The Aftermath - Part 7

As they headed over to the barracks, Octavia recalled how the first training sessions for Imeril had gone. It was…interesting if anything else.

…

"Okay, I have an understanding of how your ability works."

Imeril nodded her head and said 'Okay' after Knight Commander Eris spoke.

While directly talking to Imeril about it, she was still addressing everyone in the room.

"It looks to be an innate ability that you are using, and as far as I can tell, has nothing to do with magic or mana."

While Imeril may not be some magical prodigy who can cast a spell to shapeshift, she has a very impressive gift. Especially since it didn't seem to have a limiting factor such as the amount of mana in a person.

"Some races have specific innate abilities that they can use whenever they want. There is however usually some form of drawback associated with them."

When Octavia thought about it, her thermal vision was an innate ability as well. She hadn't been born with it, not that she was technically born a Lamia… or was she? She did come out of an egg after all when she was transmigrated here.

Octavia decided to not go down that rabbit hole. But her own ability was something she got thanks to being a Lamia. Whether it was something she always had since becoming one that was then unlocked, or it was just given to her at the end of the trial, she had no clue. But it was now an innate ability that didn't seem to have a limitation.

She hadn't used it for an incredibly long period of time, but as far as she could tell there was nothing that caused it to stop after a while. She didn't feel weaker after its use or anything.

In terms of drawbacks, it did have some. While doing it purpose of showing signs of heat, it was almost impossible to see detail while using it. The heat source was generally blurry, obfuscating whatever it was that was providing the heat and just showing a rough outline. Then there was that incident with the cave. If it was something that didn't actually have a heat signature, then she would be blind to it, its grey colour melding with the greys in the background. So what Eris said, rang true.

"For your ability, it appears to be a mix between illusion and actual shapeshifting. When you hide, you're still there, as a little girl I mean, but over the top is an illusion. A…solid one would be the best way to describe it."

From their time with the slavers and the rescue mission after Imeril was taken, for Octavia it did feel like she was holding a lump of wood. When she had unwrapped the fabric, all the while keeping Imeril in her arms, she was sure she remembered her remaining rigid, like a log of wood. Is that what she meant by the solid illusion?

"It is hard to explain, but when you hide you project the illusion on top of you, but it also becomes something that can be touched. Your body then…I'm not quite sure how to describe it, locks in place, keeping you still."

Imeril just cocked her head to the side when she heard that.

Octavia also saw Athena doing the same thing.

"Err, it's hard to explain. An example would be how some bugs make a shell around them when they sleep for long periods of time, some of them even make it so they can blend in with their surroundings. Well, while inside the shell, if they wiggle and move around, that would be seen on the shell as well, and they might get spotted. So they remain perfectly still making sure it doesn't break the illusion. Your ability is doing the same thing."

Octavia brought up something she thought contradicted this, which was how she was able to breathe while hiding. But, while her body ended up locked up, it didn't affect her breathing or other bodily functions. Her chest rising and falling would also be such miniscule movements that it wouldn't break the illusion. Eris also said she had never heard of an innate ability that stopped you from breathing. It would be absurd apparently.

So putting that to the side, the discussion continued, and it did so with Imeril focusing on a very specific part of what Eris had said.

"So…I'm part bug." Imeril looked up and asked innocently.

"No! No, no. You're not part bug. That was just an example. It's not… you're not."

Imeril was not on the verge of tears, which Octavia thought she would have been. She thought it might be a bit of a shock to find yourself being compared to a bug for someone so young, but no. It seemed just like a generally inquisitive question.

Eris on the other hand looked like she would get tearful any second, which was rather odd. Odder still was how she kept looking over at Octavia as if she was trying to tell through her pleading looks that everything was fine.

'What's that all about?'

A short while later, Eris managed to calm down and gave enough quick responses on how Imeril was not related to a bug to feel she had stopped Imeril from getting upset. Even though she wasn't in the first place. But with that done, Eris sighed in relief and got back to the explanation.

"So, like I said, there are drawbacks with innate abilities. For your hiding, it means you can't move and so are stuck as what you have hidden as until you stop your ability."

It was obvious, but it was also an obvious drawback as well. Imeril had hidden when she was abducted, but she couldn't do anything after that. She couldn't try to wriggle out from the carpet, and while it hadn't got to that, she wouldn't have been able to try to grab something while her abductors were confused upon seeing a log in the carpet.

"It is also, like I said, a shell. It will feel like the object you have it looks like, but it's not going to be as strong. If someone uses more strength against it, the shell will break and you will be visible again. It also doesn't do anything else to your body, aside from keeping it hidden from plain sight. How you smell, if you talk or anything like that, can easily be noticed."

Everything she said made sense. Even more so when Imeril hid and then tried to talk and do other things.

With all the times she had used her ability to hide, she had just instinctively not spoken or tried to more or anything like that, as that would be detrimental when it came to hiding. So, not being in any danger, she gave it a got to see the limitation of her ability herself.

Hiding as a wooden crate, Imeril also showed them what she had meant about the illusion being solid. She didn't go so far as to break the illusion, as that may end up hurting Imeril.

Imeril also then started to speak, which she could do. With the whole locking up of her body, it seemed it didn't include her mouth.

Or her eyes as well.

Again, she had kept them shut when hiding before, likely afraid of what was happening outside, but she could open them.

Not that it helped with anything though, as the illusion seemed to work both ways. Eris theorised that perhaps because it was a solid illusion of sorts, it made it impossible for her to see through it herself.

But, when she spoke, they could all hear her loud and clear. It was rather odd to hear an adorable voice come from a wooden crate. If you didn't know of her ability, fear and worry would probably grip you thinking a girl had been locked in the box.

She could also hear what they were saying in turn as well, showing her hearing was not impaired by the solid illusion either.

No one here had the nose of a bloodhound, so they couldn't just confirm that her 'scent' could be smelt from outside of the illusion, but given that she could speak and be heard, it wasn't a stretch for that to be case as well.

What this did mean, however, was that should Imeril have to hide for whatever reason, she could be found by one of them calling out to her, as she could respond as well.

Now all having a good understanding of Imerils ability, and what she could do with it, things then turned to how she could actually train.

"As far as I can see, you are already pretty amazing at using your ability already." Eris then said.

Imeril blushed and smile at that.

"I think that if you practised and tried other techniques, focusing on different aspects of your ability, you might be able to overcome some of the limitations that I mentioned. You may be able to make it so you can see through your illusion, while others can not. You may also be able to make it solid enough that not even how you smell can be noticed outside. Would you like to try?"

Imeril gave it some thought, looking over at her two parents, before she turned back to Eris.

"Okay." Was her response. This then started her training to try and improve her ability even further.