"Bleh…"
On all fours and with air running away from their lungs, Josie and Lizzie almost vomited their lunch from earlier.
In comparison to them, Hope was slightly better. Still, her expression paled and she breathed deeply to regain her composure.
Observing them all from above, John crossed his arms. "So, how do you all feel?"
"In- invaded…" Hope muttered. "And as if I did a hundred backflips non-stop."
"The same."
"I feel worse…" Lizzie weakly said, holding her mouth to not spit more.
Listening to all of their answers, John couldn't help but sigh. Yeah, I guess it will take a while for them to get used to this. "Well, on the bright side of things, my method worked."
"Yeah, but it made me want to puke." Josie was panting, slowly lying down to orientate herself. "Why… did we feel that way? What was that?"
"You mean the absurd headache and sudden dizziness?" John asked.
"Yes."
Before saying anything, John decided to use himself as an example first.
Standing still, the boy's soul pulsed. This mere movement reverberates through space, reaching out to every corner of the open space.
It took a heartbeat, a single moment for the girls to feel something different in the environment even if they couldn't see it.
They could feel the harsh air of winter soothing a little and the wind not howling as much as it was.
Even while tired, the twins looked up to the young man with a little bit of awe in their eyes. Even if they couldn't see how he did it, they were still aware he was responsible for the change in the environment.
However, John remained ignorant of their looks and turned his head to Hope. "According to our classes of Theory of Magic, where do witches get most of their magic, Hope?"
Faced with the question, the knowledge needed to answer it only took a second to reach the front of Hope's mind. "The soul. According to most of the theories and studies we have nowadays, witches get magic from their souls."
"Correct. And from what I can see and have experienced, I can assure that's how it works." John turned to the twins. "So, witches acquire their magic from their souls. There is a connection in there. It is a trait that you, siphoners, share with witches who don't suffer the same problem as you. What is it?"
Josie and Lizzie looked at each other, an answer coming to their mind but both of them were a little anxious to answer.
"We can control magic, right…?" Lizzie was the one to answer despite her nervousness.
"Correct." John nodded, earning a happy smile from her. "To skip the most tedious explanation. When you two siphon someone else's magic, a process happens which makes the magic as if it was always your own. As if you produced it. And from then on, you can feel the magic and control it."
Doing some hand movements, John controlled the magic to move. He did so it would help him later in his explanation. "But when we resonate with nature's magic, one that is not our own, what do you think that happens besides controlling it?"
This time, Josie was a little bold and replied quickly despite her uncertainty. "We… feel the environment around us?"
"Correct."
Hearing she was correct, Josie smiled a little bit more widely.
"As you all noticed, the act of resonating with the world's magic is different from simply using your own magic or siphoning from others. It brings effects that you are not used to and that I should've alerted you all, and one of them is the fact that the magic in the environment starts to work as an extension of your senses." For a brief moment, John closed his eyes and felt his surroundings. "Because of that extension, even if you three just felt through the magic a few meters close to you, it still overloaded your mind with information and made you feel dizzy. But, if you can tune down the information or even masterfully navigate through it… you can do wonders with it."
"For example?" Josie asked.
John opened his eyes. "For example… you can see a path of an ant's nest right below us, with a couple hundred ants carrying their food to the nest, which is located a couple dozen meters from here."
In a bit of a rush, Josie and Lizzie crawled away from where they were sitting, with Hope standing up in record time and walking to his side.
A quiet chuckle escaped John's lips. "Now, if I direct my focus from under the soil to that tree…" John pointed at a random tree in the woods, redirecting everyone's attention to it as well. "I now know exactly how many branches it has, how many leaves each branch has and how many in total there are."
"How many are there?" Lizzie asked as she cleaned off her knees.
"Twenty one thousand and eight hundred sixty four leaves total." John confidently said. "Do you want to verify?" He cheekly asked.
"No, I trust you." Lizzie shook her head. "When will we be able to do that?"
