Igni Ferroque

Screaming. Agony. Pain. Sadness. Rage. Hatred. Spite.

Dark, putrid smoke. It swirled all around. Sparks of red and orange, like a forge. The clanging of metal and scorches of flame. She could barely see. The smell of flames, destruction, and death soared around. She felt hot and sticky from sweat. She heard, however, an explosion. Fumes of darker pillars of smoke flew around. It felt like a fortress of suffering.

She heard a sickening roar of laughter erupt. She heard a small child weeping. She heard...

...

...

~~~

Igni Ferroque

[Closed to Nevin. Sequel of Blood Fury and Alchemy.]

~~~

...
...

Drowsiness. In a stiffled, silent manner, she awoke. Her eyes were closed. Instead of ember and ash, she smelled blood. The faint traces of chemicals and potions, similar to a lab, was detected. She stirred. The young girl felt that she was on a thick cot. The single thin blanket drapped over her was just enough to keep lukewarm. She pulled a hand out from under the sheets. She was still sweaty from the dream, so she wiped her hand, then her eyes, before opening them. She pulled the red strands of hair away from her face. Peridot green eyes looked up to a wooden ceiling. With a ladder leading up and away from the room, Felicity was momentarily baffled as to why she was in a basement. She noticed an alchemist's workstation to the side. The low room had a boatload of equipment and tools ready for the advanced alchemist's needs. This was a lot like the Toivonen lab - but way heck more organized.

Felicity pushed herself up from the cot. Her bare feet were swiftly pulled back from the cold stone floor. Her hiss alerted someone of her awakening.

Before Felicity could even look up again, she jumped upon the sudden outburst. She next processed an arm with unnatural red threads all over the surface. The hand held, oh about seven pills. The little white objects were accompanied by a glass of water held in the second hand. She heard a stern, hasty, concerned voice pounding her ear drums.

"Your blood is more like a solid than a liquid. Those are blood thinners. Take two now. Take two at lunch, or in the middle of the day. Then two before bed. I have an extra so your alchemist can mix more up."

Felicity's eyes were wide halfway through his lecture. Then, the memories of her last moments before falling asleep, high on an anti-stress serum, came back to her. "Oh! Nevin..."

She was obviously in the workshop of a redheaded alchemist named Nevin. She had come to him seeking help, to control her unbridled rage-based abilities... instead, it had become little ragechild care center treatment before Felicity got high off of an over the counter anti-stress serum and bawled herself to sleep.

It was rather embarrassing, looking back.

She was here now, though. They had already survived through an analysis and blood drawing. Obviously, after Felicity crushed poor Nevin with a four hundred pound pressure hug, he started research on the blood sample. Did- did he just say her blood was... almost solid though?

Every alchemist needed their lair; their base of operations. This was his said lair, most likely. There were several barrels, as well as a chain and pully in the room. There was a second workstation at the opposite end of the room from him. Her arming sword, in its sheath, rested against the edge of the cot. Felicity looked down at the pills that had been dumped into her hands.

"... Bl-blood thinners?"

After Nevin had realized that Felicity had fallen asleep against him, he had grown concerned, until he figured out that she had fallen asleep due to the lack of anger hormones being actively released into her system. Just how long had she been operating off of nothing more than a thinly veiled anger making her blood pump?

So, concerned about her, he couldn't exactly just throw her out into the street. He had closed down his shop and carried her down into That had been awkward for him - because it meant he had to use his threads to do so, carrying her almost like a doll above him so that he didn't accidentally slam her into the floor because he couldn't see where the end of the ladder was. Thankfully she hadn't woken up tangled in the crimson tendrils, because that would probably have made her freak out enough to overcome the medication he gave her.

After he had gotten her down, Nevin had gently laid the girl on the cot in the corner of the room and gotten to work. One of the vials of her blood was unstoppered and he pulled it out, letting it swirl in the air around him as he tried to think of how to approach this situation. And then he noticed something that made his concern for the girl skyrocket.

Even with his doing nothing to the blood, it was thick, almost sludge-like. It shouldn't have even been capable of flowing, it was almost like a paste, not the fine free-flowing fluid it should be. He immediately began running a few tests on a small sample he drew frequently the test, and his fear was concerned.

Whatever her power was, it was certainly having a physical reaction on her body. Stress hormones were running rampant in her blood, clotting it up so much even inside of her that it was a shock that she was still on her feet. In fact, with this much blood, he was astounded she didn't suffer anemia or something along those lines.

So, in addition to figuring out how to handle the actual unknown serum, he would have to help her with this immediate problem. Her blood being this thick was distinctly unhealthy. He could, he thought change the density of the blood directly - experimenting on the blood in the air around him proved that - but. But, if her system had adjusted to having essentially a blood syrup instead of what it should have, then that drastic of a change might actually affect her even more adversely.

So, it would have to be done slowly, over time. Which meant, a medication. Luckily, he happened to be in just such a business. Quick strides carried him to his cabinets, and he began pulling ingredients out. Some were discarded, too much risk of adverse effects with the unknown serum, others were set up, ready to go. So he began, grinding, mixing, boiling and skimming, slowly concentrating the concoction down.

The finished product was a batch of seven pills - with another set of six hardening in their 'candy' coating. Six for her to take over the next day, one for study - then another batch of six for the next day. While he waited for her to wake up, he began spinning her blood around his head, listening to the angry choir pounding in his head.

So, the chemical serum was creating an artificially induced stress reaction inside of her. That prompted the increase in anger, which created more stress, more hormone... It was a self-perpetuating cycle. One that he had cut off before it could run its course - no wonder her body had crashed, it was used to an escalation in stress once it started, and he had essentially cold-cocked it in its warm up stage.

Well then. He began work on his next idea. A low level hormone blocker - it wouldn't prevent their generation, so when the reaction happened she would still have that additional burst of anger - but hopefully it would prevent her system from absorbing those chemicals and beginning that perpetuating cycle.

Felicity thrashed on the cot in the corner of the room, trapped in the throes of what Nevin could only assume was a nightmare. He dared not wake her though - not yet. He knew full well that if he tried, he would probably get a cracked rib from a frightened teen lashing out. He scooped up the medicine and put her blood back in its vial, and moved over to her. Thankfully the hormone medication could brew for a little bit without his direct supervision.

When he gave her the pills, it she had stared at him blankly for a moment before her eyes widened in recognition. He repeated himself to answer her question.

"Blood thinners. The serum creates a stress based hormone reaction, one that has thickened your blood to an almost absurd degree. There's a chance that the reason you haven't been able to tap into your magic is because it is funneling itself into keeping you going when your blood more closely resembles a salsa than a wine."

"Oh."

The childlike shrug was followed with worry. The girl slightly shook when he explained the state of her blood. Her magic affinity's attempts to keep her alive, the clots...

... How was she alive?

She instantly took two of the pills, as instructed. The girl briefly hugged herself before spotting her leather jacket on the corner of the cot. She took it and slipped it on, over her green shirt and brown pants. She pulled the cloth hood over her head, suddenly feeling afraid to even get up.

So, she simply sat at the edge of the bed. Her messy red hair, let down as opposed to its usually being tied back, hung over her face. She was pale. She put the cup down between her legs, looking into the empty glass as she processed.

"... I'm sorry. -For, uh, crying... In my defense, I was kind of high on meds."

A half amused scoff escaped her. She wanted to rush past that... emotional moment. While Felicity was indeed a vibrant, feeling individual, she also had become accustomed to putting on a face and being a happy one. Everything from facing up to her blood abilities, to bawling like a baby, to finding out her blood was more like chunky applesauce than water... She was now unusually serious. They needed to solve her physical issues - and fast.

"So this stuff will help me?" She looked at the remaining pills still clutched in a sweaty hand. She did not wish for the coating to melt off, so she turned her hand and put them on the white bed sheet. She wiped her hand on her pants, leaving a visible dark stain. "So not only do I go insane every time I bleed, but my blood is super thick..."

Upset and nervous, she burried her forehead in her palm. Her eyes were closed in exhaustion for a moment, then a memory shot across her mind. "... Hey, that explains why I bled so little that one time at the sawmill..."

She then sat up straight, "But that's not important." She lowered her hand, looking at Nevin, "What is important is, well, what else can be done?"

