It didn’t take long to wait for Varus to announce what was the trial he wanted the others to complete, only about two minutes after they had arrived at the designated spot. Akasha being one of the first students to have followed the instructor, she was mentally and physically preparing herself for the trial, minding her into the challenge that was to be, and stretching her muscles while doing so. Even if the challenge required the use of her magic, being at peak shape would only be the better. She was an amazon after all, she had to show the strength she had acquired in the wilderness.
While she was stretching (at this point, she seemed to have gone into a split maneuver), she had noticed many young people gathering around each other, mostly into two groups. She recognized the two young men she was playing with earlier, “Glasses” she believe he was called, and the handsome guy with the snake eyes. But the two of them seemed to belong in different groups. She wondered why everyone started teaming up together. Did they believe in strength of unity to accomplish the trial that was going to be? The young wild woman had difficulty to understand their reason. To prove one’s strength, one must show just how self-sufficient they can be. At least that’s what her tribe believed in, hence the trial she had to undergo when she had just reached her teenage years, also the fateful day she had acquired her powers.
When Varus’ spoke about the trial, Akasha eagerly listened. She was, however, a bit disappointed by the simplicity of their task. If everyone had to show him what they can do, it was just an easy matter of showing off their powers, wasn’t it? With that in mind, the young amazoness stepped out happily from the group and approached the instructor.
“Oh oh, me first!” Akasha said excitedly.
Closing her eyes, the savage girl focused on what she had to do. She could not perfectly control her powers, but unlike many others here, Akasha had one special someone in her life who guided her throughout her moments of confusion and solitude. Even though she never knew her parents, she had one parental figure, someone she held dear to her heart. Even when the tribe distance itself from her due to her “special nature”, the shaman, whom she called her aunt, was always there for her. And in her moments of need, Akasha would always remember her words:
“Close your eyes and focus, my dear. Grasp the symbol of your power into your hands and unleash the animal within yourself. Roar to the sky, if need be. Let yourself loose into this world, and let it know that a new predator has been set free upon this land.” Akasha recited, the exact same words her auntie told her the first time she had to willingly transform.
The sigil on Akasha’s left shoulder shone of the color of sunset as the young amazon grew in confidence. There was only one thing that needed to be done for her to reach the peak of her manifestation.
Akasha roared at the top of her lungs. At first, it sounded as if a girl was screaming her life away. But as seconds passed, the scream distorted into a more booming, echoing tone, effectively mimicking the roar of a leopard. During that time, Akasha’s skin turned jet-black, her entire features disappearing into an undiscerning darkness and her human silhouette seemed to be changing into that of a beast.
Standing in the amazon’s place, a menalistic leopard, more commonly known as a black panther, has replaced the alluring girl of the wild. The beast looked to be confused for a little while, one of the very rare times Akasha actually transformed willingly into her beast aspect. But she soon came back to her senses, and remembered the trial.
Turning around quickly to face the groups of students, the black panther had a glint of mischievousness in its eyes. If panthers could smile, they could bet on their life that it would be just as wide as Akasha’s playful grin.
Panther Akasha lost no time in finding the target of her playfulness. She was aiming for the same guy she previously bumped into when she had first arrived at Four Winds, the guy with the snake eyes! Using her superior jumping skills, Panthera crouched on all fours before springing into action, making an impressive leap towards the guy.
“Let’s play again, snakey-eyes~! Show me what you got!” the panther roared.