Ralph sighed. "Fine. As I said yesterday, what I did was I just thought of the song 'Clowns' by Tatu. The part that I was mostly thinking of was: Blow a kiss, I run through air, leave the past, find nowhere, floating forests in the air." Ralph paused a minute before continuing when no one else spoke. "I'm not sure what it was that let me pass through, but that's what I did."
"If that's what it was, then at least we found how to get in," Hannah said.
"Does anyone have any idea of what happened that forced us out of the forest?" Tim asked.
–I think the forest is starting to become unstable.– Petals said, but after a moment Charlie realized that only she and Ralph could hear Petals again, so she relayed what Petals had said.
"Why would the forest become unstable?" Wes asked.
–Because the Heart of the Forest was removed. When it's removed, the forest starts to fall apart. The more creatures that the forest holds after that, the faster it will become unstable. When it becomes too unstable, it will start to fall apart on its own. Once that happens, I will lose my home.– Petals replied, Charlie continuing to relay Petals' statements.
"How do you know this?" Beth asked.
–I- I'm not sure. I just know that this is what will happen.– Petals answered, her tone indicating that she was as unsure about this topic as she was about why she hadn't been able to get back in her forest home.
"Maybe we should continue this later," Ralph said, his expression alarmed as he looked at his watch. "I have to get home, I just remembered my dad has something planned for my family and it's about time that it's supposed to happen."
Charlie was surprised at the relief she felt at Ralph's statement. "Might be good," Charlie said, not caring if she was agreeing with anything Ralph said. She wanted to relay the news to her parents about the 'math camp' as well as seeing if the crystal would be amenable to offering thoughts about if it would be good to try and get to the Heart of the Forest with that method.
"Well, if both of you are good with calling today's discussion done, then I guess we can call it a day," Beth said, sounding rather unsure about it herself. "I mean, it's not like we'll be able to get much else done today. What we need to do now is figure out what we have to do to get the Heart of the Forest back before the forest itself falls apart."
"Yeah," Amelia agreed, "but I can't make it tomorrow, I have a dentist appointment then."
"Let's then meet Friday," Tim suggested. "We usually get together to hang out then anyway, so most of us should be able to have time to come here."
"Friday sounds good to me," Hannah replied, "and if we need to, we can go to Tim's house to play cards so we'll look like we're doing our normal activities."
"Would you be available Friday, Charlie?" Wes asked.
"I'd have to talk to my parents, but even if there's nothing going on, I have to get home in time for dinner. I have to do the dishes for a week for staying out so late last night," Charlie replied, feeling like she should have come up with a different way of putting that.
"Better than what I got," Wes said. "I got grounded from any streaming service for a month. So, I can't watch any of my anime."
"My parents set a curfew for me that I'm to abide by if I don't want to get grounded," Amelia commented.
"Are we really comparing what punishments we got?" Beth asked, her eyebrow arched.
"Looks like it," Hannah answered. "I'm to practice the piano for an extra hour each day if I want to keep taking lessons."
Charlie didn't really care to listen to what others had happen to them because how late all of them had been out. So, anything anyone else had said she didn't hear as she quickly made her way to her house. Barely giving her garden a glance, though the flowers that were budding, if not fully bloomed, did help her relax a little from her day.
As she entered the house, she was about to start going up the stairs to go to her room when she saw Cherie sitting in the living room watching the tv again. Recalling the shows that Alex Williams had suggested, Charlie instead went to see what her sister was watching.
Cherie paused her show as Charlie entered the room. "What do you want?" she demanded, clearly unhappy to have her show interrupted.
"I was just wondering what you're watching," Charlie replied, unsure what else to say.
"Why do you want to know? You've never been interested before," Cherie said, looking at Charlie suspiciously, which she couldn't complain about. Charlie would freely admit it was otherwise out of character for her.
"Well, I was just wondering. I asked someone I know at school about friends and he suggested My Little Pony or Care Bears were good shows to understand it a little better," Charlie said, not sure if she sounded like as much of an idiot as she felt at the moment.
