ORIGIN

The Overseer's tail twitched, raising its chin with approval when the young Valkhound responded positively to the shared lesson. It was one thing to accept such things on paper (or in mind), and another entirely to put them into practice, but there was another twitch of amusement through its whiskers when Obieth's magic reached back into its mind.

The touch of chaotic magic came with the faint, fevered whispers that it sometimes dreamed of in Draco, but those were barely noticable. Only notable due to Cain's recent brush with Aethril's magic tainting its magic, and nothing more. Compared to the sensation that pressed influence deep into Cain, urging the Overseer to see Obieth how she wanted to be seen, it was a single raindrop in a storm.

For a moment, Cain felt nothing but satisfaction. Obieth was a quick learner, and quick on her way to be everything the Overseer wanted and more: Perfection incarnate. No... She was already perfect. A blink later, and Cain understood that was mostly the magic talking.

It had further implications, that Oblieth explained in simple terms. Influence, a powerful thing. Powerful indeed.

Dangerous, too. Crimson eyes slipped casually back toward Aethril with a subtle twitch of its tail once more. That red gaze returned to Obieth, with a nod of acknowledgement.

Cain had its ways of influence, too, the magic it used to calm those around it with a magical scent, one of companionship and familiarity that rarely seemed to even cross one's mind as out of the ordinary. This mind magic-- applied strongly-- perhaps could force one's mind, or if used subtly, trick one for a while, but Cain suspected there were ways around it. After all, as Cain understood it was an outside prescence, it seemed simple enough to acknowledge and treat appropriately.

The Overseer was projecting confidence. It wasn't ignoring the danger, the possible threat, but for now that topic was filled away and treated with respect. Fear had no place in the discussion, even if it might have been healthy to have some concern over this particular chaotic magic.

For every magic you know, Cain's thoughts answered, there will always be more to learn. I will caution you against relying on your magic. As its Master always had. Chaos, your element, is especially erratic. It would be easy to backfire on yourself, or upon those you are trying to protect. Never neglect your own cunning and strength to pursue it. Obieth was a slick, armored panther, and a lot of situations would need little more to solve the issue at stake.

Be wary, the Overseer continued, for your enemies will have their cunning too. Magic you have never seen before.

With that, Obieth would find herself robbed of her own body. Momentarily, perhaps, she would be forced still as a statue. "We'll start with something basic. I won't harm you, so don't panic," somehow, Cain expected its feline protege to be above panicking (probably the magical Influence), despite its own terrible body-snatching experiences. Cain shut Obieth's eyes, and then with a flap of its wings, took to the air.

You will have only an instant to react, Cain continued, so be ready. It flew up high into the air, and swept around in the sky, keeping its focus on holding Obieth still-- unable to ready its muscles to react, unable to see.

Then it dove, swooping down toward the earth once more as its magic released Obieth. The dive gave it speed, and Obieth would indeed only have a couple of moments to see what was happening and act.

It wasn't diving for Obieth, though. Instead, it was flying straight for Aethril. While it had no intention of hurting the Hand (it liked being alive and getting bowls full of milk,) the goal should have been obvious to Obieth. Stop it before it reached her.

And if Obieth failed, they would simply have to try again.

If Obieth blasted Cain out of the sky with some magic, well. Cain would survive, really. It might hurt, but it would be worth it to assess the Valkhound's reflexes and quick thinking.

Cain had just gotten through telling Obieth not to rely on her magic, so what does she do?

Banish a flying cat into Schrödinger's literal hellscape. As soon as Cain released its magic and those piercing, icy blue eyes locked on the threat, it was as though the entire world was snatched from Cain.

Like its very soul had been snatched and placed outside of its body-- a not entirely foreign experience-- and suddenly Cain was in a place of nothingness. There was no light, no air: Cain who had been in a perfectly controlled fall was suddenly lurching through empty space with no gravity or air, only its momentum, and that was enough to freak out its reflexes more than anything.

There was no right side up.

Wing beat at nothing, cutting through vacuum to hit its legs, sending it tumbling and twisting as its tail lashed to try and right itself against a perfect lack of orientation.

