"I guess you're not the only cute blond who's ever lived in Alluveterae, huh Foster?" A tall blond boy said teasingly. "Don't worry though, I'm never leaving your fanclub."
"Please ignore him. I'm Sophie." Said a girl with blond hair and a simple tunic. Even without her brown eyes, Abella could've recognized her anywhere. They weren't identical, but she was definitely her sister. Hopefully, since no one was looking for it, they wouldn't realize.
"Gosh, your emotions are more intense than Foster's." The blond boy said, clearly picking up the waves of worries.
"Sorry." Abella mumbled.
"This is Abella, she's a powerful empath who's been working with us for a while now." Mr Forkle introduced. "We'd like her to start working with you."
Abella raised her eyebrows, as if daring them to argue.
"I'm Keefe- better known as Lord Hunkyhair. That's my main dude Fitz, his sister Biana, and Dex." The blond boy said, gesturing first to a pale boy with dark hair, teal eyes, and a oh-so-perfect smile that said "Look at me, isn't my life great?" His sister had similar features, but her smile was softer and more welcoming. They both looked familiar, but not in a good way. Dex, however, had cute dimples and strawberry blond hair, and had the exact same smile as a member of the collective.
"Are you related to Juline?" Abella blurted out.
"Yeah. She's my mom." He replied. "How do you know her?"
"Abella had worked closely with the collective for years, Mr Dizznee. She's picked up a few of our tricks, and has accidentally discovered some of our identities more than once." Mr Forkle replied. "And no, Mr Sencen, she will not be allowed to share them."
"Aw, see, I think an epic Forkle reveal sounds awesome." Keefe replied.
Mr Forkle sighed.
"How come we've never seen you at Foxfire? I get that it's a big school, but I feel like I'd recognize you." Fitz said.
"The Black Swan takes up a lot of my time." Abella shrugged.
"You don't even have time for school?" He asked incredulously.
"I don't have time for Foxfire but that didn't mean I didn't learn anything." Abella replied stiffly.
"Ha! Now that's the kind of anger and disrespect I can get behind!" Keefe laughed.
No one really knew what to say to that.
"I like your dress." Biana said finally.
"Thanks, Flori made it for me." Abella replied, deciding to give Biana a chance. And she did like her dress. It was a beautiful aquamarine, simple and modest, but at the same time it could be absolutely stunning. Gnomes were so talented.
"Wait, my bodyguard Flori?" Sophie asked.
"I guess so. She said she misses you, but she had to leave a minute ago. Knowing the Black Swan, they probably have her starting and ending two wars or something." Abella joked.
Everyone laughed.
And just like that, she wasn't as nervous.
"So, you're an empath, right? You already know Keefe is too, Biana is a vanisher, Fitz is a telepath, and I'm, well-" Sophie started.
"Let's see, she's a telepath, inflictor, polyglot, teleporter-leave it to the Moonlark to unlock an ability no one else has -and an enhancer. Plus, she'll probably manifest three more this weekend." Keefe interrupted.
Abella knew Sophie probably had multiple abilities- The Black Swan had made herself an empath, conjurer, teleporter, and beguiler.
It was weird they only shared one ability.
But the Black Swan has change its objective in the two years between Abella's and Sophie's birth.
"Interesting." Was all Abella said.
"We all say that when we meet Sophie." Fitz said, not looking at Abella, but at the brown eyed elf.
Dex mumbled something about "Sophitz" and "stupid congnates" that made Abella smirk.
"Are you staying here?" Biana asked.
"Yeah, I do so much with the Black Swan that they wanted me where they can see me." Abella replied.
"We lived here once too. That was Sophie's room." She said.
"Do you need it back?" Abella asked quickly.
"No, I'm living with my parents again." Sophie replied.
Her parents? Abella thought
Our parents?
Mr Forkle shook his head. It was barely perceivable.
But it delivered the message.
"Wow, serious mood swing. What the heck was that?" Keefe asked.
"How come you can feel my emotions from across the room? I mean, I can feel everybody's, but I thought that was just me." Abella stated, quickly changing the subject.
"Eh. It happens sometimes, though I'm not sure why. I can feel Sophie's pretty much whenever, but I thought it was just her." Keefe answered.
"What exactly did you want us to work on together?" Fitz interrupted.
"I'm afraid I can't give you all the details-"
"Why not!?" Everyone demanded.
"I can't share that either." Mr Forkle awnsered, looking at Abella, then at Keefe.
"What can you share?" Dex asked, annoyed.
"It will involve Abella's empathy. You'll also need to work on trust exercises. All of you, not just Sophie and Fitz. Once we're satisfied that you can all work well together you'll get the first part of your new mission." Mr Forkle said ominously.
"No offense to present company, but we already have an empath. Why do we need her?" Fitz asked.
"Her skills are. . . Unique." Mr Forkle replied.
"Unique how?" Keefe wondered.
"You'll find that out while you work together." Mr Forkle stated.
"Okay. . . But it'll be pretty hard to work with someone living at a secret base." Dex reminded. "Most imparters won't reach here. I could probably fix that if you wanted me to, but I have some other projects going on right now."
"She could stay with us." Biana suggested.
"Or with me, since she already knows my mom." Dex reminded.
"Or with me, since I have the best hair." Keefe teased.
Is this what it's like to have friends? Abella wondered.
"I guess I'll stay with Biana, since she offered first. As long as your family is okay with that." Abella said, offering a small smile.
"Great! After growing up with two brothers and Keefe, it'll be nice to have another girl in the house. Sophie can come over too, and we can have a sleepover!" Biana said excitedly.
"Alden and Della have already offered to have you stay with them, so I suppose we can have your things brought over there when you're ready." Mr Forkle offered.
"I guess whenever is convenient." Abella said, a little overwhelmed at how fast she was leaving Alluveterae.
"Okay then!" Biana said excitedly.
"Okay then." Abella echoed.
A/N: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING! I would like to give a HUGE shout out to, drumroll please, Linhsongisthebest! Thank you some much for your positive review, it means so much to me!