I'm learning to use the thing to make shields. [It can also be used to shoot, but Mahdi's not comfortable with it, so he hasn't been training with it much.] It's actually pretty cool, though I hate concentrating in order to make it work.

[Mahdi is, perhaps unsurprisingly, not the studious type. At all.] It gets me out of the house, so I'm glad for that. But um, what's been going on with you? You were really upset when that guy turned up, and you and Ashraf were all like 'OMG don't talk to him'!