When Keith Roseberry meets Genevieve his life and his world are changed forever and home will never be the same.     Bloodlines Chapter 10 By Amethyst

Thanks as always to EoF for giving us such a great Universe to play in and to EoF, Maggie F, and Donjo for their input. Also thanks to my readers for reading my work and patiently waiting for new chapters.

After History class I gathered my things and gave Jason a quick kiss goodbye in the hall before I headed off for the clinic. Jason seemed pretty happy with it and promised to swing by the bookstore later if he could manage it. I got to the Clinic and went straight for Dr. Brand’s office since I would be mostly working with her. Today was her day to do rounds of the patient floor so I went with her to check on the patients who were in for minor surgeries, recovering from surgeries, or ill and needed looking after. It was hard keeping my Healing ability under wraps all day as I needed to be doing something but it was a good practice in restraint and most these people were Norms who could be helped with everyday medicine.

I did learn a lot about various illnesses caring for them as well as about different surgeries and post-surgery care and I did my best to absorb all that I could. While I was learning I discovered that what I was learning was interesting and I could actually begin to see myself one day doing it as a profession. Silphia seemed bored though since she couldn’t really follow a lot of what was being said or done. She busied herself by keeping a close eye out for any trouble and for people who might be taking too great an interest in the strange new intern.

After my shift at the clinic I headed over to Ground Zero to pick up some coffees for myself and Gwen before heading to the Book Mark. Ground Zero was new since I had left town and Nat and the others had said good things about it. Apparently it was owned by a Selkie named Meara O’Connor, who came to the island from Dublin Ireland. As we got out of the Mustang I gently reminded Silphia to remain invisible as we were trying to keep the Pixies a secret from even most of the other Unseen. I wasn’t too worried though as none of the other Selkies or even the Unseen students in general at school had seemed to notice Silphia yet, though word had apparently gotten around about me in the Unseen circles.

School was only just now getting out and it was the middle of the work day so the coffee shop was pretty quiet when we entered. In fact the only customer I could see was leaving as I was entering. I stepped up to the counter to look at their selection and as I did so I became aware of the young woman on the other side of the counter watching me. She had long red hair and bright green eyes that seemed to take my appearance in slowly before her gaze turned to Silphia and back to me again. Silphia seemed as surprised as I did when she said with a wink of one of her green eyes, “Welcome t’ Ground Zero. What kin I be getting’ ye both?”

Silphia gasped and began to say, “Coimi…” before the redhead raised a finger to her lips in a hushing motion, though she didn’t seem terribly upset about what Silphia had been about to say.

“I’m Meara, and ye must be the Vampire half the Unseen on the island are all abuzz about. Welcome to Sena Island,” she said, “Or should I be sayin’ welcome home lass?”

I narrowed my eyes at the woman, “How do you know so much about me?”

“I run a coffee shop lass,” she replied. “Plenty o’ folks in here talk when there isn’a any Norms about to hear ‘em. Plenty t’ be hearin’ an’ seein’. That an’ we run in some o’ the same circle’s ye and I. Both perform our services when needed. Some o’ us are after healin’ wee ones an’ the like, an’ some o’ us keep an eye an’ ear where they be needed.”

So this woman had some kind of relationship with the Sacred? “You’re not just a Selkie, are you?” I asked.

“Nae I’m not. Ye of all folks should ken tha’ not everythin’ is as it appears even with the Unseen,” she answered. “An’ certain bloodlines bear both gifts an’ responsibilities.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked. “You pretty much just said your job is to be the hidden eyes and ears for our mutual friends.”

“Aye, tha’ be one o’ me jobs,” she admitted. “I was brought ‘ere t’ watch an’ listen an’ keep an’ eye on certain folks who our friends be wantin’ kept safe. If ye be findin’ yerself in need o’ help me door is always open t’ ye. Mostly I’m tellin’ ye this as me other job is passin’ messages when needed. Lisianne sends ‘er regards an’ this.” She passed me an envelope. “Now I think I’ve taken up enough o’ yer time. What can I be gettin’ fer ye?”

