Do di doooooooooooo...

I'm bored. I'm going to write another chapter of this because I'm bored after I post this.

La la laaaaaaaaa...

Hmmm... and I haven't even had any sugar today. Oh well.

Oh, something actually important to say. Magdellin brought to my attention a line in the last chap. that was a little odd. I reread it and realized it went with neither the character nor the fanfiction, so I went back and fixed it. If you've been following this story, I suggest you go back and read the end over again. It gives you a better, though slightly different perspective of the character's mindset.

Arg, too much seriousness and long sentences. I like short sentences like:

Good.

And

Yeah.

Disclaimer: I'm sure you all know the drill, so do I really need to do it over again?

'Blah'- thoughts "Blah"- Speech :Blah: -Mindspeech

~~~~~

Talia sat straight up in bed, waking up Dirk.

"What is it?" he asked, sitting up next to her. She frowned slightly as she sorted out the different emotions Rolan was sending her.

"Trouble." she said, and climbed out of bed.

Dirk sighed, and got up as well. Talia turned and looked at him, as he started pulling on his whites "You don't have to." she started to say.

"You're right. I don't have to. But I want to." He smiled crookedly. "Besides, I have to get up sometime."

Talia smiled. When she had finished dressing, she opened the door quietly, Dirk following behind her. She walked through the halls of the Palace, and to the healer's collegium.

:Dirk?: said Ahrodie.

:Do you know what's going on?: Dirk asked.

:Kyle sensed a Gift activating, so he and Senna went out to find it. It looks like we may have another Firestarter on our hands.: Ahrodie said.

"Oh gods..." Dirk said.

"What did Ahrodie say?" Talia asked, seeing the look on Dirk's face.

"It's a Firestarter." He said. Talia quickened her pace.

When they got to the Healer's collegium, it was bustling with activity. One of the healers approached when she spotted them. They walked as they talked.

"Talia, it's good you're here. We've dealt with the girl's physical injuries, but she's an emotional wreck. The other mindhealers have tried, but I'm afraid they don't have as powerful a gift as you."

Talia suddenly stopped in her tracks as a wave of emotion hit her. Sadness, fear, regret, despair, self-loathing...

"Tali?" Dirk said, putting a hand lightly on her arm.

She shook off his arm lightly, and went straight to where she could feel the emotions coming from, putting up as strong a shield as she could as she went. There was a girl lying on a bed in one of the rooms. Her hands lay on the bedspread, and were thickly wrapped in bandages. The girl stared off into space, and as Talia watched, a tear crept slowly down her face along a worn path.

By the bed was Kyle, who watched the girl carefully. His Whites were stained and smudged with ashes and less nice things Talia did not care to think about. He stood up when Talia came in, Dirk following close behind.

"What happened?" Talia asked him.

"She's a Firestarter, the strongest I've ever seen. She has all forms of Mindspeech, including animal, and she has some Empathy too. She also has Mage Potential, but only enough for journeyman status. She burnt down an entire building, and killed everyone inside. All the channels opened at once, so she heard everyone in the brothel, and felt their emotions."

"Gods, it's lucky she didn't burn down the entire city." Dirk said.

"Truly." Kyle said. He looked at them pointedly. "What do we do about this? We can't protect her unless she's Chosen..."

"We'll think about that later, Kyle." Talia said firmly. She walked over to the bed and sat down next to the girl, and held one of her bandaged hands in her own. "My name is Talia." She said, projecting security and love. "What's yours?"

"Devina." The girl whispered.

"Devina, do you think you could tell me what happened?" Talia asked, keeping her calm and gentle tone. "I think it will make you feel better."

"I-I wasn't supposed to serve. I was special. I only...sold myself if I needed money. But, one of the girls got sick, so I had to... to serve." Devina swallowed hard and closed her eyes. "A-a noble paid for my services, and he started hurting me." she started breathing hard, and Talia projected even more love and security. Devina's breathing slowed, and she continued. "I was thinking in my head that someone would save me, and Siri appeared and attacked the man."

"Who's Siri?" Talia asked.

"He was my cat." Devina's eyes welled up with tears, and she choked a sob back.

"It's all right dear." Talia said. "You can cry if you need to."

"No, it's all right." Devina said, wiping her eyes with the back of her free hand. "The man grabbed Siri off his head, and stepped on him." The tears threatened again, but the girl clenched her jaw for a moment, then continued. "Then the man tried to finish with me, and I got really angry, and he just caught on fire.

"He screamed, and I could hear it in my head too." She said, her voice gaining pitch. "everyone was in my head, all talking at once. And so many of them were screaming inside too. And all the others were just so sick..." she trailed off, tears rolling down her face.

"What happened after that?" Talia asked.

"I burned them." Devina whispered, her face contorted with sorrow and horror. Then she suddenly screamed. "I BURNED THEM!!" she started sobbing, as little flames burst into life on the bedspead. Dirk and Kyle quickly put them out.

"Devina?" Talia said quietly. After a few moments the sobbing subsided. "Devina, I can help you with your emotions if you want me to. I can make it hurt less. Do you want me to?"

Devina looked up at Talia, meeting her eyes for the first time. "Help me." she whispered, so quietly Talia could barely hear it.

Talia smiled, and got to work.

~~~~~

Oooooooooookay. Scary psycho girl. Sort of.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaannd nowwwwwwwww, it's time for

READER RESPONSE! *Sparse applause*

*Glares at audience*

Herald Mistylenna: Yes she will be Chosen, but I'm not going to tell you when. I'm annoying that way.

Askevwrong(or whatever you are): That's uh, nice. *Edges away slowly*

RonethDragon Tiamat: I must agree with you that Firestarting is a freaky Gift. But it's fun to write about.

LeopardDance: I make to you the same promise I did to etcetera cat. There will be no cruelty against felines. Since I do not have this story all planned out, I cannot promise that there will be no violence against other creatures.

Magdellin: Thanks so much for pointing that error out to me. I didn't want her to sound mean like that. And she will be Chosen. *Grins evilly* Gee, I suppose Firestarter Empaths are fun...

Etcetera-cat: Heh heh heh... She's both.

All right, now I have one job for you all...



Review!!!!