Elementals (revamped)

Chapter 4 : The blood stained river

On there way back they stopped at the bakery on the corner to say hello to Ms. Belle and get one of her famous croissants . 

- Have a good day Ms. Belle ! 

- Take care sweetie  

Saphire took Danaira on a small tour of the town while enjoying there pastries together . They both hit it off right away , they talked about Danaira's travels and the reason she was passing through and all the stuff they had in common . Coincidently they  were both 17 years old , Saphire didn't actually know his exact birthday due to having nobody to celebrate with , it just became another day to him until he forgot . 

- It sounds like you've been traveling for a while now 

- Just for a couple months 

- And you've been off by yourself all that time ? 

- Yeah , it gets a little lonely but I'm a big girl 

- So do you have a specific destination in mind ?

- Yeah actually , I'm heading to Ishgard 

- They capital ? Why there ?

- I'm going to enroll in the magic program 

- what's that ? 

- It's a program at the capital where emitter magic users take different test to see what kind of magic they have , or if they even have magic at all , and if you pass then you get to train with real teachers 

- Woah ! that sounds so cool , do you have magic ? 

- I'm not really sure , I've never been able to do anything magical so I always focused on getting physically stronger 

Walking into the golden apple Inn was no luxury experience . From the creaky floor tiles to the cranky landlord . Unfortunately for Danaira all of the rooms at the Inn had been occupied . Considering the fact that she had saved Saphire's ass from a very unpleasant encounter , he let her  have the extra bed at his room . Once they got to their apartment and Danaira got settled in Saphire realized that he had left his apron at the tavern . He didn't want to go all the way back to the tavern but knowing that his boss would probably take it out on him compelled him to go . 

- Hey do you mind staying here by yourself for a few ? I have to go back to the tavern really quick 

- Yeah sure , do  you not want me to go with you ? 

- No its alright , you must be tired from all the traveling 

- Alright them be safe 

- I will !

 Walking through the town in the dark of night felt earie . Like the world had slowly disappeared around him and all that remained was whatever the street lamps could light up . It was a quiet night in town , you could only hear the sound of the water flowing down the river that crossed through the center of town , and on top the small brick stone bridge where Saphire had spend his first night in the town . Walking back into the tavern you could hear the laud music while the cheers of men staring at the tavern's dancers . Saphire walked in quietly and grabbed his things . The smell of beer stained his apron . He tried getting out of there as fast as possible , if it wasn't for the fact that the dancers kept every man's eyes occupied , his boss would have caught him . 

Walking back down the same path back felt very different though , he no longer felt the world disappear around him . Instead he felt uneasy , walking back down the same bridge he no longer only heard the flow of the river . He could hear something else , he was being watched . Saphire picked up speed but it was too late . Someone had crawled out of the dark night and grabbed his arm . When Saphire looked back he was expecting to find some kind of robber , but instead he found the man he had met earlier while working his shift . In his panic , Saphire tried punching and and kicking his way out of the man's grasp . None of his efforts were helping him though , as much as he struggled he couldn't get free .  

At this moment Saphire used all his strength and more to push this man down the side of the bridge . The strength of the man didn't waiver though , he fell down the side of the bridge along with Saphire . Before they could fall , Saphire had grabbed the edge of the bridge and was hanging on for dear life . Holding his own weight and the weight of his attacker both in  his delicate hands did fear well , he couldn't hold both of them another second more . He gave it all of his strength one final go . He though he would fall onto the cold flow of the late night river . Surely his frail body couldn't handle the piercing cold of the soon to be winter stream . A sudden cold breeze came across the area , in that moment Saphire had never felt such a sensation before . He hesitated for a moment , but as he looked down the sight he found would haunt him for the rest of his life . From the river had emerged a cluster of spiraling ice spikes , it was as if the river itself came to life in that moment . The ice had impaled the man beyond recognition , splitting his head in half right in front of Saphire . However the young man was unharmed and untouched . The blood stained ice underneath the fresh corpse quickly melted away as if it was never there . In his panic , Saphire got himself to safety and ran home as fast as his legs could carry him . And just like that , the young man had once again been left alone under the cover of night .