Other Fan Fiction ❯ Gifted Moon Spinoff ❯ Nakya's Lesson ( Chapter 7 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Seeing the barrier ripple like that stunned Nakya into a stupor. She could not believe Rinsi had any attack spells at all, let alone one that powerful. She was just too gentle and kind to be a fighter. Still, she had those spells, and she knew how to use them. Where had she learned them from? When? Why didn’t she say anything? Knowing anything, Rinsi probably said nothing because she didn’t like the spells. Still, Nakya was going to have some very pointed words with her later about that. At the moment, her mind was reeling, though it was Outai that finally knocked her out of her stupor.
“Nakya, you are next. Bring up that barrier again.”
“Rinsi…” Nakya said quietly, “why do you…”
“I said bring up the barrier. You two can chat later.” Outai said calmly, though her voice held a firm reminder of what would happen if she disobeyed.
Reluctantly, Nakya made a barrier of ice surrounding herself. She didn’t want to take any risks with this woman. She was just plain insane! That HAD to be it!
“Ice is a good thing to have, for some uses, but it has a major flaw – it melts. You will keep that barrier up by re-freezing what melts as Mooney attacks with fire. If you fail to keep the fire out, you will be burned.”
“Now that’s just going too far!” Rinsi argued, “I won’t allow you to hurt Nakya.”
“She will only be hurt if she fails to keep up the barrier. Then it would be her fault.”
“I don’t think she even knows how! What kind of teacher are you anyway? Teachers don’t willingly injure their students!”
“I am the kind of teacher that teaches best. I won’t do the lesson for her. She has to do it herself if she is going to learn. Otherwise it is a waste of time and energy.”
“Then why not try something smaller to start out with, something less dangerous?”
“Such as what? Allowing outside temperatures to melt the barrier over time? That would take so much time she would not notice it melting, and hours will be wasted for nothing.”
“She’s right.” Mooney said, trying to sound non-challant, though a little fierceness came through, “Rinsi, that is. Outai, these two are just girls and only now discovering what they can do. How about I raise the air temperature around the barrier to summer temperatures? The ice will melt much more quickly, and if she fails to keep the barrier up she won’t get burned.”
“And slow her learning? That would be like slapping the wrist of a murderer and letting him off with a warning. She must learn the first time the price of failure, lest she get into a life-threatening situation later and think it no more than a game. One always does best when one’s life is in danger.”
“Then I will not participate.” Mooney said, as he took on a relaxed looking stance. “I won’t be a part of this class if you won’t see reason. You can’t expect everyone to be as strong as you, or as skilled.”
“Very well.” Outai said reluctantly, though her tone was more suited to a queen getting her way, “Mooney, raise the temperature around the barrier to one hundred twenty degrees.”
Mooney winced. That was far above summer temperatures. Still, if the barrier failed, he could cut off the heat before she got sunburned. For that matter, Nakya and Rinsi both seemed to cringe at the thought, but their shoulders both dropped in resignation. Gently, Mooney heated the air around the barrier to the temperature Outai demanded, and held it. The ice barrier quickly began melting.
“Remember what I told you, Nakya.” Outai warned, “Don’t let it melt. Re-freeze it.””
Nodding, Nakya did as she was told. The water that slid from the ever thinning barrier seemed to freeze back into place, and what had already melted was put back where it came from, solid ice once more. Mooney held the heat for a while, so Nakya would get a feel of how it was done. She needed time to figure out how to re-freeze the ice back into place, and needed time to learn how to do it quickly.
What seemed like minutes passing turned out to be the better part of an hour. By that time, Nakya was looking decidedly winded, and the re-freezing of the barrier – which had gone nearly fast enough to keep on par with the melting – began to slow. That was when Mooney stopped. He didn’t need to be told, and if Outai said anything about it, he would give her a piece of his mind. A rather large piece at that.
“Well done, Nakya and Mooney.” Outai said calmly. “Bring down the barrier Nakya.”
Nakya did so immediately, and was glad for it. Holding up that barrier alone was tiring, but having to re-freeze the water in the process was exhausting beyond belief. She could have hit the woman! In fact, she badly wanted to, except that her body felt too weak and tired to do anything. So she settled for glaring ice daggers at the woman.
