Chapter 16: Training with little miss perfect - Part 2.
After spending some hours sleeping at the library- er… studying, Akko and Diana made their way to where the second part of Akko's training, the practical one, would take place.
As expected from such a rich and esteemed family as the Cavendish, they had a training ground of sorts, fully equipped for practicing all kinds of spells. At first glance it appeared to be a simple sports field, but once they got closer, Akko realized it had ten dummies of different sizes with targets painted on their heads, chests and limbs. There was also a broom closet on the far end, filled with brooms of various sizes and shapes, and next to it there was also some sort of shed containing what seemed to be protective equipment, flasks filled with liquids of different colors (potions, maybe?), and even… balls? Kinda like basket balls, but they seemed to be made of animal skin.
"Here I will be teaching you some useful spells that were originally designed to protect us from blood witches." Diana began explaining once they were standing in front of the dummies.
"Oh! Like the badass spells my mom used to practice?" Akko exclaimed excitedly. Maybe this whole training thing wouldn't be so bad after all.
"The hunters' fighting style is largely based off the Cavendish' own defensive magic." Diana nodded. "But they also incorporated other techniques that are more on the offensive side."
"So… you won't teach me any cool spells?" Akko pouted. She was expecting to learn something more exciting! Like the energy sword her mother used sometimes.
"I…" Diana looked at her incredulously and then sighed. "Although I'm not sure what would constitute as 'cool' for you, I will say that most of the spells that I will be teaching you are of a defensive or healing type."
"I see." She couldn't help the disappointed tone of her voice.
"The Cavendish motto is Affection." Diana said for what seemed the hundredth time that day, and Akko rolled her eyes. Yeah, yeah, she remembered as much from their lessons at the library, but… it was difficult to take her seriously when she had been nothing but rude to her since she arrived at the mansion. "As such, we try to avoid using magic in ways that could result in people getting hurt."
"Maybe I should have gone training with the hunters instead." Akko muttered mostly to herself, but Diana heard her nonetheless.
"Although that would have been infinitely more convenient for me, that's sadly impossible." She answered, annoyed. "The hunters are a very select group of people and won't take in someone with such a questionable background."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" She pouted again. "I'm literally the Chosen One's daughter!"
"Adoptive daughter." She corrected, only managing to upset Akko even more. She hated when people made that distinction! "And, anyways, there's no use in dwelling on what ifs. You're here now, and we should get started with the training."
"Fine. You meanie. You'll see I'm a far more capable witch that you give me credit for!"
"We'll see." Diana sneered openly. "I'd like you to show me what you learned in Luna Nova… if you learned anything at all, that is."
"Well, I'll have you know, I'm pretty good at metamorphosis magic." She couldn't help bragging, despite knowing she'd only managed to transform herself once.
"Oh, really?" She smirked, no doubt already making up a plan to make her suffer. "In that case, I believe you'll have no problem turning me into an animal of your preference. I'll even let you chose."
"Great!" Akko immediately got out her wand and pulled up her sleeves, smirking as she tried to think of what animal she'd turn the snazzy aristocrat into. "Hah, I'll make you regret this decision!"
Okay, so… maybe a frog? No… what if she ended up finding a handsome prince who lifted the curse? Like in fairytales! That just wouldn't do. A serpent? Uh… no, she'd seen various serpent imagery around the mansion, so she probably wouldn't mind that. A spider then? Ew, too many legs and eyes! And probably more complicated to make too. Then… what about a mouse? Or a rat? Surely Diana wouldn't like that!
"Akko." Diana interrupted her musings with her usual strict voice. "Forgive my boldness, but I am curious about the color of your magic."
"Huh?" Akko looked down at her wand and realized that the tip was indeed glowing with its usual pink color, not green. Ugh, she hadn't thought about a proper explanation for it! Much less one Diana would buy.
"Why is it… pink?" She frowned, looking at it intently.
"Well… it's pink because my love for magic fuels it, duh." She answered impulsively. If Diana's unimpressed stare was anything to go by… she didn't buy it. "Look, I don't know! My mom probably has the answers, but until we find her it'll remain a mystery, alright?"
A few tense seconds passed with Diana observing her intently, frowning and shifting her gaze from the pink light to Akko's red colored eyes. At the end, she seemed to come to a resolution and took a step back.
"Very well. Please continue with your demonstration then."
