%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| >> Campfire Creative >> Fiction >> Death >> ID #1317429 |   |
| |||||||||||||
[Introduction]
Continued from "Invalid Item" 
|
 Stormy is Editing Warah stretched. "So, any questions, comments, concerns?" he grinned. "Or are you feeling well enough to try your hand at it?" M "I think I'm ready," Charlie replied, a bit startled by the move back to application, "but am I just trying to observe my gift this time then?" Stormy is Editing Warah nodded. "I'm going to take down my shield, and I want you to watch what your gift does, observe it's behavior, see what it's trying to do. And for my part, I'll do my best to not push it away." Warah grinned. "Are you ready?" M Charlie nodded, "I hope it doesn't cause too much trouble," he said as he waited. Stormy is Editing Warah smiled and a moment later his shield was down, and an array of random thoughts flooded out into the open. Some were simple bright colors, things like, "Hate this heat," and "Is it ever going to rain?". There were some in darker colors, and one in a dark, dark blue green that simply said, "Loki". M Charlie attempted to see how his magic was coming up with these topics in the first place, so he could understand its pattern."You know it will rain eventually though," he said his eye on the magic that was his though not yet under his control, "it always does." Stormy is Editing Warah smiled, "I know it will, it just seems to take forever." The thought turned bright white and disappeared, being replaced with one that was a touch darker and said, "I hate being eternally in spring." M *I thought it was always spring here!* Charlie said to Janus."I see what you mean about the topics," Charlie said to Warah, "it can be ridiculously difficult not to comment on things you know nothing about, because suddenly you do know. I can't really see or feel my magic digging up these thoughts though." Stormy is Editing Janus licked his paw. *I thought the seasons changed every once in a while. I was wrong then.*Warah nodded. "And if you don't know better, you think that that is what you gift is all about. And if you spent time working on these surface thoughts, then you might never get anywhere as far as really healing the mind. It's very easy to look at the thoughts and want to comment on them." M Charlie nodded in complete agreement. "So what do I do next?" Stormy is Editing "So, now that you're fairly used to seeing them, you want to look at what is connecting them together. That is your magic. It might take you a while, relax and look. It is likely to be a small strand of magic that is binding them all together." M Charlie tried relaxing and watching for the connection. Stormy is Editing It took him a moment, like Warah said, it was very small, but he eventually noticed that there was a thin strand of silver energy that was linking all of the thoughts. Then he noticed that it was reaching inside of Warah's mind, and seemed to be pulling thoughts out of it. M "I see it! It's like a silver spider web. I've more or less been looking for it this whole time. It really is difficult to find." Charlie watched it with interest and a touch of annoyance. He didn't really like it going off and doing what it wanted without consulting him first. On the other hand he had released it to do just that. Stormy is Editing Warah's eyes looked at him in a way that was difficult to define. "Silver?" he said, his voice soft. M Charlie nodded, "Yes, is that significant? Is yours not silver?"*Janus? I hate it when his eyes do that. I mean, what does that look mean?* Stormy is Editing Warah shook his head, "Nope, mine is a very light sea green." He smiled, "Every time I think I've figured something out about you, you surprise me again." The strange look was gone from his eyes.*I do too. I don't know what that means. It makes me think he's saying "What the heck are you?" you know?* M "What did you think you had figured out?"*Do you think? So, I intrigue him like one of his experiments? If I do he might want to spend a lot of time with me.* Charlie grinned at that thought, nearly laughing out loud, but managing not to. Stormy is Editing Warah shrugged, "Well, I had thought that I knew what your "abnormality" was, the fact that you had hidden and rare gifts. But now, well," he shrugged, "that can't be it. At least, that can't be all to you. There's something more that's strange."*I'm not sure you'd want to be one of his experiments Charlie...* Janus said sceptically. He licked Charlie's face. M *I don't, but I'd like to hold his attention as firmly as they do, even if only briefly.* Charlie blushed as the reason behind that desire occurred to him. Then, as he really thought over Warah's response he laughed."Abnormality is it? Warah, are you trying out your scientific methods on me? I think I've become an object of your study." Stormy is Editing Warah smiled and shrugged, "Trying out scientific methods? Not yet, just making observations based on scientific knowledge. You've been an object of study since you knocked on my door the first day you came in here. Your magic is very interesting, I do enjoy watching you grow." He grinned.*Flirt. I suppose if you're going to like someone, Warah is safe. At least he knows you're dead.* M *Was I flirting? Is he flirting? Why don't I get this flirting thing? Am I doing it poorly, well, or moderately?*Charlie shook his head. "I'm glad I can provide something interesting to watch." Stormy is Editing Janus licked his paw. *Flirting is flirting. I think you're doing it shyly, so... moderately?*"That you are," Warah grinned. *That was a flirt back, by the way.* M Charlie thought that over for a moment and saw something in it he hadn't before.*Wait, if he's flirting back does that mean he likes me too?* Charlie shook his head. "So why do the silver connections make me so unusual? That just means my energy is different from yours right?" Stormy is Editing Warah nodded, "Yes, it means the energy connected with the mind healing is silver, which in most cases is related to the element spirit, and is very rare for someone to have."*Probably. That or he likes to flirt. You could ask him.* M *No, I don't think I could.*Charlie considered that. "Don't you have spirit magic of some sort? Or do you just have the spirit spirit?" Stormy is Editing *Why not? It would solve one question,* Janus said, a small smirk to his voice."I have many different gifts, but none of them are specifically a "spirit" gift per say. I just have a little of every element." Warah shrugged. "And I have the spirit spirit." M "Oh," Charlie looked as closely as he could at the strands, "well, they definitely look silver to me." He did not bother to reply to Janus. After all, Janus knew full well how uncomfortable it would be for him to ask that question. Stormy is Editing Warah's eyes unfocused for a few moments. "Yes, yes that's definately silver alright. This just proves that there is more to you than I thought. That makes me happy, would you like to get under a microscope for me?" Warah grinned. M "What, all of me?" Charlie laughed, "Do you have a big enough microscope for that?" Stormy is Editing Warah's grin got bigger, "Yeah, I think I do. Want to come to the lab to find out for sure?" M "I don't know. I think if I let you study me too thoroughly you'll figure me out and be done with me," Charlie teased. Teasing he understood. Flirting seemed much more subtle and foreign. Stormy is Editing Warah laughed. "Perhaps, but I don't think you're going to be that easy to figure out. It might take me a few years." Then he shook his head. "It's fun to banter with you, you give back as good as you get." M Charlie grinned mischievously, "Does that mean you can't produce that huge microscope after all?" Stormy is Editing "Oh no," Warah said, still grinning, "I can produce, but you probably wouldn't want to see it, or be part of the experiment." M "Is it for a particular experiment?" The banter, as Warah had called it, fell to the wayside as Charlie's curiosity piqued. Stormy is Editing Warah grimaced, "You could say that," he hedged, and Charlie could see the word "Loki" get a bit darker, and pulse with life. M "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to bring up an uncomfortable topic," Charlie said, "but I think it would be interesting to see a microscope that big. I can't imagine its usage." He was silent briefly. "I think it was fun to banter with you as well Warah. Should we be stopping, or moving forward?" Stormy is Editing Warah smiled. "We should be stopping the banter, and if you really do want to see it sometime, I'll let you. As for moving forward, I think, if you're not too tired to do so, we should. Are you ready for the next trick?" M Charlie nodded, "I should warn you however, that I'm not a very good judge of when I'm too tired to move forward. Sana judges when we should stop and I often find I'm much more fatigued then I thought." Stormy is Editing Warah smiled, "I'll remember that. Alright, this shouldn't take too much energy, which means it'll take a lot." He grinned, "What I want you to do, is follow that silver thread deep into my mind, and see where it's pulling it's thoughts from. It will likely go into all angles, but you need to get a feel for what it's doing. Take your time, I'm not worried about what you'll find in there." M "Alright," Charlie followed the silvery strand into Warah's mind, intent on the shining trail, feeling and watching it. Stormy is Editing It was fairly easy to follow, now that he could find it. It led into Warah's mind, and then scattered into several directions. He could count at least twelve different strands. M He chose one more or less at random and followed it, using the same strategy at every turn. Stormy is Editing After much turning and winding, he came to a door that was the same color as the thought that was coming out of it. The door was wooden and closed. M Charlie reached out and tried to open it. Stormy is Editing The door opened right away, and Charlie was swept away on a memory."Ugh, I hate the rain," said a young boy, bright red hair and blue eyed staring at me. "It's so depressing." I laughed, "Really? It's just the worlds tears, washing away our sadness." "We have a lot of sadness then, don't you think?" I nod. "There's a lot of sadness in