Fire. More fire. The crackling of the sun cast on Earthland. The screams. They echoed; They possessed the trees. Blood seeped into the earth. And the tears of a single child couldn't cleanse any of it.
"Maaaaaa!" The girl shouted joyously. She came running down the cobblestone road with adults having to move out of her way. She bumped into one. It was the friendly baker who always gave her treats when her parents weren't looking.
"Sorry, Mr. Tanchen!" The girl jumped up and continued running. The baker gave a hearty chuckle and waved goodbye.
"Ma! Maaaa! Mama guess what!"
A right turn after the end of the road stood the best Mom there was. The girl loved braiding her long hair and adding all sorts of colorful ribbons and hair clips.
Mama turned around with a basket of toys in hand. Her brown eyes filled with love at the sight of her daughter.
"What is it, Looloo? I thought you were playing with Kally."
She caught up with Mama and tried matching her pacing while talking, "She got hungry, but Aunt Genie was cooking tuna with mac and cheese. I don't like tuna!"
Mama rolled her eyes with a smirk. "Your grandmother cooked that for us all the time as kids. It's really good. My sister is just a bad cook. I can make some much bet-"
"Where are you taking all of Iyen's toys?" Looloo interrupted.
"He grew out of them. They've been in the attic for years now. I thought I'd give them to one of my grown-up friends since she has a little boy who would love these."
"But what about me? I want to play!" Looloo kept hopping around her mother, trying to take the ball peeking out from the edge of the basket. Mama simply lifted the basket higher.
"How about you run back home? Pa should be making lunch. I think the food should be done by now, now that I think about it…"
She wanted the toys, but getting food sounded good. Maybe Iyen could let her play after eating. So Looloo did as told and hurried back home. She liked her house because it's where her family would always be. It was also close to the market so there were always people she could talk to, and the hair salon was a few minutes away. That meant Iyen, Pa, or Ma could take her to buy a new hairbrush or hair clips or ribbons or even a new haircut whenever she wanted!
"Paaaaa! I'm hungry!"
"Alright, Little-Loo. It's almost done." Pa said from the kitchen, "Iyen, help set up the table."
"But I was going to go out and hang with friends." The boy came from the living room, which was close enough to talk normally from any room except upstairs. He would complain about how small the house was to their parents, but Looloo thought it was the right size.
"You can after lunch."
"But we were going to get lunch!"
Pa turned away from the stove to speak to Iyen directly, "We bought just enough for all four of us. Mama doesn't want any leftovers with all the cake and party food we'll be stuffing in the fridge."
"That's in a few days. I can eat one meal before then!"
"Iyen…"
One stern look from Pa could get either child to listen no matter what. Iyen had trouble listening sometimes though. Looloo asked about it to both Mama and Pa, but they said: "It's just what happens when kids get older". Looloo didn't want to grow up if it meant causing arguments like what Iyen did.
When he searched the cabinets for plates and utensils, Looloo ran up to Pa and hugged him, though she was only tall enough to hug his legs.
"Careful, I don't want anything to burn you." His soothing voice warned. His bright green eyes were concentrated on the pot as he stirred. His face had beads of sweat that dripped down his face and caught in his dirty blond and a scruffy beard. Looloo didn't like being in the kitchen too long while someone cooked since it made the room too hot.
She let go of her hug and walked over to climb on a chair and watch Iyen set the table.
"Lucky you. Thanks to your party I'm stuck here." He told her with no anger or frustration. He sounded more annoyed, but only about the situation.
"We can make it later. I'm not turning six until…" She started counting on her fingers. Iyen interrupted her before she could finish the math.
"It's okay. Pa would have stopped me to play with you if there was no party."
"Oh, can we! I want to try a new spell I saw Mama do once!"
Iyen's brown eyes looked back to Pa for some assistance.
"You brought it up!" The man called from the kitchen.
He lowered his head with a sigh of defeat. He had to fix his long dark hair to be out of his face before finishing up at the table. "Tomorrow. Alright?"
Someone knocked on the front door while Looloo whined, "But that will take forever!"
Pa wiped his face with a towel while coming over to answer the door. Both siblings stared at the tall man at the door. He had long white hair, so he must be old, but he also had a muscular figure. She had never seen an old man so strong. All of the elderly in her town had wrinkles and white hair. Some needed walking canes or always asked younger people for help.
"How can I help you, sir?" Pa asked, tossing the towel over his shoulder.
