Changing Skies

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Ryeth felt her own flames die down slowly, the heat leaving her skin shimmering with a steamy haze as she listened to Aiden, as he seemed to calm as well. He was right. She hadn't realized she'd be able to admit that, but he was. She wasn't scared of the fire as the Earth. She was sad at having to use it as the Earth. She was scared of using it as a human. She was scared of fighting with it, of growing addicted to the destruction as she'd seen so many humans do.

But Aiden was right. Destruction....it was part of life and nothing lasted forever. She shouldn't be afraid of using the flames for her own protection, for harming if that was what it came to.

The Fae eyed the Pyro for a long moment and slowly nodded. "I understand." She said it softly, but the next moment she had a fireball glowing yellow and blue it was so hot flying toward the male's chest from her hand. He wanted her to fight. Fine. She'd fight.
 
Aiden let out a loud laugh before crossing his arms in front of his face and letting it hit him full on in the chest. He reveled in the heat of it before dispersing it before it hurt anything else. What came next was a fireball with the same amount of force, aimed at her chest. She needed to feel it hit her, to feel the warmth, and to know it wouldn't hurt her. Not now. Not after her powers had erupted.

Syl looked up from stalking something, looking back towards the pair out in the field. Aiden was a strong trainer. He had trained many pyrokenetics in his day. Usually, with him, they only needed roughly 6 months of training and they were gone. But Ryethke was different and he was afraid for her. Or maybe for Aiden. This was like trying to teach Alcmene to...to fly or something. Though, the earth was stable and slow and usually slow to anger. Maybe the man would be alright...
 
Ryeth wanted to move, to duck and avoid the flames, but she forced herself to stay, stubbornly not allowing the fear to overcome her. Not this time. The flames hit her full on and she felt the heat ripple along her skin, hungry to burn but finding no fuel. As soon as they'd come, they extinguished and the Fae opened her eyes, realizing she'd closed them, to see Aiden still smiling at her. She looked down at her skin - good, grief she was now naked! - and examined her arms, finding no evidence of burns.

The Fae let out a breath of disbelief, of wonder and she felt something click into place inside her. It took a fraction of a second for her to realize that it was the two powers inside her...joining. Ryethke let out a sudden scream as the pain ripped through her and she dropped to one knee, arms around her stomach as a green and red glow spread out over her skin, melding and twining together before it disappeared once more and she felt she could breathe again.

She did so shakily, slowly standing once more and letting the pain fade from her system. Once it had, she looked up at her trainer with a new type of gleam in her eyes, eyes that swam both gold and black before the gold faded and the black remained, growing darker as she smiled and the flames licked gently up her arms, gathering in her palm.

The Fae tilted her head, teasing in her voice. "Happy now?"
 
Aiden smirked and walked up to her, arms folded. He was also completely naked, but apparently it came with the territory. Kind of like being a werewolf. "Yes. Yes I am. And you'll get used to bringing a change of clothes with you everywhere." He motioned for her to follow him into the house. "No one's made fire-proof clothing yet, but I'll tell you what, as soon as they do I will buy up every little bit of that and re-stock my entire wardrobe."

He glanced over at her and smirked a little, then sped up just a tad to get ahead of her. He went to a stack of towels he put on the kitchen table before lessons every time. Now, she'd know why. He tossed her a nice big one and turned his back to her as he grabbed another for himself. As he wrapped it around his waist, she would get a better look at the scars on his back. They were horrible, and obviously burn scars that had to stretch as he grew. They were over his entire back, stretching across the muscles he built up under his skin.
 
Ryeth had blushed scarlet as he'd glanced over at her and she was grateful for the towel, quickly wrapping it around her chest. She supposed that no clothes DID come with the territory of fire-bending, but geez, it didn't mean she had to like being exposed like that! The Fae blew her red hair up out of her face and tried to mentally resign herself to such things. As her hair settled around her face again, she found herself looking toward Aiden to ask him something, but the words died in her throat as she looked at his scars, truly seeing them now.

She wasn't sure what prompted her, but the Sidhe took a step forward and her hand went out to touch his back, a light contact that sent her hand jolting back like she'd been burned. Her face certainly did as she realized what she'd been doing and the Fae bit her lip, looking down and away. "Sorry." she apologized quickly and then looked up again after a moment, dark brown eyes full of curiosity as she watched Aiden through her wild red hair.

