Hello, all! Hope you're all doing well. I have for you today the next installment of "Take Hold". Before I leave you to it, I'd like to say a big "thank you" to every reader of this work. I'm glad you're enjoying it! Please, don't forget to review; it really helps a fellow FF'er out to hear what you have to say. And now, enter, chapter three:

CHAPTER III

Being a commander of the earth presently on the side of a mountain put Felix in a tight situation. Most of his psynergy would likely cause another avalanche; the mountain's complaisant nature had been so tested that he was hesitant to try. Quietly, he set his borrowed Mars djinn, not having come across any Venus djinn; for once, fire would be a more tame attack than earth. In his mind, a plan was coming together. "We'll use the djinn. Between the two of us, we will be able to summon Tiamat. That should be more than enough." Jenna made a small sound in compliance.

The bestial dogs gritted their teeth. "You've got it coming to ya," Jenna whispered under her breath as she focused her light of the fire gleamed in the eyes of the wolves before her as she cast her psynergy. As the wolves threw their bodies onto the snow to put out the flames, several more beasts advanced. "Scald!" But Jenna's focus was broken mid-summon as one wolf attacked her poorly protected leg. Surprised by the feeling of vicious jaws clamping down on her, she made a fast move to jab the animal in the neck with her yelped, removing its teeth from her flesh before bleeding out.

However, as Jenna busied herself with this particular wolf, she left her side unguarded, and a second wolf took the opportunity to pounce at her. She fell, and her fingers slipped away from her hold of the hilt until the two entities parted, the sword left stuck in the wolf's neck. "Kraden!" Jenna cried.

Startled, the old man took a few seconds to react. During this time, a wolf with brown fur leaped over Jenna and her attacker, bound for Kraden. He shouted and ducked, holding his shield over his head. Having heard a loud thump, Kraden dared to peak over the top of the wooden protection. The wolf appeared to have been knocked out. The scholar, relied, smiled to himself and made to stab the wolf, but something shining caught his eye.

From under the wolf, Jenna had managed to press her hands on the underside of the wolf's snout and set the beast on fire. As it backed off her, she had cast a ball of fire into its face, which now melted in the heat of the flames. The body staggered a bit before falling dead in the snow. Kraden was astounded.

Jenna, whose body glowed with a faint red light, eyed the wolf that lay before Kraden but rapidly got to her feet, wincing a bit in pain and struggling to remain turned her back to her old teacher and cast flare wall to buy enough time to summon Ash. Out of her light stepped the djinni, who assisted Jenna with attacks. She retrieved her weapon from the carcass."Is it dead?" she called to Kraden in reference to the wolf he knocked out.

"I don't believe so."

"Well, kill it before it wakes up!"

"Oh, of course." Kraden eyed the creature at his feet before quickly stabbing it in the chest. He muttered a little prayer as he did so, hoping the death was painless. Then he went back to defending himself. His legs shook a little, both from the chilly air and fear.

The wolves hardly gave Felix time to react before they pounced at him, their sharp claws biting the air. From his palm shot a beam of light, which traveled straight before exploding, pushing aside two wolves, their sides on fire, and incinerating two others. It was not the first time Felix had played with fire, but it still felt odd to him. In the least, the heat of the fire leaving his palm warmed his numb fingers.

Felix did not take pleasure in the sight of the wolves rolling in the snow for long before he raised his long sword and began to slash at the wolves approaching him. He danced in the snow with some difficulty, as he was draped in a heavy fur coat, but managed well enough. Although the coat was an impediment to his speed, it did wonders to protect his body as he fought; he barely felt the claws and teeth of the wolves that came at his legs, though they did cut through the fur and bore into his flesh on occasion.

