TammysSirens trudged through the fine flakes of ash that coated the arena ground like snow, brushing it off her face and arms as she moved. It was everywhere, swirling in the wind and clogging her nose when she tried to breathe. She coughed and cleared her throat, peering through the cloudy air. The breeze would sweep it away soon enough, but it wouldn't scatter the little piles of bones left in the woods, brittle and charred from the heat of the flames.
It had to happen. Games were brutal most days, but today had been particularly bad, and not even winning by the tiniest margin had raised her spirits. Killing wasn't in Tammy's nature. It was just another one of life's sad necessities. She wandered back to the Ashes of Eden guild fortress, lost in thought. Leon had taken a day off and she had missed him terribly during the match. As she pushed open the heavy wooden doors, Tammy almost walked straight into Panda...
...talking to Leon.
Her Leon.
Fire spread through her veins as killing rage ignited her blood once more, screaming for destruction. How dare Panda try to steal what was hers, and hers alone? It took every ounce of self-control Tammy possessed to not engulf the little aquamancer in flames right then and there, to savor her screams of agony as she burned.
"Uh... Tammy." Leon's voice cut through her thoughts.
"Oh hey." Tammy tried to look as if she'd just noticed them. "Hi Panda."
Leon backed away when she reached out to hug him. "Tammy, you're a bit... hot."
She giggled and swatted at his sleeve. "Isn't that why you're with me?"
"No, your hands... Well you just... burnt my armor." Leon's words trailed off as the smell of scorched leather and fabric stung Tammy's nose. He hadn't been complimenting her.
"Right," Tammy muttered. She licked her thumb and forefinger and pinched out the glowing edges that her hand had left when she touched him. "Sorry."
"I'll just be... in my room," Panda said quickly. "Nice seeing you Tammy." She shot Leon an odd look and fled up the stairs.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Tammy forced herself not to put a flame burst in Panda's back as she left, and instead extinguished the orange glow that had been growing in her palm. "Just had some rough games. I'll be fine."
"Good." He hugged her gently and placed a light kiss on her forehead. "I need to talk to Panda more about whether or not we need to recruit more people for the guild so I probably won't see you until later."
"Okay." She watched him disappear down the hall to the stairs the same way Panda had gone, still wondering if she could just casually toss a few fireballs in her direction and make it look like an accident. It wouldn't be difficult, just one little flick of her wrist...
Tammy threw her gemini back into the storage room, not even bothering to check and see if she'd put it in her proper cubby. She hurried to her own room. Something had to be done. She wasn't about to wait for Panda to steal him away.
The soft chime of an alarm woke Skarlet at four in the morning. She sat up and peered around in the darkness. It wasn't her alarm clock.
She stood up and peeked out of her door. All of the torches were out and she couldn't see anything, but it was oddly warm in the hallway, much too warm for nighttime.
Running footsteps echoed across the floor above her. Before Skarlet could react, there was an incredible crash and Tammy fell straight through the floor, landing in a heap on the ground in front of her. A wave of blistering heat accompanied her, and Skarlet slowly realized that the fortress was burning.
"Fire!" Tammy cried. "Get everyone out now!"
"What...?" Skarlet backed away from the hole in the ceiling as it began to crumble. The wooden beams cracked and collapsed in showers of orange sparks.
"Get the others, I'll find Leon and Panda!" Tammy sprinted up to the burning floor, leaving a glittering purple time warp rune on the ground behind her.
Still half-asleep, Skarlet ran for her aquamancer weapon and began soaking the bottom floor in water bolts trying to slow the fire's spread. The other guild members were slowly emerging from their rooms.
"What's going on?" Exon mumbled.
"Wake up!" Skarlet blasted him in the face with a jet of the coldest water she could summon. "Get the others out before this place goes down."
"Really... wasn't necessary." Exon yawned and shot her a wounded look as he started helping people out the door and down the stairs.
Tammy reappeared in a burst of purple light, supporting an unconscious Leon. "I couldn't get Panda, her ceiling went down before I got in."
"No!" Skarlet looked up, weighing her options, but an ominous cracking sound from above reminded her there was no time. "Fuck. Just go." She grabbed Leon's other arm and helped Tammy drag him from the burning fortress.
The rest of the guild had gotten out safely. They were huddled together in shock, looking up at the sheets of fire leaping up into the sky. Skarlet and Tammy dropped Leon unceremoniously on the lawn next to them.
"Where's Panda?" Major asked.
Skarlet bit her lip, wishing she didn't have to break the news to the others. "We... We couldn't get to her in time."
Horrified gasps spread through the little group.
"I think it started in her room," said Tammy quietly. "It took down the ceiling and the doorway before I could get in. I'm... so sorry."
The flames were starting to die down. It hadn't spread to the lower floor, but the roof looked unstable. Skarlet picked up her aquamancer staff and started to head back inside.
"Where are you going?" Tammy called.
"I need to find the body."
