Horace had been waiting for this day for almost the whole week. This day was the day he became a star student, the day he gained power. He strolled around the pond he had found. It was quite close to the static building, a place he was rather fond of. A few younger students strolled by, they snickered at Horace. He knew why, he was just standing by a pond for no reason. For the snickering students it looked like no reason, but for Horace there was plenty of reason.

He leaned down and picked up a small stone he had been eying for a little bit. Ha! He thought to himself. This looks just like the stone I messed wit the other day. He would not forgot that day for a while.

He tossed the stone up and down for a minute, it mimicked what he could do when he used his two favorite dicsiplines. growing bored of the small grey thing, he tossed it into the pond. It skipped once then sank.

Horace heard Mars approaching before he saw her. Her heels made a loud tapping sound upon the cobbles nearby and she was slowed by the umbrella and books she was carrying. Her normally frazzled hair was made moreso by the rain.

"Good afternoon, Horace." Mars said, bowing at him slightly, expecting him to do the same. "I trust you are keeping well."

She removed her coat, placing it down beneath a small pagoda that overlooked the pond, leaving her books nearby. She looked to be quite a frail woman, though her focus seemed sharper outside.

"Did you do the readings I asked of you?" She asked, watching him carefully and rolling up her sleeves.

Horace bowed deeply for the short professor. He realized that she deserved the utmost respect, she was the advanced Static professor. He smiled when the professor acknowledged him.

"It is going quite well, Professor. How are you?" He was already getting ready for casting. His field was full of his Static friends.

He wasn't wear his uniform this afternoon. He was wearing a nice suit that was created by a Bastian fashion designer. It was red, black, and yellow, a very nice color scheme. He wasn't going to take his jacket off for one hundred concords.

"Oh Yes, professor, I read both books. They were a good read. I'm ready for anything." He smirked, a hint of smugness in his voice.

Mars nodded, seeming pleased he had prepared though not truly impressed. She expected that the work would be done.

"Good, good. Glad you enjoyed it." She flicked her hands out, Horace would have recognised the monite that she was using at the same time. It was a basic spell for hydrosmosis, slightly augmented. A small bubble of water rose from the pond.

"This is an exercise in control. Once you can hold a small amount of water within the air, you will be able to practice holding larger spheres. The spherical shape is quite important as it is easier to maintain focus on. I will teach you the incantation after you show me what you can do." Mars' voice was clipped, though not rude. "If you would cast a simple hydrosmosis spell, attempting to move the water into a circle pattern, then we can begin to practice."

She didn't drop the water she had collected, she lowered it slowly back into the pond. She spread her hands apart and the spell ended.

Horace watched the professor and the bubble intently. He was ask to perform a spell he had used many times, it wouldn't be that hard. He barely had to remember it, he knew it very well.

"That's all I have to do? That's rather easy, guess we all need warm ups." Horace smiled, he wasn't purposefully smug, it just happened when he used magic. He turned from the professor to the pond.

He gathered his field and went of the monite for Hydromosis in his head. He deeply inhaled and then started reciting the monite for Hydromosis, augmented like Professor Mars'.

Horace copied Mars' use of monite as best he could. Sadly, listening meant that he missed some of the nuances. Mars had asked that he begin with a simple Hydrosmosis spell, directing it into a circle for practice. Instead he tried to lift the water, missing some important syllables of the Levitation spell that had been incorporated into Mars' casting. His field seemed to flicker in confusion, unsure of the command but attempting to accomodate his request.

Horace's skin tingled, not in a pleasant way. It was a sign that he had botched his cast and that the mona was confused as to his aims. The presence of a teacher seemed to ease the feeling in the mona, as though they were aware that at least the student would be watched. A lumpy bubble of water rose into the air, drops of water falling from it as it did so. It only maintained its tremulous form for ten seconds before collapsing.

"I won't teach you if you aren't prepared to listen." Mars said, a brow cocked at him, slightly comically from behind her horned-rims. "Hydrosmosis. Direct the flow into a circle. Try again."

Horace looked down at his feet, he was embarrassed. He needed to start listening more. "I'm sorry Professor Mars. I'll try again and this time I'll get it." He looked up with a solemn smile. "I think I have it now."

He apologized to the mona in his head. He realized they were confused and it didn't give him a good feeling either. He gathered his field again. He inhaled deeply, stretching slightly. he went of the monite again and began. Horace recited Hydrosmosis, this time not repeating Professor Mars. He asked the mona to direct the water into a circle. Along with speaking the monite, Horace move his hands slowly in a circle, to show what he wanted from the mona.

