Fire

Chapter Two

I walked away from the ceremonial clearing and towards the house to get changed out of the ceremonial gown. I looked down at my feet, concentrating on not tripping over my gown and ripping it. Again. Oh how I hate these stupid fancy gowns. Why can't I just wear a simple one? If it was up to me I would—

"Hey Sparks."

"Ahhh!!!" I screamed. I looked over to see Styrr, my childhood friend, giving me a goofy smile, his blue eye glinting.

"Styrr! How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me like that! You know what I could do to you if I get freaked out enough!" I shriek at him. I take a deep breath to calm down and then glare at him.

"And how many times must I tell you Sparks, anticipate the unexpected. Plus don't call me Styrr. You know I hate it, and the people who gave it to me."

"Fine. Fenrir then. But I like your name. I think it suits you," I smile and continue walking. The rest of the way to my house is silent as we walk side by side.

"Dalla wanted to meet today. She said you should 'learn control.' It's stupid the way she puts it but you really do need to practice. It isn't every day there is a—" he lowers his voice to a whisper before continuing. "A fire mage."

"Shh!!! You know not to talk about that out here. Especially not this close to the house! What if my father hears?! I will be even more of an outcast in the tribe than I already am! You already hear the whispers of the children and their parents calling me a witch." I look down at the ground before glancing back up at him.

"I know they call you a witch Ember, but they are just afraid because of the legend. That one day a red haired child of the elders of the a clan will wreak havoc among the clans, destroying the way of life as we know it and bringing the elemental magic back to the traditional way, with all five elements joined together as one. You are the first red haired child born to elders in generations! Of course they are scared Sparks!"

"All right, whatever Fenrir. When did Dalla want to meet?"

"As soon as you can get out of that stupid dress and take off all of that paint. Meet us in the usual place. And hurry. I am itching to get some practice."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I'll meet you there as soon as I change." I opened the door of the house to walk inside. I heard him shuffle away. I looked over my shoulder to see him walking towards the woods. I called out after him.

"Hey Fenrir!"

He stopped walking and turned around to face me, eyebrows raised, waiting for me to say what I needed to so he could escape to the woods.

"Chill out, Wolfy," I say with a grin. Fenrir rolls his eyes and continues walking away, towards the woods. I continue inside towards my room. I strip out of the ceremonial gown and placed it on the bed. I walked over to the water bowl under my mirror and started scrubbing off the ceremonial paint on my hands, chest, and face until my skin turned pink.

Once I was sure that there was not a speck of paint was left on my body, I walked to my closet and grabbed my red tunic and brown leggings and pulled them on and belted my tunic and the bottom of my leggings. It was still fairly warm for autumn so I skipped putting on shoes. Stopping in front of my mirror on my way out, I pulled out all the pins keeping my hair up so that my long red curls hung down past my waist. Satisfied with my look, I headed out to the woods to meet up with Dalla and Fenrir.