Jayce rarely ever spoke in most situations, letting Erica normally do the talking for him. But the moment Lukas announced what our plan for today was (help me find my magic), his eyes lit up.

"So the feeling of magic differs for each person," he started.

We all sat on the ground, legs crossed. Ben lounged in a chair by the fire, reading a book and staying out. He felt a little helpless and I could see he was worried about me, but he knew he had to relinquish the help to the magic folk this time around.

"You might feel it as a spark in your head or your chest," Jayce continued. "It might appear as a tingle through the centre of your limbs. It could be a silky feeling running over all your skin. You need to tap into what that feeling is before we can think about channeling it and using it."

"Okay. So what's the first step?"

"Close your eyes."

And I did.

"Everyone hold hands."

I reached for Erica's hand and then Lukas's. But the moment my fingers graced Lukas's skin, he yelped.

"That hurts way more now, zappy!" he complained.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

He shook his head. "I won't be able to concentrate like this." And so Jayce and Lukas traded places so that we could all hold hands.

"Have you ever meditated, Ollie?" Jayce asked.

"Maybe once."

"What we are about to do is a little like that. First start by focussing on your breath. Notice the rise and fall. The speed. The way your chest moves up and your belly expands. Don't think about any worries you have, focussing your thoughts just on the movement of your breath. Imagine your lungs as a balloon, blowing up with each breath in, and deflating with each breath out."

I don't know how long we did that for, but it felt like forever. Nonetheless, a sense of calm washed over me as I focussed on only my breathing. In. Out. Inhale. Exhale.

After some time had passed in silence, Jayce spoke again. "Now, I want you to think about an imaginary ball of light hovering over your head. Picture that light entering into your body, spreading down the back of your neck, slowly spreading down your arms, past your elbows, through your hands, before circling back up the length of your arms to your shoulders. Now imagine the light channeling through the centre of your body, through your heart. Let the light travel through your legs, feeling it as it moves through the bends of your crossed legs and release it out your toes."

It was easy to imagine this ball of light as Jayce spoke.

"Now we will do that same thing again, without me talking. As you do it, I want you to do it really slowly and pay very close attention to how it feels. Where does it feel the strongest? Take that light all over your body."

He went quiet and I started feeling that ball of light, moving it through my body. I imagined my arms lit from within, my back glowing, my heart radiating. Every part of me lit up as I moved that ball of light.

When I let it exit, I whispered, "It was everywhere."

Jayce let go of my hand and commanded everyone to do the same. I opened my eyes and looked at him. "Now that you know it's everywhere, I want you to imagine that light again. Rather than slowly letting it travel, bring it to your heart and let it spread everywhere at once."

I closed my eyes and did as he said. My body felt alight, a buzz making my skin tingle all over.

"Do you feel it?"

I nodded.

"Now pull that all into your centre."

I did as he said, imaging the ball of light in my chest. My arms felt empty suddenly, with this ball glowing even brighter than before.

"Okay. Now what?" I whispered, trying to not break my concentration.

"Move that ball through your centre to your back and try to feel it released into your wings."

Up until now I could feel the muscles that attached my heavy wings to my body, but I had no sensation of them. I imagined the light travelling through me to my shoulders and into those muscles.

Then all of a sudden I felt them glow through my wings. I could feel my wings and the way the draft in the room made them move ever so slightly.

My eyes flew open in shock, but then I was more taken aback. My wings were literally glowing now, emitting a green light around the room. My concentration broke and the glow disappeared. "What on earth..."

Ben was no longer reading. He was staring at me, somewhat impressed and in awe once again. That fluttering feeling returned to my stomach (not from my stupid wiggling wings thankfully) as I began to hope once more that seeing me like this was a turning point in our relationship.

I looked back to Jayce. "Sorry. I was a little... surprised by the sensation."

"You're doing amazingly. We took forever to get that kind of attention when starting off. To be fair, getting kids to concentrate is quite a task. Now, when you do that again and you feel the glow in your wings, keep your eyes closed and imagine folding the wings inwards, into your back, and pull those muscles that connect to them inwards with as much force as you can."

I nodded, closing my eyes and starting to channel that light again.

I was no prodigy. It took several failed attempts and was very tiring. I would feel my wings glow and would pull, but often accidentally pulled that light back in. The process of moving the magic between my body in the wings was draining.

Hours passed without me noticing, so we took a break for lunch before coming back to it. By late afternoon though, I finally did it.

I got slower, more careful with the way I moved my magic through me. It flowed more seamlessly and carefully through my wings. I slowly flexed each scale on my wings, letting the magic caress them. Rather than trying to fold them through force, I let the magic dance them in.

My wings gave a gentle flutter before they began to roll up, coiling into my back.

And then they were finally gone.

"I did it!" I exclaimed, beaming at everyone.

"Top work, Ollie!" Lukas held his hand up for a high five. Forgetting momentarily, I slapped my hand to his and he screamed in pain. I mumbled an apology and looked down.

"How do you feel?" Erica asked.

"Relieved. I don't want them out ever again if I can avoid it."

Ben laughed from the chair, getting up momentarily before joining us on the floor, sitting next to me. He bumped my knee with his. "I remember Ivan telling us about the first time he turned into a bat."

Lukas laughed. "I remember watching it."

I raised my eyebrows, curious to hear the story.

Lukas continued. "He was so scared and couldn't figure out how to turn back into a human for weeks. So he just floated around as a bat. By the time he figured out how to turn back, he swore he would never do it again. However..."

"What?"

Lukas shook his head, clearly lost in the memory. "Before he could control it, switching into his bat form became his defence mechanism."

"You mean..."

Lukas nodded. "With the slightest startle, he would just pop into a bat."

"No..."

"Eventually it got easier for him to switch back and forth, and then finally he stopped switching whenever he got spooked. But I did have fun setting up many pranks..."

"You're evil."

"That he is," Ben muttered.

"So my wings could just pop back out?" I asked.

"They might," Erica said. "If your itch for flight doesn't come out first."

My eyes widened. "What?"

"You are a winged creature. I imagine you will get a lot of thrill over going for a fly."

I shook my head. "No. I hate heights."

"We'll see how long that holds up..."

Ben leaned back into the couch to support himself, but suddenly he gasped, catching my attention. I looked at him then realised he was staring at my back.

"What?" I asked frantically.

He grinned. "How do you feel about ink?"

"What do you mean, ink?"

Erica leaned around and looked at my back, her eyes going wide. "That is so cool."

"What?" I got to my feet and ran to the full-length mirror in the hallway. Angling my back, I craned my neck to get a better look. "No!" I groaned. "Why?"

"Oh that's an awesome tattoo," Lukas commented. "I'm jealous."

"Then you have it!" I snapped at him. It wasn't deserved, but I was sick of all the changes to my body. It felt like puberty all over again, but worse.

I pulled at my shirt, nudging the opening in the back of the shirt to see how far the tattoo extended. The tattoo was certainly smaller than my actual wings, but now inked in black and extending across the length of my shoulders, covering my shoulder blades, and running down the small of my back were two black fairy-shaped wings. I sighed. I was so done with this magic crap.

"If my mum ever sees this, she's going to kill me," I mumbled.