Well, at least not too much, she amended in her thoughts. No, what had Veheli worried, confused, was the fact that she sensed another presence. Another Eneni, like the one--no, of course, it was the one-- that she'd sensed earlier that day when Veheli had tried to connect her mind to Cuiaree's.

I thought that I was just overtired. Veheli bit her lip. No, there was definitely another Eneni there. To stop her, or me? the girl worried morbidly. She knew that it would not be a good idea to try and touch that person's mind, as that would be classified as an invasion of privacy. Cuiaree's rights hadn't been a consideration of Veheli's, since she had to stop her; this would be different.

Veheli walked with her head down, just in case the person was there to stop her. Also, she had to admit, to avoid seeing Cuiaree. She did not want another confrontation with the girl, not before she was ready.

Unfortunately, that seemed not to be an option. Much to Veheli's surprise, the door of room 343 opened. I didn't think that she'd want a confrontation, either! The girl panicked. If it was someone who wouldn't believe her-- think that she, and not Cuiaree, was at fault-- then what would she do? Would something happen?

Much to Veheli's surprise, the face that peaked out was about her own age, and it was not Cuiaree. The girl turned and didn't speak, though her eyes got wide and her breathing became irregular. "Hi?" she asked cautiously.

The Eneni girl froze up, not sure what to do. Say 'hi' back? Just keep walking with her head down? In her confusion as to what she should be doing, Veheli just stood there, frozen in place.

"You're one of those people, aren't you?" asked the girl. It sounded like a question out of curiosity, not an accusation.

Veheli blinked. Was it possible that this girl wasn't from Atlantis? "You mean an Eneni? Yes...you are as well, though, so why the questioning?" She looked down, leaning against the wall. Cuiaree was going to come out, she knew it, nobody would just say inside the room during this, that girl least of all.

Sure enough, Cuiaree came out of the door, albeit with more caution than she normally had. When she saw Veheli she looked down, too, then quickly looked back up again. No matter how hard either tried, neither of the two girls could bring themselves to look at each other.

Naturally, Jessica realized that something was wrong. "Guys?" she asked uncertainly. "Why are you acting like that. Why are you here, anyway?"

Veheli's face twisted into a sorrowful smile. Looking up at Cuiaree, it almost turned cruel; or would have seemed cruel to anyone who didn't see the pain in her eyes. "Do you wish to explain it, Cuiaree?" Keeping her gaze steady, Veheli was a bit relieved to see that her own sorrow was reflected in her old friend's eyes. Perhaps there was hope after all.

Cuiaree looked down. "Not now."

Jessi looked impatient. "Exactly what is going on? Who are you?" Her accusing glare landed on Veheli.

"My name is Veheli," the girl whispered. "I come from the same place that she does," she added, gesturing to Cuiaree. "What I'd like to know is how she found you. Normal-born Eneni are very rare, it's almost impossible that she just happened to stumble upon you." The question was directed at Cuiaree, since obviously Jessi had no idea of her heritage at all, and therefore could not answer such a question.

"I felt drawn to the school; I didn't know why, and up until you said it I wasn't sure that Jessi was pure Eneni or just some sort of anomaly. But I knew that I had to go there..." Cuiaree bit her lip in a very rare show of worry.

"Weird. I wouldn't have been able to find her like that, but I can tell that she's Eneni." It struck Veheli as a bit odd that she and Cuiaree, a girl that could right now be considered her enemy, were talking like this; then again, old habits die hard, and Cuiaree had been her friend for years before she'd ever even thought of considering her an enemy.

Cuiaree seemed to realize it at the same time, and stiffened. She looked to the side quickly, and had an expression on her face that communicated extreme discomfort. Jessica looked at her with a confused look on her face, then glanced at Veheli, as if to ask what was going on.

"Please," whispered Veheli gently. "You don't have to do this. We can still go back, we can still change things. You don't have to keep going down this path." Her mind probing Cuiaree's ever so gently, she could see that she was getting through. Would a little push in the mind be unethical? Would trying to control Cuiaree be bad, in this case? Would it end up reversing, if Cuiaree was pushed into the decision unwillingly?

It turned out that Veheli didn't even have to find out. Cuiaree was slowly nodding as Veheli was questioning frantically what to do. "Yes," the girl said slowly, "if we can find something else to do, then I'm willing to try and let some of my hate go." Both of the girls sagged in relief.

