Announcement

**HyrulianBlackcat** · 07-27-2014, 11:40 PM

Sephira sighed wearily as she entered her room. Out of practice or no, James was still a strong opponent. Maybe she was more out of practice than she’d thought. After all, facing knives was different from facing a sword. James was also a quicker foe than she was used to, more like the Stari she’d grown up with than her latest opponents. It actually proved a decent challenge, and she was glad she’d suggested real blades instead. While it had made the dance more deadly, it also made it more real, more invigorating. And more natural. Fighting with a wood grip on a weapon she was unused to wouldn’t do, so she doubted fighting like that would work for James either.
Of course, it also made it more fair for him. While she’d managed to tame her flames to keep from severely hurting him, they still burned. She’d been prepared, though, and given him the paste to help treat the injuries. At his insistence, though, they kept going, until he was exhausted and sweaty from dodging the flames to attack her, while she was tired from magic use and dodging his blades.
“Yes, it is rather amusing seeing you face off against your new lover.”
She whirled around, stunned surprise crossing her features as she saw him sitting in one of the chairs. He smiled at her, a cruel smile. “Why Sephy. Aren’t you glad to see me?”
“What are you doing here?” she breathed, still struggling to contain her surprise.
“I go where you go, my dear,” he answered, red eyes flashing. “Didn’t I tell you that before? As long as I’m trapped on this plain of existence, I’m going to continue following you, until you’re rotting in a grave of your own.”
She balled her fists up. “Don’t test me, Vincent. I haven’t the patience for your games tonight.”
He yawned. “Do you ever, Sephy dear? Ever since you killed me, you’ve avoided my name like a bit of dung. No, worse, because at least dung you use to track.”
“Not that you help me at all, Vincent,” she snarled, forcing her flames quiet as she felt them building. She couldn’t afford to lose control of them here, of all places. Elwood was next door; she could hurt him, if she didn’t burn down the whole ship. “All you do is appear to taunt me.”
“Not taunt, Sephy,” he said, wagging a finger in reprimand. “Remind you. You made a mistake with me. Do you want to risk doing the same with James? At least I knew what I was getting into with your wrathful inferno. Does he? Does he know how hot your flames can burn, or how quickly they flare up?”
“You deserved every hell I could put you through!” she yelled, sparks beginning to break through her focus and materialize.
He adopted a look of weariness. “And yet, the one hell you deliver best, you did not give me. How could you give Strattus that honor and not me?”
“You want it so bad?” she hissed, now letting the flames manifest in her fists. “Then take it!” She lifted her palms to launch the fire at him, but something grabbed her arm in a painful vise, stopping her.
She looked down and saw Star biting into her wrist, blood starting to well up as her teeth broke skin. Sephira screamed then, letting the flames die as her fear and pain broke lose. Star kept tight hold, unsure if the pain would be enough to keep Sephira from unleashing the fires again.

**amaterasu** · 07-27-2014, 11:43 PM

Jackylin rocked with Gerrard, and kissed the top of his head. "Better?" she asked. He probably wasn't better, and wouldn't be for a long time, but it felt right to say. At least he was doing this behind closed doors, and not on deck in front of Din and everybody.

**Ser Soup** · 07-27-2014, 11:56 PM

Gerrard quickly pulled away and clenched his muscles, dipping down into bed. His hand held hers, his only hold onto a sharp reality. His hands covered his face, his life was falling apart right before his eyes. This was supposed to be a good new start, not a horrible one. A tear appeared in the corner of his eye and he stared forward at the opposite wall.

**amaterasu** · 07-28-2014, 12:06 AM

Jacky lied down next to Gerrard and stared at the ceiling. "Maybe not," she said quietly to herself. She squeezed his hand to let him know she was still there, and kicked off her boots.

**Ser Soup** · 07-28-2014, 12:21 AM

Gerrard slowly drifted into an uncertain sleep his dreams flashing before his eyes.

A sword spun through the air, Gerrard reached for it and screamed as it cut off his fingers and toes one by one.
A dark clothed man walked beside him and his teeth were daggers and his eyes pits of fire, he screamed and screamed until he was engulfed by the flames.
His fingers were stiff and his toes bent, his face was wet and a man lay before him. A question was asked and pain coursed through Gerrard as never before.
A torrent of voices appeared before him, they looked like spirits surging throughout the air, they rushed at Gerrard's face and he screamed as he had never screamed before in his life

Gerrard bolted up with cold sweat on his brow and collapsed back onto the bed, not realizing his scream in his dream had escaped his lips in the real world.