"Are you serious or are you just messing around?" Cherie looked like she was ready to take a swing at Charlie.
"I'm serious," Charlie merely replied.
After a minute of gazing at Charlie, Cherie sighed. "Fine, I'm actually watching the start of the eighth season of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. The dvd sets finally arrived today."
"You got them online?" Charlie asked, taking a seat on the end of the couch opposite her sister. She set her backpack next to the couch as she sat down.
"I had to get the eighth and ninth seasons online, since they don't seem available in the US in box sets," Cherie said, as she waited for Charlie to get settled.
Once she was, Cherie started the show again. Charlie didn't know exactly what she was looking at, but didn't say anything as the show went on.
Charlie tried to pay attention, but it was hard when she didn't know much about it. She wasn't even sure what she'd pieced together about it was correct or if she was missing something.
When the episode ended, Charlie decided she'd need to watch the series from the start if she was to be sure that she picked up the parts of friendship that she might understand. Though, she wasn't completely confident on the thought.
Still, she stayed watching until Cherie was done. "Can I watch the first season, Cherie?" Charlie asked, not very confident that Cherie would agree.
"As long as you don't damage it," Cherie replied, not seeming very interested in what Charlie was asking.
So, as Cherie left, Charlie went over to where she knew Cherie kept her DVDs. She changed the disc in the player to the first episode and started watching.
She hoped that this would help her understand what she was unsure about, as well as anything else she hadn't yet started to think about.
_
Charlie flopped on her bed facedown, wanting to just call it a night, though she knew that she still had other things that she still needed to take care of that needed to come first. Some of it was homework that she had, some of it was seeing if the crystal had anything new it would tell her, and the rest of it was curiosity about the 'magic' that it had mentioned.
After a few minutes, Charlie raised herself up and walked over to her desk, leaving her backpack by the side of her bed on the floor, and picked up the crystal.
As she touched it, it went from emitting a lilac color to emitting a soft pink. –You're finally back.– the crystal said to her. Charlie could almost feel the impatience from the crystal.
"It's been a long day for me," Charlie whispered to the crystal, feeling a little weird at 'thinking' at the crystal at the moment. "I just barely finished doing the dishes and I'd be ready to go to sleep, but I wanted to know what you meant by how I had 'magic.'"
Charlie felt the crystal sigh, whether in annoyance, amusement, or just exasperation she couldn't tell. –Fine, let's get to it. Lay down on your bed, though it would be easier if I had my horn.–
Charlie obliged, keeping her skirt from scrunching up under her as she lay on her bed, her head resting on her pillows. "What then?" she asked.
–Put me on your chest. Don't move me until I tell you to and try not to move yourself. I need to concentrate as much as I can and if you move, that could disrupt my concentration.– the crystal told her.
Charlie put the crystal on her chest, wondering if she should remove her shirt and maybe bra before doing so, but didn't. She was debating if she should close her eyes when the crystal started heating up. Part of her was alarmed and was telling her to remove the crystal because it was going to burn her.
Charlie forced herself to remain still and it wasn't long before she felt her entire body starting to heat up. She started to feel like she was naked laying out in the sun, her body heating up from the warmth of the sun. It was pleasant at first, but it quickly started to become painful, almost like she should be getting a sunburn over her entire body.
Then as soon as it felt like she'd end up in the burn ward, the sensation was gone. After, even though she was fully clothed, she now felt like she was naked in a blizzard. She wasn't sure if there was more or not when the crystal spoke to her. –The seal has been removed from your magic. If I had my horn you wouldn't have felt the seal being taken off of your magic nor the burn of your magic connecting with you.–
Charlie didn't respond for a minute. Once she started to feel like her body was returning to a regular temperature, she took the crystal in her hands and sat up on her bed cross-legged, otherwise resting the crystal in her lap.
"Are you saying that if I use Petals' horn when I unseal the other's magic they won't feel like they're burning up or freezing afterwards?"
