The Elemented

Arguments and pain

P.O.V: Ajax

Ebony, Iris, and I enter the building that had windows that were all broken. I heard a noise and Iris jumps and her dagger appears out of nowhere.
"It was only a rotting board falling. See?" I point to the fallen board and she relaxes. "How did you summon your dagger?"

"Focused my power and I can also do this." The dagger bursts into flames, the flames licking her hand, but not leaving any burns.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side." I say.

She smirks. The building was dark, but the orange glow from the dagger provided better light than the rising sun did.

"We still have a few days before we reach the base. Maybe you could stay a little longer." She suggest casually, but I still heard the hopefulness in Iris's voice.

I begin to say that I wish I could, but then I remember what the Lord had told me. "Don't come back until you find that witch!" He had exclaimed before I left yesterday. "Sure. But flower power can't pull that knife he has on me."

"He won't." She promises, a small smile creeping onto her fair-skinned face. We couldn't find anything but rotting boards and fallen beams in the first three buildings. The fourth one we searched had some cloth that could be used for bedding and Iris stuffs them in her bag. Seeming happier than when we left, I take her hand in mine. We return back to camp drenched in sweat from the unrelenting heat.

Iris shows the Tyrant the scavenged items and he scans them with his piercing eyes. He nods his approval and I place it in a corner where every other scavenged item is placed. We sit in some chairs to cool off before anyone could start the long journey to the edge of the city. Ebony never once left Iris's side. Iris had a red face and her arms and legs were already sunburned. I bet I didn't look any better than she. I had taken off my jacket and button-down shirt and was now wearing just a normal black tanktop. I look at the girl sitting next to me as she pets Ebony. Damn I missed talking to her. A strand of dark hair falls from behind her ear as she leans down, picks up a stick Ebony has in her mouth, and chucks it, the dog bounding after her stick.

"So, what do you do for fun, Flame girl?" I ask and she smiles at her nickname.

"Draw when I can't sleep and talk to Emmett. But now I talk to you all day, Fish boy." She teases.

"So, y'all travel all day and sleep until dawn."

"Yup." She throws the stick again and the Death Hound chases after it happily. "Unless the kids want to have a break for ten minutes."

I nod. I had met some of the kids, though most were girls who asked me about Iris and I. "We're just close friends." I would tell them. "Riiiiiiight." They would draw out the word with skepticism. We all get up and begin the journey away from the City of the New World. Emmett led the large group of kids, Iris and I brought up the rear with Ebony in tow. Some of the kids were passing around a few water canisters. When one finally reached us, I took a small sip and handed it to Iris.

"I'm not thirsty." She said.

"Iris, just take a small sip. You haven't drank anything since I've been here." Still she refuses. I think about dumping the water on her, but then she will get mad. "Please? Just take a little drink of water. It'll cool you down." I plead with her.

"You're never going to stop, are you?" She asks, already knowing the answer.

"Nope."

She sighs and finally takes a drink of water. "Better?"

"Yep." She hands it to the kid next to her. A few girls were giggling and glancing over at us.

After about three hours of walking, a little boy started complaining about his feet hurting and the heat was worse than the day before, which was true. The five guards that Iris had knocked out along with the help of Emmett, were tied up in the building we just left. I had tied the rope, that was in the truck, tight and every movement would cause them great discomfort as the ropes tighten around them. It was one of the skills I was taught when I was going through training. Iris had hit them on the side of the head with the hilt of her dagger when they began to stir.