Stars Of Memory

Chapter 34

Jīvitaya opens her eyes again to see sunlight, and she grins. Her mother's technique worked! She slips her new crystal pendant over her neck so it sits just above her other pendant. Once satisfied with the pendant's position, she quickly gets dressed. She walks into the courtyard to see her parents sitting at the table, steaming mugs held in their hands. She's beginning to suspect that it's a morning routine that she is becoming part of. Her mother smiles at her.

"Did you sleep well?"

Jīvitaya smiles and nods. Her father looks between the two of them, confused. "Am I missing something?"

Jīvitaya nervously bites her lip, but her mother answers. "Jīvitaya accidentally astral projected in her sleep last night and I helped her figure out how to get back to her body."

He nods, "Ah. That's not my area of expertise."

Jīvitaya tilts her head in curiosity. "What is?"

He grins, and in one hand, summons a ball of flame. In the other, a ball of air forms. Between his feet, a sapling sprouts from the ground and rises until it is level with the table. Jīvitaya laughs.

"Couldn't you have just told me?"

He laughs as well. "Yes, but where's the fun in that?"

She concedes, smiling. "Okay, it's true, that is less fun."

"Are we going to be showing you how to use some of your powers today?"

Jīvitaya nods. "Yes, but I was also going to go and see Iyokú."

Her mother laughs brightly. "Go do that first, and we can show you some things after." Jīvitaya grins, and her mother adds to her statement. "After breakfast please!"

Jīvitaya giggles, and settles in her seat. She glances at Kysanden's empty seat and feels a tiny blip of sadness. She shakes it off to see her mother looking at her.

"Where is Kysanden?"

"He went back to Earth to collect some of the things that I had to leave behind."

She nods. "Ah. The food should be out shortly."

As if on cue, the servers bring the food out and place it before them. Jīvitaya scarfs down the meal and darts off to the forest barely waiting to give a brief goodbye to her parents. She steps into the little clearing she found Iyokú in the day before and looks around for her. When she doesn't see any sign of Iyokú, her heart sinks in disappointment. Then there is a jolt from behind her and she spins, her hand flying to her wrist to rest on the master chip. She drops her hand when she sees Iyokú standing there, her eyes brimming with laughter. They stare at each other for a couple of seconds before Iyokú bursts into laughter, Jīvitaya following suit.

"Why'd you do that?!"

Iyokú laughs harder. "Because it was fun, and you were wide open!" After a few minutes, her laughing finally subsides. "Okay, okay, I won't do it anymore. But why did it startle you so much at first?"

Jīvitaya grimaces. "I was kidnapped and tortured, which is how I found out that I wasn't actually from Earth. So I'm still jumpy."

Iyokú frowns sadly and leans forward to hug her. "I'm sorry that happened to you." She grins suddenly. "So what are we going to do today?"

Jīvitaya grins, amused by her new friend's bubbly yet also serious personality. "Well, we know I have the power of nature and that I don't use it the same way you do, so how about I show you my way and you show me yours?"

Iyokú beams. "I was hoping you would say that! So, which way do we do first?"

Jīvitaya mulls it over for a few minutes. "I think your way, because mine can make you lose track of time at first. I certainly lost track."

Iyokú nods, suddenly serious. "Okay. Sit down." Jīvitaya plops herself down on the ground and runs her fingertips along the forest floor. "Stop playing with the dirt, please!" Jīvitaya laughs and turns her focus to Iyokú, motioning for her to start teaching.

"Place your hands together like a cup." Jīvitaya does so and waits. "Now, I want you to close your eyes and concentrate, imagining feeling a pile of dirt resting in your hands. Feel how damp it is, the texture of the soil."

She concentrates, feeling the soil being slightly damp as there was rain a few days ago. It is crumbly and slightly sticky, and she pictures it being dark and fertile.

"Open your eyes, Jīvitaya." Jīvitaya opens them and beams. There is a pile of dirt resting in her palms, exactly as she pictured it. "Now, without closing your eyes, I want you to control the dirt. Does it move, does it form a shape? You control it."

Jīvitaya concentrates, but the dirt remains in a pile. She concentrates harder, and it slowly forms itself into the shape of a rabbit. She gasps, and a bit of dirt slides off of the rabbit. She concentrates again and the loose particles rise into the air and fit themselves back into their places.

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Do you think that's all it is, Jīvitaya being jumpy? Or is there something else to it?

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.