Hana Akki's Secondary Magic Training [Private]

Akeya wondered what option Hana would take. On one hand to accept the threat of being attacked in return would apply pressure and force her to also think of ways to protect herself instead of solely attacking, which overall should improve her combat abilities and make her more used to quickly reacting and thinking of new techniques. However on the other hand if she didn't have to fear retribution she would have more time to think of what her next move should be, allowing her to get more used to thinking up advanced strategies. Both methods had their advantages and disadvantages, and it entirely depended on what Hana actually wanted to achieve. Did she want to be a frontliner, whose primary goal was to engage the enemy and beat them into submission? Or did she prefer to be the tactician, who gathered information about her target and thought of the best way to take them down, depending entirely on what information she could gather regarding the target? Well, looking at Hana's behaviour and personality so far most likely she would want to be the fighter instead of the strategist, in which case it would be better for her if she asked Akeya to return the favour and attack her so she could get some more training in avoiding being hit and thinking of ways to attack and avoid being attacked at the same time. In which case Akeya herself would also have to think of the best way to attack Hana.

The half dragon herself was fully capable of fighting at the frontline, but in all honesty her speciality wasn't something as straightforward as that. She was an assassin, which meant that she herself preferred to think of the best way to take down her target instead of just confronting them head on and beating them down to either make them submit or to simply kill them. While she was stronger than Hana a straightforward fight was not what she preferred, so she might actually be at a slight disadvantage. On the other hand just because she focused on assassination didn't mean that Akeya didn't know how to fight, and beyond that she had a particularly sharp and fast mind. She wasn't some kind of genius who could think of a thousand things at the same time. However she had some very good reflexes and her mind was fast as well, so even if Hana took her by surprise she could quickly think of a way to respond. In return it also meant that even in the middle of a fight she could quickly think of strategies to use. It would be interesting to see how well she would fare against Hana, who really gave the impression of just being a straightforward fighter. The way that she had used her magic so far also gave that indication, as almost every single spell that she had cast so far had been pretty offensive. A block of ice which split apart into several knives to throw at the enemy. Travelling through shadows. Launching a shower of black needles. Grabbing Akeya's shadow and using it to throw the half dragon was by far the most manipulative and clever trick Hana had used so far, and Akeya had the feeling that she had mostly used that in an attempt to think outside the box. A fight with Hana could definitely get interesting.

When Hana declared that she would prepare it if Akeya began to return attacks the half dragon nodded, her already intense gaze becoming even stronger as she suddenly went from her rather relaxed stance into one clearly designed for combat: she placed on foot in front and one behind and to the side while bending her knees, granting her better balance while also allowing her to quickly dash forwards or to the side if needed. She also held up one hand in front of her which would allow her to ward off most attacks from the front while keeping her other hand near her chest area, meaning she could quickly bring it forward to strike out if Hana got too close too recklessly. Her tail pointed at Hana from waist height from behind Akeya, making it clear that circling to Akeya's behind and trying to strike at her back wouldn't be without danger either, as that tail could move fast as lightning and the tip, clad in small but hard scales, could inflict quite the painful injuries. The half dragon tuned everything else out in favour of concentrating on her student, from the way that she was now looking at Hana making it very clear that from this point on they were enemy combatants. She would still try to give Hana advice from time to time, but her primary objective for now was to return attacks and help Hana get used to being attacked even as she herself also had to attack, and also to get used to dealing with a superior opponent. Even if straightforward combat wasn't Akeya's forte she still had the overall stronger body, as well as more raw experience and more skill with her magic. Combat might be more natural to Hana, but her opponent could still be said to outclass her in pretty much every way.

"Understood. You have already attacked me twice, so I shall return the favour now."

With that Akeya suddenly dashed forward at an inhuman speed, and Hana might be able to notice that Akeya's form was suddenly covered in shadows, trailing behind her as the half dragon used a special trick she specifically had developed to quickly and silently close the distance to her target, Shadow Dash. Since this technique allowed her to cross the distance of several dozen yards within less than half a second Hana would have to react quickly if she wanted to avoid the half dragon's actual attack, which was a very straightforward -but also very fast and strong- punch to the gut, which if it hit would most likely make Hana regret asking to be attacked as it had enough force behind it to launch her backwards several yards. Akeya wasn't aiming to hurt Hana, but on the other hand she was also assuming that her student could take a bit more punishment than the average human, so it might be that even though she was holding back she might accidentally end up causing Hana quite some discomfort.

