Amanda and Nico - Training
Dec. 20th, 2009 09:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_daytripper posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsThe morning after a social night out, Amanda stumbles down to the mansion kitchen to discover her apprentice sleeping on the job.
Tea. That was the only thing on Amanda’s mind as she stumbled down the stairs towards the mansion’s kitchen, glad she didn’t have to drive back to New York for a few hours yet. Definitely time for tea, maybe some food, and then a cigarette out on the back porch, just like old times.
Nico had gone to the kitchen to...she wasn't really sure, actually. All she knew was that she was tired and a bit hungry, but besides that, a weird calm filled her. Once there, she had taken some milk, drank a bit...a fell asleep. So when Amanda entered the kitchen, she would have found her apprentice sitting there, her head inclined to a side; she had taken the time to get rid of all her make up, so Nico's pale skin was oddly noticeable as she silently slept.
Aw, aren’t they cute when they’re asleep. Grinning to herself, she went about the task of tea-making as quietly as possible and sat herself down at the table, one mug in her hands and the other in what would be Nico’s field of vision if she opened her eyes, although out of flailing range. Once she was settled, she coughed rather loudly and said in a bright and cheerful voice: “Morning, sunshine. Wakey wakey. You’ll be late for school.”
It was a cruelty, really. Nico's eyes opened in a flash, the girl suddenly flailing and falling from the chair to the floor; it wasn't a high fall though, so soon after she was sitting again, her face filled with a mix of exasperation and good humor, because she wasn't going to get all pissy over a joke, and even less if Amanda was the prankster; no, she was going to wait for a chance to strike back.
Grabbing the mug, Nico smelled the scent for a second. "Ah, delightful." Giving it a sip, the girl felt like she could remain awake long enough to talk with the older witch, getting a bit serious then. "That was cruel! What if I was really late for school?" The sentence ended with a smile on her lips though. "I've been meaning to ask you, though...would you teach me some spells or something? I mean, we still need to move from the basics and all, and I'm impatient."
“I couldn’t resist. You were all cute and relaxed and we can’t have that, can we?” Amanda replied, grinning a bit herself. At Nico’s question, she took a slow, deliberate sip of her own tea, mulling things over. Slow was safe, yes, but she knew the danger of impatience. And the more temptation there was to use the Staff, the harder things would be… “All right,” she said at last. “I was wanting to sit you down and go through your training for the new year any way, and now’s a good a time as any.” She snapped her fingers, summoning George the werelight. “This is the first spell I ever learnt, summoning Light. It tends to be a good, safe one to begin with, and you’ll never stub your toes going to the bathroom in the dark again.”
Nico looked at Amanda before than the werelight. The woman had that look and tone of someone that already had had a bad time thanks to irresponsible use of magic, and Nico knew that, but she wasn't completely informed, and every time Amanda acted like that, Nico couldn't help but wonder what had happened. Not that she would ask, since she knew the older witch will speak when she felt ready, if she ever did. "Ooooookay, how do I summon Light?" Nico snapped her fingers, and obviously, nothing happened. "Hmm, I guess it wasn't that simple."
“Not quite, no.” Amanda sipped at her tea again and set the mug down, the small ball of neon light going to investigate it as she did. “Magic is like having an energy-based mutant power, only instead of your genetics doing the converting of one type of energy into another, you need the framework of a spell. Words, gestures, but above all, concentration. It gets easier the more you do it, but the first spell is always the hardest because you’re establishing the pathways, as it were. Now, close your eyes and try to see yourself summoning Light. Focus on nothing else – don’t let anything distract you.”
Nico nodded, and closed her eyes in concentration. "Okay, light light light..." It certainly sounded like a complicated thing to do when you had no idea of what you were doing, but still, Nico was confident, and she knew she was a fast learner, at least on whatever not related with magic. Why would it be an exception? Nico managed to get into a more-or-less meditative state, trying to find the energy Amanda was referring to, and turning it into light.
She searched, not sure of what she was doing exactly, but found nothing, apparently. What she did feel was the Staff of One nudging as usual, breaking her focus. Stupid staff. An idea appeared then, floating in her relaxed mind; the Staff of One did have energy right? Why not using it then? She could feel it very well, so if she tried to reach...
