September 18th, 2015
At work, Lyria can forget about her high school problems and issues with the new kid. Keeping secrets makes her feel uncomfortable, but she does it for fear of looking like she's out of her mind. Every day and night that passes, it gets closer to her birthday. For some reason, she's uneasy about it this year. Turning sixteen is some kind of stepping stone to all teens. To her, it feels like her world is turning upside down.
Since the beginning of her Friday, she hasn't felt like herself. She's been feeling sick since waking up this morning. Something isn't right, but Lyria can't place what it is. "Hello, welcome in," she says, not looking up towards the customer.
"Hi," a male voice says. She recognizes the deep voice and shifts her blue eyes to the raven-haired boy, Dartanian.
"How did y-"
"I need a new pair of shoes," he cuts her off before turning and heading for the men's shoes.
Lyria simply eyes him, watching what he's doing until he comes up to the counter to check out. "Aren't you fifteen?" He asks her.
"Isn't it kind of nosy to ask?" She retorts and he smirks at her, his liquid silver eyes lighting up as she checks the shoes over before scanning the barcode.
"Yes, but how do you have a job?" He asks her and she sighs.
"My parents signed a form so I could work," she explains to him, pushing her long brown hair away from her face. He hands her the change for the shoes and she quickly cashes him out and bags up the shoe box.
He takes the bag, then turns back to Lyria. "Thank you," he says and she raises her eyebrows at him, "for not outing my family. Not for cashing me out. You were kinda rude," he says and her jaw drops.
"Why do you have to be so...obstinate?" She asks and he winks at her.
"Shouldn't be rude to people," he says before leaving the store.
Luckily, it was time to close. Lyria was able to go home at nine while her boss stayed to close the store. She was picked up by her parents and went straight to her bedroom. After changing, she gets into bed, feeling a little feverish, but hoping it'll go away with some sleep.
~
As Dartanian walks home, he hears an explosion. He sees flames in the distance and runs towards them to investigate. He digs for his phone and calls Bastion. "Bastion, who lives on Lady Slipper Drive?" He asks him quickly.
"I was about to go to sleep...goodnight..."
"It's important, there's a house on fire right in front of me," Dartanian says, fully getting Bastion's attention.
"What's the number of the house?" Bastion asks him.
"Fourteen..."
There's silence on the other end before Dartanian demands for Bastion to speak. "It's Lyria's house, the Sullivan's. Don't do anything stupid! I'll be there soon," Bastion assures his friend before Dartanian hangs up and takes off his jacket and heads straight for the house.
Before he climbs into a hole of the house, Bastion's car pulls up with Fleur, Shaye and Bastion inside it. Bastion jumps out and yells for Dartanian to stop. "What in the hell are you doing?! Someone will see you. I can hear an ambulance and some fire trucks coming," Bastion says and Dartanian sighs quietly before replying.
"I'm the only one of us who can go in here. Give me five minutes...if Lyria is dead, we'll leave," he assures the three.
"Hurry up then," Shaye says and Dartanian nods before stepping inside the burning building.
He steps over rubble and past burning furniture to try and find the brunette. "Lyria! Make a noise if you can hear me," he calls out and he listens for a moment before hearing her groan softly. He heads towards the noise and finds her entire bedroom has come down into the dining room. She's underneath some rubble and a small piece of her roof.
"At least the roof is a metal one," he mutters before stretching his hand out and using his control over metal to lift it off of the girl. He rushes to help her and finds she's unconscious, completely out of it. He turns her over when he notices it; the distinct Fire Mark on her shoulder blade.
Her eyelids flutter as he lifts her up and carries her through the rubble. "Dartanian! Hurry!" Bastion shouts.
"I found her!" He shouts, making his way through the living room and out of the hole in the wall. "She's unconscious, let's get her to the house," Dartanian says, carrying her to the car. Shaye opens the back and helps Dartanian get the pale girl into the back with him.
"Call Delilah," Bastion orders Fleur to do it and she does.
They make their way to the large house, needing to get there quickly. "How can we explain this?" Shaye asks and D'artagnan provides an answer for them.
