And thus the first meeting of Secret Pie Club came to an end. The kadies all went their separate ways. Even Zahn, he had to head home and work on a project for family as it turns out. Gunther conveniently forgot to tell him earlier that he was assigned the task. So ... this means Amelia had to walk home alone. Oh well, at least it's a nice afternoon. The sun is almost shining through the clouds and the air smells more of flowers than swamp muck for the time being. There are even the sounds of birds chirping.
So why is it Amelia feels on edge? It's almost like having her teeth itch. Almost.
The Kadie stops, tail twitching, and looks around at the trees between the old Wingnut territory and the dam. "Okay, who is out there?" she demands squeakily. "Is it you.. uh.. what's-your-name-the-dragon?"
Naturally there is no answer at all. The wind just blows lightly and the birds continue their chirping. Wow, that can be annoying...
The girl tries not to stomp as she heads on towards the dam. Somehow, this little bit of nerves has gotten her halfway to being angry (which would probably already count as being angry for a non-Kadie). "Stupid twitches," she grumbles. "I am not paranoid!"
"Yes you are," comes that helpful little voice inside Amelia's head.
"No, I'm pretty sure hearing voices isn't paranoia," Amy claims. "Besides, I know you're real."
"Are you sure? Maybe you're just crazy," the voice offers.
"Hah, come out and say that to my face!" Amelia replies, thrusting a fist into the air. "I'm no crazier than any other Kadie!"
"Maybe the voice decided to answer, because there's this 'battle cry' from above and just behind Amelia in the trees! Before she can react she's suddenly scooped up into the air and 'flying' upside down in someone's grip! Wait, she recognizes that furless hand, Djivan! "Haha, gotcha!" he croons as they come to stop on a branch about fifteen feet up. He lets go of the rope he swung on and drapes Amelia over the branch. "Whatcha say t' dat?" he asks.
"I'm gonna pull your whiskers out and stab you in the ears with them!" Amelia chatters angrily. "Then I'll tie you up and dance naked in front of you until your eyes bleed or your.. LET ME DOWN ALREADY!"
"Tsk. Vhat vould yer squirrel-snog say iffin he 'erad vou talkin' like dat?" Djivan asks as he helps Amelia so that she's at least sitting on the branch instead of dangling from it. "I kinna get de feeling vou don like me."
"WHY did you swing out on a rope and grab me?" Amelia has to ask. "Was it because you already missed Olivia going past?"
"Yer butt issa bigger target," Djivan claims as he grins madly. The skreek sits down on the branch next to Amelia. "C'mon, vou don' really hate me, do vou?" he asks as he swings his legs back and forth.
"You just rub me the wrong way," Amelia notes. "How'd you get out here, anyway? Were you following us?"
"Vell, how would vou prefer I rub vou? Olivia hasn' had any complaints yet," Djivan notes and even waggles his brow at Amelia. "As fer how, I came lookin'' for ya. Easy t'find da big black bush."
"See? That's what I'm talking about!" Amelia says, pointing a claw at the rat. "Are you going to tell me why you were looking for me?"
"Vhat? I just bein friendly!" Djivan claims and even mock-pouts a bit, complete with quivering lower lip. "After all de trouble I get into t' find you for de Mistress Natasha and vou jus' vell at me."
"You grabbed me!" Amelia complains. "You could have.. oh.. just called to me or stood out in the open or.. any number of normal things to give me the message! Besides, if I actually responded to your crude flirting, you'd panic."
"Never know till va try," Djivan claims and even nudges her a little with his left elbow. "An' crude? Crude? I no crude!"
"I don't have to try," Amelia says with a cruel grin. "Because if anything happened, you'd lose Olivia! So if you let anything happen, you don't deserve Olivia in the first place, proving that you're just as bad as I think you are. Therefore, by Kadie logic, you would not do anything."
"Hmf. Vell, ya I vould no do any'ting. Olivia knows dat. I jus' like t' see ya react. Yer fun," Djivan claims, "I like vou." And of course he drapes his arm around Amelia's shoulders, adding, "'Sides, yer more like a guy anyway. I don' swing dat vay."
The woman growls, and then asks, "What was the message you were supposed to give me? Or is it just that Natasha wants to see me?"
"Only a guylike girl lets 'er man go around boinkin' two bunnies an ... " Djivan rattles, then has to pause. "Natasha? Oh, she vant t' see vou. Somet'ing about not shirking vour apprentice duties."
