Important notice: Sorry, I was so tired that I actually posted chapter eight instead of chapter 6, please forgive me.
As an apology, have Chapters, six seven and eight all at once!
It was with some trepidation that Isika entered the mess hall the next day.
The furthest side of the room was fairly packed, with what Isika guessed was naval personnel. Marisa had said that despite the lack of students, the Final Spark was still a fully functional battleship, and had a full crew complement. The other side of the room however was very sparse, with only a few isolated islands of students, along with a couple of loners.
But before she could get too anxious, she spotted Marisa, who waved at her. Isika hurried over.
"Hey Ise. Sleep well? Marisa asked.
"Yeah, it was… Eese?" Isika said.
"Yeah, Ise. It's a nickname," Marisa said, "You want me to show you how to get food?"
After a brief moment, Isika came back with a large bowl of porridge, and a glass of orange juice. Marisa had gotten beans on toast.
"Itadakimasu," Marisa said, clapping her hands together, before eating.
"I-Itadakimasu," Isika copied Marisa before tasting her Porridge. It was surprisingly sweet.
"So anyway Ise," Marisa said, in between mouthfuls, "As we went through earlier. I won't be able to teach you full time, but that doesn't mean I'm just gonna leave you hanging. So here's how it's gonna work. Every morning I'm gonna run you through some exercises after breakfast, and or leave you some material to study. It's essentially going to be self motivated study, then after dinner, I will check up on you too see how well you are doing. Makes sense?"
"Umm, yes, I think so," Isika said.
"Good," Marisa said. "Sorry, I know this ain't perfect, but I sorta got my hands tied. You just gotta be a little patient with me."
"Alright." Isika said, nodding determinedly.
"Good morning Marisa." said a woman who floated up through the table in front of them.
"GAH!" Isika exclaimed, arms flailing as she fell backwards off the bench.
"Morning Meems." Marisa said casually, "Watch the kid, I think you gave her a heart attack."
"I'm ok, I think." Isika said, climbing back onto the bench.
"Sorry, couldn't resist a little spooking. You are the first alien I have met after all." the woman said setting down on Marisas other side. She was a tall woman, with green hair and pale skin, she wore an ornate blue dress, and a rather odd hat. Isika also noticed she didn't have legs, just a wispy tail that came out from underneath her dress. "My name is Mima, I am deputy headmistress of the Final Spark."
"She's also my old teacher," Marisa said. "A ghost in case you are wondering."
"Oh... ok," Isika said, nodding in understanding. "That makes sense."
"I take it you have encountered a ghost before?" Mima asked.
"Yeah, I met one at Reitaisai, she gave me a magic butterfly that showed me around." Isika said, "I also asked Aju about them, and she mentioned her name was Yuyuko."
"Woah, you ran into Yuyuko?" Marisa said in surprise, "I thought that butterfly looked familiar…"
"You know her?" Isika said. "Aju said that she was the princess of the netherworld."
"Yeah that's the one, she's a bit of a character." Marisa said, before grimacing. "She's also a close friend of Yukari. Excuse me for a minute."
Marisa got up, walked out the mess hall, before addressing the empty corridor.
"I know you are watching, I ain't got a problem with that. But she is my apprentice, keep your dirty mitts off her, got it?"
Marisa turned back into the hall.
"Spoilsport," said Yukari, pouting from the comfort of Hakugyokurou.
"Don't let it bother you." Yuyuko said, fanning herself softly "It's not as if we had anything planned for her yet anyway."
When Marisa returned, Isika was talking with Mima.
"So Marisa," Mima said, as Marisa sat back down, "young Isika here told me that you have taken an apprentice."
"Haven't I already mentioned that?" Marisa said, taking another bite of toast.
"Unsurprisingly no, you have not," Mima said, crossing her arms. "Honestly Marisa…"
"Sorry Meems." Marisa said, rubbing the back of her neck with the free hand, "I guess I'm just not used to having you around again."
Mima sighed. "I guess it can't be helped, I was gone a long time…" She leaned forward and took a bite out of Marisa's toast. "I am here now though, so it would be nice of you to keep me informed."
"Hey, get your own breakfast," Marisa said indignantly.
