With the voices of Arywn and Kala no longer discernible, and the doors of the Atheneum now closed to the outside world, Punkin’s focus turns to the wolves in front of her. The doggies are hungry. I know they are. Big doggies are always hungry.
While trying to rip the bread into smaller pieces, Punkin stands grinning before the wolves and offers bread to the wolves, “Hey doggies, do you want some snack? It's really yummy.”
Smelling the bread, Cazem nudges the bread back to Punkin and offers low humming purrs, encouraging Punkin to eat.
Ordair nudges his nose towards the cup of rose water and gives off a low hum of a purr beckoning Punkin to drink.
Hearing the wolves purr, Punkin giggles as she returns a response by trying to speak wolf with a high pitched howl and kiddish barking “AWOOOOOOO RUFF RUFF AWOOO WOO WOO RUFF RUFF GRRRR.”
Laughing at their response, Punkin notices as the wolves bury their heads under their paws from the dinning noise.
Feeling a rush of excitement from seeing the wolves hide their faces, an idea pops into Punkin’s head as she jumps up and squeals, “You want to play hide and seek? YAY. I hide good!! Come find me. And No tricks!!!”
Scrambling to climb over the two wolves as they both rise from their positions, Punkin prepares a plan to run and hide in the one of the corridors.
Looking around earnestly, both wolves begin to panic at the thought of losing Punkin in any of the corridors of the Atheneum.
“Come find me!!!” Punkin screams with laughter, as she darts for a random corridor she feels would be a good hiding spot.
Sensing Punkin’s intention, Cazem and Ordair quickly dart forward and pounce in front of Punkin, intercepting and cutting her path off before she can reach the edge of the atrium and the intersection of corridor eight. Cazem howls as Ordair signals the cloaks with his barking. “AWOOOOO.”
At the barking commands, several cloaks suddenly line up to block off the corridor entrances, leaving Punkin feeling trapped in the atrium.
“Awww not fair. I said no tricks. You didn’t count!! And you can’t do that. Move outta my way, GHOSTS!!! Go back. Bad dogs. Go! Do it again! GO BACK AND COUNT OR YOU EACH GET TIME OUT!!!”
Concerned with Punkin’s presumptuous game and safety, the wolves purr while nudging Punkin towards Punkin’s unfinished meal, hoping Punkin could be redirected away from the corridors.
As the wolves nudge Punkin to turn back towards the food in the atrium, Punkin feels a familiar sensation reaching out to her. Punkin pauses and turns back towards corridor eight, scanning for the source of the feeling and sniffing the air for any familiar scents.
Wanting answers, Punkin points to corridor eight, hidden behind the floating cloaks blocking her way, and asks the ghosts, “What’s in there? I want to go! Move please! Be good ghosts and let me in.”
Responding to the request, the floating cloaks decline Punkin entrance to corridor eight by shaking their hoods in unison.
Unsatisfied with their response, Punkin tries standing on her tippie-toes to look over the cloaks into the corridor. Again, without success, Punkin tries peering through the small visual spaces between cloaks.
Noticing a shiny glint of light glimmering from the spine of a book, Punkin screams in excitement “That! I want that! It’s saying my name! I want it! GIMME IT!”
Looking at each other caught off guard, Ordair and Cazem panic at Punkin’s proclamation that a book in corridor eight is calling her name. Cazem and Ordair quickly turn to the corridor leading to the vestibule and entrance of the Atheneum and howl. The two wolves pause in silence as they look down the vestibule towards the entryway as if they are expecting something to come through the doors.
Upset with the wolves, Punkin turns to them and scolds them, “I heard that! No tattle telling! I can hear you in my brain.”
Scowling now from hearing another startling voice, Punkin responds by scolding the air, “I can hear you, Arwyn! Where are you hiding? I’m going to find you. I can hear you!”
Eagerly scanning the room and corridors to see where Arywn is hiding, Punkin continues to listen to their conversation.
