Gap Chasm
"So," Day said, looking around. "What do we do now?" She was staring straight at the floating ball of Brain Coral water, as was Night. It was easier to concentrate on it that way.
"I guess we go back to the Good Magician," Night answered.
"Oh, but I don't want to!" Day cried. Her concentration was momentarily broken, and the Brain Coral started to fall. She noticed, and concentrated on it again. "Couldn't we just go see our families first? In case we can't…can't ever come back to Xanth?" she was breathing hard, tears forming in her eyes.
"Don't worry!!" Lyndsey said. "I'm sure you'll be allowed to stay in Xanth!"
But Night had caught the worry of Day. "What if we can't? What if after we bring this to Humfrey, we go back to Mundania?" Her eyes were wide in worry.
"We'll solve that problem when we get to it," Grundy said, still seated by Lyndsey's ear. "For now, I think that visiting your families is a good idea."
"Ok," Day said, regaining composure. "I'll just transport us to Lyndsey's hometown, then." The others nodded in agreement. "Uh, Lyndsey, where is it, again?"
Lyndsey looked as if she were deep in concentration. "It's by the…by the…" she bit her lip. "The Gap Chasm!" she exclaimed. She grinned, happy to remember.
"Ok. I can orient on that," Day said. "We crossed that on the way to the Good Magician's castle, so I can find it." She could remember that, because they had been there recently. Also because she and Lyndsey were both thinking about it, which made it easier to remember. She raised her arm, as if to transport them, but the floating ball of water wavered in the air."
"Uh oh," she said. "I can't concentrate enough for both." The others all scrunched up their faces, and furrowed their brows. If they all thought hard enough, surely one of them could come up with an idea of how to solve this problem.
The solution came from a strange source. A light bulb appeared above Guinever's head, and he started jumping up and down frantically.
"What is it, Guinever?" Lyndsey asked him, bending down. He pointed at Lyndsey with one of his flipper arms. She looked at him strangely.
"I think he's trying to tell you something," Grundy said, pointing out the obvious. Guinever continued jumping up and down, and was now using his other flipper arm to point at Lyndsey, too.
"What is it, Guinever? Why are you pointing at me? Oh, I wish you could talk!" she said, with a sigh of exasperation. Guinever let out a little squeak and kept pointing at her.
"Oh, I've got it," Grundy said. The others looked at him. "Guinever says Day could give half of her talent to Lyndsey, and Lyndsey could maintain the Brain Coral. With the other half, Day could transport us one at a time to Lyndsey's hometown."
"I- hey, that could work!" Day exclaimed. "But how did you know that?" She looked at Grundy questioningly.
"Did you forget that I can speak all the languages of Xanth, bird brain?" he asked. "Sure, Guinever's a crossbreed, but I can still understand him." He smiled at the little penguin/elf.
"Well, why didn't you just translate in the first place?" Night asked, slightly irritated.
"He wasn't talking before!" Grundy exclaimed. "If he had been, I would have translated!"
"So, when Guinever squeaks, he's talking?" Lyndsey asked. She smiled, and patted Guinever's head. "I'm so glad to know that you can talk!" she said, "even if I can't understand you." She looked wistfull.
"Well, anyway…I think that his plan is worth a try," Day said. "Are you willing to try it, Lyndsey?" she asked.
"I have no idea how he came up with it, but yeah, I am," Lyndsey answered. She stood back up.
"Ok then." Day walked over to Lyndsey, and Lyndsey touched her arm.
"Um...I'm going to think about taking half of your talent now, and you think about giving half of it to me, ok?" Lyndsey asked. She wasn't really sure how to operate her new-old talent, but she thought this was a good way to try. Day nodded. Lyndsey took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. Day did the same, but kept one eye open, watching the Brain Coral's floating bubble.
"Hey, it's sinking!" Night cried. The bubble was heading towards the ground.