the world," I agree, "Think about what we've had since we were dead Andri." He nods and shrugs. "It's not like we can do anything about it. Most of the sadness in the world is self caused though." "I don't know about that. Well, maybe," I shrug. "Perhaps it's all in how you look at things." "I look at it like this. I hate the rain." I laugh. Charlie blinked and he was sitting down in his bed again, outside of Warah's mind completely. "Did you have fun?" he asked, amusement in his voice. M "Andri didn't like rain. He had red hair. Mine is much more orange than his. It was neat to see what he looked like." Charlie paused and looked at Warah realizing that none of that was particularly relevant. "Oh, and when I try to follow the energy through a door I get a memory. Although I think that can't be true all the time. How did I end up here again?" Stormy is Editing Warah started, his eyes startled. "Andri? Gods, it's been forever since I've heard someone say his name." He sighed, "Yes, yes of course you're learning about him." He laughed slightly, then took a deep breath. "Yes, he had red hair, it was something I rather liked about him. There weren't very many people with red hair near me, so it was interesting. As for how you got here, well, that's what happened when you saw my memory, after the fact, you came right back out. I wonder if you unintentionally healed it?" Warah's eyes unfocused, and he chuckled, "Yes, you healed it. How do you feel? Perhaps we should stop for the moment." M "I feel fine," Charlie responded imediately. He seemed to have only two settings really, just fine and completely exhausted. He didn't have much sense of anything in between. "What was I looking for again? There were so many twists and turns. I mean it was all over the place that gift of mine." Stormy is Editing Warah smiled, "Well, that's how you can tell what it's doing. See, if it only went a few places then you would know that it is picking for something specifically. Since it wasn't, it was scattered, that meant that it didn't really care what it was after, it only wanted to do some healing. Your gift is... very active." Warah grinned and leaned back. "My mind is a bit larger than the average, since I'm so old." M "Is that part of training it, getting it to look for specific things?" Stormy is Editing Warah nodded. "You need to be able to tell what is most important in a person's mind, what needs to be healed in order for a person to be healthy." Warah took a deep breath."Let me explain. The main point in mind healing is to heal the mind. The problem with that, as you stated yourself, is that a mind can become completely healed and then the very next day, have issues. What is the main contributing factor to that, do you think?" M "Life," Charlie suggested. "I mean every moment things happen to a person, the things that happen can cause problems as can the person's reaction to them. Then they talk to others and what others say can also disrupt the healing that took place or cause some new problem. A lot of mental discomfort that could be healed would probably take care of itself in time, we are constantly changing mentally from moment to moment." Stormy is Editing Warah grinned, "Exactly. You've got a really good mind there Charlie. I'm pleased indeed!" Warah was silent for a moment, then chuckled. "Alexis is impressed as well. She says you've learned at rapid speeds. Alright, now, here's another puzzle for you."Let's say you are faced with someone who is so mentally damaged, they cannot function in normal society, and have been removed from it. This person is under your care. You have enough energy to completely heal their mind in one shot, would you do so, or not, and why?" M "No, it would be too much of a shock and it probably wouldn't hold up. I think the healing should be mixed with discussion or that individual might be left in confusion. Actually, I suspect doing something like that might leave gaps in their memories as the healing would take place without their assistance. I don't know why I feel that way, but it seems logical that the person being healed has to be involved in the process for it to work correctly." Stormy is Editing Warah beamed. "Alright, here's another thought. Which would you tackle first? The deep, dark thoughts or the surface light thoughts?" M "That's where things get less black and white for me. I think the lightest ones that are a real problem should be first. I'm not sure how to distinguish those. Maybe find the deep problem, then look for related things closer to the surface and begin with those. Can that be done?" Stormy is Editing Warah nodded, "Yes, something like that can be done. It's more advanced but it can be trained. You would want to find the darkest problem, and see what lighter area's are related to it, and then move deeper. The problem with the light area's is that if you heal all of those, they'll just come back out if you don't take care of their source. Is this making sense?" M "I suppose I see that. It only means that the deepest one needs to be healed before they can resurface right? Or is it necessary to start at the deepest level?" Stormy is Editing "That depends solely on your healing style. As I've never met anyone besides myself who has the gift, I have to say that my best luck has been to start at the deepest level, and work out. But that's usually because I don't have a lot of time on my hands." M "I'll think about that then." Charlie replied, seeing the reason in that. He had to wonder if Warah had tried to heal someones entire mind in one go at some point or another. He wasn't going to ask. Stormy is Editing Warah nodded. "Alright, I think that's it for a bit, time for food, and I think I'll leave you to your devices until tomorrow. Think you can keep busy?" M "If nothing else I have more reading to do," Charlie replied. "Now, if only I knew how to turn this gift back off." Stormy is Editing Warah smiled, "How about you put a specific hold on your shield? Just the outside layer should work." M "Hm, that's a good idea." Charlie focused and began doing as suggested. Stormy is Editing Once the shield was set, Warah stood and walked over to Charlie, gently ruffling his hair. "I'll see you later Charlie," he said softly, "Take care, and let me know if you need anything, alright?" M "I will, or more likely Janus will, if I really need something." Charlie looked up at him with a smile. Stormy is Editing The hand in Charlie's hair left and Warah nodded, "Good," he said simply as he headed to the door, and then out, glancing back once at Charlie before leaving.*That was... interesting,* Janus said as he licked his paw. M *What was interesting?* Stormy is Editing *Warah, I think...* Janus paused then shook his head. *Nevermind.* M *You are not being completely forthright with me Janus, which is very unusual. Is it just that you don't understand yourself? What don't you understand if that's it?* Stormy is Editing Janus sighed, *I think Warah is projecting.* His voice was reluctant, *Perhaps it's related to Andri.* M Charlie lifted Janus and held him so their eyes met. *Please explain where your feeling is coming from.* Stormy is Editing *The way he looks at you. The way he sometimes seems to see you as someone else. I can't explain it more than that. But like, at the end, where he was touching your head. I can't help but wonder if it's from him liking you or from him seeing you as someone other than who you are.* Janus blinked and stretched out so he could lick Charlie's nose. M Charlie laughed softly at him and wrapped him in his arms, cuddling him. *Thank you Janus, that was much more clear and it helps me to know about it. I will have to be careful I might just remind him of Andri. I've been wondering how close they became.* Stormy is Editing Janus snuggled in, *If nothing else, they were good friends. Very close in that way. I suspect more but... there's no proof of that now.* M Charlie leaned back, petting Janus. Closing his eyes he drifted into a half sleep waiting for his food to arrive. Stormy is Editing Janus remained in his arms, pleased to no end to be there. When the food arrived, he blinked up at Charlie and asked, *Carrot?* M Charlie handed him a couple and began eating hungrily. Once every bit of food was in one of their stomachs Charlie cleaned his hands and reached for Warah's book, turning to his marked place. Stormy is Editing *It's strange, isn't it? I'm looking forward to reading more of it too.*((If no comment or anything, just pass it back.)) M *It's sort of become personal for me actually.* Charlie looked down, *but don't tell Warah that.* Stormy is Editing Janus giggled in his mind, *Personal, like you want to delve into his mind?* Janus licked his cheek, *Personal like you're coming to like him more than just a crush?* M *Personal, like I want to know what happened because I care about him.