Maya had been planning on meeting Sora and Kamala at the gates and walking to homeroom together. Then she'd received a letter from Professor Aradia asking her to come in early and go straight to her office. Hedwig had delivered notes to her friends last night, letting them know that she wouldn't be able to meet them, but would hopefully see them in Homeroom, and to save them a seat. It was early enough that the grounds were pretty quiet, only a few other students dotted here and there, no one she knew so she was able to make her way straight to the Headmistresses office.
The receptionist wasn't at her desk yet either, so Maya knocked on the door herself and pushed it open when she was bid to enter. Professor Aradia was seated behind her desk, but she wasn't alone. A diminutive figure sat in the corner of the room; her pure white hair cut short like a soldier's. She wore a jacket of fine silk, embroidered with intricate patterns of dragons and phoenixes, buttoned up to her throat. Her trousers were loose and flowing, tucked into sturdy boots. She radiated such an aura of wisdom and power, that Maya couldn't help but feel awed by her presence.
"Good morning, Maya,"
"Good morning, Professor Aradia."
"Have a seat."
Maya sat down in the empty seat in front of the desk, trying not to fidget under the steady and assessing gaze of the stranger. Professor Aradia smiled warmly at Maya, and gestured to her guest.
"Maya, this is my very good friend Himiko."
"Himiko, this is Maya Potter, though she goes by Nichols here, she's the one I've been telling you about."
"Hello," Maya nodded respectfully at the older woman.
"Hmph, she's got manners at least."
Professor Aradia's lips twitched as she held back a smile.
"Himiko is both a Wixen and a Channeler. She will be teaching you Magical Studies this year, as well as Charms, and Transfiguration."
Himiko cleared her throat noisily and Aradia's lips twitched again.
"You will have theory lessons with your classmates as normal, but Himiko will be teaching you the practical lessons. She will be able to teach you to control your powers, because she understands your powers in a way the rest of your professors can not. You will be able to learn a lot from her."
Maya nodded; she'd been aware that Professor Aradia had convinced someone who understood what it was like to have both types of magic to come and teach her. She just hadn't expected them to seem quite so fierce as Professor Himiko did.
"Yes, Professor Aradia. Thank you."
"You're lessons with Himiko will be in room 27E, it's the corner classroom on the second floor of the east wing. It's been thoroughly warded and reinforced in case there are any more incidents like that little hurricane last year."
Maya blushed at the reminder, her 'little hurricane' had flooded room they were in and the one below it when the weight of the water sent the ceiling crashing down. Luckily Professor Song had already evacuated them out of the room when it became clear that Maya had lost control of the spell. Even luckier, the classroom below had been vacant at the time and so no-one had been harmed.
"Yes, Professor Aradia."
"Good. Well, that's everything, the bell will ring soon, so you should head straight to Homeroom. You don't want to be late for class on the first day of the year."
Maya nodded.
"Goodbye Professor Aradia, Goodbye Professor Himiko."
The door hadn't quite shut behind her when she heard Professor Himiko remark once more about her manners.
"She is very polite isn't she. When you told me she was Niklaus's daughter I was expecting her to have his awful temper to."
"She's been training with Takeshi, Himiko."
"Good at least you've got some sense."
That was the last Maya heard as the door clicked shut and the silencing ward came to life. She mused on what she had heard on the walk to homeroom, both the headmistress and her new magic tutor had knowledge of who her biological father was. Not only that but they had both clearly met him. Maya knew that Takeshi wasn't just teaching her meditation to help her learn Occlumency, but to manage the temper that came with being an untriggered werewolf. From the comments she'd heard though it sounded like it might have been a lot more to do with her temper than she realised.
"Show me what you can do, girl." Himiko ordered as soon as Maya had put her bag down inside the classroom.
May's lips twisted slightly; she didn't like being called girl.
"Yes professor."
"And don't call me professor."
"Yes Himiko."
The old woman snorted a laugh.
"Good, at least you can be taught. Now show me what you can do. Start with the very first charm you were taught and work your way through them."
Maya nodded, pulled out her wand and began working her way through the different charms she had learnt over the past two years. Starting with the levitation charm and going all the way up to the Cheering Charm that they had learned at the end of the previous school year. Throughout it all, Himiko watched with slightly narrowed eyes, giving no indication of whether she though Maya was doing good or bad.
"You put too much power into your spells."
"Huh?"
"Don't 'huh' me. Articulate your words, you're a girl not a monkey."
"What do you mean I put too much power into my spells?"