"Lyndsey, concentrate on making it float!" Day said. Lyndsey nodded, and looked at the ball. It began to float again.
"You did it!" Day said, giving her a hug.
"Hey, watch it!" Grundy said, almost being knocked off of Lyndsey's shoulder.
"Sorry Grundy!" Day said, giggling. He smiled too.
"It's ok," he said. "But here, let me come sit on your shoulder. I don't want to fall off of Lyndsey's when you transport her." Day nodded, and took Grundy off of Lyndsey's shoulder. She set him on her own shoulder, and he grinned, content.
"How are we going to keep the Brain Coral with us when you move us?" Night asked. "If you can only move one of us at a time, won't we lose it?"
"I'm hoping that if I move you first, you'll be able to keep it floating long enough, until I get Lyndsey there," Day said. "You should go first, since you're stronger." Night nodded.
"Ok, that sounds like it might work. Go ahead." She said, concentrating really hard on the water. She wasn't going to let it fall, in the meantime. The bubble actually started floating a little higher.
"Ok, here we go!" Day said. She raised her arm, closed her eyes, and Night was gone. Quickly, she took a breath, raised the other arm, blinked her eyes, and…Lyndsey was gone.
"Good job, silky hair!" Grundy said. Then he did a double take. "Wait, that wasn't an insult. I meant stunning eyes." He looked satisfied, then thought about what he said. "Oh, forget it," he muttered. Day smirked.
"I should be able to move you and Guinever at the same time, since you're both small," she said.
"Ok," Grundy said. Day lifted him off of her shoulder, and put him down by Guinever.
"Just stand close to each other," she advised. The two moved closer together. Day lifted her arm- and just like that, they were gone.
Day looked around. "This is a really spooky cave, when you're alone," she said, to no one in particular. Then she concentrated on moving herself to where the others were. She blinked her eyes, and she was in a pretty glade.
"Oh wow!" she breathed. "Is this where you used to live?" There were various wildflowers growing everywhere, and soft grass. There were also some artis-trees, which added to the beauty of the place.
"Yeah, it is," Lyndsey said, looking around. "It's a bit different than I remember."
"Things do change," Night said. "It's really pretty here," she was looking around, obviously enjoying the view as much as Day. "Oh, I guess I should get us some reverse wood now, so you can give Day her talent back." She had spotted the artis-trees, and the wood had reminded her.
Lyndsey blinked, and looked at Night. "Oh, right," she agreed. "Hey, I was barely even concentrating on the Brain Coral water, but it's still there, floating. How is that possible?" she asked.
Night looked pensive. "Well, I guess since I concentrated so hard before I was transported, it just carried over. I'm not even concentrating that hard on it now!" she said happily. "Maybe when Day gets her full power back, we'll both only have to think about it a little to keep it with us!"
"That'd be great!" Day said.
Nodding, Night closed her eyes. A piece of wood appeared in front of Lyndsey. "There you go," she said.
Lyndsey picked up the wood. "Let's do it," she said, looking at Day. Day reached out, and took her hand. Lyndsey concentrated on giving her talent back.
"It worked!" Day said happily. "I can feel it!" She looked at Night. "Now I'll think just a bit about the Brain Coral water." She did so, and it remained afloat. "I'm barely thinking of it at all!" she exclaimed.
"Me neither!" Night said.
"I guess it's because you're both used to it," Lyndsey said. "Or maybe the Coral is just trying to be more willing."
"Either way, it's much easier," Day said.
"Um, someone's coming," Grundy said from the ground. In fact, there were three figures walking towards them. Lyndsey picked up Guinever, and Night placed Grundy on her shoulder. They all turned and watched the people coming towards them.
Lyndsey did a double take. "I think that's my parents!" she cried. She ran towards them, Guinever bouncing in her arms.
"Wait!" Grundy cried. But as usual, it was too late. He sighed. Would no one ever listen to him? "Let's go get her." The others nodded, and ran to get Lyndsey. What a day!
