There was something about fire that made you mesmerized. There was something about the red and orange flames dancing in front of you that made it impossible to tear your eyes away. Maybe it was that something so dangerous was so close to you. That something so chaotic and unpredictable could be contained to be right in front of you. Playing with fire meant walking a fine line with danger trailing just behind you. Too much fire could get you burned. But with just the right amount, when you're balancing just enough on that fine line, the feeling of fire could give you a rush of exhilaration like no other.
Fire illustrated that not all light was good. Some light could hurt you. Some light could deceive you and be a mask for something darker. If you were not perceptive enough to see through the deception, you could get hurt. The world wasn't nearly as black and white, as some people think. Good and evil were one and the same; it all depended on which side you were on. Nothing was necessarily sinister on its own- nothing could be simplified to good or bad. Fire was a force to be reckoned with. It was flames flickering in the grey area.
Eira was that force to be reckoned with.
As she landed with a loud thud on the ground, Rory could get a better look at her. The details on Eira's skin were now flaming red, no longer glowing white as snow. She could see the color moving in the details, a great fire roaring under her skin, waiting to be set free. Her dazzling bright wings were giving off an enchanting aura, a flaming orange trailing around her. Her wings were slightly see-through, they were shining so brightly they were nearly neon- fire flaming on the edges of the wings.
"Eira..." Rory breathed out in amazement, her grey star-filled eyes now reflecting the gorgeous lights radiating off of her friend.
"You know, I heard a saying once..." Eira began in a firm voice, staring at the entire coven who is watching her in awe. Rory distantly wondered if pyraves were a rare creature on Thera. "The saying was 'what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger'... but I think I might tweak it a bit."
She paused, her lips twisting into a snarl.
"What doesn't kill me better run- because now I'm pissed."
With that, the rest of the windows shattered.
A silver-haired girl stood on a metallic platform. Saffire levitated the metal down to the ground, wearing a fierce expression. She stepped off the platform, tearing the metal apart and surrounding herself like a shield. A barking sound filled the air, making Rory's heart soar.
The amicordas.
One by one, the animals of Thera piled into the destroyed ballroom. Aliya floated with her tails surrounding her, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she seemed to find Rory in the crowd. Her amicorda landing on her, wrapping herself around her shoulders protectively. Iris and Birch were both reunited with their amircordas, sitting comfortably on their backs. Her brother's animals were standing in the front of the rest of them, leading the amicordas into the fight.
"There's no version of this that you win. The scorchers are on their way, you have nowhere to go. They'll come in here and then guess what? You're all off to Ironward! See how this is playing out now? You lost," Eira shouted, flaring up her fire for good measure. Rory assumed the scorchers were a form of police, perhaps their army. She could only guess that the Ironward is a prison of sorts- it didn't sound particularly inviting.
"You think they scare us? That pathetic excuse for an army, policing their way through Thera as if they have any actual authority!" Caeler spat out, his words thundering through the room. "None of you are a match for us!"
Eira seemed to have had enough. She whipped her hands out to the warlock. A gorgeous bright fire soared from her arms. They spiral brilliantly as they pummeled towards him. Caeler didn't seem prepared for her attack. Having no time to guard himself, he hit with her fire. He flew back from the force of the hit, his body turning multiple times as he flailed in the air.
"Wanna say that again?" Eira challenged confidently. She nodded once at Saffire, who grinned excitedly.
Saffire began to speak slowly, tauntingly waving her metal around. Waves of metal surround her, ready to drown them all. "This is for my village, you bloody snake. This is for every one of us that you have ever hurt. This is for my parents... my sister... and me!" She shouted in fury as she crashed her metal down on them all.
She managed to pin down a few of the coven members with her metal, ceasing their moments. She quickly covered their mouths, so they were unable to cast spells. Their hands were restrained as well in case they planned any non-verbal magic. Saffire tilted her head dangerously at them, quirking an eyebrow as if daring them to fight her.
A few of them moved to fight but were quickly stopped. The amicordas leaped into the battle. Aliya hit a few witches and warlocks with her many tails, her vibrant red fur glowing as she fought. The force of her tail sent them flying to the ground, allowing Saffire to pin them down. Aidan's amicorda soared around the room, his beautiful butterfly wings spread out wide as he used his owl beak to attack them. He bit down on vulnerable parts of their bodies, lifting them with either his talons or his beak before slamming them on the ground.
Maximus' amicorda soared through the air elegantly. Her translucent mane floated behind her. She used the glowing strands to whip at her opponents. The second one of her strands hit them; they were groaning on the ground in pain, clutching that part of their body. The amicordas knocking them down made it easier for Saffire to pin them down with metal. She groaned slightly as she continued to use an extensive amount of energy to fight.
Rory didn't see Tempest anywhere in the sea of coven members. She was the only person from that short battle that was left alive. She wondered why they didn't bring their army to the Pacem Ball. If they didn't use them for something like this, then what purpose do they have for them?
One by one, they all fell until Caeler was that last one standing. He stood in the middle of the pile of bodies, his eyes scanning all of them. Rory could see how nervous he was. He tried to stand tall and act as if he was unfazed, but he was absolutely terrified.
Aliya let out a vicious growl, her eyes locked on him. She soared through the air, heading directly towards him. Caeler didn't think anything of it. He whispered an incantation into his hands, a purple shield held in front of him. He looked smug as if he had already won. She twirled through the air, the mischief glowing in her eyes. Just as Aliya was about to hit his shield head-on, she vanished. Her body disappeared, dissolving into nothing but dust as she blew away. Caeler recoiled in shock and confusion, frowning at the remaining dust.
