Chapter 24: Getting ready.
It was a new day, and Akko was excited about her magic training with Diana for once. Sure, the Cavendish girl had been as strict as ever during their earlier physical conditioning but Akko was hoping that their newfound friendship would mean she'd have a better time practicing magic later. And so, she was wolfing down her breakfast as if she hadn't eaten in ages, just so she could start the lesson with Diana as soon as possible.
"Akko, please chew your food. It'd be unfortunate if you choked before our training."
"Sorry, Diana." She tried to say, but it ended up being pretty much undecipherable thanks to her mouth being full. Diana simply sighed in resignation.
"Oof! Easy there, ice queen. Your glaciers are starting to melt." Amanda teased her, which simply earned her a glare from the blonde.
"Although I appreciate that you and Hannah came to our help the other day, I shall ask you to refrain yourselves from such comments."
"Nevermind." Amanda literally shivered under her cold glaze. "I take back the melting part. It seems you simply have a soft spot for Akko." She then added with a shit-eating grin.
"Amanda." Diana said with a warning tone.
"That's my name. Don't waste it."
"Amanda. Please shut up." Hannah said without even looking away from her plate. "It's too early for you to be a dumbass."
"Uhh… sorry babe." The girl actually shrank a little and resumed eating her breakfast, much to the amusement of all of her friends.
"Finally. Let us have a peaceful and quiet breakfast, alright?" Diana sighed in relief.
"I'm finished!" Akko shouted, pretty much jumping off her seat and running off as she spoke. "Last one is a fried egg!"
"I…" Diana trailed off, baffled by the whole situation. "Is she always like this?" She asked, to no one in particular.
"Oh no, she can be far worse." Sucy spoke, and Diana could just groan internally before proceeding to try and finish her food as soon as possible.
"So… what are you gonna teach me today? Will you show me how to shoot fire out of my hands? Or to fly using just my willpower? Or- or…"
"Akko." Diana's firm voice interrupted the energetic girl, who could only muster a sheepish smile when she saw the blonde's unamused stare. "I know I said you were ready for more advanced spells, but I must ask you to keep your expectations within the realm of realistic possibilities."
"How can you expect me to be realistic when we're literally dealing with magic?" She pretty much whined.
"Please." Diana sighed. "Just take out your wand."
"Right! My wand." She quickly extracted it from her pocket and held it in her hand. However, instead of immediately telling her what to do, Diana paused and adopted a thoughtful expression.
"That wand isn't yours, is it?"
"Huh? Not really. It's been my mother's for ages." She answered honestly.
"I see." She frowned. "Although it's not urgent by any means, it's still advisable that you get a wand of your own as soon as possible. One that's better suited for your style of magic."
"What do you mean?" Akko stared at her with a puzzled expression.
"That's a generic Luna Nova wand, one that's been tempered by years of use by an Astronomy teacher. It's hard to explain why, exactly, but such circumstances usually slowly mold a wand until it's best suited to cast certain types of spells."
"I… see?" She really didn't, but she still got the gist of what Diana was trying to tell her.
"Most witches have two wands." Diana continued explaining. "One that they use for school, or work, and another one they use for their personal life." At this, the girl took out of her pocket a Luna Nova wand and showed it side-by-side with the wooden wand with carved snakes she'd been using until that point. "This has been my wand ever since I learned how to use magic." She explained. "As such, it functions better for casting healing spells than anything else. In contrast, the Luna Nova wand is practically new, and so it has the same efficiency for all types of spells."
"Alright, but… why are you telling me this?" She couldn't help asking. It seemed almost random, really.
"To better your chances at being chosen by Beatrix, it's best if you have your own wand." Diana explained. Her tone was almost reluctant, but it seemed like she was fighting with herself in order to disclose this information. "If the wand you use is borrowed, she might perceive this as a sign of you not being committed enough to the art of witchcraft. Even a new wand is better than a borrowed one."
