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“Never underestimate the power of the page.”
― Shannon Messenger, Neverseen

“Take care of my moonlark.”
― Shannon Messenger, Lodestar

“The right road is rarely the easy road. And no war is ever fought without casualties."
"Is that what this is?" Sophie asked. "A war?"
"Unfortunately, yes. A quiet war to stop a louder one from raging. You may hate me for asking this of him, but this is the cold reality we all face. We cannot control the actions of others, nor stop them from disappointing us. We can only use the anger and pain to fuel us. To help us rise above.”
― Shannon Messenger, Everblaze

“Dare we ask what made you willing to suffer the furry disgrace?”
― Shannon Messenger, Neverseen

“It's all a rather dark shade of gray. But that's a color all of us are familiar with, aren't we?”
― Shannon Messenger, Lodestar

“Tinker considers questions to be far more valuable than answers, so it’s rare to get an actual explanation.â€�
Dex snorted. “Huh, I wonder what that’s like.�
“I know,� Sophie agreed. “We’re so used to everyone telling us everything we want to know the second we want to know it—how will we ever handle that kind of vagueness and mystery?�
Mr. Forkle sighed. “I suppose I walked into that one.”
― Shannon Messenger, Flashback

“Silveny's pregnant,' Sophie told her friends when she joined them for breakfast.
Fitz dropped his fork. 'Are you sure?'
'Oh yeah,' Sophie mumbled, sinking into the chair next to him. 'She showed me...'
'GAH!' everyone said.
Keefe pushed his plate away. 'I'm done with food forever.'
'Me too,' Dex agreed.
'Me three,' Biana said.
'Seriously, that is one batch of memories you do not have to show me,' Fitz told Sophie. 'I don't care if it's part of our Cognate training.'
'But it's still huge,' Biana added. 'Do you know how far along she is?'
'I'm guessing it's new, since the last few times I transmitted to her she didn't mention anything about--'
'STOP!' Keefe held up his hands. 'Ground rules for this conversation: All talk of alicorn baby-making is off the table--got it? Otherwise I'll have to rip my ears off. And for the record, I do not want to be there when Baby Glitterbutt arrives.'
'Me either,' Fitz said. 'My dad made me go to the Hekses' unicorn preserve for a delivery one time.' He shuddered. 'Who knew they came out so slimy?'
'Ew, dude, I did not need to know that. Can we talk about something else? Anything else?'
'Does anyone know how long alicorns stay pregnant?' Sophie asked.
Biana shook her head. 'We've never had a baby alicorn before. But I'm pretty sure unicorns are pregnant for eleven months. So maybe it's the same?'
'Do you think Silveny knows?' Fitz asked. 'If her instincts are telling her she's pregnant, maybe they'll also tell her how it's going to work.'
'I guess I can ask. It was hard to get information out of her. All she wanted to tell me about was--'
'STOP!' Keefe said.
'I wasn't going to say that. She was telling me that she's really hungry. I'm not sure if it's a pregnancy craving or an excuse to get more treats, but she went on and on about how she needs more swizzlespice. We'll have to find a way to let Jurek know.
'Do you think he already knows?' Fitz asked. 'He's the equestrian caretaker at the Sanctuary. Maybe he...saw stuff.'
'WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THE GROUND RULES?' Keefe shouted, covering his ears. 'That's it, this conversation is officially over. Next person who says "alicorn" is getting pelted with fruit.'
'What's wrong with the alicorns?' Granite asked behind them.
He'd arrived with Mr. Forkle, each of them carrying stacks of scrolls.
'Silveny's pregnant," Sophie said, and all the scrolls went THUNK!
'Are you certain?' Granite whispered, bending to gather the uncurling paper.
Sophie nodded, and Mr. Forkle rushed to her side. 'Tell me everything.'
'And I'm out!' Keefe said, covering his ears and singing, 'LALALALALA! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!' as he raced up the stairs to the boys' tree house.”
― Shannon Messenger, Neverseen

“But we’re just kids she thought For the moment yes But we are talking about the future You really think we’ll still need a Black Swan that many years from now Yes I believe we will always need a Black Swan The world has gotten too complicated to leave any one group solely in charge There needs to be a system of checks and balances We do hope to someday work hand in hand with the Council But even if that never happens we should be there to keep them honest”
― Shannon Messenger, Neverseen