I looked at the envelope she handed me as I answered somewhat distracted, “Thanks, I’ll come find you if I ever need your help. Could I get two large Mocha Lattes?”

She went about preparing the drinks and then handed them to me in a drink tray. “These be on the house lass. Oh an’ one thing. I’d be appreciatin’ it if ye dinnae tell yer friends about this. If they need to be knowin’ they’ll be told.”

I nodded as I took the tray, “Thanks and I promise I won’t let them in on your secret. I’ll see you around.”

“Aye lass, ye will,” I heard her say as I left the coffee shop with drinks and envelope in hand.

I was still a bit shell-shocked by the way Meara had blindsided me when I arrived at The Book Mark. I had tried to get more information about the Selkie from Silphia but she couldn’t tell me much of anything. I handed Gwen her drink and took my place behind the counter with my backpack. “Oooh lattes!” Gwen said with a grin as she took hers. “Thanks K, are you going to be okay out here while I go sort out the order that came in today?”

I nodded as I sipped at my own drink, “Yeah I’ll be fine. I’ll just catch up on my studying and stuff.” With that Gwen headed into the back and I looked at the envelope in my hand for a long moment before opening it. Inside was a gold ring in an elaborate Celtic knot pattern and a note. I put the ring on the counter for the moment and unfolded the note to read it.

Kayla,

Lisianne

I looked at the letter for several minutes after I finished reading it and then took a long look at the ring, turning it over and over in my hand. Finally I folded up the note and put it in the envelope and the envelope in my backpack. Then I looked at the ring again. I had agreed to be Marie’s Godmother so if this was the way that happened then I might as well put it on. I resolved though to talk to Meara or Silphia later about what exactly these rights I would have under Aos Sidhe law would be; it could be useful knowing my rights in the future. Taking a deep breath I took off my gloves and put the ring on my index finger, feeling a tingling as it tightened and settled into place.

I was studying my history textbook when I heard the front door open. Looking up I saw Megan coming in and had to stifle a groan. She approached the counter and smiled at me, “Hi Kayla.”

“Hi Megan,” I replied, “What’s up? Looking for more Vampire books?”

She shook her head, “No I just thought I’d pop in and say hi. Oh and I got this really nice pendant from my mom, what do you think?” She reached into the neck of her jacket and pulled out a gold crucifix on a slim gold chain around her neck to show me.

“I think this is a Vampire test,” I answered with a sigh before taking the cross in my bare hand and making a show of carefully examining it. “Nice craftsmanship.”

Megan seemed disappointed that I didn’t freak out when looking at it and more so when I actually held and carefully examined it. “Dammit, I thought that would work for sure.”

“Maybe it would have if I actually were a Vampire,” I retorted.

She frowned at that but had that determined look in her eyes again, “You have to be a Vampire and I’m going to prove it. I guess I’m gonna go home now, I’ll see you later Kayla.” She waved as she left the store looking like someone had kicked her puppy.

Not long after Megan had left Jason came in with Sarah. “Hey Kay,” Sarah said with a smile as they came to the counter.

“Hi Kayl…”Jason managed to get out before I pulled him toward me and gave him a long, deep and very personal greeting which left him grinning from ear to ear.

“Hi to you too Sarah, what brings you both here, certainly you’re not that bored,” I said with a wink once I had regained my composure from the kiss.

“We thought we’d take turns visiting you and Nat since you both have your after school jobs and we don’t. We just left Nature’s Blessings and Nat wanted me to ask you something as well.”

“Ask away,” I replied with a smile, “It’s not like I’m doing anything but studying right now.”

Sarah looked at my history book with distaste before saying, “Nat wanted to know if you and I wanted to check out a beginner’s martial arts class on Friday evening after you’re both off work. Our friend Moriko and her mother started up a dojo in town and are looking for students, and Moriko figured that you and I could probably both do well to learn to defend ourselves. They’re willing to give us the first lesson free and a discounted rate if we decide to take regular lessons.”

