"Where are we?" I asked as Eamon knocked on the front door of a house I have never seen before. 

If one could even call it a house. It might as well be labeled a cottage, being that the house was small and made of wood, and it was buried deep within trees. We originally went to his house and talked with Sophie for around three minutes before she handed him a sketchy colored crystal to make the travel to where we currently stood. 

It calmed my nerves when the familiar face of my pyrokinetic mentor answered the door, but I still felt slightly nervous that I didn't know where I was and she answered the door before Eamon could answer my question. "Thank you for bringing her, Eamon. Tell your mother I said hi and that I'll bring her back to your house when the meeting is finished." 

"Okay, bye Aunt Marella." He turned to me and gave my hand a squeeze. "And don't get too nervous, they're not going to kill you," he told me before making the small trek to the random spot in the woods we leaped to. I assumed that's the way to get out as well. 

Marella laughed as she let me through the door and closed it behind us, thinking of what he told me. "Did you really think I invited you here to be murdered?" 

"It was a thought," I admitted, slightly ashamed. 

"Out of all of us, you're the least trained meaning the most likely to let loose and burn us all to the ground. Do you expect you'll do that?" I shook my head. "Then we're fine." 

"Why are we in a cottage in the middle of the woods?" I asked. "You guys know what our ability is, right?" I could feel the similar itching to set the fire ablaze. 

"It's almost symbolic, you could say. We're all sitting in the middle of what everyone expects us to go crazy for, yet we're being as calm as ever." The way she stared around the house affectionately got me thinking, especially as I stared at a picture frame on a wall. 

"Is this where you live?" I asked as she led me towards the loud voices coming from the opposite direction of the house. I was worried about meeting a room filled with people with the same ability as me, who majority had to be in hiding because almost every publicized pyrokinetic was famous simply because of the ability. 

She nodded. "It keeps me grounded in a way." With those words she gestured for me to walk inside her living room, which was filled of elves of all different genders, sizes, and ages that for some reason were all brought together because of one thing: fire. 

Everyone seemed pretty entertained in their own little social bubbles, but a few people turned to look as we entered through the doorway. "Is this our new recruitment?" One woman asked and I almost gasped when I realized it was Mavis Elmer, the first elf to manifest after the ability was made legal once again. I remember hearing that she got lots of hate and was made isolated by her peers, but here she seemed so carefree and was laughing with the man beside her. 

"Hi," I replied, shyly waving my hand. I internally beat myself up, and I was sure my face was beat red. 

"This is my prodigy Novena Madigan," Marella introduced me with a proud grin. "She's got big things in the works, I'm telling you. If only she wasn't so convinced she would die if she came out." 

I frown at that, but the man beside Mavis laughs. "Well, it certainly does feel that way at first. But after a while you realize you the true people you want around you are." The look he shares with Mavis is one I've only seen between those of couples that are almost too in love. 

"This is Grover Leanora," Marella gestured to the man in introduction. "He's not exactly in hiding but it's obvious you haven't heard of him so he's doing his best at avoiding." He doesn't get offended but laughs at her joke instead. 

"Marella here has been making it most difficult to avoid my responsibilities." He then looked to Mavis, who rolled her eyes. "My love here isn't too fond of the decision either." I almost cooed at the nickname he made for her, but she didn't melt the same way and instead simply stopped glaring at him. "When is this thing supposed to start? I'm starving Mare." 

"No nicknames," she immediately responded before answering the question. "We're waiting on Genesis."

"Genesis Takara?" I cut in, confused. 

"You know her?" Marella asked. 

"She goes to Foxfire. We're in the same year. She's a pyrokinetic?" I was shocked. 

"You'll soon learn that your reaction to the ability is a reaction shared by almost everyone in the room. Every single known pyrokinetic will be in this room. Or at least, known by us. You'll see that maybe a quarter are public with the ability." With that, Marella ushered me to a group of teenagers, some of which I even recognized. She left me there to return to some of the adults and my eye caught a specific teenager in the group that I knew very well. 

"Lyra?" My eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Only earlier we were sat at the same lunch table discussing her ability detecting class. 

She seemed just as shocked. "You manifested?" 

"I'm asking the same question," I replied. "When did you find out." 

She looked nervous. "I, uh... I manifested back during level two."

"When we were twelve?" I try and remember her during that time but we weren't really friends at that point. 

"Yeah. I only told my parents and they got in touch with Mavis Elmer. We kept as quiet as possible. She privately trains me after school hours so I can still attend ability detecting. I've grown accustomed to the ability, and I've been thinking about going public, but there's still that lingering thought..."

"That you'll be judged?" I prompted her and received a nod of confirmation. 

