Curious Kids

MarcellusD · Jul 7, 2019

Verum stood at the edge of the lake. The water was almost completely see-through. He had only seen water so crystal clear in certain water-themed dimensions, so it was strange to see some here, in a place so... "average."

Although he had to say that the school was nowhere near average. He had met so many unique people during his time at the school. He was disappointed and surprised that he didn't see any of those people at the lake now, but he was also a little relieved to get some time to himself.

The surroundings had been clear the last time he scanned them, but Verum checked one more time. He didn't want anyone creeping up on him, even if it was accidental. He knew that it was impossible to discern the rustling of leaves caused by wind and rustling caused by footsteps, and that the splashing of water would mask a lot of noise, but his resolve was steeled. He slipped off his shoes and dived in, clothes and all. The water was refreshing, even though the heat didn't bother him in the first place.

@AppleSpice

AppleSpice · Jul 10, 2019

Isabelle wandered aimlessly about the school grounds. She had quickly learned how different her classes were compared to those of the normal students. She was finally learning to read, but that didn't mean her class times would suddenly shift to be more like everybody else's. Right now, she had a gap in her schedule.

Despite her loneliness, however, this was a good time for exploring. Over the short while she'd been here, she had slowly begun to expand her territory, including more and more of the school grounds, making its nooks and corners familiar. This new, safe place was beautiful, and every day, Isabelle was in awe of it.

Today, Isabelle had chosen her walking direction randomly, as she did everyday. She ended up heading towards the forested park, where the shade shielded her squinted eyes from the harsh sunlight, and gave her a bit of relief from the sticky heat that clung to and seeped between the folds of her wings.

She strolled. And she strolled a bit more. It occurred to her that she couldn't see the buildings through the trees anymore. It worried her slightly, but she took comfort in the fact that she'd stuck to the path beneath her feet, ignoring any forks or connecting trails along the way. It shouldn't be too hard to retrace her steps later.

It wasn't much longer now till her ears caught something interesting. Up ahead, she heard splashing, and quickly realized she'd been moving towards the lake. Hoping there was someone there, she quickened her pace, until the trees finally began to part ahead.

Peering out from the treeline, Isabelle could see there was only one other person here. He was little, even littler than herself. He'd be easy to talk to. But she hesitated where she stood. He was here alone, and that made her wonder if he wanted to keep it that way. She'd felt that way before.

She inched forward a little further, but continued to waver, now just at the edge of the shade.

@MarcellusD

MarcellusD · Jul 12, 2019

Verum breached the water, a laugh escaping from his mouth. He couldn't form flames underwater, of course, but his hands glowed and sparked, and it created an ethereal effect. He twisted around in a merry spiral.

Verum spotted someone standing at the edge of the treeline and the breath was knocked out of him. It didn't take long for him to regain his breath, though. The person hadn't come closer when his back was turned, which made the reaction upon spotting them much less severe. He couldn't quite see them clearly, as they were in the shade, so he put on a smile and climbed out of the lake. Flames briefly shot out from his body almost subconsciously, drying his uniform. Fortunately, it was fireproof.

"Hello!" Verum said as he approached.

@AppleSpice

AppleSpice · Jul 16, 2019

The breath caught in her throat as the boy spotted her. His initial reaction didn't seem particularly positive. She almost decided to turn back to the forest to leave him be, but the smile that appeared on his face quickly reassured her before she could lift a foot.

Isabelle could feel her own eager smile spread across her face now, and finally came closer as he swam for shore.

As soon as the boy left the water, however, flames suddenly leapt from his body. They engulfed his form for the briefest moment, glowing hot. And then, just like that, they extinguished completely.

The girl jumped back with a start and stared at him in confusion and concern.

"A-... Are you okay?" she asked warily.

@MarcellusD

MarcellusD · Jul 18, 2019

Ah.... Verum hadn't realized how frightening such a sudden act could be to others. Not every day did you see someone spontaneously combust. He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck and chuckled.

"Heh. Sorry about that," he said. "I actually did that on purpose to dry myself. I'm sorry for scaring you!"

He reached out his hand for her to shake. "My name is Verum. What's yours?"

@AppleSpice

AppleSpice · Jul 22, 2019

She still seemed uneasy, but took his hand and shook it with a couple, careful bounces. "Isabelle. It's nice to meet you!" she recited.

"So... you can... set yourself on fire?" she asked after a pause. She looked him up and down with her eyes, the discomfort from before quickly seeming to turn into curiosity.

"I can't do that. Does it hurt?"

@MarcellusD

MarcellusD · Jul 24, 2019

Verum hummed absentmindedly. Isabelle.... He took in her appearance and committed her name to memory. It was a mission of his to quickly remember the names of every potential friend. There was nothing to indicate that they would become friends in the first place, but he had high hopes.

When Isabelle tried to describe Verum's power, his eyes widened. "Well, when you put it like that, it sounds much more dangerous!" he said, giggling. "But I suppose that is what I can do."

A tuft of flame formed above his outstretched finger. With a twirl of said finger, the flame spun around his body as if it was a hula hoop. It returned to his hand and enveloped his entire arm.

"It doesn't hurt at all!" Verum said. "That's because I'm immune to heat, but also because I can make my flames cold. I know it sounds crazy of me to say, but try touching it. I promise that you won't get burned!" He held up his hand like he was waiting for a high five.

@AppleSpice

AppleSpice · Jul 26, 2019

Isabelle wasn't well acquainted with fire to begin with, and seeing it this close and behaving this strangely gave her a jittery feeling in her tummy. She leaned away as the flame spun and danced around the little boy's body, then nearly flinched again as it flowed back onto his outstretched arm.

At his words, however, she couldn't help but notice that she felt no heat emanating from the glow. Even people gave off heat, so logically, even though she didn't fully understand how fire worked, fire especially should warm the air around it, she thought. But she didn't feel anything more than the heat of summer.

She slowly lifted her hand. Wincing, and bracing for pain just in case, she carefully aligned her hand with his, dipped it into the flame, and placed her palm against his.

@MarcellusD

MarcellusD · Jul 26, 2019

Isabelle's reaction was... different. When Verum asked others to touch his flaming hand, he was usually met with faces of bewilderment (which was a completely appropriate reaction), and they rarely ever did. Isabelle just seemed frightened, but not unwilling. When she touched his hand, Verum grinned.

"See?" he said. "Completely cold!"

Verum didn't find cold fire to be particularly odd⁠—probably because he had access to it for a long time⁠—but he could see why people did, even on this island of all places. Fire was such a fundamentally simple thing, so encountering it in the opposite state would have been jarring for most.

AppleSpice · Jul 31, 2019

Isabelle had squeezed her eyes shut as their hands touched. Now, she slowly peeked out at the boy. There was no pain, and still no heat. The tension ebbed from her muscles, leaving a look of awe upon her face as she relaxed.

She lifted her other hand now, and held his in both of hers, bringing it nearer, and examining the flames more closely.

"Wow... How do you do that? Have you always been able to?" she asked, sounding a little distracted.

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Curious Kids

MarcellusD

Well-Known Member

AppleSpice

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MarcellusD

Well-Known Member

AppleSpice

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MarcellusD

Well-Known Member

AppleSpice

✿ ❀ ✿

MarcellusD

Well-Known Member

AppleSpice

✿ ❀ ✿

MarcellusD

Well-Known Member

AppleSpice

✿ ❀ ✿