Burned

Chapter 8 - Epilogue

The time passed and he'd grown older. At least it gave him enough time to learn to control his fire, even though he'd resented it for bringing him his very torment. It was that very thing that casted him out from the rest of the world. It gave him a sense of not belonging, of not being wanted. The feeling he was some kind of monster. And considering what he'd done to that village and those people so long ago, he was a monster. He'd run away from his home village, so now there was nowhere to officially call home for the poor boy. The forests were all that he'd known for the while that he'd been with Isaac. Isaac was the one person that Xander felt that he could really trust, and he'd sacrificed himself for Xander who knew how long ago.

It was painful, being truly alone for the first time in over 16 years. Xander had nowhere to go. The most he could do was wander into a village and stay at an inn for the night, where he at least had a bed to sleep in. It was truly awful. How Isaac did it for so long, he would never understand. Often, he found himself crying again, just sitting under the shade of a tree. Wouldn't that be a sight to see? A fire witch crying rivers for himself. Honestly, Xander thought it was pathetic, and so he'd pick himself up, and make images and small holograms in his hands with fire to keep himself entertained when things like that got to him.

But, Xander tried not to let it get to him much. He tried to stay his former, happy self. Whenever he wandered into a village for the night, he made sure to always be friendly and happy, to avoid getting himself worked up over anything. He didn't want a repeat of what had happened the last time he'd gotten angry. He kept himself away from any potentially bad or dangerous situations to keep from having to use fire to protect himself. It wasn't hard, staying out of trouble, so Xander was able to stay safe for the most part.

Then suddenly, it happened.

On one fateful day.

Xander was minding his own business, simply walking, whistling, and then...

"Hey!"

Was he imagining it?

"Hey, I'm talking to you!"

Could it really be...?

"I said I was talking to you!"

Xander turned around, to see a boy, who seemed to be a few years younger than him, and placed his hands behind his back. "Yes, what is it?"

The boy bent over to rest on his knees. He had been running to catch up. "What are you doing in this forest-"

"I could very well ask you the same thing..."

"Why are you all by yourself?"

Xander was quiet for a moment, thinking of how to respond before he actually opened his mouth. "I ran away from my own village. I didn't like it very much there. Why are you out here?"

"I just... needed to take a fresh breath of air and then I saw you walking by yourself." The younger boy said. Xander studied him for a moment, before shrugging.

"Well, if that's all, then I'll be on my way. Nice to meet you!" Xander gave the boy a small smile before turning to walk away.

"W-wait!" He heard. Xander looked over his shoulder to see that the boy had gotten closer. "C-could I come with you?"

Xander blinked, then turned around once again. "Um, sure, if you'd like. Though it's likely that I won't be coming back here once I leave. So are you sure?" The boy gave him a definite nod.

"I'm certain. Just... just give me a moment to go get my things, okay?" He ran off before Xander had even said okay. Instead, Xander just stared after the boy, then sat under a tree.

About 10 minutes passed, and the boy had come back outside, beaming once he saw Xander.

"You waited!" He said. Xander stood.

"I said I would, but you ran off so fast so I didn't think you'd heard me." He chuckled. "Well, let's get going, shall we?"

The two began walking, with nowhere in particular in mind. It was quite quiet between them as they walked, neither said a word. Until the boy spoke up.

"So how long do you think we'll be travelling?" He asked, looking over at Xander.

"I don't know. For as long as it takes. If you want, I could just take you back to your village." Xander stopped walking, preparing to turn back. The boy shook his head.

"No, no! That won't be necessary!" He then continued to walk ahead before realizing that Xander wasn't following. "Well? Come on, we have an adventure to go on!"

Xander looked at the boy for a moment before nodding and jogging to catch up.

"So, if we're going to be travelling for an indefinite amount of time," the boy began. "What's your name?"

"My name? It's Xander. What about yours?"

"My name is Isaac."

Xander stopped in his tracks and fell to the ground, crying.