A tingle of static energy wound its way down my tongue, along with what I could only describe as what congealed rain clouds might feel like, if they were such a thing. As before, once the solution settled in my stomach, the energies from my core intertwined with those in my stomach and together they reinforced each other. Turbulence formed within me as my body experienced this internal storm. Then as the rising of the power reached its crescendo, my mind was swept away into the vision.

Buffeted about on tempestuous winds, carried beneath torrential rain clouds, and tossed about amidst thundering lightning, my thoughts were scattered and askew.

This was far different from what experienced when I invigorated and stimulated my gift at home. There I felt like I was in relative control of the extent of those wonderous sensations of tumultuous elements. Here, I was at the mercy of and a victim to the raw power of nature and its violent and vindictive natural essence. I suffered under the effects of a storm that was far outside any semblance of human control.

I was tossed about on winds which whipped about every which way as cold stinging raindrops that felt like needles pelted my unprotected skin. The very air was thin and the oxygen was so sparse that my lungs heaved great breaths with insubstantial gas exchange. My vision began to go dark until . . . *CHkrgggg!* Lightning struck me and my body convulsed at the charge passing through me. Heat and light flashed, followed immediately by a sonic boom which swallowed me up in its concussive embrace.

The smell of burnt skin which I was all too familiar with after the trial of fire, wafted off of the skin of my physical body. It brought me momentarily out of my vision just enough to save me from blacking out entirely. The remainder of the vision I watched in a kind of passive numbness. My skin tore as the icy rain ripped into it, while swaths of watery blood spread about on the air. My body continued to be struck by lightning of which I blessedly felt nothing more of. It was more like watching a lifeless clone of your body disintegrate in front of you as it was unsparingly tormented beneath the violence of nature.

All that was left of me was a bloodied mess of bones and torn flesh which impacted the ground far below the massing clouds of wind, rain, and thunder.

I came to with a sensation like I had been kicked by a horse somewhere on my shoulder. Looking down at my now bare upper body, I saw a latticework of raised and reddened skin which wound down my shoulder, across my abdomen, and ended at my rear as it grounded itself into the earth from where I was sitting. To be honest, from an artistic standpoint it would have made for quite the eye-catching tattoo.

Gratefully taking the elixir water that Victoria offered me, I watched as the red lines and raised skin receded and disappeared into healthy normal skin with nary a sign of the previous trauma I suffered under.

Now, within my core, I felt a wholeness unlike ever before. Although still small and relatively compressed, the sheer magnitude of intensity within that compressed ball was thrilling! Seeing how it grew by minute amounts day after day made me shiver with anticipation for when it reached a similar volume as what I experienced at home. However, when that day came, I somewhat feared that I would feel like the life I lived at home was the shadow, while here was the reality.

A sense of loneliness swept over me at that thought. . .

Would I become lost to the draw of virtual reality and games like so many before me, allowing the cares of the world to go untended and let the ties of family and friends fray into the abyss. Guilt over my fault in my sister’s illness would forever drive me until I had found a working cure. But would that be the last lingering tie which bound me to the world of mortality as it lost the color it had before?

Fear settled in as I contemplated this development. What could I do to stimulate the sensations in reality to match that of this world?

It felt almost like dreams did on rare occasion, where I could wield great powers which affected the world of my dream. Things just made sense in the dream, and the sensation of drawing upon power was distinctly felt. But when I sought those same feelings in life to test out the feasibility of those dream powers, the feelings which were the catalyst to that power were like ephemeral wisps which refused to be caught and engendered within the present real moment.

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My eyes hardened as I strengthened my conviction to better explore my ability in both worlds. I felt like a shadow of an echo whispered to me: if I continue to develop my ability here, then in time, reality will pattern itself after. I felt a tear of hope and pain in my heart at this possibility which came in the form of a whispered promise.

As I settled my thoughts, I came to realize that Victoria and Gertrude were quietly standing by me, each holding a communication crystal in their hand. Looking up in concern, I spoke up finally.

“Is everything alright?” I asked.

“Everything is fine.” Victoria assured me in a gentle voice.

Gertrude joined in with, “We were simply curious as to what might constitute or lead to a failed assimilation for you. Our desire is to maximize your potential while minimizing risk, yet you continue to surprise us in surviving such violent assimilations.”

“Speaking of which.” Victoria interrupted, “How is your body feeling now?”

I stilled my movements and sought beyond the feelings within my core to better evaluate my body.

