Corym was at the bow of the airship, his arms spread wide as wind tousled his hair and clothes. 

He had been dreaming of riding an airship for years. He heard of the freedom flying gives, the wonderful, wonderful brightness it brings to the soul. He felt it all, and never wanted to land. 

Unfortunately the trip to the shore with the university would only take about an hour, yet every student seemed to be enjoying it in their own way.

Corym turned back to look at Milo, who finally seemed to be completely at peace. He was smiling brightly, and was doing some form of soft martial arts - maybe Thai chi - to control the winds. This high up, he was completely free to do so, maybe even for the first time. It must have been beautifully liberating - he seemed oblivious to the students watching him, but the small leaves moving along with him made his power quite obvious. 

Stars, he was beautiful. 

Corym created a small Morningstar Lilly and sent it into the whirlwind. After a moment, Milo noticed it and plucked it out of the air, stopping his control over it. His audience left, disappointed, as he brought the flower back to Corym, tucking it in his hair. 

"You need something?" Milo asked him, sitting down against a barrel. 

Corym nodded. "First of all, you had a group of students looking at you like they all had a crush on you. That’s my job. But also, can you teach me to move the air?" 

Milo blinked. "I- I'm not sure how I do it, it comes naturally." 

Corym sat down. "So? My magic comes from my passion for stories and music. Yours comes from how it reaches your soul, right? They're pretty similar, I think. Come on, try to show me something simple." 

Milo considered it and nodded. "If you teach me to make light." 

Corym smiled. The light spell was what he used to chase nightmares away. "Let the lesson begin". 

Milo crossed his legs, inviting Corym to do the same. "Feel the wind around you. It's not random. Every gust occurs in long ribbons, like rolls of silk moving in a direction. This direction changes, as does its speed. Try to understand its movement." 

"... this sounds so yoga-like," Corym said with a snort. 

Milo glared at him. "You asked to learn. I told you I didn’t know. Anyway, feel the way it's moving. Now with your magic, imagine you're taking some of it and… sort of pushing it along. Encouraging it to move forward, or even in a different direction. Let your arms accompany the movement you want to give it, and create your own gust." 

It took a few tries, but Corym eventually managed to move enough air to make Milo's hair get pushed back. 

The two laughed and high fived, causing other students to look at them. Corym raised an eyebrow. “This is a private show, guys, move along.” 

The students rolled their eyes. “You aren’t subtle, guys. There’s a bet going around about if you’re together or not” said Millie, a rather annoying halfling from Corym’s year. “Personally I think you’re flirting with him, you just wanna use him as a toy, but Milos too socially stunted to notice.” 

Corym felt a surge of anger rise. He was about to retaliate when he noticed Milo’s eyes had shifted to red for just a moment. Milo stood and turned around to face her. 

“May I ask, Mildred, how much money did you bet?” 

She smirked up at him “I bet 10 gold, one of the largest bids yet.” 

Corym’s stomach churned. 10 gold was enough to get him and his mother by for almost a month. 

He didn’t expect Milo to grin at that and say ‘good’. 

He certainly didn’t expect Milo to pull Corym to his feet and kiss him in front of the entire school. 

Pretty good one, too. 

When they separated, he looked over to Millie who seemed furious. Milo was an evil genius, sometimes. He heard from the back of the ship a familiar voice yell “WHOOHOO! I WON!” and watched as Micheal made his way to the angry halfling. “For all of you who bet they weren’t together, I believe I was the only one to actually think they were a thing. Time to pay up!” 

“Micheal!?” Milo snapped. “Seriously?” 

Micheal shrugged. “So many people bet that Corym was just being flirty, that now I have enough money for a year, maybe more!” he scampered away, counting his gold. 

Corym held up a middle finger to the group and sat back down behind the barrel, pulling Milo down with him. “That was amazing, and absolutely worth it.”

“Mildred hasn’t stopped pestering me since high school. I saw an opportunity to embarrass her back and took it.”

Corym giggled and sat up. "Again, so worth it. But OK, now for light. For me, each spell has a sound or a story with it. Some kind of flourish. For example, when I summon plants, everything feels curly, like vines. When I fix or clean things like this" he moved his fingers and fixed Milo's hair with magic. "It sounds like parchment in the wind, falling back and forth. Light sounds like a high resonance. Like running your fingers on the rim of a crystal glass." 

Milo raised an eyebrow. "And it's the same for everyone?" 

"No. Find the sound or story or even dance you associate with light. Maybe a movement. Once you find it, push that source of inspiration towards where you want to cast the light." 

He watched as Milo closed his eyes and stayed very still. It only took a moment for him to summon a small ball of light between them. As soon as he noticed it, it fizzled away. 

Corym stood and reached a hand to help Milo up. "What was your inspiration?" 

Milo stood up and let go of his hand. "It was a memory. I remember getting my first rings, and marveling at how they caught the sunlight." He smiled to himself. "Haven't thought of that in years". 

Corym grinned and started making his way towards some friends. "Keep practicing, and never forget the sun, Mi!"