Ch 16 - Aura

"Sabah khayr, Joshua." Hannah sands where Adam sat and I much prefer it as such even now.

"howzit Hannah how are you doing this morning." I ask in courtesy.

"I'm doing alright and you?" she answers with a smile.

"ok thanks, so what you gonna show me today?" she begins down the stairs.

"Let's go for a walk first, I saw there was a park near here." She says as she walks and beckons me to follow. Get only around the corner before she starts speaking.

"I want to apologize for mandala's methods yesterday I would never have condoned such actions if I was made aware." she says while walking backward to look at me in my eyes.

"It's fine Hannah, it worked didn't it?" my words didn't help her sad eyes as they kept burning into me. shaking her head she turns around and continues while facing forward.

"Maybe but it might build bad habits and ideas in your head." she leaves off there and I know she is waiting for the park to tell me about today's lesson? so I quietly follow till we reach the park she walks straight for the bench leaving quickly sitting and patting next to her. I don't make her wait, joining her on a bench she begins to ask me questions.

"So what do you think you are going to learn today?" her voice begins to let a bit of mischief creep in.

"No idea." Getting Becca energy from her for the first time I knew that playing along was dangerous.

"At least guess once." she asks with a bit of a pout. wait are those cheek-piercing dips, I was stuck now trying to think properly. I try not to think about the dips and think about what Mandella can do and what I have seen Hannah do I just go for it.

"That green energy?" I ask willing to risk it. earning a small smile I hope I hit the nail on the head.

"Half right. The green part is a part of my legacies but the energy part is what we are doing today." More new words there is never an end to them so I sigh before I can stop myself.

"That energy is called aura. And it is first and foremost used to protect yourself." she quickly 

We make it like this. inside you there is a void where your manna is held, it feels empty below the skin and will fill 

"This is the first thing we are going to try today ok. It shouldn't be too difficult." she says with a smile standing up I move in front of her to begin.

"First let's get you to release your manna" Following her instructions I release my manna allowing the light to erupt from me, thank god it's invisible normally.

"What with that pose?" she tilts her head in confusion.

"Don't worry about it." I quickly stop posing and go back to a neutral pose and try to focus to not do that again.

"Now close it off and begin to hold it inside." a bit more confusing I accidentally shut it off for a second before I get it purposefully forcing it inside me focusing to keep it at a level to stop the heat from building up.

"Now try and overfull your 'vessel' with as much manna as you can handle and try and condense it. think of turning steam into water." poor analogy aside I begin to try. I begin to flare my aura lightly at first then with more focus, fighting not to pose the whole time. I feel the clawing heat begin to grow like in a pressure pot with no release. trying to follow her words I try to focus the manna to a single point but it won't focus, it tries to find its own path away from my control, in fact, I begin to feel my manna slipping from my control. before I could stop it a runaway reaction burst out and actually dented the ground as I was flung up breathlessly and landed flat on my back into my hole. walking over to me she looks down with a curious expression.

"You ok?" her question seemed off, but while I was launched a few feet in the air I wasn't hurt I didn't know what to do.

"Just great, enjoying the view." I say earning an eye roll.

"let's figure out what went so horribly wrong." lowering herself to my body lying on the ground she puts her hand on my sternum and I feel the heat begin to move again. Looking at her I see the green energy is in the form of a long strand of cloth wrapped tightly around her hand then stretching off and fading away just out of her arm's reach.

"Let me have a feel." she says as she closes her eyes and begins to focus

"Be gentle." I tease

"Wait, no not like that, sorry, no, ahhhhh." her eyes burst open as she quickly retrieved her hand to cover her face as a deep blush began to burn across her face.

"Sorry about that go for it"

"Onbeskof." she says with a deep frown as she touches my chest again and begins to focus, a gentle warmth touches and fills me.

"That's weird you have a little aura inside already maybe that's why you are struggling." more of her green aura begins to fill me the warmth has faded but I still feel it inside me though feightly.

"It is the first.... it's red aura but it shouldn't last that long even if it's from Adam?" the aura begins to be pulled back from within me leaving me feeling a bit empty for about a second before even that fades.

"Have you ever used it before, maybe, it might have felt like you were running on the wind." she questioned herself just as much as I left me deep in thought everything went weird from the moment we first met but I still couldn't think of something like that.

"Nothing comes to mind sorry maybe that first time we met but I don't think so." she turns to me from her thoughts her frown returning as she focucing to try and getting an answer from anything.

"OK then we have to go with number 2." she says with a smile. I resist the urge and die a little inside doing so.

"Let's try making it outside yourself, you will need to do what I taught you but outside, ahhhh yes, yes." I am beginning to prefer Mandela's direct approach before she begins to demonstrate. clasping her hands together a light begins to burst from her fingers before dying down to nothing, and opening her hand reveals a small orb of glistening grey, Light? Liquid? aura. wondering why she didn't start with this I copy her movements and release my manna releasing it's not focusing in my hands.

"It should be like this." she says releasing her manna and closing it off till just her palms are glowing. again copying her after a few more tries before I managed to get it.

"A bit more challenging but shouldn't cause too many issues if you focus." she says with some encouragement

Clasping my hands together I begin to focus my manna there while it's difficult I begin to get a small sensation of heat between my hands. A smile grows on my face as I start pouring more and more manna towards my hands. Manna doesn't disappear when you release it so I have all the time and energy I will need. But I don't my body begins to tire as my hands begin to burn and my thoughts begin to blur but I push through. All I am looking for is a spark of aura to work with. But I failed my hands went numb and I couldn't hold them together any longer. With an inaudible pop, my hands fly apart if a burst of light pushes against light and dissolves.

"Isn't there an easier way to do this?" I ask shaking my hands my hands to relax them.

"Yes, the first method I showed you should have been the easiest." her response was curt but kind trying to encourage me.

"Anything easier than that." I ask with renewed strength and vigor, trying to focus.

"Yes, but that is not for me to teach and will only make this harder for you to learn aura in the future." I sigh grasping my hands together to try again.

Letting out as much breath as I can I squeeze my hands together with a sharp breath I release as much manna as I can into my hands. catching my breath in my chest I squeeze even harder throwing caution to the wind I flare my manna to its max and squeeze my hands to keep as much as I can in there. the heat being to extend from my hands up my arms and into my chest. Whether it was lack of breath or the amount of manna I cant know. a worried Hannah looks at me from out of arms reach so she doesn't break my focus. I begin to fold in on myself to keep my hands together my lungs now burning and my vision blurring. I keep it as tight as I can so I can focus it more feeling the sparks before growing even stronger as I do everything to keep it together.

falling to my knees I catch my breath my strength fading from all but my fingers. the burning fading away as I feel something in my hands. opening them I see a small grey speck. Holding it in my hand like wind caught between my fingers I feel it wriggling trying to take shape my grey star shining brightly in the light of manna. My aura.