* Stormy is Editing Janus nodded. *Charlie's first love,* he said softly. M Charlie shook his head, not to deny it but just because. Then, he began reading. Stormy is Editing Page FourteenThis was written in black ink. "It has been several weeks since I wrote last. I wandered until I came to a town of the dead a few days walk from the village and the Academy. These people are all uncaring about magic and gifts, and offer me sanctuary from them all. I came to them exhausted and the placed me on a bed. I woke hungry, to find they had food ready for me. They have asked nothing from me, and I am beginning to believe they never will. Even the ink I am writing with was pressed into my hand freely. "I have recovered significantly from my battle and I am ready to plan, wait and try to understand. I am uncertain how much of my time I am going to spend here, but I look forward to each moment of learning, as these people seem to have a different type of magic than what I am used to seeing." Page Fifteen "I have spent a great deal of time understanding the magic that surrounds these people and I have come to a great understanding! They have the ability to create anything that they see, feel and sense. If they can imagine what something looks like, they can create it. If they can remember how something tastes, they can make it. They take magic from their very souls to do this, and it is intriguing to no end. I find myself amazed by this discovery. "I have asked them to teach such things to me, however I am not nearly so good at it as they are. I do not know if this is because I have different magics from them, or if I simply cannot figure out what exactly it is they are doing. I am practicing this new magic and have named it, "Soul Magic". Everyone seems amused that I am naming it at all, however I think it's discovery is worthy of a name." Stormy is Editing Page Sixteen"It has been months now, and I have mastered passable use of Soul Magic. Time seems to flow quickly here, as though there is nothing to hinder me or my abilities. I believe I have mastered most of my gifts, to the point where I am comfortable with using them at any rate. I have decided to search for Andri, and if that takes me back to the village, and the Academy, so be it. I won't be hindered any longer. I feel that someone should do something about the unfair treatment of people with unusual gifts. I will be going out and creating my own army if I need to. "Those who live here have asked me not to leave, and have expressed concern at me doing so. I believe they truly value my presence and it saddens me to leave them. However I cannot simply stay and not neglect my vows. They have pitched together to create a pack of meals for several days, as well as clothes and blankets that are easy to carry. I appreciate what they have done, and I will try my hardest to return to them someday." Page Seventeen "Having wandered in the general direction I believe I came from for several days, I am forced to believe that perhaps this was not my most wise of decisions. I have come across no sign that I had once come through here, and the only living, or dead, creatures that I see are birds and wild animals. I believe I shall walk for a few more days before I completely believe them to be gone." ---- "I have finally come across the village, and the sight of it is terrible to behold. The Academy must have returned to finish off the job they started. The buildings are completely gone, burned to the ground, and there is no evidence that anyone survive, or remains near. I will keep looking for them, for any sign of them at all." M Charlie shook his head and turned the page. Stormy is Editing Page Eighteen"After several days of searching, I have found the survivors of the attack on the village. They have no qualms with me, but perhaps that is because Andri leads them. He was exceptionally pleased to see me. He has been leading attacks against the Academy, and causing them a great deal of trouble in the process. He said he was so angry with everyone that he had been determined to leave, however those who remained after the second attack wanted nothing more than for him to stay and help them. I can't say I blame him for attacking the Academy, and I am somewhat please he's so happy to see me. He's been an inspiration to them, and I am going to be joining the fight. "I sense about him though, a darkness that was not there previously. I suspect it is due to the experiences he has been through and I desire for him to feel better. On my own, I have been trying my hardest to do something with the thoughts around his head. I hope I am able to heal some of the pain that has been inflicted upon him." Page Nineteen "I am amazed at how much time has passed. I am currently the resident healer for the group that remains from the village. I have attempted to name us, but most of the people do not believe there is such use for names. We have been getting regular practice with our gifts as Andri leads us into attacks against the Academy and I have been impressed with his leadership abilities. I believe that we may be capable of bringing down the Academy in a short amount of time, perhaps only a year or two. I am amazed and awed by what we have accomplished. Some of the students at the Academy desire to work with us, and have joined our side. The information they give us is invaluable. I am quite pleased with the outcome. "I believe that Andri is somewhat ruthless and perhaps bloodthirsty. I have more seriously attempted to work on his thoughts and feelings, but he is resistant to me. I think he is "in the heat" so to speak and not truly thinking of what consequences are possible. I hope he does not fall into despair after all has been said and done." M *He really is a scientist to the core,* Charlie told Janus. *He has a deep seated need to name and categorize things.* Stormy is Editing Janus chuckled, *Yeah, name and categorize everything. I think though, that he's mellowed out a bit over time.* M *Perhaps,* Charlie returned to reading. Stormy is Editing As he looked down at the page, the words blurred and he felt somewhat distant from his body."What do you mean he needs help again?" he could hear an angry voice saying. "I mean just that, something's wrong with him, I think you need to take a look at him." "I can't do that, he's already in a very bad state, if I mess with his mind at all, I might do irreparable damage." "There's nothing we can do, if we don't stop it from becoming a problem, we might have another massacre on our hands." "I'm not doing this, I won't do this." *Charlie? What's wrong?* M *I... I'm not sure. Is it my magic? I hear voices.* Oddly he wanted to here more, curiosity above good sense he supposed. Stormy is Editing "You have to do this, you're the only one who can!""I was forced into the position! It's not something I want to do, don't act as though it's my solemn duty to make a mess of someone's head!" "If you don't, then many people will die." Charlie realized that one voice was Warah's, the one that was angry. "You make me do terrible things to him in the name of other people's lives." "I just don't want to see souls destroyed because his memories came back in full force. It's not like I'm asking you to walk in there and hurt him." "Each time I touch his mind I'm hurting him," Warah said in resignation. "Good day." *I think it might be your magic, but how?* Charlie was able to focus on the furry face of Janus, who was nose to nose with him. M *Is this happening now, or is it from the past?* Charlie felt like reality was tilting away from him, after all his shield was up. Which of his magic's were being used without his extending them? Stormy is Editing *I'm not sure. It's too difficult for me to tell.* Janus licked Charlie's nose. M *I'm... going to find out.* Charlie tried slipping out of the bed and onto his feet. Stormy is Editing He got out of bed, took a few steady steps, then his vision blurred again."How are you feeling?" Warah asked. "Fine, is something wrong with me Warah?" this voice was all too familiar, after hearing it once, Charlie could never forget it. That anciently young voice could only belong to Loki. "Not at all," Warah sounded friendly, but hesitant. "Why do you look so concerned then?" "Oh? Do I? I just have a lot on my mind Loki, that's all." "You've got a very tough job to do here, I'm always impressed with how well you handle it," Loki said, very seriously. Warah laughed. "I don't have a very tough job Loki, I have a wonderful job, one that I enjoy a great deal." "But you always seem so sad." *Charlie!* Janus was licking his face, and Charlie realized that he was lying flat on the floor, his head on the ground. M *Hm? Maybe I won't go,* Charlie remained on the floor, waiting to see if there would be any further lapses. Stormy is Editing "Charlie!" came Warah's worried voice as the door opened. "What on earth happened?" Strong hands were under him, twisting him so he was lying on his back instead of his stomach, gently placing his head in Warah's lap. M Charlie shook his head, "You were talking to Loki." He paused, looking up at Warah, "Were you talking to Loki?" Stormy is Editing Warah's brow creased, "Not for a few days now. What are you talking about?" His eyes were concerned. M "There's something strange going on with my magic," Charlie extended himself to check over his shields. "I was hearing conversations. You were angry about messing in someone's head, then you were talking with Loki. I wasn't asleep though, I was reading, then walking..." Stormy is Editing Warah's face paled slightly, then color returned. "Conversations?" He gently stroked the hair out of Charlie's face. "I wonder why." He closed his eyes for a few moments.Charlie's shield seemed to be fine, no holes or leaks, no magic heading out that he could tell. M He waited to see if Warah would have any luck telling what was happening. His eyes set on Warah as he waited. Stormy is Editing When Warah's eyes opened, they were confused. "That's strange," he muttered, looking down at Charlie. He blinked a few times, then shook his head, "Let's get you back on the bed, you shouldn't be lying on the ground." M Charlie nodded and tried to get up. "I think I can walk as long as it doesn't hit me again. What's strange?" Stormy is Editing Warah helped him up, and then helped him back into the bed. "You seem to be... well," he paused and looked at him for a moment before continuing. "We seem to have a sort of... gift link, I guess you could say. I've never heard of it before, and it's very interesting, but also somewhat annoying," his lips were turned up in a smile. M "Is it responsible for what I heard?" Charlie began trying to find the link. He wasn't sure what to think, but he did remember the odd click he'd felt when he'd touched Warah's ability. Stormy is Editing "I believe so. I think our magics are trying to... well, possibly to heal my mind," Warah chuckled, and the green magic appeared out of nowhere, grasping hold of something small and silver that Charlie never saw. "This," Warah said, "This is the link. It simply looks like a small strand of energy wafting off of you, but it is attached to me." M Charlie magically stared at the strand and physically stared at Warah. "There's just no part of me that doesn't want to run off and help someone anymore is there? What do we do?" he sounded a bit tired, "As much as I like you, I can't afford to let my ability randomly try to heal your mind whenever it's so inclined." Stormy is Editing Warah smiled and nodded. "Believe me, I do understand. What I think we should do is put a separate shield up around it. To block it from others and to block it from each other. I don't think I have to tell you how inconvenient such a link could be to