I considered that for a moment before nodding. “I don’t see why not, it’ll be nice to do something to break up all the school work, work here, work at the clinic, and studying. It could be useful and give you and me something regular to do together. I’ll pick you up at your place after work on Friday.” I turned to Jason, “Do you think you and Nat will be coming along for a good laugh?”

Jason grinned at me but shook his head. “I don’t think it’s something Nat or I will be into. We might just use that as our regular night to do something as buds and let you and Sarah have some girl time. I think you might like Moriko, Kay.”

“Oh?” I asked. “Why do you think that?”

“You both have a lot in common,” he said, still grinning. “You’re both Unseen , majorly hot, and when it comes to unwanted advances from guys you both have the cold shoulder down to an art. Moriko can be a real bitch if guys don’t take no for an answer. She seems pretty nice otherwise though.”

“Oh really?” I teased, “Is she as hot as me or Genevieve?”

Jason chuckled at that as he shook his head, “Nobody in town is as hot as you or Genevieve but Moriko comes closer than anyone else. Eric is terrified of her though.”

“I have to meet her now,” I said with a grin of my own. “We can compare notes.”

Sarah pulled out a business card and handed it to me, “The address and phone number of the dojo are on here. The class is at seven o’clock and we may have to ring the doorbell since they may not have the doors unlocked yet.”

I looked at the card. It had a cartoon cat in a martial arts outfit on it. “Cool Cat Combat? That’s an interesting name for a dojo. Oh hey! This is on Third Avenue, just down from Oh My Goth!”

“Cool, at least it shouldn’t be hard to find.” Suddenly Sarah squealed and I looked up to see her staring at my right hand. “Oooooh, what a pretty ring! Is that new Kay?”

I nodded and displayed my hand for her to look closer. “It was a gift from Lisianne, she sent it through a mutual acquaintance.”

“Nice! Did she say how the baby is doing?” Sarah asked.

“Yeah she said Marie is doing well and getting stronger every day.” We talked for a little while longer before Jason and Sarah headed home and I returned to studying and helping the odd customer that came in. I was glad when it was finally time to close and I could get a bite to eat and head home.

The next few days followed a familiar pattern. I would get up in the morning, go pick up the others at Nat’s place, go to school and spend my mornings being the dutiful genius, talk with Tara and Janice during gym then have lunch with Jason, Sarah and Nat. After lunch I would try to cram as much history into my brain as possible before heading to the clinic to work with Dr. Brand who happened to be Moriko’s aunt. Then I would go for a coffee and talk to Meara for a few minutes before heading to The Book Mark where I would cram more history into my head between helping customers, shelving new books, and a daily visit from Megan who had a new Vampire test for me every day.

First Megan had brought in a mirror to see if I had a reflection and then garlic. I noticed that she was trying to keep her little tests limited to things that wouldn’t kill a Vampire and that she would wait until there were no customers around. She didn’t want to kill me or expose me; she just wanted me to be a Vampire for some reason. She wasn’t hostile at all; in fact she sort of treated me like a big sister or friend when she wasn’t pulling her little tests. I got the feeling that Megan didn’t have many friends.

I didn’t have much time to spend with my friends those few days since as soon as I was done at The Book Mark I would go to the Lighthouse for dinner and then head home to study more history. I only really saw them at lunch and Jason would pop in for a visit at the bookstore if his mom didn’t need his help at the bakery. Jason did ask me out on a date for Saturday night though and told me he’d tell me more later in the week. Finally Friday rolled around and after a nice lunch hour talking with my friends about various things such as the lesson at the dojo later that night I headed to my history class with Mrs. Jameson.

Once class was underway Mrs. Jameson escorted me to a desk she had set aside for me to take my test at, handed me the test booklet and two pencils and told me to begin. The test was easy. Everything it covered I had read and it all came back to me so easily thanks to my Vampire memory. I was half tempted to get a few questions wrong on purpose but decided against it. I finished the test with fifteen minutes to spare and motioned to Mrs. Jameson that I was done. She gave the class a reading assignment and began to go over my answers, nodding and making hmmm noises as she worked.