"I'm looking for the Ragstone family. I hope I didn't get the wrong address." The stranger said. Even with his smile, he still had an intimidating semblance.
"That's us. Are you looking for my blacksmithing services? I'm on lunch break but I don't mind taking an order to work on later."
"As much as I appreciate the gesture, I simply wanted to talk to you and your wife about sound magic. I'm from the Bureau of Magical Development. We study all types of magic and special abilities that help us learn more about wizards and their magical qualities."
He glanced at Looloo. She could only stand there with wide eyes. The stranger froze Iyen too.
Pa rubbed the back of his head, his eyes were deep in thought. He looked at the children, then back to the stranger. He shrugged and opened the door wider, stepping out of the way, "You're welcome in. You'll have to wait for my wife to get back from an errand. Have a seat in the living room."
The stranger thanked Pa and walked straight ahead into the small living room. He took a spot on the couch.
"But that's where Iyen sits…"
Pa placed his hand on her shoulder and bent down to whisper, "It's okay. You two get a plate and eat upstairs."
Looloo nodded and slid off of the chair, heading into the kitchen where Iyen already had a plate made. He made a second one for her and carried them past the living room and upstairs. She tugged on the end of his shirt, hiding behind him. For some reason, the stranger not looking at them made her heart race. She couldn't tell what he wanted. He didn't move and react to anything.
They made it up the stairs before she realized how much her hands shook. Iyen sat against the wall in the dark hallway, his hair in his face as he ate. Looloo's plate sat next to him.
An idea popped into her head. She jogged past Iyen and into the bathroom. She turned the light on and opened a drawer full of colorful ponytail holders and other hair decorations. She took a bright green one with a plastic yellow flower. She came back out and held it up to show her brother.
"You'll get hair on your food. I want to braid it!"
Iyen looked up at her with a mouthful of food. He shrugged and waved his hand to say "Whatever."
With a bright smile, she turned back to get his brush then sat behind him. He turned around so his side faced the wall and she could easily brush out his hair. The warm light from the bathroom helped her see. It would be enough. She didn't want to turn on the hallway lights with the strange man downstairs. He would know where they were…
When Iyen's hair had been brushed smooth and Looloo began braiding, she heard the door creak open and Mama's shoes clicking on the wood floor. The murmuring from Pa and the man had stopped and the man greeted Mama.
"What are they saying?" Iyen asked her.
She stopped braiding and crawled to the top of the stairwell. It didn't take much to overhear, but Looloo would be able to make out the words better.
"It's nice to meet you. Though how did you hear about us?" Mama asked.
"The Bureau has access to many resources. We're constantly on the lookout for anything new. I can assure you, though, everything stays within the legal limitations." The stranger explained with a calm and deep voice. She shivered.
"What exactly do you want to talk about? I can tell you a lot about my family's history with sound magic. I can't give anything too scientific."
"We'll appreciate that information, but I came to meet your youngest. I'll be stopping by another house in town for the same reason."
Silence followed. Pa's soft footsteps creaked into the wood as he paced around. He couldn't be scared. Pa was always smiling and brave. He only got scared if LooLoo or Iyen did something dangerous.
"What about our daughter?" Mama asked defensively.
"It's only an offer. We want to take her to the Bureau and learn more about her abilities. It will be for the Summer. We provide comfortable living conditions and will even teach her basic classes."
"Wait, wait, Sir. This is the first we're hearing about any bureau and suddenly you want our daughter to go there for a whole summer? She's five." Pa said.
"I completely understand. The Bureau of Magical Development is too far away to give you a sort of tour, so I can only assure you we do this for both you and our best interests. This will help you understand the 'science' behind your family's magic, Mrs. Ragstone while helping us discover more and be able to share our knowledge."
Looloo shrank into the corner. She's never been beyond the treeline surrounding the town. Leaving Iyen, Ma, Pa… Tears gathered in her eyes. Her nose started to run. Iyen scooted to her side to calm her.
"I don't want to leave you guys. I don't want to leave Kally or Aunt Genie or Uncle Toda or my toys or my house or…" She cried and sniffed and gasped between tears. Footsteps came rushing upstairs and Pa scooped her up and took her to her room.
"Our final answer is 'no'." She heard Mama say before the bedroom door closed. Pa placed her on her single bed and searched for the closest plushie to comfort her.
"Now, What did Mama and I say about listening in on conversations?"
"Bu-but Iyen wanted to know what you were talking about!" Snot covered the lower half of her face, tears streaming down her red cheeks.
