Guilty x Creatures Ch. 30

Kianna's expression became sorrowful while beside her Fiona cried out in frustration as she lost her battle against the chains and ended up completely ensnared by them.

"This type of scenario isn't unique to only dark elves, as there are other species who also require nurturing to fully develop their abilities." continued Anton as cradled his chin in his hand and let his eyes fall to the floor "I am somewhat starting to think that this might explain why dark elves only have one child at a time though..."

"Huh?" questioned Kianna "What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it for a moment." said Anton as he looked back up at her "If a dark elf isn't given the attention it needs while younger then it will grow up to be essentially helpless, at least magically speaking. So to make sure that this doesn't happen, dark elf parents will only have one child at a time. This way they can focus on that child and be sure that it will develop correctly."

"...Oh. Yeah, that does make sense!" exclaimed Kianna as she nodded her head in agreement "So I guess that's why it seems like such a bad idea to have more than one baby at a time then?"

"...That's right." said Anton as he tilted his head in thought while staring at her "You did think that was a bad idea. Right away even....Hm, I wonder if this is something instinctual to dark elves then? Something you do, without even realizing it, or questioning it?...It might very well be something you just do without even understanding why you do it at all?...That's, an interesting theory..."

"...Hey. Wait a second?" questioned Kianna as she lowered her ears in embarrassment "...Are, are you studying me right now!?"

Blinking in realization, Anton ducked his head and chuckled.

"Maybe, just a little bit!" he smiled before turning back to the chalkboard "Anyways, back to-."

"Oh, come on!" cried Fiona as the chains wrapped around her torso tightened enough that her bust, which was barely being held back as it was, suddenly burst free of her now overly stretched blouse and exposed her bra covered bosom whilst sending buttons flying in multiple directions "Motherfucking-!"

"Miss Vale! Would you please stop disrupting my class with your indecent antics!" chastised Anton as Kianna covered her mouth to stifle her laughter "Honestly! Have you no sense of modesty!?"

"...I fucking swear!" raged Fiona as she struggled to twist free of the chains "I hate you! Oh I hate you so much!"

"Be that as it may. You'll still be receiving a demerit for this little stunt." declared Anton as he leaned over his desk and made a mark next to Fiona's name on his clipboard "I won't stand for such outrageous behavior in my classroom, Miss Vale. Do you understand me!?"

"I, you! Fucking! Dammit!" screamed Fiona as she threw her head back and kicked her legs "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!"

"Such ridiculous nonsense..." sighed Anton as he grinned at a still snickering Kianna "Anyways. As I was saying. Dark elf abilities include the aura field, binding rings, aural manifestation and what I refer to as "dark mode" which is the ability I used when I became solid black and menacing. I've come to call it that since I have no idea if that ability has an actual name or not."

Still struggling in her binds, Fiona's ears were, like her sister's, clearly focused on Anton and what he was saying, even as her face was twisted with a glaring fury.

"I know there are a few other abilities as well. But these 4 are the only ones that I'm capable of using, and as such are the only ones that I'll be able to teach you how to use myself." explained Anton "Hopefully you'll be able to develop the rest of your abilities on your own. But if not, then I suppose we'll just have to find you a tutor of some sort."

"Oh yeah, cause I bet that'll be easy to find..." muttered Fiona "We'll just put out a personal ad!"

"What are the other abilities like? The one's that you know about but can't do?" asked Kianna.

"Well, they're... kind of a little difficult to describe..." said Anton as his face scrunched up and his eyes went distant in memory "You see, you don't actually see anything happen if you're the one that's just watching. But something is definitely happening. It almost seems like... a type of mind reading? Or maybe some kind of hypnosis? Like I said, it's difficult to describe. What I can tell you is that it does involve your auras, and whenever you use these abilities you'll kind of, connect? With people. Not enslave them, mind you. Or anything like that. But more like... you'll suddenly understand them. Very, very well....Does any of this sound like it makes sense to you two?"

"No!" snapped Fiona.

"So... we just know what people are thinking?" asked Kianna.