A smile quirked at the edge of her lips before she continued. “I can only imagine that the improvements will still require a day or two to more fully reveal themselves, but I believe you should be able to feel some effect due to the nature of the element.”

With her encouraging words, I focused more intently. A trace wind blew against my skin within the confines of her backyard. This gentle caress sent a thrill of goosebumps up my arms. My eyes narrowed in thought at this. Next, I gently placed my hands down upon the stone patio beneath me and slid my hand across its lightly pitted surface.

The tactile feedback was incredible! Recalling the times I had tried out of curiosity to differentiate the many bumps on a brail surface while my eyes were closed, I felt that despite my abject failure at those attempts, I would now be very successful with my greatly enhanced sensitivity.

Now as I focused, I could feel the abrasive tugging of my elementally resistant covering upon my skin.

My mind was awhirl with all this additional stimulus which triggered various memories in my mind. Snippets of past thoughts, ideas, and activities rushed through me like the train or bus breezing past you, mere inches from your face.

A memory of water and wind became caught fast in my thoughts and the event unraveled within my mind’s eye.

It was about 3 years ago, prior to my sister’s misadventure in Hawaii. I was a freshman in college at the time and been planning and going out on fun adventurous dates with my latest crush who reciprocated my interest.

Those adventures could involve mountain biking, hiking, caving, indoor rock climbing, and other physically exerting yet stimulating exercises. The particular adventure that came to my mind with the lapping of water beneath and the rush of air above was a venture made on paddleboards. These were stand-up-paddleboards to be precise. Meant for standing and maintaining balance as you utilized a long paddle to push yourself forward as well as directing your path.

Up and down, we paddled across the lake for the next hour until the sun began setting. Both of us fell in multiple times, each laughing at the other’s humorous misfortune. I fell into the lake more than she did as I struggled to stand more often. My date only tried standing a couple times before opting to sit or kneel on the board. Considering the taste of lake water and the feel of coming back up from its murky depths after a fall, I didn’t blame her choice.

It wasn’t until about 20 minutes till we were due to return the rented boards that we began our venture back. As fate would have it, a strong wind began picking up at that time, which made any reasonable progress back absolutely minimal. The effort that we put into paddle against the wind was swiftly stolen away from us as we rested between struggles.

A considerate employee with a low power motor boat came to our rescue as full night fell. I was grateful that my date was still in good spirits and laughing by the end at the humor of the situation as we were both towed back to the rental dock. I’ve unfortunately known other women who would have thrown in the towel and had a mental break down mid-adventure. I tried to avoid those types as they greatly dampen the fun had by others.

That fond memory of paddleboarding with my date brought to mind the practicality of suggesting such an activity to Victoria and Monroe. I honestly felt it was brilliant as it covered several aspects of positive interaction. I just hoped that they both liked the idea.

It was my personal belief that if it is a date activity that both partners enjoy, that the more adrenaline inducing the adventure is, then the better the feelings shared between those experiencing it would be.

“Victoria. . .” I called out to her. “I believe that I have a great idea for the icebreaker date between you and Monroe.”

Her attention instantly shot up and I believe I even saw her pointed ears twitch in anticipation.

I then spoke up regarding paddleboarding, the fun in it, as well as regaling her on my personal experience with it on a date. I could see her eyes light up and stare off into the distance as if she were already planning or experiencing said date.

Gertrude off to the side was making barely hidden snickers under her breath.

“Well deary, it seems like you have your work cut out for you and your sweetheart.” The thick syrupy drollness she laced her tone with left my own lips twitching in the continued byplay between the two of them. It was honestly a nice reprieve from the emotionally and physically strenuous trial by storm.

However, as all things come to an end, so too must new things begin. I felt I had calmed enough for the next assimilation.

* * * * * * *

For this one, I had requested that I be allowed to use my own stones which I collected from the cave.

Victoria paused in her wild thoughts as she frowned at my request. “I had intended that we finish up with the nature stone, but if you truly want to use the shade stones first, I won’t stop you.” Her eyes turned a bit grave before cautioning me, “I must warn you. Shade stones are considered to be half a step into the esoteric due to their nature to twist our perception of reality. Darkness is not only the absence of light, but it can also be the dampening of hope, and catalyst to our fears.” Concern touched her voice more deeply as she finished with saying, “Were it not for your proclivity to magnify the effects of the stones and the origin of your particular collection, I would be more at ease as it is only a basic stone. But again, it is your choice.”