"I'll get to him later. You need to learn when and when not to do things. I know you love helping but sometimes people want help for things that aren't good."
She couldn't understand… Good people always asked for help. It was the bad guys that tricked and lied to get what they want. She went to a friend's house and they watched a show that taught her that. Seeing a TV in person had amazed her and she wanted to keep watching over and over again.
Pa wiped her face with his apron before standing up and leaving the room. He left a sliver of light in the door.
She hugged her plushie and looked around the room. Mama had cleaned it. Some toys were missing. The baby toys that she hadn't played with for a long time. They must have been in that basket with Iyen's kid toys.
Sliding off of the side of the bed, she walked to her toy chest and pulled out a bunch of dolls with braided hair and hair clips. She took out an old hairbrush and unbraided them rebraided each doll's head. She still felt sad, but Mama and Pa had said doing something you like to do can help cheer you up, so that's what she did. All into the night she braided and decorated her dolls' hair. She lost track of time until Mama knocked lightly on the door and came in.
"It's late, Little-Loo. You should get some sleep."
It took her a moment to speak, "But I want to play…"
"You can tomorrow, but you need energy for that. And you only get energy from sleeping and eating full meals."
"So I'll just have a reeaalllly big breakfast."
Mama smiled, her eyebrows creased, however. She walked over and sat down beside her daughter. "Well… We're saving up for a reeaalllly big cake! And decorations. And it will be unfair if you get a big breakfast but Iyen doesn't.
Mama had a point…
She kissed Looloo goodnight and made her way out of the bedroom and turned off the lights, going to her drawers to turn on the lamp first. The room filled with warm yellows. Almost like a fire dancing inside. The child placed her doll down and climbed into her bed, falling asleep almost immediately.
The morning came and soon enough, the house filled with the smell of eggs and waffles and with the sounds of the sizzling from the pan as it cooked. Mama and Pa were talking to each other in the kitchen while Iyen was leaning out of the window in the living room. He had a slingshot with a pile of small stones gathered against the outside wall. Looloo rushed downstairs and kneeled next to him to watch.
"You're not shooting animals, right?"
"Uhh…" He had the string pulled back. Stones surrounded the bottom of a nearby tree with a bird resting on the branch. He shifted his aim to a berry bush. "Nope!" Then fire the stone and overshot.
"What if we picked those berries?" She asked, "We can add them on our waffles!"
"Nope! No berries on my waffles!" Pa chimed in. He walked past the doorway of the living room and rested his plate on the dining table, then came back around, "Only weirdos put fruit on their waffles."
Mama walked by and slapped the back of his head. He chuckled as he waved his hand for her to leave.
"Food's ready!" Mama told the kids. Looloo jumped up and ran over while Iyen closed the window. She climbed onto her seat that had orange juice instead of milk like the rest. Iyen caught up and took the fourth chair.
They ate together and talked together. The same routine. Pa would complain about all the work he had to do, then Mama would remind him, "That's the point of a job, honey."
Iyen would swallow his plate whole then run off to his friends before their parents could make him clean up. Looloo would be talking about everything she would want to do for the day. Braid hair, play with her cousin, visit the baker, buy more toys.
"Oh! Oh! Can you show me some more spells? Mama."
"Hm? Well...I don't have much planned for today."
"Iyen said he would play with me today, but he's already gone."
"Let me get dressed. You do too. You didn't change into any night clothes last night."
"Alright!" She chugged the rest of her orange juice then ran upstairs and changed into a fresh set of day clothes. She wore her favorite skirt and what she thought were the cutest shoes. She brushed her hair then made a simple braid. She could have made a more intricate one with how long it took Mama to get ready. Pa had already finished the dishes.
More waiting… First on the couch then outside the front door. She pulled at the blades of grass and drew lines in the dirt with her shoes. The streets were busy with noise. Footsteps, talking, laughing from other kids. Remembering what Pa told her last night, she didn't focus on anyone's conversations. They were all from adults anyways. They didn't have too much interesting stuff to say.
After what could have been an eternity, Mama came out and closed the door behind her. She held out her hand and Looloo took it. They walked to a clearing just outside of the village. It was all grass for miles with the edge of a thick forest to the side. A river slithered out from the forest and into the village.
"What would you like me to show you?" Mama asked. The girl turned from admiring the view and instantly jumped with excitement.
"Can you show me the sparkly armor?"
With a smile, Mama held out her hand. Looloo remembered some of how she created the armor. She took a sound like Looloo's shoes jumping on the grass and called it to her arm. She stopped the sound around her arm and it solidified into a pink crystal. It sparkled under the bright sun.
