THE ACADEMIC IN HIM is probably getting ahead of himself. still, the perspective this opens up! the branches of their world’s magical roots has been a topic of discussion for decades now, but carter imagines the last few years’ events are nothing old-timey researchers could have foreseen. ❛ magic is, at its core, only energy, ❜ he acquiesces. ❛ so it makes sense it’d manifest in different ways depending on how people developed different affinities to it, hence schools of practice, and… ❜ carter blinks, suddenly looking sheepish. ❛ wait, i’ll spare you the thesis, it’s my bad. ❜
❛ ARE YOUR FRIENDS ALSO, UH, FAIRIES? ❜ he’s pretty sure he would have noticed them on his way, if their powers were half as flashy as bloom’s. carter tilts his head towards the sky, frowning. ❛ the perturbation isn’t gone. if anything, this monster was just a tendril from something bigger, and the core of it is elsewhere. i bet that’s where you’ll find your friends. ❜
THE PROPER PROTOCOL in this situation would be to call up reinforcements from the twenty-first nome. objectively, it’s incredibly stupid to try and walk into woods that could house all manners of ill-meaning creatures on his own. but he’s not, is he? bloom seems perfectly capable of holding up by herself, but to have someone watching his back is a luxury he’s learned not to ignore, especially when time may be of the essence. ❛ count me in. it may be nothing too serious, but since you never know… ❜
𝗌𝗁𝖾’𝗌 𝖿𝖺𝗌𝖼𝗂𝗇𝖺𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝖻𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗂𝗇𝖿𝗈𝗋𝗆𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 –– she can imagine the other winx might not be, but bloom has spent much of her life in the dark about magic. every new bit of information is as a remarkable as the first time she’d seen stella perform magic. ❛ I’d love to hear more about your thoughts on magic and energy actually. maybe on the way to wherever this source is? I can’t promise I can keep up or anything, but I’m a good listener! ❜
bloom’s smile grows as she adds, ❛ yep! we have different kinds of magic we control –– my friend aisha for example can control water. and my friend musa is amazing at controlling sound waves and music. ❜ carter has already seen bloom shoot blasts of fire from her palms, so she doesn’t think she has to elaborate there. still, she’s never quite sure how to explain the significance of the dragon flame to anyone who isn’t already aware of it. and... that’s a lot of people. ❛ great! together, I’m sure we can lend some help to my friends and get rid of whatever is causing this.... perturbation once and for all! ❜
with that, bloom dusts off her hands and begins, carter alongside her, striding deeper into the forest. after a moment of walking together, she glances at him. ❛ so you mentioned affinities? do you have something you’re especially drawn to or good at? ❜