Chapter 32 : It always starts with a training montage (Pinky swear)

 

The Thompsons’ home living room, the Thompsons’ home, Forest Hills, Queens, New York, 26th of January, 14:16

 

“Let’s wait to hear Flashy’s sentiments about that, ok ?” I try to side-step Jessie’s request in the Ancient One’s stead.

 

It doesn’t really work.

 

“But you’re older than him, if you say yes, he’ll let me.” The younger girl points out and I want to groan.

 

In the corner of my eyes, I can see the Ancient One enjoying herself at my expense immensely.

 

I’m sure that this is some sort of payback for annoying her yesterday, and I want to curse past-me quite strongly right about now.

 

“Kamar’Taj is always happy to welcome promising younglings.” The Sorcerer Supreme offhandedly comments, digging my hole even deeper.

 

What she doesn’t say is that they always crave soldiers able to stand against magical threats.

 

I raise a hand toward one of my temples, feeling annoyed, as Iris starts to rub the spot above my heart in a soothing gesture.

 

“Rosie is going to kill me.” I whine softly, not seeing any way out of this.

 

I turn myself back toward the Ancient One, respectful demeanor forgotten since she’s needling me by doing that and totally knows it.

 

“Why did you come here in person anyway ?” I ask, annoyance showing through my voice a little.

 

She chuckles like an immortal is wont to do after successfully pulling a prank.

 

“You were running late and I was wondering if you decided to go back on our agreement.” The Sorcerer Supreme easily answers, her underlying threat remaining unsaid.

 

Please, I’m not stupid enough to try your goodwill.

 

“Sorry for that, but we had a delay,” I explain smoothly, schooling my face, “Someone who ended up being concerned by yesterday’s events showed up at the same time as these three,” I gesture toward the three teens, “And our last member asked me if he could take some time to clarify the situation with them.”

 

Her arched eyebrow is all the prompting I need to elaborate.

 

“Eugene Thompson asked me if he could have a talk with his girlfriend about what happened to him, she just showed up and I didn’t have the heart to send her packing.” I concede lamely.

 

The Ancient One snorts amusedly.

 

“Your forwardness about your situation toward your relatives is strangely refreshing, I have to say,” She comments offhandedly, “Most people tend to hide their capacities or their knowledge of the magical world to them.”

 

“Yeah, and how does it work for them ?” I ask her archingly as I cross my arms.

 

She slowly blinks.

 

“Point taken.” The sorceress drilly admits.

 

I snort, shaking my head lightly.

 

“Since I can enforce the need for secrecy in anyone that is made aware of it, I guess I don’t really see any harm about it.” I concede to her, “Plus, I don’t really like the idea of lying to my family and friends as a rule of thumb.”

 

“A commendable attitude.” She nod genially.

 

“Would you like to take a seat ?” I politely end up asking her, annoyance receding.

 

“Gladly.” The Ancient One easily agrees, making her way toward an unoccupied seat.

 

I make my own way back toward the couch, sighing as I seat myself, smoothing the back of my dress mechanically while crossing my legs, Iris’ earlier warning still fresh in my head.

 

Which prompts a quiet mental snicker from her part, to which I answer with a frown.

 

Totally unapologetic, she resumes her slow nuzzling in the crook of my neck, her work on Jessie’s hairdo successfully accomplished earlier.

 

I turn myself toward the younger girl, who is still looking toward the Sorcerer Supreme with eyes full of wonder.

 

“Could you fetch us something to drink and some glasses, Jessie ?” I kindly ask her.

 

She straightens, her eyes quickly shifting toward the empty low table.

 

“Sure !” Jessie exclaims, already scampering her way toward the kitchen.

 

I shake my head lightly, an amused smile gracing my lips.

 

I turn my attention back toward the Ancient One.

 

“Since we are here, would you like to establish your diagnosis now ?” I ask her cordially.

 

Her eyes are locked onto Iris’ public display of affection, and so do the three others.

 

“Despite being made aware of it yesterday, your relationship keeps throwing me off.” The sorceress admits with a little smile.

 

“Finally someone with some common sense.” Jessica mutters under her breath, and I roll my eyes.

 

“Yes, yes, we are freaky,” I drawl as Iris’ hugs tightens around me, “But try living with someone who is literally in your head 24/7 before judging us.”