"Yeah, so I've still been trying to maybe unlock another ability hidden below." She sighed before repeating her earlier question for me, "When did you manifest?" 

"Remember when I hit heads with Eamon Foster?" She nodded her head. "Well, I didn't hit heads with Eamon Foster. I set fire in front of him. The council knows about my ability, but they've given me permission to stay on the low about it. They've secretly added ability training sessions to my schedule and Marella Redek has been mentoring me." 

"Marella herself?" Her eyes widened. "Marella is like the best pyrokinetic there is, but she's never mentored." 

"It might have to do with the fact that I've somehow gotten tangled with the Fosters." 

"You mean the secret looks between you and Eamon whenever you're in public?" I stare at her. "Don't think no one's noticed. It's obvious you guys have a thing."

"We don't have a thing," I deny. "It's just he was the only one who knew about my ability since he triggered it. I've been talking to him a lot since he's been the only person I could talk to." 

"Wow." Her eyes widen before she decides to introduce me to the rest of the teenage group beside her, as if I didn't know any of them before. A had seen a few of them around, but never known any of them had the ability. 

"Is this some weird secret society?" I asked, confused about everyone being in the room. "Am I going to have to be inducted into a cult?" 

Lyra laughed. "It's just a meeting to keep everyone cool. It helps us all to know there are others whose problems we can relate to. Besides, lots of good comes from them. Like Mavis and Grover are all lovey dovey and met at one of these things." She pointed to the couple in the corner laughing with Marella. 

"Has any good come to you?" I couldn't help but ask. 

She blushed slightly. "See the guy over there with the yellow tunic?" I looked over at a group that was older than us. I nodded. "We've been talking a lot, and I'm really hoping he's going to be on my scrolls." 

Age gaps weren't a big deal in the Elvin world, but it still felt odd to me that this man was talking with her. Usually age gaps were embraced after someone was on a scroll, not before. "He's also hiding his ability?" I questioned. 

"Almost everyone here is. If someone has gone public, you'll know. It's why most of us choose to stay quiet. We don't want that sort of attention. Though a lot have gone to the council and admitted about their ability that way they could still move to the Elite Towers and work to become a part of the nobility. That's someone like Grover. It's how he and Mavis ended up on each others scrolls." 

"Are they like a token couple or something?" I almost laughed as she huffed. 

"They're kind of annoying with how mushy they are. It's cute at first but after going to these meetings for years it gets a little annoying."

Years. That's strange to think that a lot of these people have been hiding for years, and I've been complaining after hiding for barely a few weeks from my friends and family. 

"How come the council didn't mention this when I told them about my ability?" I asked, confused. 

"When they say they'll hide it, they'll hide it. Marella says we're really lucky that most of the council from when she was a kid has retired and switched out with younger Elves. It's a lot more liberal to the types of problems we are having now. She thinks it's why there hasn't been an uprising since the Neverseen."

I opened my mouth to reply when Genesis finally entered the door. "Gen!" Lyra yelled beside me and she immediately came over to give Lyra a hug, and I continued to stay shocked. Genesis was very popular, in a way the Foster clan never was. She never talked to us before. 

Well, I guess she talked to Lyra. 

"Nova, you're the new manifest?" Genesis looked at me and grinned, and I was still confused. She knew my name?" 

"Uh... Yeah." I remember earlier that day I watched Genesis's best friend push a girl into a locker making her drop all her books. I've seen Genesis herself do even worse. To Lyra, specifically. 

The two are friends?

"We put up a front at school. People would question how we became friends otherwise, and neither of us wants people to know about our abilities," Lyra explained to me. 

"In reality, we're actually really good friends," Genesis added. "She's mentioned you to me a lot, you seem really great." 

I blinked as if it would clear the picture, but everything in front of me stayed the same. Genesis Takara was being nice to me. 

Huh. 

"Oh, well thanks. I guess." I replied when I finally came to the conclusion that the weird vortex I've entered is real. My mind was traveling back to my previous question about it being a secret society, and I really for a moment considered it might be. 

"Now that everyone is here, let's get started," Marella stated loud enough to get everyone's attention. "We have a new member. Everyone, give a warm welcoming to Novena Madigan. She is level five at Foxfire and only recently manifested, and I've taken over as her mentor in ability training." 

Everyone looked at me in surprise at the last sentence, and I realized how much of a celebrity Marella Redek really is. A few people clapped, there was an echo of hellos, and Gen and Lyra both grinned beside me. 

"Moving on," she changed the subject, "does anyone have any updates they want to share?" 

"I told my parents about my ability," one girl same, smiling slightly. A few people congratulated her and the boy beside her patted her back in encouragement. "They were really positive about it, and they even took me out to dinner to celebrate my manifesting even though it's been five years since I technically manifested." 

