Asher Harrington

Asher did fall into some of the stereotypes of the Hecate kids. She was not an early riser and she could stay up all throughout the night conjuring spells without noticing the time, but every once in a while she did enjoy being different and doing things just because that was why she enjoyed doing them. A nice sunny afternoon during late summer was one of those hidden pleasures. There was just something about it that hit different. "I'm surprised you didn't wait until later," she said. "Besides, the sunshine isn't that bad. It can be quite refreshing when the temperatures are not extremely hot." She got closer, taking a seat close to her and took a deep breath. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you learn to do that?" She added, pointing at her magic.

Asher didn't really know how to relax or how to do anything for fun. When she wasn't at camp, she was in New York and while her life in New York allowed her to do whatever she wanted at a moment's notice, it also meant she had real responsibilities and things she had to attend to that she couldn't neglect. So was the life of an heir and Asher took her role in her father's company seriously. After all, there were so many people that relied on her to keep things afloat and continue expanding the business. Besides, she still lacked the experience necessary and if she didn't start now, when would she ever? That being said, her current discussion was more than boring and despite her polite replies and fake engagement, she managed to excuse herself for a moment.

Just a moment to breathe. She didn't mind the work that came with her position but she could not stand boring interactions. Those just felt eternal and honestly, who had time for that? So taking a step away, Asher took a deep breath to clear her mind. She would much rather be elsewhere but she couldn't think of an excuse to leave. Before she could even think of that further, she felt someone bump into her in a way that almost felt intentional. Her first reaction was to turn around and when she did so, she looked at him in surprise. "Can I help you?" Naturally Asher had seen him before but for the life of hers, and taking into consideration she wasn't the most sociable being at camp, she could not remember his name.

Asher was almost scared to open her eyes and it was an emotion that she wasn't sure why she was feeling. It was as though if maybe she kept her eyes closed then the image she had in her head of the shadow in her palm would remain true and she wouldn't open her eyes to discover disappointment. But it felt so real, like she could genuinely touch what was on her hand so maybe if she opened it, she would finally come to terms with her skills. "Oh my god," she said, not really knowing how to respond after what felt like such an ordeal. The last couple of days had kept her exhausted but she didn't want to stop now. She wanted to finish what she had started. "So how do I manipulate it? Same process? I can't believe I got it finally."

Asher's own sleeping schedule was all over the place. As a child of Hecate, she already didn't sleep much at night and stayed up until sunrise, making it hard to interact with people from the other cabins. But that wasn't an unusual situation at camp. All the other demigods and even the tutors and teachers knew that the Hecate kids were not reliable at eight or nine in the morning. If one really wanted them to participate, they needed to do tournaments at midnight, when their powers were at their strongest and they could truly show off what it was like to be a child of the night. Hence, that is why Asher was up at the moment.

She hadn't gone outside all day, not even realizing it was much nicer outside rather than the disrespectful weather phenomenon happening outside the cabin's borders. She could be quite oblivious to her surroundings whenever she was focused on something and this time she was almost done reading through her mother's grimoire to notice anything else. That was until she felt a usual coldness that she was only vaguely familiar with and she looked up from the book. The grimoire floated just in front of her and Asher raised her eyes to meet her half sister sitting by herself in what seemed like deep thought. "What are you doing?" She asked, not meaning to get to the bottom of it but Asher was not known for beating around the bush.

Asher looked at Sage in surprise at her abrupt source of energy. She was being so loud for it being so late at night and there was certainly no need to be screaming. She certainly didn't know how she could be of any help to their little quest so Asher didn't really know how to reply. Not even when Loukas had mentioned she was studying some of their magic. Was she now? Asher didn't doubt that was true but what gave her some reservations was the fact that even if she did claim to know about magic, she was not one to practice it so could her insight be useful besides the mere theory of it all? Before she could say much else, Loukas was saying good bye to them both and Asher raised her eyebrow in surprise, thinking she knew exactly what he was planning to do once they were alone. "Have fun you two," she said, in perhaps the first lighten tone she had possessed in the last three days.