**amaterasu** · 07-28-2014, 12:26 AM

Jacky had been letting herself fall asleep but jumped back when Gerrard screamed. She nearly fell off the bed, and slowly straightened up, but didn't get any closer to Gerrard. Her voice shook when she spoke, and she focused mostly on keeping herself from falling if he yelled again. "Gerrard?"

**Ser Soup** · 07-28-2014, 12:41 AM

Gerrard heard the voices again, he had to get rid of them, he had to. He looked around and thought, the voices buzzed like bees in his head, ever urging, ever watching. Gerrard panicked, hugging Jacky got rid of them last time, but that might not be enough. He awkwardly leaned over and locked lips with the strawberry blonde, much to the shock of both himself and the voices.

**amaterasu** · 07-28-2014, 12:46 AM

The kiss starteld Jackylin, but she didn't pull away right then, she put a hand on Gerrard's shoulder, kissed him back once, then leaned back. She felt her cheeks paint themselves red, and she smiled at him. Then, she kissed him again, leaning towards him.

**Ser Soup** · 07-28-2014, 12:55 AM

Gerrard kissed back, their lips united in momentary fiery passion. The voices had jumped back in momentary shock, their power lost. He pulled Jacky closer to him and then pulled away, a flush in his cheeks, leaving it up to the girl whether or not to continue.

**jborgon** · 07-28-2014, 05:12 PM

James barged through the door, knife in hand, and looked around wildly. Having heard the scream, he feared something horrible had happened. The training had been exhilarating, forcing him to use muscles he hadn't for a long time. He'd worked up quite a sweat, and quite an appetite as well. So while Sephira had gone straight to her quarters, James decided to stop by the galley for a quick bite before turning in for the day. He'd been heading back, satisfied and ignoring the gentle throbbing of the places where his skin had been licked by her flames. He'd been burned worse before, and was getting quite used to it. After all, it toughened up his skin. However, the way back to his room had gone awry when he'd passed by Shane's quarters, where Sephira was sleeping. The scream had pierced straight through any thoughts of rest he'd had. Within a second he'd drawn his knife and pushed through the door. Now, as he surveyed the area and found no other beings in the room, besides Star and Sephira, he rushed forward, sheathing his knife. Sephira was in a full state of agony, for all he could see, and it seemed like Star was holding on to her, trying to keep her from losing it. "Sephira!" he exclaimed, reaching out to her shoulders. He was not too surprised to find that she was scorching hot, though it hurt even more than when they'd been training. He kept his hands where they were, albeit loosely. "Sephira, what happened? Are you hurt? What's going on?" A thousand more questions filled his mind, but he didn't have the control over his movements at the moment to formulate them. His breathing was heavy, heart beating unhealthily fast. His eyes burned with worry, and he kept biting his lower lip to a point where it drew blood.

**HyrulianBlackcat** · 07-28-2014, 06:36 PM

Sephira flinched away as she felt hands on her shoulders, before she registered the panicked voice as James'. She batted his hands away and pulled her hand from Star, scattering blood around from the bite. "Nothing," she said, a quiet sound compared to her previous. She moved to her bag and pulled out a cloth out. She attempted to wrap it around the injury, but being one-handed, it was near impossible. She growled at it and felt tempted to use her fire to cauterize it, but she knew her skin wouldn't take. The blood continued to flow, dripping onto the deck. She bit her lip, glaring at the droplets as she tried to ignore James and Star.

Star gave a quiet mew, nudged James, and left the room. She wasn't so good at cheering Sephira up. James might have better luck, although the cheetah wasn't so sure. Midnight had the best luck, with his cheerful innocence. Elwood would be even better, she suspected, as Sephira would force her emotions to cheer until the happiness became real. Star, however, was a cat, a brooder. While she wasn't distant from emotion, she didn't feel as quickly as Midnight did. As such, she could keep Sephira calm, but cheering her up was beyond the cheetah's talents.