Nico's body stiffened a little, her hands turning into fists as she seemed to focus harder. Amanda then would feel the sudden influx of dark magic leaking into the girl. Nico opened her mouth, but no words came out; it was as if she was trying to breathe actually. Seconds after this, she opened her eyes, which looked weirdly unfocused.
"Ekam thgil."
Right over her right shoulder, a werelight formed, but it didn't look like George at all. This one was completely black, and seemed like a cloud of electricity hovering over Nico. Her eyes focused, and then she noticed the thing. Smiling, she turned towards Amanda. "Hey, that was easier than I expected."
The hair on the back of Amanda's neck stood up as Nico concentrated and she had to focus her own concentration on not blasting the girl out through the wall as her instincts reacted to the surge of dark magic. "Right," she managed shakily, with a wan grin. 'I am so fucking out of my depth here,' she thought to herself. "It's a start, yeah. You might want to work on not drawing on the Staff, tho'? You might notice that Light is usually, well, light-ish."
Nico blinked, a little surprised; the weird werelight hovered around her, and then moved towards George in a way that could only be described as predatory, even for a werelight. "Oh my God, i totally did that." She hadn't noticed, which was quite weird, since she had been focusing and all. "It's just that I didn't find anything to use, and the Staff is always there, nagging me, so I think I did it unconsciously or something." Looking back at the werelight, Nico nodded. "I'm going to call you Mia." Mia stopped as some sort of acknowledgment, and then darted towards George.
Before Amanda could really respond, Mia had circled George once, then ate the other werelight, sending a pang of pain across Amanda's temples. "Ow," she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. She gestured and Nico's werelight froze where it hung. "Manners, you," she scolded it, before turning to Nico again. "When you summoned the light, you spoke as well - backwards. Did you notice that?"
It felt definitely weird when Mia ate George; it felt good actually, but the kind of goodness that derived of doing something bad, like a guilty goodness. "Sorry," muttered as she looked at her frozen werelight; Nico focused on it, and Mia vanished on a black cloud. Nico then turned towards Amanda. "I did what? Backwards? I thought it spoke normally, I mean, I didn't feel any difference...let me try again, but this time without using the Staff of One; I've noticed," Nico moved on her seat, trying to find the words to explain what she had felt. "It's as if I could reach and take the energy I need to do something, as some weird compensation for me not having energy on my own? It's kind of tiring, but I think I can do it again, now that I have an idea of what to do and feel."
Focusing again, Nico ignored the energy flowing from the Staff, and found her own emptiness once more; she needed to look outside of herself then, but how? And just when she had asked herself in her mind, the hot cup of tea in front of her appeared, its energy somehow there, so Nico was aware of it. Without noticing, Nico's hands wrapped around the mug, her eyes closed, and her fingers apparently insensitive to the heat of the mug. And then she pulled, and Amanda could see how the tea went from boiling to cold, not abruptly, but fast none the less; Nico's face showed intense concentration then. Her mouth opened again, and so her eyes this time, her black irises expanding and waving as she looked at nowhere in particular.
And one more time, Nico seemed surrounded by dark energy, although this time it seemed like the energy from the tea had just changed. Nico swallowed, sweat building on her face.
"Aet, ezeerf."
The mug of tea pretty much exploded as several ice spikes came from the tea, not turned into a frozen mass made of sharp, pointy ends. Nico moved her hands just in time, her face showing utter surprise. Looking up at Amanda, Nico's eyes returned to their usual coal black, the expanding and waviness gone. "I swear I tried to use regular energy, but it just turned black and I...I..." Nico's words trialed off as she took one hand to her head before sliding from her seat and falling to the floor. She didn't stand up.
"Buggering fuck," Amanda muttered, immediately going to the fallen girl. Her pulse and breathing were normal, if a bit rapid, which was fortunate considering Amanda a) didn't want to have to explain to medlab how she broke a student and b) really didn't want to use her particular brand of healing in the mansion. It tended to make people... nervous.
It's as if I could reach and take the energy I need to do something, as some weird compensation for me not having energy on my own?