Once they were alone, Asher turned back to Tristan and sighed. "Let's try this again, shall we?" She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and waited a few minutes. She focused on the energy around her. Darkness was just another form of energy. She had learned to cast spells before, those were energies in themselves. She could do this as well. She opened the palms of her hands but her eyes remained closed. She thought and she focused. She imagined a small flame, and rather than it producing light, she imagined it cold and heavy on her touch. Black holes were supposed to be dense, no? And they were genuinely the only true source of darkness. The more she imagine each little aspect of her flame, tracing it in her mind, the more she felt it on her palm. Just a twitch here and there so that when she opened her eyes, the little shadow was at the top of her palm. "Well, would you look at that. Is that what I think it is?"

Asher looked up at Joaquin with intrigue. She wasn't her mother's greatest fan but even she wasn't one to let go of her abilities or even prevent any of her half siblings from acquiring theirs. It seemed odd that he wasn't allowed to own a pair of those sneakers because, well, they looked like fun. She could imagine so many things to do with those, and yes, she had to admit not all of those thoughts were for doing things that followed the rules. "What does that even have to do with your father? They are just sneakers, no? And you can fly in them. What is the big deal if they let you have a pair? If my half siblings didn't allow me to do magic because I didn't like my mother I would be very annoyed. No one should tell you what you are allowed to do and not to do." Asher frowned for a moment because she truly meant it. She never put up with people that wanted to implement their own rules on her and she certainly was not one to condone such behavior. 

When she turned to look back at Joaquin, her expression softened. "Just because he is a god doesn't mean he is a good father or even a good being. His moral compass should supersede that of the average mortal, not be below it," she said. "Uh, sure. But I don't want to use my powers to do that. I think we should go to the Hermes cabin and take some of your father's sneakers and show your half siblings you can do whatever you want whenever you want. You are just as entitled to them as anyone else."

Asher chuckled. She knew James was older than her but somehow she never quite felt like anyone around her was older. Even Arsen, who was a couple minutes older, seemed like a little kid to her. Maybe it was due to their personality and disposition. Not that she thought everyone that had a more lively and bubbly personality was younger but to her it was hard to associate someone like that with the authoritative persona that came with age. She shook her head and gently shoved James. She didn't say anything more to that and the conversation quickly changed to her siblings.

Asher knew she was not the most approachable person and she knew she had to work on changing that if she was going to build a life for herself. She just wasn't sure how and she did have a tendency not to try too hard on matters that didn't come naturally to her. "They can always ask me themselves, you know?" She said. "I know I am not the most approachable person but it is not like I am impossible to talk to." But could she blame them when she herself had never tried to talk to them either? No, she could not. She didn't say much else after that, especially when James just confirmed what she knew to be true about their god parents. It was hard to know they were just the flavor of the month. Like they were nothing more than a happy accident as the result of a one night stand. Seriously, gods should stop procreating.

Asher chuckled again at James' enthusiasm. Honestly, spending time with him was like a never ending comedy show. He always seemed to know how to lighten the mood. "Aren't we a bit old for that, though?" She said. "I mean, can you imagine me walking around with Minnie Mouse ears and some cotton candy?"

Asher didn't have a bad childhood by any means but it hadn't been the easiest easier. After her father had died, and even a few occasions prior, Asher had had to grow up and learn how to take care of herself and her brother. Though Arsen was technically older, he wasn't much of an older brother in the things that mattered. He wasn't there for her when she had needed him or took on the role of protective sibling when the situation demanded it. She had learned to deal with his and her own issues and figure out a way to move forward. As a result, Asher had always taken care of Asher and it was hard for her to let other people care and be there for her. She didn't know how not to do things on her own. She didn't even know how to let others in. 