Its mind caught up to itself: it did still have its body, clearly, though the biting cold and absolute lack of light was a shock for the senses. It was somewhere... else. It must have been chaos magic, but then... There wasn't much time to process any further.

The world returned in a blinding flash (for Cain, at least, who's pupils had gone wide in a frantic attempt to see in the pitch dark), and with it the wall of air smacked it and its flailing wings, sending it tumbling.

It had never intended to attack Aethril, though the dive had been a mock attempt of pretend to spur its tutelage into action, but it had intended to at least land with dignity and grace. There was absolutely none of that as the soft ball of wings and cat-- approximately twelve whole pounds of it-- tumbled paws over head into Aethril's lap with a startled meep-squeak from the air being knocked from its lungs.

And then, as it lay half-stunned in the lap of the Hand, an bemused, rasping rumble of a laugh sprung up from its throat. "That almost kind of worked!" Unfortunately for Obieth, the goal it had put up was to keep Cain from reaching Aethril, but fortunately for Obieth, it hadn't specifically told her that detail. She had interrupted its attack well enough.

It was a start, anyway.

Aethril spoke while Cain was still composing itself, cradled in her soft, delicate and yet mesmerizingly powerful fingers. It could not help but stretch as her nail scratched an itch it didn't know it had upon its chest, craning its neck to inch those fingertips into the perfect spot. Its magic flared, letting its intoxicating scent soak into Aethril's fingers, encouraging her to continue. Don't stop, keep going, right there, right there, yessss--

It did its best to listen, it truly did. It was a bit distracted, admittedly.

The Overseer didn't even mind that Aethril spoke about it as though it was a weak, fragile thing. Cain was aware of its flaws, but its whiskers twitched: was Obieth faster than Cain? Could she truly catch it before it was out of reach? Doubtful.

For Obieth's confidence, it would allow the comment. Better for the guard to be self-assured.

Aethril released Cain, and though reluctant, the feline twisted on to its paws, pressing perhaps too much weight on to her thigh as it angled itself upright and spread its wings. Aethril reiterated that Cain deserved as much respect as the Hand herself, a statement that felt exagurated for its sake. It hopped down with a flutter of its wings.

"I assure you," Cain spoke plainly, "I would not harm Aethril. That was a mere test of your reflexes and your reaction time." Its tail twitched, rising up behind it like a flagpole.

"As for the magic," it would allow Obieth's curiosity, "that is my influence. You will remember that you cannot predict what your enemies are capable of, that there will always be a magic or application of it that you may overlook. The same goes for non-magic, as well, but most in the cave rely on magic as a crutch." And Cain stared down Obieth, with a look that demanded of her that she take Aethril's words to heart and not make the same mistake.

"I have magic that can spy on you and Aethril from afar," Cain went on, "I have shown Aethril this magic. I have magic that can pry into your mind, and magic that can control your blood. I even have a magic that can put my consciousness directly into your body and control it remotely, and were I to paralyze myself first, you would be helpless to stop it." All of this information came freely, as Cain knew that nothing in the world would make it turn against Master Vargas or any of the Hands above his station. This explanation was a show of good faith, and one that would allow Obieth to contemplate what their enemies may be capable of.

The Overseer inclined its head. "And this is only what I am capable of. There are thousands of other creatures with thousands of other minds and talents. Now, if you do not want me to use my blood-magic upon you," Cain spoke clearly, "Then you will lose the opportunity to learn how to counteract it." Of course, Obieth might have been more willing to deal with the discomfort had she known it was coming, but part of that surprise, of dealing with the sudden unknown was a lesson it wanted to impart on her. She would not always be prepared for a situation.

Still, it would admit. It was a difficult thing. To face something that made one uncomfortable. Cain's skin still crawled at the idea of body-swapping with another creature. But desensitizing Obieth seemed crucial to her future success. "But if you are not ready, we can instead focus on dealing with other magic or forms of attack you will need to be prepared to fight against."

With that, Cain settled back on its haunches, and allowed Obieth the opportunity to decide what she wanted to do. It seemed important to the winged feline that Obieth shaped her own training to some degree: to keep the fellow cat interested, by giving her some influence over what she learned and how.