"I… understand." Akko was hesitant. She knew she'd better listen to Diana's advice but… using her mother's wand made her feel connected to her in some way. But on the other hand… she'd have to give the wand back to her mother when she found her, right? And by that point it'd be better if she had her own.
"There's a lot of materials you can make your wand from, and I happen to know an excellent crafter. I'd also pay for it if you're really serious about it." The other girl spoke once more, likely noticing she was having doubts.
"Well… I think I would like a new wand, but… what kind of material would you recommend?" She really didn't know anything about wand-making, and she had no desire to learn right now.
"Given the energetic and temperamental nature of your magic, a metal would be the best option." Diana explained. "Gold, preferably."
"Eek! Wouldn't that be too flamboyant?" Akko cringed at the thought of going around wielding a golden wand like some sort of aristocrat.
"In that case, steel or iron would do just fine as well." She spoke. "Unless you have something else in mind?"
"Well…" Akko looked at the Luna Nova wand she was holding. It was made of both iron and wood, probably so it was alright for everyone to use. She liked it, but it was too generic, especially for the daughter of the great Shiny Chariot, the Chosen One. She wanted something special, but she had meant it when she said gold was too pretentious. But then…
Almost out of instinct, she stuck her hand inside one of her pockets, and found it; the moon's tear. She had carried it since that day at the crater, since it had become some kind of amulet for her. She took it out and noticed it shined with the light, almost like a mirror. This was a metal, wasn't it?
"Is that a moon's tear?" Diana gasped.
"Yeah… it fell near Luna Nova last year. Do you think…?"
"Wands made with that material are extremely powerful and versatile." She answered her unspoken question. "If you give it to me, I'll make sure it's made into a fine wand for you."
Akko hesitated. She didn't want to part with the tear, but… the idea of having a wand made out of a meteorite was certainly appealing. Sure, it was no shiny rod, but… it was especial enough, right? She was certain her mother would be proud. And Croix! She couldn't wait to tell her.
"Here." She put the tear in Diana's hand.
"Perfect. Tomorrow we'll go to the wand store and see that it's made just as you envisioned." She said, putting the tear on her own pocket. "Today I'll make the necessary cleansing processes so that the tear is ready tomorrow. You are free to watch, of course."
"Sure. Sounds fun." It really didn't, but she figured she might as well make Diana company if she was going to do her such a favor.
"It's decided then." She nodded. "But for now, you should keep using your mother's wand for practice, as the new one will be ready in a week or so."
"Alright then! Let's get this training started!"
Akko was struggling as always, which was a surprise for her. She'd figured that after the impressive feats of magic she'd performed while saving Diana, she'd probably have no problem with just a handful of simple spells. Unfortunately, these assumptions have been proven incorrect.
At least Diana was more patient, and gently tried to correct her at every mistake, but… it had been more than an hour and she still hadn't performed a single successful spell.
"Ugh! This is impossible!" She complained. "I don't understand!"
"Me neither." Diana said with a thoughtful expression. "You managed to cast very advanced spells when you saved me, but now…"
"Exactly! This should be easy!"
"Not easy, but I figured it would come more natural for you." Diana mused. "Maybe… why don't you tell me how did you actually cast those spells? I don't remember you pronouncing any words."
"Well… I just… I just did it?" She wasn't sure herself, actually. "Like… when I casted the barrier, all I wanted was to protect you and it just… happened."
"You say it was an emotional response then?" She seemed intrigued.
"Well… yeah? I mostly just relied on my emotions to cast the spells for me, you know? I wasn't sure it'd work exactly as I wanted, but I had to take my chances."
"I see." She nodded. "Even for normal witches, emotions can sometimes influence our ability to cast a spell. It's therefore no surprise it'd be even more important for blood witches, given they can cast magic without the need of a spell or a wand."
"Yeah… maybe that's the problem, huh?" She sighed. "I'm too similar to… them." She still felt uncomfortable thinking of herself as a blood witch, but there was no point in denying the similarities.