"And just when you thought you had it tough already, grasshopper," Amanda muttered to herself as she lay a hand on Nico's forehead. "C'mon Nico, wakey wakey. The kitchen floor sucks as a napping place," she continued, a bit louder, moving to gently pat the girl's cheek. "Let's get you down to the nice doctor people."
Nico had definitely passed out, but she woke up moments later, looking a little as if she had had a hangover. "Ow. Head. Hurts." Nico blinked, and then sat slowly, a thin scarlet line going down her nose. Blood? "Awesome," muttered as she wiped the blood, and luckily for her, it stopped there. "Doctors? Can't we just forget about it? I mean...Hey, I remember!" Nico tried to stand, but thought twice of it after almost falling again, sitting quietly on her chair. "I spoke backwards...I can't...nope, it's as if I were in some sort of trance thing." Nico needed to make Amanda think about anything but doctors. "Just what is wrong with me? Unable to hold magic, weird speech patterns, and...sucking energy of things?"
"Welcome to the wonderful fucked-up world of magic, kid," Amanda said wryly, but watching over Nico like a hawk as the girl managed to regain the chair. She pulled a Kleenex out of her pocket and handed it over. "Here. For the nosebleed. You might want to start carrying a supply around if you're going to make a habit of pushing things - the human body doesn't really like channelling energy that much." She gave Nico a small, apologetic shrug. "As for the energy absorbing... well, it's not unknown. Remember what I told you about magic coming from different sources? Artifacts, places, people themselves? Well, it looks like you're one of those who can draw it in from the world around them."
Nico thanked Amanda in silence, cleaning herself with the Kleenex. "Sounds like the sensible choice... hey, you aren't all freaky with having me do this...it feels kind of good." The next part caught Nico's attention entirely; what she had done wasn't something completely weird -it was weird, since it was magic none the less-, and it worried her a little. "Drawing energy from people? Wouldn't that..." The sentence hung there, and the girl decided she was not going to finish it. Actually, she didn't want to think about magic, at all, and probably even give up on it, but she knew that in the end, it was what she wanted.
Maybe she had just found the key to get rid of her parents.
"Do you know of someone who also does this kind of thing? It sounds pretty... evil, but I think I need to learn more of this. I mean, dark magic doesn't make the user evil right?" Or maybe evil people did dark magic? Nico suppressed the thought quickly, but she had winced a little. So much for being sleepy.
"I've known a couple. One was about as evil a witch as you ever want to come across, but fortunately you won't, since she's sitting in a concrete box at the bottom of Jamaica Bay right now. The other..." Amanda hesitated only a little. "Well, it's me. Not all my magic, mind you, just a certain part, the healing. I can't do a healing spell without taking energy from others. It wasn't always the case, but I fucked myself up power-wise and that was kind of the lesson learned - there's always a cost. As for whether dark magic makes the user evil, well, there's the million dollar questions in your case. I don't think so, which is why I took you on to teach you. But it's not an easy road, Nico, and that's the truth. You're going to have to battle your instincts a lot of the time." The older witch peered at her protege more closely. "But you've done enough battling today, I think, grasshopper. Time to get Doc McCoy to give you the once-over, make sure you didn't snap fry your brain with that trick of yours before." Her tone left little room to protest, hinting that Nico could either go with Amanda under her own power, or be dragged down in a bubble.
Concrete box under...where? Amanda was suddenly too awesome for words. But she kept talking, and Nico decided she didn't know what to think of the older witch. Respect, maybe, but she wasn't going to tell her that, like, ever. "Ah, gosh, I guess it's not good if it doesn't hurt, or something like that." She was going to push on the subject a little more, but Amanda dropped the bomb, and her tone screamed 'Bubbletime!' if she tried to protest, and she was truly tired this time, anyway. "I guess it can't be helped," said as she stood slowly, walking with care so she wouldn't fall and make a fool of herself. "But I'm totally training this new trick, carefully, of course, and I know, I know, I'll make my best to leave the Staff of One aside. And we have to do actualy training, you know? I've been reading too many books of this stuff, and getting tossed around and get my pride hurt is just what I need."
"We'll be training, grasshopper, believe me. But brain damage is a factor we have to worry about - I learned that the hard way." Amanda stayed close to her student, letting her walk on her own to save her dignity, but ready to catch her if she stumbled again. "Which is why the blue fuzzy doc is going to give you a once-over."
