Strangers (ON HOLD)

Chapter Two: Ren

"How was your day at school, Ren?" my mother asked, smiling as I opened the door.

"Dull," I shrugged.

"Amazing, considering that you skipped class again."

"I don't see how it matters. I learned how to cast all the spells the professors know last year."

"It still reflects badly on your reputation, Ren," she fixed her gaze on me.

"Whatever," I dropped my bag on the floor in the entryway, where a servant would probably pick it up and bring it to my room, and ran up to my room.

I slammed the door behind me, and changed from my school uniform into a pair of jeans and a red sweatshirt, which bore my school's insignia on the front in white thread. I pulled a pair of red sneakers on my feet, and stood up, cracking the door open so that someone wouldn't break it down.

"Meow," my cat, Blaze, stood up and stretched as I threw myself down on my bed.

"Hi, Blaze," I smiled, scratching the cat behind the ears. "How was your day?"

"You do know that cats can't talk, right?" an irritating voice came from the doorway.

"Cai," my brother stood in the doorway, in all of his glory.

Cai was five years older than me, and he would have been the Curran family's heir had I not turned out to be a prodigy with fire magic, while he was painfully average. Despite his lack of astounding skill, he somehow always had the people wrapped around his little finger, and had a steady stream of lovers and followers.

"Skip school again?"

"Mother's been ranting?"

"Of course. She has nothing better to talk about, now that you're in high school."

"I wish that she'd shut up about it."

"You shouldn't skip school, Ren," Cai frowned, sitting down next to me.

Blaze hissed, leaping off the bed and scurrying out the door, most likely to hide in the shadows until he left. Unlike people, animals had never liked him, and often avoided him like the plague. That was one reason why I liked them. They weren't drawn in by his charms.

"Care to spar with me, brother?"

"Why? You know that you'll lose."

"I'd like to try a new technique that I've been working on."

"If you say so," I stood up, helping him get to his feet and holding the door open. "I've got nothing better to do."

Together, we walked to the sparring arena that my father had built in our courtyard, where the staff could come and watch whenever someone was stupid enough to challenge me. It was built with high walls around it, with many windows overlooking it and with porches and verandas encircling it. The ground was set with cobblestones, which were kept smooth and even, and there was a fountain in the center for putting out any fires that we set.

"Ready, Cai?" I took my stance.

He nodded, and I clenched my fist, focusing my will towards it. The spark of my thoughts caught, and it caught on fire, elongating to a whip of flames that beat about me on its own accord. Then, it stiffened, shortening and widening until it was in the shape of a flaming sword. Fire coated my arms, and I knew that I looked like a demon.

"Here I go," Cai shoved his fist towards the ground, and pulled it up, like he was pulling up a heavy object.

Lava flowed through the cracks in the cobblestone, miraculously not melting them, and formed a large sphere in front of him. It pulsed in the air, writhing against his control, and sweat began to drip from Cai's forehead. Then, he shoved his fist out, and the ball of lava shot towards me, fast and burning.