Capital

Sirona huffed, “It’s not funny.”
That only made him laugh harder. She wanted to be offended, but she couldn’t help but chuckle. It was funny and his laughter was infectious as he threw his head back, showcasing the strong column of his throat and the shifting of his Adam’s apple.
She licked her lips and lowered her head sharply and shifted as desire and heat pooled in her stomach.
She and Arawn hadn’t kissed or done anything. They hadn’t made it to see the dragon either. She missed his touch, sure, but this was getting ridiculous. She and Druid didn’t have that kind of relationship.
Yet, a voice said from the back of her mind, stunning her.
What was that? Maybe she was losing her mind. It wasn’t just bad that she’d heard the voice but was worse that a part of her agreed.
“Forgive me,” Druid said, wiping his eyes. “I didn’t… it’s just so Arawn.”
“What do you mean?”
“To forget that you don’t know the way,” he chuckled, “Don’t worry. I’ll show you the way and teach you how to navigate on the way.”
Sirona nodded, “Thank you.”
That solved the problem of how to get to the capital, but not the turn in her thoughts that was quickly becoming less and less strange to her. She’d met Druid first. While she and Arawn had gotten physical first, that didn’t seem to mean much of anything in Berth.
There was no one to condemn her if she had a lover, not even if she had more than one. She reared back from that thought. For now, Arawn was her… something, and that was all there was to it. She should confuse her yearning for Arawn for just general desire. She liked Druid. He was her friend and first mentor.
“It will be faster to fly if you prefer.”
She almost wondered if he was hoping she would say yes to flying. She wanted to get there as soon as possible, but she’d had so much time with Arawn. It would be nice to spend more time with Druid.
Sirona shook her head, “I don’t mind walking.”
Druid nodded, “Then, we’ll head there in a day or so. It shouldn’t take us longer than two days including breaks and stopping for rest.”

When it was time to leave, Sirona felt as though only a few hours had passed. Druid packed enough rations for them both even though Sirona didn’t have much of an appetite and they headed out of town away from the coast.
“The capital is near the center of the continent. It’s on the edge of Berth.”
“Why?”
Berth started as a small kingdom. She estimated that it had once been no bigger than a county and had expanded to the west from the original territory. They walked down the road before veering into the forest. She felt the air around her change in a way she hadn’t been able to pinpoint before her training with Arawn. The further they went from the road, the wilder the energies turned. She felt so many different types of energies from the glowing beetles that skittered around to the birds that sang in the trees, she took every new step full of awe.
She supposed she would have noticed all this before if she and Arawn had done more walking.
“There aren’t any roads that lead to the capital,” Druid explained before she could ask. “We could take the very scenic route, but it’s easier to just cut through the forests.”
She chuckled following him. It felt like it had been ages since she’d last been clinging to Druid’s wisdom and completely awed by him.
She couldn’t say that the feeling had completely vanished, but he wasn’t the only awe-inspiring existence in her life anymore.
Sirona wasn’t sure how far they’d walked since they left town, but the forest felt different. It wasn’t like a storm or anything like that. She didn’t even know what it was, but it felt good like they were heading somewhere they were meant to go.
“Ah, an old shrine area.” Druid hummed, “That’ll be a good place to stay for the night.”
“How can you tell?”
He gestured vaguely through the air, “The air and earth are different here. It’s not like the temple I took you to. Shrines tend to only have very small stone-carved buildings nearby.”
He looked around and pointed towards a strange little shack made of stone. It didn’t look big enough for a bunny let alone a person. It was overgrown with vines.
“This one’s shrine is practically dissipated, but the blessings on the area remain.”
Sirona wondered what he meant by dissipated until they broke through the tree line and she could feel the air teeming with energy. Though the sun had set, the pool of water seemed to twinkle like a star-filled sky. Water slipped and splashed down a wall of moss-covered rock from above on the other side of the lagoon. The pool was very wide, but she couldn’t tell how deep it was.
He took a seat by the pool and sighed with relief.
“A star lagoon. They’re pretty hard to find these days.”
“What’s a star lagoon?”
“It only happens in areas like this where there’s a free-flowing source of water. The water becomes so full of magic that it glows this vibrant gold.”
Her lips twitched at the white light twinkling from beneath the water’s surface. There was no gold around. The light was a sparkling white.
“Gold?”
He gestured, “Or whatever color you see. This is a star lagoon.”
“It’s a good name,” she said and took a seat beside him. “Are they special for some other reason?”
“The waters can be used for communing and magical transference.”
“Transference?” She licked her lips, thinking back to her time with Arawn. Was what happened when they touched the same thing? “Communing?”
Maybe if she got to feel Druid’s power the same way she’d felt Arawn’s, she’d be able to draw a line for herself. They had to feel different. She imagined that there was no one’s magic who would feel like Arawn’s near-burning desire.
“Could you teach me? What is it good for?”
“You can do both with regular water with enough skill. Star lagoon water just makes it easier. Magic suspended in water is usually used to help facilitate healing. You could transfer power to someone and keep them alive that way as well as help them recover a little faster. As for communing, it will help you be more in touch with the world around you. With some practice, you could hear through ears of the earth and so on.”
It sounded useful.
“Can you do this?”
“Yes,” he said, “Though I don’t have a reason to do so often anymore.”
She wondered what he meant by that, but she held the question for another time. Druid pulled out a bowl, she shifted closer. He scooped a bowl of water up and set it between them.
“Set your hand in the water.”
She did so and hummed as it felt warm around her hand. He placed his hand in the bowl.
“It’s a bit of a push and pull thing. I was taught that pushing is a lot easier than pulling. Push just a bit of your power into the water.”
She worried her lip and pushed a bit of her power. She watched the water take on bright gold color.
“Good,” he said, “Now can you see me pulling it in?”
She nodded as the gold started to disappear into his arm.
“Your turn.” He pushed warm green-colored energy into the water. She stared at it and started to draw it in.
An odd sense of tranquility washed over her. She felt dazed as if she was staring up at the stars without a single care in the world. It was warm and comforting. It was a soft weight on her mind that eased it and kept her calm.
His magic felt absolutely tranquil.
She had imagined that his magic might reflect his personality, but to feel it like this was startling. There was something else hiding in it somehow, something that reminded her of Arawn but was very different.
Maybe that was his connection to the deity he worshipped.
Sirona someone whispered just as the tranquility began to fade. She looked at Druid and found that he was very close to her. She could lean across the bowl a little and kiss him with ease.
The thought shocked her and she drew back. The tranquility evaporated.
“Oh… your magic is…”
Druid tilted his head, “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said. “It’s just… your magic is very tranquil.”
He chuckled, “Not soft?”
“Something like that too.”
He nodded and withdrew his hand from the bowl, “Your magic is incredible.”
Her face heated and she took her hand out of the water and wiped her hand on her dress.
“Thank you.”