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Apollo nods slowly, looking thoughtful about things. Of course he knew that Endymion still wouldn't be up to full strength and maybe even pleading this to Athena later would buy them more time. But then again, there was the possibility that Athena would deny the request. At any rate, he still felt it his responsibility to prepare Endymion as much as possible. he was still planning to go slow until theyoung god's reserves were replenished.
He glances to Diana, sighing imperceptibly. Of course, he hadn't expected things to go back to the way they were, but he hoped that Diana wasn't too angry or disappointed with him. He would apologize in length soon, but for now... The next day, Endymion was due to face Athena in a fight for his own right to live. Apollo had to put the god that both he and his sister loved first, at least until he was safe.

Apollo smiles down at Adel as he stands up, but Endymion's voice turns his attentions back to him. Running a hand through his hair, he sighs slightly, "It gets a lot harder now. The basics are abilities that every god and goddess can perform. Today will involve a lot of meditation and discovering of what makes your powers different from those of other gods... Unfortunately, it's nothing something I can just teach you... You have to find it out for yourself in meditation and on the spot in sparring..." He gets up, shivering slightly despite his heavy coat, "We'll move back to our clearing so that we won't be hindered by the weather. But much of what we do today will be practice fights so that you can get a feel for how the basics as well as your own original powers will help you in the test Athena gives you."
He looks to the young boy with the cat, "Adel, it will probably be snowing today and probably quite hard. If it gets really bad, come to the clearing where we were yesterday. Okay?"

Apollo follows him into the warm air, watching Endymion perform flawlessly while he took his own coat and overshirt off, leaving him in a basic white beater for training in. He smiles over at the young god, really impressed that he had come from stumbling through the abilities to having mastered them all overnight.
He stands back and slows begins to clap, smirking, "Good... Diana did well with you... Did she start teaching you how to use these basics to attack?" He walks closer to Endymion, standing with his hands limp by his sides, "I'm going to have you practice on me since I can heal quickly and you really need a move, living being to practice on.... Try heat first... Burn me."

Apollo hisses slightly at the contact, but otherwise makes no noise, just squeezing his eyes shut. That was when he felt a tickling sensation and looks to see his shirt had caught flame, "s**t."
He looks to the side of his arm, where the pain was and saw some of his skin covered in boils and the edges charring. He freezes Endymion's flames in midair, then freezes his shirt over as well. He groans at the large whole on his side, but knew it was his fault. He should have held his arm out away from his body. He takes the shirt off to let it thaw out and sits on the grass, wincing as he moves his arm. He looks up to Endymion, chuckling at the situation, "Sorry, I should have been more specific... Have you healed a wound before? Not all gods can do it, but the fact that you brought something to life shows you have the power to... Here, try..." He holds up his arm, his vision blurring a little as if he had stood up to fast. Serious injuries usually had fevers attached and he wasn't too surprised.

The sun god smiles up at Endymion, "Oh, don't be sorry." He chuckles, "I mean, I told you to burn me and you did well." He gasps as the healing begins and simply watching Endymion, the warmth in his eyes glowing as he felt the fever begin to recede, his body's defenses calming down. He had never thought that Endymion would take to his own powers so easily and was able to heal the wound so quickly.
He stretches his arm afterward, bending his elbow and flexing against the skin. But it was perfectly fine and only the shadow of pain still tingled beneath, like a part of his arm was asleep. He looks back to Endymion, "Sometimes you amaze me, you know... I wasn't able to heal someone that quickly until I was nearly a century old... Oh, you're a god, all right... And I'm sorry... I forgot that you weren't used to seeing things like that, let alone causing it. But you really don't need to worry. After a few centuries of realizing how fast you heal naturally as a god andpain just doesn't phaze you much anymore... Let's do something less gruesome next..."

Apollo turns his eyes to gaze up at Endymion casually, just studying, admiring. He finally stands up after a moment, "I think we should work on defense... A good bit of what you'll be doing will be defense tomorrow. As long as you can keep yourself physically whole and mentally clear-headed, you won't fail... Diana and I decided that we weren't going to start teachiing you mind games. It's just too much to take on this early in the game... But I will teach you how to defend yourself if Athena invades your mind.... If you aren't careful, something like this may happen."
The second he stops talking, a sound like a piercingly loud screech enters Endymion's ears and the world around them begins to melt into a gray mass with only Apollo in sight, and even his image was blurring. Endymion, if he tried, wouldn't be able to move any part of his body at all.
And just as suddenly as it began, it ended, everything faded to black and then was back to normal. Apollo steps closer, laying a steadying hand on Endymion's shoulder, "You ok?"

Apollo sighs and nods, understanding how Endymion felt. He holds on to Endymion to keep him steady, his free hand coming up to Endymion's forehead, healing the headache that was always left after a mental attack. He rubs Endymion's back as he starts speaking, slow and soft, "That was a power that all gods have innately. I tapped into your mind's sensory nerves and tweaked them. I could make you see, feel, smell, taste, and hear anything I wanted you to. I did that to show you how important it is that I teach you to defend against it. Otherwise, if you are fighting a god or goddess, they could render you helpless..."
He massages Endymion's shoulder, slightly worried by his extreme reaction, "It can be a lot worse than that. If I want to, I can make my enemies go through a heavy amount of pain just by slipping into their minds... And other times, it's even scarier. You can leave everything the same but only mess with one sense, making the person hallucinate... It's very dangerous and I don't know if Athena will even try to use it on you... But I want to prepare you just in case."

Apollo sighs a little, "Well... it's hard to pick up, but once you've done it, it's pretty easy to summon." He moves slightly away, standing in front of Endymion and gazing down to his eyes, "You know that phrase that the eyes are the windows to the soul? Eyes have always been important. Medusa never existed you know, the 'gorgons' were just myths that had spread about a few 'experimental' goddesses who took advantage of mind control over humans... The trick is just to close your eyes. Once someone is in your mind though, closing your eyes won't help... the hard part is anticipating an attack..."
He sighs. This was the hardest part about training. Trying to explain the warning signs of a mental attack, "I think it's better if we sit down for this." He sits down, cross-legged, in front of Endymion, trying to think of the best way to describe the oncoming attack.