"I'm a ghost, I don't need breakfast," Mima said.
"Then kindly don't eat mine!"
"But you are just so easy to tease!" Mima declared with a smirk
Marisa sighed. "Only for you Meems. But please try not to undermine me too much in front of my Apprentice."
"Very well, I'll restrain myself," Mima said. "But I do want to bring up something. "As I understand, your teaching time with her is rather limited."
"Mima…" Marisa said warningly.
"I'm not going to steal your apprentice Marisa, calm down," Mima said. "I was merely offering to watch her while you are busy, and help talk her through anything she has difficulties with. It will speed up her basic magic education significantly, and hopefully by the time you finish your obligations on the Philosophe, she will be ready for proper training."
Marisa thought about it. "That doesn't sound too bad actually. You sure you are up for it though? I mean that is a time investment, and Ise is a total beginner when it comes to magic."
"Please, it can't be any harder than training you," Mima said dismissively."And I've been bored stupid since the academy has gone on hiatus. I'd welcome a change of pace."
"In that case… Thanks Mima, I'd appreciate it!" Marisa said, grinning.
Marisa's study was a very strange room, about three stories tall with a comparatively narrow base, it was clearly designed for someone with as much vertical mobility as Horizontal. There were various balconies, shelves, bookcases, doors, workbenches, screens and consoles at almost seemly random placements up the walls. Wood panelling gave away to metal plating with no rhyme and reason, creating a strange mix of modern and archaic.
Unsurprisingly Marisa seemed right at home in the chaotic room, as she gestured to Isika to take a seat at a desk sitting conspicuously in the center of the floor. Isika suspected it had been put there for just this purpose.
"Now," Marisa said, clapping her hands as Isika sat down. "We are gonna have to start at the basics, and I mean the most basic of the basics. We are going to teach you how to feel magic, and eventually take it into your being."
Isika listened intently, eager to get started.
"Now, most Alliance citizens grow up around magic, so we barely notice it until we start actively using it," Marisa began."But for an Alien like you, it might be slightly stranger, and harder for your mind to grasp, and with your average affinity it might normally make it rather difficult to make a connection. Thankfully, the Final Spark might be the best place to get started for someone like you. Tell me, have you felt an odd sensation, one that you can't quite explain?"
Isika thought about it. "Well there has been an odd tingling feeling I've been feeling since yesterday, although I can't quite pinpoint where. I thought it had something to do with coming off the sedative. But now that you mention it, it hasn't gone away yet."
"Sounds about right. The Final Spark has about three times the normal amount of Magitech reactors for a ship of its classification, to power its main gun. Because of that, the ship's ambient magic is highly charged, that tingling is the magic brushing against your magically deprived senses." Marisa said. "Don't worry, once you master this exercise you will probably stop feeling it… eventually."
"So this is what magic feels like…" Isika said softly. "So what's the exercise?"
"Well, if you are ever going to be a magician, you need to be able to start taking that magic into yourself, infusing it into your body." Marisa said. "With that in mind, today will be taken up with Meditative and introspective exercises."
Mima snickered.
"What?" Marisa said, slightly indignant.
"Sorry, sorry. Just the thought of you of all people advocating Meditation and Self-reflection." Mima said, smirking.
"Well, it seemed to work for the other class…" Marisa pouted. "I thought I asked you not to undermine me?"
"Sorry, won't happen again," Mima said. "Carry on."
"Anyway." Marisa said, turning back to Isika. "Like I was saying, we are gonna have to teach you to look into yourself, in both mind and spirit, in order to find your core."
"Core?" Isika said.
"Like the center of your being, where your souls spiritual half and physical half meet. All magic is performed by mixing the energies of both the spiritual and physical soul. So in order to get started, we need to loosen the valve a bit, you get me?"
"I guess so…" said Isika. "So I find this through meditation?"
"Yeah, pretty much." said Marisa, "It worked for the other group, so I don't see why it shouldn't work for you."
"Alright." said Isika, "So where do we start?"
"Well, some breathing exercises would be a good start. Ok Listen up and I'll talk you through some before I have to go. Ready?"