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"So," Day said, looking around. "What do we do now?" She was staring straight at the floating ball of Brain Coral water, as was Night. It was easier to concentrate on it that way.
"I guess we go back to the Good Magician," Night answered.
"Oh, but I don't want to!" Day cried. Her concentration was momentarily broken, and the Brain Coral started to fall. She noticed, and concentrated on it again. "Couldn't we just go see our families first? In case we can't…can't ever come back to Xanth?" she was breathing hard, tears forming in her eyes.
"Don't worry!!" Lyndsey said. "I'm sure you'll be allowed to stay in Xanth!"
But Night had caught the worry of Day. "What if we can't? What if after we bring this to Humfrey, we go back to Mundania?" Her eyes were wide in worry.
"We'll solve that problem when we get to it," Grundy said, still seated by Lyndsey's ear. "For now, I think that visiting your families is a good idea."
"Ok," Day said, regaining composure. "I'll just transport us to Lyndsey's hometown, then." The others nodded in agreement. "Uh, Lyndsey, where is it, again?"
Lyndsey looked as if she were deep in concentration. "It's by the…by the…" she bit her lip. "The Gap Chasm!" she exclaimed. She grinned, happy to remember.
"Ok. I can orient on that," Day said. "We crossed that on the way to the Good Magician's castle, so I can find it." She could remember that, because they had been there recently. Also because she and Lyndsey were both thinking about it, which made it easier to remember. She raised her arm, as if to transport them, but the floating ball of water wavered in the air."
"Uh oh," she said. "I can't concentrate enough for both." The others all scrunched up their faces, and furrowed their brows. If they all thought hard enough, surely one of them could come up with an idea of how to solve this problem.
The solution came from a strange source. A light bulb appeared above Guinever's head, and he started jumping up and down frantically.
"What is it, Guinever?" Lyndsey asked him, bending down. He pointed at Lyndsey with one of his flipper arms. She looked at him strangely.
"I think he's trying to tell you something," Grundy said, pointing out the obvious. Guinever continued jumping up and down, and was now using his other flipper arm to point at Lyndsey, too.
"What is it, Guinever? Why are you pointing at me? Oh, I wish you could talk!" she said, with a sigh of exasperation. Guinever let out a little squeak and kept pointing at her.
"Oh, I've got it," Grundy said. The others looked at him. "Guinever says Day could give half of her talent to Lyndsey, and Lyndsey could maintain the Brain Coral. With the other half, Day could transport us one at a time to Lyndsey's hometown."
"I- hey, that could work!" Day exclaimed. "But how did you know that?" She looked at Grundy questioningly.
"Did you forget that I can speak all the languages of Xanth, bird brain?" he asked. "Sure, Guinever's a crossbreed, but I can still understand him." He smiled at the little penguin/elf.
"Well, why didn't you just translate in the first place?" Night asked, slightly irritated.
"He wasn't talking before!" Grundy exclaimed. "If he had been, I would have translated!"
"So, when Guinever squeaks, he's talking?" Lyndsey asked. She smiled, and patted Guinever's head. "I'm so glad to know that you can talk!" she said, "even if I can't understand you." She looked wistfull.
"Well, anyway…I think that his plan is worth a try," Day said. "Are you willing to try it, Lyndsey?" she asked.
"I have no idea how he came up with it, but yeah, I am," Lyndsey answered. She stood back up.
"Ok then." Day walked over to Lyndsey, and Lyndsey touched her arm.
"Um...I'm going to think about taking half of your talent now, and you think about giving half of it to me, ok?" Lyndsey asked. She wasn't really sure how to operate her new-old talent, but she thought this was a good way to try. Day nodded. Lyndsey took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. Day did the same, but kept one eye open, watching the Brain Coral's floating bubble.
"Hey, it's sinking!" Night cried. The bubble was heading towards the ground.