"To be honest, I don't know." John replied, letting the magic around escape away from his control. "As I mentioned earlier, this is something I was innately capable of doing. There are also differences between us that make me capable of absorbing this amount of information without a problem. You three obviously don't have it yet or at least are not used to it. So, who knows when you will have this much control?" John could only shrug his shoulders. "Let's not put the carriage in front of the horses. Now that you guys were able to get a feeling of Magic Resonation, what you have to do is grasp that feeling again without my help and slowly master it."
"That sounds so hard." Lizzie whined, crossing her arms. "Can't you help us again by doing whatever you did earlier?"
"Nope." John shook his head. "Now that you have the sensation livid in your mind, you have to work on it by yourselves."
Lizzie sighed, a little disappointed. "Not what I expected for my Sunday…" She whispered, forgetting some individuals had enhanced hearing.
Ignoring that, John walked to Hope, the most quiet of the three since their abrupt dizziness.
"Do you think you can replicate that sensation?" He soothingly asked, holding her hand.
Hope looked up at him and nodded. "I think I can, since it is still fresh. But, I am still kind of taken by it. I've never felt something so…"
"Profound?"
"I would say strange."
John snorted. "Yeah, that word works as well."
"It's just that this all sounds a little surreal yet. Changing my soul's frequency and trying to synchronize with nature's magic is a very strange experience even for me." Hope unfolded her thoughts.
"I can imagine that." John rubbed the back of her hand. "But a word of advice, you will see and hear even stranger things as our relationship progresses."
"So mysterious…" Hope stood on the tip of her toes and graced his lips with a quick kiss.
With the couple unaware, two pairs of eyes glanced at them while they shared the intimate moment. One of them quickly retreated her eyes, not wishing to look at the scene much longer. As for the other, she only evaded her eyes from them when their lips separated, afraid of them noticing her sight.
Lowering her heels, Hope kept a hand over John's chest. "Just try not to surprise me too much, okay? After everything… and considering how chaotic the world around us is, I prefer a calm and simple life."
"I will try my best, my dear." John nodded, bringing up her hand and kissing it. "Now, ignore me and everything around you and try to feel that same sensation again."
Hope nodded, a simple smile on her lips. "And you, what exactly are you going to do?"
"I have some ideas I want to try. To not disturb you and the sisters, I will walk a little deeper into the forest and return by dinner time."
"Okay." Hope simply acknowledged his words. "If I end up going back earlier, you know where to find me."
"I know." Before letting go of her hand, John gave it a gentle squeeze. "I will see you later." He said, turning around towards the forest.
Not taking a step away from where he left her, Hope quietly observed his distancing back. As his figure started to blend with the woods' shadows and the further he got away from her, Hope had a strange – and warm — sensation that he was still standing by his side.
With a quiet breath escaping her nostrils, Hope slowly walked to a nearby tree, sitting down under its shade and enjoying the quietness nature offered and its fresh wind.
All right… Remember that sensation, Hope. That same feeling from within your heart… Hope muttered to herself, her eyes closed and taking long breaths as she tried to relive that same moment from minutes ago.
Away from her, Josie and Lizzie observed her for a little while before the blond witch turned to her sister. "Well, I am not doing it here. I am going to my room, where it is comfortable and cozy." She stated. "Are you going with me?"
"I will try here first. I think there is a reason why John wanted to show us this new method of controlling magic here and not in a more comfortable place." Josie said, momentarily denying her sister's idea.
Given such an answer, all that Lizzie could do was shrug her shoulders. "Your choice. Don't blame me if you get a cold." Without saying much else, Lizzie turned around and walked in an opposite direction to John's, going back to the school.
Involuntarily sighing in response to her sister's words, Josie redirected her eyes once again to Hope before finding a place for her in the border of the woods as well to sit down.
Before closing her eyes, Josie felt a voice reaching her ear.
"If you need help, I would be happy to do so."
Looking a few meters beside her, Josie nodded towards Hope. "Thanks, I will."
