Training (Feos)

Jax had been going back and forth for days. Foresta had lived up to the weirdness he had been prepared for, and he did like it. It had become home more quickly than he'd expected and that was something he hadn't had in a while. He was enjoying it--but, thus far, he had accomplished little of what he'd come here to do. Or, more accurately, nothing. As much as he hated admitting it, he had little control of his magic and perhaps the defining factor of his decision to come to Foresta had been the possibility of changing that. Nothing seemed to be helping at this point, and Jax found himself considering an option he'd pushed to the back of his mind on his first day.

But he hated explaining the details of his power to power to people, and he had a feeling that in this case he'd have to. He hated the look they always gave him, the same one on every face: pity, and relief that they weren't him. But, on the other hand, it didn't look like he was going to accomplish much otherwise, not with a power they called so "unique" that nobody else could quite understand enough. He had no idea if the professor he'd spoken to could do anything for him, but it was worth a shot, right?

Relenting, Jax slowly made his way out of his dorm and through the school, every step wracked with his internal conflict. At several points he considered turning around but he didn't. His power would just continue to make him crazy if he didn't do something. The professor had said he could often be found on the roof, and Jax stopped outside, blue gaze tilted upwards. Of course he couldn't see anything helpful from the ground, but that didn't really matter to him. He wasn't so much looking for confirmation of a figure up there as considering the location itself. He knew there was a way to get there from inside--how else would people who couldn't teleport realistically hang out there?--and he knew that it would probably be helpful to find it and in the process figure his way around the school a bit better, but smoke was just so much easier. Jax really wasn't one for admitting his own faults, but he'd be the first to say he relied on traveling by smoke a bit too much.

"Let's do this," he said to himself as he let himself go, finding himself a second later on the rooftop amidst his usual puff of white smoke. When it dissipated he scanned the area in search of the professor he'd spoken to--Jones, he'd called himself.

It was a quiet afternoon, and Jones had decided to engage in one of his favourite activities. Cloud gazing at the roof top, it was something that made him feel at peace when he allowed his mind to drift with the fluffy clouds, patches of white, or even pink and orange during the sunset. He was in a surprisingly good mood, for a few days ago, he had found his very first student! He had experienced how it felt to teach someone, to learn along with them. It was incredible, and Jones knew it was his calling.

"I wonder just where I'll end up with this..." he mumbled to himself. That afternoon, Jones was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a black sweater, and he was leaning back against a wall. He took off his glasses to wipe them clean against his sweater, and when he put them on, a figure was in front of him.

"Ah-!" he let out a small sound, alarmed and even jumping up a bit. He truly hadn't expected someone to suddenly appear, in spite of the fact that he had been doing that quite often, but he soon realized how that had happened, recognizing Jax.

"Oh, hello there, Jax. Came to relax and take your mind off things?" the man asked in a pleasant tone, pushing himself off the wall and walking a bit closer to the boy.

Jax couldn't help but laugh at the professor's reaction. He'd have to keep in mind that people generally didn't expect somebody to appear in front of them out of a magical puff of smoke. And while it was fun to see their reactions, especially the first couple times, most people probably didn't particularly enjoy it and he should probably reign it in a bit when he was specifically going places people were likely to be. "Sorry," he said with a wry grin, raking a hand back through his dark hair. It was getting just shaggy enough to get in his eyes, but whether it being in the way constantly irritated him he didn't show it; this habit seemed to be more due to nervousness than anything.  "No," he began in answer to Jones's question. "I actually was looking for you."


You're gonna regret this, you idiot, his mind yelled at him. Remember last time? He ignored it, continuing. "You said if I ever wanted to try to get more control of my powers you could help. That offer still stand?"

With his arms crossed at his chest, Jones listened carefully. He could feel that Jax was somewhat troubled and conflicted. He felt as if he was coming to him out of some necessity, and not with the enthusiasm and made up mind Mason had approached.

"Of course it still stands, Jax." Jones confirmed with a small nod. "Do tell, is there something troubling you?" he asked, his tone calm and the words soft-spoken. He could imagine many reasons why a troubled student might approach him. Perhaps their power was out of control, or perhaps they needed better control over it in case they were being bullied. Those and many other thoughts filled Jone's mind as he waited.

"I'll do all I can to help you, I promise." he further reassured the student, and stood there, ready to evaluate the situation and think of the best possible course of action.

With a sigh, Jax looked down, rubbing at his left wrist. Without a jacket on today, just a t-shirt, the tattoos on his wrists were visbile: an identical, unbroken ring of chains around each one. They'd hurt like hell to get but they served a purpose, one that haunted him day in and day out, though it was rarely visible like it was now. This was strange to him--not only talking to somebody like this, but talking to somebody in authority about the issue of his powers. In the past he'd strictly avoided it. "You already know I'm a genie, or whatever I am that's like a genie. I don't know. But either way pretty much all my magic relies on somebody taking control of me and commanding me to use it and it sucks. Like...you have no idea how much it sucks. I'd take having no power at all over it but that doesn't seem to be possible. I've been trying to figure out how to fix it since I was, like, seven and you're currently the most promising option I've come across. So I'm in, for your little class thing or whatever. If you still think you want to tackle it."

