Sorry for the wait! Happy new year everyone! :)

The Power

Len's POV:

That has got to be the weirdest girl I've ever met! One minute, she's yelling at me and throwing crap at me, then the next, she's thanking me? I jumped down through the trees and crouched down as my feet hit the soft dirt beneath them. Geez, is she on her period or something?

I flipped my hood up, shoved my hands in my pocket and began walking back to my house, hoping that no one knew I had left last night. The last thing I needed was for my family to freak out, call the academy and have them wring me out for going MIA. Though lets face facts, as far as they knew I still couldn't transform, so I was still useless in their eyes. They may not even care if I decided to take off, and if I did, I'd just be proving what they thought all along, that I'm weak.

I stopped and turned back to the large victorian house looming behind me. Something was very different about that girl; she was a seer but she didn't know, she looked terrified, and yet I could still see something that wasn't fear in her eyes. When she started chewing me out about the pact, I could sense something. As her blue eyes locked on mine, I could see a strength of will that didn't seem to suit her frail appearance. That one look though was all I needed.

She's a fighter, I thought, starting on my way again. She may be afraid, but she can't hide that determination in her eyes...or in her blood. Maybe...we both have more in common than just our looks.

Rin's POV:

I flopped backwards onto my bed with first aid kit in hand. I was a demon hunter. How could something like that be? I had never fought anything, much less hunted anything, in my life! Though I guess that explained what those black shapes were that attacked me last night.

But still, Len said that Seer's were born knowing what they are. I had no clue about it until now and last night was the first time I had ever seen a demon. It made no sense.

Plus, what the hell was that voice anyways, and all of that 'sixteenth moon' crap? Did that have something to do with how I could see monsters now? The voice told me that it was time for me to wake up. Was that what it meant? That I would wake up to the existence of demons?

Well whatever it meant, I was scared as hell of it. I mean, me? Fighting demons? I honestly couldn't see it happening, but the way Len made it sound made it seem like demon hunters are necessary for normal human survival.

They protect us, huh? I looked up at my white ceiling, completely lost in my thoughts. And I'm...one of them?

God, this sucked! Why couldn't I be normal? You know, have friends, complain about school, go to movies; just a normal teenage life. But I'm stuck being the shy, weird girl with no friends and apparent, unwanted superpowers. As if this couldn't get anymore complicated for me.

I slightly turned my head, wiping a loose strand of hair from my face as I looked across the room. The pictures on my desk were still flipped over and I'm glad because I didn't want my parents to see me like this. But if being a seer ran in my blood, then were they...? No! I can't think about that! I can't believe that the parents that played hide and seek with me, cheered at my dance recitals and sung songs to put me to sleep at night, were fighting demons without me ever knowing. My mom was even afraid of blood and my dad had never killed a fly in his life.

"What do I do guys?" I asked the flipped picture frames, knowing I wouldn't get an answer. "Even...if it's true, even if I'm a Seer, what am I supposed to do?" Len probably expected me to fight with him, I mean, that's what the pact meant after all right? And part of me even thought that was the right thing to do. But...I can't just say 'okay' and jump in blindly. Plus, I don't even know how to use my supposed powers.

Okay then, I thought, sitting up and starting to dab at my wounds with the disinfectant. maybe I should see if I can get my powers to work. Len said I should have some kind of elemental ability along with my heightened senses so maybe...

I closed the first aid kit and walked into the bathroom attached to my room. The main four elements are water, fire, earth and air, so I wondered if I could manipulate one of them. Hey it was worth a shot, what did I have to lose?

I was about to turn the faucet on when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror above the sink. God, I looked terrible. My hair was tied in knots so big, I didn't even want to try brushing them out, the scratches on my cheek and arm were an angry red as they still pulsed with a dull pain, and I even had a black eye forming. It was a good thing that Lily only seemed to notice the obvious scratches this morning, but there was no way I could hide these wounds forever. Aw man, I sighed to myself. I am so freaking screwed...in more ways than one.

As I turned on the faucet, I told myself to focus only on the crystal clear water coming out. If I could concentrate hard enough, maybe I could do it. I've never done anything like it before but I had to at least try.

I stared intently at the running water until my eyes began to hurt. I even tried not to blink, for fear that I would miss something if I did. But nothing happened; not even so much as a slight change in movement. Move...come on...move... Nothing.

Sighing, I turned the water off and sat down on the floor. One down, three to go...

