Days turned into weeks and weeks started going into months, during this time Shilo was subject to more tests and inspections than he ever thought possible. All with the same results. He wasn’t sure what they were trying to prove, but it obviously wasn’t working. When he wasn’t being harassed by mages or magistrates, Yeisha would bring Asha over and school them on reading and arithmetic while Lytah helped Hydee. 

“To convert fractions into decimals, it’s easier if you can reduce the fraction to lowest terms first,” Yeisha explained as she reduced a fraction to its simplified form on her small slate. “Then divide the top of the fraction, the numerator, by the bottom, the denominator.”

She smiled and nodded as she watched Shilo and Asha work on the problems she’d given them. “Another way to think of it is that the bar between the numbers always stands for ‘divide by’ in the fraction.”

Asha tapped her piece of chalk to her lip and nodded in agreement. “I think I understand.”

“You’ll catch on soon even if you don’t, you’re a bright kid.” Yeisha looped a finger around one of Asha’s curls. “All it takes is practice, sweetheart.”

“But showing fractions by baking the cake and cutting it into equal portions was a lot more fun, not to mention tastier,” Asha giggled.

“Either way, this makes a lot more sense than all those freaking mana ball tests,” Shilo grumbled, double checking his answer to make sure he put the decimal in the right place.

“Any progress with that?”

Shilo glanced up at Yeisha, her face offered nothing other than a kind smile. He bit back his growl and simply said, “Why would there? As I keep telling all of you, I’m not a mage.”

“Yes, but you are Elric’s son, so I’m sure his intelligence rubbed off on you too.”

Shilo blinked at her. His voice quaked as he uttered, “Wait, was he a m-mage?”

“He was a genius at combining mana with science, though not so with actual magic. He wasn’t what one would call a mage, more of a researcher. Magic and science can either complement or compete against each other, however, being proficient in one does not guarantee success with the other.”

Shilo soured his face at her words. “Okay, not a mage? So then why would me being his dang son have anything to do with those dumb magic balls?” 

“I’m saying you have potential. You’re bright, and I’m sure if you set your mind to it, you could comprehend a great many things, even the theory behind the magic balls. You may not be able to perform magic, but I’m sure you could grasp the concept of mana enough to mollify the Archmagus.”

“But since I’m not a mage, why do I have to?” 

“You should at least try,” Yeisha said without heat or mockery. “You never know what you can accomplish until you try.”

He glanced over at Lytah, but she offered no help. She was busy teaching Hydee how to write. 

With a cross between a snort and a growl, he turned back to Yeisha and scoffed, “Seriously, why try?”

“Are you not even trying because you’re afraid you’re going to fail?”

Shilo swished his tail irritably. He glared at her through half-lowered lids and slowly reiterated, “I’m not a mage, therefore, I know I will fail.” 

“Failure is inevitable, it’s the refining fires that forge the swords of success. In order to succeed, you need to hammer out the edge of your ability and stretch to the point of defeat. Learning is all about mistakes, and those mistakes strengthen your skills by hammering out the dents in your thinking. In other words, everyone fails at some point, that’s just part of the learning. Just try to understand why you failed, fix it, apologize if need be, and take responsibility without blaming your faults on someone else. 

“If the task seems overwhelming, ask someone for guidance to help you improve. Everyone needs a little assistance sometimes, and it doesn’t make you less of a person for asking.

“With most of life's lessons, especially the valuable ones, it's always better to try than not. Try to succeed, gain the experience learned from any failures. Then pick yourself up and move on. Grow from it, and don’t let it stunt you. Life is always full of consequences, both good and bad. It's the fear of failure that stops us from trying, and the fear of being judged that causes us not to take that first step on the path towards discovering our true capabilities.”

“Pretty speech, but not at all helpful to my ‘not a mage’ issue.”

“Well, I found it inspiring,” Asha said, wadding up the chamois cloth and throwing it at Shilo's face. She let out a giggle when he wiped the white flowery chalk mark off his cheek.

He returned the favor, but first he wiped his slate to add a little more chalk dust so when he threw it, all that dust poofed into her curly bangs causing her giggles to turn into coughs.

“Rude monkey,” Asha grumbled.

“Look, Yeisha,” Hydee squealed, proudly holding her chalkboard up high. “I can write my full name! Lytah taught me words. I can do words.”

“Very good, Hydee.”

“Daddy says I’m going to start school soon. Asha are you going to go to school? Lytah says it’s fun. I’d like you there with me.” She smiled up at Asha and drew little chunky hearts around her name. Then she scrunched her nose up at Shilo. “But not him. I see him too much already.”

