"I conjure my pain in fire. It's easier than enduring it."
His name was Fathi Lionheart, and it meant "conquerer". And a conqueror he was, using the "Charred King" nickname to rule over the east of Los Valburn alongside the rest of the Voided Tigers with an iron fist. He was the explosives guy, the intimidator. The fierce defender of revenge and bloodshed, the guard.
The Charred King's wardrobe mostly consisted of the shades of red, gold, and orange that gave him his nickname. On missions, he would wear a red cardigan with only one button done, a black leather jacket, and a flame-printed tank. Fathi paired them with scuffed rust-orange jeans and worn black converse. His eyes, red-orange in colour, seemed to spark with the heat of a thousand embers, coupled with a distinctive smirk. He excelled at explosives and smelled of gunpowder and burned wood at all times. He kept his hair short at the sides and long on top, brown and wavy.
Fathi was the explosives guy, everyone knew that he dealt with the loud booms and embers flying towards bared skin. He was sturdy and hard to move, both in body and mind. Just like his trusty bombs, he was hotheaded and reckless, destroying everything in his path if needed. But he would never hurt his gang, at least not intentionally. Faithful to a near fault, he could be trusted with keeping everyone as safe as can be during scope out, deliveries, and alliance meetings between groups and spy missions.
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And yet, his heart ached for something better for the world, for his friends. At times, when everything became too much and he would walk in on Abigal contemplating life through a window while the others laughed warily, or when he would find Meili stooped over in a chair examining the reaching grip of her powers taking, he would feel like he isn't doing enough. He already let someone dear to him down, he would try his hardest to prevent that with his new found family.
The girl that he had left behind was named Sage-Katherine, also fondly known by him as Mint. With dyed light green hair and a love for mint chocolate chip ice cream, she enjoyed life to its fullest. Mint had been the sweetest thing in the world, and she had been promised by him to never let anything happen to her as long as Mint would never leave him. They were happy for so long until they weren't.
Sometimes, when he would see Nyx and Tanny buy mint ice cream to share with the rest of the girls (none of the boys really liked it, and Fathi couldn't bear to try it after Mint.. left.), he could feel a pang of homesickness go through his soul.
It was a sunny day much like the one in his memories, with fluffy white clouds and chirping songbirds. In the place of Abigal holding a chocolate sundae, he saw Mint there with her favourite cone. He could hear dogs barking in the distance, but his nostalgic mind could only comprehend gunshots and police sirens. Instead of walking like normal back to the flat, he saw Mint crumble under darkened streetlamps, a stray bullet from a few rebel Hagarad refugees lodging itself into her back.
Instead of watching Abigal pick up a dropped penny off the ground and trip over the curb, he saw Mint as he comprehended what had happened, sprawled on the floor and bleeding out. At the moment, it didn't feel real. It still didn't feel like it happened. He had fallen to his knees in a daze, only to be whisked away as the paramedics and police quickly took care of the scene. If he were to be honest, he didn't completely realize Mint had died until two days after. All that was in his mind were the words. 'She's going to be okay. She has to be okay. She promised she would never leave me. But..' But it didn't mean anything in the grand scheme of life. So he decided to pack his bags and leave the city of Uloa, for there was nothing left for him there and headed to Los Valburn. It would have been a new start for him. He did get a new start on life and new friends. But he would never forget the girl who stole his heart away many years ago. But there were others that held a special place within now.
Mint would have been proud. At least he hopes she would.
YOU ARE READING
Our Life Our Story - Book 1
General Fiction"Who are they?" "-They're the Voided Tigers. If you want no trouble, stay away from them." "Says who?" "Says the people in charge." "Who are we?" "-We're an amalgamation of a broken family sown together at the seams." "Says who?" "Says the entity of...