"Right." Akko nodded and took a few deep breaths, trying to concentrate. This should be easy, however, thanks to the additional magic power Croix had gifted her. "Metamorphie fasciesse!"
Akko looked at Diana, and Diana looked back at her, but… nothing had really changed about the blonde girl. Had she pronounced the spell wrong or…? No, wait! Diana was getting taller! Huh. But that's not-
"You… turned yourself into a rat?" Diana chuckled in amusement.
"What? No! I was supposed to turn you into a rat!" Akko protested, realizing what had happened. Ugh, this was just the same to when she tried to cast this same spell on Hannah and Barbara, except the transformation had been complete this time.
"It is extremely difficult to cast metamorphosis magic on another witch." Diana explained. "Our magic acts as a natural protection against those sort of spells."
"Ohhh." Akko nodded. Great. She'd been tricked by Diana into turning herself into a mouse.
"That said, your transformation is pretty good considering you just started learning."
"Uh, thanks?" Was that a compliment? From miss perfect herself? No way! "Now… how do I transform back?"
"Metamorphie fasciesse!" With one swift movement, Diana took her own wand out of her pocket and pointed it at Akko. Instantly, she started feeling very unpleasant goosebumps all over her body and watched as her small fur-covered limbs grew in size and became human again. But… something didn't feel right. Having the spell forcefully casted on her, instead of using transformation magic herself felt deeply invasive.
"W-what…" Akko stuttered out, fighting with her trembling limbs in order to try and get up. "H-how?!"
"As expected." Diana seemed unimpressed by the results of her earlier actions. "Your recently acquired magic won't protect you."
"I-I… what…" Akko struggled to speak even once she'd finally managed to get back on her very shaky feet and glare directly at Diana's eyes. "That felt so weird! Was that really necessary?!"
"Admittedly, no." The blonde crossed her arms over her chest as she kept regarding Akko. "However, it is interesting that your magic doesn't act like that of a normal witch."
"Well, I'm not normal! But that doesn't give you the right to… t-to…"
"Use my magic on you?" She raised an eyebrow. "What, would you rather be a mouse still?"
"You could have just told me the spell!" She protested.
"My apologies." By the way she smirked, Diana really seemed to be the furthest thing away from apologetic. Akko could only pout in response.
"In any case, the side effects are only temporary and should be subdued by now." The blonde girl continued. "But seeing that metamorphosis magic is what you're most familiar with, I suppose it'd be wisest to train you in illusion magic first, since it's quite similar and just as simple."
"Illusion magic?" Akko tilted her head. "Like the magical creatures and fireworks Shiny Chariot made?" She didn't let her hopes get too high, even as she suggested the idea. After all, Diana seemed to be the type of person who hated anything fun, especially if it wasn't "useful".
"Not quite." She said with a blank expression on her face. "Illusion magic takes many shapes, and the type I'll be teaching you today is especially useful in combat magic."
"I see." Akko couldn't help sounding a little disappointed, but… hey, magic is magic, right? This would probably be fun.
Diana held her wand high, pointing to the sky as she tried to concentrate on the spell. Only then did Akko notice that said wand wasn't like those in Luna Nova; it was made entirely of wood, and didn't seem to be retractable. More so, it had a carved snake at the handle that appeared to be circling it. Seriously, what was with Cavendishes and snakes? Was it their family symbol or something? Because Akko thought a cabbage would be more fitting, considering the color of their hair. However, she didn't have much time to dwell on that, since a second later, Diana casted the spell.
"Samarr duapis." Instantly, two more Dianas appeared at her sides and, when she opened her eyes, they did too; all three looking at Akko with equal cold stares. She felt a chill run down her spine.
"This spell makes one or more exact copies of you." Diana explained, rather unnecessarily, and when she talked, so did the other clones. "It takes a great amount of concentration to hold it for long periods of time, but it can be very useful to confuse your enemy."
"I… see." Really, this spell was creepier than anything else. If Diana ever used it against a blood witch, she would sure be off running in record time just to escape this eerie situation.
"Now, Akko." The Dianas smirked. "Can you tell which one is the real one?"
"Well, duh, it's-" As Akko reached out to touch the middle Diana, her hand passed through the image as if it was made of mist, rendering Akko speechless for the first time that day. When…? How…? Had Diana changed places?