The older alchemist reached out and ruffled her hair, trying to reassure her as she looked so painfully sad and small on the cot. Then he kneeled down in front of her, bringing his face closer to hers so she didn't have to crane her neck back to look at him.

"I would say the first thing is, to listen to me when I tell you that there is no shame in crying. There are times to put on a brave face and not let others see you cry. But when you are here, you are safe, and your guard can be relaxed. I am no idiot villager, condemning you for being human. I will not attack you for any tears, and you need never apologize for them." Especially not when he knew that he had literally told her there was a good chance she was on the verge of a heart attack at any given time, if her magic had not been keeping her going. He stood up and brushed off his knees, then took a hand and pulled her to her feet, leading Felicity to the workstation where the other solution was brewing. He let one arm drop to his side while the other indicated the table.

"The first step in making sure you survive what your power has done to you is, making sure it doesn't make your blood kill you first. The blood thinners will do so. I could theoretically lower the density of your blood with my magic, artificially thinning it, but that has a good chance of causing shock to your system. The medicine will extend that out and give your body and magic time to adjust to the changes." He nodded to the pills on the table, identical to the ones she had set on the edge of the cot. Then he indicated the bubbling potion in a pot over a burner.

"This is the next step. I haven't yet identified what the serum is or how it provides you a boost, but what I was able to determine is that it triggers a cascading effect of hormone production. The power makes hormones that make you stressed, which produces more hormones that make you more stressed, and so on. That brew should, theoretically, prevent your system from fully bonding with the first, artificial, dose of hormones." Nevin turned to her and took one shoulder gently in a hand.

" You will still get angry, but it shouldn't be as bad, and it shouldn't last long past your fifteen count." He took a deep breath, and squeezed the Felicity's shoulder. "The last thing I would suggest ties into the first. Find someone you feel safe talking to. Speak with them. Share with them the things that stress you out in your normal life as well. I know full well the temptation to keep things bottled up, wrapped up inside where no one else can see. But all that does is hurt us. They say a burden shared is a burden halved, and I have found that knowing someone is on your side and knows of the pains you are dealing with, is enormously helpful for a heavy mind."

He took a deep breath and stepped back, placing his hands on his hips as he looked to the workstation. " And I promise you. I do not think of what I've given you as a final solution for your problems, dear Felicity. This is to help you in the here and now - I still intend to find a real solution, something that would help you on your daily life. I will keep looking." He nodded to her, his face full of concern.

Felicity smiled weakly as Nevin spoke. He was being too kind to her. This scientific support, this emotional support...

Unfortunately, there were so little she actually trusted. She absolutely loved Daisuke and Ashla; but she could not trust either. Daisuke was the one who gave Felicity the serum in the first place. Ashla... had trampled her too many times... No, she could not trust them. Not yet. For as much as she cherished them...

This emotional baggage would have to wait, however, as they immediately moved into the analytical observations of her abilities.

As Nevin gave her a curt nod, vowing to find a more permanent solution to her serum, she smiled sweetly. "Thank you."

She almost hugged him. As she pulled her arms around herself, the girl spoke more. "Really. Words cannot describe the good you have done for me." She looked down with a smile, "Words or money could not pay you enough..."

For a moment, she was silent. Then her eyes widened, head shooting up. She turned to him with a jerk, "-I mean! - I will pay you for this! Businesses are businesses! I work in one! Us alchemists need food on our plates! S-so, yeah..."

After another moment of awkwardness, she looked up at the workplace. She saw the blood, her blood, in the jar. It really did look thick. It was like tar or magma. While Felicity had seen blood bath after blood bath, this image still slightly nauseated her. She pulled a hand over her mouth, turning a tad bit pale. She looked over towards the boiling pot. As wet steam rose from the edges of the pot, Felicity leaned against the edge of the table. As the clear smoke swirled, Felicity looked towards the pills, then looked back at the more experienced alchemist.

"Do you need help with anything?"

Nevin slowly shook his head and stepped over to the girl, who was clearly not doing well as she looked at the jar of her own blood. He couldn't blame her - most humans, even those who were warriors, experienced a rather unsettling disquiet when they witnessed their own blood outside of their body. Your mind screamed at you, announcing deep into your very being that it was wrong and blood should be inside of you.

For Nevin, seeing his own blood was a strange thought to him because his own oscillated between his magic screaming at him that it was the best he could ever get - and other times, seemed to be completely inert to his senses. It was a bit confusing to him, but in the end it had inured him to the normal response people had in this kind of situation.

So he stepped between her and the jar, and wrapped one arm around her shoulders and gave her a comforting squeeze. "There's no need for you to look there. And don't worry about payment, not right now. You've given me an interesting alchemical quandary, a situation I haven't been in for some time. So I am thankful to you for that. I won't charge to help keep you alive, either. I make a solid enough living - I have two stores actually." He gave her a slight smile before swinging his gaze to the bubbling brew.

"And that should be done soon enough. You know... It doesn't need to be stirred a few more times though, have to make sure it has an even consistency. I'm sure you're up to it. Once we finish - it should be an even blue-yellow hue, and about as thick as a good soup- you'll need to remove it from the burner and move it over to the chill-box over there." He nodded to the end of. The second work station. It had taken a fair bit of coin to get an enchanted chilling box, but it had already been worth its weight in gold in term of the potions he could make with its usage.

"Then we only need wait a few minutes, and we'll be able to have you test a sample." He grinned at her and let go, finally stepping away.

Upon being given the instructions, Felicity got right to business. She walked closer to the pot and burner, pulling the hood down. She grabbed a hair tie from a pocket and pulled her hair into a ponytail, as to avoid getting any of her autumn colored locks in the mixture. She then picked up a spoon and stirred the liquid at a calm rate. It was hot. The bubbling green serum caused her to start sweating. She almost became memorized as the liquid swirled and mixed. However, a question kept her focused on the real world.

"Test?"

She still kept watch over the liquid with a careful eye. However, her curiosities over what kind of test was to take place once the potion was finished kept her preoccupied. The liquid continued to mix. The bubbles started to calm down as the liquid churned brighter in color. Keeping it in a smooth, even consistency, Felicity moved the spoon slowly around the pot. As the blue-yellow hue finally took form, she finally removed the pot from the burner.

With the cautious care of an alchemist with even basic experience, she steadily moved the pot towards the cooler. As she placed it on, her mind still was twisting with questions. The fact that she was as internally unhealthy as this explained the random headaches and dissociations she experienced from time to time - things she previously thought was just an ability thing. As she worked with the coolent device; her hands shook in her deep unease, her fear.

Maybe... she did have anger issues.

~~~

"What do you mean you don't think you can continue!?!"

A large fist slammed against the wall. An obese man, with a sickening amount of fat hanging off every nook and cranny, expressed severe rage. The veins bulging on his face were, impressively, even larger than the round bulge of squishiness on his pale face. Brown eyes were plump, and brown hair hung unevenly from his ball shaped head.

He was dressed in snazzy, business-like attire. The hat he wore was ever so slightly crooked on his head. He almost dropped the sandwich in his other hand as he fumed. A frightened, scrawny boy stood at the other side of the office. He was petrified of this pugly beast before him.

"I'm s-s-s-sorry, Mister, uh, Eotype. Bu-ut, it could be lethal-"

"-Do you think I care, squirt?" The man grumbled. He stood up from his wooden desk and walked across the cabin room. The floorboards groaned as the thousand pound man stormed over them. The crabby walls were, at best, made for suitable office living on the worksite. The sound of the mining and digging of industrialism roared outside.

The unfortunate messenger shrunk as Eotype towered over him, intimidating the worker with intentional fear and terror. "If you want feed your families with the money only I can provide you," he spoke on a low, violent tone, "You will continue to dig deeper into the mine as you were hired to do."

The employee avoided all eye contact. He was like an old, beaten dog in the corner. He inched for the door, head hung low. "Of course, sir. Sorry, sir."

Eotype took a massive bite of the sandwich. Condiments and vegetable slices fell to the floor as he ripped it apart. Juices fell from his humongous mouth, slobbering down the flab of his chin. The employee's stomach almost rumbled, eye locked onto the scraps of the floor. Their boss barely gave them enough to get by at all. While their families could eat barely enough portions, this man himself often went without.

Such was the life of an employee of Stair Eotype. At this point, all hope was lost...

They faced the immediate dangers due to the unusually high magical readings in the shaft up ahead. Willing to risk the insignificant skin and rough bones for his family's security one more day, the man quickly excused himself from the office.

Terror awaited the workers down there...

