[i]Fire magic?[/i] Kaito thought, his eyes widening. He didn't look away from the stew he was stirring, allowing himself to process this additional nugget of insanity. [i]How in the world?[/i]

"I did. Or, at least, I [i]thought[/i] I did," he responded, finally breaking his silence. "Never knew she was capable of using magic. She wasn't capable of much of anything, as a matter of fact." Kaito set the stirring spoon down across the top of the pot and sighed before looking over at Gilda. There was a certain amount of pain in his eyes. This was never easy to talk about.

"Lilia had a condition that limited her... [i]severely[/i]," Kaito explained. "She was prone to sickness. Very frail. I was tasked with bringing home her schoolwork on the days she couldn't make it in. Before long, we were really good friends. We hung out all the time. Played games. Made up stories together. Then she just up and vanished."

By now, Kaito was staring at the ground again. There was a certain wetness to his eyes that he hastily wiped away. He hated showing weakness, but it was hard not to when thinking of the times they'd had together. The times they may never have again. Even knowing Lilia had been here was no consolation. His assumption was that she was in serious danger or had already died.

When he could finally muster the courage to look up at Gilda again, a bit of redness came to his cheeks. This was so embarrassing. "Did she tell you how she learned this fire magic?" he asked, trying to change the subject.