Stephon carefully circled the woman standing in the middle of his office. He studied her closely even though he had no real idea what to look for. She looked to be in her thirties. She had raven black hair, knowing green eyes, and a sweet earthy smell that was similar to Catalina's. She stood proudly, completely unafraid, as he tried to get a measure of her.

"How did you find us? We've been searching for one of your kind for weeks with little to no luck?" he asked, rubbing his chin in thought.

"If we don't want to be found, we won't be. Most avoid others out of caution, but we know you're searching and why," she answered matter of factly, with a half shrug.

"How?" his brows crinkling in confusion. They'd tried to be as discreet as possible in their search. Maybe they hadn't tried hard enough.

"We just do. I'm surprised I'm the only one that's appeared to you. We can usually feel the pull of another witch's power, and in this case, the pull is very strong. Which tells me she has no idea how to hide it. Not being able to hide herself is very dangerous. So is casting spells with little to no training. The wrong spell could consume you entirely before you even realize what you've done. She either doesn't know that or is very reckless because I can feel it in the air. She's definitely been using her powers to some extent. I decided to come and help before she accidentally destroys herself and possibly others," she said, an obvious hint of caution and concern in her voice.

"And, you can teach her what she needs to know?" he asked, sitting down behind his desk and folding his hands together.

"I can, if she's willing. I can teach her lots of things, but not everything. Some things can be taught and some things you must learn for yourself," she answered with confidence.

This was all very foreign to him. He knew nothing of witches except very occasional whispers. But, it was still his job to keep Catta safe and make sure no one misled her. From the looks of it and his lack of knowledge, he was just going to have to trust her judgment.

"It's true we've been looking for someone to teach her. If you're that person or not, well, I'll leave that decision up to her. I'll have someone show you to a room and I'll inform her you're here. I wouldn't expect her today, though. She's been training most of the day and is probably tired, probably tomorrow."

"Okay," she said before following the scout that had brought her in back towards the door. "My name's Elliana, by the way," she said, giving him one last glance before leaving the room.

Elliana had just finished settling into her new room when there was a knock at her door. She opened herself up to her abilities, her eyebrows raised in surprise. She crossed the room and opened the door.

"You must be Catalina," she said with a smile, moving aside to allow her into her room.

"Yep," she said, suspicion clear in her voice.

Catalina looked around the room curiously. She took note of things that might have meant little to others. The room had a ring of salt where the walls and floor met for protection. She noticed several old books sitting on a table next to several gem stones, some rough some smooth. There was also a motar and pestle there that appeared to be made of granit. It was slightly worn from use. There were also several different colored candels on the table and a small black stone bowl with four legs that had a pentagram on it.

There was a sort of spice rack above the table. It had glass jars that were full of herbs. Looking closer, she could see they were all labeled.

She looked back at the woman, sizing her up more carefully than her initial glance. She noted the jewelry she wore as well as her features. She had clear quartz earrings, which meant she probably had some healing abilities. She had a large black tourmaline on a long string hanging from her neck for protection. She had a tigers eye bracelet, also for protection.

"Are you satisfied with me?" Elliana finally asked, having been looking Catta over as well.

"Maybe. We'll see. We'll start in the morning," Catalina said, then turned and left the room.

Catta followed Elliana back to her room after breakfast the next day.

"So where do we start?" Catalina asked after closing the bedroom door behind her.

"First, you need to learn protection, then I figured healing, and we'll just see where we go from there," Elliana answered.

"Okay."

"Before we get started with all that, though. Why don't you tell me about what you already know and any casting you've already done," she said, sitting down on the edge of her bed.

Catalina told her about all the books she'd bought and read and the research she'd done on the internet. She also told her about the few spells she'd cast. Mostly, she'd only cast protection spells because she was always anxious about something happening to her family or of her accidently hurting someone. However, she had wished ill on someone once without a spell, and they had suddenly gotten hurt the next day.

"With magic, intentions are everything. You don't need spells to do things. They simply help you focus on your intentions, which can make them more powerful or longer lasting. Sometimes they help, and sometimes they're just not needed or available," Elliana said patiently.