~~~

Nevin watched as she placed the pot of the potion on top of the cooler. He didn't know what she was thinking about - but it was obviously affecting her, as her hands began trembling and shaking. He stepped up and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "Hey. Felicity, listen - You will be okay, I promise you. Once we have a handle on how your power is affecting you, we can work to blunt the worst of its negative effects on your body. And - well. There is always someone willing to talk with you if you need someone to listen." He gave her a crooked grin, then moved to check the potion. It looked like it was cooling properly, turning into a thicker, almost syrupy fluid. He removed it from the cooler and set it down, then began ladling some into a cup. He pushed the cup towards the girl, then began moving the rest into some vials that he had arranged.

"Go on then, for now drink that. You might feel lethargic at first - but it should not be as bad as the calming draught did to you earlier." He leaned back and frowned, drumming his fingers on his desk as he watched her. This would be an interesting test - how much of a dependence did her body have on the stress hormones? If they'd been flooding her regularly, her body may have adjusted to having a consistent flow of them coming in. He'd have to make sure to keep an eye on her and make sure the medication didn't affect her too harshly. He was also still wondering about this reaction that was happening inside of her - but solving that would come after they had gotten her physical effects handled - he was seriously concerned for her after seeing how much her blood had been affected by the hormones shooting through her.

He cleared his throat as she drank, ignoring the expression on her face about the taste. "Now then, to test this, we will probably head outside and give you a cut, then see if that works. I don't know how long the serum will shield you from the hormones, but it should be good for at least an hour or so. So, let's head outside and we will start testing." He headed up the ladder, leading the way out of the shop. Up on the surface level, he paused as he saw that there were people standing somewhat awkwardly in the main area of his shop - miners, looking rather disheveled and one of them had his arm bound up, blood slowly spreading across the wrappings.

"Oi, ye the alchemist, aye?" Nevin nodded as he cautiously approached the front, his hand dropping down to rest on his whip in case these men tried something. "Thank the Thaynes, we was afraid ye was out. Look, ye're the magicy man round here we trust. We need help - we was mining, and somethin' in the mines didn't like it. WOke up and started hurtin' folks, like Fren here." The spokeman gestured to the injured man. "We was hopin' that - that ye could coom and help us out? The foreman, he ain't - well. He ain't goin' ta let us stop just for this, and we're afraid, we're right afraid." Crimson flow, this was terrible timing. With Felicity needing help he couldn't just run off and leave her - but these people clearly needed immediate help as well, if something they had 'woken up' was attacking.

Now that potion was just bizarre... If the feeling of if rusted iron nails and chalk boards had a taste to them...

Although she grimaced, Felicity chugged it down. The first thing she felt was... that horrific aftertaste. While Nevin climbed the ladder, Felicity grabbed an empty glass and bolted for a pitcher of precious H2O on the other work bench. She dropped the glass, drank the entire gallon of water. As the redhead chugged it down, she heard panicked voices. Thus far, no conscious changes were to be of notice. After placing the empty glass down, she grabbed her sword, strapped it to her belt, and raced towards the ladder. She climbed, her sword bouncing against her leg. She pulled herself out, first laying her eyes on...

A man was rather pathetically wrapped in bandages. The liquid crimson quickly spread over the wrappings, his dirtied face winced in pain.

"... ye could coom and help us out? The foreman, he ain't - well. He ain't goin' ta let us stop just for this, and we're afraid, we're right afraid."

Her eyes widened in a pinch of shock. Eyes dilated as all her previous thoughts flew out of her mind. All her thoughts were now on the miners asking for assistance. They needed help.

"A-are you- Never mind!" She cut herself off, running from behind the counter towards a shelf. She only hoped that Nevin's potions were also stocked in alphabetical order. She searched for several moments before snatching a light green salve from a shelf. She ran towards the injured worker, then ripped the wrappings off. She then, carefully, poured a small bit of liquid over the wounds evenly. The man hissed, tried to pull away, but the girl calmly took his well hand.

"It's going to sting, I apologize." She tried to sound as soothing and calm as possible, "This potion is made from athelas and antedowt, it will hasten the healing process and improve clotting."

Her actions were steady and calm. She had experience as an alchemist before, and her softer heart was more than capable of cheering up, as well as calming down, those around her. After steadily applying some more liquid, she turned towards Nevin and motioned expectantly, "New bandages, please."

Nevin seemed okay with following that order, he swiftly pulled a role of sturdy white wrappings from a cupboard and handed them to her. Felicity gave him the empty bottle and immediately dressed the wound. "There are also several pain medications to chose from, sir. I'll pay."

She pulled her sword partially from her sheath and cut the bandages off the role. The delyn sword was in good condition, an elvish set of words embedded into the blade. Felicity put the sword back. She tossed the role into her left hand and secured the arm with her dominant right. After this, she took and step back. Her hand instinctually fell over her weapon's pommel as she asked, "What did you need help with?"

Well, the girl certainly wanted to help others, that much was certain. She'd barely come up from the lab when she rushed out of the back to rewrap the man's wounds. Nevin passed her the bandages when she asked for them, and let her tend to the injury while Nevin focused on talking with the spokesman.

"So you say something stirred in response to what you lot were doing. Can you describe it at all?" The men shifted, looking nervously at each other. "I'll help, but I need to know anything you might have figured out."..

"It were big, and fast. Covered in sharp bits, it were. Black skin, but had these purpley rocks, almost like it were made of dirt and the any-thistles." Any-thistles? Did he mean amythests? "We thunk it were slow, cuz it were so big, but then when it attacked it was fast, like a person." Nevin took a deep breath, and drummed his fingers against his arm. So, a golem then. One with flesh and gems embedded in that flesh.

Then Felicity came over, asking what they needed help with. The miner looked at the young girl, then to Nevin with a tilt of his head. "Alchemist, is the sprog yours?" Nevin blinked. Looked to Felicity. Blinked again. Back to the miner. Then he slowly shook his head, and rested his hand on the fiery girl's shoulder.

"She is not my blood, no. More like... Hm." He studied Felicity for a moment then turned his gaze back to the miner. "More like a little sister perhaps. I don't think I'm old enough to be the father of someone her age." He let out a soft chuckle before explaining to Felicity.

"There is a particularly onerous mining group operating in some of the mine shafts. It seems the owner's drive for wealth has resulted in the men accidentally waking something up, and they need my help in quelling it." the miner nodded, confirming the man's words. Nevin sighed.

"I will help, Jedidiah. Go, make sure the mines are clear. The more worked up this thing is, the worse the fight will be when I get there." The miners nodded, and Jedidiah, the spokesman, lead them out of the store. Nevin heaved a deep sigh.

"I'm sorry Felicity. I intended for us to go have a light spar to see how well the medicine is holding up, but it looks like this takes a higher priority at the moment." He frowned, apologetic.

Felicity was all amused and ready for action and stuff... then he called her a little sister.

In a split second that felt way longer, sweet memories assaulted her mind without concent. Her eyes widened, her breath quivered. Nevin had his hand of her shoulder, speaking apologetically to her about the assault on the mine. Felicity would have cared more about the mine than herself anyways, however...

Jonathan...

Suddenly, she realized just how she felt so comfortable around a man she barely knew. He reminded her of him...

She blinked as he finished moving his mouth, forcing out a reply, "Yeah, it's fine."

Her eyes winced shut. She raised her hand to her temple for a moment, pressing her fingers against her head. Her teeth gritted as the emptiness of his absence took over. Flickers of a blood bathed death invaded her thoughts. She shook her head with a firm jolt. She lowered her hand, agony written on her face as she spat a cold, hurried statement. "Let's go."

