Deviance and Discovery

[Akemi Lancaster Rare]

"The weather outside is horrendous...and people expect me to get out of here." she sighed as she flicked the blinds closed with simple telekinesis, plopping down on the couch, feeling the curious shadows in the corner coming over to her. She was bored out of her mind, and no way in her right mind would she go out in this...disturbingly extreme weather, so she resided to have the shadows gather in her palm and lazily float, swirl, like a small fish. She had a soft smile on her face as they did so. The shadows, were like a pet to her. A little companion, an ally. She did not control them, she had a sort of symbiotic relationship. The shadows provided strength, and she respected them in return.

She messed with them, as if they were a spool of string, making a cat's cradle between her fingers, then letting them disperse. She didn't expect any of her siblings to approach her, as they all seemed to keep to themselves. So she sat cross legged on the couch, messing with her magical powers like a child would play with a doll. She always was fascinated by her abilities, and she tended to keep experimenting with them as such. @ Asher Harrington

[Asher Harrington Rare Rare]

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.

[Akemi Lancaster Rare]

Akemi looked up, focus disturbed. The shadows curled at the sudden interruption, and gathered around her palm like a pet clinging to its owner. "Messing with magic. I'd rather not subject myself to such torture at the horrendous weather," she commented, letting the shadows swirl and shape, then letting it disperse back into the darkness. "Besides, in here is a nice place to practice umbrakinesis...the shadows in here are stronger, and the ambiance and silence makes it all the more better." she rested her arm on the armrest and put her chin in her hands. She had seen her half-sibling around before, always running about in the cabin, with some books on a topic she wasn't really sure about.

"I would like to safely assume you're in here the same reason as I, no?" she tilted her head, curious. "After all, it seems that most of our siblings have departed to endure the weakness of sunlight."

[Asher Harrington Rare Rare]

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.

Edited January 11, 2023 by Asher Harrington

[Akemi Lancaster Rare]

Akemi let her shadows gather once more. "Oh?" she said, looking at her magic, then up at her sibling, twirling her hair with her finger. "How do I explain it... Umbrakinesis," she started slowly, letting the silky black ribbons of the night vanish once more, "Is a rare ability. For children of Hecate. I was born with it, I am unsure why, perhaps by chance, fate, I'm not sure," she shrugged. "But nonetheless, it's just- an instinct I was born with. I was just in sixth grade when I figured this out. The shadows felt my need to be invisible, and thus...I heard them calling to me." she let the shadows curl around her hand and fingers again, smiling.

"Many children of the dark, like Hades, Nyx, have a more jurisdiction over the shadows, so they can command it as they please. For Hecate children, it's more like...how do I put this...a symbiotic relationship." she beckoned the shadows to hover in front of Asher, like a curious little cloud. "Respect the dark, and shall it serve you. That's how you could probably learn this magic. It takes a lot of time, however."

[Asher Harrington Rare Rare]

Asher was immediately curious, which she had to admit, was not something that happened easily. When her half-sister said the shadows helped fill that need to become invisible, she wondered what she meant or why she meant it. "Why did you feel the need to be invisible? Invisible from what?" Asher had never herself felt the need to hide. She knew she drew attention to herself whenever she walked into a room but she could never tell what kind of attention she was attracting specifically. She knew there were many reasons why someone would want to come up to her, but it took her a bit to understand what the intentions were. Perhaps that was also a reason she didn't trust people easily. She never knew what they were truly up to and she knew she was in a position people would want to take advantage of.

She looked down at the shadows she casted. It would be easy to share with Akemi why the interest in her abilities but it wasn't in Asher's nature to be the one that shared. If she was asked, maybe she would consider it and do so but never out of her own accord. It always felt like such a weakness to do so. "How long did it take you to control it? That is, assuming you can control it? Do you ever feel like you could beat one of the children of Hades and Nyx at it?"

[Akemi Lancaster Rare]

"People are not something I normally gravitate to." she replied simply. It was true to her, at least. She was observant, and disliked socializing. Akemi watched others, and was not used to having the attention and eyes on her. And she'd keep it that way as long as she possibly could. She could tell, by the way her sibling carried herself, she was a social person. Someone used to interaction, someone who was distrustful. The shadows, she felt, favored her more than the other siblings she interacted with. They kind of liked her nature. It was up to them to decide who they liked; it wasn't exactly something you could force.

"Ah well," she said, startled, the shadows turning to her in curiosity. Of course it wanted to know. "I couldn't really best any of the kids of those with the more...true control over things. A Nyx kid has more control over the darkness than a Hecate kid; we merely just work with it. It's not really in our mother's domain to exert such control of the dark." she thought for a moment about her history with this symbiotic relationship with the shadows. "I've controlled shadows since I was...what, 11? I was in middle school, I believe." she thought a bit more, watching the shadows. "You can't fully control them, you know." she finally stated, her voice hushed and careful. "Remember, Hecate kids are masters of magic. Spellcasters. Shadows are drawn to those they see fit for us. Those with that potential. Whether our parent allows us for it to happen, or it finds us worthy. It's an entity, almost. So do not try and assert your dominance, if you're looking for that power. Try and work with it. That's pretty much what I did; I asked for it to help me, and it did. Perhaps it came more naturally for me than most. But that's mostly what happened, from what I can recall." 

