Nadir

Amy

"I swear, if you mess up one more time I'm giving up on you." Says a flame-haired girl. Her face dotted with freckles.

"I'm sorry! It's not easy, okay!" A younger girl says, her face twisted in frustration. Her hands were burnt and her shirt was torn and charred. She stood up from her panting rest and attempted what she was doing again. Her palms lit with flame, as she slowly rotated her palms around. The tongues of warm yellow contorted and shifted into a measly ball which pulsated lightly.

"There, how's this?" The girl casting the fireball asks. The older ginger haired girl scoffs and casts a fireball of her own. Easily sculpting a massive orb of the fire. She holds the fireball high above her head as it grows in size. Eventually becoming as big as her.

"This is what you're shooting for." The ginger girl scorns. Throwing the fireball out of the massive open window. The younger girl smolders the wimpy flame and sighs. Kicking back in the wooden chair she was sitting on, looking about the cluttered room.

"Ugh...why do I have to do this again?" She asks.

"Because your mother wanted you to learn how to defend yourself." The ginger haired girl responds with mock politeness.

"Well what if I don't wanna learn?" The younger girl asks, sticking her bottom lip out at the older girl.

"Then you're life is just going to be more difficult." The ginger girl responds.

"Do you even want to teach me any of this?"

"Honestly, no."

"Then why don't you just let me off of learning magic. That'd make everything easier for all of us, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, for you maybe. But then your mom would have me executed, and that wouldn't be very cool, would it?" The ginger girl hisses, getting close to the younger girl's face. "Do you want me to die because you were too pitiful to even learn basic magic?" The younger girl's face shifted into fear, as she met the hard gaze of the older girl.

"I've seen things you couldn't even imagine kid. Using the very skills I've taught you I've killed more men then there are fingers on my body. I don't quite feel like dying due to some bratty girl's mother not taking a liking to me."

There comes no response for a few seconds.

"Okay..." The younger girl says, holding open her palms again.

"Good. Now when you cast the magic, just remember that it's heavily thought-based. You must be incredibly focused in order to properly fight as a mage. Focus on the life of the flame, and the order of spheres. Think about all of the fire molding, as if you were pouring water into a glass. Fill the fire into the shape of an orb."

The girl attempts this, closing her eyes. Trying hard to clear her head of all thoughts void of her actual body. The girl comes close, feeling the pulsing energy inside her, sloshing around like water in a canteen. The girl navigates the energy to her palms, feeling an itchy, warm sensation grow. She takes a deep breath, and releases in a fluid motion, sparking the flames to life once more in her hands. She felt the fire leave her hand, and continued to follow its path. The fire enveloped itself over and over again, crashing together to form an orb.

"Good. Now you must increase its size. To do this, just pull more from your soul without disconnecting the path of energy already flowing through you. Think of it as opening floodgates, and allowing the energy to flow through the narrow channels you've set up for it." The ginger haired girl explains.

The younger girl sighs deeply, feeling the oxygen carrying more life into the flame. The sloshing soul in her chest began to stream in, as she felt her arm burn with more energy. The fire begins to grow in size as the cycle of breathing, pulling, and increasing continues.