Ten minutes later she looked up at me in disbelief, “This is a perfect score Kayla. You weren’t kidding when you said you knew the material.” She shook her head as if to clear it and handed me the test score and signed a sheet giving that to me as well. “Take these to the office and give them to Mrs. Lawson. I hope you enjoy your afternoons at the clinic, but it will be a shame to lose such a bright student.” With that I was dismissed and gathered my things to head to the office. Soon Mrs. Lawson had put in my records that I had earned my credits for history with an A+ and I was on my way to the clinic.

Dr. Dennis and Dr. Brand were elated that I had managed to test out of History and decided that today rather than doing rounds of the upper floors I would sit in with Dr. Brand as she saw her patients. Whenever we entered an examination room with a patient she would introduce me and ask if it was alright if I sat in. It was a bit of a relief to be seeing patients rather than doing rounds of the upper floors. I had been getting the strangest feeling that I was being watched by patients I knew to be sedated when we did rounds the day before. Most of the patients today were just general check-ups and I could feel nothing wrong with them, though one had the flu. She would be fine in a few days and there was no need to do much but advise her to get bed rest and plenty of fluids. It was about ten minutes before my shift was to end when we went out to check the next appointment with Dr. Brand’s receptionist Annie.

“Megan Gibson is next Dr. Brand,” Annie said, “She’s in examining room number two.”

“Thank you Annie,” we turned and headed to room two and knocked on the door before entering. Dr. Brand looked up from her clipboard and smiled while I stared at Megan sitting on the examining table in a hospital gown and she stared back at me. “Hi Megan,” she said, “This is Kayla, she’s an intern studying medicine with us here at the clinic, do you mind if she joins us?”

Megan nodded slowly as we continued to stare at each other. I thought that this could be potentially awkward as Megan said, “We’ve met Dr. Brand and I don’t mind if she sits in.”

Dr. Brand just nodded and gave me a brief sidelong look, “How have you been feeling Megan?”

Megan looked down at her feet, “I’m having trouble with my left arm now as well. It’s the same problem with my right, twitching, cramps and stiffness. I mostly wear clothes without buttons or zippers now because anything else is too hard to get on in the mornings.”

Dr. Brand sighed, “Well, we knew it was going to spread eventually.” She turned to me to explain, “Megan suffers from limb onset ALS, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.” I nodded and she turned back to Megan, “Let’s have Kayla check your vitals since you two already know one another.” Dr. Brand had me check Megan’s blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing. Once I was finished doing those she asked, “Megan, can you please lie down on the examining table and close your eyes while I probe your muscles a bit? I would like to get a feel for them when you’re relaxed.”

Megan quickly complied, laying back and closing her eyes. Dr. Brand nodded to me and while she began to probe Megan’s muscles I closed my eyes and performed a probing of my own. I could feel that the muscles in her arms were atrophied and weak but I couldn’t seem to find a cause for it. It was like her body didn’t think that there was anything wrong with it even though there obviously was. I frowned and opened my eyes, shaking my head at Dr. Brand who quickly finished her probing.

“Alright Megan you can get up and get dressed now and I will come back in in a few minutes.” Dr. Brand offered as she led me to the door. “Kayla’s time is up for today though and she has another job to get to.”

“I’ll see you later Megan,” I said as we stepped out the door and shut it behind us. As soon as we stepped into Dr. Brand’s off ice I asked, “What’s wrong with her? I know her arm muscles are atrophied, but I would think exercise would help with that. I couldn’t find anything else, it’s like her body doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with it besides the atrophied muscles.”

