The rain had been so merciless, that it had soaked through the thick curtain of Kaori's ebony hair within the few moments it had lasted. Fantastic, she had sarcastically thought to herself. Although, even then, before the world around them changed to a jungle of bright light, she had felt as if something were off. She was not a very magically aware creature, but even she knew it was too peculiar for a sky-less night to suddenly erupt in downpour.
Just as suddenly, it felt as if someone had pulled back the curtains on a lazy morning. The rainclouds parted and the sun seemed to explode into the night sky. It was all she was aware of. The ball of fire burning too close, too low and seeping into her skin like a thousand poisoned needles.
She was instantly more animal than person. With a vicious hiss, she sprang from her spot beside Rikive and lunged for the closed sanctuary of a shadow. She found herself gripping a tree, clawing at its bark as if to hollow it out and envelop herself inside. Which, she might if she survived long enough.
"How the hell should I know anything about this?!" she growled at Rikive. In her fear, she experienced a sort of fury that rode on the tails of adrenaline. She wasn't personally angry at Rikive, even though she would have thought that to be a stupid question, sun or not. The frustrated squeals that drew from her throat seemed to make that clear as she assaulted the tree bark.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, it began to occur to her that she should have gone up in flames the instant the sun had licked her skin, but she was too panicked to really pause to think that through.
