***RESTRICTED JOURNAL REPORT***
Ehlana and I had a private visit with
Cassie and Michael while they were packing up to head back to school at his
house. We had reasons for doing that –
starting with wanting to try to use our sight with Michael joining in to do
that with us. His status as a new Magi
Master – and the first we’re aware of to make that leap from Magi to Master –
offered us a unique opportunity; and proved to help us a lot with our attempt
to look into our collective future.
The Sight is a Magi talent that is very
unpredictable, but we did learn a lot while linked and taking a look; so we
also know that we were meant to get that information now – and it is at least
part of the reason for why Michael was ‘promoted’ to Magi Master while
completing their marriage vows on the higher plane.
We also needed to talk with Cassie and
Michael about things they – and we – need to do in the nearer-to-midterm
future. Continuing our training is a big
part of that – including with Rowen and Tim for Cassie and Michael; and with
Naomi and Aiden for us. In addition; we
need to start searching for the rest of the Dark Magi and Masters around the
world. The Hathornes have controlled the
United States for centuries now, but there are many others; and we’ll need to
find them before we can start dealing with them once Cassie and Michael are
finished school. Some of them are much
like the Hathornes and will be comparatively-easy to find; while others hide
and work from the shadows and will be much-harder to locate. Either way, we’ll still also need to learn as
much about them as possible first before starting to confront them and put them
out of the bad guy business; so we are talking about a daunting task that will
take years – and probably decades.
We can’t have an Ascension of the Light
without defeating the bad guys, though; so we will get to work on that
too. For our part, Ethan will take the
lead on this; and scour the archives for everything we have historically on
Dark Magi families. That’ll give us some
clues on where to start looking for the current Dark Magi; and then we can move
on from there.
Finally, we sense that we’re going to get
at least a short break from Gwyneth Hathorne.
We don’t know why; and can only speculate that after last week; she’ll need
some time to re-assess her own strategy and plans. We’ll take the break and be glad for it, but
we won’t get complacent; and will use the time to prepare for whatever will
come next for us – since we do know for sure that Gwyneth won’t give up on defeating
us. She is, after all, a Dark Magi
Master; and their side believes that they can prevent an Ascension of the
Light.
That’s actually true. If it wasn’t; then there’d be no need for
these battles between Light and Dark.
We’ll just put our faith in everyone on our
side and pray that we will succeed and win!
***END OF RESTRICTED REPORT***
***
Ethan:
Our first full day at home has been a mix
of busy fun and then a lot of catch-up work and chores after Cassie, Michael,
and their friends headed back to school this afternoon.
Tai Chi by the river was a great way to
start the day; we had breakfast for seven after that; and eventually met up
with the Stone clan for the walk to church.
Our favorite parts of church and Sunday school were all related to
Cassie and Michael as they were first welcomed as Cassie and Michael Stone; and
then lifted up by our families, friends, and neighbors before and after the
service. We had Cassie and Michael with
us for lunch; Mom and Dad only added Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Brianna, and Zack
to the guest list for that barbeque and leftovers meal so that we could
actually spend some quality time with the newlyweds; and we had fun with the
food and a bit of play time until it was time for the teens to start packing up
at around two o’clock.
Cassie’s luggage was at Michael’s house, so
they went there to pack up while Stefan, Madelana, and May did the same at our
house. Ehlana and I went over to Michael’s
house for a brothers and sisters visit too; and then I escaped when we pointed
out that they wouldn’t have room in the car for everything; needed to re-pack;
and I didn’t want to be around while Cassie’s lingerie and underwear was being
unpacked – and probably re-packed.
That’s too much information for me; so let’s
not go there.
We eventually helped out with getting the
car packed; and then it was time for the goodbyes – including with Mandy; since
she really needed to go home with Cassie after being apart from her for most of
the summer. Once our favorite teens were
gone; it was time for the rest of us to get to work. For Dad, that meant work-work. Mom drafted Ehlana and I for chores that
included cleaning guest bedrooms; running a lot of loads of laundry; and a long
list of smaller jobs around the house and yard.
We were ‘paid’ for our efforts with a buffet dinner at the Inn; and then
it’s been a work and study evening here at home too. Add in baths before bedtime; and that’s all I
have for tonight. Our lives will be
getting back to normal again tomorrow, but that will likely only seem boring by
comparison to last week; and we do still expect to have a blast during our last
few weeks of summer holidays!
Ethan – out!
***
Ehlana:
I love my Jacuzzi! ;^)
No, I’m not going to just leave this update
to Ethan; though I’m going to write about my thoughts more than the actual news
of the day. That’s one thing about doing
chores for hours – you get to have lots of time to be alone with your thoughts
while cleaning bedrooms and bathrooms!
First up, we’ve been focused on Cassie,
Michael, and their friends for the back-to-school travel today, but there are
lots of other teens leaving today – or this weekend; including the newest group
of high school graduates and other favorite collegians – like Anne-Marie Palmer. Rebecca and Lucas stayed later today while
Rebecca helped out at the pizzeria, but they’re starting their third year
tomorrow. It’s funny to think about that
when Cassie will be doing the same in a week after catching up to them; and she’ll
be ahead of them by next August after another summer school session. Every kid and teen in town is happy about the
one collegian that is staying instead of going back to school today; and we are
going to love having pizza days at school every week thanks to Jen’s decision
to finish up with a two-year college diploma so that she could do that for us. I’m sure that getting married to Garrett was
just a bonus for both of them! ;^)
Cassie, Michael, and their friends have
that extra week to get ready for their first day of school, but they’ll be busy
and have a lot to do first; so I won’t be sad that they didn’t spend more time
with us first. It really is much-easier
for students that can get their books and supplies before residential halls
open; Cassie will introduce her friends to the concept of reading and studying
ahead once they have their books; and she’ll also want to get together with her
newest group of second-year friends while she has the extra time too. That is sure to be a lot of fun; and this
school year could get very interesting for Cassie as she juggles her education
with friends she has and will make in her new classes.
Ethan has a mental picture of Cassie
needing to book one of the school arenas – or the football stadium – for her
study groups. That’d be funny; but
probably won’t happen.
Moving along, and closer to home; we know
that our best friends are booked to spend more time with their own families
this week after spending so much time with us over the past three weeks. We’ll still spend some time with Naomi and
Aiden – and maybe hang out with their families too, but that will also give us
more time to spend at the lab and archives.
I’ve really missed being there; so that works for me – and we’ll be
there tomorrow morning. We’ll still have
baseball practices, play time with our friends, and the rest of our usual
routine; so we’ll still keep busy and entertained – even if the most-exciting
parts of our summer are behind us now.
Since I just mentioned baseball; that
reminds me that I didn’t report that our team lost on Saturday to the Wildcats
while Naomi and I were away. We’ll need
to win our last game and get some help to still make it into the championship
game – and that would only be with a three-and-three record. Ethan’s going to be done with his baseball
practices after this week, since win-or-lose on Saturday; the Brontos can’t
earn a spot in their championship game.
Hopefully, he and Aiden will be able to cheer for Naomi and me instead!
There’s a lot more that I’ve been thinking
about today, but that’ll do for this report; and I’m pretty much ready to get
some sleep now anyway – so I will.
This is Ehlana Proctor; coming to you live
from what is now my past!