She quickly turned and grabbed the shoulder of the clone to her right, only to get an equal result. Frowning, she was about to grab the third clone when it reached out and grabbed her hand in a firm grip before she was able to get a hold of Diana's perfect locks of hair. This time, the touch was very much real.
"I see my abilities are as immaculate as usual." Akko raised an eyebrow at the aristocrat's seeming complete lack of humility, but she couldn't protest, since the girl truly had every right to brag.
"Yeah, yeah, what was the spell? Samarr duapie? Big deal! I'm sure I can do it first try." Akko didn't care about Diana's silly little tricks or her dumb attempts of showing off. She was the daughter of Shiny Chariot herself! She had been given the magic of twenty witches by Croix! Anything Diana could do, she could surely outdo easily.
"Wait, Akko-"
"Samarr duapis!" She shouted, pouring magic into her wand in order to cast the spell, as she imagined two clones of herself appearing at her sides.
A cloud of smoke erupted around her, and Akko couldn't help but coughing and closing her eyes, before stepping away, trying to find a spot clear of smoke. When she opened her eyes, she found herself next to Diana, who was staring to something in front of her with a disgusted expression. When Akko followed her gaze, she found, among the smoke, two distinct figures that… well, let's just say they looked nothing like her.
As small as chickens, chubby and with black feathers where the clothes should be, and faces barely having distinguishable human features. They made Akko recoil with repulsion.
"What…?"
"I told you it was a spell that required great concentration!" Diana immediately chastised her. "More so, attempting to create two copies of yourself is too advanced for your first time and you should have started with just one."
"Why the feathers, though?" She questioned, looking at the horrible abominations standing still in front of them.
"You created them, don't ask me." She scrunched up her nose.
"I see." Akko sighed. "But they are still just illusions, right?" Cautiously, she poked the closest one with her foot, expecting to find nothing but a mirage made of magic, but… she felt an unpleasant chill creeping down her spine when the creature toppled over upon her touch instead.
"Aaahh!" She screamed and went to hide behind Diana. "T-they… they're…!"
"They're… real?" Diana didn't seem to be scared of the creatures, and her disgust had instead given way to cautious curiosity.
She took a step forward and kneeled down, trying to examine the strange creations. She poked one of them with her wand, and although she obtained no response, it was very clear that the deformed clone was solid.
"How could this happen?" She frowned.
"Don't ask me! You're the expert." Akko answered, still staying a few feet away from her weird creations.
"I wasn't asking you." She could almost feel Diana rolling her eyes at her, even when she was standing behind her. "But… to create something out of thin air… It shouldn't have happened."
"Hah! That just proves I'm the better witch here!" Akko couldn't help bragging a little. It felt good to be able to (unintentionally) do something that not even Miss Perfect herself could.
"No. I bet your pink-colored magic has something to do with it." Diana finally got up and turned to stare at Akko through narrowed eyes. "It must have reacted differently to the spell."
"Oh." She remembered what Croix had said the first time she was on her laboratory. She had talked about primary and secondary magic channels, and said that, although witches used the first kind, normal people could develop the later with a little bit of help. That's what had happened, right? Her magic didn't flow through the same channels as Diana's, or the other witches'. That's why the reaction to the spell had been different. Maybe that was the same reason she couldn't ride a broom.
"Akko." Diana's voice made Akko's blood turn to ice with how cold and calculating it sounded, and she couldn't help tensing up visibly when she heard it. "I don't know why your magic is different, or why it manifested so late into your life. But I assure you that I will figure it out, and if I don't like what I find…" She left the phrase hanging, but it was very apparent by her icy stare that it wouldn't be pleasant, so Akko could only gulp in response, trying to not give Diana any indication of the truth with her body language.
"Very well." She nodded, keeping eye contact with Akko at all times like a cat stalking it's pray. "Let us continue for now."
Akko tried to concentrate on what Diana explained next; on the way she should imagine her clones in order for them to appear human, and in the correct pronunciation of the spell, but… she couldn't help having an upsetting feeling in her gut, like she was anticipating for something to go wrong somehow at some point.
She just hoped that Diana didn't think she was a blood witch, because she was certain that things wouldn't go well for her if the prodigy ever decided she was a danger to other witches.
She really, really, hoped that they would never get into a serious battle with each other.
A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but I didn'ty want to drag it out longer than necessary. I hoped you enjoyed it nonetheless. Thanks for reading! Please leave a review/favorite/follow if you liked it! See you soon (hopefully).
Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.