Chapter 33

April 11, 2001 – 12:10

"Human lore would refer to me as a kind of witch, but it's not what I am. I am a type of elemental being. A mage, to be precise."

"A mage? Wait, so a witch and a mage aren't the same thing? Ooh, I remember Jessica mentioning elementals a few times, but I never understood what she meant."

"Yes, I'm a mage, and it's indeed not the same thing. Most mages find it offensive to be called witches. Personally, I don't care even if I hate the majority of witches. The way we use our inner energy and call for it is different, but even within the supernatural world, people don't know the difference."

"Daaamn! Wait… can I say that or is damn a word I should avoid using? I'm sorry, I thought I was knowledgeable about that world, but clearly, I'm not. I remember when you saved my mom's life a few months ago, but this explains so much, and why Frank doesn't know much about what you do. Can you fight like that because of what you are or it's a skill you developed?"

Coralis chuckled at the damn comment. The waiter came with their order, and she sighed when he left. She decided to look at it as a practice for when she'd have to reveal what she was to Frank. Stephanie already knew about the werewolves, which made it easier for her to explain her world, and she wouldn't be in trouble for revealing anything about her world.

"Don't worry about it, you can still use the word damn, although some families of coven witches might confuse it for a compliment. As for my combat skills, no, mages don't typically fight like that. It's a skill I developed."

"Oh wow. You told us your work was related to national defence, and I can see how what you do relates to it, the secret itself does anyway, but were you really recruited into it when in High School?"

"Yes, I was. I don't mind you knowing about me, but uh, just in case the day comes where I have to reveal myself to your brother, I don't want him to be mad if you knew all about me when he didn't, and he might resent you for that, so there are questions I might not answer you or will give you a vague one."

"It shows how much you're a keeper despite what you are. You do care. I mean, I know that werewolves aren't as scary as what fairy tales want folks to believe. I realize how much everything we think we know about your world is a lie. Anyway, I don't care about what you are, I do, but not really. I still think you're good for my brother, and I don't wanna see him leaving you just because of what you are… does that make sense?"

"I get what you are saying, and thank you. As far as your brother is concerned, it's not about how much we like each other. I like him, and I'm glad that you understand why I can't talk to him about what I do and what I am, at least not yet. However, I do have a phone book full of enemies, and I also need to protect him from them. I don't want him in danger just because of his connection to me."

Stephanie looked at her food. She was hungry, but her mind couldn't think about eating. Coralis ate half of her plate and was toying with the remaining of her pasta. She was glad that Stephanie understood and wasn't mad at her, but couldn't help herself from wondering if it be better if she ended things with Frank, despite Erik's and Henry's reassurance.

"Well… your secret is safe with me," said Stephanie, swirling her fork between her fingers while keeping its pointy ends in the noodles, "but I need to know: how do I need to call you? Is your name Coralis, or Blue Thunder? And what exactly can you do? Can you fully change into an animal or only partially? If so, which one? Jessica doesn't know what you are exactly, she can't pinpoint your smell. She thinks you're a type of elemental, and Clarissa thinks you're a werepanther."

"Aight, one question at a time," said Coralis, laughing at Stephanie's series of questions and hoping it'd be that easy when she'd had to reveal herself to Frank. "How to call me depends on who's listening: when around unknowing people, keep calling me Coralis, which is my civil name. I omitted many details when discussing myself or my past, but I never lied about it. Anything non-human, well, they know me as Blue Thunder, so keep it that way and call me Blue," said Coralis.

Coralis looked around for a waiter. She saw one and waved at him when he looked her way. She ordered a drink for her and Stephanie, and asked for a take-out container, just in case they had to leave before her companion finished her food. 

"May I ask why?"

"You may, but I won't give you the full story. It stems from events that happened at school. Being known by a different name could help me protect Frank from my foes if things go further with him. As for your other questions… I can do a lot of things, but to give you a simple answer, I can manipulate elements around me. And yes, I can fully transform into an animal if I want to. I can shift into a panther, and into a mini-version of it… which looks like a black cat."

"You being able to only turn your arm into a paw, is it because of what you are? Or is it because of your bloodline? Clarissa thought that you could be from an ancient bloodline of werepanther. I'm sorry if I'm not making sense right now," said Stephanie, before she finally took a bite of her food.

"Some bloodlines of shifters do have full control over their shift, and yes, in my case, I can partially shift because of what I am. However, not all mages can transform into something else, and some elementals can transform into elements. It's a skill to develop."

"What do you mean by transforming into an element? You said that you're a mage, but you also mentioned being a type of elemental, and so did Jessica, does it mean that there are other types of elementals? Just like there are many types of shifters and not just werewolves?"

"Some can transform into a wind, smoke, mist, things like that. It's typically a skill that some fays may develop over time. As for other types of elementals, fays, elves, pixies, djinns and goblins are also considered elemental beings, so yes, there are many types of elemental beings."

"Yeah, okay. I knew nothing of the supernatural world!"

"You knew something. The smell you mentioned earlier, comes from our essence, the type of elemental energy that our aura is made of. I am a spirit mage, but my bloodline isn't pure, from what I was told. My mother was a water mage, but people don't sense that in my essence. I don't know what else there is in my bloodline, but I am aware that it gives me a very unique scent."

"My brother said that you were working two full-time jobs, and I remember you mentioning that the night my family met you. Now I know that you work for the CMMA, but what else do you do?"

"I don't work for the CMMA. I am attached to a different agency, one that is based in London. We've been partnering up for quite some time and our respective agencies want to keep it that way for now. My other job is my primary one."

Coralis started to explain to Stephanie what flyball was, and Stephanie was fascinated. Stephanie was looking forward to the day Coralis would tell Frank about that world. She wanted to watch a flyball game but wanted to do that with her brother.

Coralis' pager went off. She looked at it and cursed. 

"We have to go back, now."