Isika nodded enthusiastically, excited and eager to get started.
A few days later...
Isika was no longer excited.
"You know frustration is incredibly counterproductive." Mima said casually, being the exact opposite of helpful.
In fact she was downright annoyed.
"Hrrmmm…" Isika grumbled irritably, her closed eyes tightening.
"Relax your breathing, try and release some of that tension." Mima said slightly more helpfully.
Isika tried to do as instructed, but had very little luck, the barely perceptible tingling remained as is.
"Hmm, it's no good, I have the feeling we aren't going to be making much more progress this morning," Mima said.
Isika's eyes snap open "What? No! I mean, but I can keep going." she pleaded.
"Like I said, you're too frustrated. This exercise isn't going to work. You've got an hour until lunch, go to the rec room and blow off some steam." Mima said, putting a hand on her hip.
"But, but-"
"No buts, go and relax," Mima said. "You aren't going to improve in your current state."
Isika grumbled, getting out of her chair and stalking out.
Mima sighs after Isika left. "I wonder if this is even the right approach…"
Isika on the other hand was brooding to herself as she marched down the hallway.
Her brooding became less pronounced as she passed a group of ship personnel, self-consciousness downgrading it to a minor sulk.
This meditation stuff turned out to be a lot harder than Marisa made it out to be. And despite having spent about three days on it, she felt like she had actually gotten worse than when she started.
Mima was probably right though, she was incredibly annoyed, and it was obviously affecting her meditation. A more reasonable part of her mind knew this. The rest just wanted to be annoyed.
Was there really no other way to do this? She resolved to ask Marisa at dinner.
Isika wrinkled her brow. But would that be rude? She didn't want to really offend Marisa, she had done so much for her after all.
She walked into the rec-room, so deep in thought that she didn't notice the girl lying in the middle of the floor until she tripped over her.
"Wah!" Isika exclaimed, before landing face first in the mercifully soft carpet.
"Ow." came the toneless response of the unknown girl, her voice muffled by lying face down in a large pillow.
"Ow." Isika agreed, rubbing her head. "Are you alright?"
"I'll manage." Came the response, still muffled.
Isika crawled off the girl, and sat up, still rubbing her head. She looked down at the other girl, who had yet to move. She was just as short as Isika, if not shorter, with messy knee-length reddish black hair. She wore an oversized hoodie, that went halfway down her thighs and totally hid her hands in her sleeves, and from the angle it was hard to tell if she wore anything underneath it. It was tented at the back with a long thin spaded tail, that swayed lazily back and forth in the air.
Isika watched for a moment longer, until she realised the girl wasn't getting up, or making any attempt to move from her position of face down on the floor. "What are you doing?"
"Napping," came the response.
"In the middle of the floor?"
"Yeah."
...
"...Why?"
"Cuz it felt like a good idea at the time."
A bit of Isika's irritation resurfaced. "You do know you are a tripping hazard lying there."
"Your foot made me intimately aware of that fact," came the response.
"... So are you gonna move or not?" Isika asked.
The girls head finally lifted, revealing an untidy fringe, listless eyes, and a deadpan expression. "Why's it matter?"
Isika simply stared for a moment. "Because you might hurt someone!" she exclaimed.
"Unlikely. I've been using this spot for about a week. This part of the ship is pretty empty right now, so not many people come in here. Perfect for naps."
"But… couldn't you at least nap away form the door?" said Isika, getting exasperated.
The girl groaned, and lifted herself off the floor… Literally, floating into the air, hugging her pillow to her cheek. "Alright already, just stop bugging me."
She floated away and landed on a different piece of floor, sprawling with a complete lack of grace.
Isika huffed before sitting down on one of the couches. And got back to the brooding she had been doing before tripping over the strange girl.
After a few minutes of silence, the girl surprisingly spoke. "So what's your beef? You seem kinda pissed about something."
"My what?"
"Your beef. you know, something to eat? what's eating you?" The girl explained
"It's nothing really." Isika said, suddenly feeling self conscious.
"It doesn't feel like nothing to me, I can sense your irritation from over here." the girl said.
"Sense?" said Isika, curiosity overtaking her once more.
