From Little Flame to Raging Fire

I don't own anything but my OC's.

Chapter 16

He didn't like that girl.

Maverick really didn't like that little girl his mother had introduced him to. Eleanor, was it? Stupid name. Why would his mother even think that they could be friends? No way in hell was he going to be friends with some girl who pulled his tail! Everyone knew that pulling a half werewolf's tail caused them severe pain! If she was really some little 'princess', she should know that! God, how stupid can you get?

So, Maverick decided, he wasn't going to be friends with her. No way. No way in hell.

…

Montarg watched Rodney carefully while they ate. Ever since the rock sorcerer had gotten kidnapped and tortured, Montarg had kept a special eye on him. Rodney walked with a limp because of the beatings his legs had received. Montarg had offered him crutches, but Rodney had insisted he didn't need them. Montarg wasn't so sure. Of course, Montarg was still wounded himself but he was used to getting hurt. Rodney wasn't. Rodney was far more fragile anyway. Montarg's body was used to getting hit and wounded by several people. Rodney's wasn't. Montarg's body was used to the sweat, hard work, blood and tears. Rodney's was used to the heat of the kitchen, the soft fabric of his clothes and the moisturiser he put on. There was a reason Montarg always left Rodney behind whenever he was called to war.

Montarg's eyes narrowed slightly as Rodney cut off a piece of toast and egg. He watched carefully, in case Rodney was still too weak eat properly. Rodney paused, his fork raised. He frowned then looked at Montarg. "Now, Montargo, I know I'm good-looking, but really, you can take your eyes off of me. It's getting creepy."

Montarg grunted and leaned back in his seat. "Just making sure…"

"Making sure of what? That I don't stab myself with my fork?"

Montarg's head snapped up and his eyes widened. Just as Rodney was about to put the food in his mouth, Montarg snatched the fork and threw it across the room. Rodney opened his eyes, his hand still poised, mouth still open. He blinked then frowned. "Montargo!" He growled angrily through gritted teeth. "When will you understand that I'm not some little child who needs protecting all the time? I'm an adult!" He huffed and stood up, then limped over to the entrance. "I'll just have breakfast at the café."

Montarg sighed through his nose as Rodney left. "Perhaps," He muttered. "I should just shut my goddamn mouth."

"Yeah, probably," Richard said through a mouthful of food. Montarg slowly turned his head to look at him, frowning. Richard looked at him. "What? You said it, not me."

Montarg huffed.

…

It was the middle of the day when Montarg ventured out. Rodney wasn't back and Montarg had gotten concerned. Rodney couldn't really be that angry, could he? Montarg was simply protecting him. That fork could've killed him! Montarg stepped in to the café, looking around for Rodney. It was a small place, with a few round tables against the walls. The counter was large, with a vampire behind it. Montarg frowned even more. He didn't like vampires. Not after Rodney dated one. Montarg checked every single table. Woman with her children, no. Zombie man reading a newspaper, no. A man moving the salt container toward him without touching it, n- Wait, what? Montarg blinked to make sure he didn't imagine it. No. The man was moving the salt container. Montarg's narrowed in thought. He'd seen that before. Richard did it sometimes - with magic. That was magic that the man was using. Montarg approached his table and said, without any introduction, "You're a sorcerer,"

The man looked up from his newspaper, eyebrow raised. His hair was copper coloured and his eyes were bright blue. He looked almost like a regular human, with his waistcoat and slacks and the long trench coat that hung on his thin frame. He was, possibly, a little bit older then Marcus. He looked Montarg up-and-down. "And you're a pirate."

"I'm not a pirate. I, too, am a sorcerer."

"That so? Well, Calvin's the name."

"Montarg."

Calvin made an amused grin - obviously trying not to make fun of Montarg's name - then held out his hand. Montarg simply stared at Calvin's face. Calvin slowly put down his hand.

"Where do you live?" Montarg said.

Calvin sighed through his nose. "Well, right now, no where. Why d'ya ask?"

Montarg crossed his arms. "I am the leader of sorcerers around these parts. If you wish, you may join my clan. You'll have a home, food, water and a soft bed to sleep in. What do you say?"

