The old room in the back is deafeningly silent and empty when you enter. You made sure to listen out for a definite sound of the joker's departure before anything else. When the coast is clear, you walk in.
Of course, there is nothing there. Of course Rascal is smart enough to take anything of his with him after the debacle last time you tried!
If only you were able to capture even the slightest bit. Now object manipulation seems pointless.
While you aimlessly roam around the room, middle of the day and with nothing else to do, your gaze shifts to the bookshelves. Books fill the shelves, ones about the Shadow Realm, about Emperor Nogo, spells and others bear spines so old you can barely identify the title.
Then you notice one particular book. It is a faded red covered in dust, however the title captures your attention. On the spine it says; Teleportation.
Cautiously, you find yourself reaching for it, cringing when your fingers meet the dust on the cover.
On the back, it reads;
The ultimate guide to teleportation; How, What and Who
Flipping open the cover, you reveal the first page.
Who: Teleportation is achievable to almost every magical being. It may be harder for some than others. It all depends on one's negative energy storage. The ability to teleport comes easier to those who only store and live solely on negative energy to survive. Others who do not just require negative energy in order for survival, may find teleporting more of a challenge – though it is not impossible.
You stare at the words, eyes widening. I can...learn to teleport? No one said you could learn! Not any of the teachers you endlessly badgered, not in the Dungeon's book of Rules, and definitely not Kurt who was certain they could not do you up a spell.
Perhaps nobody was told to keep order?
Seemingly unbelievable, you push the false hope down a notch, and zoom out of the fortress. You land in an area similar to where you threw knives at targets with the wolf. You have not seen him around in a few hours, or Brooha, since it is both of their turns to go in a pair to loose against the Glitter Force.
Even Rascal went with Brute the other day. You thought it was hilarious, but you said nothing.
No one is around, just a plain rocky area with the occasional dead bush.
You open the book again, turning to the first chapter straight away; How to Teleport.
Step one, you read, become in tune to your surroundings. Well that is easy, you are in plain grounds.
Step two, close your eyes, notice the sensations around you.
Step three, clear your mind and slowly surround yourself in negative energy.
Step four, come up with a detailed picture of the place you desire to go. The more detailed and clearer, the better.
Step five, imagine yourself teleporting to that place, letting the energy consume you and while taking charge of it.
It sounds quite easy, though you are pretty much certain it is going to be the opposite.
Once reading through the instructions a countless number of times to memory, you close your eyes. In an instant, you take in the feeling of the cool air against your skin. Even though you can't feel the cold, you visualise the effect it has, as well as your skirt gently skimming your legs in the breeze. You notice the high and snug neck of your top wrapping your neck, how your feet feel inside your shoes, how they wrap up past your ankles, and how your hair grazes past your shoulders. It has gotten longer. And lastly, how the rocky ground feels under your feet.
Every single sensation, you attempt to become aware of.
Then, remembering the steps, you only focus the ambience into the centre of your mind, pushing other thoughts and feelings away for a clear mind. You then feel negative energy coating your body, from the feet to the head. It is a thick whirring feeling as you do this slowly, because that must have the best chance of you actually teleporting.
Step 4; picturing your destination. Where do I want to go? You guess it would be safe to keep it to a small distance. So you think of your room. The bed, the desk, curtains with the holes the moths have left behind.
Now all that is left, is your imagination. I am imagining myself teleporting. I can imagine myself teleporting to my room. I want to teleport to my room.
However, you do not feel anything. You do not feel a change, nor a pull, nothing like the colourful tunnel. Determined to succeed, you stay standing in the same spot for what seems like hours. It feels that way, and it possibly is.
You do not understand your desperate desire to teleport until now, finding yourself upset that it is not working.
"What are you doing?" By the tone of his voice, he has lost to the Glitter Force, returning without a charm. You have distinguished either options from the two weeks you have been here for.
You jump out of your skin, the negative energy evaporating instantaneously. You force your heart from the back of your throat, back to where it belongs.
"You gave me a heart attack Ulric."
"Are you trying to teleport?"
You look at the wolf, his arms are tightly crossed and his tail flicks, possibly still in annoyance from his recent loss.
"How can you tell?" You sigh sarcastically.