"That's because of magic," Amelia notes. "And there are interesting things you can do with a guy and two women, too. Not that you'll ever know. And.. oh.. slugs! I was suppose to be starting my lessons with Natasha!"
"But if vou vere involved, doesn't dat make it three vomen an one guy?" Djivan asks as he scratches his cheek. "An' I dunno, Lili an I got up to some pretty strange stuff back vhen ve used t' sleep vith each other... Eh, don' matter now! So, needa escort back t' de boss?"
"I know the way!" Amelia chatters, and scurries down the tree. "How could you just sit here and delay me like that?" she accuses as she sprints off towards the dam - and the RootRunner Road that will eventually get her to the Gypsy camp.
"Go, big black butt, go!" Djivan cheers as Amelia quickly leaves him behind!
Amelia has a horrible thought of actually testing Djivan.. but figures if he does resist her, it'll just make him more attractive to Olivia. She also wonders if Olivia really considers Djivan to be a 'practice' boyfriend. She then wonders if she needs her sword.. but it's magic. You don't need a weapon for that, right?
Past other clans and startling lazy otters seems to be the name of the game as Amelia zips along towards the encampment. She can spot it ahead, the colored wagons do tend to stand out against the otherwise drab landscape. A few of the gypsies are milling about on the outskirts, apparently hanging up laundry to dry. Notably none of it are knickers ... but then the otters probably stole a few of those before they realized it wasn't safe to hang them in plain view...
"This makes me wonder about Djivan's socks," Amy thinks briefly, as she slows to a jog so that she won't be completely out of breath when she gets to Natasha's wagon.
For a camp of 'suspicious' people, they're rather friendly. Several wave to Amelia as she walks into the camp. One she recognizes as a younger Rath'ani girl, a dancer in Lili's troupe. She's apparently working on heming up some of their costumes. They do tend to split seams frequently.
"The Queen of the Trolls," Amelia mutters. The Gypsies really must be one large family, because otherwise why would they humor Djivan at all? She catches her breath at the door to Natasha's wagon, and then just opens it. After all, Natasha knows when she's there because of the door enchantment, and did summon her.. so why knock?
"You are late," Natasha remarks from her usual spot on the far side of the small 'scrying' table in her wagon. She doesn't even look up from the book she is reading. With the half-rim 'glasses' she wears on the bridge of her nose, she looks rather scholarly. "I trust that Mr. Vash found you without too much difficulty?"
"Who?" Amy asks as she closes the door. "You mean Djivan? I guess sending him is my punishment for being late, right?"
"Punishment? No, he is very reliable," Natasha says as she closes her book with a snap of the pages. "He does as asked and usually quickly."
"He is very.. teasing though," Amelia claims. "What do you need me to do? Isolde made me do all sorts of weird things.."
"Oh? What did she make you do?" Natasha asks as she turns and rests her elbows on the table and steeples her fingers together. "As for what I need you to do, I need you to close the door and sit across from me."
Amelia closes the door, and says, "Well, there was the water bucket thing. I had to go to the well, fill a bucket, run with to the cauldron, run back, then fill two buckets and run with them, go back, do three buckets.. and so on until I couldn't carry any more. It didn't make any sense, until she finally told me that a witch has to be strong enough to carry a sick or dead adult as quickly as possible to where he can be treated."
The girl sits across the table from Isolde, and tries not to stare at the crystal ball.
"A simple way to strength train with a bit of mysticism thrown in, I see," Natasha remarks. She thankfully reaches out and removes the crystal ball so it won't be distracting her. "Well, there will not be any of that today. It may not be as satisfying, either. You need to practice focus and control. Nothing is more critical than control. I will manage the summoning, but you must maintain and control what I summon. Yes, there are official spells you recite, but those are really just for focus more than anything else. It is ... a matter of will in wielding magic as much as it is the mechanics," she explains. "Now, make yourself comfortable and cup your hands over the table."
It isn't really an option to get comfortable - that would mean relaxing and only Zahn ever really manages to get Amy to do that. She cups her hands and twitches her whiskers and her tail while staring intently at.. her palms. "Are there a lot of Kadie mages?" she asks.
"Mmmm, no," Natasha answers. She rolls her right hand while muttering something under her breath. A small blue 'flame' appears in her palm. "A spirit light," she explains, "The simplest cantrip any mage of my sphere learns. Useful for night-time reading and seeming impressive to the uninitiated. Lets see how long you can maintain it. You have to focus on how it feels and keep that feeling going as long as you can, understood? Once you can manage maintaining one, I will show you how to summon one." The khatta reaches over and tilts her hand. The 'flame' flows out of her palm and into Amelia's ... and it promptly starts sputtering and flickering as if it is about to go out!