Surprisingly, Outai sat down in the dirt in front of Nakya, folding her feet – crossed at the ankles – beneath her. She motioned for Nakya to sit, and it was all Nakya could do not to fall down. Her muscles felt like water, though they did nothing. Rinsi sat down next to her friend, also glaring at the woman. Mooney sat next to Outai, his face smooth, but fire in his eyes.
“The next exercise will be a little different. Mooney and I both keep barriers around our minds. His is a little weaker than mine, so you’ll start with him. Mooney will refresh you before you start, and once he does, you are to try to break through his barrier.”
“Outai…” Mooney growled, “that’s too tough on her. She won’t make it through.”
“I never said she had to make it through today. The practice will do her good, and give her strength.”
“She’ll give herself a stroke!”
“Not if you refresh her, as I said you would. I will give her the necessary precautions.”
Mooney seemed settled with that, though barely so. His face was mostly smooth, though his brow was slightly creased with agitation, and an intense fire was now in his eyes. Neither Nakya nor Rinsi thought they were very pretty now. Then again, given his manner earlier, they much doubted he often got angry like this.
“Nakya, if you start to feel like you are too tired, stop your effort. If you begin developing a headache, stop immediately and lay down. Do not try to press forward if you feel either of these happening.”
Nakya nodded tiredly, and Mooney held her chin in her hand. Nothing visible seemed to happen, except that Nakya suddenly felt more energized. Hell, she felt ready to run a mile right then and there! Her drooping eyes suddenly popped open, and she began to fidget. She wanted to be moving so badly that it nearly hurt! Still, Nakya wanted to avoid another switching, and even more she wanted to make her mind strong enough to break Mooney’s barrier. Once she could break his, then he could break this woman’s barrier and make her pay for all the hell she went through today. Oh, but she would make her pay!
Nakya tried to probe Mooney’s mind right away, but once again was met with an invisible wall. She rammed it, and bounced off like a rubber ball. She rammed it harder, and bounced again. She growled to herself in frustration and began tapping her foot. Well, if at first you don’t succeed…but she had already failed twice. Perhaps another means was necessary.
Nakya began to feel around this wall that was invisible to her mind. Maybe there was a crease in it, or a weak point? It was worth a shot. Gently she probed this wall from top to bottom, and all around. To her disappointment, the wall was completely circular, like a solid ball encasing his mind. There were no cracks, no holes, no weak points. It was completely smooth and round. Slamming against it threw her back, and probing it didn’t work. What else was there to do then?
Nakya wasn’t going to give up. She was too stubborn for that. If she couldn’t break this wall, then how could she break the woman’s wall? Nakya stamped out the little bit of despair and great deal of frustration that crept up on her, and for good measure jumped up and down on it. She would NOT give up! It took a moment to think of what she COULD do before Nakya realized something she had not tried. It was a wall like brick. Surely something could cut away at it or dig at it.
That was precisely what she did. Slowly, she began digging away at the wall with her mind. She dug what seemed like hours before realizing she hadn’t even left a mark. Even worse, she could feel both exhaustion and a head ache creeping up on her. She stopped her efforts and lay back on the dirt, irked that she would have to wash her hair after this.
“How was it, Mooney?” Outai said.
“If I said it, she would get discouraged.”
“How about you, Nakya?”
“Tiring. That barrier is tough as nails. Worse! Nothing I tried did anything to it.”
“I don’t expect you to get it over night. It was an exercise to strengthen your mind. When you first start lifting weights, do you start out with five hundred pounds?”
“No…”
“Correct. You start out with what you can handle. Your body becomes stronger, and thus you increase the weights.”
“Except you just started her on a two-ton.” Mooney interjected.
“Not quite. The lifting was only an example. What you did, Nakya, was pushing, not lifting. Granted, you’re pushing a half ton with the strength for only twenty pounds, but eventually, if you keep pushing, that half ton will move. When your head clears, we will continue.”
“God, woman!” Nakya growled testily, “How long is this class? How far will you keep pushing us?”
“The next one is the last one for today. This class was just to gauge your strength, and give you a little homework.”
