Dewberry reminded herself once again that Father was here and very much alive, and that everything had all been an illusion. Slowly, the fear dissipated from her system and she could think properly again.
Stop the cold from ever coming? That sounded like a good idea. Not only good, but a
great idea. Then she and Mother and Father and her sisters would all be safe forever and ever.
"Yes! I must learn. Teach me! We will stop the cold!"
@Blueberry
He smiled wide and nodded.
"Yes! We must fight to protect from the cold, from the evil. Attack me, Dewberry. Show me what you've got!" He encouraged with a blazing fire in his eyes. His excitement was very apparent, his hooves stomping.
@Dewberry
Father wanted her to... attack him? That couldn't be right; he was family! Why would they want to hurt each other? But then... as much as Dewberry didn't want to do it, it was a command from father and besides, she had to practice her magic in order to learn how to defend her family.
She looked at Father for a moment, trying to figure out what to do. She could move one of his hooves and make him trip. But would he be able to catch his balance? Dewberry knew little of how animals with feet worked. Still, moving a hoof seemed to be the best option right now. She reached out with her magic, and when she felt it reach Father, she wrapped it around the hoof and told it to
move. All she could manage was a short distance, maybe a few inches, but hopefully it would be enough.
@Blueberry
Dewberry's heart swelled with pride at Father's praise. Even though Father had caught his balance, the spell had still worked and Father still approved and the warm feeling was still there. Everything was good. But if she wanted to make a difference when defending the family, she'd probably have to practice more so she could make more of an impact, just like Father said.
Determined to improve, Dewberry reached for the magic again, but this time it somehow felt
different, more dangerous and malicious almost. Confused and scared, she drew it back immediately, looking questioningly at Father.
"That time felt.... different. What happened? Why?"
@Blueberry
"Okay..." Dewberry agreed, reaching for the magic again. It didn't feel any better than it did before, and she was actually scared of using it - but Father had told her to and surely Father knew best? This time, she didn't try to stop the magic, no matter how wrong it felt and how much she wanted to.
It was like - a spark, maybe. Yes, it felt like a spark, and it was anything but pleasant. Dewberry shivered. Whatever this magic was, it felt dangerous and she really didn't like it. But maybe dangerous was what she needed, so that she could help defend the family in the future. Well, whatever it was, she'd listen to whatever advice Father gave.
@Blueberry
Dewberry's eyes widened as tears fell from Father's eyes. Oh,
what had she been thinking? She knew the magic would be bad, she'd known it since the moment she felt it. Why, then, had she used it anyway? How could she have been so stupid? Defending the family - that was a worthy goal, yes, and Father had said that he was proud. But surely using this kind of spell on
Father went against every one of her values? How could making Father feel this way be
defending family?
"Father," she whispered, slithering in a circle to wrap herself around a hoof in an attempted
conciliatory gesture.
"I am sorry very much. Very, very much."
@Blueberry