Chapter fourteen

"I can't believe peakcocks can fly," Evelyn whispered-mumbled to Leia as she peeked around the rock they were hiding behind to get a better glimpse at the majestic peacock-like animals.

"Their way of flying is.....kinda weird. But it's better than not being able to fly." Liea whispered back.

The group were huddling and hiding behind a cluster of huge rocks to spy on the peakcocks.

"So what's the plan?" Asher whisper-asked. "Do we hop on them and just go with the flow?"

Camila rolled her eyes. "Ha ha. Very funny."

"What?" Asher asked.

"You think they'll just let us hop on them and fly us down?"

"Worth a chance." Asher said as he got up from his hiding place.

Camila grabbed him by his arm and pulled him down before any of the peakcocks noticed him. "Stop playing around, Asher."

"Fineee." Asher reluctantly whispered.

"Okay, what if we bribe them with food or something?" Leia suggested. 

"We don't even know what they eat!" Amelia said. "Maybe....wait- Leia, you're a nature user, right?" 

Leia nodded. 

"Can you communicate with them and ask if they can fly us down the mountain?"

Leia shook her head. "That's only something really powerful nature users can do. And I'm not on that level of power yet."

Amelia sighed. "There has to be something we can do."

"I know," Brooke peeped-it was rare when she talked since she kept quiet and to herself often.

"I learned in my zoology lesson that peakcocks will listen to those who manage to get ahold of their most beautiful feather. Weird that they would listen if someone had their most beautiful feather, but it works in our favor."

"Well, it's worth a try," Leia decided. "Um...so how do we do this? Run to the peakcocks and pull out their most beautiful feather?" 

"Pretty much," Asher nodded his head.

"Won't they be in pain?" Evelyn asked.

Camila shook her head. "It's so cold here peakcocks feel nothing but numbness. So they won't feel the pain."

The plan wasn't the most ideal, but it was their only one so Evelyn went along with it.

Each of the friends eyed a peakcock and eyed the most beautiful feather on its colorful tail of feather.

"Get ready," Leia whispered as they got into a running position.

"And....go!"

The six friends jumped out of their hiding places and ran towards the peakcocks.

Luckily, the peakcocks froze for several moments because of shock, giving Evelyn and her friends a little more time and a little more chance in grabbing their feathers.

However, before they could reach the peakcocks, they took off running.

Asher and Brooke took the lead, sprinting towards the nearest peakcock. Asher pinned it softly and gently to the snowy ground. "Sorry, buddy," he mumbled as Brooke gently removed one of the most beautiful feathers Evelyn had ever seen from its tail.

Camila and Amelia teamed up and went next. The pounced on the peakcock, sending them tumbling in a heap across the snow before Camila grabbed a feather and held it up, grinning at their victory.

Leia and Evelyn shared a glance and they nodded. Leia and Evelyn picked up their pace and ran in front of a peakcock, blocking it from going any farther.

The peakcock crashed into them, sending them tumbling across the snow like Camila and Amelia.

"Got ya!" Leia pulled out a beautiful, colorful pastel feather.

"That....was like an action scene from a movie," Evelyn breathed as Leia showed the peakcock its feather and asked if it could fly them down the mountain.

The peakcock seemed to understand and went rigid and nodded.

"Thank you," Evelyn whispered to it as they hopped onto its back.

"Everyone got a ride?" Leia asked and Brooke, Asher, Camila and Amelia caught up with them in pairs on two peakcocks.

"I can't believe this worked," Evelyn said as she wrapped her arms around Leia, who wrapped her arms around the peakcocks neck and repeating her command.

In an instance, the peakcocks took off running towards a cliff and Evelyn closed her eyes and gave an ear-shaking scream as they launched off the cliff.

Her screams were accompanied by Leia's, Camila's, Amelia's, Brooke's and Asher's screams as they fell down, down, down.

Evelyn squeezed her eyes shut even tighter and held onto Leia-who held onto the peakcock-for dear life.

Then suddenly.....they stopped falling.

Evelyn opened one eye and gasped.

They were flying-in the sky!

More gasps followed, which probably meant her friends had came to the same realization as her.

"We're flying!" Leia squealed. "We're actually flying!"

Evelyn grinned but raised an eyebrow when she noticed how the peakcocks were flying. Leia was right- the way they flew was weird. 

The peakcocks' tails of feathers had somehow became bigger and larger and the peakcocks used their tails to from a peakcock hot-air balloon.

Evelyn didn't question it though.

They circled across the sky and through fluffy white clouds and flew around the mountain before the peakcocks landed on the ground with soft thuds.

They had landed in a field with soft, crunchy green grass and colorful flowers sprouting from the ground.

