The lesson with Twilight-Stars-Dancing proved to be both fascinating and challenging. Light-weaving, as she called it, was the art of manipulating the various forms of light that permeated the Summer Court - from the bright golden rays of eternal summer to the subtle glow of twilight and the faint shimmer of starshine.
"Everything in our realm is composed of light in some form," Twilight-Stars-Dancing explained as she demonstrated, drawing strands of sunlight from the air and weaving them into complex patterns. "Even shadow is simply light in its most subtle form. The trick is learning to see the threads that connect all things."
Ali watched in fascination as the fae instructor created a butterfly from woven light, its wings shimmering with all the colors of sunset. Around her, the other tributes - five in total, including Sage - showed varying degrees of comprehension and ability as they attempted to mimic the demonstration.
"Hold out your hand," Twilight-Stars-Dancing instructed them. "Feel the light that surrounds you. Don't try to grasp it yet - simply become aware of its presence, its texture, its... song."
The mention of song made Ali think of her earlier lesson with Melody-In-Moonlight. She closed her eyes, trying to apply the same principles - feeling rather than forcing, letting her awareness expand beyond normal perception. To her surprise, she could sense something: a gentle vibration in the air around her hand, like sunbeams humming their own quiet melody.
"Very good, Dawn," Twilight-Stars-Dancing said softly. "You're starting to feel it. Now, keeping that awareness, open your eyes and try to see the threads of light that create that sensation."
Ali opened her eyes slowly, maintaining her focus on the humming sensation. For a moment, everything looked normal, then... there. Barely visible, like gossamer strands of golden silk, she could see the actual threads of light flowing through the air.
"I see them," she breathed, then quickly added, "I think," not wanting to seem too confident.
"Show me," the instructor said, moving closer. Her star-filled hair shifted with each movement, creating patterns that reminded Ali strongly of Nightshade-Among-Stars.
Carefully, trying not to lose her tenuous grasp on this new perception, Ali traced the path of one particularly bright thread with her finger. She didn't try to touch it yet, just followed its flowing movement through the air.
"Excellent," Twilight-Stars-Dancing praised. "You have a natural eye for the patterns. Now, very gently, try to gather one of the threads. Don't grasp - imagine you're gathering morning dew or catching a soap bubble. Too much force will cause the light to scatter."
Ali focused on a single thread of light, one that seemed to be dancing slightly apart from the others. Moving slowly, she cupped her hand beneath it, imagining she was trying to catch a falling snowflake. To her amazement, the thread of light actually responded, drifting down to pool in her palm like liquid sunshine.
"Well done!" Twilight-Stars-Dancing exclaimed. "Most tributes take days to achieve their first gathering. Now, let's see if you can begin to shape it."
For the next hour, they practiced gathering and shaping threads of light. Ali found that while gathering came relatively easily to her, shaping was much more difficult. The light wanted to flow according to its own nature, and trying to force it into specific forms was like trying to sculpt water. By the end of the lesson, she had managed to create something that might have been a flower or might have been a very abstract star - she wasn't quite sure which.
Sage, she noticed, seemed to have a particular talent for working with the twilight threads - the more subtle forms of light that existed in the boundary between day and night. Her creations had a misty, ethereal quality that even Twilight-Stars-Dancing commented on approvingly.
"You both show promise," the instructor said as the lesson drew to a close. "Different aptitudes, but complementary ones. Dawn, you have a gift for seeing and gathering the threads. Sage, you have an instinct for the more subtle forms of weaving. Together..." she paused, something flickering in her dawn-light eyes. "Well, partnerships often produce interesting results in our court."
As they prepared to leave, Ali found herself studying Twilight-Stars-Dancing more closely, trying to puzzle out her apparent connection to Nightshade-Among-Stars. The similar features, the star-filled hair, the way they both moved with that particular fluid grace... But before she could find a diplomatic way to ask about it, Maple-Songs-At-Dusk appeared at the chamber entrance.
"Time for the midday feast," they announced. "And after, there will be more introductions to make. The afternoon brings... different kinds of lessons."
Something in their tone made Ali think these "different kinds of lessons" might be more challenging than the morning's relatively straightforward instruction in music and light-weaving. She exchanged a glance with Sage, who seemed to have picked up on the same undercurrent.
As they followed their guide back through the ever-shifting corridors, Ali found herself unconsciously tracking the threads of light that now seemed obvious to her newly awakened perception. They flowed through the air like rivers of sunshine, forming patterns that she suspected might have meaning if she only knew how to read them properly.
"It changes you, doesn't it?" Sage said softly as they walked. "Being here, learning these things. I feel like I'm seeing the world differently already, and it's only been one morning."
Ali nodded, touching her mother's bracelet. "I wonder if this is how she felt," she mused. "My mother, I mean. During her first summer here."
"The first summer is always the most... transformative," Maple-Songs-At-Dusk commented from ahead of them. "Everything is new, every lesson a revelation. But remember - transformation can be dangerous if not properly guided. That's why we have these structures, these careful introductions. To help you change safely."
There was something in their voice - a warning? A prediction? - that made Ali think again of her mother's careful preparations, her cryptic warnings, her insistence that some things couldn't be explained but had to be discovered naturally.
The corridors around them shifted, the light threads weaving more complex patterns as they approached what Ali assumed must be the feasting hall. She could hear music drifting through the air - not the formal compositions of the previous night's celebration, but something lighter, more suited to a midday meal.
Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that the morning's relatively simple lessons were just preparation for something more challenging. In the Summer Court, she was learning, nothing was ever quite what it seemed on the surface - even something as straightforward as learning to read light or weave sunshine could have deeper implications she had yet to understand.
"Remember," Maple-Songs-At-Dusk said as they reached the feasting hall doors, "observe everything, question carefully, and above all, mind your courtesies. The midday feast often brings new... introductions."
With that cryptic comment, they gestured for Ali and Sage to enter the hall, where new wonders - and quite possibly new challenges - awaited them.