through the veins of the person who drinks it." She dunked careful fingers into the chalice of rainwater and sprinkled droplets onto the bottle as she finally said, "Element of water: fill this wine with your power of strong emotion, changeability, and possibility." As Verona began to unwrap the container of tiny cakes, a crackle zinged through the air that she felt at the back of her throat. Verona's head whipped around, looking for the source of the spike of magical energy. The forest sounds were uncharacteristically quiet and still all of a sudden. Some of the bushes that surrounded the small clearing in the forest began to rustle. She remembered the exact sensation had occured to her before {ex.}. When conflicting magical energies are being evoked, both practitioners will feel the opposing forces snap, severing the flow of energy. This happens more often than you might think. Magical workings must be done during a specific cycle of the moon or one of the seven sacred Sabbats during the year. It was a full moon, the most potent state of the moon. Verona's eyes narrowed. Someone else was was here and they were working a powerful spell or ritual. Verona grabbed for a rock to defend herself with and held her breath.
"Evening, ma'am," said the man who emerged from the bushes. He was wearing a police officer uniform complete with motorcycle boots and helmut and he had a very smooth midwestern accent. Verona wasn't sure how to react. She tried to listen for the cackles of laughter she had heard wafting on the winds earlier. There was no unusual sounds, no unusual energy.
"Everything okay over here?" the officer said, his eyebrows knitting together in concern. Verona put the rock down.
"Yes, officer. Everything is fine. Just taking a minute to eat in the middle of my hike." They both looked down at her simple alter with white candles, one red one, a chalice, incense, a bowl of stones, and of course the cakes and wine s.
"I saw your..." he gestured to the candles "... light and wanted to make sure you weren't lost." The officer's eyebrow did something funny as he allowed the situation to sink in. It looked like he had finally put the pieces together when he said, "You know this trail closes at sundown." It wasn't a question. "Yes, officer, I must have miscalculated the length of the hike." Verona said this with a straight face. It was well after midnight. The offficer appeared exhausted. "Some teenagers went missing in this area under suspicous circumstances." Verona did not look concerned. "Runaways probably. They'll be back when they discover how miserable it is to have to work for a living."