"Exactly that girl. The charms you were doing required nothing more than a strand of power, as fine as a piece of hair from your head. You were pushing an entire cord through your wand. Refinement is the key to control. Have you been taught to gather your magic yet?"
Maya shook her head.
"Ar-tic-u-late." Himiko bit out each syllable of the word as she spoke.
"I don't believe so."
"You don't believe so? What on earth has Takeshi been teaching you?"
"How to use a quarterstaff and find my centre."
"Tch. Typical."
Maya narrowed her eyes slightly at that. She liked Takeshi, and she enjoyed the lessons she had with him. Himiko saw everything. Grinning viciously, she leant forward.
"You're problem girl. Is you think too much with this."
She jabbed a finger into Maya's chest.
"And not enough with this."
The finger jabbed into her forehead this time.
"I know Takeshi, girl. We have a long history. I even like him some of the time. Doesn't mean I approve of his teaching style."
"Maya."
"What?"
"Maya, not girl."
Himiko's lips curved up into a genuine smile and delight filled her eyes.
"Well. You've got a spine after all, haven't you Maya."
"Yes."
"Good. No point teaching you if you haven't got the spine to proceed. I'm a harsh taskmaster and I will work you hard. I don't expect perfection straight away, but I do expect you to listen to me and follow my instructions. You've got a lot of power tucked away in that body of yours and if you don't follow my teachings and learn how to use it and control it, you'll end up being a danger to everyone you meet."
Her face softened slightly as she looked Maya over again.
"I don't want you to be afraid of the power you hold, I do want you to respect it. I've been where you are now. Believe me when I say, having someone to teach you, is a lot easier than trying to figure it out yourself."
She clapped her hands together sharply.
"Now. Maya. To gather your core, you need to be able to see it, have you been taught to see magic yet?"
"I didn't think that could be taught to see magic. I thought you either could or you couldn't."
"Āi-yā! What are they teaching you kids these days!" She threw her hands up in disgust and shook her head. "You either have magic or you don't. If you have magic, then you can learn to see it."
"Well, I haven't been taught."
"Clearly. Can you fall into your centre at will yet?"
"Most of the time."
"Okay, do so now."
Maya inhaled a deep breath and allowed herself to fall into her centre, until she was everything and nothing all at once.
"Now give me your hands."
She held her hands out to Himiko, who took hold of them in a deceptively strong grip.
"Relax, this may feel a little strange."
With that cryptic message as her only warning, Maya felt a sudden pull on her hands. She gasped as she plunged into a vortex of swirling colours, even though her body remained motionless and upright. It was a bizarre sensation, as if she had split into two. One part of her was still in the classroom, aware of everything around her. The other part was in a different realm, a dazzling space filled with gold and silver ribbons that danced and twisted around and through each other. Himiko was there too, in both worlds, but she looked different. In the classroom, she was the old woman Maya had met that morning, with her wrinkled face and white hair. In the other world, she was a young and beautiful woman, with jet-black hair in a stylish bob, flawless skin, and a radiant smile.
"Welcome to my centre."
"This feels weird."
"I did tell you it would."
"Thanks for the warning." Maya said dryly.
Himiko just laughed.
"You see those gold and silver lights around us?"
"Yes."
"Good. That's my magic, the gold is my wixen magic and the silver is my channeler magic. You have been taught the difference between the two?"
"Yes, Wixen have a core that is filled with magic that they can draw upon to power their spells. Whereas Channeler's have a spark that enables them to draw energy from the natural world to power their spells."
"A simplistic explanation but not inaccurate."
"Most witches and wizards either have one or the other. A magical core or a spark. You and I are some of the rare few who have both. Now watch."
As Maya looked on the gleaming ribbons of gold and silver ribbons untwisted and separated as they began to form two distinct shapes. The gold ribbon compressed, forming into an oval mirror with a small handle. away from each other and compacted into two shapes. Conversely, the silver ribbon expanding, splitting apart into branches and roots until it became a towering pine tree.
"This is what my magic looks like when it's gathered."
"So, I have to form my magic into a mirror and a tree?"
Himiko jabbed her forehead again.
"Start using this or I may have to rethink agreeing to teach you."
"My magic is mine; it forms into what represents me. Yours will form into what represents you."
"But how do I know what that is?"
"That. Maya, is something you'll have to figure out for yourself."
"Now. Close your eyes and take a deep breath."
Maya obeyed, letting her eyelashes flutter shut and filling her lungs with air. She felt Himiko's warm hands cradle her face, her thumbs resting on the bridge of her nose.
