Heathcliff looked up as Carl entered his office. There would only be one reason that Carl would approach Heathcliff at the moment, which meant that it would have to be good news.
"So, I take it you've figured out a solution to the problem?" Heathcliff asked, pausing from finishing writing the memo he was about to send out.
"Yes, it was actually very simple. We almost didn't think of it," Carl replied.
Heathcliff waited a moment before sighing. "So, what is the solution?" he asked, his annoyance at having to ask clear in his voice.
Carl shifted nervously. "We drop a radio transmitter that sends out a magical signal. We already checked to see if there were any radio signals in that world and didn't find any. As soon as we can find a secure gate we can send out expeditions to begin mapping the gates and the worlds so we'll have accurate information to work with," Carl explained in a rush.
Heathcliff nodded. "Have you gotten the supplies needed for any expedition yet?"
Carl clearly hesitated. "Yes and no," Carl replied. "We've started gathering some of the basics: tents, sleeping bags, first aid kits, and well, spare clothing. However, we can't be sure how long each expedition would need, so we can't be sure how much food to send with them. As it is, we already have calculated how much each approved member of each expedition would be able to carry and the amount of food they could carry after that. The calculations aren't promising. We might need to reduce the amount of expeditions until we can create a way to supply the expeditions from on the other side of the gates," Carl explained.
Heathcliff nodded thoughtfully. Those were some excellent points. However, there could be other possibilities to look at. "Have you thought of something like a handcart?" Heathcliff asked. "They might be low-tech, and probably not something that would be very efficient, but it could increase the carrying capacity of each expedition. At the same time, as soon as you find a secure gate, have the first expedition begin to create a supply depot to store supplies so we can have that established to create a better foothold on that side of the gate as well."
"Should we work with resources from this side of the gate or the other?" Carl asked.
"Probably would be best to work with both. Prepare some resources now, like lumber, and we'll see what resources are available on the other side of whatever gate we find. However, don't get too much. We can't be sure how far we'll need to transport it, so we don't want to store too much here if we'd need to transport it to say, Alaska. Right now, we need to work carefully and slowly rather than like we had been doing up to now," Heathcliff answered.
"I understand. We'll work with what we can, but at the same time, are you sure the Unicorn's Forest isn't a viable option?" Carl asked.
"Unless we can secure a way to enter the forest with everything we need without drawing attention, it isn't. Aside from that, if it does become viable, you yourself and Ronald won't be able to enter it," Heathcliff replied.
"Why not?" Carl asked, clearly confused.
"Because both of you are likely considered Enemies of a Unicorn, so you would not be welcome by the unicorn in any unicorn forest," Heathcliff replied simply. "Maybe not even if you encounter a unicorn outside of their forest."
"So, it would be better for me to find a gate that I could use, right?" Carl asked.
Heathcliff nodded. "Yes. Whatever we'll be able to do, once you do that, will be determined at that time," Heathcliff answered, his tone letting Carl know that the topic was done. So, Carl turned and left, letting Heathcliff return to working on the memo.
_
Charlie wasn't sure what she should do. She didn't feel like they were really in any danger from the herd of unicorns, but at the same time, they'd approached them likely with magic so they wouldn't be seen. Which didn't assure Charlie of their intentions. She couldn't tell how many there were exactly, but she could count at least twenty easily.
Of course, she could be overthinking things, but this was not only an unfamiliar situation, she couldn't think of a situation she'd even heard of to compare to this one.
Would they 'hear' me if I thought at them? Charlie wondered. She couldn't think of a reason why not, so she tried. Who are you? Is there something we can do for you?
Charlie would prefer to use her magic right away to communicate with them, but she certainly didn't want to fall unconscious again in addition to not knowing if it could have other effects she wasn't aware of. Especially since she had no idea how long she really would need to recover from her magic having been drained like it was.
If the unicorns could hear Charlie's thoughts as she thought at them, they didn't show it. Instead, they continued their observing, a few ducking their heads for a moment to raise it back up after a moment, chewing a mouthful of grass.
Charlie wasn't sure how long it was before everyone else became aware of the unicorns. She only knew they had when Beth moved next to her.
"Any idea of what this is about?" Beth asked Charlie quietly.
