Mortals Of New Haven

Chapter 2

A/N: Thx again to Amber, my greatest friend and supporter, tho u didnt help with this chapter i still apreciate uuu! Any way thx to u if u read it (and no thx if u didnt) plz vote its rlly encouraging! Let me know if u like this chapter (and if u didnt, that helps 2) i hope to put out more very soon (if u vote it might be sooner ;D ) Enjoyy <3

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The knot in my chest tightens when they call my name. As I walk toward the assessment room, I try to assess what I am worried about, and how I am to overcome it. I will have to perform in front of other people. That's all, a natural reaction. There's something else though, too. A dysphoric, uneasy feeling I can't name.

I have no time to worry about that now. Many pairs of eyes train on me as I pace my way to judgement. When I reach the door I glance back at the waiting room, I am in half a mind to say something snarky to my onlookers when I snap out of it. I enter the door with "ASSESSMENT" marked in bold letters ominously on the door, close it behind me.

I am confronted immediately with my tester dressed in a greying-white uniform standing behind a trestle table littered with papers and forms.

I register her Elvin features - her pointed ears, slender height, the purple marking on her face and arms.

"Morning, Miss-", she checks my name on one of the papers in front of her. "Vamanet. I am Wuwy. I will be your tester. I will be running you through several tasks, they should be easy enough if your powers have developed as far as needed before we can start to train them." She said all this as if she had said it many times before, and had perfected exactly how it should be done. Despite my anxieties, I feel like I am in excellent hands.

It's only now that I get a proper view of the whole room. It's large and high ceilinged. It reminds me of the gymnasium at my school. I half expect to see balls stuck above the beames that run all over the roof. Four different stations are set up at intervals around the hall.

Wuwy leads me to the first station. I see three rectangular boxes with black cloth covering them set on a table, much like the one I saw on entering.

"Stand in the marked position," says Wuwy, pointing. I follow her gaze, move onto a tape X several metres removed from the box table.

"To learn magic, you have to connect with your surroundings. One of these concealed tanks contains water, the others are empty. Use your powers to sense which one contains the water. Simply say 'left', 'right' or 'middle'. If you cannot sense it, say so. Say nothing else until this task is complete." She instructs, falls completely silent.

I turn my attention uneasily to the subject in front of me. I stare blankly at the tanks for 10 whole seconds before realising I am way in over my head. Painfully aware of Wuwy judging me, I try asking the tanks questions inside my head. Things like: who contains water, and water, where are you, and why is this so stupid. I am about to let up and admit I have no idea what I am doing when a voice speaks. I voice I can't really hear, one not really speaking to me, like I am an eavesdropper on a private conversation.

The left one! C'mon now.

I change words mid-sentence.

" I don- left."

"Pardon?"

"The water is in the left tank." I say firmly.

"Are you sure that is what you sensed? You are not just guessing?" Says Wuwy, cautiously.

"I'm sure." No backing down now.

"You know you are not allowed to guess, don't you?"

"I do."

She looks at me in an odd way for a second, with both recognition and doubt.

"Very well then, moving on." She says.

We walk to the next station.

It's a clear plastic cylinder set on a base made of the same material. There's some sort of black rubber ball floating at the bottom in a small amount of water. I get an inkling of what this may be about, direct my gaze upward toward the top of the tube. As I do, I see many tiny holes poked in the perimeter. At the very top, a black line is drawn the whole way around.

'In this task, you will have to conjure water into this container. You should be able to complete it without any water spilling out of the holes and fill it all the way to the line."

This time, I am able to complete the task without any encounters with unheard voices. I'm sure if Wuwy could, she would be looking pleased with me.

The next test I wish I could say went as smoothly. As you can imagine I was rather startled, actually more like alarmed when Wuwy told me I had to climb down into a pitch-black pipe maze full of water with only the tiniest space to breathe at the top. Well, I did it and now I'm here with no idea what I'm doing. I'm supposed to use the water to guide me to the exit. I try to clear my head. I am worried about drowning in a pitch-black void where no one can hear my cries for help. No, of course not. This is a controlled environment, if it looks like I'm in trouble, they'll come to get me... right? I feel calmer and more focused on what I have to do. I stretch my hands aways from me, feeling the sides of the pipe. I slow along, feeling the tunnel all the way, ducking underwater to move more swiftly and coming up when I need to for air. I wait for sudden guidance to spring forth into my mind, but predictably none do. I'm hopeless at water powers. I've simply been using my other powers to pretend I have water powers.

I gasp, audibly. I have allowed a thought to form in my mind I have been fighting for several months. Having more than one power is impossible, yet I do. Impossible, unless... no. That's quite enough dangerous thoughts for one day. I tell myself firmly. Just finish this.

As I think it, help comes to my aid. I see light. Light, that leads me onwards. It shows me the right path. I follow it, unknowing of whether this is a light only I can see or if they can see it too. As I swim, I realise I no longer need to come up for air.

After what seems like forever I come to a ladder, climb it. I am back in the hall. Wuwy is standing, anticipating my ascent. When I'm on firm ground again, I notice I am not wet. You'd never have known I'd been submerged in water for... how long had it been?

"How long was I in there?" I ask Wuwy.

"For 10 minutes." She tells me, hesitates, then says: "This assessment is now complete. You may take this,' she shoves a piece of paper into my hand. 'and go home. You will receive your results in one to four weeks."

Well, I was expecting to get a very interesting letter.