"What are you talking about?" questioned Jessi, a bit impatiently. "What hate and all?"

Cuiaree and Veheli looked at each other, trying to figure out what to tell her. Stuttering, Veheli finally spoke up.

"Cuiaree came here because our friend was killed by a normal...she thought that all normals deserved to die." Veheli closed her eyes briefly, then opened them up onto Jessi's shocked face. The girl's jaw dropped; slowly went back up again to close her mouth.

"What?" Jessica would have been screeching in her throat hadn't been to caught up to do anything except whisper. She turned to Cuiaree. "You were going to kill us?"

The girl looked up in anger. "Not you, obviously, and stop making a big fuss and expecting me to be all apologetic and stuff! If you keep acting like this, then I'll change my mind right back!" The snarling face turned around to the door, the rest of the body following as Cuiaree quickly walked through the door of her apartment and slammed the door, leaving the two stunned girls outside.

Veheli, more used to her old friend's behavior than Jessica was, recovered in a few minutes and turned to Jessi, who was once more shocked. "Come on, we'll go to my room. Next time we see her, don't even mention this. It'll blow over." She turned around, walking swiftly towards the door to her room not even seeing if Jessi was behind her. Opening it, she slipped in and waited patiently for the other girl to come over.

Walking slowly into Veheli's room, Jessi gulped and looked around. It might as well not have even been lived in; the entire room was spotless; indeed, there was no sort of belongings around it at all.

Sensing the other girl's disapproval, Veheli gave a small sigh. "I haven't been here very long, and I was hoping not to be, either." She shrugged. "I'm surprised I even remember how to keep things clean, with all the pampering I've had lately." She rolled her eyes, and Jessi sensed that even though the other girl mentioned being pampered, she didn't feel like explaining. Jessi, shrugging, let it go, reminding herself to ask later when Veheli seemed more comfortable about it.

"Alright, then," Jessica attempted to smile, "Since obviously Cuiaree won't, can you please tell me...stuff?" she broke off, feeling confused and a bit silly.

"Sure," shrugged Veheli, sitting down on the bed, trying to get the nervous look off her face. Jessi saw the other girl steal a glance worriedly on the wall on the side of the room that Cuiaree's room was, but didn't mention anything. "What do you want to know?"

"Can you just start from the beginning?" asked Jessica. "I don't know. Tell me everything."

"Everything? That's a pretty tall order." Veheli attempted to laugh, and halfway succeeded. She stopped for a moment to consider, then started explaining. "You can stop me at any time with questions," she said, and Jessi nodded, getting comfortable in the chair she was on. Veheli shifted around a little, to a less awkward position, and started.

"Well, I'm not sure how long ago we were, I didn't learn that much history yet. I know that around, er, about five hundred years ago, we went to Atlantis to avoid being killed and all that. A woman named--"

"Wait, I have a question!" Jessi exclaimed, holding up a hand to indicate that Veheli should stop. At the other girl's nod, she continued. "Well, in school we were learning about stuff like the Salem witch trials, here in America, and...was that you? I mean, you people?"

Veheli bit her lip, looking confused. "No, it couldn't have been, we were gone by the time people started settling here. Some of us were killed for being witches, but..." she shook her head.

"Okay..." Jessi trailed off. "You can continue?"

"Well, a woman named Alise found many of us, and led them to Atlantis. There were already charms around it to stop Normals from finding it, but we could...some people think that Eneni lived on Atlantis before then, which would explain the charms. Other, more religious Eneni, believe that it's a sign that it was made for us." Veheli shrugged again. "Anyway, sometimes DNA would mutate from Normals and about once very generation, one Eneni would be born to a Normal...that would be one of you. So, we grew...we formed our own culture, our way of life...that's basically all the history that I know. If you have any other questions..."

"Um, I guess that right now I'm interested in what I can do," Jessica admitted, feeling a little foolish. "I could move the pencil, but that was only when I was really frustrated or angry, is that the only time I can? And what else can I do?" She looked around, and looked down at her hands. By now, her lip was bloody from biting it so much.

