“Rise and shine, Amai!”

I yelp as my eyes fly open. Somebody shakes me a few times, then takes their hands off me as I sit up. Immediately, my eyes land on Nova.

“Hey! What’s the deal?!”

“Sorry about that!” Nova tilts her head a little and the ends of her ribbon headband follow. “But I wanted to tell you that breakfast is ready! Saisho and Allisa just finished making it! Ikimono and Sakasu are already making their way down to the kitchen. We should go, too!”

I blink a few times. “Oh… right. Yes, breakfast. Wait, Saisho already knows that Allisa girl Soveliss was speaking of last night?”

Nova nods. “Yeah! She’s really nice, and she wants to meet you too! Come on!”

I take a moment to change into my clothes, and then Nova leads me out of the room. We head down the staircase, and Nova goes down a small corridor. We keep walking down the hall until we see an open door, where I can hear laughter and smell deliciousness from where I stand. Nova dips in, and I follow her inside.

In this room is a large kitchen. I see all of our friends scattered around the room. Sakasu sits next to Ikimono at a large table, where both are eating together. Sakasu’s green eyes are trained on Ikimono as she talks. I’ve never seen her this attentive when she eats.

On the other side, I see Saisho and Soveliss near the stove. Soveliss’s ears twitch a little as Saisho tells a story. With them is a third individual, who stands alongside Soveliss.

From what I can see, this girl has long pale hair that is loosely braided along her back. She has the same pointy ears as Soveliss, leading me to believe she’s also elven. She wears a long sleeved white shirt tucked into a long magenta skirt. She is attentive to Saisho as he speaks, and her ears twitch with curiosity.

“Oh!” Soveliss looks over at me and Nova. “Good morning, ladies.”

Nova grins. “Morning Soveliss!”

I wave to him as I nod. “Good morning.”

The pale-haired elf turns to look at me. Her gray eyes meet with mine, and a smile forms on her face. She walks towards us.

“Oh. You must be Amai. The others told me about you. It’s great to finally meet you!” The woman says. “I’m Allisa Torifina.”

I put my hand out to Allisa. “It’s great to meet you too, Allisa.”

She shakes my hand. “Are you hungry? Saisho and I made breakfast for everyone.”

“Nova told me about that.” I nod. “I’m definitely hungry!”

Saisho walks over to me with a plate. Piled on the plate is a combination of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and some bacon. He smiles at me kindly.

“Well, eat up.” He says. “We have a long day ahead of us.”

I take the plate. I nod to him. “Thank you Saisho.”

As I walk over to sit next to Sakasu, she looks up at me. The girl gives me a warm smile when I sit down. She finishes a bite of eggs before giggling.

“Ready to start training today?”

“I’m a little nervous, but sure!”

Ikimono smiles at the both of us, clearing her throat.

“Don’t worry. You’re in good hands. Soveliss will be by your side to help you out.”

I look at her. “What are you going to do while Soveliss is teaching us?”

“I’m going to be training Nova and Saisho.” Ikimono answers. “They might be able to transform and do basic skills, but I’m going to assist them with starting to unlock more abilities.”

Sakasu sighs. “I hope I have special abilities with my Written Form…”

“I’m sure you do,” Ikimono answers. “You need to focus on unlocking that Form first.”

Nova sits next to Ikimono.

“Yeah! Once you unlock your Written Form, you’ll be able to get up to our levels in no time!” She says. “Just trust the process!”

As I start to eat my own breakfast, I feel a smile forming on my face. I know that Sakasu and I will get the help we need from Soveliss. I trust him enough. We’ll soon be able to access our Written powers, and it will help us bring Violet home. I believe in this with my whole heart.

My attention is now brought to Soveliss and Allisa. They both come over to sit near us. Soveliss taps his fingertips on the table. He smiles.

“Since we’re talking about it, we should discuss how training will look.” Soveliss speaks to everyone in the room. “Naomi should be here soon to help me with Sakasu and Amai. Until I can get them up to speed, I need your help, Ikimono. Will you train Nova and Saisho using what you know?”

Ikimono nods. “I can surely do that.”

“Oh! So we’ll be as strong as Ikimono soon?” Nova asks. “That’s so cool!! Maybe I’ll be able to develop my abilities more!”

Saisho nods. “I’d like to develop some of mine as well. I really want to help with this mission to find Violet.”

Allisa smiles as she sits down.

“Soveliss did tell me a bit about the situation. I do have some questions, however. Amai, do you mind?”

I look at her. “Not at all. Ask away.”

“What exactly caused your sister to be so angry?”

Nova puts her hands on her chin. “Actually, yeah. I don’t think you ever told us, Amai.”

“Yeah.” Saisho nods. “All you said was that you both received your Charms, your mother told you what they were, and then she came here.”

I sigh.

“Violet got really angry with my mom. Apparently our mother had been withholding information about our pasts for a long time. I never knew I was full-blood Destinian until yesterday, and Violet’s a half-blood. Violet’s always had anger issues… but I never expected her to get that angry with Momma.”

Sakasu nods. “It’s true,” She answers. “I’ve seen Violet get angry. Both at school, and at her home.”

Allisa frowns. “Then… how did she know to make a portal to come here?”

“Mom always told Violet and I stories about Destiny and the Written. But I never thought they were first-hand accounts or true stories.”

“So you were raised in the Normal then?”

“The Normal?”

“It’s another name for our world,” Sakasu says. She looks at Allisa. “And she was. Her mother told me when I asked her about my own Charm a few days ago. I think all of us who came here were raised in the Normal.”

How much of my mother’s past is unknown to me? Sakasu knew that information?

Allisa nods. “Interesting… so you’re a full-blood Destinian raised completely in the Normal. Unlocking your Written Form is going to be fun.”