Hope's Last Glimmer

Chapter 10: Practice Makes Perfect

Alright, lovelies. Another chapter for you today. Though, I warn you, this chapter sucks. This practice session is imperative to the story-line, but it's hard to make something so simple and mildly boring into something interesting. I tried to make it somewhat interesting, but i personally am not a fan of this chapter; so, I don't blame you if you think it's boring, too. Anyway, here it is.

-TMNTNinjagoLover

Shimmer's POV:

Today was a big day. It was the day we had decided to leave the Bounty to find a more secluded, safer practice area. After discovering the truth behind the scroll and what would be necessary to fulfill the writings contained in it, we all decided that it would be best to find somewhere else to train, preferably somewhere with fewer breakable things. The abilities I'd be practicing would be dangerous, and I didn't want to hurt anyone or break anything, especially not anything on the Bounty after all the work Jay and Nya had put into fixing it up.

That morning we all met, dressed in our gis and ready to go, on the main deck.

"Ready, Shim?" asked Lloyd.

"Ready as I'll ever be," came my sheepish reply.

We all piled off of the Bounty, coming down the ladder one after the other. We trekked to a small area enclosed my a ring of rocks. It was a perfect place for the guys to practice, but me? I had other plans.

I had spotted an outcropping high on the hill above the others. I was an ideal practice place for me. Secluded, quiet, safe...basically a self-quarantine zone for me. I needed peace and quiet to concentrate.

At this point, I had come up with some semblance of a trial-and-error practice plan for learning invisible light. Hopefully, this plan would work out.

***

I was frustrated. Looking down at the guys practicing, I could see them having a little fun after hours of productive training. Cole was chasing Jay while Lloyd was trying to help Cole. Nya, Zane, and Sensei Wu were watching in amusement, laughing at the antics on display below..

I kicked a rock off of the outcropping, irritated to the max.

Unfortunately, nothing in my practice plan had worked, and my effort, proving fruitless, left me without any remaining ideas as to how to accomplish my goal.

I plopped down huffily, picking at a loose pebble near my toe. This felt so pointless. Mother said that I had to figure this out on my own, but couldn't she have at least given me a hint?

Finally, picking the pebble free, I grasped it and launched it over the outcropping as far as I could. I watched it fall from sight, staring at the horizon after the pebble had disappeared. An idea suddenly flashed through my mind as I sat, staring at the sky.

I had never meditated before, but Sensei Wu said it was calming and helped to clear the mind. At this point, I had nothing to lose. crisscrossing my legs, I began to meditate, the midday sun warm on my back. I stopped thinking, trying to calm down enough to meditate. I wasn't sure that I was doing this right, but it was worth a shot.

My mother's face suddenly flashed through my mind, sucking me deeper into meditation, but also confusing me. Her face flashed again.

"Focus on that which you cannot see," whispered a voice in my head. Her voice.

Heeding the wise voice of my mother, I focused upon the colors of light I couldn't see. I envisioned my surroundings. Soon after, my mental vision expanded. Colors I never knew existed burst to life within the confines of my mind, like flowers blooming at high speeds. I was in tune with the sun and its rays.

"What I can't see, huh?"

This was super cool. Before I realized what was happening, I felt a weight in my lap. opening my eyes in surprise, I looked down, seeing nothing. Reaching out a hand, I felt a warm orb where the weight was. It was light! Just like what I had seen my mother make in my dream!

Deciding to try this power out, I turned quickly, grabbing the small orb, and whipped it at one of the boulders behind me at the base of the outcropping. The rock cracked in half and burst into a million pieces following the initial cracking; it just turned to dust.

The hill shuddered in response to the sudden vibrations caused by my powers.

"Woah...," I breathe, trying to comprehend what had just happened. "Well, that was cool."

I continued to practice, causing the hill to shiver in protest to each explosion. It took me forever to run out of energy in comparison to the color wave, which I had practiced prior to practicing invisible light.

Hours passed before Lloyd came to get me. The sun was beginning to set.

"Have a productive practice?" asked Lloyd as he walked up to me from the base of the outcropping, coming to get me.

"Absolutely!"

"Ready to head back?"

I nodded, eager to grab a bath and feel clean after sweating in the heat of the day for so long. Making our way off the outcropping and down the hill, I caught Lloyd glancing at me, a blush on his cheeks.

I looked down at myself, noticing that sweat wasn't the only thing causing my skin to shimmer. My skin was sparkling with light power again. My power had decided to show itself, and I, being so used to it, had let it do so unhindered.

Feeling the power in my veins, I began suppressing it, hiding the little gold sparkles on my skin.

Looking out of the corner of my eye, I could see Lloyd's blush diminish and his eyes glint with disappointment as he cleared his throat. Smirking, I quickened my pace, leaving him, scratching to back of his neck, to follow me.

***

My first line of action, upon boarding the Bounty, was sinking up to my nose into the suds or a warm relaxing bath, the lavender and vanilla soap calming my mind and softening my skin while the warm water worked to release the knots in my shoulders.

This would become my nightly tradition as we practiced in the clearing or on the outcropping everyday for the next few weeks, only taking a day off here and there.

There you are loves~