"They can hear you, but better when you manifest them, and you can connect directly to them when you meditate. Windy and Libra don't talk, though."

"Oh. Okay. Um. Hi, Windy and Libra - nice to meet you, um, let me know if you want anything?" Pause. She looks at Windy. "I'm sorry about the snark about your name, earlier, I didn't realize, um." Awkward face. "How do I meditate, exactly? It's weird to talk without knowing how they react..."

"Sit cross-legged, put your staff on your lap, and one card to either side, then focus on your breathing and your magic."

"All right." She scoots to an empty part of the room (luckily Blair's room is rather sparse and very tidy) to sit with the staff and cards.

She - doesn't really know how to focus on her magic, but she can focus on her breathing. Breathe in, breathe out, consider the implications of all of the things she said while hysterical in front of her new always aware card buddies, breathe in, try to draft some kind of apology that is sincere without sounding like it's bullshit, breathe out -

"...you're not doing it right."

Yvette huffs, annoyed.

"I don't know how to focus on my magic, I was focusing on breathing, what am I doing wrong, what do I need to do specifically...?"

"Clear your mind of all thoughts, relax, focus only on your body and your breathing and the feeling of the magic on the staff and the cards."

(There is no such feeling that she can detect. Yet, anyway.)

"You want me to clear my mind. Of all thoughts," says Yvette, blankly. "Except for breathing and a feeling I have never experienced before in my life."

Blair rubs the bridge of his nose, retrieves his phone, and starts texting their parents. They will get the full explanation when they get home, but right now, they need a heads up.

"You will know it when you feel it. You could try manifesting one of your cards to see what it feels like."

"... Okay, how do I do that, then?"

"Throw the card in front of you, say its name, and tap it with the tip of your staff."

She nods, and she - tries to decide which card she'll manifest.

She fidgets absently with a bit of her hair, then picks up Libra, gently tosses it front of her, and says, clearly and firmly, "Libra."

The card twirls and spins in the air a few times before floating in front of her, facing her.

... Okay. Magic is real. Roll with it.

She rolls with it, and pokes the card with her staff. Boop.

When she does, it feels firm in the air, as if it were resting against an invisible surface. The card starts glowing, and tendrils of magic start leaving it and coalescing into something resembling the image on the face of the card, floating mid-air.

And there is a certain... feeling. Though she can't really tell much more than that—physical, mental, emotional, where it is or what it's like. It's just... very definitely a feeling.

Remembering this feeling isn't going to be a problem, it is very itself, whatever it is. ... She does like it, though. Magic is nice.

"... Hi," she says, to Libra. "I understand you don't talk, but would you like me to try to learn some kind of sign language so you can communicate if I have trouble with meditating?"

...it is a floating object. Communicating is definitely not its forté.

"Libra can tell when someone's lying," the bear who has not introduced himself yet explains.

"That's useful, um. How - is there a way you can indicate how you would prefer I speak to you, Libra? I'll try not to lie to you, but I've never done this before, so I don't know how to treat you at all."

"It won't tell you anything in this form. Also: my name is Robert."

Libra moves its parts, lowering the moon and raising the sun, then doing the opposite.

"It's not. It's Cerberus."

It stops moving.

"... Okay. Um. How do I put Libra away, the power's really cool but I don't know if they want me to just baldly state things to prove I'm not lying to them or not. Sorry Libra, you are very cool, I will geek out about this later, I want to make sure you're being treated right first."

She is not lying!

Libra does not react.

"You just need to will it to return to its card form."

Nod. She attempts to will Libra to return to card form.

(Do not think the words 'Pikachu, return!' right now, that is not helpful.)

And it does, floating back to her hand.