A/N: This is my entry for the contest 'Education/Learning' in the Village Square contest. Good luck to everyone and I hope I met the theme.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon: Animal Parade.
Curiosity
Hazel eyes watched the shadow as it moved throughout the water and as it paused, the girl watching it took a sharp intake of air before quickly moving pale hands into the freezing water and attempting to catch the fish. Scales scraped along the skin of her fingers as the fish slipped through them and she flopped back onto the bank of the river, releasing her held breath in a huff. "Darn, I almost had it that time…"
"Chrysta, you should give up and just use the fishing pole," Finn said from the rock he was resting on, watching as his strange friend kept trying to catch fish with her bare hands…during winter. "You're going to get sick and die and if you die then there wouldn't be anyone who could help the Goddess!"
"You don't want me to die because that would mean the Goddess wouldn't get saved? Gee, thanks…" Chrysta said before she stood up and stretched, shaking the frost that had been on the grass off of her safari outfit and grabbing her brown hunting cap off of the ground. "I'll stop anyways, since I just wanted to try it."
"I don't mean it like that! I-I mean, I don't want you to die because you're my friend, but so is the Harvest Goddess…" The small orange sprite pleaded and she tapped him on top of his head to quiet him.
"I know what you meant, so don't worry. Now, I got another thing I'm curious about, well several more for today at least, so let's get back home so I can get changed!" She hurried off and Finn quickly flew up behind her as she ran up the path, the snow crunching underneath her boots before she slipped on an icy patch right next to her abandoned fishing pole. "Ow…oh yeah, I almost forgot you!"
"Are you okay, Chrysta?" Finn dodged as the fishing pole almost hit him as Chrysta snatched it up before jumping up again herself. "Yep… Are we going to go to Edge's bell today? We just need a few more wishes and you still haven't wished for anything!" He seemed like he really wanted her to make a wish and Chrysta grinned at his worry, because he was both worried about the Harvest Goddess and that she, Chrysta, wouldn't even get a wish in return for her saving the land. It was sweet, in her opinion at least.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, we'll visit it tonight, but I don't know if I'm ready to give my wish yet, it depends on what happens before the bell-visiting…" Her words trailed off as she watched a bluebird fly across the sky over Horn Ranch and she felt a small smile lift her lips. "Looks like Renee's bluebird has come. Did you know that they say each person has a bluebird, somewhere in the world, which is connected to their hearts? That's how they know to show up when the time is right…"
"Is that why your bluebird was so pretty, `cause it is connected to your heart?" She blushed, pulling her cap down lower and causing her hair to move and shield her face as she tried to hide her embarrassment and her smile.
"No, silly, I just got lucky… Now let's go settle curiosity and see if that bluebird's gift to me was deserved," Chrysta said, silently wishing Renee a safe trek into the mine as she remembered her own trip. "I hope Renee doesn't get curious on her journey, like I did…"
"I'm sure she won't try to find out if the cracks on the floor would mean a hole or a strong geyser." The small sprite replied and Chrysta grinned sheepishly in return. It had been a hole and she had broken her leg, but she had managed to get out far enough to get help from Phoebe; luckily she had been on her way down anyways. Wizard had been nice enough to provide a very effective healing potion. "Wouldn't Toby go get the feather? He's always outside so he would see it, right?"
"It's not my fault that I'm 'adventurous' since my parents encouraged it," She replied dryly as they continued their walk, but she was the only one walking since Finn was flying. "And I doubt Toby would see the bluebird with how often he's napping when he's outside. Anyways, let's hurry, `cause I'm getting cold." With that she started running again, sometimes jumping over frozen puddles, and hurried to her home to get changed out of her wet clothes. Winter was most likely not the best time to try fishing bare handed.
"Do I look okay, Finn?" Chrysta asked as she twirled around for her friend to see her entire outfit, and ignored as Gill gave her a weird look for seemingly talking to nobody in front of Wizard's house. She had carefully chosen the outfit since she thought it looked the best, but not formal since she didn't want Wizard to get suspicious and she thought she had chosen well. The Red Victorian outfit was her most favorite that she owned, with a black and red, gothic styled dress and plenty of white lace as well as white tights (for those colder days), she loved it, and often paired it with her red hunting cap since it matched the best.