Charlie shook her head. "I tried thinking at them like I did with Petals before we had magic, but I don't know if they heard me or not," Charlie replied, just as quietly.
"Want to try first, Beth?" Tim asked Beth.
"Might as well. Probably would be better than Ralph," Beth commented.
Charlie could tell Beth was about to try to talk with the unicorns when they suddenly moved apart, letting an equine creature through that Charlie couldn't say what it was. It had two gold horns, both pointing forward wherever it looked, running parallel to it's face to just past and above its eyes after they curved around its head, growing out by the base of its ears, kind of like some pictures of demons Charlie had seen some artwork of. The creature's coat was jet black and almost seemed to absorb the light surrounding it. However, looking in its eyes, Charlie could tell was peaceful, just like Petals. She couldn't say how she knew. Just that she did.
–Welcome, Friends of Unicorns.– a deeply, gentle masculine voice boomed in their minds before they could react to the appearance of the creature. –How did you get to this world? I was pretty sure that I'd destroyed all the gates that led to this world.–
Charlie couldn't say how she knew but was certain this creature knew exactly how they got there. She suspected that this creature wanted to know where the entrance to the forest was.
Charlie stood up and face the creature, fighting the urge to hide behind her friends the entire time. "Yes, we came through a unicorn's forest to get here," Charlie said.
–Would you be willing to introduce me to her?– the creature asked. The tone really surprised Charlie, and she could see it surprised her friends as well. It was as if the creature was almost shy when he asked the question.
–To who?– Beth asked. –You can see all of those who traveled through the forest in front of you.–
–I mean the unicorn.– the creature clarified. –I'd like to meet her.– The creature started to rub the ground with its right front hoof, which made Charlie wonder what other mannerisms it had that were more human than equine. It certainly seemed like the creature was rather bashful at the moment.
–Why should we ask her to come out?– Amelia challenged. –Why do you want to meet her?–
–I merely wanted to meet her.– the creature merely stated. –I can't really say the big reasons why at the moment, but her forest is connecting to my world, so I'd like to speak with her if nothing else.–
–Why can't you just go in the forest?– Ralph asked. –I mean, if you're not up to anything bad.–
–I would never!– the creature huffed, indignantly. –I haven't been invited, so it wouldn't be proper for me to intrude into her home without permission.–
Charlie had the sense that the creature wanted to say more, but wondered if he was hesitant to say all he wanted because of the unicorns around him or if it was because they themselves weren't unicorns or whatever he was.
–What assurances do we have that she'll be safe out here?– Beth demanded.
–You have my word as a bicorn.– the creature said. Despite herself, Charlie found herself believing him.
"I think it might be fastest to ask Petals to come out here to meet him," Charlie whispered to Beth. Then after a moment she added, "And I get the feeling he isn't up to anything that might hurt Petals."
Beth nodded. "I feel the same," she whispered back to Charlie.
–Let us finish up here and we'll ask her if she'd be willing to come out here or if you'd be fine entering her forest. – Beth told the bicorn.
Charlie watched as the bicorn considered the proposal, then after a minute, turned and walked away towards the edge of the valley. –I accept. I will wait at the edge of the valley. Please let her know I'll be back when the sun sets.– the bicorn said as he walked away.
"What was that about?" Tim asked quietly, eying the bicorn as it left.
"What exactly is a bicorn anyway?" Wes asked.
"I'm not sure what that is about and we can ask him what a 'bicorn' is when he gets back," Beth replied.
"Should we send someone to let Petals know about what it asked us to?" Amelia asked, her eyes full of curiosity, as she kept glancing towards the bicorn.
"Has anyone finished what they were practicing?" Hannah asked.
"I still have magic left, but I think it isn't that important to actually finish what I was working on," Beth said. "I'm sure I can still work on it later if I get the chance, so I'll go let Petals know about the bicorn."
"How's dinner coming along?" Ralph asked.
"What?" Charlie asked, then her eyes widened as she realized she'd forgotten about the first set of hot dogs. "Crap."
Charlie quickly bent down over the grill and began turning the hot dogs, uneasy about the burned sides of each of the hot dogs.
Charlie turned back to Ralph. "The first batch is kinda almost done," she said as cheerfully as she could, but couldn't help but have her uneasiness of the state of the hot dogs enter into her voice.