Without accepting yet another one of Nevin's calm gestures, or expressing her reasons for distress, she stepped forth. Softly yet firmly pushing the workers aside, she walked outside the shop. As the light of the evening sun temporally blinded her immediate vision, the memories waged war with her...

~~~

The young man walked up to her, putting his hands on her shoulders, "You've obviously learned a lot, Felicity."

Felicity grinned, "Yeah, I did."

The man swat her armor covered arm, chuckling. "Don't get cocky."

Felicity put her flamberge away, then put her hands on her hips. She leaned on one leg, her head tilted towards it, "I'm not cocky... I'm good."

The two chuckled as they walked away from the clearing, into the forest. Leaves gently flew in the wind, the moon shining above as the silently trekked along. Felicity was thankful for the man leading her along. He allowed her to join him with open arms. She had lived with him how many years, she viewed him as a brother rather than a cousin.

The fifteen year old followed her cousin well, although feeling drowsy from the last several weeks. She located him only yesterday, and it took the two weeks before to track him. Even before starting her journey to find him, she had been through some tough junk.

Her cousin turned around for a moment, his rifle bumping his longsword as he turned. "Are you okay back there?"

Felicity had her head down, scuffling her feet. At her cousin's question, she looked up with a weary smile. "Yeah." she stuck her thumb up, "I'm goo-"

The sound of a wolf's howl echoed through the trees. Felicity's eyes widened like dinner plates, her hand zipping towards to sword hanging on her back. Her arming swords, located at her hips, swung. Her brigantine armor shook, hair flipping in her paranoid momentum.

Several crows called, flying from the trees above. Felicity's relative chuckled, "Are you sure?"

Felicity slowly lowered her hand, her eyes went back to normal. "Uhh... Still restless from the last several days."

A nervous chuckle escaped the teen as she walked up to her cousin, "Um..."

"Yes?"

Felicity bit her lip, bouncing a little, "Thanks for taking me, Jonathan."

Her cousin smiled and pulled her into a hug. They continued walking along. "Aw, you're welcome."

Nevin blinked once. "Well, that isn't good. I knew she - sweet Crimson Flow. Men. Hurry on ahead to the mine, she doesn't know where it is so you'll beat her there. I need to go have a talk with her." The miners looked sincerely confused but left, and Nevin sighed as he grabbed another calming potion and his whip. He curled the barbed weapon up on his waist and hurried out into the streets, pausing long enough to flip the sign around and lock the door.

A glance down the street revealed where Felicity had gone. People were staring after the young redheaded girl, confusion and affront upon their faces. Whatever had come over her there, it was clear that it had messed with her greatly, as she was till shoving people aside as she strode down the street. Nevin let out a low groan as he got closer, his long legs eating up the distance between them.

She was crying.

She was crying, and it was probably his fault, again. Thick flow but he was an idiot - the girl barely knew him, he doubted she wanted to be called a little sister for a near total stranger. Nevin slapped himself in the back of his head - no one was around to do it for him - and caught up to the girl.

"Felicity -" Nothing. She had come to a stop, leaning against a wall. Crimson. The hurt she held buried inide of her was clearly tearing her up. "Felicity, hold on girl." He pulled her to him and she clung to him, tears streaming down her feet and soaking his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and rocked her slightly from side to side.

"Shh, shh, it's OK." He kept repeating this, rubbing her upper back with the heel of one hand. She was lost in memory, and he couldn't tell if they were happy and she was acting like this for what she had lost, or if they were sad and she grieved as she remembered them. Either way, she was not in good shape. So he stayed there, letting her vent against him.

"Today we thin the Ranger's ranks."

"No." A whisper slid through her mouth, barely heard even by herself. The memory was fractured, shadowed, polluted with thick smog. The darkness of the surroundings was an abyss beyond her working memory. She could not even remember how tall the grasses were, or the presence of any trees. What she did see was...

"Starting with him."

Her teeth gritted as some man, who's appearance escaped her, drew a long shinning blade. It could be her memory broken, but it already appeared blood red. Her corrupted memory shifted through the undecryptable data and pixelated skips. ￦�μ��θ�^ Suddenly, a scream of desperation skipping in loops, their blades collided. %€�*# She felt %�Г rage. So much rage. *μ��~�� It consumed her...

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D E A T H

"-Nθ!"

"Felici-"

"-NO!"

Red. Everything was red. He was red. Red. Dead. She was red. In his blood.

Energy
Cloak
Burning
Blackout
...
...
...

~~~

She could not save him. Her cousin. Her brother... he was dead.

Her Berserk abilities and her emotional trauma itself had plentiful thanks for her distorted memory. It was there though, forever. It always haunted her.

She barely processed the people she passed, if at all. She barely understand her own stop against a stone wall. The moment Nevin confronted her, she grasped him tightly with her full strength. She did not comprehend anything outside of the memory she was lost in. She could not escape the agony. Breaking...

She buried her head into his shirt. As she did, she cried a rainfall of bitter tears. She clenched onto his shirt for dear life. As she held on, however, she also pushed away. One hand violently slammed his shoulder in release. She screamed. Oh, she screamed. They were not even words, but screams conjured up from a place so dark...

"No!" Her first muffled shriek from biting a piece of cloth was a 'no." Her fist tightened. She raised both arms now, but only one grasped his shoulder and shook him. The other was still held up in the air. "Couldn't-"

More uninterpreted screams escaped her. The shockwaves of memory and terror replayed over and over in her head. She did not let go of the alchemist, close to demolishing him. She was experiencing a night terror while awake. The disassociation was increasingly obvious as she completely relived the death of Jonathan Rhyolite.

"I COULDN'T SAVE YOU! JONATHAN!!! I'M SORRY!! I'M SO SORRY!!!"

It carried on.

Well, it seems like I finally figured out what her anger has been shielding her from. Nevin frowned as the girl screamed out her terror and grief against him. Crimson threads had snaked from him to her, wrapping around her beating arm and hauling back, enough to soften the blows so all he would have later is bruises, not broken bones. Terror and sorrow had young Felicity held tight in their grasp, and all he could do was weather and endure.

So he did, holding her tight to his chest as she screamed for her lost one. He kept massaging her back as she reached for the heavens, desperately grasping for something she couldn't see. It was clear that her memories had her entwined fully, she barely seemed cognizant at this point as her tears soaked through his shirt, bitter grief flowing down her face as he pulled them out of the middle of the street.

She didn't seem to notice when he sat them down, and started rocking her back and forth. This felt... Familiar? Had he comforted someone who was crying like this before? A flash of straw blonde hair, and his heart ached a little. He squeezed Felicity tighter and began singing to her softly, dredging up an old lullaby from a lifetime ago.

" Hush, hush, little snowflake, it's okay, winter and you are here to stay.
Hush, hush little snowflake, no need to make a sound, soon you'll cover the ground.
A soft world of white, blanketing the night. " He started stroking her hair softly as she screamed and shook in his arms, crying for this Johnathon. That was why him calling her his sister had made her react - it had triggered a memory, and without anger to guard her the pain and taken over.

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...

...

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... This pain...



... Felicity started to calm as the memory finally ceased. The ringing in her ears, the sound of a sword shoveling through flesh, still clammered against her eardrums. The visual faded away, however. The feeling of blood trickling down her body and half burnt clothes seemed to be washed by a shower. She still felt herself holding someone, but as her vision sluggishly cleared, she realized it was not a dying Jonathan.

It was a living Nevin.

She rested against his shoulder. Blood was replaced with her sweat. The grey wall Nevin leaned his back against was what she saw. Their red locks mixed, and Felicity felt what was a mixture between a scratchy thread and gell-like ooze gripping her arms. She was exhausted, still barely functioning.

Her hand slipped and fell onto the leaf coated ground, limp. Her tears still clouded her vision. What battle had she just fought? Only the one in her head? While she had shoved people aside walking down the street, she blanked out.

Despite being warm, she shivered. Her heart raced like a stallion's thunderous hooves. She still was on edge, but felt too weary to lift a fist. As if she had the will to... As Nevin whispered words of comfort to her, she closed her eyes.

"He always saved me growing up." Her tone was slow, slurred... The voice sounded dead, although the bitter sorrow still stuck to the enunciations. "In Eiskalt, Corone. He had my back."

Her back heaved as she choked, "I didn't..."

She buried her head into Nevin's chest. She was too thankful for him. It was weird, but the constant hugs and hand on the shoulder. The comforting words... he and Jonathan were faintly alike. Felicity felt glued to him for this. Her brother figure was dead, her sister figure was shallow and tormented. Nevin was the first taste of positive, trustworthy care in... had it been two years?

Two long, cold, lonely years.

She still doubted whether or not she should of left her family for Ashla's tutelage in the first place.

Here she was. Chillingly rested. As she calmed down and relaxed, her lungs started to ache from the weeping.