Offering a good-hearted smile, Hope closed her eyes again.
With Josie doing the same, the grass field behind the school building entered into a state of silence, with only the howling of the wind and the occasional voices from the school echoing faintly through the space.
…
"This is concerning." John muttered, standing amidst the woods while looking down at his phone.
Half-way through his walk to the depths of the forest, where usually no student appears, he decided to briefly check up what time it was before putting it aside.
However, there was a single notification on his screen which triggered his interest and urged him to unlock his smartphone and see what Rebekah texted him after days of no response from her.
And as expected, the message left John quite intrigued.
Marcel's visit to Texas has proved the situation is bigger than we expect. Until we inform you for things to be safe, I ask from you to not leave Hope's side if possible. Whoever seeks her death is willing to go far.
By the end of the text, John had his eyebrows tightly furrowed.
A sigh escaped John's lips, one that contained as much stress as worry from his part. Truthfully, the young man had to resist the temptation to simply throw his phone at some random tree out of anger.
Let's calm down first, anger solves nothing most of the time. John thought to himself, even though what he wished right now was something to hit.
Thankfully, he would soon be doing exactly that.
Putting his phone away, John started to think more profoundly about Rebekah's message.
So, they learned something else in Texas. Or Marcel did, since apparently he was the one to go there alone. But if she didn't go there, why didn't she answer my texts? John put his flip-flops away, preparing himself for his training while thinking over the topic. No time to get sidetracked, I have to learn what they found out. For Rebekah to ask me to not leave Hope's side, it must be something serious.
Looking over his shoulder, to the direction where he came from, John expanded his senses outwards until he could hear Hope's soft breathing. To his ears, it seemed like she was standing by his side.
Knowing she was close to him and he could reach her at any moment brought some comfort to his heart, but it wasn't enough to make him feel fully at ease.
When I got the info from Sofya, I should've asked more from her. Not only who is paying the most for Hope's life, but also anyone who went after her. John's eyes narrowed, thinking of something.
He stood still for a couple moments. But then, he reached out to his phone once again and opened his conversation with Rebekah, quickly typing a new message.
But since I can't alter the past, I will do what I can. Rebekah can probably answer my questions, I just have to pray for her to answer them as quickly as possible. John decided to text Rebekah back, and that was what he did.
But while doing so, in the middle of the process, he couldn't help himself but think of the only group that he knew about that could be behind all of this scheme against Hope.
Right now, I am probably the only one on our side who knows about the Triad. Considering what they are capable of by having Malivore sealed in their basement, they might have the resources for the bounty and they have a reason to put it on Hope, as much as idiotic and absurd this reason might be. John mulled over the possibility, sending the text he prepared to Rebekah.
Putting his phone away for a second time, John took a deep breath to try to calm down his nerves. For now, that's all they are: a possibility. But if they end up being who is behind the bounty, then things get out of control way earlier than I ever expected. After all, Triad only targeted Hope in a similar way after Malivore was destroyed and she was a full-on Tribrid.
As he prepared himself for the training he would initiate, John let escape a sigh of exasperation. But I guess I should have been prepared for this from the very beginning. After all, how the Fragments navigate through space and time basically begs me to be prepared for even the most random things. It's my fault to not have thought of it simply because things around me are mostly similar to the series.
After this long line of thoughts, John took a few steps and stopped himself before a huge rock, with only a couple steps separating both of them.
Even with me planning to prevent the main plot from happening, it seems like the very world is finding ways to bring more problems to Hope. A severe look took over John's eyes.
He recoiled his right arm and closed his fist, aiming it at the huge boulder.
Well, if I end up falling to prevent them from causing trouble, they can try to approach Hope. I will be more than delighted to show them that they are nothing more than some mediocre villains.
Bang!
————————————————
A/N
If you wish to support me, give me your power stones and if you want to read 3 chapters ahead, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n
patreon . com / Endless Phoenix 186 (remove the spaces)