A/N:

F: Like the summary says, this is a co-op between me (Firestorm Nauralagos) and BuBuWinter. :)

B: Well hi there. :D Yeah, this is a co-op, as said above, and it's going to be epicness. So just read. XD And be sure to enjoy!

F: "Anything You can Do I can Do Better" is told from two different points of view: Alexandra Firesong's and Heat Shadowsword's. I'll be writing Alex's part (obviously) and BuBu will be writing Heat's. :3 Now, as she said, enjoy! xD

B: AND BY THE WAY, Heat is my character told in my story the Lightning Gaze, just so y'all aren't confused XD

-Alexandra Firesong-

I knew that something serious was up when my adoptive father was at the breakfast table that morning. Malistaire Drake was not known for being a morning person; he usually stayed up late, slept through breakfast and had a piece of toast on his way to work. Sylvia was the early bird of the family, and as usual, she was moving through the kitchen, humming to herself as she made chocolate chip pancakes.

Yeah, something was definitely up.

"'Morning, Dad," I said slowly, looking around the kitchen. "'Morning, Mom." It had only been a year since my blood father abandoned me in Dragonspyre, but I had already warmed to the Drakes and was soon referring to them as if they were my real parents.

"Good morning, Alex," the Life Professor sangas she flipped the last pancake onto a platter. Her husband gave a small wave of acknowledgement.

"How come you're up?" I asked him.

"Alex, Malistaire and I have some interesting news for you," Sylvia began, setting the pancakes on the table and serving me two.

"Mm-hm," the man in question was clearly not fully awake.

"Have you heard about the recent storm in Avalon?" I shrugged.

"There've been lots; which storm?"

"The one that was two days ago," Sylvia prompted.

"Oh, right. That one." I frowned. "That was the really bad storm, wasn't it?" She nodded.

"There weren't many survivors, but three of them- a few girls not much younger than you- made their way here." The news came as a surprise; Avalon was known for its particularly deadly storms; traveling in them was generally considered a suicide mission.

"Well, that's good- that they survived, I mean."

"Yes. Your Uncle Cyrus has agreed to adopt one of them, a girl named Heather Shadowsword- she goes by Heat." I contemplated this news for a moment before replying.

"So … she's like my adopted cousin, then?" I frowned thoughtfully. "I have a real cousin, too … Sebastian, I think. I've never met him. What's Heat like?" Malistaire, surprisingly, was the one who answered this time.

"She's very … polite," he decided. "She was raised in Avalon by fairly high-bred parents, so she's been taught her manners from a very early age. Heat is fairly quiet, from what I've seen of her. Other than that, well, I haven't known her for more than a day, so I can't tell you much." I shrugged.

"Okay. Do I get to meet her?" Sylvia smiled.

"Of course! Cyrus has invited us all over for lunch today to meet her."

"Does this mean I have to dress up?" I complained. My adoptive mother only laughed.

-V-

Unfortunately for me, Professor Cyrus Drake was a stickler for propriety, and so five hours later, I stood beside my adoptive parents on the front stoop of his Shopping District house, wearing an uncomfortable red and gold dress and trying extremely hard not to fidget. (Skirts and I had never gotten along well.) After a few moments, the Myth professor opened the door.

"Cyrus! It's good to see you again," Sylvia exclaimed, hugging him. He looked slightly irritated- but only slightly.

"Hello, Sylvia, Malistaire, Alex." He nodded to each of us in turn. "Please come in." We followed him into his small living room. The first thing I noticed was how clean it was. The second thing I noticed was the blonde girl sitting primly on the couch. Her hands were folded in her lap and she was staring down at the floor. "Heat, you remember Sylvia and Malistaire." The girl nodded. "This is their adopted daughter, Alexandra." Heat stood and gave a short curtsy.

"Pleased to meet you, Alexandra," she said quietly, giving me a small smile. I raised an eyebrow.

"Nice to meet you, too, and call me Alex," I said, waving. I wasn't quite sure what to make of this "Heat" yet. I hoped we'd get along well, but I had heard of the famous snobbishness of Avalonians and was still a little wary of her. I could only wait and find out.

-TWO YEARS LATER-

Congratulations, Alexandra Firesong! You are a Necromancer, a student of the School of Death! The words had come as a surprise to me; I'd been expecting "Pyromancer," since nearly every Firesong for the past 200 years had been a Pyromancer (give or take a few.)My father (the real one, who had abandoned me not long after my real mother's death) had wanted me to become a Theurgist. Well, as it turned out, I wasn't going to be obeying his wishes. Death was the last School he'd wanted me to be a part of. Malistaire, however, was proud of me, and I was far more worried about impressing him than impressing my real dad.

We were just heading towards Ravenwood when my adoptive father noticed Cyrus and Heat walking in the same direction. Heat was, surprisingly, wearing black robes similar to mine … it couldn't be possible, though. The starting age for Ravenwood was 11 years, and Heat was only 9.

"Cyrus!" The Myth professor turned and noticed us. He nodded and waited for us to catch up.

