Basket Case...

Harry and Kali eventually returned to their beach tree house and resumed their usual schedule. Though, Kali had begun work on examining the blindfold so she could discover its exact functions as well as the curse that lingered upon it.

Harry had also begun to put more time and effort into his magical practice... Their recent run-in with the Wand-User had put him on edge, that man had essentially fired a missile from the stick he was using, something Harry wasn't quite capable of yet.

Plus, he suspected that the man wasn't all that strong, add the fact he'd gone mad and Harry suddenly didn't feel all that confident about dealing with the magic users of this world anymore... Sure, Kali had said he was rapidly improving but was it enough to guarantee his freedom? As much as he'd like to answer yes, he just wasn't sure.

Right now he could be seen firing many fire and lightning-based spells into the ocean. Large napalm-like fireballs, arc-lighting that'd jump over the ocean as if it were surfing... He even conjured blades made from sand, blasted them with fire to turn them glasslike before telekinetically firing them off into the distance.

After ten minutes of this, he falls backwards onto the sand panting heavily with sweat beading down his cheek. "Why do I still feel so weak?" he mutters to himself, not being able to get rid of that niggling feeling that he wasn't strong enough yet. "Maybe another ritual is required...?" he murmurs to himself unsurely.

His tendency to rely on rituals to fix everything could one day bite him in the ass, Kali had told him exactly that many times... Those who deal with dark gods always have dark ends, she compares it to substance abuse you'd see in cities. A couple rituals to improve what you lack is fine, but continuous and unrelenting attempts?

There was such a thing as 'attracting unwanted attention' amongst warlocks. Every ritual risks you gaining the interest of a demon god for one reason or another, you are after all opening yourself up to the void where all can view you, and potentially toy with you should they have the inclination.

Still, Harry was determined to become the most skilled in ritual-craft possible. As of now, he had Kali's protection, which would give some leeway should he draw someone's ire. Kali herself supposedly wasn't strong enough to go against gods, but her mother was still an obstacle...

*Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat*

The sound of feet hitting sand causes him to turn, he quickly spots the person responsible... It's the tribal leader's daughter, her name was... Panya? She's around five to six years old, not smart or linguistically gifted enough to be of any interest to him.

She's half his size with the usual black skin of her tribe, brown eyes and short black hair tied into braids. He idly wondered if and when she would receive the tribal tattoo's that the rest of her tribe seemed to have... He doubted someone as young as her could cope with something so painful.

"U-umholi?" she anxiously asks, the word basically meaning 'Leader' in English.

...

Harry releases a sigh and looks at her, "Yes?"

She pulls a basket out from behind her and pushes it towards him, "E-everyone is happy that you saved our ancestor's graves... I got this for you!"

Harry looks down at the basket filled to the brim with colourful exotic flowers in confusion, "Why?" he asks. Even if he wanted a reward, what purpose did flowers serve? It wasn't like they were edible, or usable in his endeavours...

"B-because they look pretty, and I thought you would like them!... D-do you not?" she mutters with moist eyes, arms slowly lowering the basket.

...

"I..." he pauses, wondering what this odd feeling was. It certainly wasn't what he felt when around Kali, he had no idea what it was... He runs a hand through his sweaty hair, "I... Might be able to find some use for them, perhaps some poison?" he says more to himself than to Panya.

Her downtrodden expression quickly changes into a smile as she blinks away the threatening tears, she pushes the basket into his arms with a blush before trying to run away, only to be stopped by Harry.

"Wait..." he calls out and the girl slowly turns, "Do... Do you like magic?"

She tilts her head, "Do you mean the *Pow, Bang!*" she throws out a couple weak punches and verbally mimics the sounds of his spells, "things you do? Yeah! They are really amazing!"

Harry slowly nods, wondering if this girl would be able to use magic... She was young enough to be taught, and her ancestors clearly possessed it. Perhaps 'creating' his own allies wouldn't only be applicable to rituals. "More amazing than your dad?"

Panya chews her lip for a moment before shaking her head, "Nope! Papa is still cooler and stronger!"

Harry crooks a brow, "Oh? Stronger?" he questions, feeling as if she was delusional... He and Kali had basically taken on their entire tribe as servants after all.

"Papa can lift so much! He can beat anyone!" she chirps, childish awe shining in her eyes.

Harry grins and turns back towards the ocean, "Watch this!", with that he begins casting a variety of spells at the water, even controlling the water of the ocean to create whips. He attempts to form ice spears from it but quickly realises the salt content is making it far more difficult than it usually is.

He enjoys the surprised gasps of Panya as he continues to produce spells, at this point, not even training but just entertaining the little girl... Huh, he was getting a bad feeling for some-

"Master~" Kali hums from behind Panya, her bikini revealing far too much for even a beach setting... Panya quickly turns around in surprise but loses her footing and falls onto Kali, catching herself on one of Kali's goat legs...

Kali just glares down at the child and shakes her off, causing the girl to fall backwards onto the sand. She returns to looking at Harry, "Here I am working on your artifact, yet you're playing with another girl..." she raises a finger to her eye and wipes a nonexistent tear from her face, "You really know how to make a girl feel used..."