"Yeah, but… perhaps we could turn it into an advantage."
"Huh?"
"Listen." Diana's eyes strangely shined with optimistic determination at that moment, something Akko hadn't really seen in the girl before. "Maybe if you focus your emotions on trying to cast the spell, you'll be able to do it. Not your thoughts. You don't even have to say the words! Just focus on what you're feeling."
"And… What spell should I cast? Honestly I'm kinda tired of making chicken-like replicas of myself…" She admitted sheepishly.
"Well… whatever you feel like it. As long it's a type of spell we practiced."
"I see." Akko adopted a thoughtful expression as she tried to remember which spells she'd practiced with Diana in the past. The duplication spell was of course the one they'd practiced the most because Diana insisted it was the easiest, but there was also the invisibility spell and the metamorphosis spell.
The later, she didn't really have to practice, and the former she didn't want to. So that left her with… yep. The invisibility spell.
Unsurprisingly, that spell had led to her simply changing her own size in the past (and an unfortunate Andrew as well), but maybe if she focused her emotions she could do it? Diana said she didn't need to use the words, right? That sounded even more simple! Surely she'd be able to do it this time!
And so, Akko closed her eyes and concentrated. Invisible, huh? It's funny because she'd never feel the desire to become invisible. On the contrary! Her problem was that people usually overlooked her despite her best efforts, so wanting to become invisible wasn't something that would come naturally for her.
Although… there had been a few occasions. She remembered when she was a kid and did something wrong, she wanted to become invisible every time her mother scolded her. Not that Chariot would ever get too mad, really, but perhaps because she was usually so gentle with her, it was all the scarier when she genuinely got angry or disappointed.
There were also all the times she was bullied at school for being the daughter of a witch, or wanting to become one. Although normally she'd fight back, there had been a few occasions in which she had felt so overwhelmed she just wanted to disappear.
And then at Luna Nova… well, pretty much whenever Finnelan looked at her general direction she'd desperately wanted to be invisible… and that definitely had nothing to do with the fact she was usually stealing food or causing mischief. Not at all.
And finally… Diana. She hadn't interacted that much with that girl before being forced to train at the Cavendish mansion, but she did remember when once, at school, she had scolded her in front of a bunch of Diana's classmates (including Lotte and Sucy) for being a magicless kid that thought witchcraft was merely a game, who didn't respect traditions and idolized Shiny Chariot. Ugh. She shuddered just remembering that moment. It had been so humiliating! Especially because… well… she hadn't been able to say anything in response. Next to Diana she felt so… inappropriate. Immature too. And being called a kid despite having the same age? How could she even argue against that when it definitely felt true. She had wanted the earth to swallow her, especially when Barbara and Hannah started making cruel remarks as well, adding more fuel to the metaphorical fire.
And it hurt all the more because… well… she would never be a real witch, right? Even now she was a blood witch; a poor imitation that lived off the magic produced by Croix's technology, or from the blood of real witches. It was so unfair! Maybe it'd be best if she just… disappeared.
"Akko!" Diana's enthusiastic yell pulled her back into reality, and she opened her eyes. "You did it!"
"What?" She had almost forgotten what she was trying to do. Almost. "I… did it?"
"You're invisible!" Diana exclaimed, but there was no need; as Akko looked down at her body, she noticed all she could see was the grass bellow her feet; not even her shadow remained! She'd finally managed to cast an invisibility spell successfully.
"I did it!" She smiled widely, being almost overwhelmed by the emotions. "I DID IT DIANA!" Without thinking she hugged the other girl tightly, squeezing her a little too much.
"I-I… Akko… please… let go." The girl said through strangled breaths. Although even in this situation she couldn't deny that Akko's enthusiasm was rather contagious.
"I DID IT!"
And so, Diana could only shake her head and hope Akko would eventually let go of her.
A/N: Well, this was a short chapter, but it has some fun moments nonetheless, so I hope you like it! I'll see you soon when I have the next one. Thanks for reading!
Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.