"Oh, one last thing," she crossed her arms as she leaned back, "Don't listen to it too much. They're finnicky. They like to mess with you, test you. So if it seems to offer too much control, do not fall for it. This is a really cheesy thing to say, but don't be consumed by the darkness."

[Asher Harrington Rare Rare]

Asher had never been the most social person in the traditional sense. She had learned how to network from her father and as a result she was always present where things happened. She talked to people and show genuine interest in them. She could be charming, carefree and endearing with a natural ability to show like what the other person was saying was the most interesting thing in the world. Was it hypocritical? It could be but there were far worse things one could be doing in her opinion. 

She nodded, wanting her opinion on the matter. She had a feeling Nyx and Hades kids would have them beat in that domain but a part of her thought that mixing both tools they could be better at it. After all, there didn't seem to be anything their magic couldn't do. It was just a matter of exploiting it. "You asked for its help and you got it," she said. "I would have never thought about it that way but honestly I think that is the best way to describe it. I have been trying to learn it but there is something that blocks me. Maybe it is trying to gain control rather than flow with it." She bit her lips for a moment thinking. Maybe that was the true key to it all. Tristan had certainly never told her that. 

What her half sister said next did spark her attention more than anything else. "What do you mean? Can you heard them? What do they say? I think we are all predisposed to being intrigued by that. I may be more curious than it is wise." But she did want to know and Asher had a small habit of standing just too close to the edge of the cliff for anyone's taste. She always wanted to see just how far she could get, taste the adrenaline. Honestly, it was a matter of luck she had never ventured too close to sun.

[Akemi Lancaster Rare]

"It's more of a sensation, I would describe. You know the saying, play with fire and you'll eventually get burned, or something? It's like, the more you use it, especially for your own gain, the less it will respect you." she messed with the ends of her hair. "It is my own thought that, well, the shadows of a sort of personification as opposed to an actual being. It helps me control it better, to know whatever it wants, whether it is a conscious being or not. But they don't exactly speak, per se, its just a subconscious feeling, like a 6th sense. That's the most accurate way I can describe it, and I'm going off of intuition. It may not be super accurate to everyone since it's just my perspective, in fact." she clasped her hands as they rested on her knees, leaning a bit forward to think. "It can be an acquired power, Umbrakinesis, I know that. Technically, we all can control shadows, or even the dead; it is those with the innate, born talent that can cast it nonverbally. That's magic, anyway."

She looked up at her half-sister. "Have you made any progress thus far? I mean, we all have to start somewhere, and if you don't want to answer, you don't have to. I'm merely curious after all. Even at this current moment, anything is good. Reading material, as well as just experimenting with spells, can also most definitely help with this goal." Akemi was intrigued; to see someone blossoming into this power so late in life instead of learning it at more of a young age. It was entertaining to her, almost, but she also just wanted to help her out. Umbrakinetics were rare, and it'd be nice to have someone to relate to in the cabin.

[Asher Harrington Rare Rare]

Asher would be lying if she didn't admit that the only reason she wanted to learn how to use the ability was for whatever it was she needed. She wanted to be more powerful and after being able to do whatever sort of magic she wanted, the next step was learning how to control the darkness and the shadows. She had always felt naturally drawn to the night as she was a child of Hecate but there was more to it than that. She felt like they were inviting her in. Almost like a calling and it was hard to resist not wanting to just embrace the whole thing. "I see what you are saying. I just had never thought of it that way. I am barely breaking through. I think I can be good at it but learning it has been hard because I didn't know where to start." She shrugged.

That had been her biggest struggle was knowing where was the starting point. After that everything was easy but she struggled on figuring things out from zero. "I can do very small castings but Tristan is helping with that. Do you guys talk about it? He is also an umbrakinetic."

[Akemi Lancaster Rare]

"Interesting," Akemi twirled her hair around her finger. She never really had spoken to her siblings much, but knew a lot about their behaviors from watching them in the shadows, observing them all at her own discretion. Perhaps it was ignorant in her eyes, but it hadn't hit her until now that some of her siblings didn't utilize their mystokinetic abilities as commonly or as often as herself. Then again, some wanted to rely not on magic but on their own skill for things, but during the conversations with her half-sibling, it was someone first learning about the potential they had. "It's definitely hard at first," she gestured to the shadows, which swirled around her wrists and hand like tendrils, "It took me 3 years from when I came here to control them properly and to use them in battle."

"Start small at first, build up your magical knowledge and stamina; it takes a lot of energy to cast spells, let alone learn umbrakinesis. I passed out a lot when I first learned magic, and even now I can only cast about 20 spells a day, and that's with repercussions. But I think you could do it; you have the motivation and potential but just need a bit more time. But don't take my opinion on that, that's just what I think," she stated bluntly. "I wish you the best of luck though. Maybe I should talk to Tristan...perhaps he has a different perspective on the shadows."

[Asher Harrington Rare Rare]

(I just saw you replied. Sorry)

Asher nodded and while Akemi spoke her own mind wondered. She couldn't imagine having to wait three years to harness and develop an ability. Well, she could imagine it had she started earlier in life but now, in her twenties, it seemed to late and too much of a risk to wait that long to become good at something as important as that. "Why did you pass out so much? Too much exersion? I am just trying to understand the process. Tristan says it is emotion driven and I have never been good at emotions so I don't know to even go about it. I think logically with a step by step process. I guess that is why I never got it, but there were times, instances even when it came out."