"Thank you again," Evelyn whispered to the peakcock and patted it before slipping down from its' back. Leia did the same and returned the feather to the peakcock and her friends did the same as well.

"So what are we gonna do now?" Asher asked as they watched the peakcocks fly back up to their snowy winter wonderland home in the Glacier Peak at the top of the mountain.

"We're gonna get new teleballs and holopods and continue searching for Evelyn and Brooke's power crystals." Camila decided, taking the lead and leading them out of the field.

The group wandered around before stumbling into a busy and bustling little village. They strolled into the marketplace, where there were lots of stalls and stallholders selling all sorts of food and trinkets. 

The group went into a shore with a sign labeled: TECHY'S GADGET CENTRE

The store-though tiny- was filled with thousands of gadgets displayed on shelves.

"Welcome to Techy's Gadget Centre," a chubby man with a beard and a pair of spectatcles greeted them behind a counter. "What can I do for ya?" he asked in his gruff voice.

Leia approached the counter. "Our holopods and teleballs need fixing." she placed her teleball on the counter and everyone pooled over their holopods and teleballs too.

The man examined it. "Hmmm..."

When he was done examining each one, he set them down. "I'll have them fixed in a jiffy. Just wait over there."

He pointed to three red, plushy chairs joined together. The chairs had holes with stuffing peeking out and springs.

"Um....no thanks. We'll just wait here." Camila answered for the group.

"Okay. Whatever you want." the man grabbed the holopods and teleballs and headed to the back of the store.

"So where are we going next?" Amelia asked.

"How about....Glendailora?" Leia suggested. 

"Glendailora?" Evelyn asked. 

Leia nodded. "It's a mythical forest neighboring the Crystal Lake."

"Is all in favour to adventure Glendailora?" Camila asked.

The whole group nodded.

"So we're going to Glendailora after this?" Asher asked.

Leia shook her head. "After we change-it's steaming in our winter wear."

Asher nodded, and on cue, the man came out holding fixed holopods and teleballs.

"Wait," Camila interupted after they had changed and before they teleported to Glendailora. "We should get Evelyn to a doctor first."

"You're right-how could I forget? Everyone, let's teleport back to school first and have Evelyn see the school medic." Leia announced.

"I'm fine," Evelyn promised. "We really don't have to go. I'm really fine. We're running low on time- we really don't have to go."

Camila and Leia glanced at each other and the group, but after some time they decided that Evelyn could see a doctor after Glendailora.

Together, they teleported to Glendailora.

They teleported to a field in front of a friendly-looking, green forest. A wooden sign was stabbed onto the ground.

GLENDAILORA

Camila took the lead and the rest trailed behind.

Evelyn took in the beautiful sights around her as she strolled into the forest. 

The trees were tall, high and mighty with branches that stretched towards the afternoon sun. The branches and tree holes housed hundreds of different animals.

The forest was also filled with life. There were birds chirping cheery songs and animals scuttering around in search for food.

The trees and bushes were also filled with delicious fruits and beautiful flowers and flowers were sprouting from the ground, as well as fresh and crunchy grass showered with dewdrops.

A breeze blew past the group as they traveled onward and the trees provided shade.

They walked past tree after tree after tree while following Camila's lead.

"Anyone up for a break?" Leia asked after an hour of walking.

Everyone nodded exhaustedly and Asher looked the most thrilled with the news.

The group settled beneath the cool shade of a majestic evergreen tree and Evelyn leaned her head against the rough bark and closed her eyes, listening to the birds' twittering and chirping.

The panicked sound of someone getting up and a "What happened?" had Evelyn's eyes fluttering open.

Brooke eyes were wide with panic and....excitement as she stood towering above them.

Evelyn was about to ask what was the matter when she broke into a run.

The group fumbled to get up and chased after her.

The turned right and left and avoided trees and bushes as they picked up speed to follow Brooke.

"Brooke! What's wrong?!" Camila asked, fixing her hair and putting it into place as she ran.

The wind whipped Evelyn hair as she ran faster and faster to keep up.

Brooke didn't answer- she swerved left and a sharp right before stopping.

Evelyn crashed into Leia when she abruptly stopped and had them toppling to the ground.

"Sorry," her face flushed red as she got up. She offered Leia a hand and she took it. "It's fine," she promised.

Brooke had led them to a lake.

"Brooke, why did you bring us to the Crystal Lake?" Leia asked.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier," Brooke mumbled, tucking a brown strand of hair behind her ear and her face flushing red. "But it's because of this."

She turned behind to reveal her locket...hovering in the air and dragging her towards the lake.

Leia gasped as she pried open the locket and the little jar of water hovered in the hair. The most unusual thing was that it was glowing green.

She cupped her hands over it and tucked it safely in her locket and closing it before it could fly into the lake.

