Paige sat in her dorm room, chewing on the end of a fountain pen. Even though her family lived among humans for generations, being human themselves, she still felt the need to close herself off from them. Or was it the strange 'gift' as her older sister called it that appeared on her eighteenth birthday? Paige hadn't found anything the least bit useful about feeling the emotions of all those milling about outside though. Even with the wall she built up over the last few years, strong emotions filtered in. If she just let go of her concentration for one second, it could consume her.

After pulling on the black choker around her neck, jangling the pentagram charm, she went back to her homework. The chemistry lab she had tomorrow always rose her spirits some. Among the class, she excelled in getting the reactions she wanted. But then, potions were in her blood. And really, who didn't like showing off. A grin crossed her face. Despite everything, she enjoyed this year even more than the last, the classes exciting her more the higher up she got. Being human didn't turn out so bad as long as she honed her craft at the same time. It really was a brilliant concept and she thanked the whispers of it she heard even if she never quite got close to anyone here.