A Lumen Ripple | An Elemental Story

Chapter 1 - The Luckiest Flame

"So here we are...

No home... a new life... on a whim...

Sat next to a water guy I met, like, a few months ago? I don't remember. It's all been a blur if I'm being honest...

But somehow, even in the specter of homelessness, starvation, and unemployment...

...I've never felt so alive.

I've never felt so fulfilled, so excited for the future laid ahead...

And it's all thanks to this doofus...

Oh...

Look at him...

My dewdrop...

My head on his shoulder, arms tucked around his.

Looking at his face, he smiling a grateful, wholesome smile.

I'm the luckiest flame in the world...

. . .

Ehem!

Sorry about that. Didn't mean to get all sappy on 'ya there...

I should introduce myself, huh?

Yeah... that's a great idea.

. . .

I'm Ember... Ember Lumen, a first-generation fire immigrant. That's right! Smoky! Heh—ew, that sounded gross...

A... lot has happened in the last couple of months or so. I went from, well, nearly fulfilling what I thought was my dream until this liquid doofus here decided to burst into my life."

"Ember, you know I can hear you, right?"

"Flame... did he hear me?"

"I can still hear you."

"Where was I? Right-right... he burst in, changed my mind with his crazy—empathy powers, and now I'm just about to start a new life with him. Crazy what can happen in a couple of months!"

"Ember."

"What?"

"You missed, like, a good chunk of stuff."

"W- What?"

"You're bad at this. Let me take over."

"Hey—Wade?!"

"Okay... can you hear me?"

"Wha—how can you take over narration like that?"

"Great. I'm Wade Ripple! Expert dewdrop, smooth talker, and the therapist in the friend group."

"What friend group?"

"Sh-shh! My story starts when my Dad died. I was really young, and he and I did not get along. You could say that our boiling point was low. Anyway—"

"And you thought I was bad."

"Hey—I'm trying, okay?!"

"So was I! Now c'mon, hand it over."

"Hey-- hey! That's not fair! You're stronger than me!"

"Winner-winner charcoal dinner, Wade."

"Wow. Just come up with that?"

"Shut up."

As was per the course of Ember and Wade's interactions – there was always something between the fire girl and the water guy. In fact, as they babbled on, onlookers became increasingly interested in their rapport. A fire girl and water guy so close wasn't an everyday occurrence. Becoming agitated with their banter, an overhearing mediator clued in on the two opposing elementals, nonchalantly chiming in without looking.