"Most demons of sin are low level empaths, it sorta comes with the territory. And I'm pretty good at it."
"A… Demon of Sin?" Isika said.
"S'pose I might as well introduce myself. Names Desida, a Sloth demon. I embody the sin of sloth.
"I'm Isika, an Asari I guess. So... you are a demon of lazy?" Isika asked, wondering if her translator is working right. She made a mental note to ask Marisa if she could start learning one of the alliance languages.
"Fits don't it?" Desida said. "But yeah, I can sense your funk, its kinda like a prickly sensation, only in the air around you. It's really kinda distracting. Wanna talk about it?"
"You want to hear about my problems?" Isika asked sceptically, wondering why she would care.
"Why not? Can't hurt." Desida said. "I take it you are one of the aliens Marisa has been teaching magic to? Then again, if you are, not sure what you are doing on the Final Spark."
"I'm not part of that class… I'm Marisa's new apprentice." Isika admitted.
"No kidding?" Desida asked, if she was surprised it didn't show on her face. "Guess that explains it. Although isn't Marisa teaching the other class right now?"
"Yeah, she's only teaching me part time right now. At least until she's finished with the Philosophe class."
"I guess that's a good enough reason to be frustrated." Desida said.
Isika shook her head. "No it's not that… well not entirely, but its not whats bothering me."
Desida cocked her head.
"You see, I haven't got magic yet, so they have me performing meditation exercises to try and bring the magic into me. I'm not really having much luck in that regard though," Isika explained.
"How long have you been doing it?" Desida asked.
"'Bout three days." Mumbled Isika.
"Doesn't sound too bad to be honest." Desida said. "But I guess it's pretty frustrating, huh?"
"Yeah." Isika said. Desida was proving to be very easy to talk to. "I've been trying my hardest, but I can't seem to 'take the magic into my core', in fact I'm not even sure how, they have been incredibly vague about it."
"Well when you get right down to it, magic is incredibly vague. I suppose that isn't much help either, is it?"
"Not really." Isika grumbled.
Desida was silent for a minute, just staring up at Isika. Before saying. "You want help?"
"Help?" Isika said.
"I mean I don't know much about teaching aliens magic, but I know a bit about relaxing." Desida said. "It's kinda my thing."
Isika just stared blankly.
"You got any better ideas?" Desida said.
"Well, Mima sent me here to relax anyway." Isika said. "What do you think I should do?"
Desida lifted a hand, and with a puff of pink smoke, another pillow appeared beside her. "Well for a start, lay down."
"Eh?" Isika said.
"Come on, the floor is comfy. If you want to relax, best to do it lying down." Desida said.
Isika decided to follow along, as at this point, she was willing to try anything. She lay down next to Desida, feeling rather silly while doing it.
"Ok, now relax." Desida said.
And surprisingly Isika did just that. All tension suddenly left her body, as she was infused with a sudden overwhelming calm. She found herself subconsciously snuggling into her pillow.
"So you are having trouble finding your core? Let's have a look." Desida said, as Isika's eyes started to droop.
Isika was made aware of an all encompassing blackness, she felt frightened for a moment before another wave of calm flowed over her.
She doesn't know how, but she was made aware of Desida floating next to her. "What's going on?" Isika asked.
"Consider this demon assisted meditation," Desida said. "I've put you in a dreamlike state and infiltrated your psyche."
"I feel like I should be far more concerned about what you just said," Isika said.
"Probably, but I'm keeping you calm so you don't accidentally break the spell," Desida explained in a bored tone.
"Why are you doing this?" Isika asked.
"Like I said, I'm helping," Desida said. "Now let's get going… Or more accurately you get going, this is your mind after all."
Isika looked around at the blackness. "Where am I going exactly?"
"Don't know, your mind, not mine," Desida said. "Try and focus on going inwards, maybe that will help."
"If I knew how to do that, I wouldn't need help in the first place," said Isika with a small spike of annoyance, before it was smoothed over by the calm.
"In that case, just pick a direction. Wander around long enough and you'll eventually run into something," Desida said, shrugging.
"You know, I really wish I could be annoyed at you right now." Isika said.
"Noted. Feel free to bring it up afterwards if this doesn't work," Desida said.