**jborgon** · 07-28-2014, 07:41 PM

Taken back, James sighed quietly knowing Sephira was slipping back into one of her moods. Refusing to leave, however, he quickly shook his hands trying to air some of the pain away, then moved over to a cupboard where he could see some alcoholic beverages. He silently drew the bottle of wine from it and walked over to Sephira, not looking her in the eyes. He pushed her good hand away firmly, in case she insisted, and popped the wine open. He knew there were better ways to do it, but it would have to do. He poured some of it over the injury, making sure to keep her arm steady with his other hand, despite the pain. If it hurt her, she gave no sign of it. Setting the wine aside, he picked up the cloth she'd been trying to tie herself and used both hands to loop it around her arm and the cut, then tied it tightly so it wouldn't fall of. He remained in complete and total silence, not looking up at her, nor leaving. He only rolled his hands into fists when he was done, and gritted his teeth to keep from letting the pain get into his head.

**HyrulianBlackcat** · 07-28-2014, 11:07 PM

Sephira scowled as James took over treating her injury. She bit her lip as he dripped wine on the bite, both at the momentary pain and as her heated skin ignited it briefly. A quick thought and it was gone, although her skin still remained hot enough that she knew it was painful for him to touch her. How can he keep doing this? How can he keep putting up with me? I burn him, yell at him, push him away, and he still cares for me.
"He's too good for you."
She gritted her teeth and turned away. Stupid ghost. She knew he wasn't real; Star and Midnight couldn't see him so he couldn't be. But he was real enough in her mind, making him all that much worse. She hugged herself, trying to ignore him. She glanced side-ways at James, his face twisted some from the pain in his hands, but he still patiently waited for her. She glanced the bottle of wine and sighed. "James, I have something I've been meaning to tell you. And I might get a little..." she trailed off, not sure how to word it.

**jborgon** · 07-28-2014, 11:28 PM

James listened intently to her words. He was glad she was talking, which was more than she normally did in these situations. His eyes also glazed over the bottle of wine, and he felt like he understood what she was trying to say. He suddenly realized he was rubbing the palm of one of his hands with the other, trying to rub off some of the pain. Casually, he reached out to where Sephira's pack was hanging from a hook and pulled it down. He then moved to sit on the bed, the pack on his lap, as he retrieved the paste Sephira usually used on his burns. However, he was more focused on looking at Sephira's eyes. He didn't think it would be right to interrupt now, so instead he made sure she understood he was listening and the corners of his mouth twitched upwards into a meek smile. He was ready to hear whatever she had to say. After so long, he was ready. Before beginning to apply the paste, one of his hands involuntarily reached up to the pendant that hung around his neck.

**HyrulianBlackcat** · 07-28-2014, 11:41 PM

Sephira's gaze followed James' gesture to the pendant and she winced. She almost lost her resolve but she forced herself to start. She'd promised him the truth a long time ago, even if he was unaware of that promise.
She took a deep breath, and began.