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“Cazem. Ordair. I think she can hear our telepathic connection. She doesn't know how to speak telepathically yet. Please keep her out of the corridors.”
“Hey. I can hear you in my brain. Where are you hiding? I am going to find you.” Punkin yells into the air again.
Growing increasingly impatient from not being able to locate Arwyn, Punkin redirects her attention back to the book in corridor eight. Noticing the book trembling and wanting to move from its place, Punkin reaches into the air for the book despite the distance and obstacles between her and the book.
With her growing interest in the book, her annoyance at not being able to reach the book grows as well, and in response, the book increasingly trembles with matching intensity and earnestness.
Filling up with extreme frustration, Punkin lifts her foot to stomp on the ground as she yells, “THIS IS NOT FUN! YOU ARE TRICKING ME! YOU ARE MEAN!” As she finishes verbally expressing her annoyance and frustration, her foot comes down and stomps on the ground, resulting in a thunderous boom. Just like before, the stomp sends a bursting force of energy and wind blasting in every direction stemming from Punkin. Almost instantly, before the energy could breach the walls of the Atheneum to the outer world, the force of energy implodes back towards Punkin and dissipates into silence and stillness.
Gawkingly, Punkin stares with surprise at the book, now floating directly in front of her. Cazem and Ordair stand frozen in shock and awe, both feeling a sense of relief that the book absorbed the energy from Punkin’s anger, and befuddled that the book flew to Punkin.
Gleefully excited at getting the book, Punkin celebrates with dancing before grabbing it, “OOOH. Thank you! I can hear you too! I’m right here. You are mine!”
Fearing punishment for their failure, Cazem and Ordair focus heavily in the direction of the Atheneum’s entrance and howl “AWOOOOOOO.”
“Don’t let her open it….” Arywn replies telepathically to Cazem and Ordair.
Panicking at their failure to fulfill Arwyn’s previous commands, Cazem and Ordair try snapping the book out of Punkin’s hands with determination.
Thinking the wolves are playing a game, Punkin giggles and smacks their snouts “No! Bad doggies. Sit!”
Instantly, the wolves feel their bodies involuntarily heed her command to sit as an invisible force of energy locks them down. Unable to fight the enchantment, the wolves whimper and sense growing energy from Punking and mana flowing between her and the book.
Punkin raises a finger to scold the wolves and shushes them, “Shh. No talking! I’m reading!
At her command, the wolves’ whimpers fall silent and become inaudible and their ability to send telepathic communication ceases.
Hyperfocusing on the book and unaware of her own magic, Punkin wells up with excitement at the thought of opening the book to read it.
Upon opening the book, Punkin sees a vial of water inside the book and squeals “OOOOOOOH MAGIC WATER. MAYBE ITS TEARS LIKE ARWYN AND BABA!!”
Grabbing the vial and closing the book, Punkin notices the silver light shining on the book’s spine. “OOOH light magic!! There is light in all of us. Like Arywn said. You have light!”
Eager to copy Arywn’s earlier display of magic, Punkin runs to the nearest bowl at the end of corridor eight and then shakes the book over the bowl with its spine downward, “Come on, light. Get in the bowl! Make Magic!”
As the blueish silvery light slides down the spine of the book towards the bowl, the two wolves struggle to howl and send telepathic messages but are unable to. Feeling defeated, the wolves give up, cower helplessly on the floor, and watch silently.
“We need magic soup and potion! I will make it!” Punkin tells herself aloud as the final bits of light slip into the bowl before dropping the book onto the floor.
Gathering and swirling the light in the bowl, Punkin opens the vial of tears and pours half of it into the bowl.
Mist and light begin to flash and flicker in the bowl as smoke gathers to form a silhouette of a woman.
Feeling a sense of familiarity, Punkin freezes to process who she is seeing.
“Mommy???? MOMMY? You coming home??” Punkin asks aloud with awe and longing.
