"You're a superhero," Fliss pointed out with a shy glimmer in her eyes. She leaned her chin forward until it rested on her knees, and for a moment, sparks crackled the length of her hair to flare into flames that died instantly at the tips. She didn't even seem aware of it. "George says it's magic with me. He thinks maybe my great-grandparents, one of them might have been Elvish. He says what I do is pyromancy, that's why Merta was looking after me last night. She does the same things, but with water."

Johnny frowned for just a moment at that bit of information. While it was true that he was a superhero, at least back in New York, he wasn't so sure here on Rhy'Din. But what caused him frown further was the fact that his particular abilities hadn't been caused by magic. The fact was that he knew very little about magic, and if that was the case, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to teach her how to use it, like he'd promised. There had to be other pyromancers on Rhy'Din who could teach her better than he could, weren't there" His heart sank, remembering how he'd lost Buster, and now he felt like he was going to lose Fliss, too. Didn't Liv warn him not to get his hopes up" Why was he always doing that' Though these thoughts flashed through his mind, he made no mention of them. Johnny leaned forward, hands clasped between his knees. "What happened to your family, Fliss?" he asked, starting at the beginning.

She shrugged lightly. "My dad died before I was born," she told him calmly; these were facts she had come to terms with a long time ago. "I don't really remember my mom. I remember she was very sad all the time. Luna, the woman who looked after me when I was very little, she said that my mom got heartsick and just faded away. She made sure I had somewhere to go; I went to Luna when I was three, and my mom died a little bit after that. If I've got any other family, they don't care."

"What happened to Luna?" he asked, remembering the little bit that she'd told him last night, nothing more than bits and pieces. It sounded to him as though her mother hadn't been able to get over her husband's death and had given up on living, despite having a small child to care for. Well, if anyone could relate to that, it was Johnny.

Fliss shook her head, smiling a little. She obviously had good memories of Luna. "She only looks after little kids," she told him. "When I was old enough for school, I got moved to another placement. They were pretty cool, though - mom, dad, four kids, and me. They moved out of the city when I was ten, and that's when I ended up in Farthing Hall. I was there until about three months ago, when I set fire to the dining table; they sent me to Grover Lane, and I lit up a waste paper basket, so I got moved to a boarding school, Hancock Manor. Then after the hockey thing, I go kicked out and I went to Seven Towers. And here I am."

He said nothing, only listening carefully while she answered his question and explained how she'd come to be at Seven Towers. It didn't tell him much about her background or family history, at least as far as her abilities were concerned, but it did tell him that she'd been moved around from place to place without any place to call home in far too long. And as far as he could tell, the only thing that kept her from being adoptable was her talent for fire. "Okay," he replied, unsure where to start his own explanation. "I'm gonna be upfront with you because I think you deserve it. I'm not a mage or an elf. I don't know anything about pyromancy, but I do know something about fire. I know how to control it and how to use it, so unless someone comes along who knows better than me, I'm probably your best shot at getting out of here."

Fliss stared at him, not entirely sure how she was supposed to take that. "What?" she said eventually. Not the most inspired, but it was all she had. "Are you gonna break me out and dump me somewhere?"

"No, of course not! Why would I do that?" he asked, looking a little confused himself, but then he hadn't really made himself very clear. "There's someone I want you to meet. Two someones really. Think you can do that?"

The teenager eyed him suspiciously. "Are they fire-proof?" she asked, worried now that he might have brought someone here to have her committed to a place that was even more isolating than this unit.

He chuckled a little at her question. "No, but they're used to fire. Sort of. They're used to me," he explained further in his haphazard way. He was trying, but he wasn't half as good at explaining things as Liv was. "Is it okay if I ask them to come in?" he asked, though he knew he should probably prepare her, he was hoping Liv and Bella might be a pleasant surprise.

Hugging herself a little tighter, Fliss made herself nod, not wanting to disappoint him. Whoever it was he wanted her to meet, they were obviously important to him. So maybe she wasn't going to be sent to some underwater jailhouse for the rest of her natural life. "And-and you'll stop it, if I get out of control again?"

"I'll be right here," he promised, sensing how nervous and frightened she was, but he knew if anyone could put her at ease, it was Liv, and in her own way, Bella. Johnny moved to his feet and back to the door, opening it a crack to search the hall for his wife. "You can come in now," he told her, pushing open the door to let her inside.

For a moment, there was nothing to be seen, and the only thing to hear was an over-excited bit of heavy breathing and a woman's voice laughing as she told someone to heel. Fliss couldn't help it - she uncurled from her ball to peer toward the doorway, wanting to see what was going on out there. When Liv came into view, it was digging her heels in and laughing helplessly as Bella dragged her bodily inside, eager to meet the person Johnny had made her sit and stay for. "I hope you're braced," she told the teenager, and let go of the leash.

Bella in her excitement didn't even hesitate, making a beeline for the girl, tail wagging happily. Whether or not she smelled fire didn't seem to matter in the least. She had become accustomed to Johnny's warmth and his occasional habit of playing with fire, and though she was cautious of the flames, she had learned early on that so long as Johnny and Liv were around, no harm would come to her.

Bella let herself be checked over with no sign of damage, eager to get back to Fliss and make her feel better again, and Liv just waited quietly while Johnny worked his own kind of magic. She met Johnny's glance with her own, concerned, but not because of the unexpected flare of fire. No, she was more concerned about how frightened Fliss seemed to be of herself.