 

“And Iris is a gem of a beautiful flower, period.” I conclude with a pointed look toward the sorceress while Iris peck shyly my cheek, her side of our mind-link stammering alternatively in [Embarrassment] and [Love].

 

The others don't need to be made aware of the disasters following Iris’ kin in their wake.

 

The Ancient One blessedly catches my hidden meaning and gives me a tiny nod of acknowledgment.

 

“I see no harm in getting that out of the way,” She smoothly answers my previously asked question, “But aren’t you afraid that someone could see ?”

 

I gave her a lazy dismissing wave.

 

“I’m permanently releasing a ‘nothing-to-see-here’ aura for a good mile around us as a measure of precaution that doubles as training.” I explain, “You just didn’t notice because of your psy-shield.”

 

I thought that those were magical in nature, but turns out the sorcerers train their minds in order to ward themselves from external influence as a part of their formation.

 

A fact which instantly made me positively reevaluate the order. Everyone should consider the threat of a rogue telepath or facsimile with caution.

 

The sorceress nods assent at my word, scooting herself on the edge of her seat with renewed attention as she watches intently the two spider-totemites.

 

“Excuse me, but,” Hesitantly starts Gwen, eyes looking in the Ancient One’s direction, “What do you mean by diagnosis ?”

 

The Sorcerer Supreme and I share a look, and a nod of my part prompts the sorceress to elaborate.

 

“Young Aria here asked me if I could evaluate the magical potential the two of you have, Cindy, Gwen,” She explains plainly, gesturing in the two aforementioned’s directions.

 

That’s the moment Jessie choses to come back from the kitchen with a loaded tray and, with a flicker of telekinesis, I take care of delivering each of us a glass of water.

 

Her eyes darting all around at the display, the younger girl let go of the tray with a pout as she plops herself to my right once again.

 

I chuckle in amusement at her reaction.

 

Already trying to succor to your new ‘master’, uh ?

 

“Didn’t you say earlier that anybody is capable of doing magic ?” Gwen ponders aloud in the meantime, head tilted and an eyebrow raised.

 

While Iris needles me with whispers of ‘Look, look ! She’s doing it again !’, the Ancient One nods easily at Gwen’s remark.

 

“Correct, but you two are far from being just anybody.” The sorcerer explains, “If what Aria has been telling me is true, the both of you already share a connection with the Web of Worlds.”

 

She pauses, mulling over her explanation for a bit, and I feel no shame in admitting that I listen with as much attention as the others.

 

“The magic empowering a totem, be it spider, wasp, bear, wolf or any other animal with an importance in humanity’s animist tradition, one of the oldest forms of shamanism, can either be exclusive or open.” She elaborates, her hands raising to bring emphasis on certain parts of her lesson in concert.

 

I can tell that the Ancient One is an experienced teacher, which shouldn’t really surprise me since she has trained sorcerers for centuries at this point.

 

“If the totem is exclusive, then all you can do is practice the magic that your connection gives you. And you don’t even really need to dedicate a lot of time to learn its intricacies since they tend to be rather instinctive.” She continues, raising a hand to underline her point.

 

Her description furiously looks like what a spider-totemite can do, and I narrow my eyes in consideration.

 

“If the totem is open, then you can explore other sources of magic, like tapping into the underlying power of other dimension’s entities like we, sorcerers, do.” She carries on, “The caveat is that you’ll have to learn a lot of things from scratch to master your innates abilities. It tends to be the case for animals who are generally portrayed as wise, like the owl for example.”

 

Considering it is one of Athena’s symbols, that would indeed check out.

 

“Of course, those classifications, as portrayed in the Annalect of Animistic Arts by Anna Altea, tend to be situated somewhere along that spectrum, the connection being rarely all open or all exclusive.” The sorceress ends with a little smile, her hands falling back in her lap.

 

The poorly worded assonance nearly succeeded to give me a conniption fit and I can see that Gwen barely avoided to wince when she heard it too.

 

Iris mentally chuckles when she catches a whiff of the annoyance I have at the special brand of humor sorcerers tend to enjoy.

 

Next to me, Jessie is on the edge of her seat, totally getting drawn by the magical mumbo-jumbo she just heard and her eyes sparkling. Meanwhile, the girls, especially Gwen and Cindy, have a more restrained air about themselves, still not totally believing that the Ancient One is really who she pretends.