Isika sighed, and started walking.
"That's the spirit." Desida said, in her unchanging deadpan.
While walking, she slowly became aware of a strange tugging notion somewhere to the left, that became steadily stronger as she walked. She changed direction and went towards it.
"Oh, feel something?" Desida asked, who from Isikas perspective hasn't really moved, but is still floating besides her.
"Yeah, a sort of pulling feeling. Is that what we are looking for?" Isika asked.
"Search me, I've never done this before." Desida said, shrugging again.
"You're a lot of help." Isika said dryly.
"Hey this is further than you've gotten so far right?" Desida said.
"I guess so…" Isika trailed off as the darkness started fading.
She came to a stop as she surveyed her new surroundings. It was a place she hadn't set foot in for over a year and a half.
"Pretty ritzy, this your place?" Desida said, looking around.
"Was." Isika said.
Indeed, this was the living room of Isikas childhood home, a fairly upscale apartment in the city of Caava on Thessia. Everything was exactly as she remembered it, from the weird paintings her mother used to collect, to the Caavan skyline out the window.
But for some reason, instead of feeling comforted by the familiarity, she felt uneasy, the perspective felt slightly skewed, and the shadows seemed unnaturally deep. On top of that, two indistinct shadowy silhouettes occupied the space, one on the couch, perhaps reading something, the other at the kitchen counter, working on some unseen meal.
She shuddered. "Why are we here?"
"Your mindscape probably created this from your memory." Desida said. "Which direction is your room?"
"Why do you ask?" Isika said.
"I thought we might find your core there." Desida said. "Your mindscape conjured your home, so maybe your core will be the place you find most familiar."
"Alright, it's the one on the end." Isika said.
"You gotta open the door, I can't open it for you. Your mind remember?" Desida said.
"Right, right." Isika said making her way to the door.
She reached out for the door interface, but hesitated, feeling a spike of uneasiness again before being washed away by Desida's overwhelming chill.
"You ok?" Desida said.
"I don't know." Isika said, before pressing the interface, the door opening automatically.
The room once more was just as she left it, clothes on the floor, random clutter, the game system on the shelf. But it was also wrong, the perspective was even more skewed, and the shadows even deeper.
Isika shuddered again.
"I've been getting the feeling for a while, but you really aren't happy to be home are you?" Desida said.
"I kinda left in a hurry." Isika mumbled. "And not in the happiest of circumstances."
"I see." Desida said. "I guess this isn't a safe place for you anymore, that's probably why your core isn't here."
"You know, for someone who doesn't know what they are doing, you seem to know an awful lot about what we are doing." Isika said.
"Call it educated guesses." Desida said. "Anyway, why don't you try the wardrobe?"
"The Wardrobe?"
It's a door after all, maybe it will lead somewhere interesting." Desida said.
Isika sighed. "I really don't get you."
"I'm really not that complicated." Desida said.
"Says you." Isika said, opening the door.
Instead of being greeted with clothes on shelves, she was greeted with darkness. Slowly the room dissolved into blackness.
"Wha?" Isika intoned.
Slowly a new space faded in.
It resembled the ducts of the citadels… barely. The angles were warped and bent, twisting off into the distance, the shadows were scars of impenetrable black, indistinct shadowy silhouettes occasionally past where they stood, most of them a similar size to Isika.
Isika repressed a full body shudder, for now very grateful for Desida's calming influence.
"Where is this?" Desida said.
"The Citadel. Some of the maintenance ducts. I lived here for a year after running away. a lot of kids did." Isika said.
"This definitely doesn't feel like a safe space." Desida said.
"It never was." Isika said.
"Where not likely to find the core here, but let's look around anyway." Desida said. "At the very least it might lead somewhere else."
"Are minds always this strange?" Isika asked as she walked along.
"Some more, some less." Desida said. "But it wouldn't be completely accurate to refer to this place as the mind, it has more to do with your spirit, then the squishy organ in your head… Your brain is in your head right?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Isika said.
"Don't know, thought that Asari might have their brains somewhere else." Desida said. "Anyway, this is more an expression of the self. The places you have been, the people you have seen, the things you know, things that have shaped you as an individual. It will probably get weirder the further you go down the path of a magician."