me. Not that I don't think I have things that need healed, simply that I have an awful lot in there that is private, and if your gift is anything like mine, then it doesn't give a fig about privacy." M "Hm, that seems the quickest way and I don't mind trying it. Warah, why would a link like this happen in the first place? I mean what purpose could linked powers serve? The first thing that comes to my mind is... wouldn't that allow you, already trained as you are, to use my gift? You mentioned there was something you didn't have enough mind healing for. If our mind healing is pooled so to speak doesn't that give you more? Could that be why the link occured?" Stormy is Editing Warah pulled the chair close to Charlie's bed and ran his hand through Charlie's hair, looking down at him with a bit of wonder, and a bit of sadness in his eyes. "Yes, I believe that I could use your mind healing to my own advantage through this link. I don't think I will, and I certainly would never do so without your permission, but as I've never seen such a thing happen before, I can only speculate why it did. Perhaps it occurred so I may use your gift, but perhaps it was simply because I let you in to touch my gift. I don't believe anyone's ever done that before either. It could simply be that similar, rare gifts react to each other when they come into contact. I have no idea." His hand never stopped running through Charlie's hair, and he offered him a small smile. "I'd like to think that this means we are going to see an uprise in rare gifts, but as your whole body and magic is interesting and rare, it might not be something that simple." M "Yes, but," Charlie was really amazed at how his brain worked sometime. Here he was having a problem with the link, but instead of putting up the shield he was seeing possibilities. "You said there was something you did not have enough mind healing to do." Stormy is Editing "Yes, indeed there is. It's not something that I could ask of you, especially at this point in your life." His fingers ruffled Charlie's hair before continuing the stroking. "It would take me quite a long time to heal that mind, it is in a terrible state. I could not ask you to stay here for the months, perhaps years, it would take to heal. I simply could not ask it of you." M "I see," Charlie concentrated on the link, oddly sad to shield it. He couldn't let what was happening continue, however. He began building a shield around it. Stormy is Editing Warah nodded and began to build his own shield around his end, and stretched the jelly like substance down the link to merge with Charlie's shield. "When things have calmed down a bit, and you aren't so desperate to understand and learn your gifts, then we may talk about this again. Not until." M Charlie smiled softly, "That time may never come," he warned. "If the situation becomes desperate you will tell me?" Stormy is Editing Warah smiled, "I believe that things will settle down just fine in a few more months." He kept his hand in Charlie's hair, although the pace seemed to have slowed down a bit. M "I hope you're right," Charlie replied. "It seems like every time I turn around there are three more things I need to do and six more I want to do. That's not to mention the things I feel have to be done immediately which can come from either list." He smiled. Stormy is Editing Warah continued to smile back, "I do understand. There are several things I desire to research, and no time to do it. The Chief has made mention that he has been thinking of sending me out after a few cases, to help the workload. He knows he can't really though, every time one of the Specials come back injured. I have a good crew of workers, but most of them are on missions, and I'm here with bare minimum staff, trying to keep up with the quantity of people coming in wounded." M Charlie, realizing how much of Warah's attention he kept stealing during a time when Warah was probably so busy he could barely think straight, reached out and put his arms around Warah's neck, hugging him. Stormy is Editing Warah relaxed into Charlie's arms and hugged him back, wrapping his arms around him. He stayed like that for several minutes, and then took a deep breath and pulled back. "I think tomorrow we should work with your regular healing instead of the mind healing. If we alternate days, that might help you get used to them as you're learning about them. How does that sound?" M Charlie nodded, releasing Warah from the impromptu hug. "It sounds good, and I think I'm okay now. Sorry you had to rescue me from the floor again." He grinned sheepishly. He wouldn't have been on the floor if he hadn't tried to find Warah in the first place. He'd gotten really far too. Stormy is Editing Warah ruffled his hair. "It's alright, you need to stop spending so much time on the floor though," Warah grinned. "I'm going to head out again, take care, alright?" M "Yes, I will," he watched Warah leave.*I still think the link wouldn't have formed if it didn't have any significance,* he told Janus. Stormy is Editing *I agree. Links themselves are very rare. I think he doesn't want to talk about it too much, because he wants to think about it first.* Janus crawled up Charlie's body and perched on his chest. *You look like death warmed over. There are bags under your eyes. Why? You haven't been that busy.* M *I don't really know,* Charlie grinned, *but you've made me want to check a mirror.* He lifted the book and made sure his place was marked before setting it to the side. *Just in case I need more sleep I'll go ahead and try to get some.* Stormy is Editing Janus shook his head, *I don't think you should try to get up and walk again for a while. Sleep well Charlie.* He curled up on Charlie's chest. M The two of them fell asleep. Stormy is Editing Charlie found himself in a hospital, surrounded by people. None of them looked familiar. As he looked around, he realized that they all seemed to look right past him, as though he didn't exist at all.*What are you looking for here?* a voice asks him. It was soft, feminine, and somewhat warm. M Charlie shook his head looking for the source of the voice. *I'm not sure. I don't even know how I got here,* he replied honestly. Stormy is Editing *Ah,* a figure moved closer to him, sliding right around everyone else in the hospital. It was a young lady with flowing golden hair and bright yellow eyes. She was wearing a long white gown and had large wings that swept behind her. A glowing golden halo was above her head. *Perhaps you are dreaming?* M Charlie thought that over, *Yes, I am. I can't seem to sleep without something happening these days.* He tilted his head, studying her. *I don't know you. I'm Charlie, am I interrupting something important?* Stormy is Editing She shook her head and held out a hand. *Not at all. If your sleep is disturbed on a regular basis, that means your spirit is not solidly in your body. I am Bethany.* M *I think Warah said something about my spirit, my body and my magic. I guess that's the problem. At least it isn't that poor unicorn this evening.* He shook her offered hand, *It's nice to meet you Bethany.* Stormy is Editing The handshake was firm, and not forceful. *It's nice to meet you Charlie. Your spirit, your body and your magic hmm? Perhaps you are overwhelmed overall then. What on earth are you talking about, when you say, the unicorn?* M *I'm not sure I should have mentioned that actually. It's just that I've promised to rescue it. Maybe it will not call to me now that I've promised.* Stormy is Editing Bethany started walking away, motioning for Charlie to follow. *I think it will call out again. Unicorns are extinct, and therefore their call is very special.* She led them to a room full of people, this time it was a sitting room. She walked over to a chair and sat down. *Unicorns are rare creatures, I have only seen one in my life, and it was the most terrifying experience of my life. Do you think you will be able to rescue the one who is calling to you?* M Charlie shrugged and sat down across from her, *I will try and either rescue it or loose one or both of us trying, but yes, I believe I will. I intend to be able to at any rate.* Stormy is Editing She nodded, *That is excellent. Deciding to do something makes it much more likely that it will actually get done.* She shifted in her seat. *I don't know why you've come here, or what brought you here, but you seem somewhat lost. Is there something bothering you you'd like to talk about?* M Charlie shrugged, *Do you know anything about links?* Stormy is Editing Bethany nodded again, *Quite a bit. I've studied them as much as is possible in my current habitat. What do you wish to know?* M *I'm curious about a link that formed between my mind healing and Warah's. We've blocked it off for the moment and he couldn't really tell me what the reason for it forming might be.* Stormy is Editing *Hmm.. that seems like quite a strange thing indeed. Are the two of you friends, colleagues, or simply acquaintances?* M *That's hard to say. I recently developed a crush on him actually,* Charlie figured his very spirit was blushing. *He's in charge of the medical ward, I work in the field. At the moment though I'm being treated so we're seeing each other a certain amount. Before that we were somewhere between acquaintances and friends I think. Why?* Stormy is Editing *People who feel more for each other are more likely to develop such things as links. This link is a new thing, yes?* She smiled softly, as though she didn't have a care in the world. M Charlie nodded, "It's very new." Stormy is Editing *When people are growing attached, magic forms in ways unexpected. If you two were just beginning to become fond of each other and your gifts...* she paused, *Mind healing? Is that what you said you two had?* M Charlie nodded, watching her expression. "That's right." Stormy is Editing She nodded again, *Did your magics touch each other, literally? I've found that when rare gifts touch, they sort of... merge somewhat. Especially if one gift is significantly stronger than the other. Any of this sound familiar?* M Charlie nodded, "Yes, all of it, but why? I mean is there any reason for that?" Stormy is Editing She shook her head, *As far as I can figure, rare magics call out to each other because they aren't normal. They're lonely, so to speak, and when they find others of their kind, they cling to each other desperately.