Alice found herself at her 'mentor's' door, deciding what to do.

Trying the knob, she found it locked. No issue for her, as she simply popped the lock and slipped inside, closing the door and re-locking it behind her.

Seeing the other witch at her table, Alice slinked over to her. Hugging the dark witch from behind, she forcing a small amount of electrical mana into her hands. Enough to tingle, not so much to hurt.

"I missed you this week. I saw a few other girls drop by. Other apprentices?" Alice whispered into Kanoe's ear, breathing on her neck.

Kanoe was studying her tomes. A journal was open with a pencil constantly scratching notes down as the witch did her best to understand and translate what she was looking at. She was interrupted by the faint sound of someone trying to open her door. Hearing the lock pop immediately without any sounds of a key entering the lock gave some hints of who it could be but her mana channeled just incase.

Alice inviting herself in did not earn the woman any points in her favor. The witch showed her disapproval by grabbing the arms that tried to hug her, taking a firm grip. "Do not break into my room unannounced like that again," she said coldly, "I could have very well thought you were something else and punched a hole through your body. If you are to be my companion you need to understand common courtesy. Knock. I would like to think you will not be breaking in here while I am absent."

"Are you now spying on who comes and goes into my room?" she continued, growing annoyed, "My apprentices believe their secret is safe. You are making me into one who cannot keep her promises. You offered to be my companion, not my stalker," she released the woman's arms, waving her towards a chair to sit in, "I trust you are here for a lesson then?"

Alice prickled at the word 'stalker'. "I'm sorry that I couldn't control my ability to sense mana yet. It's not as if I could hide my reaction to their mana field. I assumed they were yours. As for my breaking in, I do apologize for that. Your lock is better than mine, and I wanted to see if I could pop something more complex." Alice sighed. "I didn't follow them, Kanoe. And I 'm not stalking..." Alice shuddered, "I'm not stalking you. Why would I?" Calmer now, Alice sat in the chair that Kanoe had directed her to. "I did some learning over the past week. I found out what my elemental affinity is, and as of yesterday, I gained the ability to suppress my mana field, making me far less sensitive to other mana fields." Alice was simply spouting out what she'd learned, trying to grasp what she'd just done to her companion.

Her new apprentice tried to jusitfy what she did. But such things would never be tolerated. It would be as if someone you just met started picking your locks just to if that person could do it. One way or another it was breaking and entering. The matter on stalking was more due to the first action than anything else. She did forget about the woman's high sense to magic which could lead to some harmless spying. It was still none of her concern though and the witch had no reason to satisfy that curiosity.

Moving on to the lesson, Alice was eager to move on as well as she tried to reveal all she knew or learned recently. "With familiarity with mana, are you able to see mana yet?" she asked, "And what element do you think you are tied to? Before we continue, I must warn you that as you get stronger, you may attract more... unwanted attention. There are things on this island that can sense mana or they may even be magic users themselves. If they find you, even with magic, they will take you and do as they please with you until they grow weary of you."

"I'm not able to see it. I didn't know that was possible, actually. According to the book, I'm tied to light. I can bend air and electricity, which both fall into that category." Alice sighed. "Unwanted attention? As in students, or are the rumors about monsters true? Wait... If you know that they'll do as they please with me, does that mean you've encountered such 'unwanted attention'?" Alice had an inkling that Kanoe had, in fact, met with such attention. "If I didn't want to keep going, I wouldn't be here, Kanoe. But I want to know the risk. What will I be getting in to?"

Alice was not the type to be turned away easily, but should the price be high enough, she would simply have to be more cautious.

"A small population of the students here have been attacked by monsters," she confirmed, "Myself included as well as people I have met. It is such a small percentage that the school has no trouble spinning it as nothing but stress and other mental issues. No one knows they exist cept those who are attacked and sometimes not even them. Whether it has to do with mana or not, every magic user has been attacked by a monster. Our magic does little to stop them. The island... It seems to suppress our abilities by a large degree. Most cannot even cast a proper spell in this environment and those few who manage to cast a spell finds it to be at a reduced effect. The most some of us can do is do minor damage which is ignored or regenerated. Know this, Alice. No one has every successfully beaten a monster much less escaped from one. They will find you and rape you if they decide you are their prey. If you are unlucky, some may even take a liking to you and start breaking you down so you resist less. It is a vicious cycle that one should not want to be part of."

"Kanoe..." Alice felt sad for the poor woman in front of her, "I'm so sorry. No woman deserves a fate like that." Getting up, she walked over behind the dark witch, and hugged her. "I get why you're so prickly now. You're trying to protect me from such an occurrence. Please, don't worry about me." Alice hugged tightly, her aura exuding kindness. "Before you even assume that I'm pitying you, I'm not. I love you, Kanoe." Kissing her on the cheek, Alice grabbed her hands, holding them tightly.