"Brace yourself. This is going to hurt."
Himiko's words were barely a whisper, but they made Maya tense up. She felt Himiko's thumbs press down firmly, sending a jolt of pain through her skull. It felt like a needle piercing her brain, making her gasp and whimper. The pain spread like fire, burning her temples and eyes. She clenched her teeth and gripped Himiko's wrists, hoping it would end soon. The pain slowly faded, leaving behind a dull ache that throbbed in her head.
"Ow!"
"I told you it would hurt. Open your eyes."
Maya opened here eyes and immediately shut them again, the gold mirror and the silver tree were a million times brighter than they had been before, making the pain in Maya's head spike.
"Tch. Don't be silly, you wont learn to manage it with your eyes shut."
"It hurts."
"Of course, it hurts, now open your eyes. Or are you going to spend the rest of your life walking about with your eyes shut."
Maya opened her eyes again and tried not to stare directly at Himiko's magic. It was still bright and it still hurt, but if she didn't stare directly at it then the pain didn't spike.
"What did you do?"
"I forced open your ability to see magic. It hurts more than teaching you to open it yourself would, but that way would take too long."
"Is it always going to hurt when I look at magic."
"No, you will adjust in time, eventually you will learn to turn it on and off at will. Think of it like stepping from a dark room straight into sunlight. It hurts your eyes at first, but eventually they adjust."
"My everything hurts, not just my eyes."
Himiko laughed.
"I will give you a pain-relief potion before you leave. Now, look at my magic and tell me what you see."
Maya clenched her teeth and forced herself to gaze at the manifestations of Himiko's magic, feeling a surge of pain but not as intense as the previous time. As she concentrated, she noticed a remarkable clarity in her vision, as if she could discern every single feature of the objects before her. She saw the tree in all its splendour, every needle shimmering with life, every curve and twist in the bark revealing its age and history, every slender branch sprouting from the roots. The mirror was no less impressive, what had looked like a simple, antiquated mirror, now revealed its true nature. The exquisite carving of a phoenix that coiled around the handle, the two dragons that guarded the glass, all shone with intricate detail. Maya described it all down to the very last detail.
Himiko smiled and inclined her head.
"Very good. Now let yourself rise up out of your centre and return fully to the consciousness of your own body."
Maya nodded. Learning to do this had, if anything, been harder than learning to fall into her centre, it had taken a lot of trial and error, and someone on standby to shake her and force her out of it, before she'd figured out the trick. She relaxed her mind and let her senses flow, starting with touch. She felt the firm grip of Himiko's hand in hers, the gentle breeze that caressed her arms through the open window, the soft fabric that hugged her body. Then came smell, the fresh aroma of the plants that adorned the classroom, the earthy fragrance that wafted on the wind, the spicy perfume that Himiko wore. Next was hearing, the rhythmic sound of their breathing, the distant noise of cheers from the playing field, the whispering of leaves. And lastly, sight, the most challenging one today. She opened her eyes and saw the dazzling symbols that covered every surface of the classroom, the radiant glow that surrounded Himiko, made her wince. Clearly her body still required a slight adjustment period for the ability Himiko had unlocked.
Himiko's hands slipped from her own and a moment later a potion bottle was forced into them.
"Here, take this. It will help."
She obediently swallowed down the contents of the vial and immediately the pain in her body began to lessen. All the magic she could see around her made her flinch still but as long as she let her eyes slide out of focus it wasn't too bad.
"You did well today. We will work on gathering your magic in our next lesson on Friday. In the meantime, try to spend some time meditating before you go to bed and when you wake up, it will help you adjust to seeing magic quicker.
"It kind of sucks that you won't have magic classes with us anymore." Kamala complained as they entered the greenhouse. "I liked being in class with you, it was fun."
Maya was too busy trying to adjust to the amount of magic inside the greenhouse to answer. The runes on the walls glowed with a fierce intensity, but they were nothing compared to the living things that filled the space. Every plant, person, and being had magic inside them, even if they couldn't actively use it. When Himiko had first forced open her ability to see magic, she had only been able to see it in the powerful runes that littered the school and emanating from Wixen and Channelers who were particularly strong. Over the past few days, rather than the adjustment, Himiko had promised, her ability only seemed to have increased.