"Hmm...Why is it armor if it isn't like the metal Pa uses? I can see your arm."
"The power of sound can be really strong. My armor is better than anything Pa could make. And he knows it."
Looloo heard her mumbled the last part. She then got a sudden urge to try making her armor. She kept stomping on the ground and tried bringing that sound to her forearm. It didn't work for even a second.
"Oh, let's try music then," Mama suggested when she saw Looloo getting frustrated. "You're good at that."
The girl nodded her head and instinctively cupped her hands together. Mama did the same. She hummed a beautiful note into her hands. They started to glow with a soft pink. She caught the hum. Then the light stretched and squeezed, grew and shrank, creating different pitches and volume. Looloo hummed and caught her note in her hands. She couldn't change it like Mama, but she could hold it and sort of make it louder and softer.
"Keep practicing and you can make my song too!" Mama encouraged. It was Looloo's favorite song because Mama made it while she was still in her belly.
Looloo sat down on her legs and hummed again, trying to make the note louder. Next, she would try making it higher pitched. While practicing, she noticed something caught Mom's attention. It must be some sort of noise since Looloo didn't see anything that could be interesting.
"Looloo, go find your brother. He's probably at the sweet shop with his friends."
"I can listen to him!"
"Good." Then she patted her daughter's head and walked off. Her footsteps were faster. She must be in a hurry. Grown-ups could take forever to do something, but also act like there's no more time to be given to them.
Looloo sprinted into the village in the direction of the sweet shop. The roads were still full of noise. Maybe she could make a song out of all of their voices.
She turned the corner and saw the sign above the door. She entered and the jingle of a bell echoed throughout the room. The store clerk greeted her and she responded with a smile. Then she scanned the area. Sitting at a bar to the side was Iyen and one of his friends. They were eating ice cream.
She approached them, her neck hurting having to look so high up. "Did you take any of Pa's money?" She asked. He jumped and almost knocked his ice cream off of the table.
"N-no. I took Ma's…"
"Imma tell Mama!" She heard him mumble.
"Damn it." He hissed.
"Imma tell her you said a bad word too!"
"No no no no! Just-! I-I'll get you some ice cream. Anything you want if you don't want that!"
His friend couldn't stop laughing. He had to hold onto the table so he wouldn't fall over.
"Hell! She's got you around her finger now!" He gasped for breath between words.
"Shut it!"
Looloo greeted Iyen's friend. He did the same to her. She wasn't exactly friends with any of Iyen's but she knew them well enough. Pa would always say it's important to know the friends of people you know.
"Iyen, you said you'd play with me today." She reminded him.
"Yeah… I did…"
His friend spoke up, "I'm fine. I'm not playing with dolls or dressing up though."
"Yay! Looloo had already bolted out of the shop. Iyen and his friend followed shortly behind. They started by only walking around, trying to think of where to play.
"Doesn't your mom do magic? Can't you do any of that?"
"No. It's weird. She can do it, but I'd have to learn like anyone else." Iyen referred to his sister, "So no, we can't blow anything up."
"I think someone else did," Looloo said. A burnt smell filled her nose. Someone probably ruined lunch, though it was still a little soon to be eating. She turned around at the sound of people's gasps, which turned into yelling, which turned into screams. Iyen and his friend did the same. Near the edge of the town grew a giant cloud of black smoke. People around them noticed it and they all knew it could quickly spread. Iyen lifted Looloo from the ground and ran to the clearing. His friend ran the other way to find his family.
Iyen carried her far out into the plain of grass. The yellows and oranges crackled in her ears. He stopped running but didn't put her down.
"What about Mama and Pa?" She asked him.
He didn't respond. She tried turning and saw tears in his widened eyes. She faced away from it and couldn't see everything, but more black smoke crept across to the other side of the village. She could smell it from where they stood.
"Iyen!" She whined, "Put me down!"
He only hugged her tighter.
"Iyen!" She squirmed enough to where he had to put her down. She turned around and could see several buildings on fire. The whole end of their village was burning. Flames danced on the roof, the screaming and wailing of everyone she knew echoed in her ears. But… their house was somewhere in the flames…
"Wait! Mama and Pa-!"
Iyen bolted straight into the flames. She screamed and ran after him. The fire burned too many things. She had trouble hearing him. Dark smoke filled her lungs and gave her a horrible coughing fit. Her eyes stung and she couldn't breathe, she couldn't scream for help no matter how much she wanted to.