"I don't.." Amy chitters, panicking as the flame seems to sputter. Focus.. on.. how it feels? She closes her eyes, so that the sputtering isn't a distraction, and tries to feel the flame. Except it's not a flame, she reminds herself! It's a spirit.
It feels ... well, fire should feel warm, but this one feels cold, like a little drop of ice sitting in the palm of her hand. It feels almost like it is melting and spreading out. No, it is, because a moment later the sensation is gone.
"Well, that was anticlimactic," Natasha remarks dryly. "Not even ten seconds."
"It was cold," Amelia notes, opening one eye to see that it's gone. "I.. how do I keep that going? I don't know how to feed cold.."
"Well, how do you cool hot soup?" Natasha prompts. "The best way to learn is to figure it out with just enough guidance."
"I just wait for the soup to cool," Amelia notes, her brows furrowing in thought. "I can't.. take heat away.. that doesn't make sense. It's not actually cold though, right? It just feels that way because it's not a spirit of a living thing?"
"So you have never blown on a hot bowl of soup?" Natasha asks, brow arched. "Now, as for why it feels cold ... Ice also feels cold, but does it not become less cold as you hold it? It melts, correct? Why?"
"Because your hands are warm," Amelia says.
"Correct. But what happens to them the longer you hold the ice?" Natasha asks.
Amelia blinks. "They get wet? Oh! You mean they get cold too?"
"Yes. They get cold because your warmth transferred to the water. Now, consider that and think of how you could apply that to what happened with the flame," Natasha prompts and steeples her fingers again.
The squirrel thinks, and thinks some more. "Well," she finally says, "I guess if I pulled my own spirit back somehow, it wouldn't transfer its energy and melt the flame. But.. since the flame isn't alive.. what provides it energy? Does it only have the energy you started it out with?"
"Mm, you have it backwards. You need to feed it with your own spirit. Eventually you learn to feed it from the environment, but beginners must use their own since it is the one they are must familiar with. The amounts are so small that it is perfectly safe, of course. It will have as much energy as you give it, of course. I started it with some, but it is up to you to give it more," Natasha says, "Would you like to try again?"
"Hmmm," Amy mutters. "Feed it without melting it? Or was it just that I took too long? Gah, this is confusing! Okay, maybe I just need to prepare for the flame first, is that allowed?"
"You took too long. It will only exist so long as it has the energy to do so and that usually comes from the castor. The difference here is I released control to you," Natasha explains. Her fingers remain steepled as she stares at Amelia over them. "And yes, preparations are allowed, though you will need to learn how to adapt quickly. Time for preparations is not always available."
"Well, I need to prepare right now," Amelia says focusing on her hands as she cups them together. She pictures filling them with 'spirit oil' from herself. "If I try to use it fast, I could lose control," she notes.
"That is something you must practice then, as control is key," Natasha notes.
It's ... well, she can't see any liquid in her hands, but it sort of feels like there is something there. The fact that her fingers and palms have also turned blood red tends to imply there is something there as well.
Amelia does look up to see if Natasha sees the red or not as well.
"Physical reactions to the use of any sort of magic is extremely rare. Well, aside from magic that is intended to cause them," Natasha remarks as her dark brow arches. "There was a girl back in school that broke out in purple polka-dots whenever she tried to cast spells in the sphere of water. She transferred schools. Even though she was superb in that sphere, she had an aversion to being covered in polka-dots."
"I'm not thrilled about looking like I'm covered in blood either," Amy notes. "But there's no getting around it I guess, because of the demon."
"I do wonder if the reaction intensity is directly related to the complexity of the magic being worked. Such as a ritual causing you to sprout horns," Natasha muses. Her fingers tap and then separate. "So, are you ready to try again?" she asks.
Amelia nods, but frowns at the notion of becoming more demonic when working bigger magic.
"I suppose as long as it doesn't affect personality or mood it is not much to worry over," Natasha remarks. She snaps her fingers this time and a little 'flame' appears on the tip of her thumb. She extends her hand out and tips it. The little flame slides off like waver into Amelia's cupped palms. It's about then Amelia's little voice speaks up, "Horns are sexy. Men like horns, it gives them something to hold on to. You want them, don't you?"