Evelyn gasped too when she came to the realization: Your obtusce only glowed and led you to a certain place if you power crystal was there.

Brooke walked gingerly to the lake, her eyes lingered and glued to the lake.

"Don't tell me you're going to do what I think you're going to do," Camila warned. 

"I don't see any other option, do you?" she asked and took a deep breath and jumped into the lake before anyone could stop her.

The group froze in shock even though they knew she would do it and Evelyn was the fastest to recover.

She sprinted to the lake and jumped in.

The water devoured her and she could feel the cool touch of the water against her skin.

She pumped up her cheeks for air and dived after Brooke.

Brooke's eyes widened when she saw her and she gave a What are you doing here?! motion.

Evelyn shrugged.

Still, Brooke signaled for her to follow as she led them to a cave deep in the lake.

The moment they entered the cave, the water disappeared and air and oxygen filled the cave. 

Evelyn got to her knees and gasped for air.

"You didn't have to follow me." Brooke said.

"You're my friend. You can't expect for me to leave you in a lake. I had- I have- to make sure you're safe."

Brooke offered a smile and a hand and Evelyn took it.

Together, the both girls went farther down the cave and after a few minutes of walking, they entered another, huger and bigger cave.

The cave was filled with hundred -thousands- of crystals glittering and sparkling in the dim, dark cave.

"Woah," Evelyn breathed. "Is this why it's called the Crystal Lake?"

Brooke nodded and the girls let her locket lead them to....yet another cave. The smallest cave of the the three caves they'd been to.

And in the middle of it on a rock with a smooth platform was a glowing green-blue crystal.

The girls froze as they admired and examined it.

Eventually, Brooke stepped forward and was about to touch the crystal with the tips of her fingertips but froze and stopped and left her fingers lingering there.

She turned back to face Evelyn, her face clouded with doubt.

"Go ahead," Evelyn encouraged. "It's your power crystal. You can do it."

Brooke swallowed and nodded then pressed her fingers against the crystal.

There was a blinding flash of light and when Evelyn's eyes adjusted and the light was gone, Brooke was lying on the floor.

Evelyn helped her get up and looked on as Brooke pried open her locket. Inside, the water in the tiny jar glowed green-blue.

Brooke and Evelyn looked at each other and but girls broke into grins.

"You did it! You have an ability now!" Evelyn grinned.

"I do!" Brooke beamed but her grin faded. "Are you okay?"

"Why would I not be okay?" Evelyn asked.

"You...don't have a power crystal. Or at least not yet."

"I'm fine," Evelyn promised. "Ang congratulations on your power crystal! I'm super happy for you!"

There was another flash of light and a gray crystal appeared, hovering on the smooth surface of the rock.

"It's for another person." Brooke explained as Evelyn reached out and brushed her fingers against the cold, cool surface of the crystal.

When she was done, both girls exited the caves and swam up to the surface.

The rest of their friends were pacing around and shouting in panic and frustration, especially Asher.

"We have to go in there!" he argued.

They froze when they saw Evelyn and Brooke and they braced for more shouts, but instead they were wrapped up in hugs despite their dripping uniforms and hair.

Asher wrapped his twin sister up in a hug. "I can't believe you got your power crystal! Wait- you got it, right?"

He grinned when Brooke showed him her obtusce.

The rest of events were a blur. They headed back to their homes and decided to regroup after everyone was ready, then went adventuring in more places when they had regrouped.

After a few more hours they teleported back to school.

"I'm sorry we didn't manage to get you an ability." Leia mumbled and was echoed by the rest.

"It's fine," Evelyn promised and they all turned to the mega screen of the megaholopod, which projected Headmistress Melerana.

She gave a thrilled smile to the students. 

"Well done, students! You lot have really outdone yourselves during this year's Crystal Hunt. 483 students have found and gotten power crystals, which means now 483 more of you have abilities. Congratulations to the students who have found power crystals this year, but for those who didn't manage to, try harder and don't give up. There are still more crystal hunts to go."

"Now you all are allowed to teleport and head to your separate homes. And for those who wants to celebrate with their friends, you may head to the cafeteria to party. There are free refreshments and food."

The sea of students cheered and majority of them headed to the cafeteria while some teleported back.

Evelyn, Camila, Amelia, Brooke, Asher and Leia headed to the cafeteria.

They got platters heaped with pastries and glasses of juice.

"Here's to Brooke!" Leia cheered and raised her glass of juice up. Everyone did the same and the group broke into chatter.

After two hours, they said their goodbyes and Evelyn teleported to the middle of her neighborhood and headed home.

She knocked on the door squeezed between the fences but instead of Atler or Ellete answering, Zak opened the door with glassy eyes.

"Zak?" she asked. "What happened?"