Horace's field seemed to relax and spread as he cast. His incantation was direct and had a well-defined request. Horace might have noticed that his field felt warmer as he used the movement of his hand to help guide the water. He could almost feel a drag on his hand as it moved, like it was actually moving through the water itself. He could smell mint and his field felt like a blanket on his shoulders.

Mars nodded encouragingly.

"Good, good. Tell me what you notice. About the weight of the water, the effect of breaking the surface tension as you cast the spell. Once you get a feel for it, we can move onto gathering the water in a way that won't lead to spillage everywhere. It's not a particularly useful spell on its own but it is an excellent exercise for getting a feel of it."

Mars waited for him to reply, apparently quite enjoying the rain as she did so. She looked more relaxed outside than she had in doors.

It took Horace a moment to understand what Mars meant. After he figured it out, he grinned. He rubbed his hands together, still feeling the tug of the water. It was an experience for him. He thought he was swimming for a brief moment in time.

"Well, Professor Mars, it felt like floating on water and clouds. I could feel the tug of the water on my hands, it felt like I was actually touching it." Horace grinned. "Sorry, I hope that was the answer you were looking for." He shot her a meek smile. He felt so low compared to the Professor, he wanted to be like her one day.

Mars seemed to be feeling out Horace's field with her own. It wasn't too intrusive, more like a fencing instructor correcting posture than an intimate touch.

"That's good. Keep focused on that sensation. You need a good feel for the water, on order to control it accurately." She brushed her now damp hair from her face. Her glasses were misting from the rain. "Water is a cohesive substance. The molecules will adhere to each other, as I'm sure you are aware."

The properties of water were partly covered in rudimentary science courses, usually in the context of natural processes like transpiration.

"When you lift the water, gravity will act against you, trying to pull it down again." She lifted another small bubble of water, releasing her hold on it enough to let it wobble, so Horace could see what she meant. Without her focus, the bubble lost it's spherical shape and became more like a pointed droplet. "You need to use the correct monite and your own internal focus to keep it within form. A sphere is an easy starting point, from there you may wish to try other shapes. This will help you with fine control and all sorts of applications."

She lifted her hand and whispered. Her field was like sunlight, bright and big, before it calmed again. A paraboloid of liquid had formed above her head, shielding her from the rain. Her hair and clothes were now dry.

"This is a less than noble use, of course but it does help serve to illustrate what you can do. Static is very handy when you experience a mishap in inclement weather." She pushed her glasses further up her nose. "I would like you to try lifting a small amount of water now, as neatly as you can."

Horace gazed in awe at Mars' 'umbrella', the water seemed to absorb on contact. It was amazing. He smiled at the mature professor and then turned to the pond. He inhaled, a little too deeply, coughing a slightly. He lifted his hands while going over Hydromosis for the umpteenth time in his head.

He chanted the monite for Hydromosis. He wanted it to lift the water as neatly as possible, if one drop slipped from the ball, Horace might actually have a breakdown. He had another wish for the water; he wanted it to form it into a sphere, he hoped to maintain it.

Horace's understanding of the spell was not yet complete, so the results he achieved were not as perfect as he had hoped. The water seemed to pull up, like he had pinched the middle of a sheet and lifted, before a section broke away and left the rest to fall back into the pond with a splash. Horace's field felt tense from the strength of his concentration, from the difficulty of trying to learn something quite new. It would be easier a second time. As it was, the water hovered in the air, not quite perfectly still and rippling slightly, though roughly spherical in shape. Horace could smell copper, faintly and knew he was on the right track.

"Well done." Mars said. "Now, tell me what you'd like to achieve, if you tried this again. We shall make those your goals for next time."

"Well..." Horace said, with a sigh. "I am hoping to actually make the ball of water smooth. I want to maintain the shape.Also, I don't want a section of water to break away from it." He smiled. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. He didn't know the tutoring would be so hard. He needed to push himself more.

I'll never be as good as her, not at this rate at least. I need to push myself.

"Alright, what's next. I think I got the hang of this." He smiled, a very odd smile.

Horace felt Mars' field flicker again, as she repeated the spell she had shown him initially. The orb of water seemed as solid and controlled as it had the first time.

"Now, I want you to practice maintaining the spell in water, lowering as gently as you can. See if you can place that sphere into the water, while maintaining your hold on it."

