Barbara's Book of Fire

Chapter 2

[huhu...]

Did you know that annoying feeling when you hear a mosquito buzzing around yet you are powerless to deal with it? That was how I felt, hearing Macie's snicker.

[huhuhu...]

"Would you cut it out already, Mace!?" I grumbled when I couldn't take it anymore.

[What? I did nothing, girl.] She replied playfully.

"You were laughing!"

[When did I?]

"Just now!" Heat rose in my face, incited by the gnawing frustration.

[At what?] Macie shamelessly retorted without a care in the world.

"At this!!" Bellowing out the bubbling rage from deep inside my gut, I screamed out.

[Hahahaha!]

Cued by Macie's hysterical laughter, I stomped the ground in anger. 'There she goes again...Ugh, so annoying!' 

From the moment I carefully tucked the scorched kerato in the far corner of our tent, I sincerely hoped that Macie would be sleeping. So that by the time she woke up, it would naturally blend in with the stones inside the bleak darkness of the cave.

Well, I guessed wrong.

When we came back and passed by her, Macie was behaving strangely—Or how should I say it...it was like she was breathing strangely. It didn't take too long before I figured out what was off with her. Well, to be honest, I believed she never even tried to hide it in the first place.

I had to be an idiot if I didn't realize it then; The fact that she was laughing at me. What angered me so much was that I was actually worried that she was sick or something. Little did I know, it was just one of Macie's ploys to mess with me.

Frankly, I thought she would tease me the moment we as so much stepped inside the cave. As it turned out, she had been teasing me; Only that I didn't know yet as she took her sweet time playing me for a fool.

[Well, that's that. So? What did you do, burn the whole forest?] Chuckled Macie.

"Ugh..." I couldn't refute that because I almost did burn the forest once while trying to use magic. Lance and Macie then forbid me to use magic if I'm not in a wide enough space—Only till I could control it a bit, at least.

[Jokes aside, how was it? was it hard to catch it?]

"Yeah, it was, and don't even get started on it. Just weaving the damn vine took me like a thousand hours or so—" I recounted the whole story, venting out slightly. "...If it wasn't for Filtiarn here, save for dinner; maybe I would've lost an eye at that beast if not even my life—or the other way around was...the forest gets burned down, I guess."

[Wait.] Cut Macie.

I could sense the change in her tone, so I shot Macie a questioning look. It was quaint how easily her mood turned around, so I thought maybe she was worried about us. 

[What beast? I didn't see one...Oh, you mean that piece of charcoal you bring from outside? That was the mighty beast that broke your well-crafted trap? Well-well, I'll be. I really didn't see that one coming.]

I was an idiot. Yeah, to think that for a moment there, I was made to believe that she maybe meant something serious. The resounding laughter that jollied in my mind was the fitting reward for the gullible me.

Still, it didn't feel good getting laughed at. So, I pouted in anger. Befitting the action of kids my age usually did.

[Now-now, don't be depressed for long, girl.] When she saw I didn't budge in the slightest, Macie finally relented and tried to cheer me up instead.