When Fire and Water Collide

Part 1 Water

The water moon ~

Amaya:

I avoid water at all cost, but I'm tied to it, even my name is connected, night rain, and like the tide I am pulled to the sea. I can feel the pull when I turn the shower knob and the water cascades down, I can hear it sing to me. Shaking my head I jump into the shower and wash my hair, quick in quick out. Rule of surviving as a human, avoid exposure to water. Your thinking, what about when it rains yeah, rains a bitch too, gotta love umbrellas and coats all year round and it can't help beening intune to temperature and subtle changes in the climate. I'm a bit of a weather Forcast predicter if I do say so, helps with the whole avoiding the supernatural and magic shit.

I live in a small town in a country most people haven't heard of doing a job most people wouldn't ask questions about. I like the calm that I've invented here, no blood, no fighting, no training. Just mundane life. I like it. I breath in the winters crisp air, it doesn't rain a lot here, but it's winter, my worst season so it still rain sometimes. Like today, I'm walking through the streets to my work in a down pour. I can feel something different in the air, it feels like magic. I shake my head. I picked this place because there is no magic dwellers, just humans. But I can't stop the nagging feeling something is wrong, something is very wrong. I'm extra observent as I'm walking through the streets. Scanning my sounding. I observe couples holding hands and laughing and children running without a care in the world. People here have no idea the horrors that lay outside their boundaries because the people that live here never leave. I couldn't imagine staying in the place I was born. I would literally have to be carried back in a body bag to ever return to that place I thought as I clicked my tongue.

Arriving at work I shook my coat off and dropped my umbrella and put my lab coat on. I nodded to some colleague that passed me. I never asked questions just a polite hello and be on your way. I don't give out a friendly aura, it's more of a fuck off aura and I'm fine with that. Rule of surving as a human never make friends, never stay too long in a place and don't leave an impression behind to be talked about.

That feeling something out of place creeps up my spine again. I narrow my eyes and swoop through my lab. Nothing seems out of place. I press my lips into a hard line. Maybe I should skip out on work today. As I was debating leaving I hear the door swing open and look at my colleague as he walks in.

James walks in smelling of whisky and fast food. You got a new one in last night, real nasty case of you ask me . Hmm, I replied disinterested as I walked to the the autopsy table. I see why I felt something has been off all morning. The body lying on the autopsy table is of a man in his 30s, his body has been disfigured, burnt skin peeling off. No fire or human has could do this. This was done by magic, pretty powerful fire beast has done this damage. Shit I thought, here goes my peaceful life. James is looking at me expecting a horrified response to the body lying on the table in front of me. I take my glasses of and rub my eyes. "what time did this body come in?" James looked shocked at my lack of response, what can I say I have seen worse, so much worse. He's shuffled, "I dunno" he replied. I pressed my eyes together, James was a ragging alcoholic, people who work with the dead tend to take to the drink to help them deal with their work. Me I didn't need anything to help me deal with the dead. The dead did not scare me, it was the living that scared me.

I checked the record of the body arriving, the body had no known name, ID and nothing came up on the data base. Shit this was bad, people don't turn up here without names, IDs a life. This person had none of the above. This person was a hunter, a hunter that picked a fight he couldn't win. And that ment there was a fire beast here. Great, just fucking great! I finished examing the body, i found dirt extracts that I could trace to a forested area of this town. Yeah if I was a beast hanging out here I would pick that place. People don't go far into the woods, there's nothing of interest to them there. I wrote up my report, I suggested the damage on the body were caused by fire which is true, just not the kind of fire made by man. It was the kind of fire that twisted and changed like the wind, that howled and spat as it came towards you, that took on shapes of monsters in the night. The shit nightmares are made of.

I clocked off work and went straight home and packed my one women bag. I carry light, easy to keep moving on. I'm out of this town I thought. If magic is here then I'm not. I feel sorry for the poor unsuspecting towns people but hey this is not my problem. Rule of surviving as a human, when the supernatural show up, you leave.

I threw my bag in the passanger seat, jumped into my jeep and revved the engine, starting my baby. This girl has seen me through it. Perfect for off road driving when the scary shit was chasing you.

It was late now, not such a good idea to be travelling at night, night was when all the night creatures were out, plus a whole load more of nasty things I did not want to meet tonight. I slipped through the roads, taking the route fastest and least likely to draw attention. I was going fast but not fast enough to draw attention to myself. Bye bye small little town in the middle of nowhere. Can't say I'll miss anything or anyone here though.

I saw a smoke in the distance, fire, it's already started I thought. Something flashed across my window screen. It was too fast to catch it but it was bright green. Bright green fire energy hit my car. Great I thought as I skidded to a stop. Better not have broken my baby. I jumped out of my car, my head spinning a little, I pulled out my dagger. My eyes focused in the dark on a small green flixer of light. I moved to it slowly, readying myself for the fight. But when I reached the light a small girl lay on the floor, her green markings on her body were that of an emerald dragon. Shit I hissed, I don't killed kids, unless they are possessed spirits from the dead then there fair game, I put my dagger away. I crouched down next to her. She hissed at me and lunged to scratch my eyes. I caught her hands and held them. "I'm not going to hurt you, but I'm not going to let you hurt me either, got it?"
She hissed and turned her head. She was small, with dangly limbs and a black bob of hair. "What are you doing here"? I asked. She snarled but didn't response. I rubbed my temple, I don't have time for this. Why was I even trying to talk to a dragon, even if she was only a child. I should have left. I should leave I thought. But I looked down at her again, she had marks around her foot of being held by chains. She probably was running from hunters who will sell her onto the highest bigger. I grounded my teeth thinking of this. She's just a kid. If I leave her, she's as good as dead. If there was one hunter there will be more.

I bent down again. "Look you have no reason to trust me and queit frankly I don't trust you but if you don't come with me your chances are pretty slim".

Emerald eyes bore into my grey eyes, she hissed at me again. Being hissed at was getting old. "Look I'll help you get out of this town and then we go on our separate ways OK?" I said holding out my hand to shake. Like lightning she shot past me and into my car. We'll Ill take that as a yes I muttered to myself.

I felt unevered as I drove away from the town I'd been living in. I glances at the passanger seat where an angry looking girl sat. She needed new clothes, a bath some food. What did her species even eat again. I don't even know her name or her age or anything, Goddess damn it what am I doing! 

"What is your name?" I asked looking at the road ahead. It would be good to call her something other than dragon or girl.

"Eve" she spat. "Amaya" I answered without thinking. Did I just give her my real name, I groaned internally. Rule of survining, never use your real name. I've only had her in my car for 10minutes and I'm already breaking my rules on surviving. This is not going to work out well for me I thought as I speed through the roads leading off the mundanes borders and into the supernatural borders.