Hamilton turned off the van. He let the aspersions cast upon his choice of rental vehicle slide - actually, he had to admit it did look pretty creepy. Different? What did she mean, different?
"I'm not sure how to answer that question. You are different, now, than you were when you woke up this morning. You're different than the sleepers - by that, I mean average humans - that you've known most of your life. At the same time, you are now much more like the other Awakened, like other Mages. There's a fair number of us in the world and we're happy to have you with us."
He took the keys out of the ignition and turned to face her.
"If you believe our histories, and I do, you have become more like you were meant to be. Long ago, many more people had the talents that you will discover in the next few days, but these powers were stolen from Humanity. Only a very few of us are lucky enough to find our way back to them."
"Look," he opened his door and motioned for her to do the same, "if you're up for it, I'd like you to spend the day with me. I'll answer all your questions and hopefully I'll teach you some things you don't know enough to ask about."
He stepped out of the van and walked around the front of it, leaning against the grill and talking to her over the hood. They were in front of a huge, plantation-style home amidst a wide expanse of rolling pasture. Tractors and other farm machinery were audible in the distance, and the breeze carried the distinct scent of agriculture - cut grass and manure. In front of the house, a freshly-painted green and blue sign read: Lyme's Finest Foods: Cape City Organic Farms.
"I'm doing this because it's tradition and because the community to which I belong values new faces and new ideas. You don't have to stay, but if you do the next couple years of your life will be a lot safer and less confusing. When you feel you've learned enough, you can go on your way and ignore my advice as you please. What do you think about that?"