she slept with wolves without fear
He follows easily enough, clearly desperate for the knowledge. Not that she can blame him. If she had been like him, able to touch the shadows but not control them, she would have been grasping at information as well.
They find a quiet place to work and she turns to face him, watching as he pulls the shadows in. He does have talent she’ll give him that (he wouldn’t have gotten so far on his own if he wasn’t), but he is woefully uninformed.
When he asks what they can do, she can’t help but grin. The thought of what she will be able to introduce him to the makes her feel … well, powerful. She will open his eyes to a whole other world.
“Oh so many things.” She starts simple, drawing shadows into herself and forming a thick, dark armour. It’s stronger than the one he’s drawn about himself - somehow solid, despite its nature. It’s a technique that she’s become well practiced at over the years. Knowing how to protect oneself is always an important skill.
Next she turns her attention to a nearby tree, lashing out with a thin tendril of darkness. With a crack, the tree falls, sliced right through. Without pause she rises into the air, soaring and dipping. The average eye wouldn’t notice, but Rhonan might - she’s crafted tiny disks of darkness and fastened them to her hooves to make herself levitate. She drops the disks and creates wings, swooping in for a landing in front of Rhonan. Once she’s steady, she draws a curtain of darkness about herself and teleports, popping back up in the shadows of an old oak. She pauses for a moment, concentrating and she disappears, invisible in the shadows. Then she reappears, her form shifting and growing until a giant, slavering wolf appears to walk towards Rhonan. She lets the wolf form around her dissipate and follows the wisps of darkness, becoming shadow herself, her 2D form slipping across the ground. She becomes solid flesh again and settles herself facing Rhonan for one last trick. She concentrates hard, focusing on the ground between them. Darkness blossoms from the earth, and a small black mouse is formed, then another and another. They are perhaps her most important creation - fully formed independent, intelligent creatures that, once released, will serve her every whim. It had taken her a long time to perfect them.
She sets them free and they scurry off in all directions (one heading back in the direction of Demian and Thorunn, though it’s impossible to tell amongst all the dashing mice), disappearing within moments. Then she looks up at Rhonan and smiles, wicked grin matching wicked grin. It’s showing off, plain and simple. Something she never, ever does. Shadows are more effective when used in secret. But at least it’s showing off with a purpose. To know what they are capable of, at first, Rhonan will need to see it first hand. He will need to see the possibilities so that his own mind can be opened.
There is of course, more that she can do, though not much more. But she will save it for another time. What she has shown him is a good place to start. And besides, Rhonan could figure them out on his own once he becomes competent enough. In fact she is sure that he will eventually discover aspects of the ability that she is not even aware of. That’s the wonderful part of being able to manipulate the shadows - the only true limit is your imagination.
Her grin widens as she stares at Rhonan, waiting for his reaction. “Where would you like to start?” The world is open to them.
for the wolves knew a lion was among them