"Don't worry about it," Ralph said, sitting on his ankles next to the grill. "I'm not too picky if my hot dogs started to become extinct."
"Extinct?" Charlie asked, against her better judgment.
"Simple, if you burn it beyond recognition then it's extinct," Ralph explained, smiling as he watched the hot dogs.
Charlie shook her head, annoyed at herself for even engaging with Ralph on that topic.
"How much longer until the hot dogs are done?" Amelia asked.
"The next batch will probably take long enough for Beth to get back," Charlie replied, never really sure how to tell with hot dogs. "But not long for the first set."
"Did you get the buns out?" Amelia asked.
Charlie shook her head. "No, you can see what I already have out," Charlie replied.
"Yeah, if I actually looked," Amelia laughed.
Charlie sighed. "I guess everyone is done working on whatever magic project you had going?"
"Near as I can tell," Amelia said.
Charlie was getting annoyed at the bicorn and unicorns that had accompanied him for distracting everyone from what they'd been doing and were now subsequently getting on her nerves as she worked on making the hot dogs. She couldn't even try to use her magic to speed them up, at least not without risking her own health and she cared about herself too much to try that. She especially didn't feel like everyone was waiting on her, especially when it was due to something entirely out of her control!
When the first set was done and put on buns, everyone but Charlie and Tim had one while Charlie put out hot dogs for the second set. Then by the time Beth returned, Charlie was just finishing the third set. Charlie then put on a fourth set, even though it was looking like everyone was having their fill of what had already been made. Even Charlie knew she'd likely be able to get what she'd want from the hot dogs.
Hannah had started setting up her keyboard when Beth had returned and had finished when Charlie started eating.
"Okay, everyone ready for some music?" Hannah asked.
"Yeah, can you play one of the CDs I brought?" Wes called out.
Hannah ignored Wes and started playing her keyboard. Charlie was impressed at Hannah's skills. What she could see of Hannah's fingers showed how they moved fluidly along the keyboard and at such a pace that Charlie had a hard time keeping up with the music, let alone tracking Hannah's fingers completely.
Charlie was watching so closely that it took her a few minutes before she realized that Wes and Ralph were snickering, Amelia was giggling, and Tim, Beth, and Hannah were smirking at her.
"What is it?" Charlie protested, starting to feel like she'd done something, like getting some mustard or ketchup on her face without realizing it.
"Hannah's not actually playing," Beth commented before starting to laugh herself.
Charlie looked back at Hannah confused. She could clearly see that Hannah was playing. What else could be happening? She looked closely at Hannah's movements and didn't see anything that would indicate that Hannah wasn't actually playing the music. Charlie looked back at Beth, still confused and not sure what she might be missing.
As Beth's laughter died down, she sighed. "Charlie, the music playing right now is the demo music every keyboard has, though not all have the same song," Beth explained.
Charlie looked back to Hannah. Maybe it was because she'd never seen Hannah do this before, but it certainly didn't look like Hannah wasn't playing the music. At least until Hannah took her hands away from the keyboard, laughing while looking at Charlie and the music kept playing.
"Sorry about that, Charlie," Hannah apologized. "I do this every so often, but I didn't expect that you'd believe that I was the one playing."
"H- how'd you know that's what I thought?" Charlie asked, her confusion short circuiting her thinking.
"It was the look in your eyes," Hannah said. "Then everyone else noticed too."
"Why'd you do that?" Charlie asked, not sure how offended she should be from being the target of the prank.
"Well, I do this from time to time," Hannah said. "Though, I don't think anyone's been so taken in by the demo music when I'm pretending to play it."
Charlie wasn't happy as she felt her face heating up from embarrassment. "So, will you be playing on your own or will you continue the demo music?" Charlie asked, not sure if she should be patient with the others or if she should look at taking a nap or something. Maybe if she did that, her magic might recover more quickly.
"Alright," Hannah replied amenably, turning off the demo music and beginning to play something completely different.
Charlie could immediately tell the difference. For one, the tempo was completely different. Looking back, Charlie thought she could tell a few places where Hannah's fingers hadn't been able to keep up with the music, but here she could tell that the notes weren't sounding without Hannah's fingers moving. It wasn't as polished as the demo music, but it wasn't as uniform either. This music had more of Hannah's personality.
