Friday evening, Orlaith Valley Trail & Park
Aiden had only managed to take a few determined footsteps before he realised that Sebastian was not following. He turned back to his rival-turned-teammate, watching the other boy gawp at the flames. Seb turned to look at Aiden, offering him a smirk that seemed both impressed and pleasantly surprised with the boy's handiwork. Alas, the flames continued to dance higher, spreading faster than Seb seemed comfortable with, and he shot Aiden a worried glance that urged him to intervene.
"
What?" Aiden asked, noticing Seb's expectant demeanour.
"I'm all for causing trouble, dude," he said. "But you gotta tone that shit down."
Aiden shrugged. "
I dunno what you want me to, like, do." he admitted, getting irritated by Seb's hesitation. "
I can only start fires."
Sebastian's eyes widened as he turned back to the blaze, which continued to gorge on the forest, and his mind seemed to swim with possibilities of what might be happening on the other side of the burnt orange veil. "Fuck," he uttered, and in the next second he was gone. For a moment, Aiden was contemplative, but the speed with which Sebastian had taken off instilled an excitement in him a small smile crept back onto his lips.
"
One down," he congratulated himself as he once again began his search for the opposing team. "
Five to go."
**
Almost ten minutes had passed, as Aiden walked briskly through the forest. He hadn't brought a torch, which he now beginning to regret as he felt his way through the black wood. Occasionally, he would call forth a ball of flame, cradling it in his hands for a few seconds as he surveyed the area, and then allow it to die before continuing along his decided path. It was certainly impractical, but it was the most he could manage whilst conserving his energy for more ...
Spectacular feats.
It was due to the unforgiving darkness, in fact, that Aiden found his interests quickly captured by several specks of light, lingering up ahead. They gave off enough light to dimly illuminate the area around them, and for a moment Aiden presumed it to be the work of one of his classmates: but which of them could do this, and more importantly, what exactly was it that they were doing?
As the light-orbs grew closer, it quickly became apparent that the bizarre will-o'-wisp he'd been enchanted by was nothing more than a group of gentle fireflies. They seemed friendly, and took an interest in Aiden as they danced around his head. Aiden leaned on a nearby tree, deciding to take a moment to collect himself and enjoy the display, but any plans of taking five were soon interrupted by a tickle on the back of his neck. Recoiling from the bark, he whacked the back of his neck and inspected his hand; finding there a single, crushed ant. He looked back at the tree, seeing hundreds - if not thousands - of the tiny creatures swarming up the bark. But their movements were too fluid, too militant, even for ants, and Aiden scowled as he looked from them back to the firebugs.
Belle.Smiling at her ingenious search party, Aiden spent only a second appreciating his friend's strategic talents before his mind turned to sabotage. "
Sorry, Belle," he said, incinerating the fireflies with one flick of his wrist and a short burst of flame. "
You guys outnumber us already. Gotta play fair." He placed both hands on the infested tree, and willed the heat within him forth: through his arms, out of his fingertips and straight up the tall, slim trunk, which now stood as a brilliant orange beacon as it burned. He knew that in a place like this, it would not be a challenge to find insects, but it hadn't stopped him from ensuring each of Belle's soldiers from that particular troop had been terminated.
Fleeing the burning monolith he'd created, Aiden headed deeper into the woods. He had purposely been avoiding the perimeter of the meadow, choosing instead to take the longer and more challenging route through the thick of the forest. It was not so much about avoiding being seen by his peers; his mission, after all, was to coerce them into displaying their abilities, and Aiden was willing to wager he could give as good as he got. No, the object of Aiden's aversion was one that he knew decidedly less about; he had no idea what Mr. Lehrer's intentions were, nor what he was capable of. Best to keep his distance for now.
It didn't take him much longer to find his opponent's base; a clearing, roughly the proposed 100 yards in from the meadow. Aiden crept as quietly as possible, scoping out the area from a safe distance as best his eyes would allow. He almost assumed the base empty, and was for a fleeting second furious that the
entire team had gone on the offensive. That would certainly throw a spanner in the works; fortunately, as he trained his eyes on the darkness, he was able to make out the vague silhouette of at least one individual outlined in the moonlight. A male, so it had to be Evander. Aiden smiled.
Rubbing his fingertips together, he produced a ball of flame, and swiftly launched it in the direction of the opposition. It soared up into the air like a flare, arching in the night sky before vanishing back down beneath the trees and landing in the heart of the base, several feet away from Evander. As it caught the surrounding leaves and began to form a small fire, Aiden emerged from the trees; his grinning features illuminated from one side by the orange glow of the humble flame.
"
Nice spot you got here, dude," Aiden said, before nodding at the pile of burning leaves and twigs. It sat on dry dirt, and it was unlikely that it would spread any further. "
Fire's going. Got any marshmallows?"
