Vell ran at a full sprint to the wooded area of the valley, hiding away from anyone that might come looking for her. She had not the slightest idea what she had done or how she had. She still felt a fever in her body, but now it was smaller. Her core felt on fire. She was convinced for a moment she would go up in flames. She tried to move the fever through her body. At first, nothing happened, but after some time it responded. Slowly she felt the fever move to her hand. She then tried to do what her mother had taught her years ago, move the energy out of her hand, and back into nature. Her first attempt was a complete failure. The same results happened for her second through sixth attempts. On her seventh attempt, she felt her fingers start to tingle, then become warm. The warmth kept building until it exploded out of her. Fire jetted from her fingers for an instant then began to smolder around each of her claws. She screamed in fear for a few seconds until she realized it didn't hurt. Her fingers felt warm but just like a fever still. She didn't even feel like she was sweating. She focused for a moment and watched as the fire went out around her claws. Somehow she was controlling it. It took a few moments to make it do so but, it was in fact doing as she wanted it to. She became excited. She focused again and produced the flames again. This time she lashed her claws out in a few attacks. The flames slashed through the air with her claws. She began focusing on her feet. Within a few minutes, she sees them smoking. On a hunch, Vell begins to kick out in the air. After a few strikes are thrown, they begin to burn. The flames stay with her feet, singing anything they come in contact with.
Vell returned home excited. She found her family all asleep when she arrived home. She had lost track of time and felt stupid for doing so. She made her way quietly to her bed and fell asleep in seconds. When she finally awoke she found the sun high in the sky. In a panic, she ran out of the home to start her chores.
"Vell! Where are you off to." It was Boreen's voice. She turned around and ran back into her home's main room and saw him sitting in a chair. The bandages around his leg were far cleaner this time.
"Father, you're alive."
"Um, I believe I am." He started poking around his stomach for a few seconds. "Yup, I think I feel all my parts still in there." Boreen gave a silly smile to his daughter. She burst out in tears as she ran to her father's side to hug him. "Be careful baby girl, I am still very sore." Vell pulled away and glanced down at her father's thigh.
"We have to get that beast back."
"What did you say Vell?"
"We have to get that beast back!" tears were now pouring down her face. "Look what he did to your father. I won't stop until he is missing a leg as well."
"Vell," Boreen grabbed her face and forced her to stare into his eyes, "You must not even try that. That beast is terribly strong. You and your brothers will lead the tribe somewhere else, I will follow along as soon as I can. Your mother is torn if she will stay with me or go with you."
"No! We will stay here! I will make sure of it!" Vell stood angrily storming out of her home. As she walked farther away from the home she began moving faster, and faster until she was in a full sprint again. As she ran she felt the fever come back, but this time she was prepared. She forced the fever down into her hands and when she felt she was ready she jumped and punched into a nearby boulder. The boulder exploded from the force, raining down around her. She got out of the way as fast as she could.
As soon as she was safe she began thinking about what she did. She went over to another rock and focused on the fever again. She went from not having any heat to a full flame in less than a minute this time. She focused then punched the stone. A black mark was left where she hit but nothing else. She felt disappointed in herself. Power, like she had, could kill the dragon, she knew it could. Again she focused on her hand, creating a new fresh fever. Instead of stopping when it hit the level, she was familiar with as she did before she kept focusing on it. She started imagining a fire around her hand in her mind. She began seeing it grow hotter and hotter, its color changing as it did. Without opening her eyes she reached her open paw out to the boulder and started to push it. She felt her hand meet resistance, but not enough to stop it. She kept pushing waiting to feel the resistance become too much, but it never did. Soon she felt part of the rock touch her side. Startled she opened her eyes and hound her arm completely pushed into the boulder. She pulled her arm out and looked in. Molten rock bubbled at the core of the boulder. Looking down at her hand she knew what she had to do. It was time to start training.
