Malion: Up In Flames

Night Flame

When the sun started to dip below the horison, Anthony removed his bright red hood and pushed a part of the similarly coloured cloak back. He stared solemnly toward the horizon until Kaylum placed his hand over his. They met each other's gazes. Kaylum's eyes were filled with gentle reassurance.

"Are you ok, Anthony?" I asked quietly. He looked at me and smiled, masking whatever else he was feeling.

"A sunset is a bit of an emorional sight for me. It... it just reminds me of my home." He said softly. I glanced at the sand that had stuck to my skin.

"Does it have anything to do with Carkarak?" I asked, looking back at him. His eyes hadn't looked away from mine.

"No actually. It reminds me of my home life. My father was never the kindest to me..." he mumbled, his hand recieving a reassuring squeeze from Kaylum.

"I'm sorry..." I whispered, truning my gaze to the sea.

"How... how do sunsets remind you of your father?" I mumbled. He didn't respond.

"I think we should head into the waves before it gets too cold and the Maratren and Endoran begin to hunt each other." Kaylum suggested, helping both Anthony and me to our feet. He lead the way, taking Anthony by the hand and giving him a grin. Anthony glanced back at me and I smiled at him. I dumped my jacket, my boots and my weapons onto the grass and ran towards the water, easily overtaking the two. Once I got to the water, the cold stabbed through my skin as I shot through the unbroken wave. Once I came back up, I turned to the beach to see Anthony dragging Kaylum into the water while he yelled out in protest.

"Stop! Stop! Oh my Gods, ANTHONYY!" he screamed once he fell into a small wave while Anthony cackled. I joined the laughter and swam up to them. Once Kaylum got back onto his hands and knees, plumes of steam rose off of him. He panted and gave me a grin. A bolt of fire spinned at me and I dove under to avoid it. Once I got back to the surface, Kaylum was on his feet and had prepared more fireballs.

"Those can't hurt me, you know!" I yelled at him with a newly fanged grin.

"That's the point!" He yelled back, launching another firebolt at me. I dipped below the water with a laugh and surfaced just to have another firebolt hit me right in the face, sending plumes of steam into the air. I let out a loud laugh and swam towards Anthony, who floated in a stiller part of the water. I got up onto one of the rocks by the rockpools and smiled at him.

"Hey Anthony, you doing ok?" I asked him. He opened his eyes and looked at me for a long time.

"I don't think I've seen your eyes glow before..." he mumbled, sitting up and wading towards me. I let out a chuckle and a sigh.

"I don't really know how it works. I just know I see a lot better at night when that happens. I can't control it. It just kinda... does that." I laughed. Anthony smiled and sat next to me.

"They really are fascinating. When they aren't glowing, they look exactly like Michelle's eyes. And when they are, or when you transform, they look more like mine, Elliott's or Kaylum's. Non Aslantian is what I mean. What fascinates me the most is that they glow when you need to see in the dark. Kaylum and I can't do that and we can see in the dark just fine. But it's not like daytime for us. Is that the difference?" He explained. I thought about it for a while and looked to the sky and searched the stars.

"Well if it were like day time, I wouldn't see the stars. At least I think I wouldn't. It all looks like it's under a dark shadow, and normal shadows are a lot darker." I explained, examining the water and spotting a dark figure swimming towards us.

"Like that. I can see Kaylum." I added just before he broke the water's surface in a loud display of fire and yelling. Anthony cried out and launched himself backwards and ended up on the other side of the rockpools. Kaylum burst out into boisterous laughter. I had never heard him laugh like that.

"Dec! Didn't I scare you?" He asked at the dwindling end of his foreign chuckle. I grinned.

"Nope!" I turned, "Hey Anthony! Use that speed to get back over here!" I called him. I watched him ease up and in the blink of an eye, he was back at my side.

"Kaylum, please don't do that again." He breathed. Kaylum let out that same foreign laugh again.

"Anthony, I love you, but I'm gonna do that again." He grinned.

"Hold on, this is a new development. You two are in a relationship?" I asked. They both looked at each other as if it was projected to the whole of Gaia, which, to be fair, it kind of was.

"You've been in the Realm of the Banished for four months. That's a lot of time for feelings to strengthen. We've both been talking about next steps." Kaylum explained as he looked proudly at Anthony, who lauged and planted a hand onto Kaylums messy hair.

"Yep. I'm looking forward to spending a lot more time with you. You're incredible." Anthony said softly.

"You are clearly far better." Kaylum added with a soft grin. Anthony's face lit up a bright red.

"That's not fair! You can pick me up when you hug me, that's arguably the best!" He retorted.

"But your hugs are the softest and your kisses are sweet." Kaylum whispered, only to have Anthony's face light up more.

"Well your cooking is the best I've ever tasted so ha!" Anthony yelped triumphantly, placing his hands on his hips.

Kaylum sputtered and looked at Anthony with a flattered, flustered expression.

"I... I shall never admit defeat!" He yelled and wrapped his arms around Anthony's waist, only to hoist him into the air and fall into the water while Anthony yelled out in protest. I couldn't contain my laughter and burst out into a howling cackle.

When they surfaced, Anthony shoved water into Kaylum's face, causing him to cough whilst laughing.

"You're a bitch, you know that?" Kaylum chuckled. Anthony laughed and grinned at him. My gaze wandered for a moment and traced the shore. Half way down, towards the Burns' ship, I noticed a figure. I stared at it for a long time until I finally deciphered her featured. I slipped off of the rock and waded towards the sand. The closer I got, the clearer Barbara's features became.