"You look pretty, Chrysta! Don't worry, I'm sure he'll accept your proposal, he did say he likes you, right?" Finn replied and she nodded nervously. Smoothing out any wrinkles that might be on her outfit, she turned and knocked on the door and gave Wizard a smile as he let her in without a word as to why she was there. "Are you gonna ask him right now?" She shook her head slightly to say no to her invisible-to-everyone-else friend and resisted rolling her eyes when he deflated and whined. "Why not?" She gave him a look and he stayed quiet, but he did it reluctantly.
"Hello Wizard, what are you doing today?" Chrysta asked as she peered around the room before innocently taking a seat on Wizard's bed, bouncing slightly on the soft mattress. "I like your bed, it's comfy. Mine is too, but it's so big and empty feeling." She watched as Wizard paused in his potion making before he started again, his hands glowing with magic as he handled the more volatile ingredients. "So what potions are you making?"
"…Healing potions…I thought…someone could use some of their own…" He replied in his soft voice, his speech hesitant as he carefully thought of what to say. She had learned that he spoke so little after taking a vow of silence for a few years as part of his training to be a wizard and earn his mark, which was the tattoo under his right eye. She knew she would never be able to do that, but she really was curious when it came to magic and gave into her urge as she watched him weave his magic into the potion to make the ingredients that don't normally mix well together, mix together.
"That's nice of you! I know this is random, but you know how I am, and I was wondering if you could teach me magic?" Chrysta froze as Wizard turned to look at her and studied her rather intently for a moment.
"…Magic cannot be taught…unless you have the ability to use it… It's the way the gods and goddesses choose who will be granted a longer life than normal without…risking evil…" She nodded in reply, disappointed that her plan was going wrong and that she wouldn't even get to try to use magic. Her plan had involved showing Wizard that she was interested in what he did by trying to learn magic, which she really did want to do, because she was worried that he wouldn't like her since she didn't know magic or anything about it.
"So I guess I don't have the ability? I mean, I can see him," Chrysta asked as she pointed to Finn, revealing the one secret she had kept from Wizard. "The Harvest Goddess sent him to me, and I seem to be the only able to see him, so I thought that maybe that meant I could use magic, or was magical in some way…." Wizard nodded as he looked at the spot she had pointed to, his green eyes looking at it intensely and he blinked in surprise after a moment, running his hand through his hair briefly and messing up his braid he always wore.
"…I can sense the aura…of a small being, but…I can not see him." Chrysta frowned at his reply and looked at Finn briefly, who just shrugged. He was new to this world and didn't know much about it either. "…Only those with a purer heart can see him, since I…have used the darker magical spells before…my heart is not pure enough…I do not want you to be tainted and lose your friend…"
"Oh… Well is there any spells that aren't 'dark'? Like that light ball thing you used when we went searching for mushrooms in fugue forest at night? That was fun though, and we did find out whether or not fugue mushrooms gather their glow from the moonlight." They did and she was even more eager to gather them for Wizard after that. It was fun finding all the different magical things hiding in the forest because sometimes Witch joined her, and she was always fun to talk to and argue with about Wizard. "I mean, I don't like the dark all that much, and it gets really dark in the mines, so that might help…"
"That would work…but why do you insist on learning…?" He asked and Chrysta bit her lip in nervousness before replying. Wizard left his potion to simmer and joined her on the bed, his taller form somehow reassuring her with its presence. He cared about her because he was worried, and she hated to make him worry, so she told him.
"I don't want you to feel that I don't like what you do, because I do and I find it interesting… I want you to know that we would be able to live together without it being awkward, because I really want to be with you." She paused and wiped the tears welling up in her eyes away. She was frustrated that everything wasn't going right and was sure that Wizard wouldn't want to be with her because she just couldn't do anything right. She always got too curious for her own good, which is what people always say, and ruined a bunch of things. Why would Wizard want too be with her when he could be with someone more competent and magic-knowing like Witch? "Everything is going wrong, I just wanted to learn some magic and hope that would get you to accept my proposal…"
"…You were going to propose? I…will teach you how to make a light orb, but…I wish to be the one to propose, because I would always accept…I want to know that…you would accept as well…" She smiled and he gently wiped away her tears before lifting her hand and letting his magic flow through it. "You need to learn the flow of the magic first…"
"Thank you, Wizard…. I suppose I just need to learn to accept that you love me despite not knowing why," Chrysta said as she felt his warm magic flowing through her, becoming a part of her. She knew now that despite her faults, she was loved and accepted by the one person she so very much wanted to do so.
