I stare at Sakasu in awe.

She transformed into her Written Form! I’m beyond proud of her and the progress she’s made in such little time. Sakasu has always had a wild side to her; maybe that’s what unlocked her form.

“Golden Blaze.” Soveliss repeats. He smiles. “I like it. Rolls off the tongue quite naturally.” He walks over to her. With his free hand, he pats her shoulder. “Amazing job, Sakasu.”

Snowie stands and walks up to Sakasu again. She puts her paw on her leg. “I like your outfit. It’s pretty!” Her tails wag in sync.

Sakasu smiles. “Thank you.”

Naomi then looks at me.

“Have you transformed before, Amai?”

I look at Naomi. “No. I just got my Charm yesterday.” I answer her simply. I purse my lips with a sigh. “So I don’t think I could transform, even if I wanted to.”

“Well, not with that thinking.” Soveliss says. “You gotta be a bit more positive!”

Sakasu nods. “You can do it, Amai. I know you can. Just think positively.”

“What do you want?” Soveliss asks. “What are your goals?”

I look to the elven man.

“I want to find my sister. I came here to find my sister and figure out this whole Written thing. I need to find her so Momma can be-”

“Ah!” Soveliss interrupts. “Stop. Nope.”

I tilt my head. Some of my hair falls in my face. “No?? Did I say something wrong?”

“I asked you, ‘what are your goals’. You answered what your goals are for being here in Destiny.” Soveliss sighs. He taps a few fingers to the orb of his staff. “I know you want to find your sister. I know you want to make your mother proud. But those aren’t for you, are they?”

“No.” I answer.

“So let me rephrase,” Soveliss smiles at me. “What do you want in life? What are your desires?”

My desires? I’ve never given those much of a thought. I had never felt the need to. All my life, I’ve dedicated myself to supporting others and helping them feel better. That’s all I want, and all I’ve ever wanted.

But now… I don’t know. I’m not sure.

“I’ve always wanted to be strong for others and help them out.” I say. My eyes shift to look at the elven man again. “And I want to make others proud.”

“But what about yourself? This isn’t about others, Amai. It’s about you. Who or what do you want to be for you?”

I look down.

“I want to be loving.”

I hear Soveliss chuckle. “That’s better.”

I look up again. I see Sakasu look at herself in the mirror again. A smile forms on her face when her eyes meet with mine. “There’s the Amai that I know.” She says with a giggle. She spins around to look at me. “You deserve to love yourself too.”

I feel my cheeks heating up. “Thanks, ’Kasu.”

Soveliss clears his throat.

“Amai, could you stand facing towards me please?”

My attention is brought to the elf once more. I stand up, watching him closely. He starts to slowly walk towards me. Once he is a few steps away from me, he stops. He watches me for a moment in silence. A gentle smile is on his face.

He suddenly reaches out his staff to nudge me back.

“Hey!” I yelp out. I stumble back a little. “What the heck are you doing, Soveliss?!”

He stays silent. Yet again, he quietly moves to shove me with the orb end of the staff. I stumble once more, this time putting my hands up.

“Stop that!”

“Stop me then.” Soveliss says. “You have to be able to support yourself. No one else can activate that Written Form of yours.” He shoves me back again. “However, if you let me push you into that wall, I’ll stop training today.”

What the…?

“Soveliss, stop!” I yell. I’m so confused. What does he want me to do?! I don’t know how to transform. “This isn’t fair!”

I’m forced back a step again. Soveliss waits a moment.

“Sakasu, make him stop!”

Soveliss puts a hand out as Sakasu goes to take a step forward. A blue glow surrounds my friend, and she slows down. My eyes widen.

“Sakasu?!”

“Relax, I only slowed her down.” Soveliss rolls his eyes with a chuckle. “Time manipulation; it’s a simple ability that I possess. Now, if you want to save her… save yourself.”

I narrow my eyes. Something inside of me is longing to rush to Sakasu and help her. But I need to stop myself from being shoved to the wall! I need to save myself!

As I go back another step, I feel something ignite.

“That’s enough.” I say. “I’m not letting you do this to me or her!”

