"Try not to overshoot it, Wyatt." It wasn't until Pen reached out to Wyatt that she realized it might not be all the kids. Penthea had the lovely little gift of projection, similar to Aunt Billie's gift. She had a tendency, without realizing it, to make abilities stronger. These kids could be normal witches, but with Penny's ability both she and Wyatt would sense more from them. It wasn't intentional. But Penthea tried not to touch her cousins when they were doing magic.
If anyone had taken the time to consider it, that was very likely the reason her empathy was so strong. Projection was the first power that surfaced in her. Her others followed almost immediately, and all stronger than they should have been. Of course it hadn't dawned on anyone that Penthea could be causing her own distress. Her family was only mildly aware of her projection power because the others sort of took precedence.