Seth had made it to the outskirts of town around mid-morning after traveling most of the night. He headed into town, seeking out a few supplies and some food to calm his grumbling stomach. Seth came across a vendor who handed who a large piece of venison for just a few small coins, to which Seth was more than willing to trade. Moving into the shade of a side alley, Seth took a bite out of the smoked meat, savoring the flavor of the first food he'd had in days. Lost in a train of thought, he was immediately called back to reality by the sound of shouting from a near by crowd. Curious, Seth moved closer, pushing through the pedestrians to get a better view of the situation.
From the side Seth stood on, it appeared that a smaller boy was being assaulted by a group of larger older boys, whose leader held the appearance of a small ogre with wits to match the rocks he was throwing. Suddenly, the great lummox lifted a sizeable chunk of mortar off the ground, taking careful aim at his smaller target. "That buffoon will kill the poor kid if that piece makes contact!" Seth hissed under his breath. Even with his unnatural speed, he was still too far out from preventing the missile's flight. "Damn it," he swore, "that poor kid's a goner." Seth prepared for what he expected to be a bloody mess…
But the expected bone-crunching squish never came. Just before the impact, a flame of pure white heat leaped from small boy's protective hand, turning the projectile into little more than a pile of ash on the ground. A wave of shocked gasps and awes rushed through the crowd, but Seth was cursing under his breath. "Damn it, who would have expected to find an Adept in this backwater town?" Without a second thought, he began moving through the crowd towards the boy, only to pause when an inhuman roar bellowed forth from the large boy's mouth. The muscular ogre rushed forwards to the unsuspecting boy, who stood motionless, transfixed by a globe of fire in the palm of his hand.
"Move it, kid!" Seth yelled, only to be drowned out by the ogre's growl. Knowing time was short, Seth tore through the crowd, leaping right in front of the charging behemoth. Shifting every bit of his mass to a low center, he halted the bully by thrusting his palms into the assailant's chest. Retracting his right hand, Seth summoned forth a ball of wind that howled with the force of a small tornado. Twisting the ball swiftly upwards, he thrust his hand into the unsuspecting gut of the stunned opponent.
With a little effort, Seth sent the twit flying backwards towards the group of smaller peons. With a thunderous crash, the giant collided with a crate of tomatoes, shattering the wooden exterior and effectively pulping the contents and coating the attackers in juices. Sensing the defeat of there leader by the strange, white-haired boy, the rest of the would-be bullies fled the scene, pausing only to collect their figurehead from his less than graceful throne.
The crowd turned from quiet whispers and applause to a full on triumphant bellow for the unlikely victors. Seth quickly turned to see the other boy looking at him, grinning wider than anyone Seth had ever seen before.
* * * * * *
Emily found herself walking the streets of the open air market in the middle of the town, running errands for her mother like any other day. The aromas of herbs, flowers, spices, and exotic specimens swirled about her, helping Emily to lose herself among the sea of faces and people. Always ready to see the next new thing, Emily strolled over to a caravan of traders who arrived late last night, and were in the process of setting up shop. As she looked over one of the trader's assortment of strange and wondrous amulets and talismans, Emily heard a commotion from the crowd in the square behind her.
Thanking the man quickly for his time, Emily turned towards the mob that had assembled in the open air of the streets. The entirety of the attention seemed to be focused on some commotion at the center of the crowd, piquing Emily's curiosity in the ruckus. "So very strange," she whispered to herself, "this all seems so vaguely familiar." Careful not to disturb anyone, Emily quickly worked her way towards the center, only to find herself taken aback by the scene before her.
In the middle of the congregation was a group of rough looking boys throwing stones and other projectiles at a small, lean-built boy. Emily clasped her hand over her mouth as a nauseating wave of déjà vu swept over her. So many times in her earlier childhood had she drawn the scene playing out before her that Emily couldn't help but watching in complete horror about the events about to unfold. Helpless, she watched as a mountain of an adolescent picked up what looked like a cinder block out of nearby debris pile. As the smaller boy stared down his attackers, the large boy drew back the deadly projectile, aiming to kill. "Not him! Anyone but him!" a tiny voice in the back of Emily's mind shouted. For all of an instant, Emily completely forgot the current situation and pondered why such a thought was brought to the front of her thoughts.
A sharp gasp of the surrounding crowd was enough to snap Emily back, centering her attention on the deadly missile's flight. Somehow, while Emily had dazed off, the projectile had been completely annihilated before ever reaching the boy. A flutter of joy filled Emily seeing the smaller boy unharmed, but that ecstatic feeling was cut to ribbons of pure terror as the gargantuan let out a howl to chill one's blood. Emily stood planted in place, watching in horror as the large boy rushed forward to crush his smaller, dazed victim. She heard herself scream in fright, tried to focus on standing as the world swirled around her for an instant, and maybe even blacked out for a second.
But the slaughter of the small boy had been halted by the arrival of a new presence. Emily's eyes now beheld the sight of another small boy, holding the great mass of the bully firmly in place. Filled with a glimmer of hope, she watched as the white-haired boy draw his hand back, holding what looked like a ball of swirling winds. The force of the compressed air let out a high pitched whine as the new savior thrust his hand into the attacker's stomach. The assailant lifted slightly off the ground, then sailed through the air into a nearby crate. The resulting crash sent debris every direction, even splattering some of the crowd members who were nearer to that side. As the would-be gang turned tails and ran, Emily couldn't help but cheer and smile for the triumphant pair. "That was too close," the small voice in Emily's head whispered before disappearing again into silence. But Emily held her attention to the brown-haired boy whom had been the target of the bully.
He was holding a globe of the bright orange flames in his hand.
* * * * * *