Gathering herself, Pia tried coming up with an answer.

"I-I cannot really be a teacher.", she said, not letting go of Saira just yet, but giving her a little more room, locking her blue eyes with dark ones. "I don't know how. I-I do have some talents myself. And.. uh.. you are right. They are personal.. sexual I guess."

At this, Pia suddenly seemed very coy. Even looking into Saira's eyes became difficult. One thing was that the sexual nature of her powers. Another was that she considered their actual powers a secret. If the school or the monsters knew her exact nature, they would no doubt try to hinder her. She was unsure with whom to share the details. So far, only Seraph, the angelic monster that had discovered them, and Kanoe, her mentor, knew all about it.

"I know of one who has lots of experience teaching others, but she deals mainly with sorcery and witchcraft. I do not know if she can help you with this node and its powers.. but I can ask her. I did say I would help you, though. And I will try. It would help if we knew more about it, but I guess we have to find a way to work with what we have."

Pia sighed deeply. "I think maybe that creature knows more, but I am loath to seek him out, if you will forgive me.."

Saira took a deep breath, but then nodded to Pia. "Then if you don't want to, we won't do that. I didn't expect you to be thrilled about that." She did sigh a little, exhaling the air from that earlier breath, and closed her eyes. "Just asking to make sure. And truth be told, I definitely don't want to seek him out either... There is exactly one monster I've ever met that I could describe as 'kind', and that's only because he was too alien to care about the others' kinds of motivations. But... well, we can try to work with what I'm supposed to be capable of, I guess?"

Saira's mind started to click, contemplative looks crossing her face ever so often as an idea would reach her, then be discarded so the next could come in. All the while, the girl's thoughts sometimes leaked out into a rambling monologue of brainstorms spoken nigh-automatically. "Supposed to be psionic. He himself used illusions and telepathy, so I'll assume all my RPGs and whatnot are right and that is indeed what 'psionic' is supposed to sort of sound like. Haven't felt anyone else's mind yet, so not sure I can just do it on my own. Must be hiding, or just uninstinctual. Like a muscle you didn't know you had. Things might've changed in 2 years. I don't know what it could be. I... Well..."

The monologue died down, and Saira's eyes suddenly snapped open. She didn't quite look happy or excited, because she still felt nervous and awkward about all that she had said already... but nonetheless she looked like she had struck on an idea. "Sorcery and witchcraft, huh? I... probably don't have that, but would there be any... uh, awareness-heightening exercises used for that that are simple? Maybe it might do something for me."

Now Pia was thinking hard, nodding as Saira spoke. What the girl said said made a lot sense.

"I think starting out with increasing you awareness might be a good idea. If we are lucky, it might be enough to trigger whatever you have inside you. Even if that does not happen, having some sort of tool to understand what is going on will prepare you if any latent powers manifests later on. Going in blind and accidentally summoning stuff with the Keys of Solomon and stuff like that is risky business."

"The only problem is what kind of approach to use. I know of a technique, it is called mana sight, or mana vision or second sight depending. It is a method of perceiving unseen forces. I do not know if it fits with the whole psionic thing, but it may be a start. I am not sure what would be the best way to go to teach it, but I think we can come up with a few ways to try.."

"I'm willing to try it, if it's any consolation." Saira smiled as she said that, but only a short ways underneath, she seemed a lot more calculating. It was actually pretty easy to tell. She must have been thinking about a lot of things at once... But eventually the girl settled into a neutral, if nearly pleading, expression. "What even are the ways? I mean, I don't think I'd register for anything that needs... I dunno. 'innate talent'? It's got to be something... mm. Either meditative or zen-like."

Saira managed a bit happier of an expression, and made a wink. "Now by zen-like, I mean sudden enlightenment. Like you just clubbed me upside the head with it and then bam I see the truth of the universe. I get the feeling I might need something like that. Maybe."

"Ah yes! The club. That was my first idea!", Pia said. "It has got to be pretty heavy, though, but blunt.. What about a mallet?"

Pia grinned a bit about her own joke. "Sorry. I was just kidding. I think I understand what you mean, though. When I first became aware of.. that I might have some latent powers, I was encountering a being of pretty immense power. I.. uh.. it was pretty overwhelming."

She was sooo not going into more detail about that. Granted, both she and Saira knew what was going on, but that night, she had been drunk on power, not only did she not put up any resistance, she went overboard and begged for more. She reddened a little, remembering herself on all four on a desk, begging Seraph, the dark angel, to enter her rearmost gate.