She knew she wasn't the easiest person to deal with. She was always suspicious of people and analyzed their every movement. She didn't know how to trust but she was genuinely trying to work on it. She smiled and looked at James with the softest glance she had ever given anyone. "You're a good kid," she said. "What do they say though? Besides, Tristan, I haven't actually tried much to get to know them. I should do but it is just a bit weird. I know it is no one's fault that our mother had different families, but somehow it feels like one for her was not enough. You ever feel like that?" She was surprised at herself to have even managed to put those thoughts together. She hadn't actually thought she knew how to express what she felt when she interacted with her siblings but putting it into words seemed like the best first step.

"Have you been to Disney World? We never did. I mean, my dad did intend on taking us but somehow something or the other always got in the way and we never got around to it. I do not think I've ever been to an amusement park at all." While other kids went to Disney World or the county fair or summer camp, Asher's summers were spent interning for her dad or going abroad to Europe and Asia or taking intensive college courses. There never seemed to be a summer just to do something fun, but then again, Asher had never truly asked for it and it never felt like she had missed out on it. She did wonder if Arsen felt the same, and if his perception of their childhood was entirely different.

Asher took a deep breath. She knew she needed to sleep. It was evident that was the case when the words on the page kept jumping at her but she could not make sense of anything. Everything was a blur and it was frustrating not feeling like she was in control of the situation. But alas, the choice was made and all Asher could do was simply to do what she could with the information she had. She just had to focus and pretend to know what she was doing. How hard could it be after all? Without waiting for Tristan to reply, Asher took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She had to focus on the here and the now, on what she could feel and what she could see.

But before she could do that, she was interrupted and turned her attention to the newcomers entering the cabin. It shouldn't have been a surprise to see people coming in and out of cabin 20 at all hours of the morning, after all, Hecate kids had a tendency to sleep during the day and be up at night, but perhaps it was her own lack of knowing what time it was that made Asher jump up when the door open. It took her a moment to reply as she looked from her half sibling to Sage, back to Loukas. "I am trying to practice umbrakinesis. What are you guys doing here?"

Alias: Mar
Characters you are Keeping: Asher and Arsen Harrington

Asher could be quite the fidgeting person, especially when she was overwhelmed and didn't know how to proceed. She was having a hard time concentrating on this one task and she felt it was very evident. She was trying hard to relax but it was hard for her to push all her thoughts aside and simply breathe. The sound of her pounding heart was definitely not helping. But Tristan seemed to have thought about that and suddenly she began to hear music. She was surprised that he had remembered that, as she did not recall having told him that before but alas when the soft music started playing, Asher was brought back into the moment and she did feel more at ease. 

"Okay, let me try this again."  She took a deep breath and let the music flow before she started concentrating again. She began to think about the flame. It was blue but it was cold. It felt slightly like frozen water but the texture was different, more mist like than liquid. "It feels like mist," Asher said, her eyes closed. "Am I in the right direction? What do I do now?"

 

Asher had not expected everything that came out of Tristan's mouth. When she had asked him if he was okay, she meant it. After all, she wasn't one to simply ask if she was not interested. She wasn't the easiest person to talk to or approach but for the people she cared for, that was all set aside. She didn't speak for what felt like an eternity and just listening to Tristan's story of abuse made her blood boil. She wasn't sure what it was as she had never felt this intense hatred for someone she didn't know. All the people she disliked simply went into this box of indifference. This was an entirely different thing altogether and nothing that Asher could ever relate to. She had never felt neglected by her mortal parent or was ever abused. When her father was alive, he had taken the role of parent seriously and despite his hectic work life, he had always made it to every school recital and parent/teacher conference. He had been present and that was something she was eternally grateful for. Not to mention their aunt did help fill that void that was left by her mother.

