E14: From Novice to Slightly Better Novice

Herveen and Pearl waved their parents bye as they started walking inside. Their legs were thigh-deep in snow, and more was already on the way. The frontcourt of the shrine was unusually barren of snow though, their boots breaking through the wall of snow and stepping onto the stone. The snow that had fallen on them and their backpacks instantly melted and evaporated, their clothing drying in the blink of an eye.

"This must be the dragon's power," Herveen said, knocking on the door. Mizuki opened the door, peeking out towards the two. "Hello! Enjoying the weather are we?" Mizuki asked, looking up towards the sky. The snow above seemed to stop falling before it came below the house, heating up and disappearing into thin air. "Am I going to learn how to do this too?" Herveen asked, taking off the jacket over her clothing.

"With due time. But, every teacher must, erm…." Mizuki looked behind her, Anna holding up a book as a reminder of what to say. "Every teacher...must gauge...the student!" Mizuki turned back around, holding a finger up. "Your progress must be known if I am to teach you effectively."

"I can do that," Herveen said, taking off her backpack as well. "Pearl," the Ryu then said, "you must go to Anna. If you both truly wish to rule the landscape, one of you must become a maiden."

"Alright," Pearl said. She went past the two, meeting Anna inside. "Have fun!" Pearl said, waving before heading further inside with Anna.

"She will!" Mizuki enthusiastically answered back, turning to Herveen. Herveen stood, waiting for the first thing that Mizuki would have for her to learn.

"Now then," Mizuki said, tapping her cheek. Her tail had coiled around the book on teaching, clutching it for she had nothing for how she was going to teach Herveen. Was there a process? Is there something she should say? What did her babysitter do when she was younger?

"I want you to…." Mizuki started. "Show me what you know so far." Herveen nodded and opened her backpack, unveiling her magic staff from before. This seems good, Mizuki said, watching Herveen hold out her hands. The wind started swirling around her, the mana flowing from her and gathering above Mizuki. Herveen's eyes were closed, focus on making whatever she was making appear.

Mizuki looked up in time to see a large boulder grow into existence, small pebbles falling and bouncing off Mizuki as it hovered ominously over her. "Such progress, I'm not even sure if this is creation or teleportation…"

"I can't hold it for too long," Herveen said, her hands starting to vibrate back and forth. She turned and threw her hands to the left, grunting as she magically threw the boulder away into the snow.

"That is swell. Can you do anything else?" Mizuki asked, watching the boulder roll and sink into the snow. Herveen thought to herself, straightening up when she got an idea for another spell she knew. Mizuki's eyes seemed glossed over the entire time, watching her gather more mana together before disappearing with a small fire. She reappeared on Mizuki's shoulder, leaning herself against her head winded.

"Should I do anything else?" Herveen asked. Mizuki shook her head, blinking once before her eyes went back to normal. "You don't have much mana," she said, poking at her center. "You need to be more like a sponge, do you understand?" Herveen closed her eyes and tensed up, but Mizuki grabbed her before a second passed. "No no, if you do that, you will close off your body! Come, I have a much better method."

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"Come on out!" Anna shouted, her arms folded as she sat against the wall to her room. "A maiden should be ready at a moment's notice."

"The string won't stay," Pearl said from the other side of the door, struggling to tighten her kimono. She tied the best bow tie she could, yet the ribbon would slide against each other and slip away, letting the kimono drop back open. "May I wear something else?"

"You may not! It would be a disgrace to the late yokai before us," Anna said. "What it is, is that you must char the material. The clothing is moistened so I do not burn anything by putting it on."

"Huh?" Pearl said, not understanding the explanation.

"Burn the string! God, I thought you were a hellhound..." Pearl held up the ends of the ribbon. Squeezing and rubbing her palms against it until she saw it start to give up smoke. She then tied it one last time, except now the ribbon wasn't lubricated enough to slip away. She stepped out, looking like a miniature Anna if Anna wasn't a snake and had paws for hands and feet.

