"It started when I was young." Zhao Mingzhe explained. "When I was five, my nanny put me in a bath and I started a whirlpool."
Eirian looked at him, looked back at the water spilling out of his hands.
"I went swimming once as a teenager and froze the water. My father had to cut me out."
Eirian blinked. "Were you cold?"
Mingzhe started to speak, then stopped, confused.
"In the ice, were you cold?"
"I- I think so?"
Eirian's eyes narrowed. "I feel like you would remember."
Mingzhe tensed. "I…handle the cold well."
Eirian stuck her finger in the water in his palm. It was cool, almost chilly. She put her other palm on his forehead. His skin felt cool, but not dramatically. Eirian ran a few degrees hotter than most people because of her magic, but it was possible he ran cooler.
"Interesting." She murmured. "Has anyone else in your family had magic?"
He shook his head. "No. Wait, there is a family story about an ancestor who was supposed to have had gifts. He went to the City of Illumination and never came back."
"Sounds about right," Eirian muttered. You could trust criminal bandits more than you could trust that place. "What else can you do?"
Mingzhe bit his lip in concentration, and the water started to dance in his hand, rising and falling and twisting like it had a mind of its own. It didn't go very far, never more than a few inches, and Eirian wondered if that was the limit of his magic or his experience.
She grabbed her cup of tea, gone cold while she was distracted, and set it in his hand, ignoring the water spilling onto the grass. "Reheat this."
"What?" Mingzhe sputtered, confused. "I can't."
"It's mostly water. Can you make it move?"
"I- I don't think so." A flush rose in Mingzhe's cheeks.
"Try." Eirian insisted.
Mingzhe frowned and chewed on his lip.
"Just try." Eirian pushed, more curious than even Mingzhe was about his abilities.
Mingzhe took a deep breath, released it, and stared down at the cup of tea.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Maybe that was the limit of his power. Maybe he could only manipulate the water he created? Or only pure water?
The tea in her cup rippled. It was so faint that Eirian wasn't sure she saw it at first. But then it happened again.
Mingzhe's brow furrowed, he bit his lip so hard it turned white, and the tea rippled again.
And then again. Each time the ripple got a hair bigger.
Eirian stuck her finger in her tea, and it was lukewarm. Another ripple, and it got a little bit warmer.
Mingzhe started to sweat, his hands shook, tea sloshed over the edges of the cup, and Eirian snatched it before it fell onto the ground. Mingzhe slumped forward, breathing hard.
Eirian set the cup down and put her palm to his forehead again. He was warmer than before, but still cooler than Eirian, and his skin was clammy. He'd barely warmed the tea, but the way he'd made the water move before that suggested he could get stronger. It was easier for Eirian to create flame than to manipulate one that already existed. "Do you practice with your magic?"
Mingzhe shook his head. "My family worried about what would happen if someone saw."
Eirian hummed thoughtfully. "You could probably get stronger if you practiced."
"Do you?"
"I used to. For years, it was all I did. I didn't stop until I could call it at will, without having to stop and focus on it."
"Your magic is…"
"More than yours, probably." Eirian agreed. Her magic was more than most. "But you could still get stronger."
Mingzhe hesitated, glanced at Chenzhou, who was somehow still asleep. "I'm not sure…"
"Chenzhou would support you." Eirian glanced at her husband and poked his cheek. He stirred, blinking awake and looking confused when he saw Mingzhe.
"What?" Chenzhou sat up, sluggish and barely awake.
Mingzhe looked concerned. "Is he alright?"
"He's fine." Eirian leaned back on her elbows, watching the two of them eye one another. "Chenzhou is still healing; his body and mind heal more when he's sleeping."
Chenzhou yawned and stretched, looking more awake with each movement. "Lord Zhao?"
"Yes, apologies for interrupting." Mingzhe made to stand, but Chenzhou waved him down.
"No, don't leave. What's going on?" When Mingzhe didn't answer, Chenzhou turned to Eirian, who raised an eyebrow at Mingzhe.
Mingzhe laced his fingers together, squeezing so tight his knuckles turned white.
"Tell him," Eirian commanded. She understood his hesitation, there'd been a time when she was younger that she'd guarded her own magic jealously. The day she'd finally decided to tell Eric, she'd been terrified. But Chenzhou had been just as accepting of Eirian's magic as her cousin. Sometimes it seemed like he was even more interested. Eric had always been wary of using Eirian's magic for anything, afraid of the risk it brought for her, but Chenzhou didn't seem to share his hesitation. Despite being afraid of it, Chenzhould couldn't overlook its usefulness, which Eirian appreciated.
She was confident he'd see Zhao's magic the same way.
The relationship between the two wasn't exactly strained, but they weren't friends either. It was a leap for both of them to show such trust.
Eirian turned to Chenzhou. "What do you think of my magic?"
Confused, Chenzhou looked between them. "It's terrifying…" He paused. "But also useful."
Eirian smirked. Exactly as she'd expected. "Would you punish someone for having magic?"
Chenzhou's face screwed up in distaste. "For having it, no. For misusing it, yes. As much as I could anyway." Looking wary, he glanced at her. "Why, what did you do?"
Eirian rolled her eyes. "Nothing." She turned to Zhao, and nudged his leg with her foot. "Go on."
Chenzhou turned to Zhao. "What's going on? Ming- Lord Zhao, is something wrong?"
Mingzhe glanced between them, nervously squeezing his hands. Then he took a deep breath, "Nothing is…wrong, per se."
It was Chenzhou's turn to raise an eyebrow.
Mingzhe gave Eirian one last tense look before prying his fingers apart and cupping his hands together. Water gathered until it was spilling over his fingers.
Chenzhou jerked back, then remembered himself and stilled. "What-" He went a little pale, before peering closer. "Is that-"
"Magic. Yes, it is." Eirian interrupted.
Speechless, Chenzhou stared at Mingzhe.
~ tbc