Part 1

Let me tell you a tale. The tale of my people's death. Of the vengeance I took. The tale of my powers, and how I learned to control them. Of the friends I made, and the man I grew to love.
When Stari reach twelve years of age, we are given our cheetah partners and taught to communicate with them. I remember when I was given FallenStar as a cub. I swore on her spots that I would be “death to my enemies, and life to my friends,” and took my mother's second name of Phoenix. Looking back, I see how ironic it is that I chose that name, not knowing then what I know now. I trained for nearly a year and quickly learned to track and hunt. I learned to understand animal calls and how to use plants to treat injuries.
I found Midnight as a cub, the runt of the litter having been chased away from the pack as a weakling. I took him in, fed him, trained him as I'd taught Star, to understand my commands and the whistles I'd use as shortcuts for commands. I learned how the social wolves differed from the solitary cheetah, and how to use their individuals strengths to more effectively bring down game. I was the youngest to bring down a bear with their help, and could always be depended on to bring food in. I was one of our best hunters, and my father had high hopes for me as the future leader.
There was just one problem. From my birth, I was betrothed to a man two years older than me. Strattus had a talent for making people see and believe his side of the story, although his Stari gift was just an aura that soothed people and animals' aggression. He always felt he was better than others because he had already been promised to take over the tribe. I couldn't stand his cocky and arrogant attitude, and often found excuses to leave the tribe for a while just to avoid him. Sometimes, though, my father would force me to endure his company, his and the group of Stari he chose to keep the company of. They were like a pack, with him as the Alpha.
One day, I was out hunting. I was taking my time, wanting to bring down as much game as I could to prepare for the coming winter. Star and Midnight were with me, helping me track some of the more elusive animals. We stayed out over-night and when we returned, my game sack was bursting and both my partners carried heavy burdens of their own.
What a terrible sight met our eyes when we entered the camp. The village was in ruins. My people and their cheetahs were scattered everywhere, their bodies already being torn into by the carrion creatures. The buildings had all been nearly destroyed; only a few still stood, and they were in terrible shape. My father lay partially buried under the ruins, his face twisted in rage and shock. What could have happened? My mind was so stunned by the wreckage that I couldn't figure out what happened. Only Stari bodies lay in that clearing, leaving me no clues as to who caused this. Any tracks that would indicate where our enemy had gone were disguised so skillfully, I couldn't find them.
I only found one set of tracks leading away. Following it, I found Sarah, the head chef and the woman who treated me as a daughter. She was the one I went to after a fight with my father, after having to endure Strattus' attentions, or when I'd learned a new trick. She had been mortally wounded, judging by the blood, but managed to pull herself from the remains of our village. I found her under a tree, clutching a wound in her side. I immediately tried to find a way to staunch the bleeding, but she pushed me off. “Don't bother, girl. I'm a dead woman. You look after Midnight and FallenStar now, and take care of yourself.” I promised her I would, and that I would avenge the tribe. She just smiled at me and told me to be careful, I didn't know what I was getting into. She was still smiling when she went limp.
I spent the rest of the day finding all the bodies of my tribe and burning them. I wanted to do a proper funeral pyre, as was our custom, but there were just too many. Star and Midnight helped me, but not much. I didn't want them to. As the last of our tribe, I wanted to put my people to rest myself. So they watched, lending their strength when they could, while I worked on sending my people to the goddesses with tears streaming from my face.