It's hard to concentrate when you have voices in your head. Amy does her best, focusing on the flame and making sure it gets fed enough to keep lit. "Not now.." she thinks to the voice.
"/And why not?/" the voice demands, "/I'm the most important thing in your life!"
The flame flares up in a fireball, reminiscent of the fumes from an oil lamp! Poooft! and it's gone. "You fed it too quickly," Natasha points out the obvious.
"I was distracted," Amelia grumbles. She cracks her knuckles, rolls her shoulders and blows a stray hair out of her face. Then she sticks out the index finger of her right hand. "Okay, let's try again.. just with my finger," she requests.
"I can help, you know," the voice in Amelia's head offers.
"Let me try on my own first!" Amy snaps back mentally. "I'm not ready to have a familiar yet."
"Calm. You need to focus on being calm," Natasha says ... and Amelia's ever helpful voice adds, "You're my familiar, you know." The khatta now reaches out and touches her fingertip to Amelia's, then lifts it up and away. A thread of blue flame follows like hot cheese. Hm, does that make it a bleu flame?
Amy tries to hold on to her end of the thread. Calm.. calm.. calm.. Well, calm was never Amelia's thing, really. How do you will yourself to be calm without getting angry?
Maybe having something to focus on helps you calm down. When the flame separates from Natasha's finger ... it remains lit and 'burning' on Amelia's fingertip. No, make that a claw tip. Her 'nail' has changes into a blood red talon. She didn't even feel it happen.
Staring at the flame, Amy falls back on her normal way of dealing with spirits.. intimidation! "You WILL obey me, little flame!" she thinks.
The flame ... changes shape into a miniature be-horned kadie-girl! It blows a raspberry at Amelia and poofs out of existence! "That is a first for me," Natasha admits. "So I have to ask: What did you do?"
Amelia grumbles. "I.. told it to obey me," she mutters. "But my demon took over, I guess. It think I'm its familiar!"
"Ah, yes. Well, a willful spirit has to be subdued and dominated into its natural position," Natasha remarks, looking mildly amused with a quirk of her lips. "I must admit, this is a good turn of events, at least. You have a natural motivator."
The Kadie frowns deeper. "Wait.. are you saying I need to subdue the demon.. or that I need to be subdued?" she asks.
"Well, you need to subdue the demon," Natasha notes, "Unless you want to allow it to become the dominant personality."
"I can make the time you spend with that Zahn more fun..." the voice in her head offers.
"How do you subdue a demon?" Amy asks, leaning forward. "Is there a trick? Do I have to beat it up?"
"It varies demon to demon. In some cases you have to prove you are better at what it desires most than it is," Natasha answers and sits back a bit. "In others, you just have to prove yourself stronger in a general sense. And in even others, it involves accepting the demon in some fashion."
"The best way to find the answer to how to subdue a particular one is to understand its origin," Natasha adds.
"It wants to kill people most, I think," Amy says, tapping her chin in thought. "I think I'm stronger since it hasn't taken me over, right? But I inherited this one; I think it's bound to my bloodline. My ancestor carried it when she brought everyone here from Tursdi and slaughtered all of the non-Skeek locals."
"Yes, but what created it? How did it get bound to your bloodline? Those are the points you need to understand," Natasha says, "And yes, for now you are stronger. Depending on what you do ... it may grow in strength until it does take over."
"Of course there is the option of completely destroying it through ritual," Natasha offers. "It would be risky, but it would be possible to obliterate it from your line."
"Wouldn't that.. kill me?" Amy asks, leaning back a bit. "It's part of my own spirit isn't it? I was born with it."
"There is a risk of that, yes," Natasha concedes. "I am just giving you the options at hand."
"You'll grow to love me, I promise!" the voice in Amelia's head cackles.
The Kadie says, "I can't destroy it; it's part of the town's history and might be needed again someday. I guess the accepting it part is most likely to work.. but it's such an annoying creature!"
"Annoying in what way?" Natasha asks. Amusingly, the voice in Amelia's head asks the exact same question!
"It talks to me!" Amy complains. "It says it can help me with magic and sex and probably cooking if I were trying that too."
"I'm a lousy cook. I prefer to eat meat ... raw" the voice inside her head claims.
"So, you're telling me that it acts ... like an older sister?" Natasha asks.
"It's not even like a Kadie at all," Amelia notes. "It wants me to wear horns, and eat meat! I'm pretty sure it wants to be the one in charge."