"So, little Alex has entered your School, has she?" He gave a thin, almost forced smile, and I had to keep myself from rolling my eyes. Some things would never change …

"Yes, she has; Heat, you've become a Necromancer as well, I see?" My cousin nodded. I gaped at my adoptive-father-slash-professor.

"How is she already in Ravenwood? She's too young!" I protested.

"Well, not too long ago, the Headmaster was visiting your uncle and cousin, and he sensed immense magical powers in her. He believes that it involves the storm in Avalon, and since her magical abilities are so strong, he decided that she should be allowed to enter Ravenwood a few years early," Malistaire explained. I frowned, giving my cousin a dark glare. It wasn't fair; she was better at everything- learning languages, reading and writing, pretty much any pre-magic class- heck, she'd even memorized everything about Ravenwood before I even knew all seven Schools! Now, it seemed, she was trying to show me up in Necromancy, too. I folded my arms. We'll see about that, Heat Shadowsword.

-Heat Shadowsword-

The glare Alex was giving me was one of pure hatred, but I forced myself to smile as politely as I could. I didn't want to be on her bad side, but it was her opinion of me, and I wasn't going to be able to change that. Malistaire seemed to have noticed the dark glare his daughter was giving me because he was looking down on her in a mixture of disappointment and anger.

"Alex, you should respect your cousin and be proud she's achieved so much." The words that left his lips made me wince, and I forced myself to look at the ground. I always thought it was unfair that I'd be permitted into the school at such a young age, but Cyrus had persisted, and I couldn't do anything but agree with him. Besides, Alex had some hidden talents herself, or at least I guessed she did.

My cousin scowled and didn't respond, just fixed me the same hate-filled glare. Cyrus and Malistaire looked at each other, both frowning, and all I could do was assume they were speaking to each other in chuchoters. I shifted uncomfortably before finally deciding to break the silence.

"What's your secondary school, Alex?" My cousin didn't respond for a long while, and my smile dropped. Couldn't she at least act a bit kinder? It was only when Malistaire nudged her that she responded.

"Thaumaturgy." She muttered, her voice barely audible. The anger in her eyes was beginning to fade away, but the hate was still there, clear as daylight. "You?"

"Sorcery." I forced myself to smile again, allowing my feelings of pride to bubble over. I had aimed for Sorcery to be my main school, but secondary was just as good. Apparently I let my pride shine through more than I should've; anger had returned to Alex's eyes. I shifted uncomfortably and looked up at my adoptive father. He was oblivious to her anger.

"Heat has done much the past couple of years." Cyrus explained to his brother, his voice cool. "She's participated in a three year ballet class and graduated from pre-magic school at the top of her class." It was always hard to detect pride in Cyrus's voice, but I contented myself with simply believing it was hidden somewhere in his tone and smiled. Alex muttered something under her breath and looked away.

"What was that Alex?" Malistaire averted his gaze to his daughter. The girl in question glared up at him.

"It's just unfair…" Her voice trailed off as she turned her head away. Malistaire frowned and didn't respond. Instead he returned to address his brother.

"We had best be going home now. I want to make sure Alex has all her necessary supplies for the coming school years." Cyrus nodded and together the two Necromancers turned and walked away. My father waited until they were out of sight before making his way towards the Shopping District, his pace as brisk as usual. I jogged to catch up with him and soon we were standing in front of our house. Cyrus glanced down at me.

"How about we stay out for a bit longer?" He asked. The question came as a surprise. Cyrus was never one to stay outside more than necessary, preferring to stay indoors with a book in his hands. I nodded dumbly and he made his way over to the fountain and settling down, sighing. I walked over and took a seat beside him. The sound of the water was soothing to my ears and I closed my eyes, enjoying the silence.

"Heat," Cyrus's voice snapped my eyes open, and I turned to look at him. "What do you think of your cousin?"

"I like her." I shrugged. 'Like' was just one of those words that could be taken in a number of ways, and Cyrus knew that all too well.

"You like her, or you want to like her?" He questioned, his dark blue eyes boring into me. I didn't respond, not sure what to say. Alex was aggressive and obviously had no liking for me, and I knew nothing else about her. I frowned and fiddled around with the ribbon in my hair.

"I guess I want to like her, but…"

"Her hating you makes it difficult to." I shrugged as Cyrus correctly guessed what I was about to say. I felt his hand rest on my shoulder. His touch comforted me a little, but not much.

"A lot of people aren't going to like you Heat, most because you're so young yet so advanced. Don't take it personally; they'll get used to it over time." His voice was still as hard as usual, and I knew he was simply stating the truth. I sighed once again and nodded. He gently pushed me out of my seat. "Go to bed; school starts early in the morning and I want you to be prepared."

"Alright," I yawned and rubbed my eyes. "Goodnight Cyrus."

"Goodnight." After hearing his response I turned away and walked back to the house, taking a deep breath.

School's important, so I'll do my best even if Alex hates me for it.