Part 2

I couldn't stay in the forest. I tried for a day, maybe two, but the quiet of being on my own was too much. So I entered Hyrule itself. The vastness of the fields amazed me. I'd never seen so much open space before, and the sun was so much brighter than I was used to, given that I had spent my entire life in the shadows of the forest. I wandered, marveling at the space, when I stumbled on a merchant. He was a kind person, but I didn't recognize that at first because we couldn't understand each other. I know now that the Stari spoke what you call Ancient Hylian, and the merchant spoke Common Hylian. He recognized a few of the words I spoke and was able to piece together what I said, but it still took quite a while before we could understand each other.
He took me to Castle Town, to a friend of his. A scholar named Hillyshu, who was fascinated by Ancient Hyrule. He recognized my dialect, although his accent was horrendous. He taught me Common Hylian, and I learned to mimic the accent well enough that no one would mistake me for any but Hylian. In turn, I helped him correct his accent and spoke to him of the Stari. He had come across our legend in a few stories, but nothing beyond how we left Hyrule. I told him of our duty to protect the borders and our inherited abilities. I tried to teach him to speak to the animals, but he couldn't quite understand. He couldn't wrap his mind around animals being intelligent enough to speak.
Eventually, I grew tired of the noise and cramped space that was Castle Town. I bade Hillyshu farewell and left, returning to the field. Midnight and Star were grateful, as they were tired of being stared at. I couldn't blame them, I was tired of it myself. My habits gave me away as foreign even when I hid my true voice.
I mourned the loss of my tribe, which is perhaps why I was thrilled to see another, even though it was Strattus. I had just stalked and caught a rabbit when he appeared, grinning like a fool. “Always were the better hunter, Sephira. I've been tracking that rabbit all morning.”
He told me that he had been out hunting, like I had, and returned in the night to find our tribe's demise. He had been so shocked he couldn't go through the camp as I had, and was ashamed when I told him that I had burned the bodies. “I guess you really were the right leader for our people, if you could do for them what I couldn't.”
I should have realized then what he was. He wasn't a night hunter like me, he never would have stayed out so late. And to leave one of our own unburned was just inviting misfortune, as the spirit can't move on until its physical form has been destroyed. But I was just so happy that I wasn't alone anymore, I didn't care. I didn't let him touch me, as he clearly wanted, but I didn't treat him as coldly as I usually did either.
When morning came, Strattus told me there were survivors other than himself. That they had all left the forest to escape the mournful silence. I was excited and immediately we set out to meet them. Star kept at my side, hopeful that other star cheetahs had survived as well, but Midnight trailed behind.
The remaining Stari were in a small camp near the edge of the forest, a temporary camp that could easily be moved. They were all of Strattus' gang, but I didn't recognize this since there were several missing. They watched me warily, almost angrily, but I didn't notice. I hadn't seen another Stari for nearly half a year, and I was so happy to do so that I ignored what those faces told me. Strattus gathered them together to show me off, the only other survivor they had found. They cheered, but I could tell they weren't really happy to see me. I didn't find out why until later.
Kali was a woman three years my senior who had always believed that Strattus should be hers not mine. I always felt she was welcome to him, but since neither of us could do anything about our engagement, she resented me for having him. While they had thought I was dead, she had worked to make Strattus like her, but with my return, all that work was destroyed; he believed that we should go through with the engagement as planned.
That night, I overheard her talking to Strattus when they believed my animals and I were asleep. “She shouldn't be here. We had agreed, no survivors, no more of the old traditions. She is Balthscar's daughter, she will not accept why we did this.”
“She'll come around to it, Kali,” he told her. “I'll ease her into our new ways gently. As long as none of you opens your mouth, she doesn't have to know that we killed the Stari.”
I never felt anger like I did in that moment. I shook with my rage, and my body grew hot with the heat of it. I should have waited but my rage made me stand and turn on Strattus. He was shocked to realize I had been awake, that I had heard him, but Kali simply reacted. She had control of the shadows and she used them now to attack me, pulling them from the ground to attack me with long spikes. I deflected them with my knife, pushing my way closer and closer towards them. Strattus tried talking to me, using his gift to soothe my rage, but it burned too strongly for him.
He forced Kali to back off, to leave the fight to him. I was glad; he had always been the leader. My revenge was against him more than anyone. But he didn't fight me proper, just kept dodging my blade and trying to talk me down. He couldn't succeed and more than once narrowly avoided a blow from my blade. Eventually, he had no choice. He grabbed my hand in his own and turned my blade on me. Despite my rage, he was stronger than me and turned the knife around. “I'm sorry, Sephira,” he said as he forced my own knife through to my beating heart. “I had hoped you would still be my queen.”
“Never,” I managed to spit out. He simply sighed and twisted the blade, and I knew no more.

Part 3

I came to in a forest clearing, its edges decorated with beautiful flowers. Only one flower was in the clearing itself, though, a yellow bud that was as big as my fist. I stared at it in puzzlement, because it looked like a rose, but its stem was more like that of a daisy while still being sturdy. I knelt to look at it, trying to figure out what it was.
“A phoenix flower.” I looked up to see a woman who could have been my twin smiling at me. “It's a phoenix flower, and your connection to the world of the living.”
When I asked what she meant, she explained she was Jyotika, mate of our founder. She had been gifted with the power of a phoenix, granting her control of fire and the ability to be resurrected. She had retained this ability until she was pregnant with her first child, a daughter who inherited the gift. Only the first-born daughter ever took the gift, sometimes skipping around the family to keep the power alive. “My daughter bore only sons, but the gift passed on to her niece until another daughter was born to my bloodline.”
It was because of her gift that the Stari started to burn the dead. “When that flower has bloomed fully, your body will have been burned, either because someone set it on fire or it set itself alight and burned away. When you pluck the flower, the ashes will reform and you will return to the world of the living.” She placed a hand on my shoulder and gestured to the bloom, which was open now, revealing a bright red inside. “Go, Sephira. Your family is waiting for you. When you return, go to Death Mountain. You'll find someone there who can help you master your fire, but you will have to discover your other talents on your own.”