"We won't need to," he assures them, "she has a Mark."
"Fire," Bastion says, "right?" He asks and Dartanian nods in response, knowing they'll be at their house soon. Lyria is struggling to breathe, her breaths coming in shallow pants.
"Can't you drive any faster?" He asks through gritted teeth not speaking in anger, but in anxiousness.
"Almost there," Bastion says, then pulls into the driveway quickly, almost hitting the mailbox. Shaye gets out immediately and grabs Lyria's legs while Dartanian cradles her head.
"Inside," Delilah instructs as she opens the garage door. The teenagers run inside, Dartanian lagging behind since he's carrying the unconscious girl in his arms.
When they enter the medical room, Dartanian immediately places her in a bed. "She's inhaled a lot of smoke." Two nurses rush to help them, placing a mask over Lyria's nose and mouth to help her breathe. Lyria coughs and inhales sharply as she starts to breathe normally again, Dartanian watching as a nurse gives her an IV with fluids.
"She'll be fine," Delilah says, "go to bed."
"I'm staying here," Dartanian argues, "she'll need to see a familiar face when she wakes," he reasons before watching his friends leave with Delilah. He pulls a chair up and sits beside the bed Lyria is sleeping in, noticing her red pendant is still around her neck. "One of the last," Dartanian murmurs quietly as he stares at her pendant.
Dartanian holds his head in his hands, unable to block out the images of Lyria's house aflame in his mind. He doesn't know how she'll take her parents' death...her adoptive and biological parents' deaths.
The sixteen year old boy raises his head when he hears Lyria moving in her hospital bed. He watches with his silver gaze, needing to know that she's going to wake. When she doesn't open her eyes he looks down at his lap. He remembers when he turned sixteen.
~
A young boy tosses and turns in his bed, the pain unbearable as a black Mark is painfully carved into his skin. His screams echo in the tiny bedroom, his head feeling like it's going to explode.
Screws come flying out of the desk and the lamp next to his door as the doorknob crumples in on itself. The window above his bed shatters as the metal holdings give way, his physical and mental pain giving way to his powers.
"Dartanian! Just breathe," his brother encourages quietly as he enters the room, "it'll be over soon," the taller boy says, comforting his younger brother. He went through the same thing two years back, but Lance never cried during this, gaining his ability and changing.
When Dartanian can finally breathe again, Lance gives him a smile and chuckles. "Take a nap. You'll need it."
~
Dartanian heaves a sigh before looking at Lyria again, watching as she reaches up and takes the oxygen mask off her face. He stands abruptly as she blinks slow, trying to adjust her eyes. When her eyes are focused, she looks up and sees Dartanian.
"Dartanian?" She asks, her voice raspy.
"Yes," he answers and she takes a deep breath, "you were...your house caught on fire," he tells her and she nods.
"I know," she whispers, "it's my fault."
He blinks, astounded by her words. "Lyria, it's not your fault," he assures her and she uses her arms to push herself up into a sitting position.
"I...I was going to bed. But I couldn't fall asleep...then my hands..." she lifts her hands up, inspecting them as if they were foreign to her, "they were on fire," she says, now looking at Dartanian, "it's my fault the house caught on fire."
He takes a deep breath before sitting down again. "You can't control it yet, it's not your fault," he assures her as she looks him over.
"You look awful," she says and he raises his eyebrows, "what happened to you?" Dartanian tries to find the words but she answers for him. "You stepped into my house while it was burning...I remember you calling my name. And that also explains the rubble on your sweatshirt," she says and he nods.
He decides to explain it to her. "I was the only one who could've. Shaye might've been able to...but I'm a Metal Elemental. It's easier for me to do daring things like that," he informs her and she raises an eyebrow at him, "I can control metal."
"Okay..." she trails off before blinking a little, "I must be hallucinating."
He smirks before shaking his head. "I'm afraid you're not," he says before spotting a dresser. He goes over to it and takes his sweatshirt off along with his t-shirt.