She caught the woman's arm again mid hug. "I am 'prickly' because you took it upon yourself to break into my room," she replied, "I have enough troubles dealing with demons and monsters, I do not need to add an over zealous student to the list." The witch had no real interest in protecting Alice in the way she mentioned. It was unhealthy to make such positive assumptions of people. But let the woman think whatever she wanted. "And there is nothing to be sorry about. It is a simple fact of this place and it is not going to change any time soon. Now, are you going to leave or are you going to sit down for a lesson? The choice is yours and I will not hold anything against you if you choose to leave."

"I'm sorry. I will never break your trust like that again." Alice said, dejected. Sitting back down, she looked at the beautiful witch. She didn't look sad, betrayed, or lonely anymore. She looked mad. Alice had no idea that what she'd done would be a huge mistake, and that it would bite her in the ass. "I'm ready to stop fucking around and learn, if you're still willing to teach me. I understand the price, but I simply must know more." Alice said.

"See that you don't," she replied, "Now it seems you began without learning the basics which I suppose you book left those details out. It is fine though as you will learn them today. It should make channeling a bit easier to work with and a bit safer to experiment. For someone with such a high mana sense, it should be not much trouble for you to learn how to see mana as well."

Now that the woman was not constantly trying to get on her good side or comfort her, they could move onto business. Her half of the deal was to teach Alice what she knows and that is what she will do. "You will not need any notes or text for this," she continued, "The steps may take some practice and it may take time for you to achieve sight but as long as you are able to do so then it will be easier to explain future lessons visually rather than purely on feeling. I want you to close your eyes and focus on what you hear around you. You can hear my voice but focus on the other things around us in the room. Silence all the distractions in the environment around you until you only hear the air around you. That gentle breeze from the air conditioner, silence it and listen for something hiding in it. A whistling whine of energy, when you begin to hear that, focus on it and slowly open your eyes."

Assuming things are done correctly, one could see the many colored threads of mana in the world as well as all the mana flowing in the objects and people. Mana was part of everything including objects and this would allow one to see it all.

Alice closed her eyes, shutting her thoughts, and opening her senses. Unleashing her field, she nearly passed out from the rush of power she felt, but forced her way through it. There, right beneath Kanoe's field. A strand of energy, one that she recognized. "Air. It's hard to feel, but it's there." She mumbled. Opening her eyes, she saw that the room was darker, more oppressive. Scanning where she felt the earlier strand, she saw a white thread. Smiling, she looked at her mentor, and immediately wished she hadn't.

Gasping, Alice pushed herself backwards. The darkness in the room was not Kanoe's mana. It was being cast by whatever had coiled itself around her.

"K-k-Kanoe? What the h-hell is that around y-you?" Alice was scared, yes. But she would not leave.

"Hmm?" Alice's shock came as a bit of a surprise. Kanoe remembered the first time being disorientating but not exactly frightening. The witch merely shrugged. "More than likely it is my dark mana," she replied, "I seem to have an abundance of mana as you already sensed from before. My body cannot control and contain it all so it tends to flow out of my body in a sort of visual aura. No need to be concerned. I suppose that means you succeeded. Take it slow and practice for a bit. I shall make some tea." The witch rose to her feet and headed to the kitchen to prepare the hot water. It did not take long before she returned with a tea set and offers a cup to Alice before sitting down. "Are you feeling more comfortable with it now?" She asked.

"In all honesty, Kanoe, I'm not at all comfortable with it. Expository as it is, I'd much rather be feeling your power, rather than seeing it. Since it's yours, I can stand it, but that does not make it any less frightening. I am, however, more comfortable using the power now." Alice happily accepted the tea. "I don't suppose you put anything in this?" She asked with a grin. "Sorry, I know. You don't need booze or drugs to get what you want. I just wanted to tell a joke, and help myself to relax." Alice giggled nervously, before falling over.

Using her mana was new to her, and she had overdone it. Alice stayed there for a good minute before getting back up, closing her eyes. "What just happened?" Alice asked, confused.

Kanoe was a bit shocked to find Alice falling over like that. That never happened with any other mystics and found this to be a bit troubling. The witch shook her head and sighed softly. "Seems you are not comfortable with it," she said calmly, "Especially since you are doing it wrong. Are you alright?" She waited for the woman to get back into her chair as she consider what could have done this. Only one idea came to mind.

"You did not follow my directions," she said, "I did not once tell you to channel your mana. You were channeling into nothing and therefore exhausted yourself. Mana sight is simply a state of mind if anything. It burns no mana and simply allows you to see mana itself. I am unsure if non gifted people can achieve this sight. It may take a spark to allow such awareness though. When you are feeling better, repeat the process and do not burn your mana."

"Ah, well, I'm sorry..." Alice sighed. She hated doing things wrong, and tried again. Just a spark. That's all I need. Just a spark. Alice closed her eyes, and relaxed. Opening them again, she felt her field reacting with others around her, and saw Kanoe's interacting with hers.

She realized what Kanoe's field reminded her of. Smoke. Like a fire, and thick as darkness. Those must have been the 'dark' witch's elements.

"I'm doing much better, I think. I'm not burning my mana." Alice muttered, embarrassed by her previous mistake.