Tea. That was the only thing on Amanda’s mind as she stumbled down the stairs towards the mansion’s kitchen, glad she didn’t have to drive back to New York for a few hours yet. Definitely time for tea, maybe some food, and then a cigarette out on the back porch, just like old times.
Nico had gone to the kitchen to...she wasn't really sure, actually. All she knew was that she was tired and a bit hungry, but besides that, a weird calm filled her. Once there, she had taken some milk, drank a bit...a fell asleep. So when Amanda entered the kitchen, she would have found her apprentice sitting there, her head inclined to a side; she had taken the time to get rid of all her make up, so Nico's pale skin was oddly noticeable as she silently slept.
Aw, aren’t they cute when they’re asleep. Grinning to herself, she went about the task of tea-making as quietly as possible and sat herself down at the table, one mug in her hands and the other in what would be Nico’s field of vision if she opened her eyes, although out of flailing range. Once she was settled, she coughed rather loudly and said in a bright and cheerful voice: “Morning, sunshine. Wakey wakey. You’ll be late for school.”
It was a cruelty, really. Nico's eyes opened in a flash, the girl suddenly flailing and falling from the chair to the floor; it wasn't a high fall though, so soon after she was sitting again, her face filled with a mix of exasperation and good humor, because she wasn't going to get all pissy over a joke, and even less if Amanda was the prankster; no, she was going to wait for a chance to strike back.
Grabbing the mug, Nico smelled the scent for a second. "Ah, delightful." Giving it a sip, the girl felt like she could remain awake long enough to talk with the older witch, getting a bit serious then. "That was cruel! What if I was really late for school?" The sentence ended with a smile on her lips though. "I've been meaning to ask you, though...would you teach me some spells or something? I mean, we still need to move from the basics and all, and I'm impatient."
“I couldn’t resist. You were all cute and relaxed and we can’t have that, can we?” Amanda replied, grinning a bit herself. At Nico’s question, she took a slow, deliberate sip of her own tea, mulling things over. Slow was safe, yes, but she knew the danger of impatience. And the more temptation there was to use the Staff, the harder things would be… “All right,” she said at last. “I was wanting to sit you down and go through your training for the new year any way, and now’s a good a time as any.” She snapped her fingers, summoning George the werelight. “This is the first spell I ever learnt, summoning Light. It tends to be a good, safe one to begin with, and you’ll never stub your toes going to the bathroom in the dark again.”
Nico looked at Amanda before than the werelight. The woman had that look and tone of someone that already had had a bad time thanks to irresponsible use of magic, and Nico knew that, but she wasn't completely informed, and every time Amanda acted like that, Nico couldn't help but wonder what had happened. Not that she would ask, since she knew the older witch will speak when she felt ready, if she ever did. "Ooooookay, how do I summon Light?" Nico snapped her fingers, and obviously, nothing happened. "Hmm, I guess it wasn't that simple."
“Not quite, no.” Amanda sipped at her tea again and set the mug down, the small ball of neon light going to investigate it as she did. “Magic is like having an energy-based mutant power, only instead of your genetics doing the converting of one type of energy into another, you need the framework of a spell. Words, gestures, but above all, concentration. It gets easier the more you do it, but the first spell is always the hardest because you’re establishing the pathways, as it were. Now, close your eyes and try to see yourself summoning Light. Focus on nothing else – don’t let anything distract you.”
Nico nodded, and closed her eyes in concentration. "Okay, light light light..." It certainly sounded like a complicated thing to do when you had no idea of what you were doing, but still, Nico was confident, and she knew she was a fast learner, at least on whatever not related with magic. Why would it be an exception? Nico managed to get into a more-or-less meditative state, trying to find the energy Amanda was referring to, and turning it into light.
She searched, not sure of what she was doing exactly, but found nothing, apparently. What she did feel was the Staff of One nudging as usual, breaking her focus. Stupid staff. An idea appeared then, floating in her relaxed mind; the Staff of One did have energy right? Why not using it then? She could feel it very well, so if she tried to reach...