"That book," he notions to the teleportation book opened on a large rook for my easy view, "has got it all wrong. Trust me."
"How did you learn then?"
He pauses for a moment, as if deciding on the right answer. Finally, "Wouldn't get anywhere without practice."
"Why did you not tell me I could do this ages ago?" You unbelievably ask him.
He rolls his eyes and walks towards you; a cloud of red dust emits from underfoot. "Well can you do it?"
"No...not yet."
"Well I just thought you didn't want to!"
You both stand there, then Ulric offers to teach you, in repayment for the negative energy.
"So where were you attempting to teleport?"
You place your hands on your hips confidently. "To my room."
"Your room!?"
You frown. "What?"
The wolf shakes his head. "You are not going to teleport from here to your room on the first try, heck, not even the first ten times! Small steps are key."
"Okay that makes sense," you say, secretly shaken up that you had not been doing it right for hours, "so where should I aim for?"
Ulric shakes his head at you again. "It's not about aim this time, more about focus. I'd say there." He points to the ground, no more than a meter away from where you stand.
"There?"
"Yep. And you aren't going to learn this overnight, so just practice letting go. Don't try so hard. And geez, start small (y/n)."
"What about the negative energy then?"
"Well that's right," Ulric tells you, "but you will fail if you force it."
"Alright." You say, then look down to where the wolf had pointed. It is so close, so it should be an easy start. "Oh, Ulric?"
"What?"
"I would prefer no mention of what I am doing here to anyone please."
"Will do." Then you hear Ulric snarl something else under his breath, you almost do not hear it, something along the lines of, "This was a good idea of Nogo's, finally someone to put that clown in his place." You turn back to him in confusion, upon realising that he has left you to it.
A smile surfaces, knowing your presence here is valued, even if it is in relation to that impossible jester.
...
Let go. Let go. It is only the one meter. Clear your thoughts.
It would be an understatement to say you were a dedicated person. Incredibly dedicated to point where it may be unhealthy. You stand in the exact same spot Ulric left you in, burning your eyes into the blackness behind your eyelids, then remembering to stay calm.
After many failed tries, you occasionally kick your shoe on a nearby rock in frustration, then of course, try again a second later.
By late afternoon, you have not managed to teleport at all, so you give yourself a rest, sitting on a rock to recuperate.
"You seem to be in a bit of a fix~"
"Go away Rascal." Childish, but you know you do not want to take any crap today. So much for keeping this under wraps.
The joker giggles from behind you, as if he has been there watching for quite some time, then teleports right in front of you. "Why? Is something the matter?"
You return his mockery. "Is there something you want?"
In fact, the two of you have not spoken since the comb incident.
"Only that I'm sorry for paralysing you and that I respect your efforts for our master." – is what you would have liked him to have said, but alas, this would not be said or thought of – ever.
Instead, Rascal replies with; "Only that what I think you're attempting to accomplish is no more than a mere waste of time."
The jester's comments do not bother you anymore, so you ignore, slowly coating yourself in negative energy once again.
"You know Rascal, if it works, I do not need to rely on you teleporting me anywhere."
Rascal hums condescendingly. "That would be a win-win wouldn't it?"
Let go.
Let go.
You do not force anything, you do not focus too hard and you keep a clear head.
You let go.
Suddenly you feel a pull, a jerk of energy run through your body. It feels as if you have missed a step on the stairs, swift and heart jolting. When you open your eyes, you see that you have moved a couple of feet.
You can tell because your footprints are less than a meter behind you.
You are about to exclaim your success, to rub it in the joker's face, but once you turn around, you realise that he has left.
------------------------
Working through a bit of writer's block at the moment, so this chapter is not as great. (Probably because the chapters that I am so excited to write are still a little far away yet.) My advice to anyone experiencing writer's block, is to just keep writing. Doesn't matter if it's bad or not up to your expectations, of course it won't be, if you're feeling a block. So just embrace the fact it's going to be bad, write it out, then come back all refreshed to rewrite.
I personally always rewrite all of the chapters I'm putting up here, at least once, sometimes twice. I would never post a first draft. It's so helpful.
Another tip when you're unsure about a scene: What would you do in this situation? Can you picture your story being played out in real life? What would the characters really be saying if they were real?