"What's yours like?" Isika asked.
"...Fluffy, and soft." Desida said.
"Really?" Isika said, cocking her eyebrow.
"I'm not that complicated." Desida said, despite her voice not changing, Isika got the feeling she was disavowed from inquiring further.
They come up to a very steep incline, caused by the warped dimensions.
"What now?" Isika said.
"Climb I guess." Desida said.
"I swear I've had nightmares like this." Grumbled Isika.
"Very likely," said Desida.
As Isika sized up the climb, she caught sight of a strange shadow at the top, it looked vaguely Asari, Far more distinct than the ones she had seen so far, and seemed to be peering down. But before she could get a better look, it withdrew.
"What was that." Isika asked Desida.
She shrugged. "You tell me, remember-"
"Yes yes, my mind." Isika said irritably, "Well help me up. I don't know why but I got a feeling we shouldn't let it get away."
"Your wish." Desida said, floating up, and dropping her tail down like a rope. "Don't do this in real life by the way, my tail is sensitive."
"Okay?" Isika said, eyeing the appendage strangely, before grasping it.
"Upsy daisy." Desida said, lifting her tail and pulling a surprised Isika right up the incline.
"WAH," Isika exclaimed, before landing face first on the top. "Ow."
"Get up you're fine, you can't get hurt in your own soul." Desida said.
"Are you really that strong?" Isika said, picking herself up.
"Consciousness doesn't weigh anything." Desida said simply.
"Right…" Isika said, not sure if that was dodging the question or not. She looked around, there was a three way intersection. "Where do you think it went?"
"Where do you think it would go?" Desida said.
"Really?" Isika said.
"Well…"
"I get it I get it." Isika said, sighing. "Seriously why are you even here?"
"Hey, somebody's gotta maintain the spell." Desida said.
"We'll go left then, that's where I used to sleep." Isika started walking.
"Sure thing boss." Desida said, floating behind her.
Isika as no idea what to think of her strange benefactor, in fact she was starting to wonder if Desida was just screwing with her.
"Wow, this is… humble."
"I was homeless, what were you expecting?"
Isika's 'abode' if you could call it that, was nothing more then the terminus to this particular vent. The only thing separating it from the hustle and bustle of the citadel was a large grate and a ten meter drop. She had shared it with about four other kids, two turians, another asari and an elcore, They could see their shadows wandering around the space. The bit that was Isika's was huddled in a little corner, a few blankets and a backpack, which represented everything she could bring with her from home, what little she didn't sell off for credits that is.
"Still, for kids to be living here… Seems rough." Desida said.
"You don't know the half of it." Isika said, shudding.
"You seem to be doing that a lot, are you sure you wanna keep this up? We can stop if you are getting uncomfortable." Desida said.
"No lets keep going, compared to being there it's nothing." Isika said.
Unspoken is the fact that if Isika does back out, all this would have been for nothing.
Isika looked around, trying to find the shadow they had been trying to follow. But saw no sign of it.
She sighed. "It looks like we lost it-"
Then she saw it peering around the corner of the maintenance hatch.
"Hey, er… You." Isika said, but it withdrew again. "Wait!"
Isika ran out, but came to a sudden stop at the precipice, of what should have been a ten meter drop down into the street, but what was an endless fall into a black abyss.
"Oops," said Desida, as she pushed Isika over the edge.
Isikas initial fear was smothered by Desidas calm, but even then she felt like screaming as she fell into the dark.
With a sudden jolt ,she found herself sitting in a desk in Marisas study.
"Wha..?"
"Huh, I guess you weren't lying about the apprentice part." Desida said, floating down. "Not that I had any reason to doubt you, but still."
"Why did you do that?" Isika said irritably.
"To save time, you wanted to chase that thing didn't you?" Desida said. "Sides, you can't get hurt in here remember?"
"Fine, fine." said Isika, getting up, and looking around.
While this was clearly Marisas study, it was vague, slightly sketchy, in fact the further she looked up, the less detail the room had, until it was just a wash of white. However the deep shadows that persist in the rest of her dreamscape were absent.