“It takes some getting used to,' Mr. Forkle said. 'But what you're seeing is a visual representation of each other's moods.'
'So that means if I do this...' Keefe tickled Sophie's neck.
'GAH--everything just went supersonic!' Fitz said.
Sophie snatched Keefe's wrist as he reached to tickle her again. 'Don't. You. Dare.'
'Whoa, now everything's red and ripply,' Fitz said. 'Is that because she's angry?'
'Precisely, Mr. Vacker. Every time her emotions shift, the patterns and colors will change. And with practice, you'll learn to interpret what you see.'
'Okay, but...can't they just say, "Hey, I'm feeling this?"' Keefe asked.
'People aren't always honest about their feelings--even with themselves,' Mr. Forkle told him. 'Plus, many telepathic missions involve stealth and secrecy. So for this exercise I'm going to need both of you to forget everything around you. Let the world drop away, leaving only you two.'
Keefe sighed. 'Just tell them to stare into each other's eyes and they'll be good.'
'None of that, Mr. Sencen. From this moment on, you have one job and one job only: to judge their translations of the various emotions I'll be triggering.'
'Triggering how?' Sophie asked.
'You'll see soon enough. And you'll go first, Miss Foster. For this to work, Mr. Vacker, it's crucial that you not react externally. No yelling or thrashing or screaming or--'
'Uhhh, what are you going to do to me?' Fitz asked.
'Nothing you won't survive. Consider it an exercise in self-control. And try not to listen to his thoughts, Miss Foster. Study only the changes in his emotional center and make your deduction. We begin now.'
Sophie closed her eyes and focus on the colors weaving around Fitz's mind. She was about to ask if she was missing something when the pattern exploded into a swirl of pale blue tendrils. The color felt to bright to be sad, but also too wild to be peaceful.
'Tension?' she guessed.
'Kinda close,' Keefe told her.
The laughter in his voice made her wonder what had happened to poor Fitz.
She tried to think of other emotions as his mind turned electric blue.
'Shock?' she guessed.
'That counts,' Keefe said. 'Though the best answer would've been "surprise."'
'Is that an emotion?' she asked.
'Indeed it is,' Mr. Forkle said. 'One of the most common emotions you'll experience as you navigate someone's mind--hence why I chose it as our starting point.'
'Can I talk now?' Fitz asked. 'Because that was seriously disgusting!'
Sophie opened her eyes and tried not to laugh when she saw red fruit smashed all over Fitz's face. He wiped his cheeks on his sleeves, but that only smeared the pulp.
'I think I'm going to like this assignment,' Keefe said. 'What else can we fling at Fitz?'
'Nothing for the moment,' Mr. Forkle told him. 'It's his turn to interpret. Everyone close your eyes. And remember, no cues of any kind, Miss Foster.'
Sophie counted the seconds, bracing for the worst--and when nothing chaned, she opened her eyes and found Mr. Forkle with his finger over his lips in a 'shhh' sign.
'Um...confusion,' Fitz guessed.
'That works,' Keefe said. 'It started as anticipation, but then it shifted.'
'Very good,' Mr. Forkle said. 'And well done, Mr. Sencen. I wasn't sure you'd recognize confusion. It's one of the more challenging emotions for Empaths.'
'Maybe on other people,' Keefe said. 'But on Foster it's easy. Why are her emotions so much stronger?'
'Honestly, I'm not sure,' Mr. Forkle admitted. 'I suspect it stems from the combination of her inflicting ability and her human upbringing. But it was one of the surprises of her development. Much like her teleporting. Okay, Miss Foster, it's your turn to guess again.'
She closed her eyes and watched as the lines of color in Fitz's mind blossomed to a snowflake of purple.
'Pride?' she guessed.
Keefe laughed. 'Wow, add more fail points to Sophitz.'
'Quiet,' Mr. Forkle told him.”
― Shannon Messenger, Neverseen

“I'm sure I'll swear fealty soon. I just have..."
"Trust issues.”
― Shannon Messenger, Lodestar

“That was one of the most striking things I noticed during my years living among them,' Mr. Forkle agreed. 'Each generation dumps their problems on the next because they simply do not have enough time to deal with them. I suspect that if they could see a bigger picture, they would not destroy themselves and their planet the same way.'
Sophie nodded, remembering some of the thoughts she'd heard growing up. Death truly was humans' constant companion. Maybe if it wasn't, they'd care more about others and take the time to do things the right way.
And yet, later that night, as she tossed and turned in bed nervous for what the first day at Exillium would bring, Sophie couldn't help wondering if the elves' indefinite lifespan hindered them just as much as the humans' fleeting lives,
Would the Council--and even the Black Swan--be so willing to sit back and ignore problems if they couldn't rest so comfortably in the knowledge that they still had centuries and centuries ahead of them?
The more she thought about it, the more she realized both sides had lost an important alternate perspective. And maybe that was what she'd been created for.
A girl from both worlds, who'd seen the follies and triumphs of each side.
And her job was to shake things up and do something new.”
― Shannon Messenger, Neverseen

“It seems we're attempting to drain the ocean with a leaking spoon. But even if that's the case, we can either give up or continue taking it one leaking spoonful at a time.”
― Errol Forkle