Upon looking at Jax's wrists, and understanding the meaning behind those tattoos, Jonse's eyebrows furrowed, and then he sighed and shook his head. Unbeknownst to Jax, he knew very well what it meant to be used, and he had wished he had no power at all many more times than Jax had, because of the age difference. Still, it was why he could help out this guy, not only with his power, but perhaps even with his general outlook towards life.

"Alright, Jax. We can work this out. I need every little detail you know and can provide about your powers. How do they work? What can they do? Are there limitations? What are the aspects beyond your control? Tell me about how someone could take control of you as you said. I need everything that you already know, in order to figure out the best-and safest-way to do this." Jones said, his tone showing that he was taking this very seriously, and he was prepared to go to great lengths to help.

Jax raked a hand through his hair yet again, internally groaning at the idea of explaining every little detail. The last time he'd done it hadn't ended well--but, then, Jones seemed significantly more serious about and invested in helping than others had before. "Okay," he said slowly, trying to find a place to start. "I can't do anything actually useful unless I have a master. At least that's what I call it. They're the one that can control it, but it's my magic, not theirs. I'm the one that gets exhausted from it. I don't know all the rules, it's not like I've had anybody to tell me, but I know I can't bring anything to life, I can't kill, and I can't mess with love. I've had people try all three and none of them did anything, so I figure those are just off limits. Other than that I haven't found anything I can't do. " He hesitated before slowly pulling a necklace from beneath his shirt. It had been tucked away until now but he held it up for Jones to see, revealing a small metal charm, similar in shape to a cartoon genie lamp, hung on a leather band. "Whoever has this is my master. Not that me having it helps anything, of course, but it's better than anybody being able to get to it." When he finished speaking he tucked it back out of sight. Even thought they were alone he wasn't about to risk anybody seeing it and trying to go after it--not after what had happened a year ago. "When I don't have a master, like now, I can't really do much. Just conjure, really, and the smoke thing. But I can't conjure much. The bigger something is the harder it is to conjure, and it gets tiring. Chocolate is easy," he finished, as a chocolate like the ones he always seemed to be eating appeared and he popped it into his mouth.

Jones listened intently, giving the student his full attention as his mind raced with all kinds of possibilities about Jax's power and state. When Jax revealed the lamp, his eyes focused on it too and his eyebrows furrowed a bit, as if that had diverted his thoughts towards a different direction. Finally, he witnessed once more as Jax created some chocolate for himself. 

He knew that Jax was truly powerful. Creating matter out of nothing, and especially something processed as chocolate, it was more than extraordinary, and that was just the "weakened" version. "Tell me, Jax, do your parents have similar powers?" he asked, his tone discreet and soft, hoping that the question wouldn't hit a nerve. The question served to somewhat clarify if Jax was a true genie, a mythical being of true heritage, or if he simply manifested similar powers.

After that, an even more important question followed. "Furthermore...how did you acquire that pendant? Did you have it from the very beginning?" he asked, and he felt that the key to Jax's power was that lamp, so he had to know more about it.

Jax paused at the question of his parents, considering how to answer. He didn't have much to go on; what memories he had of them, fond as they were, were old and hazy. He certainly knew that they'd supported his abilities and had never questioned them, but what that meant he had no idea. If they'd had powers they'd never revealed them to him. And with no other family to speak of, who knew what genes had been passed down to him? "I don't know if my parents had anything," he replied, shrugging and trying to push back the pang of grief that hit him at the thought. "If they did they never told or showed me. But they died when I was five, so who knows?" With that, glad to be past the topic of family, he looked down at his pendant again. "No, no, I used to not have any control at all. It was like I always had a master, but it was anybody around me and I couldn't even conjure or anything. A witch managed to change it to what it is now, but she said that my magic had to be linked to something to pull it off, and she gave me this. I was eleven, I think." After a brief pause to think, he nodded in confirmation and added almost to himself, "Yeah, eleven, 'cause it was my sixth foster home."

He quieted, surprised that he had said something like that aloud. Normally he was careful to keep the whole dead-parents-and-foster-system-upbringing to himself. It brought on too many questions.

Jones' expression was perplexed as he took in all the new information, but not lost, as he was trying to sort it out and come up with a solution. It was a very complex case, one that would require quite a lot of thought and care in its handling, not only because of the complexity of the power and its state, but also because Jax was a person too, one whose trust Jones needed to earn. He was determined to accomplish that.

Avoiding more questions about the situation, so as to relieve some of Jax's stress, guessing that it might have been building up, Jones directed the conversation elsewhere, but just as importantly. "I understand. What is it that you would want from our classes, Jax. What is your desired result?" he asked, looking into the young man's eyes.

"The way I work is...I can, if the student agrees, acquire a weaker copy of the student's power. I have a very fast learning rate, and essentially, I learn it myself and at the same time teach it back to the student, offering a fresh look and new ideas, as well as helping them get a deeper understanding. Providing me with a copy of your power, would you agree to that?" he asked.