"You want me in charge, too," the voice claims. "Oh, of course it does. All spirits want to be in charge in some sense. It's because they are often modeled after something deemed Godlike," Natasha explains and shrugs.
"So.. do I pretend to worship it or something?" Amy asks.
"Only if you want it in charge," Natasha says. "If you want to subdue it, you'll have to learn its true origins, I suspect. That, I'm afraid, is outside the scope of these lessons."
"You don't have any suggestions for how to do that?" Amy asks.
"For how to do what? Learn its origins?" Natasha asks.
"Yeah, can I ask it?" Amy asks. "Or will it just lie?"
"Oh, it'll likely lie," Natasha says. "One possible way to learn its origins would be to spirit-dive into it and see its own memories of its beginnings. That would likely be unpleasant, considering what you have told me."
"What's spirit-diving?" Amelia asks, her tail bristling a bit. "Is that what we did with Bravil?"
"Correct," Natasha says and nods. She snaps her fingers, summons a small ball of blue flame, then tosses it at Amelia. "Catch," she says calmly.
Amy reflexively grabs for the ball with both hands.
Amelia manages to catch the ball. It flares brightly for a second ... then settles down. She finds herself clutching a cool-feeling flame in her hands. More surprisingly, it seems to be staying.
"Oh.. not thinking about it helps too I suppose.." she comments to Natasha.
"You try by not trying," Natasha claims. "Which is total nonsense. You have to find the point where you try enough, but do not force it. It's about flow, not force. Of course the serpent would tell you otherwise, but be prescribes to a more brute-force technique."
"How is it your familiar is so... snarky?" Amy asks. "It's not a demon too is it?"
"Well, in a sense he is. I created him and shaped him over time to be more independent. It made for companionship during nights of late study in the lab and office," Natasha admits. "It is not a simple spirit."
"Tell me though.. did it start getting more independent once you got to Sylvania?" the Kadie asks.
Natasha has to think on that. "He was rarely summoned here," she says, "But if I compare behavior now to earlier, perhaps he has become more independent here. That is a curious observation, one I should research."
"This place is special, after all," Amy says. "I think that's why the demon brought my great-great-grandma here."
"Sylvania does have a reputation for fostering the development of powerful spirits. That may explain why the Necromancer Queen had an interest in these lands; they could feed her unnatural existence," Natasha surmises.
"And that does not touch on the current rumors that abound about Draco County and its mysterious ruler. She is often claimed to be a demon herself," Natasha adds and shrugs. "Though ... that is a bit silly. She likely uses simple tricks to appear powerful."
"Neither of them ever came to Stonebarrow," Amelia says proudly, and tries tossing the fireball a bit from hand to hand. "How do you make the flame?"
"Just learning control is not enough for you today?" Natasha asks, brow arching.
"That's also something to control!" Amy notes. "Besides, I think I'd do better if it was something I'd actually created myself."
"Patience is not a virtue of a kadie, is it?" Natasha asks, amused.
"We're patient!" Amy claims. "It's just that we do everything faster, so it only looks like we're impatient!"
"Here lies a difficulty. To create it you must be calm and slow, at least at your level of understanding. Rushing will produce nothing," Natasha remarks, snaps her fingers, and snuffs out the light Amelia was holding. "But ... I suppose knowing how to create one would give you something to practice with. Now, you have heard mages often chant spells, yes?"
"I've seen you and Mage Qing do that," Amelia says. "Isolde wouldn't call it that though."
"What would she call it?" Natasha asks.
"Overly-complicated mumbo-jumbo, or something like that," Amy notes, grinning. "But most of what witches do is just for show anyway."
Natasha actually huffs a laugh at that. "Now, in College you woudl be taught very particular phrases to chant; implying there is importance to the specific words. In reality ... it is not so closely tied. The chanting is a way to focus and direct. And no, not with language. It's ... like the wind or the stream. The sound has a flow. You can also think of it as singing, perhaps. It is less important about what you say and more important about how you focus and feel. You use the chant as a guide for focus," Natasha explains. "This is also why all mages of advanced skill develop particular styles; they learn what works best for them in guiding the magic of the world. I know I should not be telling you this first thing, but I feel there is little point in forcing you to learn the College structured education pattern. So ... what I want you to do is close your eyes and say, chant, or sing, how you would envision creating light in your hands."
