[ It's like the light in her had been flickering, but Merrill's words returns it to glowing soft and steady. It means so much to Hotaru to be told she has a gift, rather than a curse or an illness.

She leans back in her seat and looks down at her hands. ]

I've always been avoided because of it. [ It's a fact. A sad fact but still a fact. ] Where you're from... it sounds amazing, that you can do all sorts of spells like that.

[ She looks back up at Merrill, shyer and more tentative. ] Um, how easy is it for you to learn what you do...?