"That really depends on, well, your abilities. I am good at sensing other peoples' thoughts and emotions, what they want and what they're thinking, what their personality is like. I'm good at adapting myself to fit what they need. Cuiaree is good adapting them to fit what she needs." Veheli shrugged. "Part of it is personality, I suppose, what sort of personality brings what sort of abilities. We'll have to test what you can do, but I admit that I won't be able to do that, nor with Cuiaree. Don't even use your powers until we get to Atlantis, or at least until we meet a qualified Eneni adult. Otherwise it's dangerous. Okay?"

Jessi nodded, then looked down at her watch. "Damn!" she swore. "It's 4:15, I only have 45 minutes to get home and my house is at least that far away by bus!"

"Okay, we can go now then," shrugged Veheli calmly as she stood up.

"But I wasn't supposed to be gone at all! Can't you, I don't know, teleport me or something?" She looked around frantically, panic clearly written on her face.

"I have nowhere near that power…but we should go now, okay?"

"But what will I tell my parents?" Jessica froze up a bit nervously as she followed Veheli out the door and towards the stairs.

"Tell them the truth. After all, you'll end up coming back with us."

At that last sentence, Jessi's world stopped. She froze, and after a few second she ran to catch up with the other girl. "What?" she exclaimed. "What do you mean?!"

"You're coming back with us to Atlantis as soon as we can; after all, we have to train you, right?" Misinterpreting the look on the new Eneni's face, Veheli hastily added, "we won't force you to come if you don't want to."

Jessi tried to answer that, but she didn't have a chance to correct the other girl as they went out onto the street and went to the bus stop. By that time, the question was out of her mind and a more immediate one was taking its place. Checking her watch, Jessica saw that if the bus came soon, she just might make it. "When is the bus coming?"

"I don't know, I think it comes every fifteen minutes or something like that." Veheli seemed extremely distracted, and kept looking back at the hotel. The look on her face was odd, almost as if she was talking to someone. But that was impossible…

"Are you using telepathy?" asked Jessi suddenly. "You look like…" she trailed off, and bit her already-bloody lip as she looked into the distance.

Hearing that, Veheli seemed to slip out of the trance and turned to face Jessica. "No, of course not," she smiled, "why did you think so?"

Jessi shook her head and shrugged, looking across the street at nothing in particular. The other girl had been lying, she was almost sure even though she didn't use any sort of abilities. Just the tone…the light answer…how could she trust these people, if they just lied to her?

Sitting on the bus, Jessica looked out the window, her mind in turmoil. Unless she could get home soon, she'd have to come up with some sort of story to explain why she had been gone. Veheli, Jessi knew, wanted her to tell the truth, but as if her parents would believe her? Also, she doubted it was safe to let people know about this. Veheli was from another place, and might not realize the consequences of telling someone about this power.

Suddenly, an awful thought entered Jessi's mind. People had seen her moving the pencil, people knew that she could do certain things. Had her parents already found out? Had other people? She could be in serious trouble over this. Not necessarily from the fanatics who would think that she was in league with the devil; there was protection from things like that. No, what about scientists who wanted to do experiments and stuff? Stuff like that always happened in the movies, what was to say it wouldn't happen in real life?

Jessi's anxiety grew to the point that she checked her watch many times a minute and started tapping her foot impatiently to get there. If her lip had been bloody before, it was nothing now, looking practically like raw meat.

"Jessica! Stop that!" cried Veheli, seeing what her new friend was doing. "You're hurting yourself!"

"Not really, it doesn't really hurt," shrugged Jessi, "and it doesn't really matter anyway."

Veheli glared. "Of course it does, don't hurt yourself! There's enough hurt that will come to you in this world without you having to inflict more. Now, this may seem awkward, but…" she hesitantly placed a hand near Jessica's mouth, not touching the lips but holding her fingers only a few centimeters away. She concentrated, and Jessi felt her lips heal and the pain leave. The taste of blood left her mouth as Veheli pulled her hand back.

"Thanks…" Jessica trailed off, and started to bite her lip, then with a guilty look at Veheli clamped her mouth shut and instead reached for a lock of hair to twirl.

Veheli smiled, then turned back and looked forward. It occurred to Jessi that the entire time, the other girl had just been sitting there, looking forward and doing nothing. "How do you do that? Doesn't it get boring?"

Turning back, Veheli looked confused. "Doesn't what get boring?"

"Well, you're just sitting there, doing nothing, with your eyes closed…not looking at anything, not moving at all. Doesn't it get boring, doing nothing?" Jessi tried to explain what she meant.