“PRAE SERVAREH!!!” a voice commands with a chest-filled echo.
The smoke and light draw inward back into the bowl quickly and form into a small silver ball.
“Mommy? MOMMY?!?!!? WHERE YOU GO? NO! DON’T GO AGAIN!” Punkin wails in sadness as tears start to form in her eyes.
“My dear, you need to go now.” Arwyn shouts down the corridor as she rapidly approaches, Kala following shortly behind.
“YOU CHASED MOMMY AWAY!!! I WANT HER HOME!!!” Punkin screams as her tears stream down her face.
“LACRIMO VIOLEH PRAE SERVAREH” Arywn shouts, commanding Punkin’s tears to float into the vial still held in Punkin’s hands.
Quickly, but calmly looking into Punkin’s eyes, Arywn reassures Punkin while placing her hands on Punkin’s shoulders, “That was not your mother coming home. That was a memory of your mother. Your mother is already home where she chose to be.”
While heaving, Punkin cries with disbelief, “I want my mommy! She is not home. I don’t see her at home.”
“Home is where we feel safe and where we know we belong.” Arywn says as she nudges Punkin.
“Your loved ones never leave you. They are always home, and always have been. Your mother is here.” Arywn says as she points to the vial of tears and at Punkin’s heart. “As long as you remember she is here and you can hear her voice in your head, and she will always be with you. As long as you know she loves you, and is always with you, you will always be home to her and she will be home with you.”
Now laying her hand flat on Punkin’s chest, Arywn continues “Can you feel that? That beating? That warmth? That is your mother hugging your soul and dancing in your heart. You are her favorite song and season. She is there with you and she is happy to keep you safe.”
Picking up the book from the floor, Arywn mutters some words outside of audible comprehension, drawing various streams of silver light into the spine of the book from every corridor in the Atheneum. “I am sorry I cannot teach you more for now. This book will teach you all you need to know for now. I need you to go with Kala and hide. You are in danger. I promised your mother I would keep you safe. Go with Baba Kala and take this book with you. This was your mother’s book of mystery and is now your book of learning. You will learn more about witchcraft from it. That vial was the last of your mother’s tears, she had me save these tears for you for when you are ready to receive them. We are never truly ready for the final tears of those we love. Take them, and go now to safety!”
Grabbing the silver ball out of the bowl, Kala takes the silver ball and smears half of it over Punkin’s bubble wand and then gives the wand’s handle a slight twist. In the flash of an instant, the wand shrinks with the handle transforming into a chain-link necklace, with the head of the wand turning into a miniature pendant hanging on the necklace.
Kala puts the necklace on Punkin and leans back to examine Punkin, “ There, even your mother’s tears are with you now. Never lose that wand and you will always have her protection.”
Taking the remainder of what was left unsmudged from the silver ball, Kala smears over the book. Instantly, the book shrinks and transforms into a charm.
Grabbing a chain bracelet out of her pocket, Kala places the book charm on the chain and places the chain on Punkin’s wrist, “That book was way too heavy for you to carry for long journeys. This should work better with it on your wrist. Looks pretty. Come we have a long adventure to go on.”
Sad and longing to stay, Punkin whines, “I’m so tired. I don’t want to leave.”
Sensing Punkin’s reluctance to leave, Arwyn mutters some words under her breath before reassuring Punkin, “You will see us again. But right now, you need to rest a little because you are tired. After you take a quick nap, you will be someplace safe and closer to your father..”
Starting to feel the drowsiness wash over her from Awryn’s spell, Punkin gives off a big yawn and mumbles before dozing off into sleep, “I’m gonna see daddy? I can show him my new presents…”
As Punkin dozes off, the ground and walls of the Akashic Atheneum rumble, not even disturbing Punkin from her drowsiness.
A bellowing voice echoes through the halls as Kala places Punkin on her back to go hide, “I can feel you. Even asleep, your sadness will only waken you, young master. You cannot hide that easily.”