Amanthia stood up and walked over to her children, giving them both a warm smile. As she looked to Sadi, she gave her a somewhat concerned look. Sadi had a strange look in her eyes and was strangely excited. Amanthia tried to be a good mother and allow her daughter to explore whatever interests she wanted to, but she felt like she was losing touch with her daughter. Sadi always wanted to spend her time alone. Alistair on the other hand, she could barely separate the child from her at times. She loved him, but it was hard to get any time alone.

Alistair ran up to his mother, wrapping his around her waist, hugging her tightly. She softly patted his head before he released her and the three of them walked in to the house. The second they stepped inside, the smell of food hit their noses. They all headed in to the kitchen and sat down. As usual, Amanthia and Alistair sat on the same side of the table while Sadi sat on the other side.

Usually, they would simply eat their dinner silently, but Amanthia had finally worked up the courage to speak with her daughter about her activities.

“So… Sadi… Sweetie.. What have you been up to in the woods lately…?” she asked hesitantly.

Sadi’s eyes seemed to sparkle as she put down her fork and began to regale her mother. “I finally caught a few rodents in my traps! Now I can work on practicing my magic more~!”

“That’s really great to hear, sweetie. This is the age when young people typically begin to understand how they want to use their essence. I remember when I was your age, I discovered how much I could help people with illusion magic. It was really silly seeming at first, but then I learned I had the capacity to enter the minds of others and I wanted to become an illusionist. And now, here we are. What about you, sweetie? What kind of magic are you working on?

Sadi smiled wide. “I’m learning how to use darkness essence to disrupt the life energy of living things! I’ve been practicing on the rodents and I was almost able to kill one today… It just means I have to think a lot… It takes a lot to kill something with darkness essence alone, but I think I can do it!”

Despite how much Sadi was beaming, Amanthia just sat there, staring at her daughter, her mouth wide open. “I… see… Well, maybe you should explore different avenues, yeah? See what exactly works best for you? Have you had any luck with your shadow essence so far?” she asked, trying to shift the conversation.

Sadi slumped back in her chair, pouting. “No… I haven’t been able to use it at all… It’s not fair… I’m a child of a Master… it should be easy…”

Amanthia wanted to reach over and hold her daughter’s hand, but she stopped. She saw that same strange glint in her daughter’s eyes. It unsettled her. “Hey… Everyone struggles, even you direct descendants. And maybe you can take a little time off of focusing on magic. You’re still young. You don’t need to be perfect at magic just yet. And really, you don’t ever have to be perfect at it. I’ve been thinking.. How would you like to go back to school?”

Sadi cocked her head slightly, a bit confused. “But why… Last time I was there, I didn’t learn anything…”

Amanthia shook her head. “No no. I don’t want you to go back to learn. I want you to go back and try to interact with other children your age. I think spending so much time alone it’s really good for you. Don’t you want to make friends?”

Sadi shrugged. “I don’t know…” Then something seemed to cross her mind and the glint her mother was afraid of returned to her eyes. “Actually! That sounds great! When can I go back?”

Amanthia beamed. Finally, she had gotten through to her daughter. “Well… the new school semester starts in four days. Why don’t you go back then?”

Sadi nodded happily and raced upstairs to her room, leaving her mother and brother in a somewhat pleasant mood. In her room, she pulled out several pieces of paper and begin to scrawl like a mad person, writing out all kinds of intricate diagrams and formulas. Later that night, Alistair and her mother peaked in to her room, finding her fast asleep in her chair. Amanthia stepped in and took one of he blankets from her bed, draping it over the sleeping young girl before turning out her light.

“Sweet dreams, Sadi…” she said softly before closing the door.