* M Charlie laughed softly, shaking his head. *Our magics are clinging because they feel lonely? So this doesn't have to do with us personally or it does?* Stormy is Editing She nodded, *It does, if you felt no connection to each other, no affection at all, the link would have been created, but at a very minimal state. Most likely neither of you would have known about it. Since you do feel affection, the link is stronger, more willing to be connected. Magics are social things. It's almost like they're alive.* M Charlie sighed, *We had to shield the link as our magics were trying to socialize by healing his mind without our permission. I don't know how I feel about closing it off like that. It makes me sad. On the other hand I can't be falling over on the floor every time my magic leaps into action.* Stormy is Editing Bethany reached out a hand and gently touched the outside of his shield. *This is a good shield. Strong, unrelenting, rigid. Is that how your are inside?* M "No, I don't think so, but I thought a shield ought to have those attributes. Did you want to look at the link?" Stormy is Editing She smiled and shook her head, *No, it's alright. I rather like it, is all. I think that your link might prove more difficult to shield than you expect. You have the stronger gift, don't you?* M Charlie nodded, "Why? What makes you think so?" Stormy is Editing *The link seems to be leading out from you. The stronger gift usually is the one that leads out to connect with others. Warah, that's who you said was the other with the gift, right? Isn't he the medical doctor for the Detectives?* M *Yes, he is.* Charlie looked at the link trailing off from him. Stormy is Editing Bethany smiled, *I thought I recognized his name. He's an amazing person. I also thought I recognized his shield. Warah must be green with envy over your gift right now.* She chuckled.When Charlie looked at his link, he noticed that the link shield seemed to be guarding the link, but not from each other. M He stared at the shield. Had it decided to reinterpret its purpose. *That isn't what he set that shield to do,* he commented. Stormy is Editing *Oh?* Bethany looked at the shield and blinked a few times. *It's shielded from the outside, isn't that what it's supposed to do?* M *It was set to shield his side from my side.* Charlie smiled. *What was that you said earlier about the link being more difficult to shield than I expect?* Stormy is Editing Bethany's smile grew a bit, *Yes, when the link is desired by both parties, then it is much more difficult to shield. Many times the shield will change into what it wants to shield. You'll have to get stern with it.* M *I didn't feel like Warah wanted the link though. He seemed more puzzled and disturbed than anything else.* Stormy is Editing *Warah probably didn't want someone free access to his mind. He has a lot of memories, and a lot of emotions. If your mind healing was going in and trying to heal, he might have been worried that you would exhaust yourself working on something that might never be healed.* M *I understand that part. My healing is not one bit trained yet.* Charlie shrugged, *I'm just saying, I don't know how Warah feels about me, that's all.* Stormy is Editing Bethany scrutinized him for a moment. "Honestly, I think that you wouldn't have such a strong link if he didn't at least like you. He wouldn't spend much time helping you if he didn't care. And on top of that, he isn't the type to not show his displeasure. Has he ever seemed annoyed or angry, specifically with you?* M *No,* Charlie replied, *I wasn't implying he disliked me.* Charlie sighed. *Maybe this is just too much. I'm not very comfortable with dealing with my own personal life. It's much more difficult than helping others with theirs. Actually, I'm not used to having my own personal life. Things sure have gotten more complex since I died.* Stormy is Editing Bethany smiled, *It is not surprising you're having a difficult time dealing with your personal life. You died fairly young, you aren't used to having such things as likes and dislikes when it comes to emotions and people. It's only going to get more complex as time goes on.* She shook her head, *However, I believe you're going to be leaving me soon. Take care Charlie, be good.* M *Thank you, It was nice meeting you Bethany.* Stormy is Editing *It was nice meeting you as well Charlie,* as she spoke, the scene faded and Charlie found himself in a new area, this time it was a large forest, tall tree's growing upwards in a tall clumping of greenery. There were bright blue balls of light floating around the area, moving over to one leaf, and then to another. As he looked around, he saw a small stream, a bright white horse drinking from it. M *Hello,* slowly Charlie moved toward the horse. Stormy is Editing Very large, bright mint green eyes looked up at him. The horse shied away for a moment, prancing back a bit on it's hooves. It's very golden hooves. The ears flicked back and forward nervously, but when nothing else seemed to come near it, it looked at him again. *Hello,* came the hesitant voice in his head. It was somewhat feminine, and somewhat masculine, and all together too familiar. M *Have I come to where you are then? I didn't expect to this soon. I'm Charlie.* He smiled, moving very slowly. The scene seemed all too peaceful for the desperate voice he usually heard. Stormy is Editing The horse looked around again, as though expecting some kind of betrayal. *Come to where I am?* it looked around once more, then blinked at Charlie. *Charlie? You're Charlie? What's a Charlie?* M *That's my name, Charlie. I've spoken to you before, but actually, that doesn't make sense.* Charlie sat down and looked at the creature. *You seem younger right now, so maybe it's that I will talk to you. You don't have to be afraid of me. I'm not actually here at any rate, I'm asleep. I think this is just a dream of some sort for me.* Stormy is Editing *Your name is Charlie? I...* the horse looked around, and then returned to the stream, taking a drink of it again. *I don't have a name yet,* it said reluctantly. *I'm not... afraid of you, simply nervous. My kind are... disappearing around yours.* M *Then it is good for you to be nervous and very, very careful. I have made a promise to help you, in whatever way I can, but I am still training my gifts. It hasn't been easy to wait. I've wanted to go to you but not been able. I don't know that that makes any sense, but it's the truth of things.* Stormy is Editing The horse's ears flicked forwards, and then back again. It lifted it's head and looked off to one side. *I think I should be going. It's... there's something wrong.* Then it turned it's head back to Charlie. *We'll meet again, you said? Sometime, we'll meet again?* M *Yes,* Charlie stood, *I'll come for you as soon as I can. It may be a long wait for you. Go, and be safe.* Stormy is Editing The horse bowed it's head and turned, disappearing in the woods. A few moments later, a whole herd of bright and vibrant unicorns burst out of the tree's and raced along the stream. They didn't even look at Charlie as they ran, and Charlie could tell why a moment later.Hundreds of creatures out of nightmares were chasing them. Black shapes that had huge claws and bright red eyes strained against their own skin to follow the light that was ahead. One of them caught a unicorn by the tail and dragged it back. The unicorn kicked and turned it's horn to it, fighting with all it's strength. Bright red flashed across the water as the fighting got bloody. Then the scene stilled, pausing and holding so nothing moved. *It isn't time for you to see this,* Eos's voice came from behind Charlie. Strong arms wrapped around Charlie and held him, turning his body so Charlie wasn't watching the massacre anymore. *You don't need to see this.* M *Eos,* Charlie closed his eyes, grateful for a reason to turn away. There was nothing he could do here right? He couldn't change what had already happened. "Why am I here?" he murmured his head resting on Eos. Stormy is Editing *I believe he is showing you what happened before he became lost. I think...* Eos sighed and spoke out loud. "I think he is showing you his fear, his unease. Perhaps he is simply trying to show you what happened to the forest. No one really knows how the Unicorns were destroyed, only that they were, and that their bodies were taken by the fire." M "This is a memory of his then? Maybe I should know?" He didn't want to see the deaths in gory detail, and yet knowing what happened could be important. Stormy is Editing "Do you really think you could stand to watch as beautiful creatures like these are ripped to pieces and left to bleed all across the forest? I know what happened to you after one of the last dreams. I think you need your food to stay inside of you." Eos's hand gently stroked Charlie's back, a soothing gesture. M "Yet it is knowledge no one has. That... it might be important in some way." Charlie's stomach was already reeling from the memory of that past nightmare. Stormy is Editing "Do you honestly think this knowledge is worth the heartache and pain you are going to have from it? Watching something like this in vivid color is something that I can't say I'd like to see. How can someone with as much of a heart as you watch it?" Eos continued to stroke Charlie's back, and he held him a touch closer, more protectively. M "Eos I... I don't know. That unicorn had to live through it though. I don't want to see it. I know it will hurt me greatly to see it, but..." Charlie shook his head and hugged Eos, thankful for his caring presence. Stormy is Editing "Do you want me to watch? Do you feel so strongly that this vision is important that you have to know what happened?" M Charlie opened his eyes, looking at the ground. The lush grass was overshadowed with darkness. He couldn't ask Eos to watch and not watch himself. It just wouldn't be fair. "Watch with me. I will watch it. It was sent for me to watch." Stormy is Editing Eos continued to rub Charlie's back, "Are you certain?" he asked softly. "I don't want you to be ill." M Charlie nodded, "I'm certain." He turned so that he could see the chaos and tried to