[P] i just want to watch the birds go by

[Ambrose]

Somewhere in you there's a power with no name
It can rise to meet the moment and burn like a flame

T

he oasis is the perfect place for me to study in quiet. I know that mom doesn’t like it when we wander off for very long, but the path to and from Vitae to our little cavern is probably one of the first things I ever remembered. Diana used it to sneak us off in the middle of the night often enough, and now the sun is bright and shining.

I’m nestled beneath a great reaching fern. Whatever sunlight manages to break through the upper canopy of palms gently dapples my skin through the fronds of the fern. I flip through the book of common desert flora and fauna, each page dedicated to a different plant or animal, with multiple pictures and a few short paragraphs.

I’m reading about Northern Ground Hornbills when I hear a soft rustling. My ears flick atop my head locating the sound. I glance up just as a Dorcas Gazelle comes into view, peeking cautiously through the underbrush as it makes its way toward the pool of water at the center of the oasis.

I wait for more to appear, but none do. It’s strange to see one of the small gazelle alone as they usually travel in large herds. I wonder if it got separated during an attack. I feel badly, watching it look around nervously without anyone to warn it of potential danger.

Flipping back through my book, close to the front, I find the page dedicated to my new little friend. I study the pictures for a long moment, but having a living example in front of me I figure this should be pretty easy. It helps that they’re also quite small; no more than foot tall at the shoulder.

So, I start to weave.

As my magic starts to twist and turn before me, the pictures of the gazelle float up from the page and dance around my head, almost as though they are running. Almost as though they are chasing each other. I have to be careful to stay quiet, or all of this will be in vain.

When my magic is done encompassing the images in the book, I glance up to find a second Dorcas Gazelle standing before me. My head hurts a little, but nothing too bad. It stands there for a moment too long without moving and I think maybe it didn’t come out quite right which worries me.

I take in a breath and quietly go, “Boo!” I don’t want to scare the first one, afterall. When it startles and bounds off in the direction of the oasis I smile a little and rest my head in the sand. Now to wait for them to notice each other.

{ @Bexley "speaks" notes: Auntie Bexley time }

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