Len's POV:

"I think you're making a habit of this, Len-Len~" Oliver laughed uncontrollably as he sat on the floor of my room a couple hours after I got back, gripping his sides and rocking back and forth. "You just can't stay away from her can you!"

"Shut up!" I yelled throwing a pillow at him from where I sat on my bed. "It was nothing like that! I was just curious because I had almost transformed and the moon looked different then usual...and would you please stop calling me that!"

"Right Len." He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked at me. "Let's go with that."

"Whatever," I growled.

Completely ignoring my annoyance, he then started jumping up and down like the energizer bunny on crack. "But I can't believe it! You can actually transform now!" Excitement gleamed in his one good eye as he quickly chatted away. "To be completely honest, I thought it was never going to happen. I mean after all, you're a sixteen year-old guy but you're as short as a girl and as frail looking as one to-"

I glared daggers at him, feeling the heat of my own flames begin to ignite on my arms and in my hair. I swear, only Oliver could take one of the greatest things that has happened to me and find some way to mock me for it. Open your mouth again, go on I dare you.

He laughed and held up his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay I'm done," he smiled, though that mischievous gleam in his eye told me he as far from it.

I sighed and turned my gaze to the bright blue sky outside my window. Everything I looked at was different than how I usually saw it, and it was absolutely amazing! Things looked clearer, more crisp, and I could see further too, like, see a ladybug on a leaf over fifty feet away, further. I couldn't believe how different it was! I really could get used to this.

Maybe now, I could finally be accepted by the students as more than the un-awakened Half-Blood, Rinto and Lenka's black sheep little brother, or the weakest one in the school. I could finally be as strong as any of them, we were on equal ground now.

Though at the same time, as much as I hated to admit it, Monkey boy did have a point. Why now of all times? Was it that moon last night? Or was it the girl? Any possible answers to those questions would probably make no sense whatsoever. Both Seers and Half-Bloods came into their powers before they even considered finding someone to pact with, but here I am, with my fully awakened power only after I pacted with a Seer apparently going through an identity crisis.

As if reading my mind, Oliver leaned back against the side of my bed and asked. "So what're you going to do about your partner?" He turned his head to look at me. "Are you gunna try to get her to fight with you? I mean she knows what she can do now and everything so-"

My face immediately fell and my heart nearly stopped. ...Oh. Freaking. No...

Oliver stopped when he saw the look on my face and raised an eyebrow. "Um, you did tell her everything, right Len?"

My eyes widened and I clenched my jaw, trying not to meet his eyes. "Yeah I, uh, told her most if it."

I could hear in his voice that his eyes widened back. "What do you mean 'most of it'? What didn't you tell her?"

"Well, uh, I didn't tell her about the academy for one..."

He shrugged. "I would've held out on that one too. You don't want to scare her away after all."

"Yeah... but I also didn't tell her what her elemental power is..."

Oliver's jaw dropped, and for a second I thought he was going to smack me. It wasn't considered safe to leave a Seer to their own devices if they aren't aware of what their power is. Mostly because they could accidentally lose control if they don't know what exactly to control.

"Look," I sighed, trying to get my side of the story in before he went off. "before you say anything, let me just say that I didn't forget to tell her or anything...Well, initially." I dared a look and he had his arms crossed, gesturing for me to continue with a nod. "Last night, she completely lost it when she saw my fire. Granted, I might've overdone it, but that's beside the point. As soon as she saw it she feinted, so I thought it would just stress her out if I told her. ...you know?"

Oliver silently blinked a few times as he stared at me, the anger in his eyes then replacing itself with an amused gleam. Damn, I probably should've let him hit me...

"Oh~," he sang, smirking and narrowing his eye at me. "I see now, so you do care about her after all."

Heat crept up to my face, and it wasn't my fire this time. "I-I never said that, stupid!" I stuttered. Why the hell was I stuttering? I was only making sure she didn't flip on me. That. Was. All! "I could care less about that moody girl!"

"Mmm hmm, sure Len say whatever you want, but I can see right through you~. You're an open book."

"What book Oliver? Cause' there's nothing to read!"

"Yeah, yeah. Just keep your yapping, and I'll ignore every bit of it cause' it's a load of crap." He hopped up on my bed, slid open the window next to me and grinned, "Now come on, we need to save your girlfriend from herself," as he leapt out about three stories from the ground.

"Wha-?" I gasped, flinging myself to the ledge and glaring at my so-called best friend, smirking and waving at me from the ground. "Oliver!"