Nico's body stiffened a little, her hands turning into fists as she seemed to focus harder. Amanda then would feel the sudden influx of dark magic leaking into the girl. Nico opened her mouth, but no words came out; it was as if she was trying to breathe actually. Seconds after this, she opened her eyes, which looked weirdly unfocused.
"Ekam thgil."
Right over her right shoulder, a werelight formed, but it didn't look like George at all. This one was completely black, and seemed like a cloud of electricity hovering over Nico. Her eyes focused, and then she noticed the thing. Smiling, she turned towards Amanda. "Hey, that was easier than I expected."
The hair on the back of Amanda's neck stood up as Nico concentrated and she had to focus her own concentration on not blasting the girl out through the wall as her instincts reacted to the surge of dark magic. "Right," she managed shakily, with a wan grin. 'I am so fucking out of my depth here,' she thought to herself. "It's a start, yeah. You might want to work on not drawing on the Staff, tho'? You might notice that Light is usually, well, light-ish."
Nico blinked, a little surprised; the weird werelight hovered around her, and then moved towards George in a way that could only be described as predatory, even for a werelight. "Oh my God, i totally did that." She hadn't noticed, which was quite weird, since she had been focusing and all. "It's just that I didn't find anything to use, and the Staff is always there, nagging me, so I think I did it unconsciously or something." Looking back at the werelight, Nico nodded. "I'm going to call you Mia." Mia stopped as some sort of acknowledgment, and then darted towards George.
Before Amanda could really respond, Mia had circled George once, then ate the other werelight, sending a pang of pain across Amanda's temples. "Ow," she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. She gestured and Nico's werelight froze where it hung. "Manners, you," she scolded it, before turning to Nico again. "When you summoned the light, you spoke as well - backwards. Did you notice that?"
It felt definitely weird when Mia ate George; it felt good actually, but the kind of goodness that derived of doing something bad, like a guilty goodness. "Sorry," muttered as she looked at her frozen werelight; Nico focused on it, and Mia vanished on a black cloud. Nico then turned towards Amanda. "I did what? Backwards? I thought it spoke normally, I mean, I didn't feel any difference...let me try again, but this time without using the Staff of One; I've noticed," Nico moved on her seat, trying to find the words to explain what she had felt. "It's as if I could reach and take the energy I need to do something, as some weird compensation for me not having energy on my own? It's kind of tiring, but I think I can do it again, now that I have an idea of what to do and feel."
Focusing again, Nico ignored the energy flowing from the Staff, and found her own emptiness once more; she needed to look outside of herself then, but how? And just when she had asked herself in her mind, the hot cup of tea in front of her appeared, its energy somehow there, so Nico was aware of it. Without noticing, Nico's hands wrapped around the mug, her eyes closed, and her fingers apparently insensitive to the heat of the mug. And then she pulled, and Amanda could see how the tea went from boiling to cold, not abruptly, but fast none the less; Nico's face showed intense concentration then. Her mouth opened again, and so her eyes this time, her black irises expanding and waving as she looked at nowhere in particular.
And one more time, Nico seemed surrounded by dark energy, although this time it seemed like the energy from the tea had just changed. Nico swallowed, sweat building on her face.
"Aet, ezeerf."
The mug of tea pretty much exploded as several ice spikes came from the tea, not turned into a frozen mass made of sharp, pointy ends. Nico moved her hands just in time, her face showing utter surprise. Looking up at Amanda, Nico's eyes returned to their usual coal black, the expanding and waviness gone. "I swear I tried to use regular energy, but it just turned black and I...I..." Nico's words trialed off as she took one hand to her head before sliding from her seat and falling to the floor. She didn't stand up.
"Buggering fuck," Amanda muttered, immediately going to the fallen girl. Her pulse and breathing were normal, if a bit rapid, which was fortunate considering Amanda a) didn't want to have to explain to medlab how she broke a student and b) really didn't want to use her particular brand of healing in the mansion. It tended to make people... nervous.
It's as if I could reach and take the energy I need to do something, as some weird compensation for me not having energy on my own?
"And just when you thought you had it tough already, grasshopper," Amanda muttered to herself as she lay a hand on Nico's forehead. "C'mon Nico, wakey wakey. The kitchen floor sucks as a napping place," she continued, a bit louder, moving to gently pat the girl's cheek. "Let's get you down to the nice doctor people."