Akeya narrowed her eyes as Hana actually managed to change the point of impact somewhat. She had given the girl plenty of warning, and Hana hadn't actually been able to completely dodge the attack, but honestly the half dragon had expected the first hit to come in clean. It seemed she really couldn't underestimate Hana's fighting abilities and reflexes. Which was good, since it meant that rather than her just pummelling Hana it would be a more equal fight, and you learned a lot more from a fight where you could do more than just endure. On the other hand, she wanted to make it clear that she was the ankin, which included being the one good enough to stand above Hana and teach her what's important. Which wasn't exactly an important part of being an ankin, but Akeya had a hard time denying that she was very arrogance and felt the need to validate that feeling of superiority. If it wasn't for the fact that she put improving herself and fulfilling all her tasks to utmost efficiency above everything else those traits could have caused a lot of trouble for her.

Well, that wasn't what she had to focus on. Right now she had to keep up with Hana and see what her student would do next. As she expected her student wasn't so frail as to be fazed by a single punch. Akeya had enough time to take a more defensive stance, but at that point Hana had already returned to an upright position and was clearly planning her next move. The half dragon had her opportunity to attack Hana, but now the girl would most likely do her best to return the favour. Akeya kept her eyes narrow and her attention focused as she observed Hana calmly but intently, trying to guess her next move by the way she acted, down to the smallest movements. A good predator always made sure to keep a careful eye on their prey, looking for the moment that their prey was vulnerable. In the same vein one had to keep a good eye on their opponent, because the faster you reacted to their attack the better your position was to turn the tables on them.

Hana's first move was to circle around Akeya, the half dragon shifting her feet to keep facing her student with as little movement as possible. Changing her position like that actually would make her more easily to knock off balance if Hana decided to press the assault, but Akeya preferred having to deal with that over letting her opponent just get behind her. Granted she could sense Hana anyway, but just because she could sense Hana in one way didn't mean that there weren't downsides to exposing your back to an enemy. Besides, having your eyes on the target was almost always the preferable choice. That and Akeya was pretty sure that if Hana decided to attack she would see it from the way that the girl moved in time that she could regain a more solid footing in time to react. The half dragon spread her wings slightly while facing Hana, making herself look both bigger and more intimidating. Hana wasn't going to become afraid, but combining the spreading of her wings with the flexing of her clawed hands Akeya could work on Hana's subconscious, reminding her that she was facing a true predator. It might not be the same as fear, but it might still cause Hana to not act as quickly as she should and become more obvious in her behaviour. It also allowed Akeya to see how well Hana dealt with that kind of influence. If Hana was more a predator like herself she most likely wouldn't be affected a lot, even on a subconscious level.

At first Akeya thought that Hana was just trying to find a good angle of attack, but her brow furrowed when she realized that her student was apparently planning to keep circling around her. What was Hana trying to do? Akeya was going to keep turning to face her until she actually did something, and it wasn't like Akeya was affected by the pressure either. She couldn't detect anything strange happening around Hana either. She wasn't trying to prepare something with the shadows, or if she was none of the shadows were showing any sign of it. Akeya's enhanced eyes couldn't see anything special happening in the flow of magic that coursed through Hana, and her surroundings were also as usual. It honestly appeared like Hana was just planning to circle around her, with no sign of stopping. What kind of strategy did she have in her head for that to be her course of action? The half dragon thought about that while keeping a wary eye on Hana. The most likely answer to that question was that Hana was waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack, and was primarily circling around Akeya as a way to keep the half dragon on her toes, and possibly make use of the fact that turning like that would harm her balance, even if it was only a little. However in that case shouldn't Akeya herself go on the offensive? She was curious what Hana was trying to pull, but she couldn't let her student think that she was just going to stand there and wait for all of eternity. Hana had agreed to being attacked in return, so just waiting forever would give the wrong impression.

Luckily it didn't take much longer before Hana moved. Akeya had decided to begin showing feints, wondering if she could lure Hana in. The first couple of times it didn't work, which wasn't too surprising, but after several attempts Akeya apparently managed to give the impression that she had in fact been distracted by something, her exotic ears twitching as she shifted her gaze to the left of Hana, as if she had heard something from that direction. The moment that Hana felt that Akeya was no longer subjecting her to her full attention she disappeared through the shadows, the half dragon immediately snapping back into focus as she stopping turning. Hana had been waiting for her to show an opening only to disappear, which most likely meant that the attack was going to come from-

Hana might or might not end up being surprised by Akeya's reaction. When she jumped out of her ankin's shadow she would find that said ankin was no longer standing. Instead she had basically allowed herself to drop, although rather than crashing into the ground she caught herself with her hands. Because she hadn't been able to tell where Hana's attack would come from with enough accuracy she couldn't actually counter Hana's strike, but instead she could use a more universal defensive attack to make Hana regret coming too close. After having caught herself with her hands she pushed herself into a handstand and quickly spun, spreading out her legs into a pin-wheel while also lashing out with her tail. With how fast she could move her tail, and with said tail being covered in hard scales and being rather flexible, the prospect of being hit by it would most definitely make any would-be attacker wary. Of course, a disadvantage to this technique was that somebody with good eyes might be able to see more of her than could be considered decent. Well, not like Akeya herself minded. Modesty wasn't something that belonged in a fight.