Every student, every staff member, had something that marked them out to Maya's new sight, a touch of magic about them, each species had a touch of magic to them that exhibited itself in different ways under Maya's gaze. It wasn't just the people either, she was seeing magic everywhere, every item that was enchanted, or charmed in some fashion, every animal, every plant, she'd even been able to see glimmers of it in the potions ingredients they'd used yesterday in class. Every time she entered a new classroom, or building, she required a period of adjustment, unfortunately blinking rapidly like she would do if she'd suddenly stepped out into bright sunlight, didn't work. Maya was dearly wishing she'd asked Himiko what sort of time frame her adjustment period would take.
"You've been doing that a lot the last couple of days." Sora commentated quietly as they made there way towards one of the workbenches.
"Doing what?"
"You kind of pause whenever you enter a room."
"Yeah, and you do this weird thing with your eyes." Kamala added.
Maya put her bag down on the bench next to her and shrugged.
"Himiko taught me how to see magic, well not so much taught, but forced open my ability to see magic. Apparently teaching me to do it myself would take too long. It's taking a bit of time to adjust."
"So, you can see magic now?"
"Yeah, apparently it's something everyone should be able to learn."
"That would be cool. I wonder how hard it is to learn."
"You'll find out in 10th Grade, that's when they start teaching us." Sora told her.
"I wonder why Himiko's teaching you now."
"She pretty much said it would be useless to try and teach me anything if I couldn't see magic."
"Must be cool, to be able to see all the magic."
"Yes, it does sound interesting."
The conversation came to an end after Sora's comment as someone clearing their throat drew their attention to the front of the class.
"Good Morning class and welcome to Herbology, my name is Mr Crowley, and this is my assistant Mr Fell."
Maya looked over at them and immediately wished that she hadn't, both of them looked like shining beings made of light. Looking at them was like staring directly into the sun, and it hurt. She closed her eyes with a soft groan and put her hand to her head. She could hear Mr Crowley continue speaking from the front of the room, but she wasn't going to risk looking at him again, not until she'd become more adjusted to seeing magic.
"Are you okay, Miss Nichols?" A soft voice asked from next to her.
Maya nodded, without looking in Mr Fell's direction, she clearly wasn't that convincing because a moment later Sora spoke in an equally soft voice.
"She said her new magic tutor forced open her ability to see magic. I guess it's taking her a bit of time to adjust."
"I see. Not to worry, just try not to look at myself or Mr Crowley again today, that should help. The next week will be the worst, while your mind and your magic adjust to the neural pathways that your tutor forced open."
Maya nodded again and felt as Mr Fell walked away.
"Was it really that bad?" Kamala whispered.
"Like staring into the sun, or maybe a supernova."
"Ouch."
Maya nodded emphatically in response and tuned back into Mr Crowley's lecture, taking notes was easy when she could focus on listening and not looking. Hopefully Mr Fell was right, and the adjustment period would only take a week, she didn't know how she would cope if it took longer than that.
"So, I hear Himiko is your new magic teacher."
As the staff flew through the air, Maya reached out and snatched it with a swift motion. She felt the smooth wood in her hand and shifted her fingers to find the right balance as she glanced at Takeshi, who had thrown the staff to her. He was a strange to look at under her newly awakened mage-sight. Most people's magic was gold or silver, sparkling and shimmering like tiny stars inside their chests, it hadn't taken long to work out that Channeler magic was silver and Wixen magic was gold. But Takeshi's was different. It was dark and mysterious, like a polished obsidian stone. It still radiated light, but it was a deep black with flecks of colour piercing through the gloom. She hadn't seen anyone else with Magic like Takeshi's. It was much easier to look at though, than the dazzling gold and silver others shone with.
"What's that like?"
"Hard."
Takeshi grinned and moved forward in an attack pattern that Maya quickly shifted to block.
"Himiko can be demanding, her style of teaching never appealed to me."
Maya responded with her own pattern of strikes and jabs.
"She said pretty much the same thing about you."
"Of course, she did." He's eyes were sparkling with delight as they began a pattern of attacks and counter-attacks, "We are, what is it the Americans say? 'we are like chalk and cheese', that's it?"
"Which one of you is the edible one?" Maya sked cheekily.
Takeshi laughed and sped up his movements, forcing Maya to respond in kind lest he land a blow. They spent the rest of the lesson sparring, Takeshi testing her on all the moves and all the attack patterns he had taught her previous school year.
"Good. Next week we'll start with eskrima sticks, don't think that means you no longer need to practice with the staff though, I'll still be testing you every so often."
"Okay."
Maya put her staff back on the rack and picked up her bag.
"Maya?"
"Yes?"
"Himiko may be a demanding teacher, but she gets results from her students."
"Thanks."
"See you next week, Maya."
"bye Takeshi."
"And don't forget to practice."
