Originally Posted by WillowSeawinds

Rowan read the stories and became so engrossed she nearly forgot where she was. "Oh my gosh!" she said excitedly. "These are fantastic." She handed the book back to Ariana and said, "Will you let me read more as you write it? I can't wait to see what happens in both stories. You really are very talented."

occ: I wouldn't even think of it.

~~RACHEL~~
‘Ugh! I hate swimming!’ was my only thought as I trudged to the pool on the morning of my twelfth birthday. After changing into my swim suit, I hopped into the pool. The cold water surrounded me, and seemed to extinguish some spark in my soul.
I stood there, shivering, until the class lined up against the wall. Butterfly! I hate that stroke. I struggled through, the last person to make it to the other side, as usual. At least, that’s what I thought, until I saw a girl still in the middle of the pool. She was writhing underwater. Suddenly blood rose to the surface. A few seconds later, I heard a scream muffled by water, and the girl went limp, her light brown hair floating around her as she sank to the bottom of the pool.
The coach was blowing her whistle frantically, and she dived in. She then swam to the surface, gasping for air, with the girl in her arms. I stared at her floppy body. As I looked at the pale skin, closed eyes, and soaking wet hair, I caught a glimpse of webs between her fingers and toes. For a moment I thought I saw blue markings on her face.
The world seemed to stop, and a voice whispered in my head, ‘Arianna. Your dearest friend and greatest enemy, Fire mage.’ Then the world started again, and the noise and movement startled me. Suddenly, a wave of anger swept through me. How dare this girl, Arianna or whatever her name was, ruin my birthday! If not for her, I would have had to suffer through swimming, which isn’t really that bad, and then everything else would be fine. Instead, the whole school would be messed up for the rest of the day.
As I got angrier and angrier, I felt everything burst out of me. I heard a breaking noise, and the ground underneath me started cracking. A giant flame engulfed me. I felt its tickling, but no heat, just pleasant warmth. Somehow, though I was sopping wet, having just climbed out of the pool with everyone else, the fire managed to burn. I screamed and ran away, and the fire went out, leaving a black scorch mark where it had been burning. This time without the world stopping, the voice in my head said, ‘It is beginning,’