some pages turned

Some bridges burned

But there were lessons learned

When she had first met Kallisto Parkinson she had been impressed. What she knew of the girl going in was a secret, even from her. Anička had known about her true parentage for nearly a year now, but she didn’t much care. There were some secrets that were just kept for a reason. There were things that you didn’t say until the timing was right, and sometimes the timing was never right. It was one of those lessons that you didn’t teach someone. It was a lesson that you had to learn on your own, and it was a lesson that she knew very well.

That was not the lesson that she intended to teach the younger witch though. The girl had expressed an interest in learning wandless magic, and Anička had offered to teach her. It had been something that she had always been naturally gifted at. Her elemental abilities lent themselves to a natural affinity for that strength of mind. But she had no doubts that Kali could do it. She was strong, and she was smart, and she thought that she could handle this just as well as she handled everything else that was thrown at her. She was resilient, as far as Anička could tell, and that was a good quality for a witch.

Anyone that was going to lead, or step into that role in place of another, needed to be resilient. Anyone that was born into this life, needed a strength of heart to match their strength of mind. And a tougher skin than they were going to be able to show to the world. There was a certain amount of strength in being underestimated, and she liked that. Anička had her size to work with on that point too. She weighed less than forty-four kilos, people that didn’t know her had quite the disadvantage when they underestimated just how much punch she could pack into that tiny frame.

And she was going to teach Kali to do that too. She was going to teach her to use her magic without the crutch of a wand. And she knew that it was a very European thing to use a wand in the first place. She didn’t think that there was anyone that really needed them in other areas of the world. She hadn’t seen anyone in Africa using a wand any time lately, and while she hadn’t been on any tours lately, she thought that when she did go meet foreign leaders with her bratr, they had always been the only ones to even carry them. Let alone use them.

No, they would learn to channel their magic in other ways. She preferred fire. And she had long preferred offensive magic to defensive. But she would trust that Kallisto would learn for herself what she preferred to do when she was no longer inhibited by the use of the wand. Anička didn’t often carry hers on her person. It was usually in her bag, or now the diaper bag. Always within reach if she decided that she needed it, but she found that she rarely did. She was more than capable without it. And that was an advantage she wasn’t about to give up any time soon.

Losing her magic would have been devastating to her. And she had heard from her daughters that the elemental abilities were not taken away, but even a loss of control could have been catastrophic for her. She could have burnt the house down if she got angry, and that was the last thing that they needed. She was already a ticking time bomb when she was filled with high emotions. They didn’t need her not in control of her own actions at the same time. That would end badly, for everyone.

Anička hadn’t quite figured out how she was going to teach her yet. She was not a teacher, and while she had taught her own children magical things over the years, teaching them to duel with a wand was different than teaching someone to set their wand aside completely. It would be an exercise in her own abilities as well as in Kallisto’s, and she found that she was looking forward to it. One last check on Pippa, who was playing in her room, and the twins who were down for their afternoon nap, and she made it to the entryway just in time to open the door as the wards flashed. Avoiding the knock or the doorbell that might wake the babies.

Her smile was genuine as she stepped aside to let her into the house, even if she had every intention of continuing through to the back garden. “Hello my dear.”

Kallisto Ophelia Parkinson • 787 • anička's outfit

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

some pages turned

Some bridges burned

But there were lessons learned

After Kallisto had told her truth to Philip, she had learned from Donna that his mother knew. Anička had known at Christmas. She had known quite a long time before Kali knew herself. But Lady Nott had never treated her differently. She had welcomed her into her home. She had dueled with her at the social club...and now she was going to teach her. It was something of an understatement to say that Kali admired Anička. She practically had stars in her eyes for the woman. She admired her so much. She was fierce and such a talented witch. It was easy to look up to the woman, even if in reality she stood eight inches taller than the woman.

She thought that since Anička knew about that secret, she could share another with her. Kallisto was not completely unfamiliar with wandless magic. It was necessary, to a degree, with being an animagus. As Damien had tutored her along the path towards Transfiguration mastery, there had been times when she had performed wandless magic. One particular exercise had been her conjuring a ball of water in front of her, between her hands, freezing it, melting it, all while keeping it in the perfect spherical shape. There had been other exercises, as well... and of course, she shifted into her animagus form and back from it without the use of a conduit. 

The witch just had to figure out how to bring that up in conversation. She was not registered. She had sworn to Damien when he started teaching her that she would register. But she hadn't. Even when the Death Eaters had taken over the Ministry. She had not disclosed her ability to transform. It was her secret. In her mind, it was only a matter of time before the Ministry switched hands again. She'd seen more than a few very different Ministers in her relatively short lifetime. History aligned with her point, as well. Power was constantly shifting hands. It was best to never get too close to anyone too close to the top. They had a way of falling down.

And if there was one thing that Kallisto was not ever going to do again, it was fall all the way back down to the bottom. The way things had been when Myles was in the work camp. The way her family had been mistreated---it was no surprise that most of the Parkinsons were failing to be proper purists living with dignity. They had spent too long without it. They had forgotten. But Myles had spent her entire life telling her stories. Tara had molded her like clay. She had all the hate and resentment Myles had imparted to her driving her on. She had all the lessons Tara had given her guiding her public persona. And she had her own selfish instincts and dedication to self preservation above all else keeping her safe. 