prepare himself for the horror to come. "Thank you for being here for me like this." Stormy is Editing Eos nodded. "Are you ready? I can start it as soon as you are." M Charlie nodded, still leaning on Eos, very much appreciating his strong presence. "I am." Stormy is Editing Instantly the scene moved once again. The terrible black creature ripped through pearly white flesh, and one unicorn lay dead on the ground. The other black things ignored the whole struggle, continuing to chase after the others. Once they were out of sight, Charlie could see a pair of mint green eyes looking at the dead body in horror.The scene didn't shift, it didn't move. Nothing was around except for the sudden buzzing of flies as the blood ran from the unicorn on the ground. After what seemed like an eternity, a group of black robed figures came from the same direction as the rampaging unicorns. One of them moved to the dead body, and knelt by it's side. "One is down, I suspect more. You follow the trail, I'll deal with this one." The rest of the cloaked people nodded, moving away from him. The next thing that Charlie saw was a long and heavy sword that slipped out of the robes. It took him only a moment to realize what was happening when it came down and severed one of the hooves. The other three came next and then the still glowing horn. Once all of those were tucked away in the robe, the man put down the sword and pulled out a gleaming knife. The mane and tail of the unicorn were off of the body in a moment, and he was tucking that inside his robe as well. "Good, that serves you right. Nothing so innocent should exist in this world," the man muttered, and without even seeming to notice Charlie, the man walked off down the river, following the footprints. A gleaming, bright black rose appeared on the unicorn's neck. Eos's arms tightened around Charlie as the creature continued to bleed, even though everything that made it beautiful was gone. Perhaps that was worse, knowing that it had been beautiful, but now it was destroyed. The small, white horse moved forward out of it's shelter in the tree's, moving towards the unicorn on the ground. M Charlie blinked back tears, "The Cult of the Black Rose," he whispered. Although he did feel sick anger burned within him as well. The two feelings fought within him for supremacy. Stormy is Editing He could almost feel a steady rising anger in the person behind him. The arms gripped him tighter.The horse moved forward a bit more, and then nuzzled the unicorn on the ground. *Wake up,* it said, sounding desperate, *You have to heal yourself.* The voice echoed around the area, and every creature was silent. *Get up,* the voice said again, it's tone becoming more desperate. *Please?* M "He'd never seen death of his own kind before," Charlie realized aloud, softly. Tears streamed down his cheeks for the little unicorn. Stormy is Editing Eos held him closer as the unicorn nuzzled the body again.*It's alright, they're gone now, they won't hurt you, but you've got to heal yourself.* A small bird flew down and landed on the body in front of the unicorn. *It's no good, she's dead,* the bird said. *Dead? What is dead?* The bird looked down and it was almost as though it was crying. *Dead means she won't stand up ever again. Her body is broken to never be repaired. She can't heal herself, if nothing else, her horn is gone.* *Never coming back? She'll never stand again?* the little unicorn sounded horrified by the thought. *But we live forever!* *Not without your horn.* The unicorn fled the scene, pearls falling from it's eyes to scatter on the ground. Charlie didn't move, but the world did. Another body, torn apart, pieces scattered on the ground in front of the little unicorn. It cried out in despair and ran further. More of it's kind were lying on the ground. Each and every one of them had a black rose on their necks, and each and every one of them were missing their horn, hooves and hair. "It's disgusting," Eos said, his arms steadily holding onto Charlie. M All Charlie could think of was the fact that he knew who had been responsible for this. His body felt sick, angry, sad, but his mind was burning with a desire to confront those who'd caused the carnage. Why hadn't anyone done anything about that cult? Stormy is Editing The little unicorn raced past the bodies, and followed the trail until it came across the people and awful creatures that were under their control. They had a group of six Unicorns surrounded, and the Cult were jeering at them. The Unicorns paced and circled and tried to decide their movements. The small unicorn took a step, as though to try to help them, but one of the figures stepped outside of the ring, and a flash of bright blue magic hit it full in the chest. The unicorn crashed to the ground, but no one noticed as the dark beasts moved forwards, claws extended, ready to tear.The black robed figure moved to the unicorn and shook it's head. "You shouldn't have followed them, they'll kill you simply for being here," there was something about the voice of the figure that bothered Charlie, as though he had heard it before. The unicorn whimpered, and tried to move, but the figure shook her head. "Absolutely not." "Gaelic," Eos said, interested. "I haven't heard anyone use that language in some time." The figure looked at the crowd of people and turned back to the unicorn. "We'll not have your race die out. You'll simply have to wait until someone is powerful enough to free you." With that, she raised her hands, and a large ball of energy formed in between them. It surrounded the unicorn and it's body twisted, reformed, and became small. "Good," she said, as it disappeared and a small seed was lying on the ground. "Very good." She picked the seed up, and turned behind her to see the unicorns losing their battle with the masses of dark and fanged creatures. "We'll make sure you survive," she said, as she ran off into the woods. Her hood fell off of her face, and a mane of bright blond hair flowed out from her head. She ran for a while, then bent down to the ground, digging up earth in a small patch near the stream. After a decent hole was created, she put the seed there and buried it, pulling the earth back on top of it. It was only a little later that the earth got packed down and she was wiping her hands on her robe. "We're ready to start the fires," a deep and rich voice said from behind her. She turned and nodded, and Charlie got to see her face full on. It was the exact same face as the girl he and Sana had caught in the hospital. M *I know her,* Charlie told Eos, *or a girl with her exact body and face.* Stormy is Editing *Impossible for her to still be alive at this point. Either that or she wasn't really alive back then.*"Let's go," she whispered, not turning back once to look at the packed ground underneath her. Once they were both gone, it took only a few minutes before Charlie saw the blazing fires, heat spreading through the forest, destroying all the evidence of the bodies that were littering the ground. Destroying all traces of the black roses that adorned each and every unicorn neck. The fire spread around them, and burned everything to the ground. It didn't take too long before Charlie realized that time was fast forwarding, moving so quickly that days and weeks and possibly years flashed by. The fire ended, the forest was blackened and burnt. Then, he started to see something growing out of the ground, and the scene slowed somewhat. A tree began to rise above the blackened ground. It wasn't the only one, several others in close proximity to the tallest grew as well. A circle of tree's rose, and the one that started it all had a silver trunk and golden leaves. It was like no other tree he'd seen. After a time, the scene stopped once again, and he could see the small clumping of trees that grew, blackened ruin all around them. "And that's it," Eos said. "We know where we need to go to find him. How are you feeling?" M "Angry, ill, impatient, no one knows it was the cult because of that fire." Charlie thought about that. "Why mark the unicorns only to burn the evidence after?" Stormy is Editing "Perhaps the mark is unconscious?" Eos gently ran his hands down Charlie's body comfortingly. He held his close as he could while doing so, and lightly rested his head on Charlie's. "I suspect they never wanted anyone to know they did it. The Unicorn Wars were..." Eos trailed off. "Terrible," he said after a moment. M Charlie swallowed, his stomach reeling uncomfortably. "I think I really did need to see that but..." he shook his head. "Why? Why would they do it? What could they gain from such destruction? Why were the unicorns so offensive to them?" Stormy is Editing Eos turned Charlie away from the charred and blackened ruins of a once magnificent forest and continued to run his hands down Charlie's body, this time his back."You know nothing about the Unicorn Wars, so I'll start by explaining that. The Unicorn Wars were mostly fought because one group of people thought that the rare unicorns and their excessively magical body parts should be bred in captivity and tamed. Some wanted them for mounts, and some wanted them to simply take their hair and carvings from their hooves and horns. By the looks of it, what ultimately happened was one group of people got all of the magical components and most likely sold those components at very high prices. If nothing else, they had enough funding to take over several continents from those pieces." Eos shook his head. "The fight was terrible. No one really knew what happened at the end of it all, but the effects of not having any more unicorns were felt by all. Innocence was almost lost in us all. Unicorns were the embodiment of goodness, kindness and blind faith and devotion. Perhaps the reason why only babies are truly innocent anymore is because the unicorns are gone, the last remaining is still a babe, never having gotten the chance to grow up." M "So it was ultimately about greed? Greed is powerful for destruction. I just..." Charlie sighed. "There's no way to change the past." Stormy is Editing Eos shook his head. "There is no way. The past is all about the past. There wasn't enough time in between the Hell Wars and the Unicorn Wars. Most of those with power were still recuperating from the battles between Heaven and Hell, they simply couldn't get to earth and help with this." M Charlie nodded, "It looks like the bulk of it happened rather quickly anyhow. Eos, can we leave this now?" Stormy is Editing Eos nodded, and the scene totally disappeared. "I think you should be getting some dreamless sleep now." He looked down at Charlie. "Let's see what I can do."The next thing Charlie knew, he was waking up to the scent of food. M Charlie breathed in deeply and opened his eyes, very ready for breakfast. Stormy is Editing Janus was still curled up on his chest, and a tray of food was sitting on a small table next to his bed. No one else was in the room. M He moved slowly, trying not to wake Janus and ate, leaving a small pile of foods for Janus to the side. Then his eyes wandered to the book and he considered a bit more reading. Stormy is Editing It only took a few moments of food piling for Janus to open his eyes and stretch out, sniffing at the food and turning to look at Charlie. *Morning,* he said groggily. M *Morning Janus, did you sleep well?