"You are looking like a proper maiden already," Anna complimented. "Now then, we have wasted enough time already." She turned around and went out towards the back, checking back behind her to see if Pearl was following close behind. Pearl had caught up, staying at her side as adjusting her clothes. "Are we going to learn magic as well?"

"Magic is for the lazy," Anna said. "Which frankly, is what Mizuki is. The maidens do all the dirty work, keeping deities proper and protected." She took Pearl to a corner of the shrine area, where a talisman was pasted to the ground. The calligraphy written on it glowed a faint red, brightening to a vibrant yellow as Anna touched it with a finger. Pearl could feel the surrounding air grow hotter like she was standing right in front of a space heater. "Of course, all that the followers see is the fancy golden tail."

"Herveen isn't lazy!"

"I never said she was. However, who do you think is keeping the frontcourt warm?" Anna went to another corner and did the same thing. "Mizuki, even your sister could do this task. However, their magic- no, their mana should be reserved for bigger tasks."

"That doesn't sound much fun," Pearl admitted. "So all I do is keep the shrine clean?"

"It is a thankless and tedious task little one, but thankfully you still have as much sway in nature as the others." Anna went to the front, seeing Herveen desperately trying to keep herself upright seating on a statue, while Mizuki sat below her on the ground. "Gather more!" She urged on, her eyes glossed over once more. "You're going to fall if you don't have any mana to rest on!"

"Mana to sit on?" Pearl questioned.

"Did you know Mizuki can fly?" Anna answered. "She uses her mana to glide through the air, pushing her own energy through the mana that floats dormant in the air. What you're seeing, is a precursor…"

"Coool…" Pearl said.

"No, it is interesting, but it isn't a physical temperature. Is it getting below your tastes?" Anna wondered, continuing her trip to check the talismans in the other corners of the plot. Pearl hung back, watching Herveen struggle for a few more seconds before finally falling off her perch on the statue and landing on Mizuki's tail. "Again," Mizuki said, rubbing Herveen's forehead before putting her back on top of the statue.

"Pearl!" Anna called.

"Sorry miss!" she said, hurrying after Anna. The Shirohebi was waiting for her at the last talisman, tapping it with the tip of her tail. "Relight it," she stated calmly.

"I...miss, how I do relight it?"

"You just, relight it," Anna said. "It's self-explanatory, isn't it?" Pearl shook her head, nervously adjusting her glasses. "I never had to teach Mizuki this…"

"You said Mizuki doesn't do it because she's lazy…"

"I know what I said!" Pearl jumped back from the sudden rise in her voice, nodding along. "Alright, think of it like adding wood to a fire. But the wood is your mana." Pearl nodded again, stepping in front of the talisman and holding out her hands. She turned them back and forth, appearing like she was warming her arms before a campfire. Anna cocked an eyebrow, not understanding her method. "Explain yourself."

"I'm trying to….put my mana inside the paper…." Pearl said, Anna not seeing any changes in the talisman. She sighed and folded her arms, letting Pearl struggle for another minute before moving her back. "I can't let you embarrass yourself like this," she said, annoyed like a father frustrated at his son's inability to aim light. "Do you even know how to transfer mana?"

"Herveen was the, more magical one…"

"The way this is going she is going to be the only magical one. Here," Anna said, grabbing Pearl's arm. Pearl could feel the heat from Anna's fingers growing hotter, reaching her skin through the wan fur around her wrist. "You feel that? That is me telling my body to push more mana into my fingers." Pearl only half-understood, but she nodded along anyway. "Good, don't let your body decided what you can and cannot do. You tell it where it wants to keep energy, and you want that energy here so you can touch that talisman and make it hot, right." She pushed Pearl's arm back at her side, moving away once more. "Well go! It is going to get cold here if you stand there like a pole."

"Y-yes miss." Pearl kneeled on the stone, touching the talisman with her fingertips and focusing on her hand. She kept repeating in her head to push her power towards one point, mouthing come on. Her fingers started to crinkle the paper with how hard she was pressing, tensing every part of her body she could.

