Aislinn woke to find three blonde girls clustered around her bed.

The first two girls were her age, she could tell that with barely a sniff as she recalled the events of the day before. They were identical twins, very pretty, with messy, shoulder-length blonde hair that stuck out in tufts. Their mischievous green eyes widened slightly as they saw her liquid brown ones open. Their attention was suddenly caught by an object that Aislinn now realised was floating above her head. Her yelp of dismay would have sent the hairbrush tumbling down onto her face had it not been for the uncannily fast reflexes of the third girl.

"Thank you," Aislinn breathed, looking the younger girl straight in the eyes as she added in a whisper "Skylar."

The girl flinched. She was very pale, with bright blue eyes that seemed to bore into Aislinn, but she was beautiful in a way, with flowing blonde locks hanging in waves that went right down to her waist. She was, in fact, almost identical to Aislinn herself, save for the two-year age gap and Aislinn's dark colouring.

"Aislinn." Her sister's reply was barely audible, but Aislinn's wolf senses were quite capable of picking it up. The twins suddenly broke in, making the two girls jump.

"Hi, New Girl!" they chorused in unison, "Aislinn Jones, right?"

"We're the Reader Twins, but you can call us-"

"- Gita-"

"- And Lucie-"

"- 'Cause those are our names!" they trilled together again. "You'll be able to tell us apart better soon, 'cause Gita here is a wearer of spectacles."

"And Lucie here is at the heart of every unseemly spectacle you'll ever witness!" her sister declared dramatically.

Aislinn stared, quite speechless. "Er... my name is Johnson, not Jones."

"When Skylar first started here she called herself Sky Blackman. She's Skylar Hardman now, after your Mam, Lisa Hardman, all-round all-powerful psychic, the parent she takes after." Gita recited primly.

"You're Aislinn Jones now – I guess your mates called you 'Ashley Johnson' or something – after your Da, Dax or Daxesh Jones, who shifted into a fox, a peregrine and an otter." Lucie stated.

Aislinn just stared. "Um..."

Skylar looked at her sympathetically. "I know. They were like that with me too. Gita's the bookworm and all, but Lucie doesn't like being outdone apparently so she learns stuff too for the sake of keeping up."

"Hey – I am not afraid of being outdone by my little sister!"

"Sure you're not – that's why you're always trying to talk before me, make friends before me and just generally outdo me socially 'cause you know I'll always beat you intellectually." The pair glared daggers at each other, and then grinned. "We're going to miss breakfast – RACE YOU!" screamed Lucie. Both girls shot to their feet, knocking over anything that stood in their way in an effort to drag on their uniforms and get to the dining hall before the other.

"They're right you know – we will miss the hot food if we're late." Skylar mused. "Plus I have to make sure you keep up with them in class today; they're in your year and they'll be showing you round between lessons. I have different Development sessions to all of you; they're both teles, or telekinetics. I'm a psychic, by the way."

"Thanks – wolf-shifter, obviously. But you'd probably know without me telling you anyway, eh little sister?" Aislinn smiled. Skylar responded, and somehow the four of them managed to get down to the main hall without any major incidents.

As soon as the girls walked through the door, they were greeted by a pair of identical boys who basically looked identical to Lucie and Gita, except they had shorter hair and were handsome rather than pretty. They introduced themselves as "Gwaine and Lancelot, at your service m'lady" with regal bows. Gwaine was the dominant twin in this pair, and it was Lance who wore the glasses. The pair chivalrously escorted the girls to their table a cousin and a friend on each arm. As it turned out, their respective dads were twins too.

"So", said Aislinn once she'd finished eating.

"What is this place?" chirped Gita.

"Why are we all here?" interjected Lance.

"Why do we all have powers?" chorused Gwaine and Lucie.

"What does all this have to do with our parents?" concluded Skylar quietly. "All six of them." she added with a small smile.

Aislinn considered. "Yes."