* Stormy is Editing Janus blinked a few times, then nodded. *Yeah, I guess. I feel like a week has gone by in one night though, so much happened in my dreams.* M *What happened in your dreams?* Charlie was immediately curious and alert. Stormy is Editing *Well, I was trapped in a tree for a while, then I saw this terrible lumberjack come through and I was afraid he was going to cut me down. He didn't, by the way, he just walked around and started cutting tree's down that were around me, trying to get to me. Then I was in a cage, hanging from the ceiling, suspended over a cauldron, which was boiling. For a long time I stayed like that, and I kept hearing people talking to me, as though they were trying to communicate, but I couldn't understand a word they were saying. Then the chain above me broke, and as I was falling towards the cauldron, the cage opened and I was falling on the ground. I raced through the area, tying to get out, and was being chased by a large group of humans. After being chased for a long time, I got out of the building and was running through a new forest, but this time there were dead bodies all around me. Horse bodies, and it was terrible.* Janus shuddered. *Well, I don't really want to talk about much more of that part of my dream.* M *It sounds like a real nightmare, but that last part, that sounds like the forest were the unicorns were killed. I might just think that because of my recent dreams.* Charlie shrugged and ate another bite of food, ignoring the way his stomach had suddenly begun rolling uncomfortably. Stormy is Editing Janus shook his head. *Well, they were missing their mane, tails, hooves and if they were unicorns, their horns as well.* Janus took a piece of fruit and started nibbling it. *But like I said, I didn't like it much, and don't want to talk about it.* M *That's it, that's where I need to go to rescue the voice I've been hearing.* Charlie put down his next bite and sighed, waiting to see if his stomach would eventually settle. Stormy is Editing *So I dreamed of it too?* Janus stopped eating and stretched up to lick Charlie's face. *Why? I don't understand it.* M Charlie shook his head, *I don't either, that's why I was making you talk about it.* He studied the food, his stomach tightened. Stormy is Editing Janus licked his face again. Then again for good measure. *Hard to eat now, isn't it? You know, I also had a dream the other night of a field of butterflies. It was great fun to chase them.* M Charlie smiled, *It's not so much your dream that's done it as the memory of my own. The complete hatred with which they were slaughtered.* He leaned back, *and the gore...* He shook his head. Stormy is Editing Janus shivered. *There were all kinds of butterflies. Some were large, some were small. Somehow though, they always got away from me. I kept chasing and chasing, but they didn't want to be caught!* M Charlie smiled gently and listened, trying to let go of the nightmarish memories from the night before. Stormy is Editing *There were bright blue ones, and a few purple ones, and about a ton of multi-colored brown ones! There was even a few white ones, those were my favorites, because they weren't scared of me, they'd come up close and land on my nose. Of course when I went to get them they always flew off of me... but!* Janus was wiggling excitedly in Charlie's arms now, his whole body vibrating. M Charlie smiled at him thinking what an incredible friend Janus had become and how odd it really was. He had all these friends. Why had that not happened until he was dead? He felt tears threatening to fall and pushed them back. Stormy is Editing Janus's hyper voice paused, and he looked at Charlie a bit in fear. *Charlie? What's wrong?* He scrambled up and licked Charlie's cheek, right under his eye. M That did it, Charlie was laughing and crying all at once. *I've just never had all this, you know? Friends to talk to when I'm sad, flowers and candy when I'm hurt, a crush. I'm so used to being alone and now everywhere I turn there's someone I care about who cares about me too. It's sort of eerie, but not in a bad way.* Stormy is Editing Janus continued to lick at his cheek, getting the tears as they fell. *I'd apologize but I'm not sorry I care about you. When I was small, everyone bullied me too. Then I saw you come into the store, and leave in such a rush, and I thought to myself, I want to be with him. It really wasn't much longer than that, and you came over to my cage, and I just wanted to know that you wanted me. It was so strange because I thought I had given up hope being wanted. But... I knew that someone might think I was special and might want me.* M Charlie cuddled him, still crying, but not sad. Really he was happy, and confused, but mostly happy. He just hadn't realized that he wanted to be cared about. He'd accepted things as they were, without a thought of what they could be. He used to think his deepest hope was to be left alone, but that hadn't been what he'd needed at all. Stormy is Editing Janus cuddled in, and lightly rubbed his head against Charlie's cheek. *I'm glad you're happy. I'm glad we haven't made you sad.**I want it too,* came that voice that seemed so far away, and yet so close. *Please, I need you to come to me. I'm so lonely.* M *I will come, I need to know how to free you. I will come, soon.* Charlie wiped away his tears.*I'm sorry I worried you Janus,* he smiled. Stormy is Editing Janus shook his head. *It's no problem, really. I'm just glad you're happy, not sad.* M Charlie glanced back at his food and managed to finish it, his stomach much better. Stormy is Editing Janus returned to his food as well, and before it was all gone, the door opened, and both Sana and Warah came into the room."Hey there," Sana said, smiling, although her face wasn't happy. "How are you feeling?" Warah asked, and he did seem happy. M "Not bad," Charlie said looking from one to the other cautiously. "It seems I'm floating about in my sleep though, so this body spirit thing still isn't exactly right." He decided to focus on Warah for the moment. Stormy is Editing Warah nodded. "That's one of the reason's we're both here.""Your spirit went walking last night," Sana said, "It came to talk to me, and stopped by Warah too. A few other people noticed it. That shouldn't really be possible, since you have no body here, but..." Sana shook her head, "I can't dispute the evidence." M "I've been wondering about that." Charlie's eyes drifted to Sana, "It's really bothering you isn't it?" Stormy is Editing "It bothers me because I don't understand it. That's the only reason. I wish I did understand, but since I don't..." she shrugged."The Chief, after a visit from you last night, agreed with me to take you away from here and put you in a shielded cottage for some condensed training, so to speak," Warah took a breath. "It's not exactly specialized, but it will be personal. The only three people who will be there are you, Sana and me. Well," he looked down at Janus, "Janus to if you count him as a person." "I almost don't want to do this to you, because I feel like we're concentrating our efforts pretty well as it is, but..." Sana trailed off, nibbling her lip. M Charlie eyed her curiously. Then he looked at Warah. *Janus, can you tell what's eating her? I feel like somethings really bothering her.* "Janus is Janus." Stormy is Editing *I think it has something to do with being alone with Warah,* Janus said speculatively."Yes, yes he is," Warah said, smiling. "So I take it you're dealing with this update fairly well and aren't too upset with the outcome?" M "I'm sorry that I'll be taking so much of your time," he told Warah honestly. "I know you have a lot to do right now. As for me, whatever needs to be done. I need to get healthy again and fully trained as soon as possible." Stormy is Editing *Scratch that,* Janus said thoughtfully. *Actually I think she's worried that they're pushing you too far.*Warah smiled, "Well, we're doing our best. We'll be heading out later today, so for now, you should spend some time with Sana, she'll be packing for you. If you can walk, you can do the packing in your room." M *Think I'm up to walking?* Janus had recommended against it the night before."I don't know if I am or not. I'll have to give it a try." He looked at Sana then, "So, lesson time?" Stormy is Editing "I thought while we were packing, you could do some practices and such while I was getting your things. If you can't walk, then yes, lesson time." She smiled at Charlie."Well, let's see if you can walk or not then," Warah said, coming closer to the bed and reaching out his hands. *Possibly. I don't know, you were really tired last night.