Learning to master wandless magic was just one more safeguard. Her wand, love it as she might, was a crutch. She needed to rise above the need for such help. She had been one of the few to maintain their magic after this squib epidemic ravaged the United Kingdom's wixen population. She was better. She was different. She was set apart. She needed to continue to rise and show her potential. 

Apparating to the Nott Nottingham estate, Kallisto approached the house, but before she could even announce her arrival with a knock or a ring of the bell, the door opened. She was not particularly surprised by this, the wards must have alerted Anička when she arrived on the property. The Parkinson-Goyle matched the smile she was offered, giving a small incline of her head to the older witch. "Hello, Anička." Kallisto had been a bit concerned about what to wear, but was pleased to see that she had chosen well. She had been to practice with the Falcons this morning and had yoga planned for this evening. She had showered, of course, before leaving the practice facility. But getting dressed up in something from DKP Designs seemed inappropriate for a training session. So, Kali had worn something more casual. 

"I hope you are well today-" she offered as she stepped into the Nott's impressive home. Kali was quite proud of herself for resisting the urge to check out Anička's legs and ass, which were definitely flaunted in those super short shorts. The milf aesthetic needed to be ignored. She was here to learn, not to bang Philip's mum. Focusing on that, she continued: "I want to thank you again for this. It really does mean a great deal." She flashed a wide and dazzling smile at the other witch.

those shorts are distracting • 817 • kallisto's outfit

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

SOME PAGES TURNED

SOME BRIDGES BURNED

BUT THERE WERE LESSONS LEARNED

Knowing who Kallisto was, Anička didn’t think that the girl had been aware that she knew. But it was something that she hadn’t felt right knowing, when the girl didn’t know that she knew. It was a secret that she shouldn’t have known. One that she felt that she had known for far too long, but one that was kept close for reasons that the witch could understand. Sometimes you kept secrets to protect your children, but whether or not she had meant to retrieve such secrets from Donna Parkinson, the woman had given them anyway. Anička had that effect. People told her things, without her being more than open, and warm, and motherly.

And it worked on a good number of people. From varying backgrounds, with different motives. Her otec had learned to exploit it and had taught Andrew to exploit it. But Anička had enough of a reputation as a journalist to use it on her own as well. It was a tool that served her well in many ways. One that she would hold in her arsenal no matter what. It, like her fire, was something that they could not take away from her. And she didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, but it was something that she knew that she could count on.

That alone meant more to her than a good deal of things. There was very little that Anička thought that she could solidly rely on in her life, and she knew that her fire was one of those things. It had been around to protect her time and time again, even when she wouldn’t let it. And now she thought that it was here when she needed it as a safety net more than anything else. It was here when she had lost a lot of faith in a good majority of other things. Magic alone was enough to have her worrying, and she knew that there were others that were the same.

Josef’s worry was nearly tangible, considering the fact that he had sent guards, and then given them express orders about who they were to watch, and when. And she knew that his protection should have focused on Ella, and not on her, but she didn’t mind Vlasta being around. She had a feeling that the guards were more of a nuisance to her husband and her son-in-law than they were to herself and her eldest daughter. It had been a long time, but it was something that she had seemingly slipped back into. Easier to forget that they would shadow her than one would have believed, and Ella had taken it in stride.

If things continued too long, she was sure that she would be acquiring more. And the rest of her children were less likely to merely accept it and move on. But she expected them to do as they were told, and not make too big of a fuss. They had been quite privileged to live this long without them. Something that she would be keen to remind them if they were going to cause her any trouble when, inevitably, more guards arrived from Prague. Because she knew that they would come, eventually, if this Epidemic did not cease, she would have to protect them all.

Right now, was not the moment for such worries though. The girl that she had invited here today was not one of her children. Though she was close to Philip, and Anička wondered just how close. It was not any of her business until they decided to make it so though, and she wasn’t going to pry. But Kallisto Parkinson had been invited to Christmas, and she had been willing enough to meet Anička for lunch, and the little witch thought that those were both decent enough signs that she wasn’t just going to walk away from Philip tomorrow.

“I am, I’m looking forward to this." She had never taught anyone besides her own children magic before, and she was almost excited to teach the younger witch. She had dueled with her, at the club. A rather unprecedented public display of her abilities for fun rather than in an actual fight. But she had not shown all of her tricks either. There was something rather powerful about being underestimated time and time again. It amused her to no end that people thought she was easy to beat given her size, and her ‘fragility’ as a princess. There was simply so much about this princess that they did not know. "How have you been?"

A smirk passed over her face as she shut the door behind the younger witch. “I’m glad you think so. It’s quite the treat for myself to teach someone else.” Not using her magic around the house had become a habit since everyone had gotten sick, and a regular excuse to let out all of the energy that was building up inside of her was a much-needed outlet. “If you’ll come with me. I believe we should start outside, since the weather is nice enough.” There was room in the gym in the basement, but Anička much preferred to work outside. She needed far less control over her fire if there was less to burn.

@ protégé • 880 • anička's outfit

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0