Nevin gently massaged her back as his threads slipped back into his skin once more. She had calmed down somewhat now, and didn't seem to be ready to break his shoulder any more - not that he would have blamed her, gripped in grief like that. Instead, he just kept rocking her gently, humming under his breath as he let her slowly regain her bearings. When she spoke, muffled by his chest as it was, he reached up and stroked her hair, and listened.

"I do not think he blamed you." He stopped his humming to speak, though he did keep slowly massaging her back. At this point her body was probably trying to recover from the sobbing cries, and she'd be getting a bit sore. Her anger shielded her from so much that had been buried - and those tears, and screams felt like she had been suppressing these memories. Nevin pressed on speaking.

"If he gave everything to keep you safe - I doubt he would have wanted you to be hurt trying to rescue him. That's not how brothers think. We may tease and poke fun at our sisters, but we know we are supposed to protect them, not the other way around. I know I would have been angrier at my little sister if she'd gotten hurt trying to protect me." He squeezed Felicity's shoulders. "And I'm sure Johnathon felt the same way."

The male alchemist leaned back and let his head rest against the wall behind him. She felt so small in his arms, clinging to him like a lifeline. He wondered just how long it had been since she'd actually grieved for her brother - if she ever had actually had a chance, considering how she had been telling him that she didn't cry because it showed weakness. Folly, to bottle it up in his opinion. He'd gladly sacrifice his shoulder if it meant this poor girl would finally have a chance to release the pain that had been trapped inside.

As she rested, almost dazed from the insanity, against his chest, Felicity took in the words. While she did not reply, she certainly processed them.

She looked back on the pained, blood stained memory one more time. Shades is grainy black and white mixed with nauseating crimson. While she initially recalled an older brother's protection and security from her troubled youth, other things stuck in her mind...

That experience... that experience she had just now. The way she... was it describable? Could she explain literally reliving an experience over and over again? She actively avoided memories like this. Yet, once it did hit her, it was harder than a lorde made of lead. What was that? It was like a Citadel simulation, the feelings of reality were so clear. What was that? She had never experienced anything near that, except in her troubled dreams...

As reality slowly returned to her, she remembered that call for aid by the miners. A light gasp escaped her. She burst into a straight siting position. It had been a blurred era of time between whenever Nevin last talked. Felicity looked down to the cool dirt earth below.

"Th-those miner-rs need he-help..."

Was she avoiding her problems again? Was she truly afraid to face any issues she had? She always forced herself to focus on the external to stay out of the internal. However, even now the oak streets, dirt road, and passing people felt blurred, so far away. This was the first episode of it's kind and Felicity wanted out. Now.

She tried to push herself up... yet she may have been pushing herself too early.

Nevin helped the girl to her feet, but kept his hands on her shoulders, supporting her. Even if she didn't want to admit it, he could see that she was worn out already, torn and stressed by reliving her memories. He didn't know exactly how powerful those memories had been for her, but it was clear that she had been trapped in their grip and felt the emotions from them all over again. The teen felt, looked, sounded, like her nerves were raw and shot, and the alchemist was easily able to see her attempt at redirecting his focus for what it was.

He gave her shoulders a squeeze. “We will talk more about this later little snowflake. I promise you, I won't judge you for having emotions.” No, he was actually more likely to be upset with her if she tried to hide away and bottle things up again. The only reason that he was letting her sidestep the issue here and now was be a use she was right - the miners did need help. But so did she. Thankfully, her help could come later - he would be there when she needed it. For now, the miners needed them.

But he was reminded again of his thought before - just how long had the girl been hiding behind her anger, letting that easy emotion come instead of dealing with the more painful ones of sorrow and grief? From what he knew, the longer she went with using anger as her default emotion, the harder it would be for her to feel other things. She'd resort to anger for nearly every situation. No, this would need to be handled as soon as they could afford the time to approach it. If she was trying to get a handle on her anger and stress, which were exacerbated by the strange energy that dwelt within her blood, then training her out of hiding behind her anger would be a vital step in that direction.

Sadly, for now, the issue of the miners and the elemental entity that they had awoken needed to be addressed first. Lives were at stake, from what they had been told, and helping Felicity with her emotional trauma would take more than a single day to work through, and it would take trusted faces, not people who had been involved in the atrocity committed upon her. The male redhead drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, and studied the girl for a moment.

“Are you alright to stand, little snowflake, or do you need a few moments?” His dark eyes watched the teen he was holding onto carefully. He was gauging her, watching to see if she'd be alright, or if he needed to make the decision to have her return to the shop to rest and recover. Nevin was well aware that emotions you didn't normally feel could be extremely draining on a person, and he did not want Felicity hurting herself out of some misguided need to be ‘useful’.