This time I woke to Midnight laying on my chest, staring down at me with his big blue eyes. When he saw I was awake, he barked happily and began licking my face. I laughed and rubbed his ears, then reached over to hug Star, who was laying against my side purring. They had sat vigil over me for three days, not wanting to leave my side, when my body abruptly caught fire. It burned away before they could do anything about it, and after a few moments, the ashes reformed, leaving me with only a scar where Strattus had stabbed me. My clothes were gone, but Midnight had been carrying my pack for me, so my supplies and quiver were still fine. As I pulled on a spare outfit, I told them both what had happened. They agreed that I should do as Jyotika said, as I'd need every power I could manage to defeat Strattus and his group.

The person in Death Mountain was a Sheikah, and very angry at having been discovered. I explained my reasons for finding him, which only further increased his annoyance. He had apparently left his tribe to live on his own, preferring to be alone to hone his control of fire. He showed me how to summon my fire and what different uses it had. He was very much surprised to discover that my fire came from me, that I didn't have to force its creation but simply let it out. He used this to show me other tricks, such as allowing smoke out of my nostrils or heating my skin to burn on contact. We discovered that I'd have to be careful of my control, as I could very easily unleash fire or heat my skin without meaning to when I was upset.
When he felt there was nothing more I could learn, Mingan sent me away, insisting I had no further reason to be “disrupting my solitude and badgering me with stupid questions”. He did give me a sword, though, telling me to learn to use it. “Your arrows are plenty strong, lass, but when your enemy gets close, you need something else.” Since Strattus had kept my knife, I accepted the blade and promised to learn how to use it.

Part 4

Fall was turning the leaves brown, marking it as a year since my tribe had been murdered. Armed with my new skills, I was ready to strike against those who had destroyed them. I started tracking them, hunting down Strattus' people. They were good though, hiding their trail easily. They didn't know I was alive, but they didn't know if there were any other survivors either. They preferred to keep their existence unnoticed for as long as they could. Unfortunately, it made it difficult for me to track, and Midnight's nose couldn't pick up their trail.
One day, I was traveling by Zora's River when I heard some splashing. Star heard it too, and we both recognized that it was not just the splashing of water against rock and bank. This was the splashing of a person in the water. Midnight declared it wasn't one of Strattus', though, so we decided to approach, but cautiously.
A young man stood waist deep in the water, his clothes on the bank. He was pulling water out of the river and trying to hold it in a sphere shape, but it escaped his control, falling back into the river with a splash. I smiled as I watched him, for I could see what his problem was. The Stari I knew who could control water didn't actually control it. They explained that water was in constant motion and forcing it to hold still was a very difficult task. Instead, they simply directed it, shifting their control over it constantly to keep its shape.
When he lost the water a third time, I decided to help. With Star and Midnight on either side, I walked down to the bank and called out, “Water doesn't like a master, you know.”
He jumped, falling over in the current, and came up spluttering. I felt a blush warm my cheeks as I realized all his clothes were beside me on the bank, but quickly hid it with an amused smile. “For Nayru's grace, don't scare someone like that. You near drowned me there.”
I laughed and shook my head. “I doubt that. Water dislikes your control enough it might just spit you back out.”
He grinned sheepishly back at me and climbed onto the bank, where he quickly pulled his clothes on. I couldn't help but admire his strong body, so much broader than any of us slender Stari. He would have been like a bear among us deer. His hair was black, bound back in a wolf's tail, and his red eyes couldn't keep from watching me and my partners in return. He asked for my name and gave his own, Vincent. He was an only survivor too, telling me that his entire Sheikah tribe had been betrayed by the king of Hyrule. He was on a path of vengeance as well, but unlike me, he didn't have the weapons to destroy his foe.
So I explained what I knew of water manipulation. With my help, he was able to pull the water out of the river and hold it in a sphere, even making it change shapes. He also had control over rocks and soil, and showed me how he could pull whatever mineral he desired from the earth and shape it as he chose. Earth, apparently, was an easier element to control, it just needed a firm hand to insist on its obedience. He showed me other things too, such as how to wield my sword. I, in turn, showed him how to move even more silently and how to track.
We grew to be a great team, but Midnight didn't like him. I dismissed him as simply being jealous, although he insisted that it was more. Star didn't seem to mind at all, so I ignored Midnight's protests. As winter started to touch Hyrule, Vincent would snuggle up to me for my heat, and I let him. I had never let Strattus do this, but I liked Vincent and I knew he liked and respected me. He even made me a medallion, a grey disk with a phoenix symbol on it. He showed me where a hidden latch was, revealing a beautiful picture of him and me inside, my bright blue eyes blazing with my fiery cheer, his deep red radiating peace and happiness.
Then one night, I decided to give in. I risked my powers, risked losing control of them and losing them altogether, and mated with him.