"At ease, you look like you're going to go on the floor," Anna said, Pearl exhaling and falling back on her butt. She put her face in her hand, disappointing in herself. "I couldn't do it, I couldn't feel anything…" Anna didn't say a word, letting her wallow in her pity.

Pearl felt the heat of the corner comfort her first, leaving her confused as she had thought her effort had amounted to nothing. She opened her eyes, seeing the talisman glowing. It wasn't yellow, only a cooler red, but it was making heat regardless!

"I, did it?" Pearl asked herself. "I did it!" She looked towards Anna for praise, but only saw her notice and turned her head away. "It could have been hotter…"

"I need more mana then. I tried focusing, but it was like there was nothing there!"

"Nothing there? Interesting…"

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"Yokai like Mistress and I can naturally absorb mana, but the lesser mortals don't have such a capacity," Anna explained as she took Pearl with her down the hillside. "We don't associate with those weaklings. We are above them, and they recognize our ability through their sacrifices and offerings."

"However, that doesn't mean one cannot learn." Anna burned the bush beside her, giving space for Pearl to move in front of her. Before them was a small waterfall, made from a miniature cliff break in the river. Mizuki was already there, hair matted to her head and neck and floating on the water and watching it fall down onto Herveen.

"Mistress, you also had the idea?" Anna asked.

"I know, it's artificial," Mizuki said, giggling. "Herveen is taking it well though."

Herveen was, in fact, not taking it well; taking it terribly, actually, from having mana-infused water pouring down on her in the middle of snowfall. She shivered, using her staff to stay standing despite the frost. "I'm, so cold teacher…" she complained.

"Use your newfound mana to radiate heat, then! Go Herveen!" Herveen nodded, still shivering as she tried to turn her mana into thermal energy.

"That is not how to use positive reinforcement!" Anna told Mizuki, going into the river and pulling Herveen out of the water. The water steamed off Anna's hands as she carried Herveen away. "She's absolutely freezing!"

"But the book said that cheering on lads would make them better," Mizuki said. "I followed that line to a tee."

"That line wasn't meant for leaving a child in the snow!"

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The two brought Pearl and Herveen back to the shrine, Mizuki pulling the water out of Herveen's fur and clothes while Yuki covered Pearl in blankets. Anna came out of her room, holding a blood-smeared wrist.

"Oh no, what happened?" Mizuki said with concern.

"The father isn't fond of teleportation, the ba…cu….um." Anna trailed off, trying to find a word that wasn't considered a slur. "The wank."

"Swear jar," the two of them both said at the same time, Herveen sneezing after she said it.

"It wasn't a swear! And why do you to know it? Are you children just as vulgar, hmmm!?"

"We don't," Herveen said, staring at Anna. "But it is from you, so it's probably a swear." Anna scoffed, finding the redirected accusation absurd. She turned to Pearl, putting on the sweetest smile she could. "Pearl, underling, you do not find my mouth to be a potty mouth, do you?" Pearl looked down and away from Anna, unable to tell her the truth to her face.

"Fine then, I guess even then secretary thinks I am a sailor!" Anna was exasperated, Yuki's ears standing on end as she quickly got out of the room.

"Your language issues aside, Anna, are their parents coming to pick them up?" Mizuki asked, removing the last bit of water from Herveen's ankles and toes. Anna nodded. "Again, the father was not too happy."

"Why not?"

"Well, it's surely not because we threw his child under a waterfall in the middle of a snowstorm." Anna looked towards Herveen, who had stopped shivering and was just hugging her share of blankets. "I apologize for the stupidity of my Mistress."

"It's okay," she said. "I learned so much today. I fell a lot, but I learned a lot." Yuki came back with coffee for Herveen, placing it in her lap. "Thank you!"

"See?" Mizuki said, seeming not to understand what she could have caused. "It all turned out fine. And I am sure they wouldn't mind coming back another time."

"Only after winter," Herveen said. "I am never going near a river again."