Eyes closed, she listened to his words. An amused, yet distracted, smile spread across her face when she was called 'snowflake.' She leaned against him, still a bit discombobulated. Between long, heavy breaths, she nodded. She reached down to her waist, feeling for her sword in its sheath. She had no shield, and a sword really was not the best choice for fighting giant monsters. Half-swording, the technique of holding a sword by the blade and attacking with the hilt, would have to be her go to for this. She pushed herself to stand on her own feet, and succeeded. As she opened her eyes, looking at the yellow grass at her feet, she finally started to breathe normally again.

~~~

The mines had many caves and shafts drilled into them. The many dirtied, silt coated workers had been using their pick axes and pushing barrels full of many different valuables, from bronze to quartz to iron. Yet, now, the entire mine was in a state of panic. Workers and overseers alike dropped their equipment and bolted as the ground shook. From one mine, workers flooded out in terror. The earth shook, causing all vision to blur. The screams and shouts of many rose above the dust and fumes of the mining area. The smell of sulfur and earthly fumes choked the air as much as the scents of blood and fear.

From a shabby cabin, an obese overseer stormed from his makeshift throne. He pointed with a chicken drum stick as he spewed hypocrisy and spite, refusing to take the blame for this "Look what you lazy, sloppy, no use bums did!"

"Mr. Eotype!"

The overseer turned to see a group of three shabby workers and a higher up approaching. The wounded worker appeared to have fresh bandages. The official appeared hot faced, panicked sweat dripped off him like slaughtered lamb's blood.

"These workers found help. You ought to be ashamed, forcing your men into this mess!"

As pebbles shot out from caverns above, the unmoved overseer calmly brushed the rocks off him. He lied through his teeth, "Who do you think called for help, my good man? And as for the mine, busine-"

One of the workers, in a moment of reckless courage, stood up. For his tiny frame, he pointed with a bony arm, pathetic fingers. "Lies! You never-"

He was instantly backhanded by Eotype, who gritted his teeth and spat venom, "Know your place, employee."

The bossman grabbed Eotype's collar, cheeks burning red in fury as he shouted, "Do you not see the magnitude of what you've done? Stonevale is in danger! The entirety of Scara Brae coul-"

Another tremer shook the entirety of the mine. The man gasped, eyes wide in frightened awe as his hand slipped from the shirt, to his side. They all looked on... into inevitable death.

As the workers ran, a young boy fell at the entrance. An older boy, a teen, swiftly grabbed him and tried to run. A booming thump sounded as the ground vibrated. As rubble fell and moved, quarry dust fell like rain. They turned to see it.

It had come.

A creature sown together by rock and stone. It was black in color, standing around nine feet tall. It had a massive built, coated with rich purple gems across its body. It pulled itself up, out of the shaft. It caused all to tremble as its magenta burning crystals illuminated the mine's darkness. A horrendous moan escaped its faceless being as it stepped outside the shaft.

The manager dropped the chicken drum stick he held in his hand. He was pale in helpless fear.

The clouds of rocky dust blocked out of midday sky. The creature had one thing in its base instincts as darkness fell over their heads.

Kill.

Nevin studied the girl for a long few moments before nodding once. She looked - maybe not fantastic, not great, but she did look OK. Steadying herself, recovering, and focusing. That was a good thing, and he could always make her rest later, after they had dealt with the problems at the mine. He would, actually, come to think of it - the little ragechild definitely struck him as the type to run herself ragged, feeling like she had something to prove - and with the way she had broken down there, he could see why.

She had a burden she bore, hidden away beneath her anger and rage, grief and guilt piled high for one as young as she was. She would drive herself hard, trying to atone for a sin that wasn't hers, and he already knew that whoever was in a position of authority in her life, either didn't see, or didn't care - and from mumbled comments, he felt it might be the latter. Well. From one redheaded alchemist to an aspiring one, he would look after her when he could, since it seemed no one else cared to. Which included bullying her into getting the downtime she needed.

But sadly, first came the minor crisis ahead at the mines. By the breakdown, they had managed to reach the outer edges of the town, and in the distance he could see the entrance to the mine that the workers had come from. Nevin could make out figures ahead, people standing near the entrance, and for a moment as he kept a steadying hand on Felicity's shoulder, the man had the hope that the situation had been exaggerated, wasn't that bad. He even started to prepare himself to convince Felicity to get some rest - when the earth began shaking.

Nevin braced himself, his hand tightening on the teen's shoulder to help her maintain her own balance, and he narrowed his eyes against the harsh sunlight as he peered ahead. That hadn't been natural, this area wasn't prone to quakes - there, another one, worse this time. Then he saw people, figures, pouring out of the nine, fleeing, and the brief moments of personal time were washed away as he saw the lumbering figure emerging from the mine entrance. His eyes went wide, and his hand squeezed Felicity's shoulder tightly before it fell away.

The blood alchemist's caring smile froze and fell away, a hard look replacing it as his body tensed. Beneath his skin, threads began churning, and a keen observer would have seen odd fluctuations on the surface of his body, where it wasn't covered by clothing. His hand curled around the grip of his whip, and the barbed, cruel weapon came loose. Nevin coiled it loosely, care born from practice helping him avoid stabbing himself on the barbs. He could feel the hatred, the vile intent, barging from this monstrosity as it began charging forward. No time, there was no time to waste - he burst into motion, a smooth, loping gait that ate the ground.

The golem was lifting a massive hand up, targeting a boy and a teen who had stopped to help him. The monster's intent was clear, to smash the two humans beneath its rocky fist. It swung down, and there was a short cry of terror from the boy who had fallen. Nevin lashed out, his whip shooting forward - and wrapping around the outstretched arm of the earthen creature. The alchemist dug his feet into the ground, threads shooting into the soil beneath his boots to anchor him in place. With a strain of muscles, boosted by the Crimson threads beneath his clothing, he twisted, hauling the attack off course. The mighty fist smashed down - but to the side, driving into the dusty path, not into the flesh of the two boys that had been the golem's target. Nevin let out an exasperated grunt and glared at the golem, his dark eyes flashing with anger as it swung its gaze up to meet him.

"Their blood is not yours to spill, spirit." Nevin spat out, tightening his grip on his whip as he pulled it back. The plynt barbs tore soil and rock loose as he brought his weapon to bare once more. The golem responded with a grating roar, the sound of rocks and boulders grinding against each other.

Well, Nevin was awesome at his job.

He and the golem, which towered over him, met with glares of deep, burning hatred. It seemed that Nevin’s whip could do better than Felicity’s sword! The sharp blade would be useless against such a beast, even if it was made out of delyn. However, Felicity trained well and knew how to improvise. She pulled the sword out and held it by the flat of the blade. Blunt attacks were needed for an opponent like this. Her sword's cross guard and pommel would have to fit.

She held the weapon in ready for a murderstroke. The art of half-swording.

It was no mace or war hammer, but it was what she had.

For a moment, her arms involuntarily shook, still physiologically messed up from her panic attack. She made sure that her grip was safe and tight before turning to Nevin. Used to being the student figure, she asked, “Do we have a plan?”

Grey dust floated around them, surrounding them like smoke. As everyone evacuated, only these two awkward heroes stood in between this monster and Scara Brae. Felicity was determined, the creature would fall here. Her eyes shone in sparks of concentrated anger.

The golem approached.

The soot coated redhead stepped back, light on her feet. It unleashed a punch. In a split second, a tinge of an odd, strange feeling overtook her in time. Despite this sensation, her reaction time was solid. Felicity tried to jump back, succeeded, yet was still thrown back. Actually, everything was! The dust itself cleared as if it was thrown back by an invisible force. At the edge of the impact line, the dust recollected in an unseeable, thick smog. Felicity was completely fine, but felt like gravity itself kept her clenched by the ground. The pebbles that surrounded her impact site seemed to be superglued to the earth. As the odd sensation stopped, she lifted her head. A magical, rich glow of the golem's amethysts just seemed to die down. The strange feeling went away.

Obviously magic. But what kind?

She staggered up. Not taking the time to wipe herself off, she shook her dazed head. Without the gem's magical glow, the cloud of grey sand made the golem invisible. It could attack at any time. Out of anywhere. She rearmed herself, shouting, “Nevin! We need a plan!”

Plan, plan, ask me for anything but - Thick flow! Nevin hurled himself backwards, his body sluggish as he sprang away from the swinging fist and the glow of magic. It tried to weigh him down, dragging at his body as his weight increased without his input, and the alchemist's eyes narrowed as he hit the ground and skidded. One hand drove down, driving the hilt of his whip into the earth beneath him, and he used that as an anchor, and slowly forced himself back upright.

He shot to his feet when the magic faded, and he let out an angry growl. Earth elementals couldn't normally use magic, and when they could it was typically restricted to manipulation of the soil around them. This - this was decidedly not that kind of magic. It had been an area of effect that had held everything down, pressing them against the ground itself. Nevin scanned the dust cloud as Felicity asked for a plan again, and his mind began churning rapidly.

Neither of their weapons were really suited to fighting this abomination. Felicity was trying to compensate by spinning her weapon around and using it as an impromptu mace, but that was sacrificing a lot of the range her sword would normally have had. Nevin's own whip was also poor for dealing with this thing - the plynt barbs had only superficially scarred the elemental construct. No, they'd need something else, something that bypassed the elemental's magic. The alchemist cursed himself - he hadn't thought to grab his dehlar cleaver, if he had that would have been well suited to this - the anti-magic blade would have negated many of this thing's abilities.