Johnny managed to get Felicity into a chair and calmed down a little, his hands still wrapped around hers, before he crouched down in front of her, just like he had the night before. "Fliss," he started, thinking it was probably time to explain what they were all doing there. Maybe it would give her some hope. "Liv and I are thinking about fostering you, but before we can do that, you need to learn how to control your abilities. Do you understand?" he asked, putting it to her as gently as he could. He was basically telling her that she was not only a danger to herself but to those around her, and until she learned how not to be, she wasn't going to be able to leave the facility. "I know you can do it. It just takes practice."

The distraction seemed to work wonders. Fliss looked up, surprised and touched, her eyes wandering between Liv and Bella, and Johnny, addressing herself to him in quiet awe. "You'd take me in?" she asked in amazement. "With-with all my problems, you'd take that risk?"

Johnny glanced to Liv a moment again, as if to silently ask how much he should tell her before turning back. He didn't want to tell her too much just yet, but not too little either, just enough that she'd trust them and know that their hearts were in the right place. Yes, they were doing this for themselves, but they were also doing it for her. "I told you. I was just like you once. Nobody gave up on me. Why should we give up on you?"

Liv leaned forward to join her voice to Johnny's, gentle and quiet, but as encouraging as she could be. "We're not afraid of what you can do, Fliss," she assured the girl. "Johnny's the best person who can help you learn how to accept and embrace this part of yourself, and I'm a good cook." She smiled faintly, knowing Johnny was going to argue the point when he realized that was the only selling point for herself she was presenting for now. "We'd like to help, if you're willing."

Fliss hesitated, looking back and forth between them, uncertain whether this really was too good to be true. "So ....so if I get this under control, I-I can come and live with you?" she asked softly, hope warring with a fear of being rejected yet again.

Liv met Johnny's eyes; she didn't think Fliss had to have complete control to come and live with them. Showing improvement would be all she needed to feel comfortable with this lost little girl in their home.

Johnny knew they were rushing things a bit. They hardly even knew each other, but he knew in his gut that unless they stepped forward to help her, she was likely to remain here without any hope for anything that even remotely resembled a normal life. "Yes," Johnny replied. "That is, if you want to." Despite her brief fright, even Bella seemed to want to do her part to comfort and encourage the teenager, nudging her way between Johnny and Fliss to lick fondly at the girl's cheek, as if to tell her she didn't hold it against her.

She couldn't help smiling as Bella licked at her cheek, slipping one hand free of Johnny's to stroke the dog, no flames in evidence at all. No one had blamed her for her slip, no one had shouted or panicked, she hadn't hurt anyone. It was a good feeling, to have one little slip just accepted and moved on from without a fuss. "I-I haven't lived in a house with just one family for nearly three years," she admitted quietly. "I miss it. If you're sure you want to take the risk, then I'm not gonna say no."

"It's not about taking a risk, Felicity," Johnny pointed out. "It's about..." He glanced to Liv again, as if he wasn't quite sure how to finish that statement. Did he dare say it was about family, or was it too soon for that'

Liv picked it up quickly, before the silence dragged on. "It's about giving you what you need," she said gently. "You need somewhere stable, somewhere you don't need to worry about being thrown out of, and we can give that to you. You need someone who can relate to you, who can teach you how to be who you are and be proud of it, because you are an amazing young woman. Johnny can do that. You need friends who aren't going to be afraid of you, and we can do that. And maybe, in time, that might take a logical step forward. But for now, we want to help you, and we think this is the best way we can do that."

At some point in this little speech, Fliss had started to tear up, not because she was sad or hurt or distressed, but because no one had offered to commit that much to her for years. Even with her fiery problems, or perhaps because of them, this couple were offering to make a place for her, and to see where it might lead. She swallowed hard. "I'd like that," she admitted, nodding. "I promise I'll work really hard on not sparking anymore. If I can do that, w-would you really apply for me?"

Johnny exchanged glances with Liv once again, looking relieved that she'd been able to put into words what he had not. "That's why we're here, Fliss. In part, anyway. We want to help you, if you'll let us," he echoed Liv's words, giving her hands a light reassuring squeeze of encouragement. "It's not going to happen overnight, and it's not going to be easy, but it will happen," he assured her, hoping to hell he was right. He didn't think he could bear the thought of letting her down if he was wrong.

The teenager nodded. "I know, it takes months and months to get approved to foster," she said, with the air of one who knew that entirely too well. "Will you come and visit me" I mean, they've been really nice, but it's horrible here."

"What would you say if I told you we can have you out of here in two weeks?" Johnny asked, unable to hide a gleam of mischief in his eyes. He wasn't trying to tease her, but give her a sense of hope. The sooner she was out of there, the better, for her own sake.

"What?" Startled, Fliss looked up sharply, surprising Bella, who barked at Johnny for startling her new friend.

Liv laughed, rolling her eyes. "Agnes, at the orphanage, told Johnny that because your unique circumstances, and his unique insight into how to help you, she would make it a point to fast track us through the system as quickly as she can, if we get on with you well enough for you to want to come home with us," she explained through her smile. "Would you be okay with that?"

Fliss barely let her finish. "Hell yes!" she declared. "Get me out of here, I'll give you my firstborn child!"

Johnny laughed at the teenager's reaction to the news. "Nothing so drastic! You're a bit young to be having children, don't you think?" he teased, letting her see a little of his own sense of humor. Maybe this would work out okay, after all, but he wasn't stupid enough not to know that it would take effort all around, especially on the part of Felicity.

"Oh gods, no, I mean like when I'm old, like thirty," Fliss assured him, giggling just a little bit. A moment later, she hugged Bella, pressing her face against the dark fur as over her head, Liv grinned at Johnny. They had a long road ahead, but it looked like they'd taken the first step today. Here's hoping they weren't walking barefoot into the flames.

((Interesting, huh' Give them a few days, they'll be on the sweet side of even the most grizzly of social workers.))