Suddenly, my vision is blurred by a bright pink glow. I let out a yelp as I try to shield my eyes, but the light doesn’t go away. I feel a warm energy surrounding me as I breathe in. I remind myself to stay calm. This is normal, right?

The light fades away, and I see everyone staring at me. This is like when I witnessed Sakasu transform for the first time. We were all looking at her. Except this time, all eyes are on me.

“You look like a princess!”

Snowie runs over to me. Both her tails wag as she sits down and looks up. “Are you a princess? Oh! Do you sing like one? You’re pretty. Do you know that? Are you magic too?!”

I look to Soveliss. “Did I…?”

“Take a look.”

Soveliss gestures over towards the mirror. Sakasu takes a step to the side as the blue glow fades away, and I slowly walk over. As the kitsune follows me, I take a deep breath. I gotta stay calm. I gotta be okay.

I finally look in the mirror, and my eyes widen. Before, my Written Charm was a plain pink heart gemstone for a hairpin. Now, it has a small, single white wing on it’s side. I see my necklace is still there, but I have an off-the-sleeve white shirt tucked into black leggings. At my left hip, I see another pink heart gem with a sheer, pink high-low skirt attached. My shoes were replaced with armored boots, and on my arms are white and pink gauntlets shaped somewhat like hearts near my elbows.

My eyes water a little. “I did it.”

Sakasu suddenly hugs me, and we spin around. The two of us laugh with each other in celebration. I wrap my arms around her, smiling wide.

“I knew you could do it!” Sakasu says. “I’m so proud of you, girl! What are you going to call yourself?”

I think for a moment. “Um… I’m not too sure just yet.” I say. “Do I have to think of a name now?”

Soveliss shakes his head. “No.”

Naomi smiles at us. “Nice job, you two.” She says. “You both look great! Like real Written!”

Snowie jumps around. “Yeah!! You both look like you’re going to be really powerful. Just saying.”

We hear a tap of Soveliss’s staff, and we all fall silent. Sakasu puts me down. We all look at him.

“I’m proud of both of you. You girls are quick learners. But this is far from the end of your lessons. You both have much to learn.” Soveliss says.

I nod. “Of course…”

The elven man looks at me.

“Amai… did you base your outfit off somebody?” He asks.

I shake my head. “No.”

He purses his lips. “I swear your outfit looks… similar to someone. You said you’re full blooded Destinian? What are your parents’ names?”

“I know my mother’s name. Not my fathers.” I answer. “My mother is Aura Winter.”

Soveliss’s eyes widen. “Aura Winter. That name is familiar too… Why do I know this name…”

We watch as the elf starts to pace.

“Aura… Aura… God, I can’t remember where I’ve heard it… Maybe my parents would know.”

“Your parents?” Sakasu asks. “How would they know?”

“We have a giant archive of every Written that’s ever existed.” Soveliss answers. “If there’s a Written by the name of Aura Winter, then she’s in that archive. I know it.”

“So what should we do?” I ask. “Is this important?”

“Maybe… I’m not sure. My intuition is getting something from you but I’m not sure what it is… I’ll send word to my parents that I want to meet with them tomorrow.”

“Why not now?” Sakasu asks.

Soveliss sighs. “We’ve trained enough. I’m sure unlocking your Forms for the first time was draining. Switching back will take a lot of energy out of you too. You both need to rest… and I’m sure Allisa and Naomi can help you both learn some things about Destiny. I need to begin tracking Violet, so if you’d like to join me, you’re free to do so. Other than that, the lesson is dismissed.”

I notice both Soveliss and Naomi snap their fingers. They change back into their normal outfits. Sakasu looks at her hands as her form fades away, and mine follows suit. I sigh as I watch the kitsune bounce around.

“Okay! Can we have food?! I want chicken. Anyone like chicken?” Snowie asks. She circles Sakasu a few times. “I think you like chicken.”

“How’d you know?” Sakasu laughs.

“Wild guess. I do that a lot.”

My friend and I laugh. We exchange a glance as we both smile.

We did it. We transformed.