"The problem is.. I am not exactly a creature of immense power. I.. uh.. I guess I could try to call up a little.. see if we can make you see it."

"The frustrating thing is, I think there are a lot more knowledge about such matters here. I suspect they got lots of books about esoteric subjects locked away. And I think there are some experiments being carried out here too, but I do not know the details. But who do we ask? The monsters?"

"...Right. And we can't, unless we're willing to toy with ourselves and hope they let us go off easy. You know, just rape us a little." Saira wanted to smile jokingly at that, but... she couldn't quite manage it. Nonetheless, she took a breath, not sure what she was about to prepare for.

"So I guess we can try that?" She smiled again, this time for real, and stared forward, seemingly-ready!

"Okay.." Pia said. "I guess there is no harm in trying, is there?"

She sat down on the bed, trying to think of a way to do it. Her own mana was of a sensual nature, most easily brought on while in a state of arousal or while sensing great pleasure.
Not that that was not an option. Saira was very cute.. her smooth features, big brown eyes and her flimsy nightgown against her dark skin. There was much Pia liked about her, but Pia was not so forward she would suggest they had sex or something right there. That Pia was in the beginning of some yet undefined relationship with another girl, someone who she had not told about her sexual magic, complicated the situation a little as well.

But maybe she did not have to go that route. She had learned a few simple incantations, to summon up mana. She sucked at it, granted, and she sucked even more at actually using it for something. Yet all she needed was a little power, something for Saira to see.

"..uh., I think it will work if you sit down on the bed, and then close your eyes."

Saira nodded, and laid fully back again, taking one last deep breath. Her chest rose and fell gently, and while the girl wasn't quite trying to sleep? It sort of felt that way to Saira. She supposed it worked as well as anything else to think of it that way. Eyes shut tight under their lids. A few more breaths. "Alright then! Here goes nothing, then?"

Pia tried clearing her mind, to set herself in the necessary mindset to summon up her mana. The problem with being a voluptarious was that her magic was so damnedly fickle. Supposedly, a voluptarius had the potential to be insanely powerful, but even in the best circumstances, it needed a lot of practice and devotion, and she was still a newbie at this, not to mention that the dampeners she had heard about supposedly cut down the actual power and control rather severely.
On a more practical level, it was also almost entirely working through the unconscious, dependent upon her mindset and will. Usually, she only managed to call up her mana when she had either been cultivating it for hours, or when in the presence of stronger mystical forces than her own.

That being said, there were a few techniques that applied she could use, but she was not good enough to depend on them. She wondered if she ever would be.

Granted, she had a little bit of inspiration right there. Being most unprofessional, she stole a glance at Saira. The Arabian girl was undeniably pretty.. sexy, even, Pia admitted. Her long, silky dark hair, her dark skin.. the way her nightgown draped itself over her body. Feeling a bit guilty about it, Pia could imagine herself laying down next to her, sliding a hand up her thigh, leaning in, her mouth close to hers, maybe murmuring something into her ear before..

Stop it!

I am pretty sure Saira is not interested in me morphing into the friendly neighbourhood nymphomaniac!

Pia berated herself inwardly. She would be professional about it. But the flash of desire she felt did serve to make her mana tingle a little. It did respond to pleasure, after all.
Pia closed her eyes. She muttered a few incantations, tried to will her mana to awaken. She could feel something stirring. In her minds eyes, small ribbons of glowing power awoke within her, and started rising, moving up her spine, and out along her arms.
She held one hand out above Saira's face. She tried creating a mana pole, a point where mana gathered, in her palm, open above Saira's head.

"Please do not open your eyes yet.. can you feel something?"

((So sorry for the long delay. I had stuff I was dealing with, and then the holiday season hit.))

Probably as a significant relief to Pia (even if she didn't know it), Saira was blissfully unaware of the brief fantasy Pia indulged herself with, instead trying to breathe gently as if meditating. The girl wasn't sure what exactly she was supposed to be expecting, as she waited, eyes shut. But underneath those eyelids, there was a flutter... followed by a sharp movement to keep them shut. "I..."

It was hard to describe, but she could feel something indistinct, hard to fathom... yet strangely familiar. Like a feeling related to some other supernatural event that she'd been through - of which Saira knew now of several. Still. "...Okay, there's... something. It's sort of like there's a warm little... spark or something. I know I don't have any candles so... you're doing something now, right?"