"Aw, what's the matter, kitty cat?" he grinned from ear to ear. "Too scared to jump? I hear cats always land on their feet, but in your case, I'd be scared too. You'd better hurry though," he mockingly bowed down like he was addressing nobility, "your princess awaits."

"That's it!" I growled, jumping through the window and landing on my feet five seconds later. "You're dead monkey!"

Oliver took off and I sprinted after him. I knew he was leading me in the direction of her house, but it wouldn't mean anything if I just made sure she didn't lose control while I ripped Oliver apart, right?

Rin's POV:

"Rin, have you seen my flower pot anywhere?" Lily yelled up the stairs, making me nearly jump out of my skin. "I was going to plant something; there was dirt in it and everything."

"Um, nope," I called back, quickly stashing the mentioned black bucket underneath my bed. "Haven't seen it."

I heard some rustling on the other side of my door and a mumbled, "Ugh, just when I found some beautiful flowers to plant." But then her loud, stomping footsteps sounded down the stairs and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in.

Sorry Lily, I thought, dragging the heavy pot out again. I'll put it back when I'm done.

I plopped the pot and myself down in the middle of the floor, and at first all I could do was stare at the bucket of dirt with great intensity. My options were officially down to two; water was ruled out from the beginning, and after sitting on my bed for two hours trying to get the air to shift, that was crossed off the list too. Now I knew that my power had to be over either earth or... fire. It couldn't be fire. It. Could. Not!

Shaking, I slowly brought the palm of my hand to the cool soil. I tried to remember how Al had done it last night, even though I was to scared at the time to pay much attention. My fingers dug into the moist dirt and I began to chant to myself, Create something. I need to create something. Please.

I thought about how Al dug his hand into solid earth and pulled out a mace made of the soil itself. I could do it too. I knew it. I had to. Picturing a random type of weapon in my head, I closed my eyes and began focusing as hard as I could, willing the soft particles between my fingers to come together into something whole.

My surroundings seemed to drop away as I concentrated. It was only me and the soil; that's all that mattered right then. A sudden warmth ignited in my chest, and it started out feeling almost like a warm hug until it began to radiate out into the rest of my body. The heat intensified and it was almost like I had molten lava coursing through my veins. Wha-? W-what is this?

The heat shot up my arm to the very tips of my fingers, so quickly that I almost let out a scream in surprise even though it didn't hurt at all. In that instant, all of my senses seemed to snap awake, yet I was still encased in the focused darkness of my mind. I could feel barely noticeable whips of air brush across my arms, I could hear the buzzing of a bug as if it were near me, yet I knew that it wasn't. I was in a cocoon of my own energy, coursing through me in waves of power. Was this what it was like to meditate? To be one with everything around you? I could sense everything without needing to see. I was this energy I felt.

My pulse thumped in time with the heat radiating from me; I was calm, I was content, I was at peace, until I opened my eyes and screamed bloody murder. Angry red flames surged from my fingertips to my elbow, coiling around my arm on its own accord like a snake, like a deadly viper. And it was on me.

Another blood curdling shriek ripped from my lungs and I flailed wildly, slapping my arm in a panicked attempt to put the inferno out. A hysterical, Get it off of me!, chanting through my head as I prayed and pleaded for this to be a nightmare. This couldn't be my power!

"Rin!" I barely heard Lily scream over my own terrified bawling.

Tears streaked down my face like a flood and my vision started going black. My head felt light, the room began to spin, and I only remember thinking one thing before I blacked out for the second time this weekend. Why couldn't I get the power to create? Instead, I got the one to destroy.

Len POV:

A loud shriek echoed through the forest and my heart dropped into my stomach. We were too late. She lost it. She saw the fire and lost it. Damn it!

With my jaw clenched tight, I leapt into the trees with Oliver in close pursuit behind me. Each branch only connecting with our feet for a fraction of a second before we propelled ourselves to another.

To be honest I was surprised I didn't fall, I was new to this kind of agility after all. But I was too focused to fall; too pissed.

A woman's voice yelled out, "Rin, wake up!" just as I launched over to the branch just below her window.

She was laying in a pool of dirt and ashes, any ounce of an actual fire was gone but she had feinted again. The blond woman I had heard was crying hysterically as she tried to call what I assume was an ambulance. An overturned flower pot was sitting next to her and from that I knew exactly what had happened.

"Len," Oliver whispered behind me as I slumped to a sitting position on the branch. "What are you going to do?"

I'm such an idiot. How could I have expected that this could work? She may be a Seer, and it shows, but until now all she's ever been was human.

"I don't know."