"Why is it so… vague?" Isika asked.
"Well how long have you been on the Final Spark?" Desida asked.
"About four days." Isika said.
"Well there you have it, this place is constructed from memory. You haven't been here that long so of course the details are sketchy." Desida said, "After all, how often do you look at the ceiling?"
"Makes sense I guess," Isika said.
Isika stepped out of the study and looked up and down the hall.
"I'm honestly surprised," Desida said.
"About what?" Isika asked.
"Well it's so cozy and bright here," Desida said. "You really do feel safe on the Final Spark don't you?"
Isika looked down, hiding a blush. "Well, Marisa… n' pretty much everyone… They have all been so nice to me," She mumbled. "And the thought of learning magic… makes me really happy."
"You're very honest aren't you?" Desida stated, making Isikas blush deepen.
Then Isika caught a glance of the shadow figure again, standing out clearly in the brightness of the room, it was definitely an Asari, and it looked to be her height. It turned and ran.
"Wait, come back!" Isika called out, giving chase.
But the figure didn't stop, it kept almost perfect pace with her, speeding up when she did, and slowing down when she slowed down. Isika lost sight of it when it rounded a corner. Rounding the corner herself, she found herself in one of the habitation wings, the dark shadow nowhere to be seen.
"Lost you huh?" Desida said, still floating beside her.
"Yeah…" Isika said. "I suppose there is no point in asking you about it is there?"
"Well, you could try looking in your room." Desida said, pointing it out.
"How did you know what was my room?" Isika asked.
"Well it's the only one with a number on it for a start." Desida said.
Isika looked, and indeed, the door to her room was much sharper and well defined then the doors next to it, it's numbers displayed proudly, probably due to constant use.
"You really need to work on your observation skills, in more ways than one." Desida said.
"Right," Isika said, blushing again.
As the door opened, she came face to face with the shadow, and from this close up, it looked an awful lot like her.
She darted forward, but the shadow vanished into particles.
"Dammit." Iiska swore. "What is that?"
"Your core, most probably." Desida said.
"Oh… what?" Isika said turning to Desida.
"Your core. You know, the thing we were looking for?" Desida said.
"But, but that's the core?" Isika exclaimed. "But why is it moving around, and why does it look like… well me?"
"No one said anything about the core being stationary, nor what it looks like, that can differ from person to person. Yours just happened to be more narcissistic than most."
"But then… why is it running away?" Isika asked desperately.
"At my guess… it's that your spirit is in shock." Desida said.
"Shock?"
"From what I've seen, you went through at least two massive life changes in the past year and a half, maybe more. After living what looks like an extremely comfortable life, you were forced to run, and spend a whole year without a proper home. You now have somewhere you can feel safe, but your spirit has yet to recover, its restless, and flighty. It cannot settle, most probably because you yourself have not settled."
"...ehh?" Isika said, too stunned for words.
"Focus. If you cannot center yourself, how will you ever reach your center?"
"Wh-what do I do?" Isika said, finding her tongue.
"You have to calm your restless spirit, give it a place to settle." Desida said, "then maybe it can open up to you."
"But what does that mean!" Isika said.
"If you can't work that out here of all places, then I'd worry about your future." For the first time since Isika met her, Desidas expression changed, becoming a smirk. "Its your mind after all."
Desida then dissolved into mist.
"Wait, don't go!" Isika called out. But it was no use, Desida was nowhere to be seen.
Isika sat down, on the bed trying to puzzle through Desidas words.
"Center myself, center," Mumbled Isika.
She didn't get it, the whole point of this exercise was to find her center, Only now she finds out her center doesn't like staying put, so now she has to 'center' herself?
Then she recalls something Desida had said earlier, when they were in her room. 'I guess this isn't a safe place for you anymore, that's probably why your core isn't here'
So would that have been her center, if none of this had ever happened?
"Give it a place to settle…" Once more she repeated Desidas words.
She looked around the room, the room that Marisa had given her, all her little plushies, her bed, her old datapad on the desk, the clothes in the wardrobe. It wasn't anything as nice as the home back on Thessia, but it was hers.
"But for how long?" Isika mumbled.