Asher took a deep breath and walked over to Tristan, wrapping her arms around him and holding him close. "You never have to see her ever again and you always have a place to go to. Like I said, you don't just have to come for the holidays. That is your house too. I mean, you're my brother. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you." And she meant it. She let go of him for a moment, and gave her a soft smile. She couldn't quite imagine him during those years and she felt slightly guilty for never asking but that situation wasn't something she ever thought of asking any of her siblings. After all, it could be a delicate subject. "Cold huh? I mean, that makes sense given there is no light or warmth. How would you generate it if there was no source?"

Asher had been able to develop the ability to focus on her spell but still be able to have other thoughts on her mind. This meant that even if she had her attention on Joaquin, she still mentally chuckled when he made the comment about flying. He was not actually flying as much as he was floating but she was none the wiser to bring him down from that cloud. He could think what he wanted in regards to this spell. "Well no, you would not be able to move on your own, but the spells works quite differently when the person casting it is the person floating. We can do different things." As she was finishing her thoughts, it seemed he had suggestions of his own and she turned to look at him.

"Can't you as a child of Hermes already flight without needing me? A flying spell is different from a floating spell. We would have to do something else. Besides, you do have those sneakers with the wings, no? Or am I just making stuff up at this point?" She chuckled now herself and lowered him slowly until he was back on the ground. "We would have to go outside if you really wanted to do a flying spell."

When Asher spoke, she always did so with a matter of fact tone, as though nothing was a big deal because it was simply the reality. While that was usually the case, there were times when she wanted to go more in depth and actually talk about what was going on in her mind, she just didn't know how to. She wasn't the most open person and truth be told, she had no idea how to be. Unless someone asked her a direct question, she was never the one to bring it up herself. So when James asked her, it took her a moment to really know what she should feel about it. "Well, I mean, yes, but I never really thought about that way. It was always just something I had to do. I suppose, yes, it can be very lonely." She shrugged. "As for that magic, Tristan is helping me with it. It is just taking longer than I had anticipated." 

She sighed, then took a deep breath before turning to look at James with curiosity. "Cedar Point? I mean, sure but what is there to do there?" Asher wasn't trying to be a snob about it but she was looking at James as though she was truly had no idea what he was offering. As a native New Yorker, Asher did have that mentality of never wanting to leave New York. It was the center of her universe so what was she going to do in Ohio? But alas, she had to admit, she was curious to see it. Maybe it was would a nice break and she hadn't taken one of those in a while. 

"Huh," Was all Asher could say. Tristan's explanation made sense and the more the thought about it the more everything slowly came together but just because it made sense, it didn't make it easier and Asher had to admit that she did feel slightly like an idiot for not having figured it out before when it seemed so obvious. Right now all Asher had to do was relax, which was easier said than done when the girl had no idea what it meant to slow down and do something for fun. But she tried it anyway. She closed her eyes, took several deep breaths and relaxed her shoulders. She could feel her heart pounding hard against her chest. A sound that she felt could be heard all around her.

Disrupt the frequency of light. Okay, sure. Asher kept thinking about what Tristan was saying. A candle. The candle is cream color, with its flame a light blue. Light blue because that is the hottest temperature there is with fire. Would it light the room the same way? Honestly by this point Asher's mind was going a mile a minute. "I can't concentrate. All I can hear is the beating of my heart against my skull," she said, opening her eyes. 

Asher wasn't the most emotionally mature person there was. Meaning she wasn't sure how to deal with her own emotions, let alone others. It was a very interesting characteristic since her father, while not an overly emotional man, did have a good handle on his emotions and always encouraged his children to be open about what they were feeling and how to show those emotions in a healthy manner. Quite ironic since neither her nor Arsen really had any on how to do that. While Arsen was wild in his ways, Asher was calm and bordered on being indifferent. So when she saw Tristan sniffle, she looked at him with concern but disbelief. "What's wrong?" She said, not knowing how her offer could be considered an emotional affair. She had offered him sanctuary if he so wanted it. She imagined he would like that.  "We can explore it together. I have a lot of flexibility when I am in the city." That was what happened when you were in charge but she kept that part to herself. 

