Title: A light on the water
Fandom: Magic Knight Rayearth
Rating: General
Length: 500 words
Content notes: None
Author notes: Ascot, post-canon. Word: kawaakari (partially because I got earwormed today)
Summary: He followed the curve of the trees until the castle was out of sight behind them, and the river flowed ahead, light gleaming off the ripples in the water.


oOo

Ascot set out just after lunch, making his way out of the castle grounds and walking steadily along the edge of the woods. He followed the curve of the trees until the castle was out of sight behind them, and the river flowed ahead, light gleaming off the ripples in the water.

No one could agree what the river was called just yet. A lot of people had theories, but the spirits were refusing to confirm any of them, and the river hadn’t woken up enough to tell anyone themselves. Or just didn’t feel like talking to anyone. That seemed perfectly reasonable, to Ascot – the river was right here, why did they need to know its name right now?

He picked his way down the sloping bank to the water’s edge, placing his feet carefully among the water-smoothed rocks scattered in the mud. Patches of reed and mace grew tall here and he made his way between them, the soft hushing sound of wind through the stems blending with the noise of the river as it bubbled around a group of large stones.

There was one large stone at the waterside, the top high enough to be dry but smooth and flat enough to be a comfortable seat; Ascot clambered onto it, and took a deep breath, let it blow out in one shaky exhale.

He could do this.

He could.

It was several years since Clef had started teaching him to use his own magic; those early lessons had been very focused on self defence and protecting his friends, time snatched here and there between crises. Things had become a lot more focused since then, almost formal. They’d started working on properly gathering and sustaining his power, using it more efficiently, and Clef had given him some quiet focused breathing exercises to try. But finding space and quiet in the castle to focus on his breath was-

It didn’t come easily. Not to Ascot, not with walls and people all around him.

But he didn’t want to admit to failing at this, so he’d worked out how to get a free afternoon, picked the calmest place he knew, and now – here he was. Nothing to do but try, properly, and with no excuses if he couldn’t do it this time.

Slowly, he began to count a rhythm as he breathed in, breathed out. He closed his eyes, let the sound of the water and the rushes settle around him, and in turn settled his attention on the ringing warmth in his chest – his power, his connection to Cephiro, flickering in response to his every thought and movement.

Calm, he thought, and kept on breathing.

---

When he opened his eyes again, the sun had dipped all the way to the horizon; light still gleamed off the rippling water, and the rushes whispered around him, but the stars were beginning to appear overhead.

Instead of staying curled in his chest, it felt like every inch of him was saturated with power. From fingertips to toes to the top of his head, he was alive, and a part of Cephiro, the land singing around and through him.

Ascot bit his lip, scared to smile in case the feeling vanished, and let his eyes close once more. Maybe he would stay just a little longer.