Lyria notices what looks like a tattoo on his chest. It's big, covering the left side of his chest, some of it going over his collarbone. "Is that a tattoo?" She asks suddenly as he pulls a long sleeve over his head. He shakes his head no before coming back to her bedside.
"No. That's my Mark, it's the Metal one. You've got the Fire one on your shoulder blade," he tells her and she blinks.
"You-"
"It appears on an Elementals' skin when they turn sixteen. You only get one and it's one of the known controlled elements," he explains to her and points to a door, "that's a bathroom. You can use it to see the Mark."
She shakes her head before speaking again. "Where...where are my parents?" She asks and he looks down at the floor. "And where am I?" Dartanian swallows thickly before speaking.
"You're at my house, it's...quite a ways from yours," he tells her before looking at the clock, "I should get you something to eat," he murmurs and she sits up straighter.
She glares at him before speaking again. "Where are my parents?" She demands and he takes a deep breath, his eyes closed. Delilah had come earlier to tell him that her parents were dead. He didn't want to break the news but it had to be done.
He turns around and looks her in the eyes. Those pretty sapphire blue eyes of hers. "They're dead. They died last night in the fire," he informs her and she gasps before looking at her hands, "Lyria. It's not your fault," he assures her as he returns to the bedside.
"How can you say that?" She asks, turning her head so fast that it startles him. "I burned my house down with my parents inside of it. And now they're dead! Why...why am I still alive?" She asks quietly and Dartanian recognizes what she's feeling. Anger, towards herself.
"It's because you're not human," he says and she looks up at him, "if you were human, you would've died with them. But because you're a Fire Elemental, you can withstand heat, fire, sometimes smoke...any intense heat or flame won't bother you. Your hair won't get burnt, neither will your skin...you'll survive," he murmurs as she wraps her arms around herself.
Then he turns on his heel and exits the medical room so he can inform Delilah she's awake.
"How's it going up there?" Shaye asks the raven-haired teen as he enters the kitchen.
He merely grabs an apple, washes it and takes a bite out of it. "Fine," he mutters as he chews on the piece of apple, "she's awake." Shaye smiles.
"That's great news. She's okay. And...she's one of us right?" The brunette asks, a little nervous this morning.
"Yeah, wouldn't have brought her here otherwise," he says, "what's going on?"
Shaye rolls her emerald eyes before tilting her head towards the door. "Delilah and Ellis are at it again, screaming their heads off at each other. Delilah always wins," she says and Dartanian rolls his eyes.
"I know she will. So, she's gonna kick Lyria out?"
"No, actually. She wants to keep her here," Shaye says, making Dartanian tense up. Shaye shrugs when he gives her a questioning look. "I don't know why, but she wants her here. Ellis is opposed to the idea," she fills her friend in briefly. Then she smiles as she touches the plant sitting beside the kitchen sink. The plant returns to life, a dark green color returning to its leaves.
Dartanian smiles as she sits at the marble island counter. "What's on your mind?" He asks her and she shrugs before tying her earth brown hair into a bun.
"Nothing honestly. Kinda happy her birthday was on a Friday so I wouldn't miss school," she murmurs and plays with her rings, "you think she's a Crimson?"
He nods before scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah. She still has the pendant. She never takes it off, seems like," he murmurs as he dries his hands off with a dish towel. He decides to sit down at the table with her and talk with Shaye. They're like brother and sister. She's the sister he never had.
"We have no free will here, D...I hate being trapped in here all the time," she whispers and he nods in understanding.
"You and I are very different. I don't mind being inside, but you despise it. You can go outside. As long as you go with someone," he reminds her and she shrugs.
She thinks for a moment before replying. "I'll bring Fleur with me," she says and he smirks.
"She doesn't like the outdoors. You know that," he reminds her and she frowns.
"I'm not taking Bastion. He's like a mother hen," she mutters, rolling her eyes as she thinks about the boy.
"He might wanna get out too," Dartanian suggests and she sighs before giving him a small smile.
"Thanks," she says and he winks at her.
"Anytime."