Part 5

As winter continued, Strattus' group started to dwindle. They hadn't prepared for winter like they should have, and sickness and hunger was taking their toll. By the time spring arrived, their numbers had reduced to only a half dozen. Vincent and I were able to catch them easily, and along with Midnight and Star, we killed four of them. Kali and Strattus were proving more difficult, although they were shocked to see me still alive.
Then Strattus said something, in a language I'd never heard. Vincent shuddered beside me, then turned his sword on me. I was shocked, barely able to defend myself from his attack. Water lashed at me while the rocks beneath my feet rocked, nearly causing me to fall over as I struggled to defend myself from his sword. Fire surged around me, responding to my fear and anger. Midnight and Star stayed away, much to my relief. I hadn't wanted either of them to try to help, only to be hurt by our abilities.
“Why, Vincent?” I managed to get out.
“He made me a promise,” he answered, “and I made him one.”
The fire flared even more and it was all I could do to keep it from hurting Star and Midnight, who attempted to attack Kali and Strattus, but she kept them safe with a shield made from shadows, which my flames provided her plenty of. I couldn't pay attention to them, though. Vincent taught me how to fight, so he knew every trick I did, and more besides. His abilities over water and earth seemed designed to defeat my fire.
“What sort of promise did you make that you would turn on me?”
His red eyes turned hard, cold as ice. “I made a blood vow that I would help him defeat any Stari who still opposed him. In return, he'd help me achieve my revenge against the king. What we had, Sephy, doesn't matter. Because you chose to be against him, my vow will make me kill you.”
What little control I'd had over my fire dissipated with those words. My rage, my hurt, my raw grief, poured out of me, and nothing could stop the flames created. It roared around me in an inferno, destroying even the rocks that he tried to use for protection. I vaguely heard Kali's cry of alarm, Midnight and Star attempting to escape the flames while trying to calm me down, but I was focused on one thing only. Vincent recognized he was in trouble, but he couldn't stop me. The rocks split and crumbled, the water evaporated. Our swords glowed with the rising heat while sweat poured off us. Every time my blade struck him, no matter how superficial, hurt him, raising blisters from the hot metal and turning his skin livid with burns.
It became too much for him. The injuries cauterized, so he was in no danger of bleeding out, but the pain was great. I drove him to his knees before managing to disarm him, my fires still keeping his own magic at bay. I wanted to hurt him more, to make him pay, but Star nudged my side. She had braved my flames to tell me to calm down, to offer her comfort. So I gave him another glare, formed a fiery prison around him, and turned back to my real goal: Strattus.
Kali was weary from protecting them both from my flames, it was a simple matter to send her into Death's embrace. Then I turned my angry glare on Strattus. He was scared. He knew he was finished. He tried to talk me out of it, to convince me to let him go. But there was no mercy in me. He didn't deserve a quick death. I wouldn't deny him the purity of the pyre, though, to send his spirit to the goddesses to be judged. So I decided to do them at once. I could have done it all at once, but I wanted to savor his screams as his body burned.
Midnight's snarl made me turn in time to find that Vincent had managed to escape his cage. He had drawn the knife on his belt, a wickedly sharp throwing blade, and was preparing to throw it at me. Without thinking, I drew my bow, knocked an arrow, and let fly. It went through his heart, but not before he managed to get me. His knife buried itself in my side, and I felt the tip go through my back. I couldn't contain the scream of pain, so I let it all out. Not just the pain, but the anger at Vincent, the grief for my tribe, everything.
My throat was raw when I finally stopped. I had fallen to my knees and blood from my wound was spilling around me. My eyesight had dimmed, so I knew I'd be visiting death's world again. Midnight and Star watched me with concern, knowing as well as I did that I was going to die again, but accepting that I'd be coming back. I smiled at them. When I came back, I knew I'd have to figure out what we were going to do, now that I'd avenged the tribe. But for now, I was at peace.

Her tale concluded, Sephira lapsed into silence. Now that he knew the whole story, would he still accept her? Or would he reject her, as she did herself?

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