Star Darlings; the Other 12

Mind Linked

"Breath in, breath out. breath in, breath out." Piper repeated. Nicholas followed her advice, his breathing light and slow.

They'd been at this for an hour now, meditating under the grove of trees before the dock. The day had been rough for both of them, as the Time of Lumiere camp involved star sports, archery, and other activities that involved being active, which both Nicholas and Piper weren't great at. There wasn't a meditation club, so the 2 were stuck meditating during their free time.

4 days after the break started, all the Star Darlings were all told to pack some of their personal belongings and move to a newer dorm in the Big Dipper Dorm in Starling academy, where (coincidentally) was a room with 25 rooms (24 rooms for the Star Darlings, one Commons room). A giant staircase led to the top, where the 24 rooms were, and the bottom was a library (which delighted Cassie and Vega), a giant Holo-TV (Which everyone loved) and a personal Bot-Bot, who surprised Sage, as it was MO-J4, who had been told not to disclose any data about the SD.

The Star Darlings still weren't told what the rest of the prophecy was, but they were told just to bond with one another, make friends while Sir Pluto and Lady Stella figure out what's been happening around Starland.

"We are free to do something else than this, right?" Nicholas asked hopefully.

"Yeah" the grove fell silent.

Suddenly, the two were both pulled into a dream, at the same time. Piper was thinking about how to continue on her 689th line on her poem (Nicholas helped her get past line 30) when she was pulled into a light.

She was in a vast, swirling room bigger than Piper can see, and every time she stepped, the ground rippled as if she was standing on a shallow beach during a high tide.

"Piper?" a voice echoed behind her. "Is that you?"

Piper turned around to see Nicholas, his face in an excellent Holo-poker face as he took in his surroundings.

"What- where- how." Nicholas stutters. "I was thinking about the view on the summit of Polar Peak when I was pulled into this. How? Am I dreaming of you and this place?"

"No, Nicholas, I'm here," Piper said in confusion. "I see you, and you see me, right?"

"Right."

"There's only one thing possible." Piper breathed. "The scrolls are true! It's a thing!"

"Hold up." Nicholas interrupted. "What do you mean? What's true? Can you stop that, it's freaking me out!"

"A mind link, Nicholas. My Grandma had a scroll that enlisted all the possible outcomes of extreme meditation, and one was a mind link! It happens when 2 people meditate together so much, their minds get linked to each other and they can communicate with each other via their minds!"

"I've heard of enough from my monk friend in the Crystal Valleys," Nicholas commented. "Wait, you said a long time. We've been at this for less than a week, so how does this happen?"

Now that he presented the question, it left Piper clueless. She only knew that much, but then again, she just skimmed over that part of the scroll, so there was a possibility that she missed something.

"Ok, so from your expression I can tell you have no idea, but how do we get out? Is it possible?" Nicholas asked.

"You focus all your attention on something in real life, and the dream will break. However, the next time you start dreaming, there is a possibility that it will pull you in again." Piper answered.

"Ok, let's try. 3, 2, 1... GO!"

Both focused everything they could think of at the top of their head, and the swirling world started to tear up. It soon was pulled into a ball, and their consciousness returned to their bodies.

Now that was an experience. A voice inside of Piper's mind echoed. It caught her off guard, and she looked around.

Who is that?

Wait, you heard me?

Piper's gaze landed on Nicholas, who was looking at her with a confused look.

Nicholas?

That's me

How- that's impossible! How are you inside my mind!

You're in mine as well.

I've never heard of this before.

Same here. My monk friend only mentioned dreams, so...

Are we stuck together forever?

No, I remembered a form of Wish Energy manipulation that involved the mind, so maybe we can shut each other out of our minds. I'll try.

After a while, Piper felt Nicholas's mind exit hers. And they returned to normal.

"It worked!" Nicholas said.

"Can you go back into our minds?"

"I'll try"

After another bit, this time much faster, Piper felt Nicholas touch her mind. She could feel him at her mind's entrance, waiting for permission to come in. She accepted the offer.

So, we can go in and out of our minds at will. Nicholas said.

Yeah. I'll see if I can find any info on this. The concept is intriguing.

The 2 share a mutual look. Nicholas exited her mind.

They put away their mats and headed back for the classes.

Capture the Star. ugh. Nicholas said as they headed back up to the path.