Amelia hmms, and holds out her hands again, cupping them together and then closes her eyes. "Light.. light.. what do say to mean light? What does light sound like?" she thinks, her tail lashing back and forth. Part of the problem is that Amelia is basically a physical being, and tends to think of magic that way too. So instead of holding her hands still, she decides to let them move. Oddly, she falls back on the moves that Lili taught her, moving her hands and arms like serpents or waves, then tries to find a sound to go with that. It comes out like a chittering hiss.
It's a good thing Amelia has her eyes closed because Natasha is giving her an extremely odd look. The sort of look one gives to someone they believe is probably insane. Amelia also misses the surprise on Natasha's face when what Amelia is doing actually works. Amelia feels her cupped hands grow cooler as she rolls them. The light in her palms is dim, far dimmer than what Natasha conjured, but it is there. It doesn't look so much like flame as a spherical ball of light. It's also blood red instead of blue.
Once she feels something is there, Amy opens her eyes to see what she's wrought. "Wow," she mutters in surprise. "Maybe I should dance my magic instead of chant."
"That's how the savanites do magic. There is no chanting with them, they dance everything. Which is why I explained it as flow more so than specific words," Natasha remarks. "It is also good that Liliana has no interest in magic, else she would make all men her thralls. And probably some women."
Blinking, Amy looks at Natasha and asks, "You can do that with magic?"
"Seduction? Of course you can. There are some religious sects that make that their focus," Natasha notes. "And don't get any ideas."
"I can help you with those ideas," Amelia's friendly friend offers.
"My demon already has them," Amy notes. "But I don't need to seduce anyone. Maybe just tease Djivan."
"Come to think of it.. that might be how the original Amelia gathered up such a big force and got them to follow her here," the Kadie realizes.
"Well, I won't be helping you with that, sorry," Natasha says.
Amelia focuses on her light ball, wondering what else to do with it. So, she tries to make it brighter by feeding it some more.. just a little bit.
The ball does get a little brighter, until it's about as bright as a candle flame. Amelia smiles and tries to hold it there.
"Impressive for a first try," Natasha approves. It's also about then she feels a couple pinpoint claws prick into the top of her left foot! It's not super painful, just ... distracting.
"Hey!" Amy yelps, and looks down towards her feet, pulling the ball back towards her chest as she leans back.
The ball's light flickers and gets dangerously close to going out!
And Amelia spots the retreating black foot of a certain khatta.
Amelia hugs the ball to her chest, and gives Natasha a look. "Was that to try and make be drop my ball?" she asks.
"You have to be able to focus and maintain in spite of what goes on in your environment. Would you wish to be the reason that corrupt spirits invaded the town because you were distracted when you stubbed your toe?" Natasha asks, grinning her feline grin.
"I can still fight them with my claws!" Amelia says, a bit defensively. "Well my demon claws. And I bet I can figure out how to extend that to my sword or other weapon. Isolde says I can be a War Witch, so.."
"I think you need to focus on less violent things," Natasha remarks. "Or is that your demon talking?"
"Heeheeheeheehee," the voice cackles in Amelia's mind.
"I've always been violent though," Amelia points out. "I'm really good at it! I mean, not all Kadies are violent.. but most of us are. It's natural!"
"But is that you or your companion?" Natasha points out. She also waves her hand once and the ball cupped in Amelia's hand suddenly vanishes. It's an odd feeling. Amelia can actually sense its lack. It's like a small space trying to pull its surroundings in.
"What was that?" Amy asks. "Dispel? And.. well, my demon wants to fight too. That's what we have in common, I guess. It's what.. brings us together? Like when we were going after Lili when she was kidnapped!"
"Well, exorcise. Specific to the sphere of spirit. Dispel as a general spell is of the sphere of chaos," Natasha explains and lowers her hand. "One of the most useful spells to learn. I'll teach the basics to you next time, I just wanted you to understand its feel and think on it until then. It will guide you in learning it. As for your demon ... it sounds like you like having it, then."
"It's.. been useful on occasion," Amy says. "Like for catching ghosts and stuff.."
"Aw, you do like me," Amelia 'hears' her companion coo in her mind. "Maybe you could go out in the forest sometimes and ... let me loose."
"Okay, so I want you to summon your light back. I'll drill you on concentration and focus," Natasha offers. "And show you techniques to improve control, such as meditation and finding inner peace." There the khatta has to pause and think about that. "Perhaps meditation is not the right technique for you. Maybe you should just chop wood."
"I'm good at chopping wood!" Amelia says, as she prepares to recast her light ball. "And I doubt the demon will have anything to add when I'm doing that.."