"No, well....I don't think so?" said Anton "Again, like I said, I'm not exactly sure what's happening. All I can really say is that some kind of connection is made. And once you've made this connection with someone... Well, you'll seemingly just understand that person. And when I say you'll understand that person, I mean you'll truly understand them at an intimate level....Possibly even better than they understand themselves. And I don't know how you do this. I'm not sure how that works, at all."

"...It kinda sounds like this creeps you out." muttered Fiona around a sneer.

Chuckling, Anton dropped his eyes to the floor as he folded his arms over his chest.

"It, can be unsettling..." he smiled as he looked back up at the dark elves "It is very impressive as well. And I'd love to have a better understanding of it."

"You don't know how we do this one though?" asked Kianna as she cocked one of her ears in a curious manner "Not even how we start it?"

"No." said Anton as he shook his head "I've never had the chance to actually see the process clearly. Only the aftermath."

"Oh, okay..." mumbled Kianna as she scrunched up her face and became thoughtful.

Giving her a half smile, Anton turned back to the blackboard and reformed his pointer.

"Anyways, let's go ahead and get back to our lessons." he said as he tapped on the next listed topic "Auramancy! The practice of manipulating auras. Dark elves may be far from the only species capable of this feat. But they are still considered one of, if not the true masters of the talent. And what they can do with just their auras is nothing short of remarkable. The things that can be done with aural manifestation alone is beyond impressive. There are very few abilities out there that can offer even half of the utility of just that single one."

To illustrate his point Anton raised his pointer into the air and as the dark elves watched he shifted its shape into a series of different items.

"As you can see, this abilities usefulness is nearly endless." he explained as he waved the pointer turned sword through the air and then shifted its shape again into a butterfly net "Its only drawbacks are that the shapes are limited to simple forms with few or no moving parts. And anything you create must remain in contact with you and your mana pool for it to stay solid."

Anton showcased this by dropping what was now a pickax and letting it melt away as it fell from his hand.

"A less flashy but arguably more dangerous aspect of aura manipulation is that it allows one to use their own aura to mingle with and influence the auras of those around them. Dark elves use this to great effect by projecting mental stimulants into their auras and creating an emotional atmosphere around themselves. In other words, the dark elves can alter the emotional state of the people around them using just their auras, and it doesn't end there. With enough intensity, the effects of this generated atmosphere can be so overwhelming that it can even cause real, physical pain in anyone who can't resist its influence." explained Anton "You two have already seen first hand how effective this can be."

"Yeah, no shit we have." mumbled Fiona as Kianna grimaced and nodded in agreement.

Chuckling, Anton turned back to the chalkboard and, with a flick of his wrist, reformed his pointer before tapping on the last item on the list.

"And finally, I'd like to just touch on this topic real quick, since I know it's something Kianna is dying to ask me about anyway." said Anton as he smiled at the attentive dark elf "Spells!"

Biting her lower lip, Kianna's ears twitched in anticipation as she stared at the word written on the chalkboard.

"A spell. Is what we call an ability that has been broken down into a formula and can now be learned by a species that wouldn't naturally have that ability." explained Anton "Although the vast majority of them have been, not every ability has yet to be broken down into a spell. At this point though, enough spells exist that you can usually create an effect similar enough to mimic any ability you wanted."

The dark elves both nodded to indicate that they were listening.

"Now, there are several ways that one can learn different spells. The vast majority of them however are learned through enchantments, and this is something we'll go into further detail on later." explained Anton "When a spell is first learned it will require either an incantation or some kind of physical trigger in order to be activated. Since spells are in essence artificial abilities, it is possible to develop a sort of "muscle memory" with them that will allow you to activate them using only mental triggers in the same manner as you would with natural abilities. This can take quite a while to master though, especially with very complex spells or one's that you may not fully understand the mechanics of."

Kianna quickly raised her hand as a signal that she had something to say.

"Yes?" said Anton as he pointed two fingers at her.

"So like your Quantum Break spell then!?" exclaimed the dark elf "You don't know how it works, so you have to snap your fingers to make it go!"

"Exactly!" smiled Anton "Because I don't understand the mechanics behind the spell, I have to keep its activation linked to a physical trigger. The other spells that I know and do understand, I've mastered to the point that I no longer need to do this. I can simply activate or deactivate them at will."