She pulled a small vial from her pocket and drew her sphere nearer. She emptied the vial into the sphere, causing a first a ribbon of red colour to appear. It spread throughout the sphere, dyeing it red. She put the vial away, again pushing the sphere out towards the pond. The sphere lowered part way into the water, then was raised up again. The sphere stayed the same shade of red. She was keeping her control over a small amount of water, even when it was in a larger body.

"This is another control exercise, the last for the day. It is one you should practise. It is not the sort of skill you learn immediately but the more you familiarise yourself, the stronger you will be." She said, reaching out to offer Horace the dye.

Horace cautiously took the dye from Mars. He didn't think he could do what she wanted to do, he was good at Static, but not that good. He awkwardly smiled at Mars, hoping she believed in him.

Concentrating on his field again, he recited Hydromosis. He concentrated on creating a sphere, again. He moved his hand along with his mouth.

He readied himself, dye in hand. The spell would have been one of the hardest he ever had to learn.

The sphere reformed, perhaps slightly more formed than before, ready for Horace to add the dye. He was beginning to feel tired, from having to focus his attention on such new concepts in a short period of time.

"Better." Mars said, sounding more impressed than the action perhaps warranted. "Now, try lowering it into the water."

Fatigue had started to hit Horace, they weren't slugs to the stomach, but they were constant taps on the shoulder. He was actually glad this was the last thing he would perform for the day.

"Alright. Like this, Professor Mars?" Horace slowly moved his hands, he moved the in the direction the ball was going. He tried concentrating on the sphere, sighing deeply, probably more then needed. He knew he had to control the sphere in the water, not just put it in there. He tried to keep a strong focus on the lower half of the ball, almost forgetting about the upper half.

"Should I pour the dye in it now, Professor Mars?" He said, looking towards the woman.

Despite Horace's lack of attention, the sphere held. The mona understood his intent. The upper part of the sphere seemed more tremulous and the lower, far more composed than his previous attempt.

"Yes, now." Mars replied, waiting. "Work on evening your focus so it's as firm as it is on the lower part of your spell."

Horace Listened to Mars' request. He needed to stabilize the sphere. He inhaled, closing his eyes, going over what to do. He focused on the top of the sphere again, while still maintaining focus on the bottom part.

He reached out his arm and slowly poured the red dye into the sphere. He was already using Hydromosis, so he didn't have to recite again. The work on the mona would be doubled though, he hoped the mona trusted him enough to let him do it.

"There. we. go." Horace left hand was still motioning the sphere, his right was still holding the bottle.

The sphere seemed better formed as Horace tried to mimic the same level of focus on both halves. The dye entered without issue, though it seemed to Horace that whenever his focus shifted, his control over the water became less strong. Soon the entire bubble was red.

'Now that is truly a sight, if I ever saw one. I cannot believe I just did that." A giant smile spread across Horace's face "Thank you so much Professor Mars, this is amazing!" Horace was very much excited, He had only practiced spells at basic forms. He never tried to manipulate them or use them like he had just had.

When he had started to calm down, he asked, "You said this is the last spell of the day, correct?" He sort of didn't want the tutoring to end, but he knew the professor was very busy and had other matters to attend to.

Mars nodded, pushing her glasses up her nose with her finger.

"Yes, this is enough for you to practise. I don't want to overload you. See if you can keep control of the water when it's in a larger body and you're done." She said, waiting to see how he went.

((SFSR))

Horace listened, Horace complied. He slowly lowered the sphere into the pond, trying to keep control. He moved his hands accordingly to what he was trying to accomplish. He exhaled as it started becoming harder to maintain focus. Mars was right, she did not want to overload Horace or he would have to go to the infirmary for a bit.

(SFSR)

Horace had difficulty keeping his concentration on the sphere, once it had descended. Immediately, he lost half the water in his sphere, as it fell to the slight current in the water. He didn't lose all of it, though. It felt like holding onto a handful of sand, when your hand was buried in it. It was difficult to visualise.

"Raise it again." Mars said. "We shall see how you went."

Her voice contained no judgement. This was simply a trial run and an exercise in control that he could repeat later. It didn't have to be perfect.

Horace's stomach sunk as soon as he saw the sphere rise. The sphere had become what looked like a half moon. A few drops dripped from the half sphere. Horace sighed a sad sigh. A dozen thoughts raced through his head.

What did I do wrong? Are the mona angry with me? I should have concentrated more. I'll never be a Static professor. Everybody in the Static department will laugh at me.

His thoughts just kept racing, but all he could say was the opposite of what his head was telling him. "Well we can't win everyone." Horace said, looking down at Professor Mars.