When he heard Jenna's cry of alarm, Felix's heart raced. He tried to turn his head to ascertain the current state of his sister, but with the swarm of wolves coming at him, he could not do so safely. With a flick of the wrist, Felix's body and those of Kraden and Jenna took on a dim red glow. (This glow was unbeknownst to Kraden, because he was unaligned.)It was the least he could do: conjure up a psynergy shield. He almost shouted his sister's name but found no time to scream between blows to the beasts. As he slew one, he kicked the snapping jaws of another back with his foot. Then, he rammed his sword into the wolf's skull. He cast flare wall and continued to fight.

"Singe!" The Mars djinni snaked its way around the paws of the wolves, igniting them with flames. Jenna sighed and shot two beams of fire to finish the job. She was getting a little tired and, seeing that there were not so many left, was getting impatient. "Felix, let's end this with Kirin." But why not go out with a bang?

Felix brushed his hair from before his eyes before calling Blast. The djinni ran out into the crowd of wolves and, on his master's shout, let out an explosive blast of fire. Just in time, Felix cast protect again. Into the flames, hebellowed, "Tiamat!"The wolves, oblivious to their impending doom, continued to attack. Felix batted some away with the sword and knocked others to their sides with his arm, still glowing in light that ignited whatever with which it came in contact.

They heard the shout before they saw the dragon flying above them, which was partly due to the poor weather conditions and the lack of seeking it. Tiamat flew above the Valish, its tail slashing the air. The massive black and red body of the dragon looked gorgeous against the pale backdrop of the white snow and gray sky. Its wings seemed to span forever. Smoke rose from its nostrils as it gathered fire in its lungs.

The wolves, taking notice of the dragon, howled and began to flee. But their speed could not compare to that of Tiamat, who flew above them, casting them in a dark, cold shadow of doom. Then, with a ferocious roar, a hot stream of fire was expelled from the dragon's mouth, melting snow and muscle in an instant. The three looked on in awe as Tiamat left her prey, now embers, and took off into the sky with a rumble.

Curious, Felix approached the ashes, stepped from snow onto exposed rock. All he could see were the remnants of bone, blackened and surrounded by what looked like fine, black powder, which was still smoldering. "The poor things," came the voice of Jenna, who now stood at his side. Turning to face him, she asked accusingly, "Why Tiamat? I told you I thought Kirin was enough. In fact, I'm sure you knew Kirin was enough."

"Indeed I did," he replied coolly. "I just wanted to see the dragon." He left his sister open-mouthed in astonishment and returned to Kraden. "Are you all right?"

The old man dropped his equipment. "Oh, I'm fine, dear boy. Only a little shaken up, but I'm glad to still be here after the worst was over," he winked. "The better question is are you all right? I saw a wolf attack you earlier; it pummeled you to the ground."

"It did not pummel me, Kraden," corrected Felix like a little boy. He cleaned his bloodied blade in the snow as if to restore his virility. "It merely pounced on me, and I lost my footing. You shouldn't give it more credit that it deserves."

"Oh, sorry! Sorry!" He chuckled.

Felix smiled weakly. "I'm fine, Kraden. Thank you for your concern. It's nothing I can't take care of."

Moments later, Saturos and Menardi appeared. Felix could see the smug looks on their facing, grinning in delight at the sight of the carnage of the dogs. Casually, Menardi kicked one of the corpses, laughing maniacally. "Splendid job, you two.I am pleased that you managed to handle yourselves with the old man as dead weight." She chuckled with a kind of carelessness, then sighed, "I'm glad I don't have to worry about you so much. Even the girl is still alive."

Jenna huffed and glared at the Proxian woman with palatable displeasure.

Words were exchanged between the Valish and Proxian companies concerning the whereabouts of the latter party during the attack on the former. With hot glances and accusations, it was determined that the latter watched from a safe distance should the need for its assistance arise. However, since it was not this party that alerted the wolves to its presence, it believed in remaining out of the business, since it was not its business in the first place. Although the former party rejected the logic of the explanation, it was forced to accept it, since it was out of its hands.

With simple business being put out of the way, wounds were observed.

