Chapter 4.4 Everyone is Special in Their Own Way

Harmony sat in her bedroom with Luther and Briar.  They were supposed to be working on their homework, but they got sidetracked talking about plans for the full moon at the end of the week.  This will be the first full moon of the Harvest Season, which is always a big town-wide celebration.  Every supernatural being from far and wide will be converging upon the epicenter of the supernatural community that Moonlight Falls has quickly become.  It was an exciting event for these three teens, but for non-supernaturals it was just another ordinary night.

And speaking of non-supernatural beings, Harmony heard the rest of her family return home. Lincoln and Mira had taken Lyric to see the Council of Magic, preceded over by Master Aberdeen, regarding Lyric’s magical abilities.  Or in this case, the lack thereof.

Harmony heard the front door open then the unmistakable sound of her sister’s uncontrollable sobs as Lyric ran down the hall and into her room.  Harmony, even though she knew that it was wrong, couldn’t help but smile at her sister’s pain. 

It’s not that Harmony hates Lyric. Or that she takes a twisted pleasure out of another sim’s pain. Harmony’s smile had nothing to do with Lyric herself per se. Their relationship is best described as a projection of dislike onto Lyric as the usurper that took the attention that Harmony had enjoyed before that parasite of a little sister came along.

Nor does Harmony look down on Lyric for being just human. Lincoln, her daddy that she admires more than anyone, is a human. All of her extended family that she is closest to are humans. Grandma Stella and Grandpa Brandon. Aunt Lillow, Uncle DeShawn, and Aunt Autumn. Her younger cousin Mayah. All are humans, all are people that Harmony loves and adores. Not once has she ever felt that she is better than any of them because she has magical powers and they do not.

The reason that Harmony was all smiles is because now, finally, there was no denying that Little Miss Perfect, isn’t so perfect after all. Lyric is just like any other human, nothing special about her at all. With this undeniable proof, now maybe some of the attention can move away from boring, plain, ordinary Lyric.  And move some attention back towards Harmony, since she is the one with exceptional magical talents.

The scales were tipping in Harmony’s favor, and that made her smile.

Luther knows that it is useless to try and say anything to Harmony regarding her sister. 

Personally, Luther has always felt a constant need for everyone to get along with each other all of the time. Everyone that knows Luther likes him; he is non-confrontational and easy to get along with. Luther has 5 siblings, and he loves each of them. Sure, they don’t always get along all of the time, but love is always there. Luther has a close special bond with each of his siblings. And not just because they are all werewolves that can communicate without speaking.

On the other hand, there is Harmony and her cold, distant, indifferent relationship with Lyric.

Luther is determined that one of these days he is going to sit down and talk with Harmony. Really talk to her, and try to help her with her feelings. But, today is not that day. Instead Luther put his head down, pretending to concentrate on his homework.

Briar, on the other hand, was not as uncomfortable as Luther. While Luther notices everything about everyone, Briar has a talent for being completely oblivious to others.

“Do you think that I should wear my green dress to the Fall Festival, or the off white one?” Briar asked completely unaware of how upset Lyric is as she ran down the hall past them. Or, how happy that makes Harmony, who is sitting right next to her.

“Do you think that there will be any cute boys from the other towns coming to visit?” Briar wondered out loud to no one in particular.

Meanwhile, downstairs Lincoln and Mira were trying to figure out what to do next for their youngest daughter. Their meeting with the Council of Magic didn’t go the way that they had hoped, but in the way that they had assumed it would go. That didn’t make the situation at hand any easier though.

When a child has one supernatural parent and one human parent they are brought before the council to see if they are indeed magical or not.  In Harmony’s case, though she was only a baby, she was showing signs of possessing great magical powers. As expected, Linc and Mira did the same for Lyric, but the outcome was the exact opposite.

“Let’s try the tests again when she is a bit older,” Master Aberdeen encouraged. “Some times these things take time to develop.”

Then when Linc and Mira brought a 3 year old Lyric back to the council, the outcome was the same. No supernatural powers were present.

“We can try the tests one more time,” Master Aberdeen said once again. “The odds that Lyric is a witch will be even slimmer. But not impossible.”

However, the third time was not the charm. It has been determined, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Lyric is a human with no supernatural powers at all.

“So,” Linc asked his wife, “what do we do now?”

This was all above Lincoln’s level of understanding. Lincoln is a human, and he is not in any danger.

Being human in Moonlight Falls isn’t the terrible frightening situation that it once was. Alcander was dead, and with him the hateful term Immundus died as well. Grendel fled town, and the new mayor is an honest and noble fairy.  Ryker and the werewolves beat Osiris and his army of vampires once and for all. Yes, there have been a few vampires seen in the outskirts of town, but they only hunt the wildlife.  No humans or fairies have been killed in a long time.

Despite all of that, seeing his baby girl so devastated broke his heart.  And not knowing how he could fix it was the worst part.

“I’ll talk with her,” Mira said. Even though Mira is a witch, and a very powerful one at that, she does have experience with being made to feel like she is less than by the people around her.

Mira found her youngest child on floor of her bedroom sobbing her poor little eyes out.  Lyric, even as a child, had a deep understanding of emotions; her own emotions and the emotions of others.  Master Aberdeen had sensed as much.  Her level of empathy for others was something to be admired.  Right now Lyric was so very sad; not for herself but because of the other members of her family.  Despite Harmony’s indifference to her younger sister, Lyric admired her older sister.  Lyric wanted to be just as special as her amazingly talented older sister, but alas it was not to be.

“I’m sorry, I’ve let everyone down,” Lyric sobbed, “I wish that you could be proud of me.”

“Oh, my little sweetie,” Mira tried to comfort her little girl, “don’t you see how much your family loves you?”

“But, I don’t have any special powers.” Lyric still sobbed, “Everyone in this family is special, except me.  You and Harmony have your magic.  Even Daddy is part of a werewolf pack, even though he isn’t a werewolf.  Everyone has something special about them except me.”

“Everyone has their own talents supernatural or not.  Your father is a talented musician.  Your Auntie Autumn is a genius.  Your sister has her magic.  We just need to find yours.  Whatever it is that makes Lyric Scout Charming one of a kind.”

After talking with her mommy, Lyric was starting to feel a bit better. It was decided that Lyric would be with her family in Twinbrook for the full moon weekend, instead of having to spend the weekend in Moonlight Falls, with constant reminders everywhere that she is not a supernatural.  Of course, her Aunt Willow would love to have her niece for a visit.  Willow’s daughter, Mayah, is around the same age as Lyric and the two have always gotten along exceptionally well. 

Moreover, after the conversation, Lyric was determined to find her exceptional talent that made her special.  She would spend the rest of the night deep in thought as to what that talent might be.

But before Mira left her daughter, she had some final words for her. “I want to emphasize that being human in Moonlight Falls isn’t as dangerous as it used to be. So, I say this not to scare you, but to make you aware of your surroundings.  People will think you are weak and try to take advantage of you.  Don’t let them.  You, Lyric, have an amazing gift for reading the emotions and intentions of others.  Trust your instincts.  Listen to the little voice inside of you that knows right from wrong.  And if you ever feel that you are in a situation that you cannot get out of, use this.”

Mira put a small charm in Lyric’s hand.  As soon as Lyric touched the charm it began to glow a rainbow of colors while a sense of warmth swept over the young child.

She was so hypnotized by the charm that she almost forgot to ask, “what is this?”

“I cast a unique spell on this charm.  It is very very powerful.  Only to be used in the most dire situation.  But when you use it, it will lead you to what you need the most.”