Akeya certainly had to give Hana some credit. Instead of trying a sneak attack which she most likely knew to be futile without any kind of plan behind it she actually only used the sneak attack to draw Akeya's attention while also preparing another trick. A lot of people in Hana's situation wouldn't think like that. They would continue using what they knew even if they also knew that it wouldn't result in anything, simply because that was what they knew. It was directly related to the fact that for a lot of people thinking, actual complicated and original thought, was a foreign matter. It wasn't based on low intelligence or inability: people just tend to be lazy by nature, and to actually think about something would require a lot of effort. You could think about a conversation you had, an opponent you had to plan against, a lot of things. However all of those things tended to be subjects you could think of while staying inside the limits of your usual thought. To think outside the box and get creative was not very popular.

Hana's approach of drawing Akeya's attention with a supposed sneak attack only to then follow up with a completely different type of attack was certainly worth acknowledging. However as Hana had already realized it wasn't quite enough for Akeya to be hindered by it for too long. When she felt Hana's strings attach to her shadow and found herself flung towards a series of hard objects that would certainly not be pleasant to meet she quickly removed the connection between her and her shadow, although since she was already in mid-flight when this happened she could only alter her landing so she landed on her hands and feet instead of crashing against a tree or a rock with a less favourable body part. Only to then find that her shadow, which had also landed there, was now attacking her, forcing the half dragon to quickly jump away and create some distance, although the shadow chased her doggedly. The half dragon frowned as for now she focused on getting rid of that shadow. It looked like Hana really liked using those strings of her. Which wasn't that strange, considering how useful they could be, but Akeya wanted to make sure Hana wouldn't get too used to depending on them when things got difficult. She herself had a similar ability, although admittedly she didn't use that one very often. As useful as it was its uses tended to not quite fit her style or requirements. Which was normal: Hana was a fighter, Akeya an assassin. They didn't have the same requirements for their abilities and thus different preferences. Well, all that aside, Akeya just didn't want to constantly be attacked by her own shadow turned into a weapon by her student.

Akeya took a low stance and waited for the shadow to once again lunge at her before dodging it by slipping to the side, at which point she unleashed a burst of her magic, creating a strong shockwave which nevertheless only travelled about a meter before fading away quickly. By positioning herself so close to her controlled shadow it was also hit by the shockwave, at which point the strings that Hana had attached to the shadow were broken and the shadow itself disappeared, returning to its rightful position underneath Akeya. The half dragon herself checked to make sure that her shadow was back under her own control nodded before turning to Hana, holding up a clawed hand.

"I believe I have created a good idea of both your magic and your abilities. Sparring any further is unnecessary unless you wish to continue."

Akeya didn't really give Hana a choice to respond as she continued talking, walking towards the girl with no apparent wariness. Whether this was because she believed that her student would stand down or because she didn't feel like she had to be on her guard for Hana's attacks was something the girl herself would have to figure out. The half dragon wasn't inclined to share her thoughts on that particular aspect.

"Your use of shadows isn't that much different from my own, although more focused on actual combat and ways to twist a fight to your favour. You used shadow step a lot, which is the most common ability amongst creatures who can use the shadows, but other than that every single one of your abilities was very offensive in nature. You use a variety of offensive moves, from an area of attack spray attack to using your shadows to seize control of the enemy and throw them at hard objects. Your attacks aren't the most creative that I have ever seen but you do use your head while in a fight and use what you think works best, not just what you are used to. Knowing all of that I think I know what I should teach you or tell you to focus on."

She indicated their surroundings, which all things considered were left largely untouched by their short sparring session. Which wasn't too surprising, since neither of them employed the type of abilities which had a tendency to lead to a lot of property damage. Granted, Hana had tried to smash Akeya into the surroundings, but even that would probably not have caused a lot of damage to the surroundings, even if Akeya hadn't been able to avoid actually crashing.

"Your way of using your magic is very aggressive and focused on actually striking your target. The strings you used were a bit more indirect than the rest, but even the way you employed those was very offensive. Rather than trying to use the strings to lock me in place so you could strike at me you tried to make me crash into the surroundings. I will not tell you to completely alter your type of approach, however I will teach you how to both make attacking less risky for yourself and increase your chances of catching someone and getting more hits in. From what I could see all of your shadow magic centred from yourself. By which I mean that all the abilities you used either originated from yourself or from locations very close to yourself. You can reduce the risk of being countered while attacking and increase your chances of hitting your target by increasing the range from which you can use your abilities. Not the actual range of the abilities, but how far away you can activate an ability. Rather than using yourself as a source of your shadow strings I want you to try and stretch out strings from one of the rocks lying over there, and use them to lift another rock."