"What do you mean a source? What would you be using? Do you need sunlight?" In Asher's mind, the way you made a shadow was because an object was hit with light. She would assume both would be connected but as her mother's magic sometimes didn't have a logical explanation, she didn't want to assume. She turned to look at his fingers and then at the sphere that came to be. She saw him shift the sphere to turn shapes and wished she had brougth a notebook to take notes. "Wait, would I feel that if I touched it? It looks solid but I don't know."

Asher was used to the darkness of the Hecate cabin. After all, it was her theory that all of the children of Hecate had an easier time seeing in the dark. Whether or not that was true, she didn't know but she also had never asked. She had always just assumed as the cabin was usually lit up with ever floating candles. She herself didn't really use any artificial lights besides that and she never opened the blinds to let in natural light. There was something about having the blinds drawn that gave her a sense of comfort and she didn't want to move past it. It hadn't occurred to her that people from other cabins wouldn't like it but then again, she hadn't ever invited any one else in.

Asher turned towards Joaquin and chuckled at his almost childlike demeanor. He was so trusting and open as though he knew for a fact she wouldn't hurt him. She wouldn't hurt him, at least not on purpose and it was that blind trust that he placed on her that was almost endearing. "You are too trusting," she said, her voice softer, more playful. She shook her head and took several steps back. "It's not a difficult spell. It is just a different configuration if that makes sense." Hopefully it did, as she didn't want to explain how spells worked.

She lifted her hands to point at the Hermes kid and spoke clearly in ancient Greek. She closed her eyes for a moment, then focused on him. Her spell was simple. All he would feel would be a floating sensation, like being held in midair. "How's that?"

Asher, like her twin brother, could be quite obsessive. It was in their nature. Their father had that same obsessive personality. But they had managed to nurture it for good and managed to put it to good use. After all, that was the only reason they had achieved as much as they had in their lifetime. So now Asher was determined to get this right and she wouldn't rest until she had accomplished it. Now was that a healthy approach to this situation? Of course not but she didn't see it that way. She only saw the end goal and for her that was enough. 

She turned to look at her brother and his calm and soothing voice brought her back into the present. It even warmed her heart a bit. No one had ever called her a big sister and while she knew that was the reality here, it was still quite different. She hadn't realized how much listening to something like that could mean to her. "I don't even know what to say. Thank you," she said, feeling her breathing calm down and her heart relaxing. "Not a spell, you say? Huh. I thought it was the same way as all the other enchantments." It made sense in theory and the fact that she had never thought about it before made her feel silly and unprepared. 

"Blend into it? How do I do that?" Then Tristan snapped his fingers and every candle in the room went dead. It didn't take long for her eyes to adjust but she was still very confused. "If it is not a spell, how do I feel it?:

Asher didn't know much of the personal stories of her siblings but she had to admit that she had also never asked. She knew that everyone had different experiences because it was obvious and it was especially true in siblings. Hell, her own brother had a very different life experience from her and the two of them had been brought up and raised in the same circumstances. So when Tristan asked her if she meant it when she was inviting him to her home, she looked at him with curiosity. "Yeah, I mean it doesn't just have to be the official holidays where everyone is required to make the trip to visit their relatives. You can stay as long as you want. We have more than enough room." And honestly, because they had more than enough room, that big old townhouse could be quite lonely at times. Asher wouldn't mind adding some color to it.

She listened to his explanation and looked down at her own shadow. It was such a natural element. The result of light hitting an object. But while Asher could understand and see its existence, she didn't know where to begin. How to make it herself. "Can you show me?" She said, looking up at her brother. She had always learned better by copying. It was easier for her if she had a pattern to follow, a direct instruction.

Asher didn't even know what to say to his remark. Was she glad that she wasn't his third or fourth option? Could someone really be glad that that was not the case? She was honestly baffled at his peculiar choice of words that she just looked at him like she had nothing to say. She simply chuckled, thinking fine, he wins. She had to admit though that she was intrigued by his presence and to put up a front of complete indifference seemed like a lot.

