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Untitled Chapter 2: One Too Many Meetings

Fire is beautiful.

The way it dances, producing light and heat to those who make it.

The way it evades all science, no one being sure what state of matter it belongs to.

The way that it harms those who trust it too much.

It reminds them of themselves.

That is why Pyro calls themselves that, after all.

No one knows their true name. They have kept it that way for years; no one who finds out lives long enough to tell anyone.

They don't keep friends. Why would they? They've lived quite well on their own.

Avoiding the police isn't as hard as one would think. But of course, you'd get used to running.

Yeah, they're wanted.

Do they care? No.

They make do with what they have. They've gotten talented at stealing and pick pocketing. Killing, even, if they have to.

Pyro took a deep breath, stepping over the roots and around the acacia trees. The leaves crunched under their army boots as they moved swiftly across the land. An uneasy feeling rested in their gut, causing them to move quicker, yet quieter. They could feel someone following them. Suddenly they launched themselves forward, swinging up into a nearby tree.

They rested there, squatting on a firm branch. Looking down, they saw a tall, yet not as tall as them, female creep out into the small area where they were before.

The female had wild ginger hair with ram horns. The ginger haired person looked around in confusion, before snapping her head up to look in the trees. Pyro inhaled sharply, trying to hide farther in the leaves. Her eyes looked directly at the person in the trees, before propelling a disc at them.

They dived out of the way, as it flew past them, breaking when it crashed into the tree. Pyro landed on the ground in a roll, reaching for the dagger concealed in their side.

They threw it at the ram-horned girl, missing by only a few inches because the girl leaped out of its path. They noticed how the girl seemed to levitate for a few seconds, before landing on the ground, impossibly far from where she was before.

They drew out more knives, one hidden in their boot, and one from their other side. The other held her hands up in a surrendering motion.

"Wait, wait, wait! Don't-" she held both hands out in front of her, hinting at them to stop. "-throw those. I only wanted to talk to you."

Pyro narrowed their eyes, still holding the knives in a tense position, but not throwing them.

The ram-horned girl chuckled nervously. "Well that was a nice meeting," she crossed her arms.

The other was still tense, glaring at her, really wanted to just launch the knives at her so she would be quiet.

"Okay, okay, now that we've sorted that out, let's do introductions. I'm Ruffle," the girl, Ruffle, held out a hand. "What's your name?"

Pyro made no move to shake the female's hand, nor tell their name. They did, however, put their knives away.

"Oh-kay then. Well, Imma just call you..." Ruffle surveyed them. "Tall. Imma call you Tall."

She uncrossed her arms, stuffing them in her pocket leisurely. She began walking along. "So, Tall, what're you doing in my neck of the woods?"

Pyro didn't make any towards the girl, and she stopped.