Nico had definitely passed out, but she woke up moments later, looking a little as if she had had a hangover. "Ow. Head. Hurts." Nico blinked, and then sat slowly, a thin scarlet line going down her nose. Blood? "Awesome," muttered as she wiped the blood, and luckily for her, it stopped there. "Doctors? Can't we just forget about it? I mean...Hey, I remember!" Nico tried to stand, but thought twice of it after almost falling again, sitting quietly on her chair. "I spoke backwards...I can't...nope, it's as if I were in some sort of trance thing." Nico needed to make Amanda think about anything but doctors. "Just what is wrong with me? Unable to hold magic, weird speech patterns, and...sucking energy of things?"
"Welcome to the wonderful fucked-up world of magic, kid," Amanda said wryly, but watching over Nico like a hawk as the girl managed to regain the chair. She pulled a Kleenex out of her pocket and handed it over. "Here. For the nosebleed. You might want to start carrying a supply around if you're going to make a habit of pushing things - the human body doesn't really like channelling energy that much." She gave Nico a small, apologetic shrug. "As for the energy absorbing... well, it's not unknown. Remember what I told you about magic coming from different sources? Artifacts, places, people themselves? Well, it looks like you're one of those who can draw it in from the world around them."
Nico thanked Amanda in silence, cleaning herself with the Kleenex. "Sounds like the sensible choice... hey, you aren't all freaky with having me do this...it feels kind of good." The next part caught Nico's attention entirely; what she had done wasn't something completely weird -it was weird, since it was magic none the less-, and it worried her a little. "Drawing energy from people? Wouldn't that..." The sentence hung there, and the girl decided she was not going to finish it. Actually, she didn't want to think about magic, at all, and probably even give up on it, but she knew that in the end, it was what she wanted.
Maybe she had just found the key to get rid of her parents.
"Do you know of someone who also does this kind of thing? It sounds pretty... evil, but I think I need to learn more of this. I mean, dark magic doesn't make the user evil right?" Or maybe evil people did dark magic? Nico suppressed the thought quickly, but she had winced a little. So much for being sleepy.
"I've known a couple. One was about as evil a witch as you ever want to come across, but fortunately you won't, since she's sitting in a concrete box at the bottom of Jamaica Bay right now. The other..." Amanda hesitated only a little. "Well, it's me. Not all my magic, mind you, just a certain part, the healing. I can't do a healing spell without taking energy from others. It wasn't always the case, but I fucked myself up power-wise and that was kind of the lesson learned - there's always a cost. As for whether dark magic makes the user evil, well, there's the million dollar questions in your case. I don't think so, which is why I took you on to teach you. But it's not an easy road, Nico, and that's the truth. You're going to have to battle your instincts a lot of the time." The older witch peered at her protege more closely. "But you've done enough battling today, I think, grasshopper. Time to get Doc McCoy to give you the once-over, make sure you didn't snap fry your brain with that trick of yours before." Her tone left little room to protest, hinting that Nico could either go with Amanda under her own power, or be dragged down in a bubble.
Concrete box under...where? Amanda was suddenly too awesome for words. But she kept talking, and Nico decided she didn't know what to think of the older witch. Respect, maybe, but she wasn't going to tell her that, like, ever. "Ah, gosh, I guess it's not good if it doesn't hurt, or something like that." She was going to push on the subject a little more, but Amanda dropped the bomb, and her tone screamed 'Bubbletime!' if she tried to protest, and she was truly tired this time, anyway. "I guess it can't be helped," said as she stood slowly, walking with care so she wouldn't fall and make a fool of herself. "But I'm totally training this new trick, carefully, of course, and I know, I know, I'll make my best to leave the Staff of One aside. And we have to do actualy training, you know? I've been reading too many books of this stuff, and getting tossed around and get my pride hurt is just what I need."
"We'll be training, grasshopper, believe me. But brain damage is a factor we have to worry about - I learned that the hard way." Amanda stayed close to her student, letting her walk on her own to save her dignity, but ready to catch her if she stumbled again. "Which is why the blue fuzzy doc is going to give you a once-over."
