- Twelve: One of a Kind -
"Hurry up, I'm excited!" Dom said, pulling me by the sleeve of my dress out of the dining room. He was acting like he was ten.
"You're an idiot." I giggled.
"Where to first, guys?" Dom asked as Nick and David followed us.
"Tech. Might as well start with the best." David said matter-of-factly.
"Right. Technology is not the best affinity, you bias child." Nick huffed.
"Oh yeah? Well what's the best, love doctor?" David laughed as he dodged a punch from Nick at the sound of a nickname.
"Love doctor?" I laughed.
"Nick has an affinity for love." Dom said. Under his breath he made a kissy sound and I burst into laughter.
"It's not funny!" Nick grumbled, crossing his arms like a kid.
"It kinda is. Riley, he can use his mind to get humans to instantly have attraction to each other. It's only temporary, though." David explained.
"It sounds like it could be helpful." I shrugged.
"Thank you." Nick laughed.
We stopped suddenly in the hallway and Dom put his hand on my shoulder and squatted down to see directly into my eyes. I stared at his silver gaze, but his eyes weren't looking back.
"What?" I finally asked.
"I don't see any tech in these eyes. Looks like some sort of element to me. Fire maybe?" Dom said.
"Because she's hot." I turned and jokingly punched Nick in the shoulder. I turned around again to see David whispering something quickly to Dom. Dom seemed to have gone rigid, but with David's words he relaxed.
"Call Misty and Willow to the ground level. Time to experiment." Dom said, turning and continuing down the hallway without another word.
We were sitting in a circle just outside the shack in the forest. Misty and Willow had met us there, and each carried supplies. Willow carried rocks and some small potted plants and Misty had a bottle of water and ice cubes.
"Why did you look at my eyes when we were talking about affinities?" I asked Dom while they walked up.
"A Werecat's eyes indicate what they can do." David answered instead, "For example, Nick's eyes are pink and he has an affinity for love. Misty and Willow have affinities for water and earth, and their eyes are blue and green."
"My eyes are not pink," Nick protested, "They're rose."
"And certain roses just happen to be pink. Moving on." David said with a satisfied smile.
"Maybe she's a Catalyst." Misty said as they sat in our circle.
"A what?" I asked.
"A Catalyst is the second rarest affinity type. It's when a Werecat can control all four elements in all forms." Dom said.
"I don't know, man. These eyes are different." Willow said as she scooted forward in the grass to see my eyes.
"Okay, Riley, let's start with water." Misty said. She moved the water bottle towards me so that we both had access to it. "I'll show you, and you can try what I do."
She waved her hand in a circle over the water and gradually picked up speed. The water started to ripple and my mouth dropped open in awe. Soon the water was rising up and out of the bottle and forming a small upside down tornado of water.
"This- This is amazing!" I said, unable to take my eyes off of the marvel.
Misty stopped and immediately the water fell to the grass below. "Now you try." She said.
My heart began to race as I held a shaky hand over the water and slowly began to spin. I stared at the water, waiting for any sign of movement. My hope was just about deflated as a single bubble floated to the top of the water and popped at it's surface. Then another. And three more.
"What the..." Misty asked.
Soon steam was rising from the bottle and bubbles popped furiously at the top. Even with the steam soaking my face, I couldn't stop. I was too amazed. "I'm doing it!" I shouted.
"Is it..." David said, "Boiling?"
I stopped because my hand was getting tired and the bubbles died down. I tried to pick up the bottle but yanked my hand back with a hiss. The bottle was searing hot.
"I'll be right back!" Misty said excitedly as she jogged to the shack.
"I have a good feeling." Willow said with a smile as she scooted forward, "I saw the green flakes in your eyes."
She placed the plants in front of me and began moving both hands over them like jelly fish. Immediately the plants reacted by reaching towards her hands. Soon they had sprouted small wildflowers and were entwining themselves in her fingers. It was as if they thought she was a plant, too.