Jenna winced as she revealed her bitten leg. The wolf had meant business, as the bite went deep. As she washed the blood off with some snow she had warmed in her hand, Saturos appeared at her side. He bent down on his knee so that he was level with Jenna. He hesitantly pushed her hand away and examined the wound without saying a word. Jenna was abashed. "I was trying to call a djinni but was caught off guard. I wasn't paying enough attention to my surroundings; I was foolish."

Without thinking, Saturos gave Jenna a characteristically stony glare that chilled Jenna, despite her natural warmth. A lecture about always calculating your enemy's moves nearly escaped his mouth, but he swallowed it just in time to change his words. As he spoke, he began to seal the wound. Jenna flinched under the unexpected searing heat of his fingertips. Saturos held her leg still with purpose as she listened to the sound of his voice, humming over the chilly wind.

"You were careless. When dealing with a pack of wild dogs, you must always be on your guard. There is hardly a moment's peace; they swarm at you like livid bees breaking out of a hive. And if no one's watching your back and you have no defense tactic to buy you some time, summoning anything is detrimental." He finally stopped his work to look Jenna in the eye. "One day, you may find yourself hurt beyond repair. I'll be damned if I can't do anything about it."

On first look, she would not have guessed that this sullen face could belong to a man who cared about anyone other than himself. The pale blue skin made him appear sickly, a sight only magnified by the skeletal qualities of his face, and the small scales on his neck that crept out from his armor dehumanized him. His eyes were a cold, steel blue that seemed not to reflect the radiance of the light that reached them but rather broke them down into waves of destructive interference. They were like windows into the grave.

And still, she managed to find warmth in him and selfless undertones in his warnings and counsel.

Altogether ignored by the company, Kraden slinked away and decided to take meat from the larger of the wolves. It had been nights since the last time any of them had eaten meat; it would be a good change. His stomach growled. The idea of roasted beef, chicken soup, and mutton swarmed his mind. What would wolf meat taste like?

"Don't you think he's bearing down a little hard?" asked Felix.

"Pah! They've known each other for over a month and a half now. He's doing just fine."

The nervous older brother pursed his lips. "I don't like it."

Menardi scoffed, throwing her hand to the side as if to wave his words away. "And I don't care! What matters is that business is underway, and we will shortly be upon Mercury. We'd be better off without this blizzard, but there's not much we can do about that." Her tongue was sharp, cutting the crisp air like sheers over tall grass.

The man growled and leaned in close to the woman's face, hissing lowly. "This wouldn't have been a problem if it weren't for you and your snide little remarks!"

"Oo, getting catty are we?" Menardi flashed her dark red eyes up at him and brought her face even closer. "I like that in a man," she sighed, the intensity in her voice dropping. Her fingertips danced playfully across Felix's chest.

"Back off!" he spat, stepping back as he brushed her hand away. "I'm not going to give you a reason to give her."

Menardi's lips curled back into sneaky smile. "Oh, you think she told me to keep an eye on you, eh?" She stepped forward, shrinking the distance between them once again. She brought her hand forward to cradle Felix's face. As he impulsively turned his face away, she tilted her head to the side and shot him a glare. He lowered his gaze and turned to face her again. She smiled again, "You'd be right, naturally." Two of her fingers slipped under Felix's chin, which she angled towards her.

He flinched; his hand twitched. In his gut, he wanted to push her off and remove himself from the situation, but he knew she had power over him. It was she who gave word to her dear sister about him, about his ability, about his fidelity. As he felt Menardi's breath on his skin, he closed his eyes and shivered. The great influence Menardi had over her sister was almost intoxicating. It was strange how Karst took the lead from Menardi but still managed to maintain a sense of individuality. She was not like her sister, whose lower lip now brushed Felix's stomach clenched. It was all up to her – Menardi. Would she lie to her sister? If Felix disobeyed her wishes, or even if he gave in, he could not bet on the report Menardi would give.