"I wanna be able to control it," he said. "There has to be a way to...I don't know, tap into the part I can't control or something. I can feel it's there I just can't do anything about it. I can't have been born to be controlled by other people. Everybody else with powers can learn to control all of them, so there's no reason I shouldn't be able to." His tone held the slightest edge as he spoke, but it wasn't directed at Jones. His frustration and bitterness was beginning to show through and he stopped before it could go further. He nodded slowly as he listened to the professor's explanation of what his teachings would involve, and though he sensed that Jones was unsure on some level of whether others would be accepting of the idea he didn't need to even consider. Not only would he have a shot at escaping the chains he'd been in since birth, but somebody else might actually understand first-hand what he was? "Let's do it."

Jones was still focusing on every word escaping Jax's lips. And even if the boy had agreed to give Jones a copy of his power, there was steal a leap of faith to be made. Jones knew he would have one chance to explain, and he would have to do it flawlessly. "Jax. If you were, for a moment, at your full power, do you think you could create a pendant like yours, but for me, attuned to the copied power I'll acquire?" he asked. "If you can't do it in this state, will you allow me one wish, to ask you for a lamp made for my power? After that wish, I'll give you the lamp back, I don't need any more." he explained.

"Furthermore, if this works, after I acquire this power, I'll be giving you my lamp when we will be training together. With you making the wishes of me, we can explore this "empowered" state you can achieve, and we can work on how to control it more. It's very safe, for I only temporarily tap into powers. Meaning, if you have my lamp, you can make wishes, but only for as long as I am tapping into your power. It's safer this way, if I'm the one doing it, since I can turn it on and off for myself." Jones tried to explain.

"I need to ask something else though. When someone has your lamp, do you have your free will? For example, I know you can't kill through a wish. If someone gave you a gun and asked you to kill someone, would your will be bent and would you be forced to do it, or is the control limited to just realizing wishes?" he asked.

"It's only wishes," Jax replied to his last question slowly, though clearly distractedly. He was clearly deep in thought, considering Jones's words. His heartbeat immediately sped up at the thought of handing over his lamp to anybody; he'd vowed never to do it again unless absolutely necessary. Not after the last time. That night...he still had nightmares. He'd never say that fact aloud, but it was true. His mind spun as he tried to think of a way to conjure a second pendant without giving up his freedom, however temporarily. He knew that he could easily conjure a copy of his own, but as it was he wasn't strong enough to make one attuned to magic. That was no easy task. He could do it, of course, but not as he was now. If he didn't take this leap of faith he was out of luck, he knew--but he'd never been good at faith in people, and time had only made that worse.

But this situation could count as 'absolutely necessary' situation, right? It was the only chance he could see, at least in the forseeable future, and he didn't know how much longer he could stand being like this. So he took a deep breath and reached up, slowly pulling the pendant over his head. His hands trembled the slightest bit but his blue eyes were stony and determined. Raking his free hand through his hair again, he held the pendant out to Jones silently, not trusting his voice.

Jones could feel the intensity and the inner struggle of the student, and he was truly amazed that Jax mustered the willpower to go along with this. When Jax held the pendant out, there wasn't even a flicker of greed or ambition in Jonse's eyes. He didn't care about the possibility of wishes, he didn't have personal reasons. "Not yet." he finally said, his tone almost a whisper. "We shouldn't mess it up. I'll need to copy the power first, to make sure the pendant you'll make will have something to be attuned to." Jones reasoned, knowing how wishes could go wrong.

"Jax. Thank you for your trust." he said, having just denied the pendant, and albeit temporarily, it was perhaps another sign of his lack of ulterior motives. "If you want to go along with this, please visit the infirmary and tell the nurse Jones sent you, she will guide you. The process will take three days. In four days, I want to meet you here again, same time. Then, we can make the pendant." he said quietly.

After a moment of silence, he locked eyes with the boy. "Jax. I feel you've gone through hardships. Let me tell you how I look at your power. There might come someone who shall claim to be your "master", and that person, we'll teach you how to deflect and deny. But you see....Jax, there might come someone who shall ask to be your comrade and companion. Someone whose wishes will bring the best out of you, who will help you achieve what you wish. Someone who you trust and who trusts you." Jones said in a soft but serious tone, quiet but intense and emotional. 

"Think about it. Your lamp in the hands of a person you fully trust, your comrade. I'm sure you will find that person, Jax, if you so wish. Will I see you here in four days?" he asked.

Jax could do nothing but stare in silence, processing his words. It wasn't the fact that he wanted to gain a copy of Jax's power before creating a second pendant that shocked him, or what he said about the potential of his magic in the hands of somebody he trusted and who trusted him. It was the fact that not the slightest trace of greed or longing passed over him at the sight of the pendant, the chance to wish for anything in Jax's immense power. Not even for an instant. Only once before had somebody denied his pendant, and even then he'd been able to see what she'd been thinking, all the things she wanted to wish for but refused to for his sake. The fact that Jones gave no indication of even this was amazing to him.

He replaced his pendant again, staring down at it with his mind a whirlwind. If he'd been ready to hand over his pendant now, he could do it again in four days when somebody with the same power as him was asking for it. Four days.

In four days his life could be different.

"Yeah," he told Jones, nodding. "I'll be here."