* M Charlie was happy to accept his assistance. "Thanks," he tried out his feet carefully. Stormy is Editing It was a rough first couple of steps, but it didn't take too long for Charlie to get steady. His legs and feet were remembering how to walk quite readily these days."Not bad at all," Warah commented. "I'll walk with you to the elevator, and see how you do." M That didn't seem strictly necessary as Sana would be there, but Charlie didn't mind. "Alright," he lifted the book from his bedside table so that he could pack it. Stormy is Editing Carefully, all three of them walked to the elevator. They didn't pass a single person on their way, and Charlie was quite fine all the way there."Well, it seems you'll be fine," Warah said, smiling at Charlie. "Let me know when you're done packing and are ready to leave. The Chief said we'd be able to get going by noon." Sana nodded. "Will do," she said happily. M Charlie smiled at Warah, hating to see him go. He watched as he walked away then turned to Sana. "You think they are pushing me too hard?" he asked, not particularly in the mood for beating around the bush. Stormy is Editing Sana turned to him in surprise. "How did..." she shook her head, then looked down. "Yeah, I know you want to be trained quickly, but some things take time. This whole "moving out so he can have personalized training" thing just makes me feel like they think of you as a danger. I haven't seen anything that is dangerous." M "I don't think I'm dangerous. Did you really get the impression they felt that way?" Stormy is Editing Sana sighed and looked at Charlie. "Charlie, in my experience, they don't move people out of the Agency, unless they think they're dangerous. Where we're going..." she trailed off and shook her head. "I just don't think they're using their heads, and I don't think you're dangerous. I think Warah is just going along with it because he feels taking you out of here is better for you than staying." M Charlie nodded, "I don't think I've done anything dangerous. Do you think... I'm causing fear because I did something they can't understand?"*Warah wouldn't like it if people were scared of me. It would probably remind him of the past and make him want to move me. What do you think Janus?* Stormy is Editing "Honestly Charlie," Sana said as she ushered them into the elevator and poked her finger at the room floor number. "I honestly don't know what exactly is bothering the Chief. I know that what's going on is strange, and I also know that it's a record for someone to get two great spirits in two days like that. I don't believe very many people know what's going on with you, although you did take quite the tour last night, and you didn't even know about it. I think the Chief just wants to contain you somewhere so once we know what's going on, we can take care of it right away. I think that's why he wants Warah to be there too, because he can definitely take care of what's happening, once he understands it."*Yeah, I think you might just be right on that. I mean, right now Warah is reliving much of that past, through you, and I'm sure he wouldn't want you to feel like your presence was scaring other people.* M Charlie shrugged, "Well, either way there's no harm done right. In the worst case they are overestimating the danger of what is going on with me and my training will be uneventful. In the meantime we all go on a little vacation together, right?" Stormy is Editing Sana gave him a small smile. "Correct. We get a small vacation." The elevator opened."Thank you for riding Elle the Elevator, please ride again!" Sana walked out and led the way to Charlie's room, keeping her eyes on him to make sure he didn't fall over. It was a good thing that his legs seemed to be keeping him up quite well. "I just can't help but feel like this vacation is not going to be as nice as we hope." M "I can tell you're worried. Is there something else you're worried about that you aren't sharing with me?" Charlie opened his room door and held it for her. Stormy is Editing Once they were both inside the room, and Charlie was seated on his bed, Sana took a seat in the chair by his desk and nodded. "Yes, of course there is. I've been thinking about all of this. Your magic getting stronger and your Spirits, and the fact that you have a unicorn you want to go rescue and I've been thinking about... well..." she blushed, "us," she finished. M Charlie tilted his head to the side, curious. "Yes?" Stormy is Editing She sighed, putting her head into her hands. "I know you said you didn't want a different partner," she began. M "Do you?" Charlie asked it with no accusation in his voice at all, it reflected only friendly curiosity. Stormy is Editing "NO!" she looked up startled. "I don't! You've been such a good partner this whole time, caring, understanding, and willing to learn, I love that about you. You never question my habits, you let me shop for you, you practically cater to my every whim, unless it's really not good for either of us. You've been so wonderful I'm starting to feel selfish..." she trailed off, and looked down at her hands again. "I just.. since you've got all that healing now as well, I just thought, maybe, once that's all trained and everything, you might not want to go out anymore, and you would be considering staying here." M "Staying here?" The thought had never occurred to him. Charlie shook his head, "I can do greater good out there Sana. I think I'd be stir crazy if I stayed. Although I wouldn't mind the time with Warah." He smiled, "No, we'll remain partners until Jared returns to you." Stormy is Editing Sana looked up, a hesitant smile on her face, "Seriously? I mean... you really don't think you'd want to stay?" She looked like she was about to cry from the tension. "I mean... I don't want to encourage you to leave me, but... I do want you to be happy." M Charlie grinned, "Right now I think I can help a lot more people out there than I can here. I may not always feel that way, but there's too much going on for me to be stuck in the agency. I'd feel stuck, and I don't want to feel that way." Stormy is Editing Sana dashed across the room and flung her arms around him. "I'm sorry!" she cried, finally breaking down again. "I've been seeing how you two look at each other, and now that there's some hope for Loki, I've been watching Warah get all excited and every time he leaves your room he's got this smile on his face, and I keep expecting him to offer to have you help him here and I just kept thinking that you might stay, because there are a lot of things you can do here, and you've got all this talent, and I just didn't know what to think. Then the Chief wanted us to go to a special location that Warah has often taken Loki to when he needed to seal his memories and I just kept thinking that if you were going somewhere that private that maybe the Chief doesn't want you to leave on assignments anymore, and even though Warah said that wasn't true, I just couldn't be sure, and... and... and..." she hiccuped a few times and held onto Charlie as though he was the life raft and the only thing keeping her head above water. M "Sana!" Charlie hadn't even realized she was on the brink of loosing it again. He held her, smiling though she couldn't see it. "I'm glad you want to be my partner this badly, I really am." He rubbed her back, and rocked her gently for a bit. "I like Warah, and I seem to remind him of someone who was very important to me. We've talked about my mind healing in relation to Loki and he said there wouldn't be time for us to work with Loki any time soon." He hadn't known for certain that Warah blocked off Loki's memories, but it explained how troubled Warah was about Loki. "As for the place we are going, I'm sure we don't need to worry. It will be fine, okay. A lot of hard work and nothing more sinister than that." Stormy is Editing "I... I'm sorry!" she cried, "I know I shouldn't be burdening you with all of this! You need your rest, not me crying all over you! I just couldn't hold it in any longer, when you asked me I had to tell you!" M Charlie shook his head, "No Sana, hiding things is bad. If it concerns me I want to know please, don't hide these things. They will only cause trouble and misunderstanding if you do." Stormy is Editing "Alright," Sana cried, nodding her head and trying to calm herself by taking a few deep breaths. "I won't hide anything concerning you from you. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" M "It's okay Sana, and thank you for telling me. I really would rather know." He continued to rub her back as she calmed. Stormy is Editing It took her a few moments, but she did finally settle, and she shook her head, backing away from him with a small smile on her lips. "I'll be right back," she said, wiping tears from her cheeks. "I'm going to borrow your restroom." M Charlie nodded, and as his legs were behaving he started some of his packing on his own while he waited. Stormy is Editing When she returned, Sana looked at him in amusement. "Just can't wait to get packing? You should be sitting down right now." M "My legs are supporting me, so I thought it might be good to use them." Charlie smiled, "I think I've gone as far as I can without your help though." He sat down and smiled. "I left the actual clothes for you mostly, except for my favorite sandals. I hope that's okay," and his eyes sparkled as he grinned at her. Stormy is Editing She grinned back, "Of course that's alright, you know I don't mind. So! Do you want me to do all the actual packing, or would you like to tell me what you want specifically?" M "Either way, why don't you tell me until I start to feel tired?" Stormy is Editing She nodded, "Alright," and she started into picking and talking about clothes.The packing itself didn't take too long, and much sooner than Charlie thought, they were ready to go. "Well, I did my packing already, so that's more or less it. I'll just let Warah know and he can meet us outside." M Charlie nodded, "Should I head outside and wait there then? I seem to be up to it at the moment." Stormy is Editing "I'll go with you, just let me grab the bags." Sana grabbed hold of the handles of the bags and then walked to Charlie's door, opening it for him. "After you!" she said happily. M Charlie led the way down and out the doors, breathing in the fresh air. It felt good to be outside. Stormy is Editing Janus ran at his feet, and then around his feet once he'd made it outside. *It feels good to be out here, doesn't it?* he said, running to the car, and then dashing back to Charlie.Sana chuckled. "Janus is excited, isn't he?" M *Yes, it feels wonderful.*"It feels good to be outside, Janus and I both think so." Charlie smiled at her. "I feel like I've been in that hospital room for a much longer time than I really have." |
Static Items
Books
Forums
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