It seemed that her student understood what Akeya was talking about, as Hana quickly got to work practising on controlling shadows which didn't belong to herself. If she managed to master this technique it would make her stronger on all fields: she would be able to attack from a longer distance, she would be able to use unexpected angles to surprise someone even if they thought they were already on guard, the variety of possible techniques would increase, and she would reduce the chances of being countered. Range, versatility, unpredictability, and defence. These four aspects all greatly benefited from learning how to control shadows from a distance rather than only those which were close to your own person. If she mastered this any enemy Hana faced would be left unable to fully focus on her, since they would also have to keep an eye on every part of their surroundings where there happened to be a shadow. And she would be able to keep them at a safe distance as she thought of a way to capitalize on her own advantages, nullify the enemy's advantage and eventually take them down.

Of course it wasn't as easy as that. As Hana would quickly learn controlling shadows from a distance wasn't that easy. While of course there was also the fact that any type of magic tended to become more difficult if used at a distance shadow magic specifically had another issue: familiarity. Controlling shadows was always a bit tricky because you were trying to control something which was basically the intrusion of another world into this one. An important factor which made it different from controlling almost every other element, because those were pretty much guaranteed to belong to this world. Even if you were a creature of shadows, if you were born in this world you still belonged to this world, at least enough that controlling shadows had that added difficulty. To control shadows you needed to actually be familiar with them. And you got more familiar with shadows which you were very close to or which were always around you. But here the two of them were out in a rather remote location, and Akeya was telling Hana to take control of shadows at a distance. It was no surprise that her student would find this difficult. Still, she was making progress, and aside from that the half dragon felt that she actually didn't have to do a lot at this point. She had already accomplished the main objectives of helping Hana regain the knowledge on how to control and use shadows, and then had given her the opportunity to use her regained abilities so she would be familiar with them. Anything beyond this was just some extra advice that she was giving to her student, and she wasn't planning to give too much. She had already told Hana that being able to control shadows at a distance would be useful. Figuring out how to do it would be up to the girl herself.

Folding her arms Akeya watched as Hana practised, noting how the girl was indeed making quick progress. She might not be an unforeseen genius but she certainly had talent. Or maybe it was just that this was what she had been born with, and what she had used for quite a while, and that now that she had regained it she was simply remembering everything that she could before she replaced shadows with frost. Which still was a rather strange thing to do. Not that Hana didn't have special circumstances which explained it: if you were being looked after and being raised by a dragon you couldn't exactly say that you wouldn't learn their magic, even if you said it because your innate magic was more suitable for another element. But Akeya was pretty sure that it would be good in the long run for Hana to regain control over her shadow magic. Humans who were focused enough that their magic automatically took aspects of an element were rare. Akeya didn't know that much about prior examples, but she was pretty sure that it wasn't a good thing for such a human to force themselves to learn magic belonging to an entirely different magic instead. What kind of downsides it might have Akeya couldn't say with certainty, but from her perspective the question was what kind of a downside, and not if there would be a downside.

When Hana managed to gain full control over the shadow that Akeya had told her to gain control over the half dragon nodded in response to the girl's questioning look. It looked like it was time for her to leave Hana to her own devices. However before she would leave she'd give some last advice.

"As expected you are adapting quickly. Quickly enough that I believe you don't need my presence much longer. Now that you have regained the knowledge required to use shadow magic, and you have regained familiarity with it, the rest you can also do by yourself, because from this point on it will be a simple case of training. I'm curious to see what you will be able to accomplish when you combine your frost and shadow magic. Before I leave, however, I'l give you some final advice. First, while being aggressive is good never forget that one advantage of shadows is that you can make it harder for the enemy to strike back at you, by making it hard for them to figure out where you are and by evading attacks. Shadow magic can be used both to be stealthy and to be mobile and agile. Second, I want you to find an opponent which you fought in the past using your frost magic and this time use your shadow magic. Winning is not important, but afterwards you should do your best to figure out the exact differences between the two fights, so you will have a better understanding of what frost magic is good for and what shadow magic excels in. Third, if you want to properly develop your magic you should ask yourself what you want to be able to do, not what you can do. It is easier to learn how to do new things if you try to achieve something rather than experimenting on what you can do, even if in the end it results in your learning something different from what you were actually aiming for. Any last questions before I leave?"