Laughter came from Veheli's lips, a sweet laughter, like bells. A laughter that just screamed at you to like this person, that she was a nice person and would be a great friend. "I'm not doing nothing, I'm meditating," she smiled. "It helps with relaxation and to get you calm. I figured that with nothing else to do, it's a great time. I don't find it boring, just calming. I'll show you some time, if you want. It's time to get off now." She shrugged, and stood up as the bus stopped.

Checking her watch quickly, Jessi saw that she didn't have much time. "Shit!" she cursed, running down the street as she gasped for breath. Veheli came after her, less out of breath due to how much time she'd always devoted to sports.

"You're late?" she asked, earning an astonished look from Jessi for not being out of breath.

"Are…you…using…magic?" panted Jessi, as she had to lean against the tree for support for a few moments to catch her breath.

"No, of course not," replied Veheli, puzzled as she stood stopped running, not winded in the least. "I don't have that sort of kinesis. I was just always…well, a bit of a tomboy back home…I always spent hours on the fields and in the forests, playing the games. Naturally I'd be in shape."

Jessica gave her new friend an odd look as she stood up and started towards her house again, this time walking. "Sports and stuff? Sorry, just surprised me. Somehow you didn't strike me as the rough type."

"I'm not," shuddered Veheli. "I would never play any sort of game that involved hurting anybody in any way, but there were a lot of fun sports that were non-violent." Twirling her hair a bit sadly, Veheli stayed beside Jessi as they walked. "Which house is yours?"

"That one, right there," Jessica pointed, and Veheli saw that it wasn't far away. As if hearing Veheli's thoughts, she said, "I guess I can run the rest of the way." With that, the girl took off, sprinting, and her friend quickly got onto her toes and practically flew down the street, but once she caught up with the other girl she kept pace and didn't go ahead.

Once at that house, Jessi took out a key from her pocket and used it to unlock the door. Stepping into the foyer, she was greeted with two angry parents' faces.

Veheli stepped in behind her friend, and was shocked with what she saw. The two faces, with that disappointed look on their faces…it was so familiar.

Veheli stopped and stared, knowing what she'd hear and dreading it. Please, no, she pleaded in her mind.

Remembering the scene, Veheli almost cried. That had been such a shock…she'd known, known, that her father would die in the war. She'd had to say goodbye, knowing it had been the last time she'd ever see him again…

"Veheli? You OK?" Looking up, Veheli realized that the parents' attention had turned to concern when they saw the other girl there.

"Yeah…sorry." The girl turned a bit red in embarrassment. "Just…yeah." She turned to Jessi then. "Well? Are you going to tell them?"

"Tell us what?" demanded the woman that Veheli assumed was Jessi's mother.

"But--" Jessica started, then was cut off.

"Look, Jessi, there's no point in lying to them, people are going to know anyway, it doesn't matter," Veheli cut in crossly. She knew that she was being rude right now, but after remembering…it was still hard, even know. "Jessi is an Eneni, which means that she has certain…for lack of a better word, certain powers that she can harness and control. We are asking that in a few days time, she comes back with us for training."

As expected, Jessica's parents looked disbelieving. "What rubbish," scoffed her mother. "Is this your excuse for being late, Jessica?"

"Look, I can understand that you're skeptical, but I can prove it. One of my main focuses that I could show you right now is projection. A warning: what you see right now is not real, so don't think it is." With that, Veheli turned to an empty part of the room and concentrated. In a few moments, a swirling took place there, and it cleared to show a moon and stars. They swirled a little, and it backed up to show a galaxy.

"Veheli, no!" Jessi barked out. Her father was a scientist, who knew what he'd want to do? She loved her father, but…

With the break in the atmosphere and in the girl's concentration, the image disappeared. It was too late, though, Jessi's father looked fascinated. "I've never seen anything like it," he breathed, looking carefully at Veheli as Jessi's mother just stood there, shocked. "Would you mind performing some experiments? A look at your brain, to see how it's different…"

As Jessica looked down in despair, Veheli's eyes lit up, suddenly realizing something. "You know, that would be a very good idea," she said, earning a shocked looked from her friend. "I accept."

Mouth twisting into a smile, the Eneni already knew what she had to do; something that could make a difference, a difference in the entire world. And if I do this right, maybe I can start something…fill a gap that has existed since we began.