"Let the magic flow through you and gather at the fingertips, then focus on trying to…mass the power together and form a sphere… It might be a bit hard to get the shape, but…focus on gathering first…" His tan hands surrounded hers, the magic still flowing through them sinking into her skin, and flowing through her very veins as he channeled his power through her. Chrysta knew she would remember this feeling and would recognize it if she had to try for herself. The magic was warm and comforting, but perhaps that was just because it was Wizard's magic.
"Does it always feel like this?" She asked, watching as a sphere of light appeared above her hand with a blue tint to it. Larger fingers closed hers into a fist and the light disappeared, snuffed out as if it was a mere candle. He released her and Chrysta regretted the loss of his warmth against her, but he moved to sit behind her, his legs on either side of her body. "What…?"
"It doesn't…always feel like that, but if you want to learn magic…you have to first open your channels…It will hurt, but then…feel like mine just did…" His hands rested on her shoulders and she held in her shout as liquid fire seemed to seep into her skin from the place his hands were resting; the sleeves of her outfit having been pushed out so her skin was exposed with his hands resting on it. The burning lasted for a moment in just the areas Wizard was touching before it flowed through her veins.
"Chrysta, are you okay?! Please, don't do this if it hurts!" Finn was shouting, but she couldn't see him through her tears. The pain slowly faded and she could hear Wizard muttering soft reassurances in her ear, and feel him kissing away the salty tears on her cheeks. The magic, her magic, flowed through her pleasantly and every one of her senses seemed heightened, which Wizard probably knew as he stopped touching her and moved off of the bed.
"…Now, gather the magic near your fingertips, but don't release it…just gather…" Wizard said as he kneeled in front of her and she nodded, focusing as much as she could on the magic and trying to gather it near her fingertips, which were spread out in front of her with the palm of her hand facing up. Her hand seemed to burn from the magic flowing in it and a few sparks of blue light escaped from her skin before enough was gathered that it glowed entirely blue. "…You are using…your magic sight… You can see the magic, can't you?"
"That's magic sight? I could always see your magic… how do you know if I'm doing something different?" Chrysta asked, glancing at her instructor. She really wanted to know because if she could find a way to hide it she would be able to watch Witch performing magic without her knowing it, since she always loved to bother Witch, but that's just how they showed their friendship.
"Your eyes are glowing, Chrysta! It's kind of creepy, but cool too!" Finn shouted as he flew near her and landed on her head.
"Thanks Finn, I like to know that my eyes glow creepily…" She said dryly before returning her attention back to her hand as Wizard tapped it.
"Now…focus on shaping that magic into a sphere…and floating it above your hand…but keep a small tendril of it attached to you…so you can still feed the light…" After what seemed like forever she managed a slight spherical shape and she spent more time trying to get the magic to float, which was harder than it looked. She had to make the magic want to be away from her skin by cutting off the flow of magic to different areas of her hand while not stopping the flow completely. Doing that made her magic unable to attach and reabsorb, and so it 'floated'. "…Stop using your magic sight…the enhanced version…and make sure that the light is visible without its help…"
Chrysta blinked and she could no longer see the tendril holding her sphere, but the ball of light was there, even though it was slightly deformed and wavered before going out completely. "I did it! Not great, but I did it!"
"Congratulations…now, you should rest and I'll finish these potions for you…and then we'll go for a walk… I want to propose right…" She nodded, not surprised that he had made those potions for her klutzy self, and gave him a tired smile. She was happy that he wanted to be with her and slowly let her eyes clothes as he kissed her forehead and made her lay down properly on his bed. Finn joined her in her nap and she was happy she could still see him despite doing magic.
"I think I'm gonna wish for a happy life with Wizard, and I want to do more magic without losing Finn…" She muttered as she slipped into dreams of learning more magic from Wizard.
A/N: Since I hadn't yet posted the entry to the contest, and I managed to get off work early, I edited the story and put in the scenes I wanted. Good luck to everyone!