"I thought fire didn't burn Pyro's..."

Yeah, her body was all covered in scars, as he'd have seen. She had whip marks, cuts and even what looked like burn scars from fire but where in reality electric-burns from a torture device, but she had nothing to show for her fire powers. Why did he?
 
He tensed when she touched his back. Even Emily wasn't allowed to touch his back. He glanced over his shoulder at her, then looked back down as he tucked the towel around his waist into itself so it would stay up. "In humans, before our powers develop, they can hurt us. A hydrokenetic can drown, a blood mage can bleed to death, and pyrokenetics can burn." He turned around to face her. "Please don't touch my back."

There was a look of deep sadness in his face that he was trying to hide with one of his stern looks. "My powers didn't come out until I was 12. Before then there had been an...an accident." He turned away, going over to the sink to grab himself a glass of water. "I fell into a fire. Back first." He tried to shrug like it was nothing, but there was that sadness to him, that anger.

Prove to me you have felt the pain of someone who was supposed to love you and care for you and nurture you....Show me you have been put to the torch, pushed into the fire....new life from old death....felt the flames lick at your skin...burn your clothes...singe the flesh from your body...tell me how you learned of the fire in your heart...Maybe they hadn't just been words chosen to egg her on...

"But it's nothing. It was just an accident." He took a long drink from his glass of water and set it back down beside the sink. "I think we're done for today. You should get some rest."
 
Ryeth felt horrible. She knew she'd nosed into something she shouldn't have and the Fae nodded quickly when her teacher pretty much gave her a dismissal. She headed for the stairs, intent on getting dressed, but something made her pause before she could completely exit the kitchen and she turned her head slightly to look back at the Pyro. His sadness wasn't well hidden and she wished she could ease the pain in his heart, but she knew it was beyond her ability to do. Still, that didn't mean she couldn't admire and respect him greatly for his strength and his wisdom.

"Aiden, thank you. I think the new life that came out of your destruction is beautiful."

It was all she said before leaving and going to her room. Once the door was closed, she leaned back against it and took a shuddering breath, tears threatening her eyes before she breathed out slowly and forced them away. No, she wouldn't cry. Aiden didn't deserve that. He deserved her very best, her deserved to have her heart and soul go into everything he could teach her and she was going to do it.

That resolved in her head, the Fae went to the dresser and picked out new clothes, dressing in a pair of shorts and a red tank-top. She got nothing to cover her arms and shoulders, looking at her scarred body in the mirror with a new kind of pride. She'd earned these marks and just like Aiden, she'd find the beauty in them. She'd learn and move on from them. Ryeth smiled a little and exited the room, and back outside. It was time to see how Syl was doing with hunting.
 
Aiden put his hands on the counter and leaned there, listening to what she had to say. He muttered something along the lines of a thank you and stared into the sink. Memories of hid childhood raced through his head, climaxing with the feeling of being thrown into the fire and the absolute destruction that followed. It had burned, yes, horribly, but then his body started soaking it up and he let it out...he let all of it out...

He shook his head and rubbed his face, cursing softly under his breath. He walked upstairs while she was changing and went into his room, shutting the door. He turned his shower on, tossed the towel aside, and just sat in the water, trying to suppress those memories as hard as he could.

Syl was outside, closing out everything around him as he stared intently at a rabbit's hole. He was calm and patient and quiet, simply staring and waiting. He had apparently learned some patience...or was at least willing to learn to hunt so badly that he gained some temporarily...
 
Ryeth was silent as a deer as she came up to the wolf and crouched down not far from his side, watching him and then the hole. Her eyes slowly seeped gray as she slid into the mind of a canine, into the mindset of a wolf and the Fae slowed her breathing to nearly nothing, her mind connecting to her werewolf's smoothly, slipping into his head like a wraith so as not to startle him into moving. Her voice was soothing and growled, speaking more to his instinct than to even his conscious mind as the rabbit slowly emerged from its hole and started to sniff around, hopping away from the safety of the earth slowly.

{Stay...stay.... Hear the beat of its heart, my wolf. Feel its breaths through your paws. Hear the blood flow through its veins.} Even as she spoke, Ryeth breathed what she could see, what she could feel into the wolf's mind. It was something he could access on his own as well, but this was the way she'd learned from the wolves and she'd teach him the same way.

