Tempest

Chapter Seven

A/N~ Is this... character development I see? Plot development?

I don’t like fire. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned that, but I hate fire. There are always fires back at home, whether in the kitchen or from one of the sorcerer’s raids on the town, but considering my mom is the doctor of the town, we’re always getting burn victims. I’ve seen what fire can do. I’ve seen people who have lost eyes or body parts or have had half their face burnt off. So, needless to say, when Taz said Kyran was starting a fire, I didn’t expect Kyran to nearly burn down a tree trying to start one. We had reached the mysterious woods about an hour ago, and the sun was down, leaving us cloaked in darkness, only going by the brief light coming from the crescent moon. I had gone off to make sure that the woods weren’t crawling with creepy creatures, and I had come back to see Kyran standing next to a flame about ten feet high, holding two sticks in one hand and a rock in the other. He looked extremely pleased with himself, despite the fact that Taz was yelling at him to dim it down. “I swear, you’re going to burn down the whole forest! I bet they can see that fire back at home!” Taz shouted, shaking the shapeshifter. Kyran shrugged nonchalantly and tossed down his sticks before shifting and curling up contentedly next to the fire. “Kyran, dim the fire down this instant!” Taz yelled, picking up one of Kyran’s fallen sticks and poking him with it.

“You sound like your mother,” I muttered, edging away from the fire. I was with Taz on this one. Kyran sulkily rolled over onto his back, exposing his fluffy stomach, before morphing back into his human form once again. Then he decided to just roll over the fire. I shrieked as Taz smacked his forehead with his palm. Sure, the fire was a lot dimmer now, like the normal size of a campfire, but Kyran’s shirt was also on fire. How his hair and skin didn’t burn up, I was at a loss. “Kyran, your shirt is on fire,” I informed him, considering he was still lying on his stomach.

He lifted his face from the ground, looked at his shirt, and made a surprised look as if to say, wow, so it is. Then he just placed his head back on the ground. I saw Taz give a small smile as he quietly walked over to him and rolled him over, putting the fire out. “Go to sleep, idiot,” he said softly and Kyran obediently closed his eyes. Within moments, he was asleep.

Taz stared at Kyran for a minute, then got up and prodded the fire with a stick, shifting over some of the sticks and rocks. The fire crackled, embers floating in the air like fireflies, and I bent down next to him. “You okay?” I asked Taz quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He didn’t answer but sighed, tossing his stick in the fire. “Sort of,” he answered softly after a minute of silence.

I made myself comfortable on the forest floor, crossing my legs and settling my head on my hands. “You freaked out earlier. But you knew he was able to come back,” I reminded him softly.

He nodded. “I’m sorry.” That was nothing to be sorry for, but I let him vent. “It’s just like I’m always nervous that he’ll take too long in that state while his power is operating him and his mind is trying to pull him back to the surface. I’m just afraid one day he won’t, you know, wake up…” he trailed off. His eyes were glassy, the firelight flickering in them. He looked miserable, and it was probably one of the saddest things I’d ever seen.

There were a number of things I could’ve said, but all I said was, “You two are friends, aren’t you?”

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and I knew I had said the right thing out of all the endless possibilities. “The best.”

Taz woke up in the middle of the night at exactly 3:30 am. He checked his watch blearily, rubbing his eyes, and gave an enormous yawn. He looked at Vivien, who was curled up on the forest floor, perfectly comfortable while Taz had been paranoid about ants crawling onto him as he slept. Kyran had made fun of him for being such a girl before snoozing himself. She slept soundly with a small smile gracing her lips, her hands clasped under her head like a pillow, probably having a happy dream about her place back home. Her hair spread out over the ground, giving her a sort of halo. She’s really pretty, Taz thought suddenly, then torn his gaze away from her embarrassedly. Taz squinted into the darkness, scanning the area for anyone that might be looking for him, distracting himself from his previous thoughts. He was sure his parents would’ve sent someone after him to bring him back to the house, but they might send servants. He would be fine if they sent servants; he had already drilled them to pretend that they hadn’t seen anyone. Taz glanced guiltily at Vivien, who merely shifted in her sleep. I’m a horrible person. If she gets in trouble because of me… Taz thought miserably. He really did feel bad, about leaving his parent’s house to parade off with his personal servant and some random girl they’d just met and leave them there. Oh, god, they probably won’t even notice I’m gone, he thought suddenly sourly. That didn’t stop the awful feeling in the pit of his stomach. Paying a maid to drug my parent’s tea so I could leave while they were sleeping… They didn’t even know that their son planned to leave the house. Taz was never allowed to leave the house.