 

“Now, I’m actually curious since the Annalect never recorded any conclusive observation about spider-totemites, so, which of you want to go first ?” The Ancient One asks, a little bit of excitement showing through her voice.

 

Gwen and Cindy exchange a look, unsure on how to proceed, until the former turns her focus back to me.

 

I just give her a tiny nod of encouragement.

 

Gwen sighs while closing her eyes and, what I suspect to be a mental pep talk later, straightens in her seat.

 

“I’ll do it.” She says, her voice a little strained.

 

“Good.” The sorceress nods easily, “Then, could you come closer ? I promise you have nothing to be afraid of.”

 

Gwen shakily nods as she rises up, not totally reassured, and steps toward the sorceress.

 

The Ancient One makes a little gesture when she’s close enough, prompting her to stop.

 

“Please, stay calm and remain still until I’m done.” The sorceress commands offhandedly, her hands already raised in somatic gestures.

 

The Sorcerer Supreme of this earth casts for the first time in front of Jessie and the girls, and everybody takes a sharp breath when the sigils manifest themselves in their red-orange lights for the first time.

 

Gwen even starts taking a step back, but, probably not detecting any warnings from her danger sense, school her posture quickly enough.

 

Next to me, Jessie’s mouth is agape, eyes full of wonder again, and I know that any attempts to distract her from her newfound goal of ‘getting taught by the cool magic lady’ will fall flat if the Ancient One gives her more than the tentative maybe from earlier.

 

A little part of me actually considers it a good thing, since it would allow her to learn to defend herself in any given situation, and even escape with the help of a double ring.

 

You could almost consider learning magic in the same vein as taking self-defense lessons, after all.

 

If you squint hard enough, that is.

 

No matter how I think about it, that would be the only way to make Rosie accept her daughter’s wish.

 

Shelving both the issue and the beginning of its solution for later, my focus returns to the diagnosis.

 

The hands of the Ancient One have fallen into her lap and her brows are furrowed in consideration.

 

An act that seems to make Gwen a little uneasy, considering she’s shifting on her feet nervously.

 

“Verdict ?” I clip, a bit more forcefully than I intended, but I don’t want the blond to grow scared.

 

The Ancient One perks up, blinking owlishly in my direction.

 

“Forgive me, I was thinking.” She answers easily, schooling her expression, “If I refer myself to the Annalect and my previous observations of friendly totemites, her connection tend to the more exclusive side of the spectrum.”

 

The sorceress smooths her vishanti garb mechanically, mulling over her thoughts.

 

“The energies I’ve observed are potent for a totem warrior, but they’re locked under her own Astral body,” She starts, gesturing toward a visibly more relaxed Gwen, “In layman terms, that would mean that they cannot be expelled beyond her mortal body, since the Astral body and his vessel are flush with each other.”

 

Not beyond the skin, got it.

 

“Except for a few spots on her internal pseudo magical matrix,” She elaborates, “The magical energies just passively empower her.”

 

My brows furrows.

 

“What about those spots, their placements ?” I ask, head tilted in consideration, gesturing to Gwen to go back to her seat.

 

With a little sigh of relief, the blond goes to sit herself back.

 

“I’m not sure…” The Ancient One starts, her eyes darting to Cindy, “Would you allow me to observe you too ? It could give me the answer to that quandary.”

 

Startled, Cindy blinks a few times.

 

“Sure, I guess.” She answers after a beat, rising up, “I mean, if all that is expected of me is standing still, I can do that.”

 

I snort in amusement while Iris chuckles in my neck.

 

The magical light show starts anew, and I side-hug the still starstruck Jessie, sinking a bit deeper into the couch myself.

 

“That’s so cool…” The younger girl mutters under her breath.

 

“It kind of is, yeah.” I answer noncommittally, a little smile gracing my mouth.

 

She turns herself a little toward me, eyes still locked on the rapidly scrolling sigils.

 

“Doesn’t it make you sad that you cannot learn it too ?” She asks, her tone curious.

 

I pause, mulling over my thoughts.

 

“No, not really.” I answer after a beat, “Magic requires years of study, and I can cave in a grown man two times my size by thinking too hard at him due to a clever trick, soooo.”

 

Jessie throws me a quick stink-eye before looking back to the spectacle.

 

I chuckle good-humoredly, tinkling her side a little, which prompts a half-hearted swat from her part toward the offending hand.