Pia's spirits rose. Maybe this was working after all! This whole thing about mystical powers was confusing at times. Most of the time, Pia just had to wing it. It was good practice at improvising, she guessed. It was no secret that she was most comfortable with task she had the chance to plan and prepare for. Magic was different. Knowledge was power, true, but theoretical knowledge could never truly prepare you for things when they happened.

"That is good!", Pia said. She had hoped to sound confidently reassuring, but her voice came out more exited than that.

"Right now I am trying to just gather some power. If you are feeling it, that is great. I will try to summon some more, make it easier for you to focus on. Meanwhile.."

She hesitated a little, trying to remember what it had been like to take her own, first baby steps. Her confidence faltered a little. It seemed like she was still taking baby steps, clumsy and uncertain. She tried keeping her mind off anything like that.

"Meanwhile, try imagining that you are opening your eyes, but only in your mind. Try imagining what the warmth you are feeling looks like."

To Pia, her own mana mostly appeared to be bright, either sort of golden or pinkish, depending on mood. Mostly a faint glimmer, sometimes stronger, and kind of liquid. Kanoe's mana was either dark and nebulous, or burning like liquid fire. But her interpretation was subjective, she supposed.

Her own mana was stronger now, she could feel it moving through her and towards Saira, like it was curious about the other girl. It was almost playful, and very much alive, tickling her almost.

Saira stared up - without staring - mentally willing her mind's eye to open or... something like that. The girl found it a bit strange to deal with, because while by now she was used to the idea of magic and supernatural things, to actually try to do them herself? Seemed so... well, weird! But she tried to see without seeing or... whatever it was. There was this lapse for a moment in what she saw, and though she didn't know it, it was about the same time that Pia's confidence had wavered. But then...?

Saira saw. "It's bright..." Was all she could manage to speak, as the sight of glowing afterimages of pink-colored bubbles - no, not bubbles. Masses of liquid that glimmered and prodded at her, moving like time-frozen water in droplets and strange glistening forms. Again, her eyes fluttered from underneath their lids...

"Yes, yes, that is good! You are doing sooo well!", Pia said. Her existent was clear in her voice now, and if Saira had her eyes open, she would have seen Pia smiling and nodding encouragingly. It might be that this was just a normal reaction to Pia's mana, or that Saira subconsciously created the sensation herself, obviously, but to Pia, this sounded good.

She kept her mana flowing. She was not very good at fine manipulation of force, quite the contrary. Pia wondered how long she could keep it going, without it either fading away, or flowing without control. The apprentice mage was determined to keep it up as long as needed though.

"Okay.. when you are ready, try to open your eyes slowly, without loosing the focus you already have achieved. Do you think you can do it?"

The mystical energy was not that strong, but it was enough to make Pia's pulse quicken.

Saira took a deep breath after fully hearing what Pia had to say, allowing a little smile to cross her lips. At that moment, it seemed to actually look brighter to her, but... nonetheless, she felt her own pride swell. "Okay, Okay! I'll try that now." As she said that, Saira pushed her eyes open, veeeery slowly at first. She could see it glimmering still, flowing above her. With the verification of where Pia was, there was actually a feeling of it coming from her.

"Yes... Yes! I can-" Saira's excitement grew, and she snapped her eyes the rest of the way open, but something strange happened. To her eyes, a small well of orange-amber splashed against the pink image before her, and the whole collection got too bright. "-Agh...! What?" It felt like she was staring at static, and for the briefest of seconds, Pia might feel a sudden and unusual sense of surprise from somewhere... before Saira shook her head, and everything faded to her.

"...It's gone. I... I don't know what happened."

"Wow!", Pia said. She was sitting across from Saira, her eyes wide open and her mouth agape. She needed a second or two just to gather herself. She had most definitely felt something there, a burst of surprise. Someone else's surprise, something that had surprised her in return, causing her mana to surge a bit. Yeah, whatever Saira was doing, something was decidedly there. Pia was not so sure she was the right one to teach Saira how to use it, though. Whatever Saira had, it was different from what she had.

"Just.. mind if I wow again?", Pia said, excitement evident in her tone. "I felt something, I most certainly did! You got something, I am sure of it!"

Unthinkingly, she reached out and gave Saira a quick congratulatory hug,