Geoff ripped out a wrinkled piece of paper from one of his old notebooks and grabbed a cup of water.
He sat cross-legged on the hardwood floor, the piece of paper in front of him. He took calm breaths as he focused on it.
Often, magic users would say some sort of special string of syllables when they cast spells. It could be some ancient language... or maybe it's complete nonsense. He didn't know. Maybe it's simply something meaningful that helped them focus on their spell--a form of mantra.
Fire... Fyoh. That just came to him.
He focused on the paper. He pictured the paper lighting on fire.
"Fyoh!"
...
He laughed. He couldn't help but imagine how silly this looked. After getting the giggles out, he shook his head and continued.
"Fyoh!"
A flame sparked on the folded corner of the paper, rapidly consuming it until it became an entire burning mass.
Geoff jolted, then grinned wildly.
"HECK YE--W'OH SHI--"
He grabbed the water and doused the flames. He stared at the wad of burnt paper in awe.
"Hoooly crap." He covered his mouth with his hands. "Ohhh my dog..."
He wanted to show Zarco. It probably looked like baby stuff to him, but it was very clearly a start, and he figured it out on his own.
... and then he heard the sounds from outside...