The Clearing

Out in the forest there's a large clearing where campers can go for peace and quiet. Stone benches can be found on either side of the clearing, but it's unknown as to how they got there. In any case, the clearing is one of the only places where a monster has never been encountered in the forest. Well, at least, no one has ever survived to tell the tale if there have been any. Still, it's a tranquil place that is always lit up by the sun during the day or the moon and stars at night.

~Diane
I ponder on what Alyssa had told me earlier today. Now that the moon was out, albeit only a quarter moon, I could finally practice with the advice she'd given me. However, this process of molding wouldn't prove to be easy. Moonlight was strange - it didn't flicker like firelight, and it wasn't hot like sunlight. It was cool and yet piercing, its white rays powerful yet elegant. The Moon had a refined beauty which the Sun could never hope to match while it burned so forcefully. The Moon was tender yet resilient, present but not overwhelming.

Standing in the middle of the clearing, I gather the moonlight into orbs, which take shape in my hands. So far so good, but I'd done this many times before. From here I'd slowly and painfully solidified the light, having only recently been able to harden it to use in attacks such as I'd used last night. This month I had been working on beams, but the process had gone even slower than solidification, and it was only out of pure luck and necessity that I'd been able to accomplish anything. Even so, it'd cost me greatly, wiping out much of my energy. No, if I was to do this right, I would need to hone my control over moonlight into a more defined, precise technique. I wouldn't move on until I was able have more control over my powers.

For some reason, orbs had been easy. Maybe it was because of the natural tendency of the light to reflect the shape of the full moon, but it'd never caused me any problems. When I tried to change it, however, absolutely nothing happened. No matter what it was - a triangle, a square, even an oval, it wouldn't budge. I tried other things, such as Alyssa had shown me with her own powers, but nothing. Absolutely nothing. I try a few more times, but after not even seeing the slightest disturbance in the light, the smallest change in its form, I gave up. Sitting down on a bench, I sigh and try to think of what I'd done wrong. I knew it was supposed to be hard - moonlight wasn't as pliable as sunlight - but I'd never expected it not to react at all. Why was this happening?

Sammy-
I make my way into the clearing just wanting to get out of the craziness of camp