Calvin stared. "What do I say? I say: where is it?" He grinned.

Montarg nodded. "Excellent. Couple of quick questions, however. Are you homophobic?"

Calvin stared. Montarg didn't see how his grin faltered for a second. "No." Calvin said after a moment. "Course not."

"Are you homosexual?"

"No."

"Bisexual?"

"No."

"Are you attracted to males in any sort of way?"

"No."

"Well," He put his hands behind his back. "I'd say you'd best tell Rodney that, but I don't know where he's run off to."

"Rodney, huh…?"

"Oh, yes. Good friend of mine."

"Right." Calvin smirked. "Good friend…"

…

"Maverick, do you want to go and see Eleanor and Jackson today?"

"No."

Mother and child were sat at the dinner table. A bowl of porridge was in front of the child, but his arms were crossed stubbornly. Amanda had tried to get Maverick to eat it for breakfast earlier that day, but he hadn't touched it. So, since it was close to the evening, she'd thought she'd try again. And, boy, she was getting no where. "Why not?"

"I don't like 'em."

Amanda raised an eyebrow. "Why not?" she repeated.

"I just don't."

"Is it because she pulled your tail?"

"Yes."

Amanda smiled gently. "Come on now, Maverick. Eleanor's younger then you, she doesn't know any better. Besides, you can judge her entirely on first impressions."

"No. I want Uncle Alan."

That made Amanda stop. Her smile dropped. Maverick had been asking where Uncle Alan was since they got here and she'd simply replied that Alan couldn't come with them. Maverick had done all of the things she'd expected: cried, threw tantrums, continuously asked questions. Her excuses would only work for so long. She, of course, understood Maverick's feelings. Since he didn't have a father, Alan had been the male role model in his life. He was the first thing Maverick saw when he woke up and he was the last thing he saw when he went to bed. Amanda sighed through her nose. "I know you do, Maverick. But -"

"Why did you make him go away?" Maverick asked and she could see tears develop in his eyes.

"Maverick…"

"I want Uncle Alan!"

"Maverick…"

Maverick whimpered as tears spilled out of his eyes. "Where's Uncle Alan…?"

Amanda frowned. Getting Maverick to get over his uncle was going to be more difficult then she thought…

…

Montarg led the way back to the cavern. Calvin trailed along behind him. After meeting the wind sorcerer, Montarg had abandoned his search for Rodney. He was sure he was fine. Even if Rodney was in trouble, he had rock magic. Every single path in Halloween Town was made by cobblestones. He would be fine.

As Montarg stepped in, Richard looked up. Richard's eyebrows shot up. "Hey, Montarg! Ya got a newbie!" Several sorcerers jumped and jogged over. Montarg searched the crowd with his eyes and saw a familiar pink coat. He frowned. "When did he get back?"

"Soon after you left." Marcus said. He laughed. "You guys have terrible timings…" He turned to Calvin. "Nice to meet ya, man. Name's Marcus."

"Calvin." Both men shook hands.

Montarg looked over as Rodney skipped through the crowd. "Rodney."

Upon hearing the rock sorcerer's name, Calvin's smile dropped. Rodney ignored Montarg and held out a hand. "It's always nice to have new people. I'm Rodney."

Calvin stared at him with the same look Montarg had given the wind sorcerer when he had tried to shake his hand. There was an awkward silence between Calvin and Rodney. Rodney slowly put down his hand. "Ok…Not a hand-shaker. That's ok." He frowned at Montarg. "Neither is Montargo."

Montarg sighed through his nose and looked elsewhere.

…

That night, as Marcus walked toward his bedroom, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Marcus looked around and saw Calvin, dressed in his new blue coat and black shirt. Marcus yawned.

"Hey, uh, Marcus is it?"

"Yeah…" Marcus yawned once more.

"Do you know if Rodney's gone to bed yet?"

Marcus was far too tired to think of the question as silly and simply pointed to the kitchen with his thumb. "Naw. He's in the kitchen. Cleanin' or something…" He yawned. "Look, no offence, man, but I'm real tired."

"Yeah, sure. You go to bed." Calvin smiled, hands in his pockets. "Good night."

