The flight home was quiet. Bradly discussed the expectations of the next counsel meeting with Frank, while she slept. Somewhere along the way she got a message from her landlord. Told her she lost the deposit, and wasn't allowed back. Just as well, everything she owned was ash. At least she could stay at the mansion. Bradly's phone rang.

"Anderson. Yep, headed back now. Which one was that? Ah, right." He pulled the phone away and turned to the pilot. "Any chance we can change the flight to North Dakota?" "Where exactly?" "Watforn" The pilot tapped on one of the screens. "Uh... I think so. Let me call it in." He brought the phone back. "Sounds good. We're still a couple hours out. Yep. Tell Paul I said hi." Putting the phone down, he turned to Nora, smiling. "Ready to see what you can do?" She wasn't sure if it was the statement, or the fact that he smiled as he said it, but a chill ran down her spine. Despite her reservation, she nodded. "Good. We're dealing with a basilisk. Think a giant snake, but it can..."

She cut him off, glaring. "I've played enough D&D to know what a basilisk is. I'm not stupid." She was trying to be serious, but the joy of maybe being able to help someone was rising to the surface.

Bradly let out a laugh. "Ah, good. Well, his name is Simon. My college Paul has been looking after him, but they need some help smoothing things over with his housemates."

Nora eyed him suspiciously, "And how can I help with that?"

"Simple. You're still sitting in the divide between Humans and Mythics. You're able to connect with people, while understanding the frustrations of living with such radical changes. It's all about perspective." His eyes gleamed as he spoke. It was clear he had been planning this for a while, but his excitement now was palpable.

Nora leaned back, only to jump as she accidentally pinched her wings against the seat. Two weeks and she still wasn't use to them. With everything going on, she hadn't had time to even try and see if they could support her, so for the time, they'd been just getting in the way. The mood in the plane immediately dropped, and she was reminded of the effect she had on others.

She needed to get some control over this.

"Um. So about this," she paused, unable to find the right word. "Um. Eh..."

Bradly jumped in, "Your magic? Yes, what about it?"

"Is it something I should be worried about? Can you do anything about it?"

He looked off, thinking. The answers weren't great. Yes and No, but not in the order he'd like. But if he just told her that, she might panic. Course, there was a good chance she would panic anyways. Emotionally driven magic was dangerous like that. The first step would be to help her remain calm. Without strong backing emotions, whatever effect she might have would be minimized. It wasn't much, and she would have to do all the work, but it would be a start. Better than nothing, right?

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"I wouldn't worry about it right now. Best we can do is to focus on keeping it under control." He relayed, cool and collected.

"I thought you said I couldn't control it."

"No, but you can control the energy source."

She tiled her head, "What would that be?"

"Your emotions."

More tilt, the other way this time. "I thought I was broadcasting my emotions? Did I miss something?"

"No, but I can see the confusion. Lets not focus on that though. Instead, I'm going to lead you through a few exercise. They should help you remain calm. Calm means no energy, and thus no danger." He winced as he said the last sentence, worried she would get the wrong idea, but she didn't seem to notice.

The rest of the flight went quietly. Nora kept practicing the techniques he had taught her, and before she knew it, they had touched down. A tall man with short brown hair greeted them on the runway. After exchanging greetings with Bradly, he turned to Nora.

"Ah, you must be Nora. I'm Paul Huber. I've been working with Bradly for some time now. Glad to finally meet you." He extended a hand, to which she just stared. Like the old man on the bench, he acted as if this was the most normal thing he had done. It was a bit unsettling, but left a weird comfort. She wasn't weird, and things were fine.

After a moment, she finally took his hand. "It's good to meet you." Her words were strong and confident, something she didn't expect.

"Shall we?"

Another limo awaited the 4 of them. "Has Bradly brought you up to date on what we're dealing with?"

Nora nodded. "A basilisk named Simon?"

Paul flashed a smile, "Good! We're all on the same page then."

"How did you find him?"

He looked to Bradly. "You'd be amazed what Brad can do. Found the guy at a house party. Something to do with some gaming thing."

"D&D?"

"Ya I think that's what they called it. Somehow they had found actual swords and were attacking the poor guy. Claimed one of them had brought him there as a challenge. Strange kids."

"No Paul," Bradly interrupted, " that's actually a fairly normal reaction. It would have been strange if they treated it as normal. You really are getting too close to this."

Paul smiled. "Maybe. Good thing you have Nora now. Better perspective." The limo began to slow. "Ah, here we are."