When it was over, Charlie noticed the bicorn was listening from where he was across the stream as well. "It isn't exactly sunset, you know," Charlie called out to him.
–I heard music and couldn't help myself.– the bicorn said, sounding almost like he'd been caught with his hand (hoof?) in the cookie jar. –By the way, why don't you use your magic to communicate? I can tell you not only have a strong connection with your magic, you have a focus attuned to you, and you even have the scent of a unicorn stream on you. You have to have a reason.–
"Well, after talking with my friends last night in a dream conference, I kinda overdid it with that, and later when I used my magic to talk when I was awake, I fell unconscious. We then decided that it might not be good for me to use my magic for a while. Then after I drank from the stream Petals suggested I drink from, I coughed out a disgusting thing, that I assume had a connection with my magic," Charlie replied, part of her wondering just when she decided that she trusted this bicorn so thoroughly. "Petals said as much as well."
–Who is Petals?– the bicorn asked, turning his head slightly.
–Petals is the unicorn whose forest we traveled through to get here.– Tim answered.
–That's not a name I recognize.– the bicorn commented. Charlie couldn't help but wonder what he meant exactly that it wasn't a name he didn't recognize. Was there more about him than they'd realized?
–On that point, what's your name?– Beth asked, interrupting Charlie's thoughts.
–Arachii.– the bicorn simply stated. Charlie wasn't sure what to make of that name but wasn't going to argue. Too much of this day was already spinning her world around. It couldn't turn her world upside down, since that had already occurred over time with her getting friends, magic, and learning unicorns were real.
–Exactly what is a 'bicorn' and how is it connected to unicorns?– Wes asked, giving everyone else an exasperated expression. Charlie sheepishly remembered that this was a question that had been suggested to ask him when he'd returned, though it was clear Wes was the one who most was interested in that question.
–Bicorns are the other side of the coin as unicorns.– Arachii replied. –Bicorns are the only ones known that can create permanent gates or destroy them while unicorns are the only ones who can close or open the gates. All bicorns are male and all unicorns are female.–
–Wait, are you telling me that bicorns and unicorns are essentially the same species?– Hannah chortled, her amusement clear to Charlie, and likely to the others, Charlie mused.
–Yes, we essentially are the counterparts to each other in pretty much all facets of the term.– Arachii said.
"What are you wanting from Petals?" Charlie called out, suddenly wondering if Arachii might be interested in Petals as something other than a unicorn he wasn't used to being around.
–Well, first I was hoping that I'd be able to see what she knows of any of the other unicorns that fled to their forests at the end of the war.– Arachii said.
Charlie felt a tingle of fear sliding down her back suddenly. She thought that she might need to talk with this bicorn before he spoke to Petals. She might know more than Petals about what he spoke of. She worried that Petals might not do well if confronted with knowledge that the crystal had indicated to Charlie that should be kept from her for the time being.
"She doesn't," Charlie blurted. She felt her face redden as she felt everyone's gaze center on her.
"How do you know?" Hannah ventured.
Charlie sighed. While it would be easier to explain about the crystal right now, she didn't think this was the right time. She'd be better to talk with Arachii later about that. However, she'd still need to come up with something, so she went with something that Petals had told her when they'd first talked.
"Petals told me that she hadn't known anyone else existed before her forest was attacked and left where she found us. If she remembered this 'war,' wouldn't she then be aware that there were others than just her in existence?" Charlie hoped what she said made sense enough for the others to accept. She wasn't sure it made sense to her if she focused on what she'd said.
–If that's what she'd told you, then she probably wouldn't be one who might know where others are, but it is strange.– Arachii commented.
The conversation stopped abruptly as Petals came out of her forest. –Is this who you wanted me to meet, Beth?– Petals asked.
–Yeah, this is Arachii. We don't think he'd try to hurt you or your forest, but he was wanting to meet you. When we asked why he didn't just enter your forest to talk with you, he said that he wouldn't enter your forest without your permission and that he just wanted to meet you but wouldn't really say why.– Beth answered.
Petals turned her attention to Arachii. –What did you want me for?" Petals asked, then as soon as she'd asked that, she looked away. If Petals had a more human face, Charlie would've expected her to be blushing furiously, given the emotions she felt suddenly start to swirl in Petals' mind.