Burned Out [Completed]

Wynn's Cosmic Pep Talk

I jolted awake, one hand pressed to my cheek where Sute had touched me.

"Were you having a nightmare or something?"

I looked around to see Wynn sitting up in his bean bag. A quick glance around told me that Mart and Assana were still asleep.

"Yeah, or something."

My vision had left me feeling pretty shaken up. Sute had scared the shit out of me, but what exactly did she want? And seriously, she needed to come up with a better insult than "whelp."

Wynn took my cryptic comment without a second thought. "It's almost dawn. I never could sleep past the sunrise."

"Funny. I didn't peg you for a morning person."

Wynn chuckled quietly. "You met Sute, didn't you?"

I stared at him. This kid never stopped with the surprises. Just when I thought he was just a goofy child at heart, he let loose with an insightful comment like that. "How did you know?"

He gave me a guilty smile. "I might have obscured the truth before. I've met Haize, and I'm pretty sure I looked just like you do now after that particular development."

"Is Haize just as scary as Sute?" I asked in a small voice.

"He was intimidating, but kind of a let down." Wynn admitted with a shrug. "He's all about rules and discipline. I'm more for improvising, myself."

I cringed at his words, half expecting lightning to strike him dead. I couldn't fathom speaking like that about Sute, she would definitely murder me. Hell, I wasn't entirely convinced she wouldn't murder me just for fun. "Can they hear us?"

"You've got bad case of divine terror, my friend." Wynn moved to sit on the floor beside me. "I don't know if they can hear us or if they even care, but you can't let them get you down. That's one weight you do not want on your shoulders. Just keep on being your sassy self."

"Man, this whole elemental gods thing is going to take some getting used to." I groaned, raking my hand through my hair.

Wynn had a valid point, though. I took a deep breath. If Sute was going to wreak godly vengeance on me for disrespecting her, she'd have do it while an insult rolled off my tongue. There was no way I was going to live in fear of her, no matter how divine she was. "So what's Haize's place like?"

Wynn flashed his grin at me again. "It's amazing! There's no ground, just endless blue skies and fluffy clouds. The air supports your feet whenever you move so you never fall. Haize has this huge castle made entirely of glass so that it reflects everything. You almost can't see it."

That sounded like a pleasant daydream. Meanwhile, I was stuck with Sute's endless nightmare of a home.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciated my powers and all, but I was starting to feel like I'd drawn the short straw.

"Yeah, those old people back at Winston said that you could only be summoned there by the gods, but it wasn't long until I found my own back door in." Wynn said.

"Haize pretends like he's disappointed in me for being so silly all of the time, but I think deep down he's just jealous. That old fart could crack a joke if he tried."

I tried to imagine Wynn snapping off knock knock jokes to an ancient, all-powerful god. I had to cover my mouth so I didn't wake up the others with my laughter.

Wynn's trademark smile disappeared. "Don't tell any of this to Assana, okay? She isn't really sold on the idea of the elemental gods. She doesn't trust them, but she's even more against being left behind. If she knew that she was the only one to not meet her god, she'd be upset."