Water by Terra Harmony Page B

nature had to offer.  Wary of what else nature had to offer, I scanned the skies for more owls.
    "We are going to work on the command of your powers, and how to restrain them through careful self-control."
    "Wouldn’t this be safer with Micah here?"  I asked.
    "Don’t worry," Cato said.  "Micah is nearby in case we need him."
    I looked at the tree line around us, wondering just how close.
    Cato continued, "Besides, much as the moon affects waves, it seems to also have an effect on powers.  A full moon like tonight allows us better control over them."
    "I’ll take your word for it," I said.
    "First of all, I want to tell you how it is possible to prevent land outside of the Chakradraining energy from you, in order to prevent, well, disasters."
    I narrowed my eyes at him.
    If he noticed my glare he didn’t acknowledge it.  "Practicing here would be futile; there would be no way to tell if you are doing it correctly.  But what you will have to do is use your own energy to build a wall around yourself, essentially blocking the earth from taking your energy.  Now I know what you are thinking."  Cato chuckled.
    Please, do tell, I thought .
    "You are thinking ‘What good does it do if I have to use energy anyway to make the wall?’  Well, it is a balance you will have to find on your own.  Different places on the earth will take different amounts of energy from you.  Locations that are highly active in one way or another will take more.  Be mindful of how you feel, of your energy levels, and decide on your own what needs to be done.  It will take some time, but you will learn."
    "Is it something you do, away from the Chakra?"  I asked.
    "Yes, when I venture out.  I’ve found it gets more and more difficult with age, so I try not to leave unless absolutely necessary."
    I nodded my head.  Hopefully, I wasn’t destined to such confinement.  "Sounds pretty horrible, honestly."
    Cato gave me his best smile, but there was a sense of futility behind it.  "Perhaps you can have Shawn help you with this one.  Building walls is essentially what he does to control other’s powers."
    I shook my head.  "I’m not sure Shawn would be too eager to help me do anything."
    "Don’t be silly, Kaitlyn.  He is part of the team."  Cato brushed my fears aside.  "All right, let’s begin."
    I mimicked him as he put his bare feet in the water. 
    "It helps to be in direct contact with natural elements," Cato explained.  "First off, I want you to try to sense what I am doing.  Sit as comfortably as you can, and relax your breathing.  Close your eyes, keep your mind empty except for the task of sensing my energy."
    I slowed my breathing and concentrated, searching the frequencies around me for a disturbance.  After several minutes, I focused in on a spot to the right of us in the lake.  The water molecules were slowing, causing the water to grow colder by the second.  I could follow the energy waves back to Cato.
    He coached me further, "You found it.  Now see if you can figure out what I am doing."
    I targeted in, and almost immediately sensed movement underneath the water.  "Fish!  You’re grouping them all together."
    "Keep going," Cato said.  "There is more."
    I focused in again, and exclaimed, "You are trapping them!"
    He had set up an underwater cage.  I could feel the fish panic as their movement was suddenly limited.
    "Very good!  Now pay attention to how I end the session."
    He stopped sending out the energy but it didn’t disappear immediately.  Instead of retracting the threads back into him, they fizzled away.
    "An abrupt stop of powers can cause too much of a commotion."  Cato explained.  "We don’t want to agitate the ecosystem more than we already have."
    I nodded my head.
    "Now, I want you to try," he said.
    "Try what?"
    He sighed.  "Trap some more fish."
    "How did you do it, exactly?"  I asked.
    "I cannot tell you how to use your own powers.  Everyone would have a different way of doing it.