No, negating it was not the answer. Which left, bypassing it. Nevin's lips thinned into a hard line as an idea came to him. Fight a construct, with a construct. He gave a mirthless laugh as he realized that he was going to have to unveil something rather gruesome to Felicity. Keeping an eye on the dust cloud, he responded to her question.

"The golem is likely being animated by a core somewhere, most likely within it. We'll need to get it distracted while - well. While I search it. Don't think me too much a monster for this, would - Eh?" Nevin's attempt to explain his plan was cut off when a massive hand shot out from the dust cloud, extending further than should have been possible. It slammed into him, and he felt thick fingers curl around his waist as he was hoisted into the air. He was fairly certain he felt something break inside, but this was not the time to be concerned with that. If he didn't do something now he may not have a later.

So he retaliated. Red burst from his form as a near forest of tendrils of blood shot from beneath his skin. They wrapped, curled, twisted around the outstretched arm of earth, and began burrowing within. The golem was not made of stone - it was an amalgam of different materials, with loose dirt filling gaps between rocks and crystals. Nevin's threads wriggled their way in, like crimson worms dancing, and infested the arm. It locked in place as the golem and Nevin fought for control of the arm.

The moment the beast cornered Nevin, Felicity raced towards them. Unfortunately, in rushing in with blindness she was instantly knocked back with the golem's free arm. Immediately after the fall, however, she shot back up. Pain did nothing to the tough teen. Maintaining a grip on her sword, she observed the situation.

Amongst the floating dust, the golem had Nevin pinned with a large arm. As the hand threatened to crush, however, Nevin retaliated. Red threads she only saw hints of borrowed into dirt and stone. Felicity did not understand what he was doing now, yet previous words echoed in her head again.

”The golem is likely being animated by a core somewhere, most likely within it. We'll need to get it distracted while - well.”

They needed to get to the heart of the issue. She got that.

”While I search it. Don't think me too much a monster for this.”

Now that worried her…

Monster? If anything, Felicity was the rage induced monster between the two. Felicity poured out her darkest of secrets to him, and he only loved her back. Did- did Nevin hide darker shades of magic within himself too? Felicity shook her head. The sound of her brother figure grunting in pain brought her back to the present. She could care less about it. Right now, she just wanted to keep him safe. She had lost so much already, she could not bear to lose him.

She pulled the weapon into a murderstroke stance. Returning to her half swording technique, she crept towards the golem slowly as it focused completely on Nevin.

You need a distraction? You got one!

She held her breath to keep from coughing. The smell of grime, sweat, fear, and urine all meshed into disgust. Her heartbeat pounded wildly. Trickles of salty liquid fell down her body as adrenaline died down. The soot intoxicated the air, but tunnel vision pressed her to endure anything necessary for her friend. Once close enough, she pulled the weapon sideways and aimed a heavy blow for the leg. As grey blew up in a thick cloud, the golem bellowed.

Felicity did not stop there. She pulled one hand onto the hilt as she jammed the delyn blade into the broken foot. Her eyes widened in protective rage as she shouted in emotional violence. She had this.

“Leave him alone!”

The monster let loose of Nevin and turned towards her. As the male alchemist’s threads continued to dig into the arm like veins, the golem locked eyes on Rhyolite. Balancing on its remaining leg, it attempted to recollect.

Felicity smirked, “I got more meat on me than him. He’s barely a light appeti-“

It pushed her back. Her sword was imbedded into crumbling rubble as she landed several feet back. It limped, barely standing, due to her blow. Now, however, she was unarmed and in danger. A shadow fell over her. It extended its second hand to bring it down on her. She hardly could pull herself out to evade the stone. She inhaled sharply as the ground shook; the monster’s appendage millimeters from her legs. Yet, in that moment, the gems it sported glowed again.

The blinding light made the shadows of the dusty mine dark as night. The very air became even more stiffened than it already was. Just because she avoided one attack, it did not mean she could block the follow up.

”We may tease and poke fun at our sisters, but we know we are supposed to protect them, not the other way around. I know I would have been angrier at my little sister if she'd gotten hurt trying to protect me."

The damn golem was strong, Nevin had to give it that. If he wasn't wearing the drakescale armor, even with his enhanced durability he was sure his ribs would have been cracked and broken. But as it was, he was able to keep the pressure off with his threads, just enough that the golem was not able to do more than tear at his skin with the stones embedded in its earthy hide. Blood began leaking down Nevin's body from numerous small cuts and scrapes, and his head throbbed as the music of his magic sang to him of what he could do with it, if he just let go.

Then - then he was dropped his legs thumping against the ground as he landed heavily, stumbling for a moment. Only his threads, still buried in the earthen monstrosity's arm, let him from falling over, as the golem disregarded him and began shuffling away. Soot filled the air, making it harder to see again, but the bloody alchemist knew the golem had to be reacting to something that Felicity had done. Which meant that the younger alchemist was now the entity's target.

No. Protective anger filled Nevin's veins, an anger he hadn't even come close to since Eteri was nearly thrown into a fire. The blood mage's self-imposed limits shattered in the path of that anger and he instinctively reached out and grabbed hold of all of the loose blood in the area, every single, last drop. It swirled together, but it wasn't enough as he saw the thing hopping on a crumbling leg towards the girl, who had fallen to a retaliatory strike.

The loose blood wasn't enough. So he pulled more, from the open wounds scattered across his body from the golem's hungry grasp. With one hand he controlled his threads, his fury driving them deeper into the golem's body, still searching for the magical core that was keeping it going. The other hand though - it was held up, and a large, menacing, crimson orb swirls together in the air above it. The orb was being fed by thick, bloody streams that flowed from the mage's body, and had swelled larger - larger than the alchemist's own torso.

The golem reared its arm back to strike - and Nevin yanked hard, using the threads that were infesting the earthen body to stagger it. The golem flinched, it's attack thrown just wide enough to not fully hit the girl on the ground - and then the earthen beast turned its ponderous attention around. It saw the massive orb hanging in the air, and the rictus of rage that gripped the alchemist's face.

"You will not harm her." Nevin spat the words out. The orb of blood shivered for a moment, before launching forward, a massive blast of blood and magic. The liquid ball slammed into the shoulder of the arm that had reached out to attack Felicity, and demolished it, tearing straight through the dirt, mud and stone that formed the golem's shoulder. The arm flew wide, and slammed into the ground a distance away; and disconnected from the animating spirit as it was, soon dissolved into a loose pile of dirt.

But that wasn't enough for the bloody alchemist. More threads shot from his now free hand, and he formed them into a whip that he snaked out and around the golem's body. He began reeling the earthen entity towards him, and then a vicious smile split his face. His burrowing threads had found their target. "Your time is done, spirit." The words were a barely audible whisper - drowned out by the explosion of dirt and stone breaking apart as threads burst from the golem's stomach, carrying a large, glowing crystal with them.

The crystal hung in the air, and for a moment the golem's body followed after it, the soil of its form obviously being pulled towards the magical rock. But Nevin cocooned the crystal in his threads, drowning out the magic of the rock with his own, and the connection was broken. With a shaking, rattling grown, the golem collapsed, it's body falling apart into a massive mound of dirt and stone. Nevin stood panting, his chest heaving, blood dropping down his frame from the wounds that had been widened when he had dragged more blood from his body.

Brutality.

Nevin had unleashed the full might of blood magic. It was… discomforting. The way he pulled every ounce of blood out of him, his raw rage and power as he completely demolished the beast. As the golem's remains piled between the two, Felicity’s adrenaline widened eyes watched him. The grey dust flew as the creature disintegrated to the likes of ash. Through the hazy cloud, Felicity saw her brother figure thinly dripping in a light shower of crimson. His face was twisted in a mix of anger and satisfaction. His wet, long hair hung over his face. Felicity had goosebumps coating her skin in the moment of initial shock – not at the magic itself, but the sheer brutality.

Felicity’s memories were once again jolted. An intrusive image of Jonathan, drenched in blood, moments before death, invaded her mind. Her heartbeat quickened as she bolted through the dirt cloud. She coughed as she made it to the other side. She extended her hand, placing it on her brother’s shoulder. She shook as she spoke in obvious panic, “Are you okay?”

As for her own condition, the hyperstrong teen was fine. Her stronger bones and raw endurance made sure any damage done was only a rough sting. Her body and clothes were sprinkled with grey and black dust and soot. She needed a bath.

She heavily panted, looking into eyes she previously thought were black. Yet, up close, she saw the dark red. The half-neanderthal showed no sign of fear or judgement towards him. The only fear in her eyes was concern for his well being. Her hand was splotched with his own blood. A single thought towards how he ripped his own blood from his body entered her head.

“Please tell me that didn’t hurt you.”

The quiet after the storm stretched across the mine in a chilled calm. As distant, mute rubble crumbled around them, workers started to emerge from the sidelines. Bruised, dirtied, hurt. Yet, the two redheads had saved them. They stood next to carts and archways, eyes wide in disbelief over how they won. One boy, scrawny and timid, started to cheer above the silence.

The crowd followed.

Felicity could not care less about the noise. She had no need for glory. What she did need was already here. Someone whom she cared for, who loved her back. Tears filled her eyes as the echoes of Jonathan played in her mind. She missed him, and Nevin reminded her so much of him. That was okay. Nevin had become so much to her in just a short time span. She silently vowed, in that moment, to never let him go.