My eyes widened. Five years before telling her parents? While right now I have the intention to never tell my parents, knowing myself I'll probably tell them before I am supposed to enter the elite levels. That isn't for another year and a half, though. 

"That's great," Marella responded with a grin. "Have you received any negative feedback since your decision?" 

She shook her head. "So far it's been going fine. My parents spilled the beans to a few of their colleagues and none of them have responded in outcry." 

Mavis was the next to chime in. "I for one think it's amazing that it's starting to be more and more accepted." A few people gave agreeing hums. "If I had said I was a pyrokinetic to my parents back when I was your age, I imagine my parents would have kicked me out."

I was confused before remembering that Mavis Elmer manifested when she was well into her adult years. I imagine she had to be halfway to a century old. Her ears were smooth as ever and her body the same as it had been in her youth, but there was a certain quality you could feel when around elders and I could feel it around her. She definitely wasn't our age. I could also feel it with Grover, who had his arm wrapped around her shoulder. They seemed like two separate beings who shouldn't get along but do. 

"Is there any other news?" Marella questioned. 

"My sister got the truth out of me," the man in the yellow tunic that Lyra told me she had a crush on spoke up. 

"What do you mean by that, Neo?" 

"I was using my imparter to talk with a friend," his eyes shifted to Lyra for a moment, "when she overheard me mention the ability. She started to investigate and then asked me a bunch of questions until I finally admitted it to her."

"What was her reaction?" I found myself asking. I almost immediately covered my mouth but he didn't seem angry at my word vomit. 

He sat back in his chair. "She was angry. Really angry?"

"Do you understand why she was angry?" Marella asked, and I almost wondered if she was a therapist for her daytime job. 

"She wasn't angry about the ability. But she was angry I kept it from her. She felt really betrayed. She hasn't talked to me since she found out. I'm worried that the secret has destroyed the relationship I had with her. We used to be really close and I told her everything. Everything except this. What made her even more angry was that I told other people before her. Even though it was only you guys, she didn't understand why I'd trust you before her."

"My brother found out and told my parents. I've been living with Kaia ever since," one of the teenagers sitting around me admitted and I turned to see Sailor Finley. She was probably talking about Kaia Thomasin, her best friend. "I didn't want to tell you guys, I don't want you guys to feel bad or to think that maybe if you tell your family it'll be the same as me telling mine. But gee, it really has been hard."

"But have you found yourself growing closer to certain people who understand and accept you?" Marella questioned. 

Sailor's eyes teared up, but she still nodded. "I've found myself relying on my friends more than ever. If you guys are worried about who to tell first, I recommend telling trustworthy friends. They'll be there to help if you have parents and family that are stuck on the thought that pyrokinetics are murderers." 

I was close enough so that I could reach my arm out and embrace her, and I decided to do just that. She fell into the hug and then pulled away where she then wiped her tears. 

After her confession more people started relay stories, some that others already knew and some that no one knew at all. It was interesting to hear all different sides of the idea of telling people you have an ability that was once illegal because it led to multiple deaths. Some people grew closer to their family while others were forced to find a new family support system. 

When the meeting ended Marella collected me and brought me back to the Foster-Sencen household, where Sophie and Eamon were waiting in anticipation to see if I enjoyed it. "What did you think?" Sophie asked me after saying goodbye to Marella. 

"It was really interesting. I found out a few people from school have manifested, actually, which is weird to think about." 

"Really?" Eamon's eyes widened. "Who?"

"Sorry, it's a rule that we stay very quiet about who goes to the meetings. A lot of them like to stay really under the map. Some of the kids who came have pretended to manifest in different abilities with the help of the council and some still attend ability detecting sessions," I explained. "I do need to go home now, though, before my mom thinks you guys kidnapped me."

"Do you think I should take you home in case?" Sophie questioned. "So I can apologize."

"Actually I think I can just lightleap by myself. Thank you for taking me though, really," I direct the last part to Eamon, who smiles as a reply. 

"Anytime," he responds before leading me towards the leapmaster. "We still on for our nightly talk?" 

"Wouldn't miss it," I tell him before leaping away. 

---

so... I GOT INTO COLLEGE 

i applied the 21st and got my acceptance letter the 26th. eeep. 

i got accepted into my top choice college so that means i'm flying across the country and i get to go to school with my sister and all my best friends. also this chapter is late but after applying i wanted to wait until i was sure i got into school and then when i was sure i got in it took me forever to write the chapter. this chapter is close to 3000 words tho aka really long so i hope that makes up for it. 

chapter question: can you guess what state my college is in? hints: i live in virginia and the college is on the other side of america