To illustrate his claim, Anton deactivated the binding ring that currently held Fiona entrapped.

The incensed dark elf immediately folded her arms over her chest as the ring vanished from around her.

"Since elves as a rule are naturally proficient with magic, and dark elves are no exception. I don't expect you two to have much difficulty with learning spells." stated Anton "We'll have to save that for another day though, as we have more important things to focus on. Namely, mastering your natural abilities."

Anton surprised the dark elves by suddenly bending down behind his desk. Craning their necks upwards in an effort to follow what he was doing, both Fiona and Kianna blinked in uncertainty when he rose back up with a riding crop style whip in each hand.

"Now that we've got a bit of the basics out of the way. I think it's time that we get started with the practical course." smiled Anton as he tossed a whip to each of the dark elves.

"Practical course?" mumbled Fiona as she flicked her whip back and forth "...And what are we supposed to do with these?"

"Simple." said Anton as he folded his arms over his chest "You're going to use those whips as a guide, while I show you how to create your own, mana built versions."

"Seriously!? Okay, now you're talking!" cried Fiona as she held out her whip "Finally, we get to the good stuff!"

"Right, I figured you'd be happy about this. Now..." smiled Anton as he bent back down and picked up another whip from behind his desk "I want you to take your whips in your non-dominate hands."

Both of the dark elves held their whips out in their left hands.

"Good, now, very slowly I want you to let your auras surround the whips." said Anton as he let his aura come back into view and flow out from his hand as it covered the whip he held "You need to concentrate them, as if you were trying to create a thick shell around the whips. But do this softly and gently. Your goal is to examine the whips with your auras. So you need to let your auras really feel the whips, let them take in every detail as they seep into all the little nooks and crannies that make up the whips designs."

Biting their lower lips and narrowing their eyes, the dark elves both went silent as they concentrated their efforts on bringing their auras into focus around the whips. After nearly twenty minutes of trying, Fiona suddenly took in a quick breath as the green glow of her aura shifted into reality and surrounded her whip.

"Very good!" nodded Anton as he watched the flame-like wisps of living aura swirl around Fiona's whip "Now, just relax, and let your aura flow on its own. Let it feel the whip in your hand, feel its shape, how it's built, its weight, its strength and give. How it bends and moves. You want your aura to know exactly what it is that you're holding, how it works and what it can do..."

Focused as she was, Fiona kept her eyes trained to her whip as her ears twitched to the sound of her sister crying out in triumph.

"Very nice, Kianna!" said Anton as he let his eyes shift to her newly formed pink-colored flames "Now just relax, there's no rush, you have all the time in the world."

As the dark elves both became fixated with their tasks, Anton sat back down in his seat and rested his elbows on his desk as he settled in to watch them.

Some time later Kianna turned to him with a joyous smile spread across her face.

"We're doing it right, right!?" she asked as she indicated her flame covered whip "Cause I think I am! I can feel everything about this whip. Like really feel it!...It's crazy!"

Chuckling, Anton nodded in understanding.

"What you're doing is basically building a blueprint of the whip." he explained as he looked back and forth between the dark elves "When you're done, your auras will remember this blueprint and you'll be able to recreate your own version of the whip based off of it."

"Really!?" exclaimed Fiona "...So that's how you do it!"

Mm hm." nodded Anton "Whenever you two think you're ready, we can move on to the next step. You do want to be sure though, so take your time. There's no rush."

Nodding absently the two dark elves continued to remain focused on their whips. After some time, Fiona turned back to Anton.

"Okay." she breathed while nodding her head "I think I got it now!"

Nodding, Anton looked to Kianna.

"What about you, Kianna?" he asked her "Do you feel like you're ready yet?"

"...Yeah. I think so!" nodded the dark elf "I know so much about this whip now....I think I could even make one!"

"Well, that is actually the plan!" smiled Anton "Okay, what you need to do next is focus another chunk of your auras into your free hand. Try to focus them into something like a ball....Let me know when you're ready with this."

Nodding silently, the dark elves both pointed their ears straight back as they concentrated on their open hands. When they felt they had completed their task, they each looked to Anton.