“It’s genetic,” was her reply. “The atrophy is caused by the degeneration of the upper and lower motor neurons. The signals sent to the muscles degrade and, unable to function without the proper signals, the muscles weaken and atrophy. In Megan’s case the signals to the right arm started to degrade first and now it’s the left arm as well. As it continues to progress she will gradually lose the ability to initiate and control all voluntary movement in her legs and throughout the rest of her body as well. Eventually she won’t be able to care for herself at all and she’ll have difficulty speaking, swallowing, chewing, and even breathing. She’ll have to be assisted in every aspect of her life and even then her life expectancy is not much longer than her early twenties.”

I pictured Megan trapped in a wheelchair, unable to do much of anything and living off machines and I felt suddenly sick. “I don’t think I can do anything… I don’t know enough about the intricacies of how the brain works and her body itself doesn’t think there’s anything wrong except for the muscle atrophy. I could probably fix that but with no proper signals to the limbs I don’t think it would do any good, they still won’t work properly and that will just make them atrophy again. I can only seem to heal something if it’s something that feels wrong to the body I’m healing, but this is genetic, it’s part of her.” I could feel tears coming to my eyes.

Dr. Brand patted my hand and offered me a tissue. “Welcome to medicine Kayla, you just learned the hardest lesson there is to learn. We can’t save everybody, no matter how good we are.” She headed back into the room to talk to Megan again and I tried to calm myself down before I left the clinic. I got in the Mustang and sat there crying and shaking for a while as Silphia tried to comfort me before I finally wiped my tears again and started the car. This had been a crushing blow. After Carly I had promised myself that I would never let a friend die on my watch again. My healing ability made me even more determined to not let anyone I cared about die, but now there was nothing I could do but watch this girl live a mockery of life as she slowly worked her way toward a death before her time.

I made my way to The Book Mark without stopping by Ground Zero. I wasn’t much in the mood for coffee and a chat. When I got to the bookstore I quietly went about my work and started on my homework as I tried to get the thought of Megan out of my mind. It was no wonder the girl wanted me to be a Vampire so badly. If I were in her situation I’d probably cling desperately to anything I thought might be an escape as well.

It was almost closing time and Megan hadn’t shown up yet to give me one of her tests, maybe she was a bit embarrassed about me having helped examine her earlier. She hadn’t seemed to have a problem with me being there and being involved in the appointment though. I had just finished tidying up the store to be ready for closing when the door opened and Megan walked in. “You’re late,” I told her as I looked up from the medical textbook I was starting to read.

“Am I really that predictable?” she asked as she walked up to the counter with a drink tray.

“Yeah you are,” I said and tried to smile. “So what’s the test today? Holy water?” I asked as I inclined my head toward the drink tray.

Megan giggled at that, “No, but I may have to think about that one soon. I thought I’d come and bring a peace offering. I hope you like the hot cocoa from Ground Zero. This isn’t to apologize for thinking you’re a Vampire. I still think you are, I hope you are.”

I took a sniff of the offered cocoa and found that it smelled right so I took a drink. I couldn’t taste anything of course but I nodded, “Thanks, Meara really knows her way around a hot drink. I can understand why you’d want to believe I’m a Vampire. You’re looking for some kind of hope aren’t you? I think I would too in your situation.”

She nodded, “It could just be wishful thinking on my part but I need to believe there’s something to hope for. ALS doesn’t have a cure and its terminal with an ever decreasing quality of life until the end finally comes. I… I don’t want to go like that.”

I could see her fighting tears and had to resist the urge to hug her. “Yeah, Dr. Brand told me and I’ve been reading up on it,” I said as I gestured to the book in front of me. “What makes you thing I’m a Vampire anyway? Surely you don’t believe Becky? I’ve been told she’s always telling wild tales.”

She shrugged, “I figure everyone is probably right at least once in their lives. Besides you’re really pale, you’re into the whole Goth thing, and nobody should be as gorgeous as you are.” She took a sip of her own cocoa as she finished speaking.

I laughed at that, “Thanks for the compliment but really it’s all coincidental. I like the Goth look but I mostly wear it in honor of a close friend. She was the one who convinced me to try the look and she loved it on me. She died before I moved here, I watched her die. There was nothing I could do to save her so I decided when I came here that I would direct my genius toward learning medicine so I never had to go through that again.” I sighed as I took another sip of my drink. It was close enough to the truth to be believable with my cover story.

