As we headed through the mountains due east, trodding through deer trails and alongside streams, we talked about all that had happened in the five years I was held captive. Like she explained before our parents were arrested and all four were taken out of the city. We weren't sure about where they currently were but Aloura overheard the guards that took them say something about making a stop in Anchoraad. Figuring that was our best bet, we made way for the house of Alouras friend Nyx. Her and her father had visited our village years ago and the two grew close very fast. Nyx's father was an information broker. The man was... strange to say the least. Rarely looked you in the eye, and if he did he flicked his eyes away as soon as you saw. He always spoke in hushed tones as if somebody was eavesdropping nearby, and you never saw him sit idly. His hands were constantly fidgeting, rolling a coin or cracking his knuckles one by one with his thumb. Anyway, if anybody knew what had happened to them it would be Mr Hadar. Along the trails we foraged around. Being the dead of winter there wasn't much of anything to find other than a few handfuls of frost huckles. A small berry, pale white in color fading to purple close to the stem it grew from. "Hmm. I didn't know these grew this high up." Aloura quickly turned to me. "Make sure not to eat these by themselves. Mixed with salamander blood these can turn into a useful concoction for resistance to both extreme heat and cold, but they're poisonous on they're own. Eat one and your insides will turn to ice." "Noted" I said as she dropped them into a pouch on her side. We kept hiking up the mountain side, the air getting thinner and colder with every step. I saw Aloura grow frigid and stiff, wrapping her arms around herself to try and preserve heat. After a while she raised her arms and attempted to make some kind of clothing with her magic again. But this time, the threads flowing from her fingertips halted in midair, then dissolved into the wind. "Damn. Used too much on those clothes this morning." Facing me she followed up with, "You better be thankful for those things." "Oh believe me I am. Here let me try something" holding out my hand I focused on building the energy. It seemed to be working until a blast of flame ten feet high erupted from my palm, the scar covering it then receding back as I shut off the flow of energy. "Shit. Need to control that better"I said nervously laughing. I then grabbed a fallen branch and cut it down with my knife until it was about the size of a club, a little under two feet and tapered down at the end. Taking my knife i split the top into six sections, slotting twigs in between the sections on top. "You wouldn't happen to have any pitch do you?" I asked, fiddling with the twigs. Without words, she reached into her bag and pulled out a small wooden container. Inside was a mass of black putty. It smelled of pine and was adhesive to the touch. I scooped some out and smeared it into the bundle of twigs. Some of the substance was still left on my fingertips. Focussing on my fingers, I felt the heat begin to build, yet I held back. It wasn't quite enough to ignite the pitch though, so I pushed harder. The energy grew far faster than I anticipated and tongues of fire blasted from my fingers with a sound like the guard rifles. The force from the blast forced my hand down into the ground, the back of it smacking against rocks beneath the snow. Aloura and I stared at each other with wide eyed looks of surprise. I turned my attention back to my hand. The blast had evaporated any trace of the pitch left so I focused on slowly raising the temperature. The heat rose higher and higher, finally blossoming into a small flame. I held them to the tip of the makeshift torch I made, igniting the twigs and tar. With the torch ablaze, I held it near her. Rubbing her hands together she stuck them out palm facing the torch. "Better?" I asked. She nodded in response. We started walking again and I held the torch out for her. I hardly felt the cold so I didn't really need the extra warmth. We hiked for the rest of the day until we reached about halfway down the east side of the mountains around nightfall, setting the tent up again by a half frozen stream. I walked down to it to fill our water skin while Aloura set up the firewood. As I plunged the water skin down into the stream the cold water sent a shock through my hand. I grabbed one of the ice shards floating by and took a bite out of it. The cool crunch of the ice was refreshing. The sweet taste of spring water filled my mouth as I felt the cool feeling settle down through my chest and into my stomach. They were always one of my favorite things to chew on while out on a hunt or just exploring. With the water skin filled I grabbed another shard and walked back to the tent. I tossed her the water and went to go take a bite of the ice. "I can't believe you still do that. It doesn't hurt your teeth?" "Not a bit. And plus I haven't had it in five years" I go to take a bite but it had melted around my fingers. As I raised it the thin ice where I had grabbed it broke and the tasty shard fell to the dirt under the tent. She threw her head back and laughed as I just stared at it with my hands at my hips. She continued her racket so I flipped her a rude gesture and sat next to her by the pile of wood. Again reaching out and focusing on the tips of my fingers I ignited the fire. I leaned back against the bag I was carrying as the crackling grew louder in the still night. "You're getting good at that" Aloura said, eyes fixated on the glowing embers. "It's a lot easier to control now. It's almost like all the energy I had built up all those years was released in the blast. Where it used to be a raging wildfire, almost like a fuse I constantly had to put out, now it's like a torch. I can almost control it. It's hard, but it's possible. I wonder what I could really do with this" the last part I whispered to myself. Reaching out my hand towards the stream I focused on my hand. The energy grew as before and the scar grew from just my fingers to cover my whole hand. Suddenly Aloura's small hand grabbed my wrist. I jerked my head to the left to see her face painted with a frightened expression. "Don't worry" I said, and she peeled her fingers off and retracted her hand. Again I focused on my hand and a thin, translucent, film of fire webbing itself between my fingers. I pushed harder, aiming my hand at a tree near the stream, about 10 yards or so away, until the webbed flame solidified into a fire bolt shot from hand and nailed the tree dead center. Leaving a pinecone size hole in the trunk. I retracted my hand as the scar receded back under the arm wraps. "Not bad Bjorson. Not bad" Aloura said, drawing out her syllables. I leaned back against the bag once again and said, "Thanks. We should probably get some rest though. We still have a long day of travel tomorrow. You go ahead and nod off. I'll keep first watch." Yawning, she responded "You don't have to tell me twice" as she layed down on the bedroll. Her breathing became deep and rhythmic in only a minute or so. I kept watch as the last light from the setting sun withdrew into the horizon. The sky's clear blue fading to a soothing purple hue, then to crimson and gold, finally darkening to black as the stars shone from the abyss. The moon was nowhere to be seen yet the stars made up for its absence. I gazed upon the cosmos and tried to name as many constellations as I remembered. Orion's Belt, both of the dippers, and Leo were the only ones I could make out. Gods know astronomy was never my strong suit. That was more Alouras style. That's how she was though, always looking at the more mystical side of life, thought's forever drifting to faraway places. Dreaming small wasn't possible for her, never will be I don't think. In a way she inspired me. I was raised completely opposite. The only things that exist, that matters is what you can see and feel. Survive, and make sure everyone around you does too. Growing up as a hunter is like that though, instinct and reality is everything. You mess up on a hunt you get killed or you starve. Be the top predator or you'll understand what it means to be prey. She helped me look outside of that type of thought, even when we were young. As the stars orbited around the heavens I began to grow tired. When I began to nod off myself I awoke her, shaking her by the shoulder. "Your turn, stargazer" I said. "What? Hhmh?" She said groggily, sitting up on her bedroll. "It's yo.." a yawn interrupted me, "Its your turn to keep watch. Wake me up if you hear anything alright?" She gave me a thumbs up as she wiped the sleep from her eyes. As I lie down she began to hum a tune I had often heard her mother sing. I still remember her parents belting out the lyrics for the rest of town at the village ceremony at the bonfire. "I'll swim and sail on savage seas, with naer a fear of drowning, and gladly ride the waves of life, if you would marry me..." though Alouras melody was much slower than the one we usually sang, it had an unearthly, almost ethereal vibe to it. As I drifted off, I wondered if I'd live to sing that song with my family again.