"Lyndsey, concentrate on making it float!" Day said. Lyndsey nodded, and looked at the ball. It began to float again.
"You did it!" Day said, giving her a hug.
"Hey, watch it!" Grundy said, almost being knocked off of Lyndsey's shoulder.
"Sorry Grundy!" Day said, giggling. He smiled too.
"It's ok," he said. "But here, let me come sit on your shoulder. I don't want to fall off of Lyndsey's when you transport her." Day nodded, and took Grundy off of Lyndsey's shoulder. She set him on her own shoulder, and he grinned, content.
"How are we going to keep the Brain Coral with us when you move us?" Night asked. "If you can only move one of us at a time, won't we lose it?"
"I'm hoping that if I move you first, you'll be able to keep it floating long enough, until I get Lyndsey there," Day said. "You should go first, since you're stronger." Night nodded.
"Ok, that sounds like it might work. Go ahead." She said, concentrating really hard on the water. She wasn't going to let it fall, in the meantime. The bubble actually started floating a little higher.
"Ok, here we go!" Day said. She raised her arm, closed her eyes, and Night was gone. Quickly, she took a breath, raised the other arm, blinked her eyes, and…Lyndsey was gone.
"Good job, silky hair!" Grundy said. Then he did a double take. "Wait, that wasn't an insult. I meant stunning eyes." He looked satisfied, then thought about what he said. "Oh, forget it," he muttered. Day smirked.
"I should be able to move you and Guinever at the same time, since you're both small," she said.
"Ok," Grundy said. Day lifted him off of her shoulder, and put him down by Guinever.
"Just stand close to each other," she advised. The two moved closer together. Day lifted her arm- and just like that, they were gone.
Day looked around. "This is a really spooky cave, when you're alone," she said, to no one in particular. Then she concentrated on moving herself to where the others were. She blinked her eyes, and she was in a pretty glade.
"Oh wow!" she breathed. "Is this where you used to live?" There were various wildflowers growing everywhere, and soft grass. There were also some artis-trees, which added to the beauty of the place.
"Yeah, it is," Lyndsey said, looking around. "It's a bit different than I remember."
"Things do change," Night said. "It's really pretty here," she was looking around, obviously enjoying the view as much as Day. "Oh, I guess I should get us some reverse wood now, so you can give Day her talent back." She had spotted the artis-trees, and the wood had reminded her.
Lyndsey blinked, and looked at Night. "Oh, right," she agreed. "Hey, I was barely even concentrating on the Brain Coral water, but it's still there, floating. How is that possible?" she asked.
Night looked pensive. "Well, I guess since I concentrated so hard before I was transported, it just carried over. I'm not even concentrating that hard on it now!" she said happily. "Maybe when Day gets her full power back, we'll both only have to think about it a little to keep it with us!"
"That'd be great!" Day said.
Nodding, Night closed her eyes. A piece of wood appeared in front of Lyndsey. "There you go," she said.
Lyndsey picked up the wood. "Let's do it," she said, looking at Day. Day reached out, and took her hand. Lyndsey concentrated on giving her talent back.
"It worked!" Day said happily. "I can feel it!" She looked at Night. "Now I'll think just a bit about the Brain Coral water." She did so, and it remained afloat. "I'm barely thinking of it at all!" she exclaimed.
"Me neither!" Night said.
"I guess it's because you're both used to it," Lyndsey said. "Or maybe the Coral is just trying to be more willing."
"Either way, it's much easier," Day said.
"Um, someone's coming," Grundy said from the ground. In fact, there were three figures walking towards them. Lyndsey picked up Guinever, and Night placed Grundy on her shoulder. They all turned and watched the people coming towards them.
Lyndsey did a double take. "I think that's my parents!" she cried. She ran towards them, Guinever bouncing in her arms.
"Wait!" Grundy cried. But as usual, it was too late. He sighed. Would no one ever listen to him? "Let's go get her." The others nodded, and ran to get Lyndsey. What a day!
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