"You want to be the guinea pig?" Asher asked with surprise and a little disbelief. No one in the other cabins ever wanted to be around the Hecate kids when they were experimenting with their magic and none of the Hecate kids could blame them. After all, things could easily go wrong and no one wanted to be at the receiving end of a spell gone wrong. "I mean, sure. Come on in." She led him inside. There were candles floating around her mother's textbooks and the space looked like it hadn't seen the light of day for years. Quite literally since the only light came from the candles, but Asher liked it this way. It was dim and cozy. 

"I am practicing a levitation spell but I suppose I have never tried with other people. Are you really sure you want to be at the receiving end of this?"

Asher was losing her mind and her patience, that much was true. She had never been particularly patient, especially in the things she didn't understand and this was a challenge she didn't understand. By now the words on her mother's books were blurred and made no sense to her. The letters seemed to be jumping at her from all sides and she didn't know what to make of it. Not to mention the hot wax that had fallen on her arm had managed to be the last straw. A normal person would have said that this was the perfect time to take a break and go do anything else. Preferably, this would be the time to go sleep and maybe come back fresh in the morning, but Asher wasn't entirely a normal person and the way she went about things could be intense. 

She was so ingrained in what she was doing that she didn't even hear the sound of her sibling's voice and jumped up in surprise, making her book fall flat on the ground.. "Don't do that!" She exclaimed. "You can't just sneak up on people." But before Asher could complain further, Tristan went ahead and helped remove the wax from her skin and alleviate the burn. Then she leaned down and grabbed the book, holding up to her chest. "How? I should be able to get this done. After all, it is not impossible. I just don't understand it."

Asher knew that she needed to be closer to her half siblings but somehow she had never arranged to do so. They all lived in the same cabin after all but Asher didn't spent nearly as much time at camp as some other demigods did. She had a life outside of it and the resources to do whatever she wanted. Besides, camp always had this sort of depressing connotation. A reminder of what half of her represented and in all honesty, Asher wasn't entirely thrilled to have an absent godly parent. But now, she was just trying to push that out of the way and work on her magic. Despite whatever Hecate decided to do or not do, Asher was going to take advantage of her abilities.

With Tristan, he had agreed to help her with umbrakinesis, something that was quite challenging and not at all what she expected it to be. Their lessons were not consistent though as Asher had realized that she struggled with it and therefore wasn't as thrilled to get it done. She didn't like being a failure or looking foolish, therefore her motivation always lacked. Maybe that was the problem but she wasn't about to go into detail about it. "Well, a lot more exciting but different. You know, you can always just come visit me. I don't know how you would feel about not being at camp all year round but my place is big enough." She shrugged, not knowing what else to say about it. Being affectionate or overly open wasn't her thing but she did try for the most part. 

"See that is the thing I struggle with, the just getting started. I don't know how to even do one shadow so I am all ears."

Asher let out a small chuckle. She was not amused so her chuckle was not genuine laughter. "Well at least you're honest," she said, refraining from rolling her eyes in annoyance. "I mean, do I have a choice in the matter? You are already here, asking me to hang out like your second choice." She had to admit though that the boy's insistence was intriguing, even if his approach was not entirely pleasing. She was about to add to her commentary when Joaquin bowed and Asher looked at him like now he was genuinely mad. She rolled her eyes, more playfully this time and then let out a long exasperated sigh. "Yeah well, you should be thankful." She added.

Asher took a step closer to the door frame, ready to go back inside and continuing her work. She was busy after all and whatever he had planned didn't sound very productive. "We don't really invite strangers into our cabin," Asher said, matter of fact. "We have a lot of things we don't want anyone to touch. Besides, what I am trying to practice my magic. What do you even want to do?"

