Sparkle (KOTLC) {Completed}

30

The first days at Foxfire all seemed the same. Other than her Empathy class which seemed to only make her wish she was practicing pyrokinesis, Janessa proved herself to be ahead of the curriculum and, of all her friends, she was the only one not struggling with the current accelerated pace of Foxfire. She was glad she could help out with looking for Nightfall, but still felt the internal clock ticking, especially when every lunchtime was spent discussing Prentice's healing.

As the days counted down, it was finally time. The mountain cabin Wylie and Prentice were staying in was cozy and warm, and all of the living people Janessa had grown up with were there. All five of the Collective waited, alongside Quinlin, Livvy, Fitz, Alden, Della, the Song twins, Keefe, and Sophie.

It had been decided Keefe would be in charge of monitoring Sophie's emotions, being the one who knew her best, while Janessa would monitor Prentice. It was a big job for a new Empath, but, having heard of Prentice her entire her life, she felt good being able to help the people she cared about.

Mr Forkle led Sophie to a chair set up next to Prentice, saying, "Remember, your goal is simply to catch Prentice up as much as you can and prepare him for what he'll find when he wakes. We trust you to judge how much he can handle."

Janessa and Keefe each took up their own positions next to Sophie's chair, followed by Fitz taking his place next to Sophie.

"Remember Sophie, if I feel Prentice's emotions becoming too intense, I'll squeeze your hand. Keefe will too, even if he's focused on you." Janessa reassured.

"And if I feel either of you losing control, I'll pull off your glove and calm you both down. So just relax and do your Moonlark mind-healing thing." Keefe added.

"Not healing," Mr. Forkle corrected. "Just communicating. And if you need Mr. Tam to lift a veil of shadowvapor for any reason, all you have to do is say the word."

"Or if Prentice needs to be sedated, I'm ready," Livvy assured her, holding up a clear elixir. 

"Don't be afraid to abort if it's not going well," Tiergan added. "Even if it means putting things off another day—or week—or month. We'll wait."

Sophie nodded, seeming far away. Janessa squeezed her shoulder gently, but it did little to help. Eventually, Sophie nodded, and pressed her fingers to Prentice's temple.

Within a few seconds, there was a slight spike in Prentice's emotions. Fear, mostly, maybe apprehensiveness was a better word, but it calmed as quickly as it came. The emotions, for a brief moment, were warm and melancholy, then a spike of panic.

The overwhelming emotions surged through Janessa as she felt them secondhand, fuelling the low flames in her core, exchanging a fearful glance with Keefe as they both squeezed Sophie's shoulder. But Sophie stayed gone and the emotions stayed running high. It was all going wrong.

The wave of emotions continued, and then they stopped, like the world had gone silent, but Sophie didn't come back. Even still, Janessa could feel Sophie's panic through the air.

"Something went wrong. His emotions suddenly stopped." Janessa said quietly, sadness clouding her eyes. "It's not over though until Sophie comes back."

The adults nodded hesitantly, though the fear and hopelessness was clear in their expressions.

As Prentice's emotions returned, quickly spiking erratically once more, Janessa squeezed Sophie's hand. "His emotions are back, but he's not stable." 

Suddenly, Sophie stood up, hands clammy and chest heaving, staring at Prentice as her consciousness returned. Feeling his emotions steadying in her hands, Janessa stared at Prentice as his eyes opened, clear for the first time in 13 years.

"I think... I'm back."

Janessa stared in shock, watching the man blink confusedly in the light of the cabin, looking at all his friends and family who had aged without him.

He was disoriented and heartbroken, that much was clear from his face, much less from his emotions, which brought tears to Janessa's eyes as they reminded her so clearly of what she'd felt when she first returned from her kidnapping.

Prentice clung to his son, and they both cried together until he fell asleep, his body exhausted from the events of the day. Livvy had quadruple-checked that it was a real sleep, and Janessa found herself doing the same, remembering her past healing lessons.

As Keefe took the first shift monitoring Prentice's emotions to make sure they were steady, Janessa was shocked to find that there were tears running down her face. She wanted to hit herself for being selfish in such a moment, but she couldn't stop them.

As most of them left to give Prentice, Wylie, and Tiergan privacy, Janessa stood separately, looking away into the distance so they wouldn't see her tears. It was all in vain as Squall made her way over, sitting and patting the ground next to her.

As Janessa sat down, Squall wiped the tears off her cheeks with her icy hands. "I'm sorry I haven't checked in on you, JJ. I know you've been through a rough time."

Janessa sniffled, trying to smile. "Today isn't about me. I'm fine."

Squall chuckled, melting the ice on her arm as she pulled Janessa into her side. "Prentice may be the star of today's show, but you're allowed to be sad... Tell me what's wrong, JJ."

The tears flowed freely down Janessa's cheeks as she stopped trying to stop them. "I just... I'm really happy for Wylie and Prentice, that they have each other now, but I..." Janessa hiccuped, wiping her nose with her sleeve, with the volume of her voice, her urge conjure flames grew. "I don't get to have that type of reunion. My parents are dead, I don't get to know my biological parents, and Calla was my mom, but she's gone too now..." Janessa blinked harshly, the world becoming blurry with her tears. "Maruca pointed out the other day that I have no family crest, no parents, I'm not even really part of Sophie's family, and I... I had accepted that before I met everyone, but now all my friends have such loving families, and it's harder to accept that I don't."

Squall brushed away the hairs covering Janessa's face gently. "You know we all care about you, right Janessa? We're your family."

Janessa shook her head. "You're all like cool aunts and uncles, but you have your own families. And you should. I'm just whining."

"Don't say that, sweetie, you've had a harder life than the rest of us. You forget that sometimes because of everything that's happened, but it's ok for you to cry. Cry all you want, I always have a shoulder for you to lean on." Squall soothed, rubbing her back.

Janessa nodded, crying silently into her shoulder as she released a few of the flames building up, pale flames licking her fingertips. As she felt Squall's cold lips against her head, the woman added, "And, for the record, I've always thought of you as a daughter."

Those words broke any barrier left as Janessa hugged her tight, not caring about the ice covering her, or worrying about whether the ice would melt. "Thank you."