"You're so beautiful when you do that." Nick said as she slid back next to him to give me a chance. Willow giggled as he planted a kiss on her forehead.
I began doing the same hand motion as Willow. The plant didn't react immediately, either. Deep in the back of my head I felt something stir. Something protesting against my control.
"She's a natural!" Dom shouted as we all watched in wonder as the plants crept very slowly towards my arms.
They got within an inch of my fingertips but stopped. I frowned as I studied the leaves near the tips as they turned black and fell to the forest floor.
"What the hell?" I asked. Picking up one of the leaves, it crumbled in my hand.
"It's burned." Dom concluded, seeing a leaf for himself.
I was about to try again when Misty came back with Eran and two strangers.
"Riley, I've heard you've been doing some extraordinary things up here." Eran said.
"Well, I don't know about that-" I tried to protest modestly.
"Are you kidding? She's a natural for the elements!" Dom interrupted, shaking me by the shoulder.
"Well, let's see it then." Eran said as all eight pairs of eyes settled on me.
I showed them what happened with the plant and water and a woman I didn't know stepped forward to examine. She said, "It seems like she is in fact a Catalyst, but her affinity for fire is stronger than all others."
"Riley, this is Wondla, our leap's sorcerer and fire teacher." I got up and shook her hand. Wondla was a bubbly, full-figured woman with short red hair and orange eyes.
"Hello. Well, let's just get right down to it. Let's try some basics." She said.
"Okay." I said nervously, not wanting to embarrass myself.
"Hold this leaf." she said, picking up a small leaf from the ground.
"Uh, okay. But I don't really see the point in -" I was cut off by Dom jabbing his elbow into my ribs.
Wondla also took a leaf and held it close to me. The leaf's edges began to smolder a little and turned a bright ember color.
"Step back, Dominique." she said.
Dom did as he was told and stepped back quite a few yards.
"Look at the leaf and focus. Imagine anything that has to do with fire." Wondla told me.
I did as I was told and nothing happened. I stared at the leaf so intensely that I felt my face turn red.
"What are you thinking of?" Wondla asked.
"A lit fireplace." I told her.
"Definitely not powerful enough! Go bigger!" Wondla said, her leaf a small pile of ash now.
I continued to stare at the little leaf and began to think of a massive forest fire, engulfing anything that gets in its path.
Finally, after what seemed like years of searching that was truly only a few hours, I found my affinity. The leaf began to smoke.
"Don't loose focus!" Wondla hissed.
My eyes wavered on the leaf for only a second but instead of going out, it sparked and a small flame danced in my palm. There was no burn, but a small tingling sensation.
I began to toss the flame back and forth in my palms, as if it were a red rubber ball. Laughing, I tossed it high into the air. Before it landed safely in my hands, Wondla whipped her hands and an even larger flame was falling back towards me. Panicking, I stepped back. The fire fell to the forest floor and burst. Shouts rose from my friends, but before it could get out of hand Eran barked for Misty to put it out.
"Yes, well. That was very good for a first timer." Wondla said, "We will practice more in the future."
The second stranger stepped forward and introduced himself as Gale, the only person with an affinity for air in the Compound. We said our hellos, and I took to controlling the air quit easily. Soon enough I was blowing around the treetops of the entire forest.
By the time we had finished, the sun was setting again.
"I can't stay in my human form tonight. It's been forever since I've hunted. Soon enough you'll be joining us on our night adventures." Dom said as we reached my room, "What you did today was amazing."
"I never knew what I was capable of." I said more to myself than to Dom.
"And you're capable of so much more, too. Someday you'll be unstoppable." We sat there staring at each other for just a minute. For a second the faces of my family flashed before my eyes, knocking me out of my trance.
"Well, goodnight." I said quickly as I slipped into my room. I glanced through the peep hole to see Dom standing there with a look of confusions and something else on his face. Regret?