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Jazrina struggled not to be annoyed after receiving the call that she was expected to move back to Tanner suddenly. She had been planning to move home soon anyway. She had wanted to move home on her own terms. Now she was rushing to settle all her affairs before she left Seattle. She had to find someone to take her place or pay for next three months’ rent so she didn’t leave her roommates high and dry. She had to pack and arrange with her parents to move back in. 

She wanted to keep her clients. Convincing them that she could take care of their needs remotely from Tanner, that was a whole different kettle of fish. She had spent the last two weeks meeting with them all, and setting up secure cloud-based drop boxes, a post office box, and secure document server for her business. She still needed to make a living while she was working with the council to help keep Tanner safe. 

Jazrina believed in the work the council did. She was honored to put her skills to use to help keep Tanner safe. She just didn’t like the way the Council had treated her family. She recalled the snooty tone of the Coven Councilmember that had called her and demanded she come home. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath trying to calm herself down. Remaining angry was not a great way to start her drive home. She didn’t need to encourage any mishaps along the way. 

Jazrina’s best friend Ellie put the last box in the back of her SUV and closed the hatch. Leaving Ellie behind was the hardest part of moving home. Ellie had taught her so much about herself and healed some very old wounds. She sniffled as she hugged Ellie and tried not to cry. She managed to choke out the words around her tears. [color=00aeef]“I am going to miss you so much. You better text me and call me, every day. You better come for a visit like you promised too!” [/color]She squeezed Ellie tight. 

Ellie’s arms wrapped around her and enfolded her into a warm comforting hug. Ellie chuckled in response as she told Jazrina [color=fff200]“As if you could get rid of me. I already text and call you all day when I think of something I need to tell you. The only difference is that I won’t be there to talk to you in person or give you a hug. I promise to come for a visit as soon as I can.”[/color] 

Jazrina held on for a few more minutes before pulling back and wiping the tears from her face. [color=00aeef]“I got to go. I will text you to let you know I made it okay.” [/color]

Ellie nodded and wiped away her own stray tears. [color=fff200]“You better. I will drive to Tanner and tear apart the city looking for you. Now get out of here or I know you. You will never leave.” [/color]Ellie squeezed her arm before stepping back and letting her go. 

Jazrina climbed into her car and drove away trying not to look back. She pulled into a Starbucks on the way to the freeway for some coffee. She took a few minutes to meditate and get her calm back before beginning the long drive towards home. Jazrina thought about all the changes she had gone through since coming to Seattle for college. 

She felt the council had always looked down on her parents because they were weaker and just warlocks, even though her family line had been living in Tanner for almost as long as theirs. Her family had never manifested the strongest powers and had never been in running for the leadership position. Jazrina was stronger than both of her parents and had inherited some of her powers from each of them. She did wonder if she had learned all she could do, or if she was around other more powerful witches she might discover more abilities she had yet to unlock. 

Jazrina was hopeful things would be different when she went home. She was in a weird spot as one of the older in her generation of witches in Tanner. When she was in high school, many of the other coven members where in middle school or freshmen. They simply didn’t run in the same circles as she had. She had felt ignored by them for the most part. She was recognized but not well enough to be a friend. She figured most of them might remember her but not know much about her. 

Jazrina pulled into Tanner about 11:30am. Traffic out of Seattle had been brutal. It had put her behind schedule after a bad multiple car pileup had backed up traffic up for miles. It had taken her 2 hours to drive 20 miles. Jazrina scowled as she pulled up in front of the Coven House. She knew she was late but it was not something she could help. She had planned to be in Tanner by 9 am which would have given her time to unload her car and change before coming to the meeting. 

Instead, she was tired and cranky. She was wearing comfortable stretch jeans, a thick cream colored sweater, and sneakers. She had wanted to be comfortable on the drive. She was nervous too though. This would be the first time she had truly spent much time with others from the coven. She had been to the Coven House before, but only on formal occasions with her parents in the past. She grabbed her chocolate brown leather boho bag and hopped out of her SUV. She activated the alarm with a beep on her fob before heading to the door to front door. She hoped she hadn’t missed everything. She was 45 minutes late for this mandatory meeting. 

She entered through the front door and shivered. That feeling of power, age, and energy always sent tingles down her spine. She felt as if she was a part of history in the making and that put a smile on her face. She pulled the door shut and walked deeper into the house. Jazrina was unsure where to go in the large manor. She decided to call out since she didn’t hear any voices. The place was huge! It might take a while to find everyone. [color=00aeef]“Hello? Where is everyone?”[/color]