Igni Ferroque

[Flamebird]

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?”