She was just a student after all. Marisa's Apprentice. Was this really hers, or was she simply borrowing it?
'It cannot settle, most probably because you yourself have not settled'
That was what Desida had said, so maybe it was that kind of thinking that is holding her back?
"Center myself…" Isika said again.
'Why do I feel safe here?' She wasn't sure where the thought came from, but it felt important.
Her eyes felt drawn to the desk, specifically to the ordinary magician doll, supposedly Marisa in her youth.
Marisa was a strange woman, strong, happy go lucky, brimming with confidence, here and gone in a flash. But she had seen something in Isika that no one else had, had given her a home, and a dream to strive for, as well as the ability to follow through with that dream.
Isika picked up the doll, sitting it on her lap. In the short time she had known her, Marisa had done more for her then anyone else.
But most importantly…
The door opened, isika looked up.
Her center was back, but this time it was accompanied by another apparition, and unlike all the others this one was all in white, with a big pointy hat not unlike the doll she was holding, and though she couldn't see it, she could tell it was grinning. It hand a hand on the centers shoulder.
Isika stood up and walked forward, until it was face to face with her center. She lifted her hand, just as the center did the same.
Isika sat bolt upright, panting. She held a hand to her chest, to try and steady her heartbeat.
"You ok?"
Isika looked down to Desida, whose deadpan had returned, and was snuggling into her pillow.
"You did just have one of the most intense magical in-body experiences it's possible to have, so it might have knocked the wind out of you a bit." Desida said.
"Wha-wha…" Isika said in between breaths, although she still haven't worked out what she was going to ask.
"Congrats by the way." Desida said.
C… congrats?" isika asked.
"You managed to get in touch with your center, didn't you?" Desida asked. "Feel any different?"
Isika focused on calming down her breathing, did she feel any different?
The tingling feeling was there, but now it felt… stronger, and it felt like it was inside, rather than outside, she wonders…
She concentrated really hard, trying to flex the mental muscles that once controlled her barely used biotics.
Slowly, ever so slowly, she felt the tingling feeling travel up her arm, until it reached the tips of her fingers. Nothing happened, but it was there.
Magic.
Her Magic.
Excitement erupted like a volcano.
"Ow!" said Deisda, clutching her head. Before she was picked up bodily and hugged with bone crushing force.
"I have magic! I have magic! ThankyouThankyouTHANKYOU!" Isika said, Twirling, taking the hapless Demonette with her.
"Yeah, yeah, really happy for you, now please quit the emotional fireworks, I think I'm going flash-blind." Desida said, looking queasy.
"This is wonderful." Isika declared, too caught up in her own euphoria to notice. "Ohh I gotta go tell Mima!"
She dropped Desida and ran for the door. "Thanks again, bye!"
Desida landed on her rump, and watched the spot were Isika had been standing, before sighing. "Weird kid."
She lay down again, snuggling in her pillow.
After a couple of minutes of sleep, she became aware of a bubbling cauldron of cold fury standing above her.
She looked up to see Mima standing above her, looking anything but impressed, a nervous Isika was hovering somewhere behind her.
"Desida… A word." Mina said, a dangerous look in her eye.
In an apartment on the Thessian city of Caava, one that a certain Demonette described as 'Ritzy', an Asari woman stood staring longingly out the window.
Her eyes were tired and weary, like the hadn't slept in a long time, and she sighed as she studied the skyline.
Her eyes drifted down to the small picture in her hands. Only a year and a half had passed, and it already felt like she had aged a millennia.
"Come on," Her partner called to her from the door, "we don't want to be late, this man is a professional, it would not do to keep him waiting."
"Coming." The woman said, joining her partner, still clutching the picture.
Her partner noticed. "We will find her, I swear we will."
"Thankyou." the woman said, even now after hearing it so many times, it still gave her some reassurance, however small.
Her Partner however, was more resolute. 'No matter what happens, I promise I will find you… Isika.'
Chapter note:
And there we meet the first OC Character, Desida the Sloth Demon, (although those who were privy to my blunder already met her :P)
Or as myself and Touhoufanatic refer to her: 'best girl'
Desida is a lot of fun to write.