Asher was good at everything she tried. That wasn't just to brag or show off, and it wasn't because she was born with this ability to just glide through life. No. Asher excelled at everything she did because she had to. Because there wasn't a choice not to and because excellence was always the unspoken bond that she shared with her father. Everything Calvert Harrington had done in his lifetime, he had done so with the intention succeeding, and he had done so with flying colors. He had built up his family legacy and expanded their empire. He had taken his family's company and turned it into a successful enterprise and he had done so by the time he was thirty. The challenge had never been if he could do, but when he would get it done. So Asher Harrington didn't just overachieve as part of her nature but because she was competing and it had been ingrained into her. Though it seemed that competing with a dead man always meant she would fall short to the list of accomplishments. 

But this whole ordeal, this trying to learn this stupid ability, that wasn't her father's side but her mother's and Asher didn't know how to compete with someone she didn't remember but technically didn't even exist. This year though she was finally going to crack it. She had just turned twenty-two and there was no celebration until she got this done. She had to. She was years overdue. Besides, her mother could do it. Why couldn't she? Some of her half siblings could do it? Why couldn't she? She had every resource at her disposal and the obsessive nature ingrained from her father. Asher Harrington was going to tackle this challenge if it was the last thing she did, and honestly she meant it.

So that was how she found herself at two in the morning, reading over her mother's books trying to learn the spells for it. Well, not spells per se but the rituals, castings, whatever it was. It wasn't unusual for the Hecate cabin to be awake at all odd hours of the night. After all, their powers were stronger at night but Asher had been awake for two days straight and the evidence was scattered in used mugs and the occasional focus aid. Maybe it was that that was causing her to lose focus. She didn't have a hard time reading Ancient Greek after all but by now her mind was just spiraling and mixing up the words. "Absence of light. Absence of light. Absence of light." Asher kept repeating to herself. 

"Go to the root. Focus on the shadows. Can you create shadows if it is already dark in here? Are the candles in the way?" Asher turned from her mother's book to glance at the candles she had set up to float around her. This was her ritual whenever practicing magic and for the most part it helped. But now they little dim lights just kept mocking her and the demigod didn't particularly enjoy the mockery. "Stop," she said, pointing her hand towards the candles. The flame of the candles got sucked into the wax and perhaps it was the rage or desperation or a mixture of both but this made each one of the ten candles floating about burst, the hot candle wax going everywhere, including quite ironically on Asher's arms. "Are you kidding me?!" She yelled, feeling as though the entire cabin was awake and it wasn't the middle of the night.

Asher had never thought that maybe her future could have a different path. The thought never occurred to her. It wasn't like she had ever discussed it with her father. When Arsen proved to be not the ideal candidate for a prodigal child, Asher had taken over. She had been nurtured and raised in that environment and to this day, she had no idea if she genuinely liked it. While Arsen liked to do whatever he wanted, Asher lived by what needed to be done. She took on the harder projects and made the tough decisions and did the things that Arsen genuinely put to the side and never worked on. She had never truly experienced what it was like to slow down and enjoy. Her life was a series of projects that needed to be done and things to accomplish. It was all planned. All meticulous and detailed.

"Well, our magic is supposed to do that. Though there are things about it I haven't quite cracked. It is very annoying." Which was where her mind usually went. Half the time all Asher could think of was how to finally achieve umbrakinesis. It wasn't impossible but she hadn't cracked the code yet. She just wanted to be able to do it. If only so she could say she could do it. Most of what she did didn't have a greater purpose other than just another honor badge to add. If she didn't, she didn't know what else she was supposed to do.  Then there was necromancy, but she wasn't sure she wanted to go and do that. "You know, that is how I feel about what I do or what I need to do. I always do things because if I don't no one else will. After my dad died, it was me and Arsen and he was not going to be the one to organize the funeral or settle the estate, do the taxes, stuff like that. No one has ever actually asked me what I wanted to do. I don't think I even know. But if you do know, I think being a teacher would suit you."