The Named

Chapter 10: Resolutions

A/N  Hey there wonderful readers!  I hope you enjoy this chapter.  It's pretty light and definitely not as intense as I'd planned but hey, that's life and this is supposed to be about a life so I'm keeping it real... ish... right?  Anyway, a few explanations for this chapter and for future reference:

Doyenne:  the female head of a household

Doyen:  the male head of a household

Pyre:  Named one with the essence of fire

Vatura:  Named one with the essence of water

Zephyr:  Named one with the essence of air

Terra:  Named one with the essence of earth

Also, you'll notice that in their speech they use a lot of references to their essence indirectly.  ie. hearth instead of heart, in reference to an inner fire or brightness.

Anything else you're not sure about let me know in the comments and don't forget to VOTE!!!!

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                Stars still flickered in the west as the pinkness of the sunrise grew in the east, like watery blood leaking in to stain the cool darkness of the night.   An occasional bird song danced by, entwined in the breath of the early morning air.  Dawn was calm and tranquil in camp and it set my teeth to grinding.

I had heard the Demons’ phrase about the “calm before the storm” and though I had never come to understand it the same way they had, I could certainly relate to the feeling.  I had seen that calm in the eyes of too many guards on the verge of snapping. 

I shook myself in an attempt to lessen my growing anxiety.  There were things to do this morning.

The sound of Doyenne Flare preparing breakfast came from the kitchen and I made my way toward them.  Our home was, from the outside, nothing more than a simple canvas tent- but upon entering, anyone could see the obvious lack of simplicity.  All walls and doors were canvas but there were rooms and corridors separated by heavy canvas walls that were beautifully embroidered along the ground.  The few townsmen that had had the privilege of seeing the inside of one of the tents called them crude yurts.  Those of us living in them preferred to call them home.

Stepping into the warm light of the kitchen, I breathed in the delicious scent of warm bread.  Before I could be reprimanded I ran a stream of water over one of the hovering flames above and washed my hands in the resulting warm water before beginning the task of kneading the bread for the day.  Doyenne Flare was a stickler for household and personal hygiene.  She was going to be upset with me already and I sure as hell didn’t need to add any fuel to the fire.

“I saw the bags.”

Nodding, I continued my work.

“I suppose you’ll be heading to Tyrr.”

It wasn’t so much a question as it was a statement but I nodded again anyway.

“You should take Arelliana with you.”

Surprised, my head jerked upwards.  “But Doyenne, she could be hurt!  If she were caught they wouldn’t just kill her like they would me, they would throw her in one of those dark holes to be tormented hourly until they’d caught every last one of the Sane Demons.  Surely you can’t want that for her?  Of all you’re Pyres she’s the only one that is actually—“

“Yes, I know, that doesn’t change anything.  I care for you, young Vatura, just as much as any of the young people living under my roof.  Despite the fact that you are a water essence, I took you in and have accepted you as one of my own.  You are as close to my hearth as my natural born child and that is why I trust you to keep her safe for as long as you can.  After that, well, I am of a similar opinion as Arelliana.  Danger surrounds us all the time simply because of who and what we are whether we like it or not. 

“I would rather see her die while fighting to change something than to die old, frail and unhappy, never having accomplished anything she wanted when she was young.  She cares deeply for you as well, Quin, and she won’t be happy or any safer if you leave her behind.”

Staring at my hands I realized they had slowed and were no longer kneading the dough smoothly.  Instead, I was jabbing my fingers at the soft mound, poking holes in its flour dusted surface.  “Doyenne, I’m . . . I’m scared.  I know what could happen and it scares me.  I keep imagining her in that place and I can’t . . . .”  Choking, my vision flooded red as I felt the rage build at the thought of those monsters hurting Rell.

Then, Doyenne made her way around the counter to put her arm around my shaking shoulders.  “Calm Vatura, think of your essence, think of the cool water.  Burn me but you’ve got the temper of a Pyre!  They will not get to her; you will make sure of it. Now, please stop trying to make our bread look like Swiss cheese and I’ll go pack up some travel food for the two of you.  Once you’ve repaired the damage you’ve done to that loaf you should be out to the smoke house to talk to Rell.  She was also an early riser this morning.”

Quickly finishing kneading, I ran out to the makeshift smokehouse where I found Rell fuming.  If you’ve never seen a Pyre fume, it’s quite a sight.

 She sat on the ground by the base of the rough structure, blowing smoke into an opening in the wall.  The curious thing was that the smoke was coming from her nostrils and even tad from her ears, accented by small tendrils floating from the ends of her hair.  It was extremely inefficient but, like I said, she was fuming.

“Rell?  Hey, uh, I talked to the Doyenne . . . .  She, uh, I guess she talked some . . . some sense into me.  I want you to go with me.”

Not hearing anything, I peeked up from studying my still floury fingernails.  Her attention was fully on me now and the smoke was emanating from her in great billowing gusts.  Electric sparks flickered around her irises and her fingertips crackled as she gestured wildly at me.

“You had to have the Doyenne talk some sense into you?!  What happened to being best friends!?  What happened to having each other’s backs and trusting them with it?!  What happened to us, huh!?  You have to go talk to my MOTHER because you think I’m weak and incapable of fighting for myself!  Quin, if it weren’t for me, you’d have been found and dragged back into the ground; don’t you think it was a little crazy to take in some freaky boy running through the woods, getting completely dazzled by his own filthy reflection?  You’re damn right about me going with you.  There is no way in hell, earth, or anywhere else that I’m letting you run off on some great adventure without me.  I don’t care if I have to frikkin stalk you the whole frikkin way, but don’t you dare,” her voice dropped to a low growl, “Don’t you ever dare to tell me you’re letting me go.  You hear me?  I’ll be damned if I let you treat me like some dimwitted ninny.”

I struggled, I struggled desperately, but in the end I couldn’t hold it in.

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!! Oh gosh! Rell!  Hahaha!  Arelliana Flare, you had me getting ready to piss myself for a moment there!  Oh gosh,” taking a deep breath and wiping a tear from my eye, I hugged my friend.  “I’d never, ever, in a million years ever think of you as I would a dimwitted ninny.  You’re too much of a Pyre and daughter of a Doyenne to be dimwitted or a ninny.”

Rell seemed a little taken aback by my outburst but by the time I finished the smile had returned to her eyes and the air around us had cleared enough so I could breathe without choking on the thick smoke.

“I’m glad you think so highly of me but know that I’m still mad at you.  I may decide not to speak to you for the first leg of our journey.”

“Oh please Rell, like you could go that long without talking.”

Instead of speaking she looked at me pointedly.

“Wow, look at you go, you’ve already broken your own personal record, thirty seconds!  Alright, let’s get back inside.  The Doyenne said she’d have supplies packed for us.”