Chapter 16

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Once I got to the park, I thought about training there but decided it was too out in the open. So I walk into the Forgotten Forest, slipping past the hole in the gate. It would be smart to call someone, I thought, but I know I need to learn to do this on my own.

Lessons with my mom had me tired of slipping in and out of visions, so I was going to try to avoid them. However, the first thing I knew I needed to do was to go into a vision of about an hour into the future, just to make sure that I would be if I worked out here. Everything was clear, so I knew I would be safe here for at least an hour.

"What to do first?" I wonder out loud. Originally I thought trying to pause time would be fun, but I didn't even know if I could do that. It would be easiest to learn my powers in small steps. Now that my abilities and powers aren't limited, I need to see what I can do.

Speed was the next thing that came to my mind. My mom said they were stronger and faster, so that was something I had to try out. I was faster, I could easily run twice as fast as usual. At least that's what it felt like, I had no way to measure it. Not to mention I was average at running at best, so that means I'm probably just running at a good speed. That's as good of a place to start as any, I think to myself.

Then I check my strength, by picking up and throwing rocks and stuff that I could find. I felt stronger, but there was not much out here to test that out. The rocks weren't all that big.

I decide to call Cleo. "Hey, Cleo?"

"Yeah?"

"Could I come over and work out with you tonight?"

"Oh, um, I'm busy tonight, but tomorrow night definitely," she says awkwardly. Cleo being hesitant and calm with what she says, is offputting. Then I remember my vision and felt a pit in my stomach.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then," I say. I hang up immediately, which usually wasn't like me. I always wait for the other person to hang up, but I don't feel like waiting on others anymore. I've let everyone have control of everything for way too long.

Suddenly, I feel like Lyland and Clementine are keeping something from me. It's rare that when I call and ask to hang out, she says no, even when she has a guy over. Yet here she is, saying no, and having Lyland over. Maybe, she is just going to try to convince him to date me. I laugh to myself at that one.

Shaking off the weird feeling in the pit of my stomach, I go back to working out. I may never have been the biggest fan of running, but at the same time it never actually bothered me. Now it even seemed fun. Getting to run through the Forgotten Forest and see different animals was exciting.

I even found this cute pond, with purple wildflowers growing all around it It was pretty big. It had an old wooden bridge going across it. It looks like once upon a time there was a park near the pond too. I walk over to it carefully. Part of the park looked like it was in relatively good condition. I sit on a metal bench and look out at the lake. The purple flowers reflected into the water, making it look as if the water was purple itself. I decided to call this place 'Lavender Lake'.

I could use the old park to work out in, and the rocks to lift. It was peaceful and quiet, with no one else around to bother me. If there was ever a place to work out, this would be it.

I spent the next few hours running laps around the lake and struggling to lift the large rocks. Then I sit down on the bench and work on my Foreseer skills. I look into the future and the past of Lavender Lake. The most I see are small creatures and animals visiting it. Nobody other than me came here or even knew about this place. Not for years. This beautiful place was all mine.

A small chirping noise catches my attention, while I sit there enjoying my tiny piece of the world. I get up and follow the sound. At the edge of the pond a small, big-eyed creature sits. I bend down closer to look at it. It looked almost frog-like, with gills sticking out of its head. Its light lilac-colored eyes took up most of its face, with a small body and large legs. Somehow the cute little thing had gotten his leg stuck between two rocks. I adjust myself to better move the rock, as the little guy tries to bite me out of fear. Its teeth looked like tiny needles. The creature was way cuter with its mouth shut.

Lifting one of the rock, and throwing it behind me, I set it free. Its big eyes stare up at me, and I can tell that he's trying to tell me, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," I say. I reach over and pick him up. He was barely the size of my hand. He chirps and rubs his hand into my head. "I'm going to call you Hopscotch." I rub his tiny head softly. Seemingly happy, he curls up in my hands.

"I like Hopscotch," a tiny voice says a while later. I look around to see if anyone is around before I realize it was him who had talked.

"You can talk Hops?" I ask quietly.

"Yes," Hop's voice was soft. I could barely hear him, but I could tell that I was right in assuming he was male. "Thank you," his tiny voice chimes.

"Of course," I reply.

Hopscotch and I spend the rest of the day hanging out. He was almost helpful when it came to working out too, and would give me ideas on what I could improve. I almost laugh when the thought crosses my mind that I'm being trained by a small creature.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you?" I ask as kindly as I can.

"We call ourselves, Woloxi," Hops answers.

"That's cool," I reply with a smile. Then I notice that the sun is starting to fade from the sky. "Well, Hopscotch, I have to go. I need to be out of the forest by the time it gets dark." He bobbles his little head at me in response. "Hopefully I will see you again soon," I say sadly. Part of me longs to stay here with my new friend, enjoying my tiny piece of the world, but I know it wouldn't be smart for me to stay.

I wander away from Lavender lake with reluctance. Once I'm away from it though, I run. The Forgotten Forest wasn't safe after dark, so I want to get out of it before the sun goes all the way down. Being the clumsy person I am though, I trip over something.

My body aches as I fall to the forest floor. I look around to see which branch or rock I tripped over, but instead I see something much different. A piece of something gold loops out from the dirt. I sit up quickly, dusting myself off from my fall. Then I dig up the golden object.

It doesn't take me long to recognize it. Someone must have buried it out here to hide the evidence. Poor soul must not have thought about a clumsy girl tripping over it after they halfway placed it into the ground. I guess I was just dead set on accidentally running all their plans. Either that or it was placed here purposely in hopes that I would find it.

Of all things I could have tripped on, it was the Emperor's golden snake headpiece. The green jewels were missing from its eyes, but I would recognize them anywhere. This thing haunted my nightmares, and now it was in my possession. Without thinking, I throw it into my bag. I didn't want to touch it any longer than I had to.

I get up quickly and run to the fence. Once I get through the hole in the fence, I look around making sure that there is no one nearby. Then I walk the rest of the way home.

(10542 yeah this would need like 800 more words to be a full chapter, so I'm just gonna keep writing as if that shouldn't be its chapter)

My town had been trashed again, all of Lyland's work fixing it had been pointless. It wasn't as bad as it had been. Considering I knew that he hadn't spent last night cleaning, it was a lot better than I had thought it would have been. I wonder why Ly had been cleaning it up though? He had to have known it was near pointless.

A few benches were flipped, and some signs were down as well, but all things considered, the town still looks okay. Some people were still out, as it wasn't curfew yet. One group stood arguing on the side of the road. From the sounds of it, they were talking about if there was going to be a war, and what sides they would be taking.

As off as things were, it still felt like home. Maybe more so than it had before. Things weren't perfect, but they weren't chaotic either. There was a peacefulness in the discord of it all. It seems more realistic than it did when everything was perfect. It's easier to fit in when the world around you doesn't seem so cookie-cutter perfect. There seems to be less to live up to when the world is like this.

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