"...Okay, now this next part is a little tricky." warned Anton as he raised his own hand and focused a ball of his own aura into existence "Take the blueprint you've just created and put it front and center in your minds. Try to visualize it....Now, as you're focusing on this blueprint, I want you to add a drop of mana, and I mean just a drop! To the aura you have concentrated in your hands. Let the mana ignite your aura, and as it burns, will it to take the shape of the whip in your minds."

Fiona gasped as the aura in her hand erupted into a flash of light and burned away completely.

"That's alright! It happens!" exclaimed Anton "Just refocus another ball of your aura and try to go a little slower with the mana..."

Grimacing, Fiona narrowed her eyes as she quickly reformed another ball with her aura.

"Just relax, and take it slow..." soothed Anton as he let his own mana ignite the aura concentrated in his hand "You don't need very much... Just enough for it to take form..."

Breathing in and out through her nose, Kianna's eyes went wide as floating in the air above her hand, right within the center of her concentrated aura, the semitransparent handle of a pink-colored whip began to take shape.

"Let it fully form before you do anything..." said Anton as he smiled at the excited dark elf "It's almost there..."

Kianna couldn't help but to make a tiny sound of triumph as the pale image of her whip finally took on its full shape above her hand. Across from her, Fiona's ears began to quiver in excitement as the handle of her own whip suddenly shifted into existence.

"Alright now, Kianna. Very slowly, I want you to take hold of your whip..." encouraged Anton in a soft tone "Once you're holding it, let it link with your mana pool. This will let it become solid..."

Moving slowly and tentatively, as if afraid she might break it, Kianna closed her hand around the handle of the whip. The moment she did this she could feel her mana begin to flow directly into the body of the whip and completely fill in its entire shape. She gasped as from one instant to the next, the whip became solid in her hand.

"Holy crap!" gasped Kianna as she stretched out her arm and held the whip out in front of herself "...I did it!...It's real now!...I made it real!"

"Yes, you did..." nodded Anton.

Kianna went silent as she marveled at the glowing whip she now held in her hand.

Shifting his eyes to Fiona, Anton watched with a smile still on his face as the second dark elf quickly followed suit and gave her own whip a solid form.

"I did it!" breathed Fiona as she, like her sister, held her whip out in front of herself and stared at it with eyes wide in wonder "...I did it!...I did it!"

Nodding silently, Anton shifted his gaze to Kianna. As he locked eyes with her the dark elf laughed gleefully through her smiling teeth as she playfully waved her whip back and forth.

Chuckling, Anton turned back to Fiona and stopped short as he registered the thick tear lines running down her cheeks.

Blinking the moisture from her eyes, Fiona remained silent as she raised and lowered her whip a few times. Leaning back in her seat, she brought the whip down against her desk and lightly slapped it against the wooden surface. Her eyes widened to their fullest and her ears twitched as the whip made a sharp sound the moment it struck the desk.

"It's real!" she marveled as a new set of tears welled in her eyes "It's really real!"

"Yes it is..." whispered Anton as he nodded slowly "Congratulations, Fiona. You did it."

Fiona raised her eyes and stared at him for a moment before looking back down at her whip.

"Thank you!" chirped Kianna as she stared at her sister's whip and fought to keep tears from forming in her own eyes "Thank you so much!"

Fiona stayed silent as she kept her eyes on her whip and nodded in agreement.

"Hm, of course." grinned Anton "You've both done very well. Very, very well!...So well in fact, that I think we should go ahead and try to move on to the next ability. Then once we have that one out of the way. You two can focus on just practicing, perfecting and fully understanding your abilities, while all the while developing and growing your mana pools as well."

"Wait, just one more!?" exclaimed Fiona "But that's just 3 abilities! You said you could show us how to do 4 of them!?"

"Well, technically I did say that... And I can show you how to use 4..." admitted Anton "Unfortunately though, "dark mode" kind of requires a target to use correctly. And although you could utilize each other... I'd rather not go that route if possible."

"Why not?" asked Kianna.

"Because of how intense that ability can be." stated Anton "Now that you two are more capable, I don't want you to try to use that ability against each other and accidentally trigger a legitimate conflict. You have to remember that you can hurt each other now. So there's no point in pushing things too far."