Everall | The Magicae

Six - Aqualana

 5:32, Cade London gets off in three minutes.

As I approach the fire station, someone clears their throat, "And what would our esteemed hero be doing here?"

I laugh, "None of your business, but Fire Chief London gets off in three minutes. Send him out to me then."

Another firefighter snorts, "She's bossy."

"I don't suggest you insult me, considering I saved your ass from having to run into a fire," I reply without hesitation.

"And I don't suggest being rude, because I can just call Officer Bryant."

"You call him, I leave. Simple as that."

At that moment, Cade peeks out of the fire house with a smirk, "I'm gonna be off a few minutes early. Seems I have someone who needs to talk to me."

He walks with me, silently guiding us to the back of the fire house. "You know, Jack wasn't wrong when he said you're bossy." I scowl at him as he quickly continues, "That's not a bad thing, though. It means that people will listen to you in an emergency."

I scoff, "Yeah right." Cade pulls a lighter and a cigarette before lighting it and putting it between his lips. "You know that's not good for you, right?"

He shrugs stoically, "I know, but I started doing this when my brother died, it helped with the stress, and it's become a habit since. So, why did you want to talk to me?"

"Simple, I want you to train me."

His stance falters before he attempts to nonchalantly ask, "What makes you think I can train you?"

"I had a friend of mine dig up some things about you. Not only that, but I can feel your bond with the water. You're like me." I focus on the thread in the back of my mind and tug. Forming a ball of water in my hands, tossing it between them.

He chuckles, "You don't seem to need to be trained, you have a lot of control. And I'm fairly certain tween or teen feelings don't count for much."

I correct, "Teen. But you know what I mean. I know you feel it, too." A toss the ball of water towards him, wrapping it around his hand. He freezes at the touch of the chilly water before I warm it up to make him more comfortable.

"You are more powerful than you realize," He notes with surprise evident on his face. His hand starts to almost flicker, small fins flickering on and off along the back of each finger.

"And there is that."

He laughs before flicking his free hand. The water surges out in front of him, forming a bird. "Can you do this?"

He tosses the water making it again become misshapen. The string in the back of my mind lunges towards it as I reach out to catch it. Even with all my effort, I can't shape it back into the bird for more than a few seconds. "I give up. I can't do it."

He smiles, "It took me eight years to get that down. I'll train you, but you can't tell anyone that I am. That's my only condition, no one knows I can do this." Flicking his wrist, the water falls to the ground again.

"I'm surprised you've yet to try to order me to take my hood down," I say almost curiously.

"Well, I'd like to earn your trust. And additionally, I know you are quite smart so I imagine you have a mask on underneath just in case."

"That I do. You seem to notice quite a lot, it's nice to finally be around someone other than my friend that's perceptive."

"Can you swim?" Cade asks after a moment or two of silence.