Despite how grimy and gross they both were, Felicity pulled him into a sudden hug.

It took a moment for Nevin to process that the figure rushing at him from the settling dirt cloud was Felicity. His immediate reaction, thought, had been that some remnant of the golem had survived, and was lashing out with one final attack. His threads had bunched up, preparing to defend him - when he recognized the frightened, concerned girl. Crimson threads shivered and retreated as the girl approached, and laid her hand on his shoulder. She said something, but the sweet singing of his blood was drowning out any words. It was - it was something Nevin hadn't dealt with in a while, his own blood being spilled.

Usually he was able to avoid being cut. He had long ago learned that his magic was entranced with his own blood, and he had yet to run across anything else that sang as loudly as it. It was almost overwhelming, the tempo that sang of possibilities, magic, healing, empowering, twisting and nurturing and decaying and shiftingbackandofrthandthecyclethatneverends -

"-didn't hurt you." Nevin snapped back to reality, to focus, as Felicity spoke again, bringing his thoughts back to the earth. He blinked at her a few times, trying to process what she had said - he had been hurt yes, he was bleeding actively, and he knew that Felicity was apt enough to know that, so what had she asked? NHo, she hadn't hurt him - had she lost herself in her rage in that fight, and feared that she had hurt him? No, no, just his own magic and that golem. He shook his head once, trying to answer her - when the cheering started. His eyes snapped up and circled around them, as the alchemist realized that the people that the golem had chased out of the mines were slowly circling around them , lifting their arms up and shouting in relief and happiness.

And then he was being hugged. That made Nevin blink and look down at the girl clinging to him, burying her face against his dirt and blood stained armor. Nevin wrapped an arm around her shoulders and stood there, rocking her back and forth as he looked around, his brain finally catching up to everything. He stroked Felicity's hair gently with one hand, hiding the grimace at the face that he was rubbing dirt and grime into her hair, but he knew that she needed the reassurance.

"Fel, Felicity. I'm fine. I'm fine, kid. Really. I've been through a lot, lot worse." He chuckled a bit morbidly. "I'm more concerned about you - that thing didn't hit you, did it?" He thought he had prevented her from being hurt -and she wasn't bleeding, at least not externally. He looked her over, but from what he could see she was holding up alright. That was a relief. He didn't know just how badly he would have obliterated this core if Fel had been hurt -

"Excellent! Thank you so much, now we can get back to work!" Eotype. Nevin's blood ran hot for a moment, then ice cold. His smile of relief that Felicity was fine vanished, replaced by a very, very unpleasant, hungry grin. The sweaty, fat man was blustering back, trying to push through people - and Nevin could see that the people around him were immediately quailing away, and it looked like it wouldn't be long before he started bullying people into listening to him.

Nevin was not going to have any of that. And he knew, the little redhead in his arms wouldn't either. "Hey, Fel. I think someone needs to be run out of town." The blood mage cracked his neck, the sound reverberating oddly loudly, and wetly. His arm still around the teen's shoulder, Nevin began striding towards Eotype, who froze - because Nevin had not bothered retracting his threads, and there was a fair amount of them squirming about in the air, weaving back and forth. Not counting the ones still wrapped around the golem core, holding onto it and away from the ground.

"Ahem." The fat man turned towards Nevin, whose unpleasant grin widened. "I do believe, that my sister has a few words she'd like to say to you. And I do advise you listen to them, or my own patience will run out."

He was… fat.

The man had blubber hanging off him like he was an elephant seal. Except elephant seals were threatening. His dusted clothes barely cradled his bulging stomach. His dark, selfish eyes were coated in apathetic ice.

It was him. He was responsible for this. He had bullied his workers, forced them into dire danger. If Nevin had not stopped the monster he greedily unleashed, all of Scara Brae would of paid. Innocent lives would have been taken. Families would have been torn apart, hope lost…

The hothead's fist tightened. The sound of pressure and cracking sounded as she closed her eyes.

Rage.

She bit her lip, brow scrunched. Her face was red as she left Nevin's confident shoulder and walked right up to the ugliness that was Eotype. That gravity golem was not the only monster being beat today.

Her deadly eyes flashed open. She looked him square in the eye.

“How could you?”

The man raises as eyebrow. Uncertainty crossed his darting eyes as he shrugged, “What?”

The teen barked, “HOW COULD YOU!”

She silenced the entire clatter of the mine with the single, quick scream. Her voice was shaking, low, as she spat venom. Her tone was sharp as glass. Her bunched up hands shook as she boldly demanded, “How could you put your workers in danger!?! Did you have any idea what-“

Eotype had enough. He stomped into her. Attempting to force her back with his sheer size, the massive overseer snarled in a switch from ice to fire, “Who do you think you are, little girl?” His voice was a low pitched, bleeding growl, “How dare you even try to threaten me?”

He raised his head up, nose stuck high in the air. His lips were tight and closed. His eyes screamed of the power he held over all whom stepped into the mine. “I gave these workers everything they could of ever wanted. Work. I’m the savior here. A job that pays their bills and puts food in their family’s mouths.”

“Barely!” Felicity slammed her foot into the gravel below. She refused to back down. As dust flew up from her stomp, she threw her arms, “These workers are starving and tired! Open your eyes!”

Eotype would of crossed his arms if the fat allowed him to. Instead, he attempted to tower over her. “Well, if these slackers actually proved they could be of use, maybe I would pay them more. But it was them who awakened this golem! They are to blame for all the damage, all the money lost-“

Felicity hissed, pushing him with a muscled arm, “No! It’s you!” She pushed him again, stronger. He staggered back as she shouted, voice breaking. “You mistreated your workers! You unleashed the beast! You cost the company damage! You ruined-“

He stepped right back up, laying humongous hands on her broad shoulders. “So what?” He shoved her back, “What could an insignificant, puny, idiotic little girl like you do to possibly stop me?”

“She has no need to do anything.”

The shocked crowd turned around to the man who argued with Eotype earlier, whom was dusted with soot and pebbles, calmly marched up to him. He wore a black hat and tie. He was skinny; shorter than Eotype. Yet, the larger assistant foreman smirked in confident, stepping back. “Mr. Knox, sir.”

“Stair Eotype,” the man flicked a stone off his shoulder, “Going back and looking into today’s records confirms it. You ordered the continuation of mining even at an unknown, dangerous risk.”

Eotype's smile slowly faded.

“You have a history of making reckless decisions for the sake of making profit. Some are worth it, but some may cost unnecessary effort, put many in danger, and cost lives.”

Knox crossed his arms, “We are lucky we did not lose any lives today. Yet, many workers are still injured. And-“ He extended his arm, surveying the quarry. Many wooden beams and ramps had broken and collapsed. One mine was completely caved in. Multiple arrays of disorder and damage cluttered the area. Stonevale's mine was a mess.

“-This will cost our company millions!” For a split second, Knox lost his cool. His mouth was tightened in a hiss, eyes glazed in frustration, before he lowered his arm. He silently cooled down again, the anger extinguished by professionalism, before he continued. “I never like you, Eotype. Only the successful risks you took kept you here, but now I have a legal excuse to do something I always wanted to do.”

He put his hands on his hips, “Stair Eotype, in accordance to section two hundred seventy three of the executive’s manual, by the power invested in me, you’re fired!”

Silence.

Everyone watched in excited anticipation as the news slowly bathed Eotype in cold, uncomfortable water. For a moment, he was taken back. Dumbfounded. He had no idea how to react. Then… anger. He growled ferociously, like a tiger. He screamed at the higher manager, whom had already begun to walk away, “Argh! How could you- traitor! I’ve done so much for this company, I-“

As the ex-manager blindly lashed out with his words, a victorious smile crossed Felicity’s lips. This was just too delicious. She closed her eyes, shrugging, as the smirk grew. She then merrily stepped forward, taking the collar of the tyrant bully's shirt. “I’ll take out the trash.”

Here, Felicity’s remarkable strength truly shone. Eotype struggled, but the massive bulk of blubber had nothing on the little warrior’s sheer might. She completely pulled the man over her head as he screamed. Proud to add to his humiliation, Felicity grunted with a sweet smile and marched towards the entrance of the mine. Soon enough, she was there.

As sunlight bathed them, with the whole town to see, the strained girl tossed Stair Eotype out into the filthy, low life street. As mud, dirt, and horse dung covered him, Felicity wiped her hands in satisfaction. He could not pull himself up, but his shocked, embarrassed, unbelieving eyes watched the teen move him a cocky smirk and cutesy wave. “Bye bye!” Felicity giggled like a child before turning, kicking more dust into his face, and walking into the mineshafts again. As she entered, she was met with the unanimous cheers of the workers and remaining foremen again.

Victory was sweet.

As she slyly rejoined Nevin, Mr. Knox stepped up to the two brave heroes again.

“You are the ones who slew the beast, correct? You have my personal thanks.”

The two exhausted, bloodied, worn heroes straightened slightly up as Knox spoke.

“If it were not for you, Stonevale and all of Scara Brae even would have been gravely endangered. This company owes you more than just mere gratitude.”

Nevin then looked behind him, to the glowing blue core. His threads still hugged and squeezed the core, tangled in a tight, cold grip. He then looked back to the foreman, “It's taken care of, and no one was hurt."

As Nevin smirked, Felicity gave the man a sweet smile.

”F€|!C!+¥!”

Very briefly, the image flashed in her mind once again. Jonathan. Bloodied. Screaming her name.

In a snap, her chest leapt and tightened. Sharp pain exploded as she fell to her knees, taken aback by the invasive, broken memory. Everything blurred, but she saw Nevin lay a hand on her, his face too pixelated for her to read. Tears started to fall as the panicking, sweating girl cried out, “What’s happening to me?”

EXPERIENCE
Flamebird receives: 1813 exp
Nevin receives 2249exp

GOLD
Flamebird Receives 182 gold
Nevin Receives 169 Gold

Rewards Added;
Workshop commentary pending!