I Am Totally a Real-Life Wizard (Not Clickbait, I Swear!)

"Sounds good."

"Let us know if there's anything we can help with!" Dawn glowed.

Cody motioned for the siblings to stand up, then said, "Okay, so the first thing to learn is mindset. Get rid of any negative beliefs and doubts. Magic is about both knowledge and confidence."

Vendetta nodded. “No doubts or negative beliefs. Just confidence and knowledge.”

They decided to bluntly ignore the slew of doubts thundering in their stomach. That was a Future Vendetta problem. Besides, if Vendetta could convince themself they were confident, it was bound to happen eventually.

Right?

Valeri stood up straighter. She'd been faking confidence for years until it'd just become, like, a part of them... so they should be fine.

Right?

Cody glanced at the siblings. "Feeling good?"

They nodded.

Cody flicked off the lights. "Okay. Let's try a simple light spell now, then."

Spoiler

Look, it’s the “fake-it-till-ya-make-it” siblings.

Vendetta swallowed. “Alright. How do we do it?”

Cody walked past the siblings. “I want you to hold out your hand and imagine light springing from your fingers.”

Spoiler

XD they're about to be exposed... :p

Valeri held out her hand in the semi-darkness and tried to visualize bright beams of sunlight shooting out of her fingertips. "Is that it? Just imagination, no words?"

"Yes. The more complicated spells require incantations, but light just requires intent."

"Okay." Valeri frowned as she tried to create light.

Vendetta frowned, imagining light pooling in the palm of their hand and cascading to the floor. But, nothing happened. They squinted in the semi-darkness and held out their hand like Eleven from Stranger Things, but there wasn’t a single spark. “Are you sure we’re doing this right?”

“You are.” Cody leaned against a wall, watching them intently. “Keep going.”

Valeri switched hands. Maybe her left hand was more magical. "Okay... light. Come on." She tried splaying her fingers, then making her hand into a fist. They imagined sunlight, fluorescent light, UV light. "Uh... nothing's happening..."

Cody hummed. “I know. Because you haven’t been honest.”

Vendetta flushed. “What do you mean? We’re not lying to you.”

“Well, you’re lying to somebody because you’re not confident enough to do this.”

"What? No... that's not..." Valeri dropped her hand.

"Magic doesn't lie." Cody flicked the lights on again and gestured for the siblings to sit down.

Khalil gave them a kind smile. "It's alright. Confidence isn't easy to gain, you know."

Cody nodded. “It takes years to build up and it’s easily destroyed.” He sat beside Khalil, taking xer hand again. “But trust me, you’re not alone. You have each other.”

“And us.” Dusk vibrated.

Cody smiled. “And Dusk and Dawn.”

"Thanks..." Valeri tried to smile. "But how do we gain confidence? We'll need magic to defeat Josephinzo."

Dawn hummed. "Well, there are ways to fight that don't involve magic. Sometimes trickery is the most effective."

"Right. But if you really do want to learn magic... start with this. What's one thing that you think is awesome about yourself?" Cody looked at Valeri and Vendetta.

Spoiler

That awkward horror of that question.

Vendetta laughed nervously. “Alright. Okay.” They drummed their fingers on their thighs, willing themself to think of anything. “Oh! I find that it’s awesome that I’m so easy to talk to.”

And trick. And convince. And lie to.

They smiled. “Yeah!”

Spoiler

XD

"And as for me, well, my skills with duct tape are pretty awesome? Like, I was able to gag and handcuff Guy in two seconds flat." Valeri shrugged, trying to seem like the exercise was easy for them. Duct tape skills counted, right?

"...Okay, how about this. What are some awesome things you think about each other?"

Oh, that was actually easy. "Vendetta is the absolute sweetest. There was that one time they even made a pickpocketer feel bad about stealing from us." Valeri smiled, genuinely this time.

Spoiler

Weird flex, but okay Valeri.

Vendetta grinned at that. “And Valeri is one of the strongest people I know. She doesn’t back down and she fights for those they love. They’re awe-inspiring.”

Cody nodded. “I see.”

Spoiler

Duct tape can be very useful >.>
Also, self-help books must sell like hotcakes in this world xD ("Find Your Inner Confidence and Unlock Your Magic, All in 30 Days!")

"Alright, keep those thoughts in mind. Your sibling believes in you, so if you have trouble finding your own confidence, remember their confidence in you."

Valeri nodded determinedly. "Okay. Let's do this, Vendetta."

Cody flicked off the lights again.