Coal sat on a corner bent over a radio that had clearly been disassembled more than its makers had intended. He listened carefully, alarmed voices slipping through the static. He wasn't able to make out any address, only "East." He took one last sip of whatever hot drink his partner had brought him this time (chocolate).
He stood out like a black stain against the blanket of white that had consumed the city. He reluctantly pulled his hands from his pockets and tightened his jacket before preparing for his mad dash across the city.
A young women dressed in royal blue stumbled from a nearby building. She had a pair of goggles around her neck and more pockets than he could ever come up with uses for.
"Coming blue?" Coal asked.
"Rain, thank you," she said as she stomped her way through the snow.
The sidewalk hadn't been cleared yet, and a full night's snow stood between them and the distress call. Streetlights illuminated huge sparkling pools of light in the otherwise absolute darkness of earliest morning.
This street led directly East, but Coal still had no idea where they would need to go from there. If it were Grimm, there would be criers in the streets, and judging by the terrible reception the call had gotten, it had been made far from the city center.
He tried to force the chill from his mind as he looked ahead at the solid plane of snow they still had before them.
It was Rain who first noticed the black pillar on the blacker sky. A Fire.
They doubled their speed and soon the hungry glow of fire became visible over the rooftops. Coal could feel the heat against his freezing body.
A set of emergency vehicles was already at the scene, but the fire burned unnaturally hot through the water applied to it. Rain ran to the firefighters and stood over as many of their hoses as possible.
The snow around her began to melt and and what had been resting on her clothes now soaked its icy fingers into her neck and shoulders. She cut a perfect circle in the snow around her as it heeded her suggestion.
Coal watched helpless as his companion began to slump with exhaustion. Every drop of water taking a bit more of her aura. A bit of worry and no small amount of envy played in his heart as he saw her work her semblance.
Rain could suggest to water that it should freeze or to ice that it should melt and it would begin to favor that change. Coal had even seen her cold weld metal once or twice. Now she was putting all of her aura into keeping the water on the fire from becoming steam.
The improvement, while small, was already visible. The water dug deeper into the flames before hissing away. Neighbors were taking to the streets and watching. Fearing. He wanted to yell at them. Disperse them. Tell them how foolish they were and what they would bring, but he knew that doing so would only intensify their fears.
The fire continued to grow and Rain finally leaned against a firetruck entirely spent. Coal looked into the flames and felt his heart stop when he locked eyes with it.
A giant head crested with fire snapped out and pulled in the nearest firefighter. The rescue personnel and onlookers turned to flee. They formed a writhing mass of panic as people tripped over snow, ice, and their neighbors.
Coal and one of the braver firefighters put Rain over their shoulders. They trudged on as a pair of giant eyes watched them from the flames. The firefighter stopped. A huge slimy tongue had stuck to his back. He tried frantically to pull off his gear but fell on his face. The man clawed at the ground. Then looked up at Coal. He was pulled into the flames hand still outstretched.
Rain cried out. The man was screaming. And Coal could feel his face burning. Lines of red spread across his hands and feet. They spiderwebbed across his skin and collected around his bones. He felt his heart beating out of his chest and could see in exquisite detail.
He shot across the snow, using the flattened trails cleared for the emergency vehicles. With every step his muscles felt stronger and his lungs burned for air. His stride grew longer and longer and suddenly he was there in the hot flames and choking smoke. He couldn't see. Couldn't breath. Already his skin was burning. A hand grabbed onto him and he pulled with all his strength.
There were two loud snaps as the man's jacket and his arm both gave out. Then he was draped over Coal's back. Steam and smoke clung to him as he ran back the way he came. When the giant pair of eyes settled on them again he threw the firefighter off his back and rolled. It shot out its tongue over and over, until finally Coal's aura gave out and his semblance took its tole. Every muscle that had burned inside him now felt cold and spent. He tried to roll one more time but was too tired to make fine movements. His ankle twisted and his shoulder took on the ground directly.
He felt the slush against his body. He imagined the giant bulbous eyes looking at him hungrily. Looking at the firefighter. Looking at Rain. That last one pushed him up off the ground for just a moment before his shaking arms dropped him again.
A monstrous screech iced his heart as he saw the grimm leap from the burning house. But its eyes weren't on him. He watched as small figures and flashes of light deftly surrounded the grimm and butchered it in a hail of bullets. Without pause they leapt onto the rooftops and down to the other side of the wall where more grimm already scratched and howled.
Hunters, he thought with an uncomfortable mix of gratitude and jealousy. Rain crawled over to him and gripped his hand tightly. Then, he buried his face in his coat as the panic, fear, and pain of the last few minutes caught up with him.