Marcus waved a good night over his shoulder. As soon as he was gone, Calvin frowned and looked at the entrance to the kitchen. He walked towards it and looked inside. Rodney had his back to him, wiping a plate dry with a towel. Calvin's eyes narrowed and he stepped into the kitchen.

"Hello, Calvin!" Rodney exclaimed without turning. "Don't be alarmed, I'm a rock sorcerer. I can sense who's who by -"

"Yeah, I don't care." Calvin snapped, interrupting him.

Rodney put the plate on the side as his smile dropped. He turned and chuckled nervously. "Yes, well, I, uh…I'm going to bed. See you -" He didn't get to finish, however, because, as he walked toward the exit, Calvin put a hand to his chest and shoved him. Rodney stumbled and fell back against the counter.

Calvin placed a hand on the cupboard behind Rodney's head. "Let's get one thing perfectly clear," He said warningly. "I don't like your kind."

"My kind?" Rodney raised an eyebrow. "You don't like rock sorcerers?"

"No, you idiot." Calvin snapped and Rodney shrank back. "I don't like queers."

Rodney's eyes widened. "If you hurt me," He said quickly. "I'll call for Montargo and he won't be very happy when he sees you harming me."

"Oh, really? Is that what you always do? Scream for your boyfriend? Is it always in fear?"

Knowing what he was implying, Rodney frowned. "He is not my boyfriend and I don't…we don't…"

"Tell me," Calvin said. "How many of these men have you been with? How many have dropped their trousers for you?"

Rodney's eyes widened. His stomach flipped horribly. He knew what Calvin was implying. "Get away from me."

Calvin frowned and, suddenly, Rodney felt sharp pain on his cheek and he was knocked to the ground, on his hands and knees. Rodney felt the tears pool in his eyes. "Don't order me around." Calvin ordered. He bared his teeth. "You're disgusting. If you touch me, I will kill you. I don't care about your boyfriend." Before turning to go, he launched a ball of spit onto the back of Rodney's neck. Rodney flinched.

After he'd left, Rodney put a hand to the cheek Calvin had punched. It stung as he touched it. The tears spilled out of his eyes and dripped to the floor. "Montargo…" He whimpered as he realized he was trembling.

…

Author's note:

Me + Mav: Hola, amigos! We're back!

Mav: And we brought presents! *Holds up a bag*

Me: What he means is, we brought stories and chapters. I was technically back on Sunday, but…eh. Spain was pretty cool. I brought three new hats, a cane (yes, really. Why? Just cause.), a little dog that yaps ('tis pretty cute), a glowing Snoopy figure and a Jack Skellington t-shirt that I'm wearing right now ('tis just black with Jack's face on it, but it made me so happy when I found it). And now that I'm back, I shall tell you three things that'll pop up on this site some time soon:

'Meet the Holiday Leaders'- where you'll see my interpretations of the Holiday Leaders.

'There's a Melody for All' - collection of songfics for the Cobwebs Series for different characters and pairings.

'Cobwebs Series: Deleted Scenes' - pretty self-explanatory, this one. Basically, scenes that were deleted from the stories in the Cobwebs Series (including the Special Stories).

Cool, h-

Rodney: Wait a second! You let shape-shifters kidnap me, beat me up and brand me! And now you're letting a sorcerer beat me up too? Who's going to hurt me next? Arachnid? Montargo? Amanda?

Me: Hey, look, man, I'm giving you Montarg on a silver platter. Just be happy that you've got him as your Knight in Shining Armour.

Rodney: *Pouts and crosses his arms*

Me: *Sighs* So, Maverick's missing his Uncle Alan!

Mav: Montarg's found a new sorcerer!

Me: And Rodney's getting bullied! Will Maverick get over missing his uncle?

Mav: Will Rodney do anything about Calvin?

Me: Or will Montarg find out first?

Me + Mav: Descubre la próxima vez!

Rodney: MissBliss8527, darling, Montargo sings sometimes. He thinks I can't hear him! :D Sometimes it's in French, though, so I can't understand a word he's saying. By the way, it was so nice to see that you were concerned about me!