And then Caeler was grabbed from behind by a cluster of glowing tails. He let out a startled cry as his body was constrained by Aliya's nine tails. Rory quickly realized her amicorda had teleported behind him. The vulpide twisted her body slightly, squeezing her tails tighter and tighter. Caeler gasped for air as she restricted his airflow. After a few moments, she decided to lift him forcefully and slam him on the ground. Aliya floated in the air happily as Caeler was finally knocked down, pinned by metal. The warlock peeled his head off the floor, staring at the fox behind him in bewilderment.
Rory smiled proudly at her amicorda. She didn't know Aliya was capable of doing that, but she knew the vixen wouldn't settle for an attack so plain or apparent. Rory made a mental note to do extensive research on vulpides and their capabilities. She walked towards Caeler, staring down at him in a condescending manner.
"Did no one ever tell you, Caeler? They're tricksters," Rory told him saccharinely, smiling innocently as Aliya laid behind her neck, stretching across her shoulders. The vixen growls at him protectively.
The doors to the ballroom were slammed open. Rory didn't flinch, not taking her eyes off of Caeler at first. She waited for a few moments, soaking in the moment. She assumed whoever walked in was on their side, or there would've been more fighting. Turning to see who had entered the room, her eyes widened.
They must be what Eira called "the scorchers". Men and women charged into the room wearing black leather outfits. As they got closer, she noticed sparks littering their clothes. She knitted her eyebrows slightly in confusion, wondering what purpose it served. She soon found out when one warlock tried to fight against one of them. He attempted to punch her stomach, but a loud sizzling sound filled the air. The man fell to the ground, clutching his hand as his face contorted with pain. The area he punched rippled slightly, the sizzling dying down. The woman rolled her eyes.
"Did you really think that'd work?" she mocked him, pulling him to his feet as she placed handcuffs on him that looked similar to her outfit. The cuffs sizzled, scorching him every time he tried to break out of them.
Rory involuntarily winced as she saw how aggressive the scorchers were being. Most of them were not even resisting the arrest. She despised the coven but she could see the clear abuse of power being displayed. "Hey!" she called out, getting the attention of the scorchers. "There's no need to be so aggressive, they're all already restrained and not going anywhere. They're restrained, it's over."
The scorchers reluctantly took the order from her and were less aggressive with the coven. She nodded slightly, pleased that they didn't try to argue it, she hated abuse of power.
Rory then observed as they raised Caeler. They locked eyes while he was handcuffed. She kept her face void of emotion, not bothering with any more coy looks. His eyes cast downward, and Rory immediately knew what he was looking at. She lifted her hand and formed a fist, holding up her scarred hand proudly- just like a trophy. She wouldn't be ashamed of the scar, she'd embrace it. The only sound to be heard was the quiet sizzling from the scorchers. He didn't bother to fight them, likely knowing it was no use. He tilted his chin up, keeping his head high as he'd dragged out of the ballroom.
Rory saw a flash of fire next to her and quickly turned her attention elsewhere. A grin broke out on her face as she ran towards her friend. Rory moved to hug Eira when she felt the heat grow. Rory flinched back away from the heat, unsure of how to touch her without getting burned. Eira quickly realized her body was still on fire; her wings still spread out behind her. Licking her lips worriedly, she tried to figure out a way to control her new powers.
"I- I don't..." Eira trailed off with a nervous shrug.
"Hey, Eira!" Aidan called out with a massive grin. His face went blank as he tried to think of a way to help her control her fire. "Okay, uh... okay! First, just try taking some deep breaths, panicking won't do you any good. But more importantly, imagine that you're just blowing out a candle. It's easy, right? All you have to do is blow out your candle, just imagine that you're the candle and you want to put yourself out."
Eira looked confused by his words at first but then decided to try it. She closed her eyes, and her lips even puckered as if she was about to blow out air physically. Aidan continued to coax her gently, watching as the fire dimmed slightly with each word. It took several moments of Aidan's coaching, but after a bit, Eira was able to put out her fire. Her wings tucked behind her, sinking into her back. She gasped slightly as she seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in.
"Wings don't suit you. Horns would look much better," Malakai commented cheekily, breaking the tension. Eira scoffed at him in disbelief as she grinned slightly.
Rory didn't hesitate to hug her tightly, her heart racing with happiness. Her arms were around her neck, holding her tightly. Eira let out a pained chuckle as she wrapped her arms around Rory's waist. They clutched each other tightly as if letting go meant that something would go terribly wrong.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" she told Eira with a watery laugh. They reluctantly pulled apart so that the others could greet her as well.
"Me too," Eira said genuinely, hugging Channing next.
Rory moved onto her brothers. Aidan and Maximus stood together, close to a wall. Rory's attention diverted to the ballroom for a moment. The walls were covered in burn marks and were utterly torn apart. The majority of the windows were shattered, glass littering the floor. The remainder of the chandeliers was mixed in with the glass, glittering brightly on the floor. Her brothers smiled as she walked up to them, expecting her to hug them. Instead, she whacked them both on the side of their heads.
"Hey! What was that for?" Aidan exclaimed incredulously.
"How dare you die on me? Especially after all that talk about being a family!" Rory shouted in anger, glaring at them both. They stared at her blankly.
"We will certainly try not to do it again," Maximus offered in an unsure tone, squinting his eyes slightly as he tried to find the right words to please her. Rory rolled her eyes, shaking her head.
"You're damn right," Rory muttered before pulling them both in for a tight hug. She sucked in a deep breath that calms her down immensely. She felt utterly calm in their arms, feeling them hold her. She opened her eyes and saw Malakai talking to his own brother, the two chatting as if an entire battle didn't just happen. Rory would love to meet his brother, but she knew this is hardly the time. She broke the hug, letting out a quick breath, surprised at how calm she currently felt.
Aidan raised an eyebrow. "So, what now?"