Messages From a Friend (Poofless)

29

~*Frags*~

I let out a small sigh as I walk toward the barracks from my evening meal. The smell a bonfire burning catches my attention, and I turn to see Woof, Mi'kai, and M'ayris sitting beside one. They were talking quietly amongst each other, staring into the flames flickering hungrily in front of them. As I stare at the fire, a strange force pools in my stomach; eagerly drawing me toward the flames like a child trying to drag his mother into a candy store.

"Hey Guys!" I announce my presence to the trio, pushing the strange force away as I take a seat beside Woofless. "Why is it that I'm always late to these conversations?"

"You're just busy with other things," Woof murmurs, wrapping one of his arms around my waist. Even with Woofless' presence at my side, the strange force was ever present; trying to pull me into the flames. "We were just discussing what happened to M'ayris earlier today."

My eyebrows furrow with confusion as I try to concentrate on the conversation. "What happened?"

"A hitman nearly killed me," M'ayris states, turning her head to show me the bandage over her right ear. "The only reason why I'm still alive is because I heard them trip over something." A wave of anger crashes over me, and the flames beside me grow stronger. Whether I caused them to grow or not is beyond me; my mind is focused on trying to figure out why someone would attempt to kill M'ayris.

"I swear if the emperor tries to do anything else to you, I'll kill him!" Mi'kai states, clenching his fists.

"No," I begin, turning Mi'kai's attention to me. "You'd be too obvious. I'll kill him. After all, I'm the Imperial. He wouldn't see it coming."

"Hey, babe," Woof murmurs softly into my ear. "Can you calm down?"

"What do you mean?" I ask, turning my attention to him.

"You're heating up," he whispers, nodding his head to the bonfire that was burning brighter than before. I guess I am controlling the fire.

"Sorry," I murmur quickly before standing up and moving a little ways away. I don't want to burn him. As the three continue their conversation, I turn my attention back to the fire.

I focus on the flames. The bright, orange and red tongues of heat flicker toward the sky and away from the wooded fuel source. The sounds and smell of the burning wood nearly consume me as I watch it. My body draws me toward it once again, and this time I reach out toward it with my mind. I wonder if I can change it's colour...

I focus on Woof's favourite colour, blue, as I gaze into the fire. Wrapping my mind around the flames as if it was a ribbon, I narrow my eyes. "Frags?" I barely hear Woof call out my name as I focus on the fire. It has power; lots of it. I want to control it. Control. The flames flicker once before disappearing entirely, leaving nothing but a small patch of smoke on the charred wood in their wake.

I think I hear Mi'kai shout something, but I'm too focused on the fire to make out what he said. Black spots start to dance around my line of sight. Now what if I... I snap the fingers on my right hand once, and a brilliant blue flame bursts from the charred wood. It started small, but grew large very quickly. I did it!

Feelings of relief and joy flood through my body, and I feel myself stumble to the side. A pair of strong arms wrap around me, and I finally let go of the breath I didn't know I was holding. I lean into the arms, and watch the fire's brilliantly blue flames slowly fade back to the usual red-orange.

"I did it," I mumble, resting my head against my support's chest as a wave of exhaustion overtakes me. His shirt smelled fondly of pine trees and smoke.