My sadness over Carly must have been written all over my face because she said, “I’m sorry. I guess learning about my ALS must bring back some bad memories for you.”

I nodded. “Yeah I still miss her, Carly was a lot of fun.” I looked up at the clock and saw that it was six o’clock. “I need to close the store, thanks for the drink Megan.” I paused before adding, “If you want to wait a few minutes I can give you a ride home.”

She shook her head, “It’s okay, I live in the apartment complex around the corner. I’ll see you around Kayla, and one day I’ll prove you’re a Vampire.” The last was added with a weak smile as she waved and headed out the door.

After Gwen and I had closed up shop I drove around town aimlessly for a few minutes before heading toward the Lighthouse for my evening meal. He reeked of alcohol and fish but at least his blood was good. Once I was finished eating I popped in to tell Genevieve I was going to the dojo for my lesson and grab some workout clothes to change into when I got there. Then I was back in my Mustang and headed over to Sarah’s place to pick her up. We arrived at the Dojo at ten minutes before seven and rang the bell. The outside of the dojo was an older brick affair with large windows that looked to be covered in rice paper on the inside. There was a sign above the entrance that matched the logo on the business card I’d been given.

Finally the door was opened by a tall, slightly pale, and extremely good looking Japanese girl. “Hey Sarah, and you must be Kayla,” she said as she offered her hand to shake. “It’s nice to meet you I’m Moriko. Please come in.”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” I offered as I shook her hand. She led us inside, locking the door behind us before explaining, “This isn’t going to be a beginner’s class for the general public, my haha has something else in mind. Please take off your shoes.” We both did as she asked and placed them in the shoe racks provided before following her out of the entry and into a large room with hardwood floors and practice mats in a large square in the center. The length of one wall was covered completely in mirrors while another had racks of wooden practices swords and other weapons. The back wall had doors which apparently led to an office and change rooms.

In the center of the room was a woman who could only be Moriko’s mother. She looked a lot like Moriko, just as beautiful but a bit older and not as tall or pale. I figured that with her being Dr. Brand’s niece, Moriko’s paleness must come from being only half Japanese. She bowed to us as we approached, “Konbanwa, I am Moriko’s mother, please call me Emi. The other new students are already changing. As my daughter probably told you this is not going to be a normal beginner’s class. We hold those on Wednesdays. This is a beginner’s class specifically for Unseen. All Unseen will likely have to defend themselves at some point in their lives and I will be covering both regular martial arts techniques and how to use your own Unseen gifts in fights against human Hunters or other Unseen.”

I looked at her in surprise, “An Unseen only class?”

Emi smiled and nodded, “Hai, I felt that you would all learn better if you could relax and be yourselves and it will help you learn to use what you have. Also here the Selkies and other Unseen with a lot of strength can let loose without worrying too much about hurting their opponents.”

I nodded to that, “Well if anyone does get hurt, I’m a Healer.”

Emi’s eyebrows rose in surprise, “That could be very useful here. Why don’t those of you who will be taking the lessons go and change? Moriko will give you uniforms to wear.”

Sarah and I followed Moriko into the office where she found us uniforms that she was pretty sure would fit us. The uniforms looked to be a traditional white judo gi. Then she led us to the girl’s change room to change into them. There were already six girls inside changing, five I didn’t recognize but the sixth one was Becky, the girl who claimed I was a Vampire in front of the whole school. “Hey girls,” Becky said with a smile as she fastened the cloth belt on her uniform.

“Becky!” Sarah squealed. “You’re going to be taking classes too?”

She nodded, “Yup. When Moriko told me that this was a class for Unseen only and that the doors would be locked to the public I decided I’d join in. I really should learn how to defend myself and this way I have a way to hang out with some of my real friends more often. It’s nice to finally meet you when I’m not putting on the school crazy act Kayla.”

I giggled at that as I started to undress. “You had me kinda worried for a second there on Monday Becky. It’s nice to meet you too.”

