Are you quite alright in the head?

Ann looks disapprovingly at the ball of black magic that I’m spinning atop my left index finger
“Admirable though your commitment to training is, think you not that you should be conserving your mana?”
“Oh, don’t be such a spoilsport. This amount is barely the skin of my teeth.”
“Understand you not, the gravity of the situation? Unnecessary risks put the lives of not only us, but those we’re setting out to save on the line too.”
“If we get attacked I can just syphon off more from the monsters anyway.”

She sighs and turns her head to watch the road, clearly still not agreeing with my reasoning, but unwilling to argue about it.

“By the by, what magic are you using? I cannot recall having seen it before.”
“This? It’s not really a spell or anything, it’s just pure mana.”
“Pure mana? I’ve yet to ever hear of someone materialising mana into solid form. How go you about it?”

I let go of my control of the ball of mana, allowing it to dissipate.
“It’s a technique I invented myself to practise control of magic. You have to focus in on the magical flow within your body, guide your mana stream to a single point, and…”
A new ball of black mana begins to materialise around the tip of my index finger, swirling until it stabilises into a pitch black sphere.
“Just give it an exit.”

Ann’s expression changes first to bewilderment, then wonder, then a barely hidden anticipation. Without saying a word, she raises the index finger of her right hand, looks at its point with pure focus, and watches as a small amount of bright white light begins to seep out of her fingertip. It materialises, but dissipates quickly once it leaves her body, and she’s unable to form it into the fine sphere I had demonstrated. Her face is tinged with mild frustration

“Guess that competitive spirit of yours made you forget all about saving mana, huh?”
“Ah- no, no, no, I’m afraid you have it all wrong, master Shiidou. I simply… thought it was good practice for mana control! Yes, that is all.”
“Oh? How very defensive of you. Maybe you weren’t getting competitive at all, and simply wanted to show off for me again.”
“Ack-”

For such a clever girl, she really does never learn.

“M-must you tease me so at every opportunity? Y-Your provocations can be quite frustrating at times.”
“Only because your reactions are so cute.”
She huffs and looks away, although the red in her cheeks tells me I succeeded at flustering her yet again.

We’ve little left to discuss, and so we continue our journey in silence, but every now and then I look over and see wisps of white light emanating from her fingertips. Her control is improving dramatically, but then she always was talented. Still, the hypocrisy of telling me to not waste mana earns my ire.

After a little while, the horses start to slow down and sniff around, peering at their surroundings.
“What’s wrong, Shadowfax?”
“My Snowmane appears to have noticed something as well. Think you that we may be approaching the ferry?”
“Yeah, maybe. Must be the human settlement they can smell.”
“Then let us make haste.”

Despite their hesitations, the horses listen to us as we urge them to move on, and a little further down the line we see the end of the valley of trees, and the great Nakajikiri river comes into view.
“Our ferryman is upon the horizon, let us hope he allows us aboard.”
“Don’t worry, he’ll let us.”

Shadowfax and Snowmane keep up the pace until we get closer to the settlement sat upon the river bed, before slowly approaching the man at the foot of the ferry.
“What brings two travellers upon our humble hamlet? Seek you passage across the great river?” The elderly ferryman steps up to meet us.

“Indeed, sir. We come with urgent orders from his Lordship of the house of Kana, and must hasten to the town of Higashi-chou. We request passage for ourselves and our horses.”
As Ann gives the name of my house, she produces from within her bag a sigil of the house banner, an item given only to those belonging to or in service of my father. Bastard never gave me one.

“Under circumstances of lesser danger, I'd have nary a dream of turning down an order from his Lordship, but as it stands, such a journey may be too  perilous to undertake.”
“A danger great enough to decline a request from Lord Kana? What ever do you refer to?”
“It appears a water serpent of great size has made this section of river its home. Attempts to subdue the beast have proven fruitless, and as such, we cannot allow passage across the river until a solution is found.”

This… is not a situation we can take lightly. Even regular water serpents are large enough to rip boats apart, but the large ones could flood a whole town if pissed off. Even if we set out to subjugate it, we risk wiping out the hamlet nearby. Unless…

“Ann. Indulge me in an idea quick.”

I explain the plan I’ve formulated, and as I’d expected, she looks at me like I had just suggested conquering the planet.
“Forgive my impertinence, master Shiidou, but are you quite alright in the head? Did your abrupt awakening this morning loosen a screw?”
“My mental faculties are just as good as ever.”
“A low bar, but one I’m sure you could find a way to crawl under.”

I have to admit that the plan is reckless. If we pull it off flawlessly, it should be ok, but a slightly misjudged action could spell disaster.
“I have faith in my own abilities, and I have in yours. We have to get to the other side, we have no time to waste.”
Exasperated though she looks, Ann seems to find no way to dispel my logic.

“...if it’s an order you’re giving me, then I suppose I must acquiesce.”
“It’s not an order. Right now, I’m your partner, not your employer. I don’t want you to follow me. I want you to trust me.”
She sighs once again, clearly not fully convinced, but after a moment’s pause she does relent.
“I will trust you. Your decisions may be rash, but your judgement has yet to lead me astray. Do not break that streak now.”

I smile at Ann, who avoids my eye, and I go to inform the ferryman that I have an idea.
“I see. So you wish for me to give passage, and you intend to quell the beast’s attacks while aboard?”
“I don’t feel good about asking you to risk your life like this, but a lot of people are in danger, and Ann over there is the only one who can help.”
The old ferryman chuckles, and gives me a wide smile.
“For sixty winters, I have transported those in need across this river. Were I to die doing my job, I could rest easy in heaven.”

Taking advantage of the kindness of others is something I excel at, but also something I hate. But the situation is dire. I have no other choice.

The ferry is just large enough for all three humans and two horses to get aboard, and thankfully is also buoyant enough not to sink under the extra weight.
“Prepare yourselves, young folk. Our foe may show itself at any moment.”

Ann and I stand inside the ferry, vigilantly awaiting the arrival of the serpent. For the first few minutes of the long journey, nothing, but as we approach the midway point of our journey, a monstrous form arises from beside us.

“Ann, boost me!”
“As you wish!”
Ann silently incants her blessing, this one boosting the speed and power of my mana channelling.

“Whatever you pair plan to do, you must hurry!”
“Shiidou?”
“Wait a moment.”

I have to time it right.

“Young master, you must act fast!”
“Shiidou!”
“Hold on.”

The window is short. If I’m out by a single second, it could spell the end. I breathe, observe my opponent closely, and…

“DILATE!”

Time slows around us. Or, from another reference frame, our passage through time accelerates. As the mighty serpent swings itself down towards us, the ferryman has more than enough time to get us out of the way of its initial attack. Now comes the shockwave.

“ANN!”
“STABILISE!”

As the serpent slams its humongous body into the water beneath it, it sends tsunami-like waves careening in every direction. But the ever-incredible Guardian Angel Of Shimatou responds with all the grace and precision of a true master of her craft. As soon as those enormous waves form, they’re cut short by a tremendous spell of light magic, stabilising the turbulent waters before they can harm anyone.

“See? What’d I tell ya? I knew it’d be fine.”

Ann doesn’t reply, and collapses to the ferry’s oaken floor.