–I can't say what they'd feel, it's different for everyone. Some might feel like there's bugs crawling through them or that they're melting. I don't know of anyone who could predict what the sensation would be like who hasn't already had that happen to them before.– the crystal replied.
"What do I do to unseal their magic?" Charlie asked.
–First I'll need you to get accustomed to working your magic. If you're not steady with it, it could kill them while you're trying to do anything with your magic to them. Give it a few days and I'll see if I can tell you when you'll be able to do that. Mostly I'll be showing you the basics. After you've gotten the basics down, the rest will be up to you. Magic is mostly working the magical energy in a way that you can see in your mind. You should also be able to use your magic to talk with me and Petals whenever you want, especially since you were able to hear both of us before your magic was fully unsealed.–
"What do you mean by 'fully unsealed?' I thought that you said it was sealed," Charlie asked.
–The seal that was place on your magic was a generational seal. That means it was put on the magic of one or more of your ancestors and it had gotten so old that some of your magic was already leaking through, but not enough to detect if anyone tried to see if you had access to it.– the crystal replied.
Charlie didn't know what the crystal exactly meant, but she wasn't going to argue. If the crystal got into the details she probably would get more lost. Besides, she had other things she'd rather focus on. Like how to use her magic.
The crystal explained to her that the magic merely required a focus. It didn't matter what she used for a focus, it didn't even have to be the same focus all the time, though most did have a favorite. The materials for a focus didn't matter either. It merely mattered what Charlie's perception of the focus was. In addition, the more of a connection it had with her, the better the results will be for her.
–Some have taken the focus that they associate with someone they respected and used it better than their own, but that's because of the perception they had with it. Words can be a focus too, though they're unnecessary. Though, I've seen some humans who were unable to use magic unless they used words, even specific phrases because of the perception they had about the words being necessary. Whatever focus you choose, it should be one that works for you and the more of a connection it has with you, the better it will work for you. Although, how much of a connection it has with you, has been a bit of a debate among those who have studied focuses and some have said it didn't make a difference, so it will be up to you, in the end.–
Charlie thought about that for a minute before replying, "So, when I first heard Petals talk to me, I noticed that she could only hear what I was thinking when I was thinking that in relation to her. Is it something like that?"
–Yes, exactly. Petals was the focus of that so she was able to pick up the thoughts because of her magic. Which is how you were able to communicate with her.– the crystal said, sounding rather happy to Charlie.
"So, what now?" Charlie asked, unsure what else to say. She thought she understood when the crystal was telling her, but it was hard to say.
–You should be able to sense your magic. I can't say what it would feel like to you, again it's different for each individual. Hold out your hand and visualize something in your mind while pulling on your magic.– the crystal told her.
"Okay," Charlie replied, taking her right hand from the crystal, letting it fully rest in her lap. She sought her magic in her mind and found it. It seemed like a liquid flame, or that's at least the image that came to mind for Charlie. She looked at her hand and imagined a blooming rose.
As she focused on pulling her magic with the image in her mind, she saw a flame sprout in the palm of her hand. It started to grow until it took the shape of a rose of flame in full bloom.
"Why is it a fire rose?" Charlie asked. "I only thought of a rose."
–It took that form because you didn't focus solely on the rose. I take it the way your magic feels is like a fire in some way. So, as you felt your magic, you likely thought about the feeling of it, so it took the form of a flame as it created what you had in your mind.– the crystal replied.
"So what should I do next? What's the next lesson?" Charlie asked, having a hard time keeping her voice a whisper with how much her excitement had grown.
–Now you do something else. You've touched your magic for the first time. You don't know how tired that is making you. Be patient, the more you work with your magic, the easier it will be. If you continue training with your magic, it might be fine, but you could also lose control of it, and even I can't say how destructive that could turn out to be.– the crystal cautioned her.
"Fine," Charlie replied grudgingly. She sighed as she let the flame rose in her hand die out before getting off of her bed, going over to her desk where she set the crystal down and began working on her homework for the night.