As Ajihad finished up packing, he was somewhat surprised to see [member="Xander Blackmoore"] standing in the doorway. So much for seven hours to himself. However, he listened to what the man had to say. It seemed he approved of his choice in reading.
Several hours later, they landed right by a large wood cabin. Ajihad moved towards the door, carrying his sole bag. However, his master stopped him, forcing him to leave the bag behind. He pursed his lips, holding back any and all complaints. He raised an eyebrow as the White Assassin told him to keep the book, and learn an ability by the next day. He grabbed the book, and followed Xander inside the cabin to quickly put away his bag, then went back outside with the book. The sun was beginning to set, making it hard for a normal person to read. However, this was no problem for Ajihad and his cybernetic eye. The device quickly adjusted for the dimming light, making the pages more than viewable. He sat down at the base of the tree, and began to look through the compendium.
After a little bit, Ajihad picked an ability. Mind Control. It would be heavily ambitious for most to learn it in one night, but less so for Ajihad. Ever since the day he was born, he was always talented with mental manipulation. He used it on a regular basis, and had even begun to expand his horizons with the ability. He began controlling people. Well, sort of. He could only do a few basic things by invading peoples' minds. Mainly, he could knock them unconscious, or paralyze them. It was fairly simple for a natural with the ability. All one rely had to do was find their mind's "off" switch, and then flip it. They would fall to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
As talented as Ajihad was with that, he had never gone beyond knocking people out. This ability would be easier to learn because of his aptitude for mental manipulation, but by no means would it be a free pass to victory. It would be a hard ability to learn.
After resting the synopsis on how to execute mind control, Ajihad looked for a suitable test subject. He scanned the lawn for lifeforms, and detected a rabbit on the far side. He closed his eyes, reaching out and into the creature's mind. It was alien, but very small and simple. It didn't have a complex thought process, making Ajihad's job a bit easier. Now came the hard part. He needed to seize control of the creature.
Ajihad thought of what he wanted the creature to do. He wanted it to hop towards him. He relayed the simple command across the bond, exporting it into the rabbit's thought process. The creature turned, and hopped once. However, that's as far as it went. The bond broke, and the bunny hopped away.
The knight grinned. What he had done wasn't much, but it was progress nonetheless. Unfortunately, he had just lost his test subject.
For the next several hours, he went across the lawn, interacting with all sorts of animals. He discovered the closer he got, the more effective the bond was. He practiced until past midnight, and he was exhausted. The constant use of the force had worn him out, and he needed rest. Confident he had learned a satisfactory amount, Ajihad climbed to the top of the tree and laid on a high branch. He closed his eyes, giving in to the darkness.