{Feel the power of your muscles, listen to the beating of your blood. It is swifter than the prey, quiet as a ghost in the night. You are unable to be seen. You have no scent. You strike with the swiftness of a snake and nothing can escape you.}

The Fae grew quiet, letting the words seep into his very body, knowing he'd understand when the right time to strike was.
 
Syl didn't startle when she came up, but his ears did twitch towards her briefly. He listened to her words, or felt them rather. He concentrated harder, listening to the rabbit, feeling the power under his own muscles. He stayed still as stone, watching the rabbit with wide eyes.

He struck suddenly and swiftly, opening his jaws and clamping them down around the rabbit's neck. He thrashed it visciously and then sat, the animal's neck broken. It was swift. He turned to look at Ryethke, tail wagging ecstatically. {LOOK! I did it!!} He bounded over to her happily and dropped it in front of her. {I caught it! I've been trying to catch it all morning!! Since before the sun was up! Well, not really, but since the sun came up! I've been working really hard and I did it!}
 
Ryeth felt a huge swell of pride as she looked upon her wolf and she grinned an opened mouth smile at him, wanting more than anything to hug him, but knowing that wasn't the right response in this circumstance, at least not yet. Instead she touched the rabbit briefly, acknowledging her acceptance of his kill, of the gift and then reached out and touched the back of her hand under his chin, recognizing his skill, his new dominance - not necessarily over her, but over this skill, over himself. She was honoring him.

{I am proud of you, Blessed One. You were patient and fast, and now you are hunter. The kill is yours.}

She said the words softly, calmly, but after that, the gray faded from here eyes and the excitement replaced it. Ryeth laughed, surging forward to hug Sylvester tightly for a moment before springing back, a grin on her face. {Soon I will teach you to hunt the deer! You are doing so well!!}
 
Syl leaned forward to take the rabbit up again but was brought back by her hug. He laughed and licked her face, then started ripping into the carcass eagerly. {Thank you, my Fae....my Gaia...how did your lesson go? I heard him yelling.} He said calmly as he ate.

{Are you alright? He is a tough trainer, but he is good. I have seen him train many and train them quickly. He's good. He usually only takes older students. I have never seen children here. It might be because of me though.} He snorted. {I smell Emily a lot...}
 
Ryethke sighed, sitting back and leaning on her hands as she looked up at the sky, soaking in the sun, her thoughts threatening to wander even as she attempted to answer. {I'm fine. He is a good trainer, that I can already see.} She sat up and held her hand out, letting fire build in her palm steadily, smiling at Sylvester when it tried to climb higher up her arm, but didn't extinguish. It was progress and no matter how she'd come to it, she was grateful for the lack of fear.

Letting the fire die and moving to lay on her stomach, head resting in her arms, the Fae chuckled lightly at his comment about the blood-bender. {They are...good friends. They rely on each other.} She kept her own opinion of Aiden and Emily's relationship to herself, not wanting to spread any rumors, especially ones that could be used to tease the two. Ryeth breathed out slowly again, looking up at the sun again, feeling lazy with the heat, but something stirring in the back of her mind, something that was maybe important.

She couldn't seem to grasp it, though, and growled to herself in frustration, huffing as she put her chin back on her arms.
 
Syl snorted and looked at her over the carcass he was ripping apart. {No, I smell her a lot on him.} He wagged his tail. {They're a mated pair.} He gave a bit of a nod, a human habit he picked up. {But they think no one knows. But I know. He never brings her here, but he goes there a lot.} He shifted a bit and looked down at the rabbit, trying to find more meat. {And he comes back smelling like mating. And soap.}

He looked up at her, tilting his head. {What's wrong, Gaia? You seem sad today.} He stood up and walked over. {Was he too mean? Do I need to bite him? I'll bite him for you...}
 
Ryeth had snorted softly at his words. Everyone should know better than to try to keep secrets from a wolf. She merely smiled at Sylvester, her emotions enough to tell him that she agreed with him and knew what he said was true, but her mind wasn't on the topic. Her power was restless within her and using the flames today had just made it worse it seemed, more volatile. The Fae looked back at her werewolf and then up, realizing he'd come closer and she shook her head, looking away.

{No, it's not Aiden.} she assured him as she sat up slowly back on her heels. Ryeth's attention flickered over the forest and then back up at the sun before she looked back at Sylvester. Her eyes held a thin ring of gold around the iris and she couldn't seem to control when the earth gave a sudden vibration under them, shaking all the way up to the house in the distance. She took a deep breath and swallowed, her fingers digging into the grass like it was a lifeline.

