Keeper of The Lost Cities AU: If worlds collided

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Linh's POV

"Hello there!" Quan greeted the pet store employee cheerfully. Mai was looking at the different creatures, wondering which ones they should take home to their elaborate mansion. Tam and Linh stood a little way behind them.

Tam mumbled his usual complaints under his breath and Linh smiled at him, gathered the moisture in the air, and splashed him. That turned out to be a big mistake.

"DON'T USE YOUR ABILITY IN PUBLIC!" their father shouted, turning red. Mai frowned at her kids and looked away.

The employee was looking between the family, clearly confused. "Your daughter, she manifested as a hydrokinetic?" he asked.

Quan went from as red as a tomato to pale in a few seconds. "Yes, well, she can hardly control it," He argued back after a few seconds.

The employee's gaze flipped at Tam. "So, has he manifested as well?"

Quan grabbed Tam's arm and pulled him closer to him, much to his disgust. "Of course not, you see, he's younger than his sister, and hasn't gotten his ability yet."

Now it was Linh's turn to pale. Her parents were always trying to convince people that she and Tam were different ages. That they were not twins. What were they ashamed of, anyways? They were not lesser, like the rest of the elves believed multiple births were. Linh learned long ago she could not fight her parents on how they treat them. Tam, on the other hand, most certainly did not learn.

Tam wretched his arm out of Quan's grasp. Mai tore her eyes away from the fish she was admiring to gap at the scene. "I am not my sister's little brother," he snarled, at both his parents and the shopkeeper.

"We're twins," she informed the shopkeeper. His face portrayed different emotions, shock and fear and disgust. But before he could stutter anything out, Mai took Linh and Tam's hands and walked towards the exit.

Quan followed behind, fists clenched, with a sarcastic "Have a great rest of your day." Then he slammed the door.

"How many times, how. Many. Times. Do I have to tell you two?!" Quan scolded his children. "You," he said, turning to Linh. "You know you cannot control your ability. Much less here! Think of all the flooding you've caused!"

She hung her head. It wasn't her fault that she manifested herself as a Hydrokinetic, and that she became the Girl of Many Floods. Tam seemed to agree.

"Maybe if you moved away from your ocean-side mansion to help her, she wouldn't have to keep her ability a secret!"

"Stop," Mai said, holding out her hands to everyone. "That's enough of this conversation. I still need to get more windchimes. It'll be a few seconds, and then we'll leave." She waited until her children nodded, and then walked away to find the store. Quan followed, with Tam and Linh reluctantly walking behind. She sighed. She had good enough control over her ability. Why couldn't her parents see that? Maybe... she would have to show them. Linh reached her hands up and opened her senses. Immediately, all the water in the area suddenly called to her, summoned her. It was overwhelming, but she just had to get a hold of it.

Tam switched his gaze from the ground and looked at her, alarmed. His shadow crossed hers. You're going to get in trouble, he whispered.

I know, Linh thought. But they're never going to trust me if I don't show them how I can handle this.

Tam was silent for a few moments, and eventually his shadow retreated to normal size. But he did put his arm around her shoulders to keep her steady. She switched her focus back to the water. What shape should she turn it into? Not knowing why, the shape of a swan called to her. Linh took a deep breath and called the water, shaping it into a fancy bird.