Something scooped her up and ran with her in their arms. Through watery eyes, she could tell by the long brown hair it was Iyen.
"You should've stayed away!" Then he burst into painful coughs.
"But Ma-" She did the same.
Iyen pulled the collar of his shirt over his nose and mouth. She did the same. It barely helped with how much the fire had grown and spread. Iyen called for their parents. Both hoped even a stranger would respond to prove someone could make it out alive, but still no luck.
A fire danced around them, the smoke trapping them inside. She couldn't recognize the roads or the buildings. The wood became black and charred and what hadn't been completely burned still held flames. She just wanted to go back to this morning…
"Pa! Ma!" Iyen yelled, coughed, then yelled again. He stopped walking, slowly bent down, and set her on the stone floor; The only thing not a pile of ash.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry…" He whispered tears into her shoulder, hugging her tightly. She turned around and wiped tears from her eyes. First, only the smoke caused her eyes to water, but the new sight gave her a worse reason.
The building had turned to melted black on the ground. She recognized the layout. The pile of small stones were still there, just hidden under ashes. The fridge still stood. Barely… Her leftover waffles had been burnt just the same. The dolls were gone, the couch was gone, the table was gone. All of it. Within the pile of black, vague shapes of skeletons could be seen. They were adult-sized.
She turned back into Iyen's shirt and cried and coughed and cried and sniffed. She couldn't hear someone's big footsteps approach them under all of the horrible noises.
A shadow loomed over them. Iyen pulled her closer to him. She looked up to see the man from yesterday. His white hair still perfectly slicked back and his clothes still clean. He had just walked into the oranges. He wanted to take her.
"You…" Iyen's voice panicked, "You… You, you, you, you, y- YOU DID THIS!" He stood up and stomped up to the man, glaring at him, "YOU BURNED OUR HOUSE BECAUSE MAMA AND PA LOVED US! YOU SHOULD BUR-"
The man's arm was only a flash toward his collar, lifting him from the ground. The other arm reached out and wrapped his fingers around his throat.
"I don't need you." He tightened his grip, then stared right into her eyes, "I need you."
She stared at Iyen with horrid eyes. He struggled to pry the man's hand open. The smoke made things worse. She couldn't do anything. She was only a child! She wasn't a grown-up with Pa's strength or Mama's spells or Iyen's smart mouth. She only watched. She watched Iyen with the hope he could break free. Then he watched as the man moved his muscular arm and threw Iyen into a burning building.
She screamed, her throat scratchy and burning and full of more coughing. The brittle flaming collapsed on impact and fell on top of him, ashes flying around like pappuses on a dandelion. Her tears became rivers and her wails grew louder than the village's suffering.
Two masked men wearing strange clothes briskly walked past the man from behind and took each of her arms, lifting her and carrying her away from her home. She yelled and wriggled and used all of her strength to escape.
They worked for him. They worked for the man and he wanted her, so they took her. He wanted the house burned so they burned it. He wanted Mama and Pa went so they burned them too, and anyone else who could be a witness, which so happened to be all of the village.
The small cluster of buildings became nothing but black. Everything gone. Everything gone. Everything gone. Everything gone...
Yelling. Lots of yelling. So many spells and so much magic being used. Lyla screamed with the voice of a demon. Then more magic, Jura's. She heard Lyla collapse and skid across the ground.
She could see now, although her eyes refused to focus. She reached out to touch Lyla's shoulder. To calm her, to assure the girl her friends were still alive.
Around them were allies. Some like Natsu and Happy laid on the floor and unconscious. Jura, Lucy, and Gray were standing against a beaten Brain, but the man kept fighting. He would keep fighting until death.
"Can you sit up?" She asked Lyla while struggling to do so herself. She could only feel the cold stone road freeze her while the wind bit her skin.
In response, Lyla tried lifting herself but failed. Both were too weak. Then, she noticed black magic glowing from Lyla's hand. She could see the color returning to the girl's face. In barely any time, she had enough strength to stand up. She could hear her friend's magic. It had returned. Not fully, but enough to be given a chance in battle.
Laura looked up at her friend, too exhausted to process what happened. But then her lips pulled back into a subtle smile. It seemed both of them had gained something during this war.
A/N: Hey! Sorry. I'm late. Again... This pandemic sucks. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. If you're enjoying this, why don't you check out my other story, the Shadows in my Heart? It's actually a pretty cool story. Thanks for reading!