"So you're saying if I just think something bad, it could happen?" Catta asked a little confused as she sat down in a chair beside the table with the crystals.

"Well, no. Not exactly. You have to put some force behind it. You have to really really want it to happen," she explained.

"Okay, I think I get it," Catalina said, biting her bottom lip in thought.

"For protection spells, you have to see the things you want protected. You can just picture it in your mind and make a shield around them or it. You can also cast spells with herbs and stones. Even a simple circle of salt can give protection. First, you need to protect yourself. So close your eyes and picture yourself in your mind."

Catalina closed her eyes, and a look on concentration crossed her face, "Okay, now what?"

"Now, picture like a big bubble surrounding you. While you're doing that, think about what you want the bubble to do. You want it to keep you safe, physically and mentally. You also want it to conceal you from others because this will also keep you safe," Elliana said as she mentally reached out to Catalina and felt the strength of her presence.

"How do I know if it works?" Catta asked, peeking out of her right eye at Elliana.

"I'll know. Right now, you stand out to me like a beacon, which we don't want. If you succeed, I'll still feel you because I'm in the room with you but not the way I do now, " Elliana coached lightly.

"What's the purpose of this? Why does it matter if you can feel me? And how do you feel me exactly?" Catta asked both eyes open now as she looked at her in complete confusion.

"Because witches have lots of mental capability. We can reach out to things that are around us. Sometimes from very far away. With the way you're shining someone could reach out to you mentally and harm you, or can use the beacon to find you and physically harm you," she answered seriously trying to impress on her the importance of it.

"Oh."

Catalina closed her eyes again, and her face was again one of complete concentration. They say there quietly for about fifteen minutes. Elliana also had her eyes closed as she continued reaching out to Catalina, barely brushing her mind with the lightest of touches.

Catalina focused hard on everything she wanted in her shield. She felt the magic pull as she formed her final thoughts. She reached into it and tried to picture it around her. She could feel a tickle she hadn't realized was there until now as it started to disappear.

Elliana started losing contact slowly at first, and then a wall slammed down hard, blocking her out entirely. She could still sense Catalina, but she couldn't actually touch her. When she tried, it was like hitting a brick wall.

"What was that tickle I felt as it came down?" Catalina asked her.

Elliana's mouth fell open, "You felt it?"

"Yeah, it felt kinda like a feather tickling me," she explained, with confusion crinkling her brows.

"You're even stronger than I thought. Most untrained witches can't feel things like that until they're already under attack. It was me, I was feeling for your shield," Elliana said, a look of suprise on her face.

"What does an attack feel like? It's very painful, like someone is trying to split your skull open."

"How do you make them stop?"

"You stab back, or you hope they get distracted. A very strong witch can keep them out and physically attack them at the same time to distract them. I can only do one or the other, but I think you could be one of those witches," Elliana said, looking at Catta with new appreciation.

The day went on similarly to this until they were both too tired to continue. They hadn't even taken a real break for lunch or dinner. Catalina had called down to have something brought up to them, not wanting to stop. So far, she was very impressed and grateful to Elliana. She was teaching her way more than her books and research every could. Elliana was surprised multiple times by how fast Catta was catching on and completing the lessons. Catta was like wisely surprised by the vast amount of knowledge Elliana seemed to have.

"Same time tomorrow?" Catta asked before leaving.

"Let's do it every other day. I may not exactly be old, but I'm not as young as I used to be either, and I hadn't exactly been practicing regularly before I got here," Elliana said with a chuckle.

"Okay, that works. I need to keep up with my other training any way," Catalina said with a shrug.

"See you then," Elliana said, watching her leave and then heading towards the shower.

Catalina passed Stephan on the way to her own shower and he stopped her.

"Well, what did you think of her? Is she the real thing? Is she helping you?"

"Yeah, she was great. I know so much more than I did before and I feel like I have better control of it now. And, it's nice to just have one like me around. I don't feel like so much of a freak any more," she answered with a genuine smile.

"You were never a freak, bug. You're special. I'm glad she's helping, just keep me in the loop. Okay? " he said, his eyes full of sadness and love.

"Yes, dad. I'm off to bed. Love you."

"Love you too, night."