Time
Aubrianne was so caught up in at least accomplishing the task of manipulating this basin of water in front of her. They have yet to move on from this element.
She wondered if she should try another element to see if she handled it differently. However, Martha says that's not how it works.
They weren't to jump from one element to the next. They will do this one element at a time, understanding how it works and flows while perfecting it before moving on.
Martha realized Aubrianne seemed as if she was not even paying attention to her.
She thought next to merely see what reaction she gained from Aubrianne and be sure it was what she thought it was.
'Maybe we need to get rid of this mate of hers.'
When suddenly, out of nowhere, Aubrianne's aura was unleashed, and all the windows of this room and the entire ground floor shattered with the force of the energy radiating from her.
They were currently in an empty room with just a tall table and a basin of water on it, not much else for distraction.
The water suddenly rose, danced in the air, and started moving vigorously towards Martha, who was smiling at Aubrianne.
Aubrianne was taken aback, her eyebrows pinched, and eyes dimmed. Why was this b!tch smiling after wanting to get rid of her mate? Could she not trust Martha?
"I did not say it out loud, Aubrianne," Martha spoke. She clasped her hands in front of her, a huge smile plastered on her face, genuinely excited.
Oh, Aubrianne was so much like her mother.
Aubrianne blinked. This woman must have lost her mind. What was she talking about? "Your mate, about your mate, I only thought of hurting him, just as I thought that he was causing your distraction earlier, and you answered."
"You answered me, Aubrianne." Martha's hands moved with her words, making all sorts of gestures Aubrianne found hard to follow.
"Only then, I did not say anything either, Aubrianne. Do you know what this means?" Martha asked, her voice laced with awe and wonder.
Aubrianne blinked at Martha again as her mind raced through clips, now registering what she was saying. Oh, snap. She could hear people's thoughts now? Geez, she will need to learn how to control this at once.
What a drag. Aubrianne thought, as she could not even move some water right now. For the second time in Aubrianne's life, she was faced with something she could not apply her education to or her knowledge and solve.
No, she felt like she was returning to school starting as low as grade one.
This was not numbers or statistical planning of financial structures and whatnot.
THIS? It was something that was way outside her comfort zone.
Yes, it was great. She was so powerful, Aubrianne sarcastically thought, yet she was so weak because it did not matter if she had all this power and gifts.
What good were they if she could not even use them? As she recalled being praised and glorified by her father and the others, even Jada, for her efforts in stopping the boulders and slabs of concrete from falling on them.
She had shouted at them to stop, as she did not even know how that had happened.
She was a novice and, for some reason, unable to get it right, which bothered her. Aubrianne was not used to this. And worse yet, she felt as if she was running out of time to get things right.
The amount of pressure she placed on herself to yield results was crushing her. Sadly at that moment, Aubrianne did not realize it.
"What good does any of it do me if I cannot even use it?" Aubrianne finally spoke. Her voice was so unexcited and doubtful and lost of all hope.
But hey, Martha was excited and hopeful enough for both of them. Again seeing Jada in her mother.
"Ok..." Martha walked toward Aubrianne as she finally calmed down, and the water fell directly into the basin. "See."
Martha held her by her shoulders and spoke, "Look what you did." Then one of her hands gestured towards the basin.
Aubrianne unenthusiastically followed her line of sight, "Yes, because I thought you were after my mate..and... it was the same when I used my powers yesterday also to protect us all from the debris."
"Yes, our magic will react to protect us in dire circumstances, but you will get it with time and practice." Martha gently squeezed Aubrianne's shoulder in encouragement as she gave that eye and raised an eyebrow, asking if Aubrianne understood.
Oh, Aubrianne understood just fine, but she felt she did not have time.
Aubrianne's hands rubbed her temples as Martha freed her shoulders. She was spent for the night, and she told Martha that they would pick things up again tomorrow and that she would try harder.
Now Thursday morning was here, and after her night of whining about her days of failures, she woke up ready to put in the work, determined more than ever.
Plus, her talk with Jada last night really got the ball rolling about putting things into perspective...
Later Wednesday night, after yet another long and tiresome day, Aubrianne ate, showered, and spoke to Zayne, only this time, she did not fall asleep while still on the line as she did every night.
No, she needed to wallow in the woes of her inability to get her magic right and the fact that it had been two full days with no progress.
She was being hard on herself, and to top it off, she was finding it difficult to focus. Aubrianne sat on the bed and stared at the roof, unblinking.
When Jada sauntered in and told her that Ivan had surprised her and moved the date up for their little rendezvous and that she'd turned him down.
When Aubrianne insisted she go, Jada explained that she'd hoped to be there with Aubrianne every step of the way. She wanted to see Aubrianne come into her own and support her.
Jada was not about to leave Aubrianne. They had already planned it so that when Aubrianne left to go to Zayne's pack, only then would Jada and Ivan meet, not before.
Ivan was getting a little too excited about the idea of a romantic getaway with Jada.
But then, after Jada made it clear she would not leave Aubrianne, they sat in complete silence.
Jada knew Aubrianne very well, well enough to know that something was bothering her so much that she had not been concentrating as she should; her mind must be reeling.
And because Jada knew Aubrianne very well, she believed she knew what Aubrianne was struggling with; they had been through this before.
So, out of nowhere, Jada asked, "Remember when you were learning to dance on the pole?"
Taken aback by the question, Aubrianne's head rose as she propped on her elbows, her eyes widened, staring at Jada. Still trying to figure out where Jada was going with this question.
'For crying out loud, what does her pole dancing have to do with this?'
"You took the time and learned. You applied yourself and did it repeatedly till you got it, and a few months later, you could do it with your eyes closed." Jada gushed like a proud mama.
It did not take long for Aubrianne to follow Jada's train of thought, but it did not initially make her feel any better, "That's just what I am scared of."
The time she felt like she did not have.
"I don't have six months to learn magic," Aubrianne could not fathom being away from her mate that long... when, "but you know what?"
The wheels started spinning rapidly.
Aubrianne remembered being so determined then she had no idea where to begin, but she had listened to her teacher and applied herself.
She could do this, she thought.
She would make an effort if she had to go back and forth. Maybe sometimes even Martha could be flown in to see her as her father had once offered.
And in the meantime, she had her people. It was like a light bulb had been switched on.
Aubrianne just needed to calm her raging mind, but she did not want to use magic for that or her wolf.
She wanted to ace this on her own. She needed to know it was she that did it.
"Who says you have to learn everything at once? You have us," Jada spoke when it seemed Aubrianne was not finishing her sentence.
"Exactly, Jada. Exactly! Those were my thoughts seconds ago." Reality kicked in, but she knew deep down what the rush was...