“School?” Asha smiled up at Shilo. At Shilo’s indignant expression, she blinked a few times and her smile fell away.

“Is Asha really going? Uh, am I going too? I’ve never been to school before.”

Yeisha glanced at Lytah, they shared an awkward silence before Yeisha spoke. “No, Shilo. I’ll be instructing you and Asha. I mean, it is a possibility for Asha to go if she wishes, but not for you, hon. Not when you stand out like you do. It could cause too many complications.”

Shilo nodded. It was the answer he expected, but was disappointed nonetheless.

Romin came home later that day, and after dinner, a very happy Hydee showed off her improved writing skills. Hydee even went on about Asha.

“Asha is my friend, Daddy. But she can’t do magic like me,” Hydee said, producing a small puff of pink glowing smoke that disintegrated as soon as it formed. “But Lytah’s teaching me and maybe I can teach her!”

“Asha? Who’s that?” Although Romin’s voice was gentle as he spoke to his daughter, he shot Lytah with a cold glare. 

“She’s the girl living with Mage Yeisha now. Mage Yeisha brings her over. She has curly hair like Mage Yeisha but she’s grey like a normy, not medium grey like me or icky inky like him.” Hydee stuck her tongue out at Shilo. “Asha is his friend but I want her to be mine. If I teach her magic, can she be my friend too, Daddy?”

“She's not a mage so teaching her would be pointless. It’s best not to get too attached to her, Hydee. Mages and mundanes don’t mix well together since they’re naturally inferior to us.”

Shilo growled, “Did you just imply that Asha was beneath you, you jac—”

“Shilo,” Lytah snapped, cutting him off. “That’s enough! Go to your room!”

Telepathically she implored, **Please, Shilo. I know it’s wrong, but please, don’t say anything to get yourself thrown out.**

Shilo snarled, but did as he was told for her sake. 

Romin eyed him as he left. “He seems to be attached. Maybe I should show some more disdain for this girl, Asha, and see where his anger takes him.”

Shilo stopped and slowly turned his head. He met Romin's condescending smile with his own contemptuous sneer. There was a phrase he heard before that seemed fitting right now, even though he knew he didn’t have the power to back it. He opened his mouth to speak just as Lytah’s hand landed on his back pushing him out of the dining room. Then for some reason, his words became hisses and gurgles once they left his mouth.

Still growling, Shilo entered his room but didn’t shut the door completely. Through the crack he heard Lytah getting Hydee ready for bed and saw Romin walk past towards the study. A short while later, Lytah also headed to the study. The study had no door and was next to Lytah’s room, perfect for eavesdropping. 

“That was uncalled for, Romin,” Lytah said, her voice passive despite her words. “Hydee only wants a friend.”

“And she should have one, just not with some mundane,” Romin voice reminded cold and aloof with just a hit of a sneer. “She will make plenty of friends when she enters the mage academy.”

“Yes, but I think she would benefit from one now.”

“Fine, I won’t do anything to interfere with Yeisha’s visits or hinder her from bringing that mundane child with her. But do well to impress upon my daughter that she is showing a great deal of benevolence by accepting this Asha urchin since the girl is unbefitting of someone of Hydee’s caliber.” 

“Um, if you take issue with that, you know there is another way for Hydee to have a mage friend… a sibling friend.”

The silence that followed spoke volumes. Lytah muttered out an apology and quickly excused herself.

Shilo heard Lytah walking out and placed a hand gently against the door to give the appearance of it being fully shut, but Romin called her back.

“How could you even suggest that? You know what happened to my first wife, and yet…” Romin stifled a growl. “You couldn’t save her and you were barely able to save my daughter. You had to stay by Hydee’s side for months to ensure her health, and she still almost died. And now you have the gall to go and suggest… Do you want me to go through that hell again? Do you want Hydee to go through the trauma of losing you? And if you do manage to survive, how do you think Hydee would feel knowing that her sibling has its mother while hers died? I know you’re a healer, Lytah, but you’re even more petite than Evaya was. I will not watch another wife die during childbirth. I have one child, and Hydee is all I need.”

Shilo held in his sigh as he quietly closed the door. Their conversation was disappointing. He was hoping to hear something useful, like why he was stuck here, anything other than their marital problems. Crap, he had even secretly wanted the guy to go on some tirade about Asha so he could use it as an excuse to maim the rat bastard while he slept. But this? He let out his sigh and slipped into bed. This almost made the ass sympathetic… almost.