Blue Flames and Black Candles

Blooming Fireworks and Scared Shrieks

Mirabel was doused in cold water for the fifth time in the past hour. They had decided to practice with her gift today, but every time she managed to get it to be about the size of her palm, she lost control, which led to her having a bucket of frigid water dumped on her by a 'slightly too happy about it' Camilo. Tas was standing in front of her, helping her back to her feet, and giving her tips on how to improve.

Bruno was standing on the side with Antonio and Dolores, trying to think of a way for her to gain control. She grabbed Tas's hand and was pulled to her feet. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize Tas was trying to get her attention. A flick to the forehead startled her out of her thoughts.

"Alright, now that you're not lost in thought, I had an idea. I'm not sure if it will help with your control, but I know that if it works it will make Isabela mad!"

"Let's do it!"

"Ok, light up your fingertips again. Instead of willing the flame to grow bigger, try to imagine it as a flower. Try to make it bloom outwards and grow brighter! Think of it as a little orchid that needs care to grow into a full flower."

The little flame that swayed in the light breeze on her fingertips seemed to grow brighter as Tas gave her instructions. It changed from a deep blue to a paler, almost sky blue color before slowly growing in size. It was as big as her palm when tendrils of flame began to move out in every direction, almost searching.

It grew a little bit more with each passing minute, but Mira was still in control. It was about the size of a dinner plate when things went awry. Isabela had stomped into their little clearing, ready to complain about being the only one in the village helping out. With Isabela there, Mira lost control and the flower grew more before beginning to spin uncontrollably and rising in the air. The fiery flower rose high before releasing a loud shrieking sound and exploding into little red and blue sparks.

"That was so cool!" Antonio had rushed over to Mirabel, hopping around her excitedly, and waving his arms around. "Can you do it again? Please!"

"I, um, sure! I can try!"

She quickly repeated the process and sent another flaming flower into the sky, this time trying to concentrate enough to change the colors. The second flower was sent up and exploded into green and red sparks, eliciting laughs and shouts from her cousins. They ignored Isabela's grumbling as Mira sent up blooming flames. They spent the rest of the morning until lunch playing with the makeshift fireworks that Mirabel made.

Lunch they split up, the cousins going back to Casita. Bruno, Tas, and Mira went to collect Adella before heading to the cottage with some groceries and other basic necessities. They were determined to make the cottage completely suitable for Mirabel and Bruno to move into. They were planning on telling select members of the family where it was, so they could come to visit.

They got to the cottage and began to set everything up. Adella had been kind enough to give them some of the spare quilts she kept around their casita. She had also demanded to be allowed to stay every once in a while after seeing it, she claimed it as her right as her future mother in law in a pretentious manner.

They enjoyed rearranging the entire cottage, though if Tas dropped another chair on her foot, she might shove him into the well and say he tripped. She got back at him by 'accidentally' tripping him in front of Bruno and Adella. Of course, she didn't hold back laughing at him as he continued to lay on the ground, refusing to stand with a pout.

"Do you want to stay with us for the night? It'll be nice to spend the first official night here with friends and family!"

"That would be lovely, thank you!"

Dinner was made and eaten. They then moved to the small living room for a quiet evening. Or that was the original plan. For someone who had lived in the walls of a house for quite a few years, who knew Bruno would be absolutely terrified of spiders? A tiny spider had taken up residence in the corner above the chair Bruno had sat in. He had looked up to stare at the ceiling in boredom and caught sight of the little thing. He then proceeded to scream like a little girl, throw himself onto Adella, who was also panicking, and then tried to climb over the sofa to get away.

"Kill it! Kill the spider," Bruno and Adella were both huddled behind the sofa, pointing at the spider. The other two were on the ground laughing. "Stop laughing and kill it!"

"Calm down, the little thing won't hurt anybody."

"I'll handle it," Mirabel stood on the chair and scooped the little bug up. She took it and released it outside. She walked back in to find Adella trying to smother Tas with a throw pillow. She wisely ignored this and went to sit next to Bruno. They talked for a while more, enjoying the company.

No one was quite sure when they decided to go to bed, but they all split up, going to their separate rooms, except for Bruno who had already dozed off on the couch. Mirabel had gone to her own room and gotten ready for bed in the light of her candle. The blue flame flickered gently as she crawled under the covers, ready to sleep.

Fire. Fire devoured the small house in the village too fast and hot to be put out despite the attempts. The fierce crackling and popping of the wood flooded the air, drowning out the screaming of the villagers. She wanted to help, she tried to run forward, but her feet were anchored to the ground. She couldn't move. She couldn't help.

A scream cut through the air, from a voice she knew. Tas. He was stuck in that house! She tried to yank herself forward. She tried to get her feet to move at all. Why can't she help? Why couldn't she save him? The last support beam collapsed in, punching a scream out of her chest as she fell to her knees. An answering scream was cut off half way through and forced her awake.

She sat up right with a sob, unable to catch her breath. Her body was trembling as she forced herself to stand. She managed to blindly stumble to Tas's room, terrified of opening the door and finding the room empty. She managed to force her shaking hand to push open the door. Tas was sitting up, having been woken by her walking in. She ignored the questioning look from Tas.

She crawled onto the bed and set her hand against his chest, checking for the heartbeat. She ignored the fresh tears that poured down her face as Tas carefully pulled her into a hug. He hummed quietly and gently rocked the two of them, trying to calm her down. They sat there, not talking, just trying to calm down, for long enough for their backs to be stiff.

Tas moved her so she was next to him, grabbed the glass of water from the nightstand, and handed the glass to her. He made sure she drank most of it before setting it back on the side table. The two got comfortable before falling asleep, Mirabel's head on his chest and his arm around her waist.