 

“If you can convince the Ancient One to find you a tutor or something, I’ll defend your case to Rosie.” I add decisively after a beat.

 

Jessie volt-face toward me, wide eyed.

 

I raise an imperious finger in her direction, brows furrowed.

 

“To learn to defend yourself, and only that, until you’re all grown up.” I amend my statement, and she slowly nods, “Think of it as martial arts lessons, ones that you’ll have to put at least as much effort in as your schoolwork for them to bear their fruit. Magic is Hard Work.” I point out with enough emphasis that you can almost hear the capitalized letters.

 

“I’ll put in the work, I swear.” Jessie quickly blurts out.

 

“Pinky swear ?” I ask archly, the aforementioned digit pointed in her direction.

 

“Pinky swear !” She agrees without any hesitation, her own finger hooking into mine.

 

I chuckle lightly, Iris cooing at the cuteness of the display all the while, and squeeze Jessie a little tighter to me as we both watch the show again.

 

It doesn’t take long before the hands of the Ancient One falls on her lap anew, her expression one of consternation.

 

“I don’t get it.” She exclaims aloud, talking more to herself than at someone in particular in the room, “The energies are similar, the basis of the pseudo matrix too, but the placement of the spots differs.”

 

My thoughts halt as Cindy regains her seat.

 

“I think I do,” I start slowly after a beat, the sorceress’ attention going back to me with a curious look, “Does one of the spots match one of Gwen’s arms ?”

 

The Ancient One slowly blinks, shifting rapidly through her memories as one of her hand raises, doing invisible calculations.

 

She pauses, eyes widening.

 

“It does.” The sorceress answers softly.

 

“And does one of the spots match one of Cindy’s fingertips ?” I carry on.

 

Another bout of invisible calculations later, she nods with confidence.

 

“Indeed.” She answers simply.

 

A little smirk graces my lips and I raise one of my hands.

 

“Hunter Spider.” I say while pointing toward Gwen.

 

“Trap Spider.” I continue as I point toward Cindy.

 

“Both spider totemites, not the same innate abilities.” I elaborate as I let my hand fall into my lap, “I can actually tell because Gwen’s thoughts are faster than Cindy and she’s very strong,” My ribs still remember when she clinged to me yesterday, “and Cindy here can throw magically created webs through her digits.”

 

My attention turns back to Gwen, an eyebrow arched.

 

“Did you try to pull out your fangs between now and yesterday ?” I ask.

 

Her sputtering and flushing is all the answer I need, but I want it to be said aloud.

 

“So ?” I continue archly.

 

Wordlessly, she makes a little movement of her right wrist.

 

A snapping sound later, one of her fangs, a matte black wicked looking thing at least two feet long, is sprouting from her forearm.

 

“Hunter spider indeed.” I nod sagely.

 

The Ancient One observes with quiet fascination as Gwen retract the magical construct.

 

“You know,” She says under her breath, eyes still locked onto the space the fang was in previously, “With the adequate corresponding matrices and joined meditative exercises…”

 

Her eyes snap back toward me, face flushed a little in awkwardness.

 

“Forgive me, I was getting lost in thoughts.” The sorceress admits.

 

“So, the two of them are indeed connected to the Web of Worlds, there’s no doubt about it.” She explains after a little cough in her hand, “And, while the both of them have a rather exclusive connection to it, there’s enough wiggling room that it doesn’t necessarily exclude them from tapping into each other's aspects.”

 

My eyes widen a bit, but it’s Gwen who speaks my thoughts aloud.

 

“You mean that I could learn how to throw webs ?” She asks a little excitedly.

 

“Indeed.” The Ancient One nods in assent, her eyes going back toward the two spider-totemite, “That would require the both of you to build a real casting matrix to replace the pseudo ones you have, one of the first steps on the sorcerer’s path, and to try to feel each other’s innate casting processes via joint meditation while using them.”

 

Cindy grows considerate at that as Gwen’s head snaps toward her, throwing her an expectant look.

 

“I mean, those fangs do seem a bit badass…” Cindy concedes after a beat.

 

Gwen schools her expression extremely quickly but not before I witness the little look of excitement she got for a brief instant.

 

I chuckle lightly under my breath.

 

Two juiced up spider themed magical warriors definitely seems interesting.

 

Iris mentally agrees with me as a feeling of [Eagerness, anticipation] flickers through our mind-link.

 

The stronger our allies, the better.

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