Gasping for Air

It had been a while since he'd last called for a meeting with his apprentices but what with his own masters death and with the arrival of Ace he'd not had much time. He'd sent a student out with two notes, one for each of his apprentices informing them to meet him by the lake.

Now he just had to stand and wait. He wasn't looking his best but then who would after the stresses he'd had to face these past weeks?

"Master!" Damian called out as he trotted down towards the lake, Lynne at his side, an excited grin on his features despite himself. He was eager to learn more. As far as he was concerned, training was going much too slowly.

"I'm here," he said a bit breathlessly as he reached the man, pacing until he caught his breath, again. "I was starting to think you'd forgotten about me." The boy was teasing. He understood that his mentor had a lot of responsibilities.

A frown puckered the boy's brow as he glanced about, remembering that they had to wait for one other person. Damian didn't like it, but he would work with the girl anyway. It was his training on the line, after all. Besides, he didn't have to like her to train with her.

In her now usual work out uniform- her school robes pulled over her old, green shorts and a gray shirt- the small Russian followed behind Damian, far enough away that she could stay undetected. Today wasn't the day for a fight, especially with the ever eager Zoya nipping at her heels.

She walked slowly up to the two, a polite smile on her face. She gave a small nod as a hello to her master, completely ignoring Damian for the moment. The pup, on the other hand, sniffed and pawed at the boy's legs before moving on to her sister and giving her a welcoming nip to the ear and a wag of the tail.

"Zoya, stop that," Iva said quietly, "That's not polite,"

"Damian." He smiled as he saw the boy. "Forget? Never! No i've been busy." He frowned rubbing his forehead as the tension of the headache came rushing forwards. It seemed this potion didn't work either.

"Iva." He smiled. "Great now you're both here, we can begin to conquer the water." He said lifting his arms up by his sides and taking a step back. But instead of dropping down into the depths of the lake below, he appeared to be walking on the water.

"You're hunted on ground. You've tuned your ears for your surroundings but some jobs require you to go out of your comfort zones. Water is just one of many." He explained. "What do you need to hunt under water? Ask me and i shall equipt you. Then we shall test you. Fail to ask for something and you shall fail so ask wisely you wont get a chance to ask again."

Damian looked down at the grey-furred wolf, eyes softening a bit. "Hey, Zoya," he greeted her, giving the canine a few friendly pats before she went to greet her sister. For her part, Lynne leaned away from the ear-nip, returning it with a playful snap at Zoya's chin. And then, she tackled the other wolf to the ground and sat on her.

The boy gazed incredulously at his mentor. He could have sworn that a loud buzzing had filled his ears. Or not buzzing, but the sound of shouts and laughter echoing off walls, of water splashing and lapping against tile. His gaze slipped out of focus, expression stricken as he momentarily carried elsewhere...

Damian struggled, clawing frantically at the arms locked across his collar.

'Ouch! Quit it, freak!' the other boy growled. A second boy grabbed Damian's arms.

'Hey - I think the wizard doesn't like water, very much!' chortled a third boy, trying to take hold of Damian's kicking feet. 'What's the matter, Damian? Can't ya breathe under water?'

'Let me g-' Damian began, only to be abruptly submerged under the surface of the water. He was eased back up a moment, later, sputtering painfully.

'What was that, freak?' one of them asked snidely. Damian managed to land a sufficiently solid kick to the boy holding his arms, jerking them from his grasp and elbowing the kid that held him in the ribs.

Managing to pull away from them, the ten-year-old made his way straight towards the lifeguard at the side of the pool. 'Hel-!' he started to shout, but his tormentors had grabbed hold of him, again, dragging him beneath the surface...

Damian was yanked back to the present by Lynne's loud, anxious whining. The daemon nipped at the boy's fingers, trying to grab his attention. He shot her a frantic glance, blue eyes wide, breathing slightly more rapid than it ought to have been.

"Y-you're bloody mad!" Damian sputtered incredulously at Asric, a hand raising unconsciously to loosely encircle his windpipe. "There isn't any sense that can help you hunt in the water! What you'd need is to hold your breath forever! Or-or bloody gills! Or... or..." He trailed off at a loss, still rather caught up in the past though he struggled to shake the memories from his mind.

Lynne's ears were pinned back. The wolf paced agitatedly, at a loss as to how to sooth her master's upset.

Zoya giggled under the sister, letting out a little whimper of defeat. Iva gave a smile at her daemon, then turn to watch her teacher with frayed concentration. She was never a top student, but lately, her thoughts were else where. Her bosy turned away from Damian, she managed to think about the topic at hand.

"A weapon, a way to breathe-" She had started to list off her ideas when Damian had started his outbrust. Her head whipped around the the boy, her eyes filled with confusion. Zoya mimiced her worry, whoning and pawing after Lynne.

"It's just water, Dame," she whispered, stepping towards him. Her voice was soft, yet harsh. A hesistant hand found his arm, trying to comfort him, "Why are you upset?"

Ric nodded. "Name your weapon and you shall have it. Any specific charm or way you wish to breath under water?" He asked before he was cut off by Damians out burst. He turned to look at his apprentice with his head tilted slightly to the side watching them memory through the boys very soul.

"Mad? Im not mad Damian." He said, anger flashed through his eyes for a second before he got himself under control. He was tired and considerably weakened recently because of this new 'gift' it left his patience a little slim. "You're not amonst muggles anymore Damian.

"You can't allow fears to hold you back forever Damian and now is as good a time as any to conquer your fear. I wouldn't allow you to drown."

"I'm... I'm not -" Damian began. I'm not afraid was what he wanted to say, but somehow the words wouldn't cross his lips. He was afraid. Of water, of all things! All because he had failed to protect himself from a bunch of stupid muggles.

Eyes falling momentarily shut, Damian drew in a shaky breath even as Lynne let out the anxious whine he refused to allow himself.

"Sorry, sir," he murmured quietly, eyes snapping open. His gaze went to the hand on his arm, as though just noticing it was there. Pushing the hand off without a glance towards its owner, Damian took a step away from the girl.

"You'd need a weapon that can withstand the friction caused by the water, preferably that can withstand any currents," Damian elaborated on the answer already given, to all appearances having put his feelings regarding bodies of water aside. Lynne's behavior betrayed him, however: the thought of going in the water still made him anxious, maybe even terrified.

He continued. "A lot of magic will work under water, if you can articulate the spells; many muggle devices will not work. As for b-breathing," Damian's voice tried to fail him for a moment, "there are several ways to manage that. Gillyweed will allow you to be under water for about an hour, though it has it drawbacks and I imagine an hour might not always be enough time. The bubble-head charm is also limited because only so much air fits inside the bubble. Transfiguring into something could work, but there aren't many creatures that can breath under water that can also handle a weapon. There are various other spells and even potions that could have the desired effect, such as - as...

"I c-can't think of them right now," Damian said, composure degrading a bit, once more. His gaze had become focused on the water, again, and with an effort, he tore his eyes from the lake to focus on Asric, instead. "I know the answer, master, I just... m-my brain won't..." The boy brought up a hand to rub against one temple, his calm visibly fraying despite his best efforts.

"I'm sorry," Damian choked out in a whisper. Sorry for being afraid, for letting some stupid muggles get the better of him. Sorry for being weak; for being inadequate...