Raging Fire

Six

Calla meditated quietly on top of the boulder. Several days had passed, and Celia and her older sister, Catalina, who was about 21, were helping Calla control her powers. Calla opened one eye. Celia and Catalina were silent, breathing in and out slowly. Calla tried to meditate, but she was scared of losing control and overheating again. She grinded her teeth impatiently. Catalina raised an eyebrow.

" I can hear that, Calla." She said quietly. 

" Sorry." Calla answered, and focused on breathing in and out slowly. After some time, she fell asleep, and woke up when Callum poked her arm. She jerked awake, drool dripping down one side of her mouth, and she wiped it away quickly. She blinked sleepily at Callum, who was grinning at her from down on the ground.

" What?" She asked, annoyed.

" Calla!" Catalina hissed.

" Sorry!" She tried to concentrate again, but Callum kept making faces at her. She opened her right eye, and peered down at him. She snickered quietly. Callum made another face, and Calla burst out laughing. Catalina and Celia both opened their eyes, and glared at Calla.

" Calla!" Catalina hissed again. " Meditation requires silence!"

" Yeah, I don't think this," She gestured around them with her hands. " is working so much." Catalina took a deep breath, her eyes closed.

" Well, this is the only thing we can think of, so why not keep trying?"

" Oh, I actually thought of several other solutions a while ago." Callum interrupted.

" Why didn't you say so?" Catalina spat at him. Then, at his blank look, she asked, " Well, what are these genius solutions?"

" Well..." Callum said, a mischievous look on his face.

" No." Catalina said.

" Why not? It would help her!"

" What would help me?" Calla asked. Callum and Catalina ignored her. 

" Because, it's too dangerous!" Catalina persisted.

" Not if anyone sees us!"

" No." Catalina said again.

" Um, why don't you let me decide what will help me?" Calla broke the silence. 

" No." Catalina said again. Calla turned to Callum.

" What is it?" She asked.

" Do. Not. Tell. Her." Catalina said with a glare at her younger brother. 

" We're the Guardians of the Sunstone." Callum burst out.

" What?" Calla yelled, a bit louder than she was expecting. Catalina held the bridge of her nose, annoyed. 

" Callum." She muttered.

" Were you just going to keep this from me forever?" Calla asked. " Catalina wanted to." Callum said, casting a deadly glance at his sister.

" Oh, my new friends are just the Guardians of the Sunstone, the most powerful relic in Suthria, the source of all my powers! Let's just not tell her! It'll be fun!" Calla mimicked. " Oh, and they turn into foxes! Surprise!" She seethed.

" We're sorry we didn't tell you sooner, Calla." Celia apologized. 

" It was safer that way," 

" But guess what?" Callum asked, and without waiting for an answer, he cried out, " You can turn into a fox also!"

" What?!?!" Calla shouted.

" Yeah..." Callum said. " I can teach you how!"

" You could?" Calla asked eagerly.

" Yeah, it's super easy once you get the hang of it." He said. " Plus, we need to go to the market for more food." He added to Catalina. 

" What are we waiting for?" She jumped off the rock, and followed Callum into the woods, not noticing Catalina glaring back at them.

" Imagine you're growing a tail." Callum instructed. " Imagine the softness, the color," He went on listing things. Calla concentrated. Suddenly, uncomfortable prickling came over her body, little red hairs sprouting from her skin. Her hair shortened and became less curly, her body shrunk down, which was quite excruciating. In a second, she opened her eyes. She was standing two feet off the ground, on four long, furry legs. She looked up at Callum, who was grinning at her. He muttered a few unintelligible words, which sounded jumbled and jarred. Calla realized that she couldn't speak their language. In a second, Callum shrunk down, and became the large fox with the black tipped tail that she had seen when she was escaping from the soldiers. A voice suddenly popped into her head.

Cool, isn't it? She looked around, and saw only Callum with the same grin only on a fox. Relax, it's just me.

'Just me' could be anyone. Calla replied without even knowing how. Callum barked with laughter beside her.

It's Callum.

Just checking.

Come. And with that, Callum raced into the woods, Calla following yet again.

Calla was surprised by her own speed. She darted around tree trunks easily, and leaped over a fallen log like it was nothing more than a small stick in her path. Her ears streamed back, her fur swishing cooly. After a few minutes running through the forest, Callum stopped unexpectedly, and Calla skidded to a halt beside him.

Great, isn't it? He asked.

Yeah! She replied enthusiastically. 

Now, focus on yourself, what you look like, the color of your hair, Callum instructed again. Calla felt herself growing, her nose shortening, her fur receding into her skin. A few seconds later, she was herself again. Callum popped back into his normal body swiftly after. They headed into the busy market, hoods pulled up. 

Calla kept her head down, looking at the cobblestones on the street. Footsteps clattered around her, feet appearing in and out of her vision. As she headed towards the food stands, a man suddenly stood up on a crate.

" Attention, fellow Wildedrift commoners!" He yelled. Everyone stopped and looked at him. Callum was pushed by several people craning their necks to see, and ended up pushed against Calla's back. She noticed as his breath quickened, as did hers. Her heart started hammering. " You all hate the wrath of the only fire mage!" The man yelled. Calla's eyes widened. " Queen Adonia has been searching for her for almost two decades! We need to stop Calantha Ravensthorne!"

" Stop Calantha Ravensthorne!" The crowd cheered. " STOP CALANTHA RAVENSTHORNE!!!" Callum grasped Calla's shoulder, and muttered in her ear,

" Let's get out of here." They hurriedly walked out of the market, trying to be as less noticeable as possible. Calla was shaking by the time they entered the woods. " You'll be fine." Callum said, still holding her shoulder. " We'll keep you safe." Calla gulped, and hoped what he said was true.

Ahh, okay! Hopefully I will post a few more times this week, but don't get your hopes up. I was so excited when I checked the story earlier, because I saw that I had four comments on one chapter, but then I realized that I AM THE ONLY ONE POSTING COMMENTS!!! So, if you could please comment, then I can get excited over comments that aren't mine. Thanks!

— chaoselephant