Countervail

Chapter 7

"Who has a face like smarty does? Who has a voice like smarty does? Who has a choice like smarty does? Nobody."

Another tree sputtered and groaned with another enormous crack racing up its dead and decayed trunk as Meo threw another gigantic shard of Ice through it. Already four trees had been victims of her raging "practice", and this tree fell quicker than the others. Splinters flew from the torn-apart trunk and more cracks formed as it began to tilt and tip, threatening to crash to the ground with a roar. She didn't wait for it to hit the ground; instead she summoned a large sphere of her Element and sent it flying into the destroyed trunk, making it envelop a good chunk of the whole tree and freeze it. She kept relentlessly going, throwing shard after shard furiously into the trunk, ignoring the tree's protest and the chunks of wood flying everywhere along with small Ice particles. She wouldn't have done this to a live tree, or a tree in general save the fact she was indeed furious and letting off enormous amounts of steam.

It was the stress that was bearing down upon her lately that made Meo react so oddly. She didn't want to snap on any of the family members, and so she would retreat to her private space in the woods and do this on any of the dead trees she could find. It didn't help that the Ice sent bouts of fiery blood rushing through her veins, heating her up from the inside and making her anger grow more, but the cracking and popping of Ice somehow soothed her. It wasn't destroying the trees that gave her comfort, but the flow of Ice through her and around her. It was something unnamable in beauty, and nothing compared. She had never really given much thought to Ice before, but over the few months she had come to love it as if it were in her blood naturally, as if she were an Elemental by genetic inheritance.

Meo panted, her body shaking from the excitement of the use of her Element and the warmth flooding through her tiring her easily. She had learned to build stamina, but it still wasn't the sharpest or longest lasting. She stood back, watching the tree crumble and finally fall under the pressure of the Ice and force being pushed against it. She definitely needed to find a different way to release her stress. Emilia would probably have a fit if she knew what Meo was doing—even if the trees were dead.

She huffed, her heated breath forming a misty cloud in the chilly air before dissipating. She only felt slightly relieved and even so was tired of performing such strenuous activities for no apparent reason. She had given much thought over Dragonov's request, and being a naturally forgiving person, she felt more inclined to give the family another chance. After all, they treated her as if they had known her all their lives, and she did like them, to an extent. She had easily noticed the bond the family naturally had, even if they weren't genetically related. It seemed almost natural, save the few people who didn't generally get along at all.

Meo wanted to at least get along with the others, and since she was still new, taking out her anger on everyone else wasn't in the slightest a good idea. Besides, those few feuding members kept themselves separated, without the need for Dakedei or Drag to interfere. They were pretty much reaching adulthood, save the younger members like Emilia, Torren and the twins.

She formed another small sphere of Ice, but refrained from hurling it at anything. Instead, she tossed it gently up and down in her hand, debating what to do with it. She was tempted to drop it into the creek and let no harm come to any more decaying trees, but the chilly essence within her warm hands felt calming. She relaxed, clutching the sphere in her hand as she stood at the edge of the creek, the embankment shallow and touching the water right on its edge.

"So this is where you disappear to."

Meo whirled, hurtling the sphere from natural instinct, only to see it burst into flame and fall in midair to the ground. The Fire dissipated and the sphere lay cracked on the hardened ground, melting. She huffed, grimacing as the familiar face registered.