Weak To Fire

3

Mereoleona wasn't really sure what to make of that girl. A water spirit, huh? She seemed pretty fiery for a water spirit. Maybe she just had a bad day or something. At least Mereoleona hoped so. She'd be a pain in the ass if she was always like that and Mereo really didn't want to put up with any of that. Not if she was going to be here for a long time, at least.

Hell, Mereo was almost in a good mood to fight her right here and right now. She was pretty sure that she would be able to win. Sure, she was a water spirit, and Mereo was using fire magic, which was naturally weak against water, but... well, Mereo was very proud of how strong she was. And that girl didn't look like the fighting type, if she was honest. She looked shy and non-confrontational.

She was actually very pretty, if she wasn't being such a thundering bitch. Mereo liked her. She looked cute - dainty, petite, but a determined look in her eyes. She had a beautiful body, too, Mereoleona couldn't deny that. Maybe, if they hadn't both gotten off on the wrong foot she might be nice company. But the way things were going? No. Not a chance. No hope of anything happening.

Mereoleona usually didn't care all that much about what people thought of her and whether she was getting along with them or not. But with her, with that water spirit lady... she was kind of getting really, really pissed off. She wasn't sure exactly what about her made her so angry, but there was just something that upset her an irrational amount. Mereoleona knew she had a temper, but even with that it was unusual for her to just be this irritated by someone immediately. Maybe it was because she was a water spirit and she used fire magic. It would be the only explanation Mereo could think of that made sense to her to some extent, at least.

She found it difficult to get along with the Silvas, too, and they were using water magic. But she could get along with them when it was necessary (which it thankfully wasn't for 70% of the year and Mereoleona thanked whatever gods there were daily for that). It really bothered her that she was so irritated by this one water spirit living in the lake next door, however. Maybe it was just the stress of having to deal with the capital and she would have to calm down a little first. Surely that was the issue. Mereoleona couldn't imagine that it could be anything else.

She turned around again to see whether the water spirit was still around somewhere. Mereoleona was sure that she'd still be around somehow, because the air around her just felt tense for some reason. She had to be around, there was no other explanation why Mereoleona still felt so on edge. Her eyes scanned the water surface and then she saw her, hidden in some reeds, leaning back, arms resting on the shore and her eyes closed. God, she was beautiful.

Mereoleona wondered if she could actually beat her in a fight. Maybe she was much stronger than she looked. She was an ancient spirit after all and Mereoleona knew not to underestimate them. But at the same time she looked so frail and like she wasn't even too keen on fighting anyone with her magic. She seemed so gentle and calm like that. Completely different from when Mereo had met her. Maybe they could somehow get along after all.

"What are you staring at?" she heard the water lady's tired voice. Mereo snapped back to reality and realised that she had been staring at her for a very long time. But again - now wasn't the time to back down. She grinned and shrugged, noting the softer expression on her face.

"You, obviously." she answered, sounding as if she was completely unfazed while she was trying frantically to think of something to say to the inevitable question that was about to follow.

"Why would you be staring at me?" the woman replied and turned around, her arms still resting on the shore and her chin resting on her arms. Mereo really hated that she looked adorable like this. She really hoped that she wasn't developing a crush on her. Not with the way they had started out.

"I just realised that I didn't even get your name or anything. You want me to call you water girl? Lady of the lake?" Mereoleona wanted to know. She had almost finished setting up her little camp anyway. There was nothing wrong in engaging in a little small talk with the resident water spirit.

"There's no need for you to call me anything. I doubt you'll be here much longer." she answered with a smile. Mereoleona scoffed. She was annoyed by her at first, but she also could appreciate the tenacity of this girl. It seemed quite typical for water users. Trying to get their way no matter how long it took. But Mereo still wanted to have a name to call her by, at least.

"You think so? What are you planning to do? Fight me? Chase me out of this place?" Mereo asked. She heard a quiet chuckle from the girl in the lake. It was the most melodic sound Mereoleona had heard in her entire life (which wasn't too difficult, because Mereo usually didn't care too much about the finer things in life and because she was also quite tone deaf). Still, it was a nice laugh.

"I am planning to fight you. Tomorrow." the water spirit answered her with a smile that made Mereoleona doubt whether she was serious or not. She almost had a somewhat playful look on her face. She tried to imagine fighting her... it seemed like it could be a close call, but Mereoleona was still sure that she'd be able to win. She was too stubborn not to win. Sure, fire and water weren't well matched for fighting, but Mereoleona was quite confident in her strength and abilities.

"Tomorrow? Why not right now?" she wanted to know with a raised eyebrow. She wondered what her fighting style might be like. Mereoleona liked to get up close and personal, but her? It was hard to say. She might be someone who preferred to keep a distance to work their magic. Either way, Mereoleona sure hoped that she'd be able to get somewhat closer to her. Maybe they could still be friends.

"I'd like to give you some time to reconsider your choices, that's all. You might wanna back out or something." the water spirit answered with a self-satisfied smile. The way she said it and what she said made Mereo laugh. Her? Backing out of a good fight? Yeah, that was never going to happen.

"I won't. I'll fight you, water lady. We can do this right now or tomorrow, whatever you prefer." she replied.

"Tomorrow. I don't like to fight when I'm angry. I might end up hurting you." the water spirit said, before turning her back to Mereoleona once more. Seemed like she was getting bored with their conversation already. As much as she had irritated her, now Mereoleona found her kind of amusing. It would be a shame if she ended up winning tomorrow and they'd be back on their war path again.

"Well, I don't like fighting people without knowing their names." Mereoleona replied, not really expecting an answer anymore. She had gotten the impression that the conversation was over already.

"I'm not a human." she retorted without even opening her eyes. Mereoleona could see a small smile playing on her lips.

"I still count spirits as people." Mereoleona said. She had never really thought about whether she did actually consider spirits as people or not, but apparently now she did. She really wanted to be able to put a name on this girl and if it was the last thing she ever did. She heard a quiet sigh from the lake.

"It's Y/N. Now if I can get some quiet, so I can rest before tomorrow?" she answered. Mereoleona shrugged.

"Sure. Goodnight, Y/N." she said, before heading back to her own camp. She was thinking about making herself something to eat, but she didn't really feel that hungry. She'd have a big breakfast tomorrow, that would work for her. Mereoleona did feel tired however and she couldn't wait to finally get some sleep. She climbed into her hammock and wrapped herself in the thin blanket she had brought. This was going to be an interesting stay in the forest, to say the least. Mereoleona had no idea just how interesting things were going to get.