Chapter 4

My eyes were blurry as I woke up. Slowly sitting up, I groaned as my back pulsed in pain.

"Alex! Are you okay?"

I looked to my right. Ruby had situated herself in front of me at the edge of the couch and Yang was not far behind. Summer and Tai were further back and also looked concerned.

"I've never seen anyone's aura react like that, but thankfully you were only out for a few minutes. How do you feel?" Summer asked, approaching the couch.

I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of the couch cushion. I stretched and listened as my back popped. I focused on the ball of warmth and was relieved when I felt my aura. It didn't feel like a small ember anymore. Instead, it felt closer to a miniature sun, comforting and brilliant. I wasn't really sure what happened to the bitter cold that had fought with the warmth, but it was gone now.

"I feel fine. My aura is unlocked at least," I said standing up.

Summer sighed in relief, "That's good. We were worried when you collapsed. Not many people faint when their aura is unlocked."

Hmm, so she probably wouldn't know about the cold I felt. I should look into this, see if anyone else has experienced it.

"I suppose the next thing to do is wait for your semblance," Tai grasped his chin in thought. "Times for someone's semblance appearing varies person to person, but hopefully it'll show up soon."

Once I felt better, I helped Ruby and Yang get ready for school. Summer took them when they were ready and left with Tai. I opted to stay at the house until they returned.

The empty house presented a great chance for me to test out my aura and see if I could find out more about semblances. Ruby had shown me how to use their computer the night before and how it could answer just about anything.

The first thing I searched for was the cold that fought with my aura. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything other than some conspiracy theorist threads arguing that Grimm could form aura and that's why they were getting harder to kill. I exhaled in a short breath. It had been proven time and time again that Grimm just got stronger with age. Not to mention they lacked a soul, so they couldn't form aura even if they wanted to.

The second thing I searched for was a way to find out what my semblance was faster. Turns out, there was. Meditation was a great way to find out the nuances of one's aura and a deeper connection to the semblance. I suppose that was a place to start. I searched for the basics of meditation and once I got a grasp of what to do, I shut down the computer.

I cleared a space on the rug in the living room and sat down. I focused on slowing my breathing and trying to visualize my aura. The various sources I had read said that this was typically the first step. However, after that, what happens next depends on the person. For some, they have visions of what their semblance will be. For others, they can feel their semblance and can reach out for it. The second group found that they could use their semblances faster than the first. Either way, I just wanted to know what would happen.

My breathing slowed and I let myself be filled with warmth. My aura pulsed with life and was a reassuring light in the sea of darkness it seemed to inhabit. Light leaked out from it and curled around me and pulled me towards it. My aura pressed me to its surface and pulled me further in.

Next thing I knew, I was in a dark forest. The trees were dead and thin, their dark black branches curling up into the sky. Instead of a gentle blue, the sky was a monotonous grey. Dead grass crunched beneath my feet as I began walking forward. Something was pulling me further into the forest.

I walked for what seemed like an eternity before I came to a clearing. The trees formed a perfect circle around the clearing. Across from me, a large, pure black wolf stepped from the trees. It was completely silent as it circled me. Dark, wisp-like tendrils curled from its body. The most striking thing about it though were its eyes. They were bright red that glowed from the surrounding darkness of its fur and held an intelligence that rivaled a human.

The wolf jolted and sprung away back into the woods. My feet moved automatically as I gave chase. I sprinted after the wolf, weaving through the trees and leaping over tree roots. As I ran, I noticed that I was gaining on the wolf. Slowly, I went from being a dozen feet from the wolf to almost being able to touch it. I leapt with my arms outstretched and the wolf exploded into smoke as I touched it. The smoke curled around me and continued to linger when I stood.

I jumped as the world around me began to disappear much like the wolf had. The trees and ground vanished in smoke, and I was back in the living room. Ruby sat across from me reading a book.

"Hey, Alex, what were you doing?"

"Meditating, I think it's supposed to help me with my semblance," I stood helping Ruby up too.

"Well, you were doing something right. You were covered in aura wisps," Summer said from the foyer.

I hummed in thought. It could be possible that the wolf was a manifestation of my semblance. However, I didn't feel any different than before. I shrugged and moved to help Summer move the groceries she was carrying into the kitchen. I offered to help Summer cook dinner as Yang and Ruby played in the living room. Summer told me Tai was working out at the gym, but would be back in time for dinner. True to her word, when we were halfway through, Tai walked through the kitchen to his and Summer's room to take a shower.

Once Tai had freshened up, we all set the table and settled in for a comfortable evening. I laughed as Ruby told me about her day at school. Yang told me about preparing for an upcoming test. After dinner, I curled up in bed and thought back to my vision. I knew that I would need to meditate more. The wolf seemed to be a part of me, that I was sure of. I just didn't know what the whole chase through the woods was for. I decided to figure that out when I meditated again. I turned in bed and fell into a thankfully nightmare free sleep.

A/N: Hey everyone! The hiatus is over and I am back! I'm going to be posting every Friday again and I hope to see you all again soon.

- Frost-Fire146