He had nearly made up his mind to stop the kiss, but when he felt the warmth of Menardi's lips on his frozen ones, he reached around her and pulled her closer to his body. Forcefully, he returned the kiss, pressing his lips hard onto hers.

Felix felt a sharp sting on his cheek. "You cow!" Menardi cried. What had he done? Should he not have kissed her? Was it because of his seemingly accepting response? He did not know. All he knew was that his face bore the red handprint of Menardi. As she marched away, he prayed silently that she turn her head and wink at him, as she sometimes did. When she did turn, she was too far away for Felix to notice if she had winked or not. The blustering snow may it more difficult to see the subtle movement of one's eyelid. He cursed under his breath and, rubbing his cheek, went to join the others.

…

The party trudged forth. Over the next several days, the snow storm grew heavier and the temperature, colder. As Felix and Kraden shivered in the cold, fearing that numbness in their toes might scream the sign offrostbite; their envy of the Fire Adepts' natural warmth grew exponentially. The three looks rather comfortable donning only a light coat over their vestments. It was laughable; the coats were something Felix would consider wearing on one of the chillier days of autumn, when most foliage give up their leaves to the soil before the harsher weather comes.

When night fell on the fourth day since the wolf attack, the company found itself overlooking a wide, snow-covered terrain, the home to the largest (as well as only) town in the northernmost stretch of Angara and the Mercury Lighthouse. The lights of Imil shone bright, marking its spot in the darkness like the moon in the sky. The company smiled.

Saturos and Menardi shared a glance before the man gathered psynergy into his palm and, with his arm extended toward the black sky, shot a thin stream of hot blue flame. It rose up high before gathering into a condensed ball, which exploded with the delicacy of a dandelion, its seeds dispersed by a gust of wind.

Jenna and Kraden looked at the light quizzically and to the other members of the groups for an explanation. It was Felix who caught their questioning stares and replied, "We'll have a visitor upon us."

"Who?" Jenna wanted to ask, but before the words formed on her lips, she and the others heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

…

A little girl no more than seven years of age stood outside in the cold, a great big woolly coat on her small body. It was her birthday, and her eldest brother had bought her a bubble pipe down south from a peddler. Lucas had been away over a year, looking for work to earn himself some money. It was his dream to build a large house in Imil and move in with the girl who would someday be his wife, but he lacked the money for even a simple wedding.

Work in Imil had been down for quite some time. All possible positions for work had been taken or were unneeded – unless you were a healer, but Lucas never had the patience for it. The town never had many visitors, maybe a few travelers here or there who had taken a wrong turn in the mountains and found themselves in the accursed cold of the north without provisions enough to waste time finding the right route, but that was it. No one stayed longer than he needed. Lucas had been pleased the first time he saw new faces in town. He remembered it well; he was ten years of age, and he thought they were staying for good. The group of hungry men paid heavily at the inn for warm beds and hot food, bought a map of the mountains from Lucas' father, and was off. Lucas' face was pained with disappointment as he watched them depart.

Now eighteen, Lucas was an excellent mapmaker, renowned throughout northern Angara, who made fine money from the weary wanderers of the Goma – none of which really meant much. Thus, a year ago, he left the home of his parents and four siblings for the grassy towns of southern Angara (the more northern southern Angara, that is, seeing as everything that meant anything was south of Imil).

In Bilibin, he had worked as a servant of the great Lord and Lady McCoy, whilst trekking about for the job he really wanted. After weeks of service, the lord and lady were visited by a very wealthy merchant who came from Atteka. Before he left, Lucas stopped the man and discovered that he had ties to sailors who voyaged undocumented (or poorlydocumented) waters and would appreciate the company of a master mapmaker like Lucas. The merchant offered to introduce Lucas to them.

