Sparkle (KOTLC) {Completed}

5

A few weeks passed and the majority of Janessa's time was spent training with Fintan, and sometimes a quick visit with Keefe, but they were never able to talk very long as Keefe also had some kind of training he had to do all day too. Janessa didn't mind too much as long as she could say hi, she was enjoying her training and progress too much to care about days off.

Eventually, Fintan had given her two crystals: one to the base and one to the forest where they always practiced so she could practice alone when he was busy. She was surprised by his trust in her, but appreciated the freedom it gave her, however small.

Today was one of the days Fintan accompanied her and as they arrived at the forest, Fintan said, "I think you're ready."

"Ready for what?"

"Everblaze."

Once, at the word, Janessa's insides would've frozen in fear, but now, she only held a fascinated curiosity about it. "Really? Are you sure?"

"Completely. You've improved exponentially and even before you could control normal fire, when we first met you were able to bend Everblaze enough for your friends to escape. I have no doubt you could do it now." Fintan affirmed, holding intense eye contact with Janessa, who could only nod mutely in reply.

"Everblaze is the fire of the sun on Earth and so you must call the heat from the sun itself, not just the heat around you. When you call it down, you must be more calm than with normal fire, because Everblaze is more alive than a normal flame. You must be very careful about the amount of air you give it, you must be the master of it and yourself. Do not let it control you. Let me demonstrate, then you try with my flame. Afterwards, you will summon your own."

Janessa nods again, watching in awe as he sparks the bright yellow flame. Fixated on it, she can feel its life and spirit from many feet away. Finally, she steadies herself enough to focus her control on the yellow flame and feels Fintan loosen his hold on it as hers strengthens. Eventually, she feels ready to move the ball of fire, making it hover through the air towards her.

"Good, very good. Now see if you can make it bigger." Fintan suggests.

Slowly allowing more air into the flame, it grows from the size of a basketball to a yoga ball and she holds it there, steadying her control once more. Then, she splits it in two, controlling one over each hand, both mesmerized by the beauty of the flames and the heat against her skin and dead calm in her focus.

"Fantastic. Now, very slowly, make them smaller. If you try to kill them too fast, they will overpower you." Fintan states, keeping a close eye on her.

Just as he asked, the bright yellow flames became smaller and smaller until they were both the size of a golf ball. Then, they died out.

"That was perfect, Janessa! I've never seen anyone control it so instinctually before!" Fintan exclaimed once her concentration was broken. The amount of pride in his eyes made Janessa's chest tighten and he put a hand on her shoulder. "You are the most talented pyrokinetic I have ever met. I know you don't like me, but being able to witness that was nothing short of a miracle. Doesn't it feel amazing?"

A wide grin filled Janessa's face as she nodded eagerly. "Yes, it was so alive and I could feel it breathing but it's like we were working alongside each other instead of me trying to control it and like a silent agreement but full of so much power! I can't believe I could ever be that powerful! It... it was mind-blowing."

Fintan smiled at her fondly. "Just like my first time controlling it. You never get over how good the rush feels when you summon Everblaze. Now, do you want to try sparking your own?"

Janessa almost squealed in excitement at the thought and her eyes brightened considerably; she nodded enthusiastically.

Focusing all of her mind on the sun and its energy, she pulled it down, feeling a tug on her gut, until she felt the energy in the particles in front of her and pushed it together, instantly sparking a ball of Everblaze the size of a basketball. This time, she played with it a bit more, throwing it from one hand to the next and giggling.

"Fintan, wanna play catch?" Janessa asked, too excited to remember who he was.

The Ancient elf smiled warmly and prepared his hands and mind.

For the rest of the afternoon, they threw the ball of Everblaze back and forth between each other and laughed, as if this was just any ordinary game and not a deadly one if it went wrong. As if they weren't enemies on opposite sides of a war, as if she wasn't a prisoner anymore.

At the end of the day, they returned to the base and Janessa, exhausted from controlling the Everblaze, went straight to sleep instead of going to visit Keefe as she'd planned to. Oh well, she was sure it wouldn't matter if she waited one more day before talking with him.