{I don't....something is....I don't know what's wrong with me.}
 
Sylvester shifted a bit and watched her. {It looks like you need the sun...you know, you're more connected to it than you are the moon...being the earth and all...trees and plants and things needing it...Lets go over and see him.} He shifted up to his human form, blood on his mouth and chin and hands. "Come on. Lets go." He started walking back to the house, knowing that if he was going to walk along the road, he needed to put pants on..and wash his face.
 
Go and see the Sun? Ciro? Their last encounter flitted through her mind, her practically biting his head off and she cringed, but then remember as well that he'd seemed to forgive her for it. Okay, so he probably wasn't going to be irritated to see her, but....still. What was she going to say when they went over? And she was going to go over, her feet were already following Sylvester and her power almost seemed to drag her down the road when they exited the house again - after informing Aiden of where they were headed and Sylvester grabbing pants - showing no intention of stopping until it got what it wanted.

And it wanted Ciro.

The thought almost brought a blush to the Fae's cheeks, but she held it in and let out a long breath, shaking the thought away. It wasn't like that! Geez, she'd never even thought of any guy like that! Her power, the Earth, might adore the Sun. It might bask in its presence and love its light, thrive when it was kind to her and when it was visible, but that didn't mean SHE felt that way about CIRO.

Right?

Oh, now she had a headache.

Ryeth groaned to herself and ran to catch up with Sylvester who'd gotten ahead of her, his legs much longer than her own. Her bare feet slapped at the dirt road and her hair flew out in tangles behind her as she skidded to a slow-down next to him again, biting her lip nervously. "Will....is it okay to just....drop in on them like this?"
 
Syl smirked rather wickedly at her. "Well, you could always call ahead and tell them you're coming." He laughed. "But they aren't a mated pair." He said honestly, looking ahead. "So you have nothing to worry about."

And just what did he mean by that???

Alcmene was curled up in her room that day. At home, they had a cycle. Ciro was awake during the day and she was awake at night and it was good. Closer to the new moon, Ciro stayed up later, but for the most part, they kept their respective schedules, the sun only being up during the day and the moon only being up at night.

Ciro was going about typical daily activities. He was checking the mail, cooking himself lunch, things of that nature. He felt the earth moving and was half focusing on that and half on the mail he was reading while he cooked. It felt like he was going to have a visitor soon...the little being that revolved around him was coming to pay him a visit. Fitting.
 
Ryeth blinked up at the werewolf, a frown coming to her face, eyebrows drawing together. What was that supposed to mean? Why would she care if they were a mated pair? Or course they weren't! That was common knowledge! They were SIBLINGS for crying out loud! .....and why was she getting so worked up about this? The Fae glared at the ground, feeling her emotions whirl around within her like a tornado, unsteady.

The ground trembled again under her feet and the Fae sped up without thinking about it. In fact, it only took her another minute and a second tremble of the earth along with a surge of such intense longing to start running. She didn't even need to ask Sylvester where they were going. She knew. She could feel him near. She could feel the Moon near, but it was the Sun she focused on as her power started to unravel within her, her eyes seeping a darker and darker gold.

The house came into view suddenly, but Ryeth barely noticed it or what it looked like as she flew towards the dwelling and up the stairs to the door. Her hands seemed to fumble on the knob before her power flared and the wood creaked and splintered, the wood flying open and admitting her. Ryeth sprinted through the house then until she came to the kitchen and she didn't think when she saw Ciro there...she just flew to him, her arms wrapping around his waist and her head coming into contact with his chest as she shook, her power threatening to break free.
 
Ciro jumped and wrapped an arm around her. "Woah!" He laughed softly and put the spoon he was stirring with down. "Well, hello to you to!" He said with a grin. "Did Aiden go to hard on you? Tired of him already?" He felt her, and the house, trembling and he sighed. "You need to calm down, Ryethke." He said sternly, in an almost fatherly manner. "You're going to bring the house down and I'll make you rebuild it." He smirked and let her stay attached to him as he grabbed something from the cabinet and added it to the pot.

Her werewolf followed her inside, happy for the run but nervous about her powers seeming to be spilling out. He looked at the door frame as he walked in, huffed a sigh, and walked into the kitchen. He didn't understand what was so great about the sun, but he understood the connection.
 
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