I had just finished undressing and was about to put on my sports bra when a native looking girl said, “Damn girl! Do you have any flaws on that body? You’re even worse than Moriko. How are the rest of us girls supposed to compete with that?”

I quickly got into my uniform as I replied, “If it’s any consolation I’m only interested in one guy at the moment.”

The other girl giggled at that, “Yeah it’s all over school how Jason managed to hook up with the ‘hot Goth chick’.” She used finger quotes as she spoke the last part. “I’m Jackie Whitefeather.”

“It’s good to meet you Jackie, I’m Kayla Dunn.” I finished getting my uniform on and firmly tied the belt. I looked over to see that Sarah was finished as well and we all headed back out to the dojo where Moriko’s mother sat in lotus position in the center of the practice mats. Two teenage guys sat in front of her trying to copy the position. At her insistence we girls joined the boys in front of her while Moriko sat beside her. It took a while for us all to get settled but Moriko and her mother waited patiently.

Finally we were all settled and Emi spoke, “Before we start I want to get to know you all a bit so I can figure out how to tailor your individual lessons to you and to help me choose suitable practice partners. So I would like it if you all share your names, what kind of Unseen you are, and what you feel your strengths and weaknesses are in combat.”

Becky was the first to speak up, “I’m Becky Lawson and I’m a Witch. I don’t have much experience fighting and may be out of my league if I have to fight anything but a normal human but I’m pretty smart and I’m eager to learn.

Jackie was next up, “I’m Jackie Whitefeather and I’m a Selkie. We’re pretty strong and fast on land but I’m not exactly graceful.”

The girl beside her with long brown hair chuckled at her comment, “Yeah Jackie, you are a bit of a klutz. I’m Jenny Whitlock and I’m a Fox. I’m pretty quick and I can think on my feet but I’m really not too sure how good I’ll be at fighting.

The boy with reddish brown hair grinned as he spoke up, “Oh you’re a fox alright Jenny. I’m Shaun O’Brien and like my cousin Jackie I’m a Selkie. I guess I’m pretty strong and fast but I tend to panic a bit under pressure.”

“I’m Max Whitlock and like my sister I’m a Fox,” said the other boy. “I’m not used to thinking in terms of fighting so I’m not really sure what my strengths or weaknesses are other than my quickness.” I wasn’t surprised he was Jenny’s brother; they looked a lot a alike.

A girl with medium length strawberry blonde hair spoke next. “I’m Chloe Freemont and I’m a Nereid. I’m pretty graceful, and a bit faster than a Norm but I’m most at home in the water. My mom says I have an impulse control problem and don’t think things through before I act. And I don’t know if it would be much good with this training but I have a Siren’s song I can use on people to entrance them or call specific people to me.”

The girl beside her with ash blonde hair nodded, “I’m Erin Brand and I’m a Lynx. I’m too impulsive as well and I guess my strengths would be my speed and agility.”

The next girl to speak was a tall girl with dark brown hair, “I’m Daphne Potts and I’m a Moose. I’m pretty strong but not very fast except in running and I’m a bit clumsy.”

Sarah spoke up beside me, “I’m Sarah Taylor and I’m a Witch. I think my weakness is that I depend on my magic too much and I’m still only learning. I can’t really think of any strengths I would bring to a fight.”

I took my turn, “I’m Kayla Dunn and I’m a Vampire. I can Mesmer men into doing my bidding. I’m also strong, fast, and a natural killing machine. My problem is that I’m a natural killing machine, and if it came down to a serious fight I’m not sure how well I can hold back from killing.”

Emi and her daughter nodded once I had finished and then Moriko spoke. “I’m Moriko as you all know. My dad is a Lynx and my mom is a type of Yo-kai called Bakeneko. Bakeneko’s are women who can turn into cats. I take after both of them. Now that Okasan has a general idea of who and what you all are let’s start off with ten minutes of meditation to focus your minds. Focus and self-discipline are the most important things you need in any fight.”