“Ugh, even with no teachers we STILL get homework.” Nakya whined as she sat up, her head finally clear again, without pain, though still tired.
“I know. Sucks, doesn’t it?” Rinsi said, trying to be her cheerful, upbeat self. “Unfortunately, homework doesn’t do itself. How about after this we go pamper? I brought stuff from home that will make you think you’re at a luxury spa.”
“Sounds good to me!” Nakya said stretching. “So, teach, what’s next.”
“That’s right, I haven’t explained my name. How rude of me. I am Outai, and what’s next is that I am going to probe your mind and you must keep me out.”
“You said you wouldn’t do that without permission.”
“For this lesson I don’t need it, so long as you keep me out of your head. I will be gentle, as this is your first time, and if you allow me to break through then I will read your mind. Out of courtesy, I will stay away from your memories.”
“You can read those?!” Nakya said.
Nakya’s face felt suddenly hot. This woman had read her mind earlier – or near enough. Had she gone through her memories as well, without saying anything? The thought alone made her furious.
“Yes, I can read those, but as a general rule I stay clear of them. One’s memories are their own, and only to be shared if they want to share.”
“Will I learn to do that?”
“No. Not until you have learned everything else and matured more.”
“I am not immature!” Nakya screamed at the woman, pouting.
Rinsi quirked an eyebrow at her friend, but said nothing. Right now she seemed to be giving herself the lie, but rightly so. Rinsi was just as furious at the woman. She claimed she did not probe memories, but how could they trust her on that? How could they stop her if she tried? Unfortunately, there was nothing to be done about it at this point, though she still didn’t like it.
Outai didn’t give any time for tantrums. Instantly she was in Nakya’s mind, and, rather than hiding herself so Nakya wouldn’t feel it, made it obvious she was there.
“Get out of my head!” Nakya screamed at the woman.
“You must push me out and keep me out. I will not withdraw.”
Nakya pushed at the woman’s mind, but it did not budge. It was like a wall again, but softer. She was sure this woman was being easy on her on purpose - a thought which infuriated her more. Still, there was nothing else she could do, so she pushed harder. She did not ease up either, and when the wall wouldn’t move, she pushed harder still. Eventually, the wall began to give way, inch by inch. Nakya managed to move the wall half way out of her mind before she felt too exhausted to continue.
“That was well done, Nakya.” Outai said calmly. “Unfortunately, your homework will have to be done with myself or Mooney present, to prevent you from hurting yourself or someone else, and because we are the only ones in this school – aside from yourself – who are telepathic. Rinsi, do not practice anything outside of class. I must be present with you for that. Nakya, your homework is to find other uses for your ice, besides fighting and cooling drinks. Also, you must be able to form ice when no water source is around. I noticed you used water from the lake, but what if there were no lake? Work on that. The next class is tomorrow, at the same time as today. You are both dismissed.”
Rinsi and Nakya both stood –though slowly , due to exhaustion – and began walking away. Rinsi put an arm around her friend’s shoulders, as if in a friendly embrace, as two friends walking together. However, Rinsi pulled Nakya close to her, so Nakya could lean on her for strength, which she did gladly.
“Jeez, what a monster.” Nakya grumbled as they walked away.
“You shouldn’t say that, Nakya.” Rinsi said firmly, “Granted, she is VERY strict, and is asking too much from us. However, she has special abilities just like us, and calling her a monster calls the rest of us monsters remotely. Besides, I think she learned on her own, and doesn’t know how to deal with others."
"That cheerful attitude of yours will get you killed, someday." Nakya grumbled again.
"Yeah, I know. I can't think of a better way to go, though." Rinsi said, trying to be cheerful, "It's better than dying grumpy and mean anyway. I have scented bath salts, mud packs, and a mani/pedi kit awaiting us."
"A bath sounds wonderful. I feel filthy after that woman was in my head like that."
"Oh? Did you have something...intimate to hide?"
"What?!" Nakya said, her face glowing red, "No! It's just...I couldn't see inside her head at all but something wasn't right."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. It just didn't feel right."
"Well, we'll figure it out eventually."
"Yeah...Eventually..."