Fiery Footprints - The Adventure Zone Fanfiction

Barry's counter rarely ticked

 Barry's counter rarely ticked. Whoever they were, they didn't take that many steps. Sometimes they didn't take steps for months. Barry wasn't sure if they were even alive if they walked this little. Or maybe his counter was broken or it wasn't really linked to anyone. At least, that's what he thought until he went to the academy.

The first time he saw footprints it was midterms and Barry was cramming in the library. He was so focussed on his Abjuration studies that he didn't even notice.

"Mage Armor, Forbiddance, Shield, Wards, yadda yadda." Barry paused. Something was weird. His feet were warm, really warm, and... glowing? Below Barry's feet were two glowing fiery red footprints in the same position his had been in just a moment before. Barry saw the smoldering, burning footprints from whoever sat here before him.

"Oh come on! Guys, if you cast Burning Feet while in the library at least clean up after yourself." Barry cried out to a cacophony of "shh"s.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to be quiet." One of the librarians asked.

"Of course, library." Barry cringed at himself. "Do you have a gust spell or something prepared for the fire?" Barry gestured to the footprints at his feet.

"I'm not sure I understand, what fire?"

"Right here! These foot- ... oh. Nevermind." Barry had heard a few people talk about seeing their soulmates footprints, some said they saw them as green and mossy, blue and runic, or a perfect outline in black. Everyone saw them differently, supposedly it was somehow related to their soulmate. Barry guessed by the flaming outline that his soulmate must be really hot. Unfortunately, he had no idea how literal that was.

Barry started seeing the footprints more. Well, more was relative. They were still sparse, but they were there. Something about being knowing his soulmate was in the IRPE academy made Barry uneasy. To counteract this he started a diary journal on everyone in the school. He took notes on when they walked, watching both his counter and the floor for any flaming footprints. It wasn't Greg, or Magnus, or anyone in his class. At one point he thought he had found them, it was someone he had never met before. She had blond hair and pointed elven features. The first time he saw here she was getting something out of the fantasy vending machine when someone came up behind her and started talking to her. The moment her feet shifted Barry saw two glowing red footprints where she had been standing. He nearly didn't write it down he was so stunned.

He was so sure he had found his soulmate, until the next time he saw her. It was in the quad and she was practicing spell sculpting. She kept casting fireball and trying to get it not to singe an apple that she'd placed on a small podium. He watched her for a bit, fiddling with his fantasy eight-color pen questioning if maybe he should try and give her some tips as an excuse to talk to her. He knew next to nothing about evocation casting, but he was sure he could at least help out, right? He started walking toward her when he noticed her closer to the apple and shove it off the stand with a mage hand. She didn't leave a trail.

"Fuck."

Lup sat under the shade of her favorite tree in the quad watching her brother do his best to sculpt fireball.

"Not so easy, is it?" Lup taunted.

"Shut up, I just ate some bad fantasy Auntie-Anne's Pretzels." Taako retorted, casting fireball again. "Damnit, I'm out of spell slots again." He grumbled as he thumped down next to his sister.

"Hey, Taako?"

"Hmm?" Taako asked, taking another bite of his cinnamon fantasy pretzel.

"My counter..."