baby step into her magic. She also had a spectacular fail.”
Both Thorn’s brows flew up. “The fail was that good, eh?”
“She discovered a new magic that we’ll need to dissect. If she can recreate it and do it in a secure environment, the failure will be a happy accident. If it was a one-time occurrence, it will be yet another mess up in a long line of my witnessing Ms. Kor not being able to master the simplest aspects of her trade.”
Viera bit back the first thing she wanted to say. After working in an elementary school with kids who said mean things and an administrator who was an ass, Flower Prancer was a walk in the park. She slowly set down her fork before it became a ‘happy accident’ in his face, and asked, “Do you know what magic I performed with my mess up, Elder?”
She tried to sound respectful, but she figured she probably failed when his tail swished.
Like her, he took a moment to eat some food before he answered. Maybe he needs time to collect himself. Maybe he’s only human … or yonat, or whatever, after all. “I don’t know what it’s called. We’ll ask around at Torville Station Number Six when we return, but from what it looked like, you sped up the time of the ball itself while slowing down the environment around it. When you released your spell, the ball shot forward like a train, accelerated through space and time, until it hit the wall.”
Viera gulped. “It didn’t hit the wall, it died against the wall, becoming a pancake of rubber ball. It left an indent.”
“Yes, Ms. Kor, that is to be expected at that speed.” He was back to being patronizing. Viera felt on better footing with his contempt.
Juniper leaned in. “You know, I have a lot of downtime in the engine room when things are running smoothly, and we have a long trip. I have a few reference books on magic.”
Viera perked up at that. She’d been asking for anything she could read, and no one had anything.
Juniper saw her reaction and smiled. “I’ll hook you up later, when I have time. The rumors are they don’t exist, but it just isn’t true. The idea that wizards don’t write is ludicrous. They just don’t like to share. That’s the key you have to remember.” She turned back to the yonat. “Anyway, from everything I’ve read, moving an object in time isn’t basic magic. Moving an object in one time frame while the space around it moves in another time is mad skill advanced. You mocking Viera for her lack of anything is rude. You do know that praise helps people learn and advance much better than belittling them, right?”
If it wouldn’t have caused a scene, and possibly an international—intergalactic?—incident, Viera would’ve leapt up and kissed Juniper right then and there. As it was, everyone stared at Flower Prancer, waiting for his answer.
Standing stock still, the yonat snorted. “You are not a trainer, Ensign Snow. You work in the belly of the ship, that is it. I don’t tell you how to do your job, you don’t tell me how to do mine. Not that you can begin to understand my duties or responsibilities.” With a final swish of his tail, he turned to leave. A few steps away, he turned. “Ms. Kor, I expect you in the training room each morning after breakfast. We will figure out your magics on the way to Abritos.”
Viera wasn’t sure if the words were a promise or a threat. She was just happy to have a few minutes away from her grouchy trainer.
Chapter 17 - Another Day, Another Lesson
Viera
“Again, Ms. Kor.”
Viera slowly let out the breath she’d just taken, breathing out the frustration she felt at having spent the last four days with Flower Prancer. She wasn’t sure what she’d done to deserve this backlash of karma, but whatever it was, the four days of nonstop training had better be enough to wipe her cosmic slate clean.
She could feel Flower Prancer’s amusement. He enjoyed tweaking her. The poor yellow bouncy ball suffered the brunt of her emotional release as she gave it a quick squeeze before tossing it at the wall. With barely a thought, she stopped it, and reversed it back to her hands.
“Now the Sonic Push.” His tail swished. Is he irritated that I’m getting better? Gah! He’s so annoying.
Viera took a few seconds to close her eyes and relax her body and mind before doing magic. Being angry at Flower Prancer was a sure way to mess things up. She had to find her Zen before she did anything harmful. Once she felt she could accomplish what she set out to do, she set down the rubber ball, and picked up a piece of paper.
Over the days they’d been practicing, they’d decided having something that wasn’t going to destroy the ship was desirable. She’d discussed the issue with Thorn and Juniper at dinner.
***
“Why not just use a bouncy ball?”
Viera sighed. “If I generate enough difference between the slow time of the area around the ball and the speed of the area the ball is in, the ball can still explode when it hits the wall. Last time, one of the chunks careened into Flower Prancer.”
Juniper bit her bottom lip to stop from laughing.
Thorn’s face scrunched up as she thought, in a similar way to Scout. “What about a small metal ball? It shouldn’t break apart.” She gave a mischievous smile by the end of her statement and she tilted her head in challenge.
Shrugging one shoulder, Viera replied. “It’s your ship. If you want all the holes in the wall to repair…”
“Whoa,” Juniper leaned forward. “Are the balls moving that fast?”
Viera just nodded.
They all ate in silence for a few minutes, then Juniper’s face lit up as she stared back and forth between Viera and Thorn. “What about a paper ball? It wouldn’t cause damage, and if it did fly apart, I doubt it would hurt.”
***