So pleased by the offer, the young man left service that day without handing in a notice (putting himself in poor standing with the lord and lady, not that he cared). A month later, he found himself mapping the Great Eastern Sea, boiling under the heat of the sun and tanner than he had ever been in his life. He was actually getting a taste of the world, one that had been so cut off from him since he was a boy – the world of the men who had lost their way in the northern segment of the Goma.

One of the first towns Lucas visited was Daila; it was there that he purchased the bubble pipe that young Sara now held in her hands. She blew into the pipe, and a stream of bubbles came flowing out. They rose up and up as the little girl jumped to snatch one out of the wind. She laughed and blew again.

The stream of dainty bubbles caught the eye of another child, who alerted his friend. As the girl innocently enjoyed her present, the two boys ran up to her. "Hey, Sara, that's a nice toy you got there. Let me see it," said the one, opening his hand. The girl refused him, pulling the pipe closer to her chest as if to guard it. The boy demanded it of her again, but when she turned to go inside, he gave a nod to his friend, who pushed Sara and pulled her hair as the first boy wrenched the pipe from her fingers, snarling.

Having succeeded, the boy cackled and pushed the crying Sara to the ground as he and his friend ran off. The little girl picked herself up, wiping the tears from her eyes, and went inside her house, where she buried her weeping face into the folds of her mother's skirt.

Under the cover of a great tree stood a tall figure that had seen everything. If anyone had noticed it, it would have been evident that the man had been there for some time, as undisturbed dust of snow covered the lower half of his cloak and whatever else the great tree did not shield from the weather. His cold eyes had shifted between the faces of the three children as the struggle broke out, but he did not intervene. His presence was meant to go unnoticed, which was difficult enough in a town where everyone could distinguish everyone else by a simple outline on the most blustery of snowy days. No, he would not move.

But then he saw something like a rising star, and he knew. He smiled, the muscles in his face prickling under the strain.

As he stepped away from the tree's trunk, he heard the voices of the two boys, excited over their plunder. Once again, bubbles and laughter rose in the air. And suddenly, being seen did not matter much anymore. He was leaving shortly anyhow.

The cloaked man made his way over to the boys and, upon reaching a respectable distance, kicked the second boy in the back. He toppled over with ease, his face hitting the snow before he had time to think. The first boy gasped and turned around sharply to face the hooded attacker. The boy's hands shook vigorously as he witnessed the cloaked man kick his friend, who had gotten to his feet, this time in the stomach. With a small cry, the boy fell backwards into the snow. Before he could blink, ice quickly enveloped his pelvis, preventing him from getting up again. He kicked and groaned, but it was to no avail. He perspired as he looked up at his friend, helpless.

Blubbering a plea of mercy, the first boy took small steps back away from the man, who only followed him. Then, the cloaked figure noticed the bubble pipe in the boy's right hand. Extending his own, he grabbed the boy by the wrist and hissed something, to which the boy broke out in a cold sweat and began to cry. The tears dried quickly as the boy's eyes beheld their greatest horror.

The boy's right hand was growing cold, very cold, in a matter of seconds. It turned color from a fleshy tone to white, blue, purple, then settling on black. He could not even scream. Shock took his voice, and his glassy eyes only watched as the man's slender fingers slipped the pipe out from the grasp of the boy's solid hand.

From ground, the second boy could see nothing behind the gray cloak of the hooded man. He strained his neck as he might to get a glimpse of what was going on, but still he saw nothing. Thus, he shrieked when the figure turned away and the motionless black hand of his friend was in full view.

The hooded man, now leaving the town, smiled to himself as he placed the thin body of the pipe between his lips and blew. He admired how the dim lights of the town danced on the surface of the delicate spheres and blew once more before vanishing into thin air.

Thank you all once again for reading! I hope you liked it. I have some ideas brewing in my hypothetical plot pot, so look out for the next update. If you'd like, you're more than welcome to leave some ideas in the comments. Thank you to the readers, followers, favoriters, and reviewers; you're all awesome.

- Tem