Okay, okay, we're done with the torture. I promise. Chiyoka's gone now. Anyway, I was analyzing this story to myself the other day (and was caught ranting to a mirror) and I came to the conclusion that this story is all about the past. Yes, that seems pretty obvious, but I concluded that it was about getting over the past. It's about learning to move on from past mistakes. Then I compared it to another one of my stories, Scarlet Child, and realized that this seems to be topic I touch on a lot. That story revolved around what happens when you either don't or can't get over a past event, and how it can consume you. And even before that, the first story I posted was one about revenge for a girl's sister. Huh...maybe I like that sort of story? That could be it.

Personal analysis done. Chapter sixteen beginning in three, two, one...

I hold her in my arms until my hands cease to shake. She's real! They're all real! I knew they weren't figments of my mind! How could I even think such a thing? All the pain from before has evaporated, only the reality of cold air left behind. And the wind, whipped up from the collision of the cold and hot air, chills the solid truth into me. This is my reality. Before, that was Chiyoka's. I still have my family, the twins, the town…

The twins! I push away from Haruhi, thrashing my head around to look out over burning village. I don't have time to put myself together piece by piece. I have to be collected. Now.

Taking a deep breath, I set my hands on her shoulders. "Um, let's see. You won't be able to find your way back on your own, will you?" When she doesn't respond, I nod. "Of course not. It's not safe to bring you with me, either. I'm sorry to ask this of you, but could you stay here? Sing yourself a song or something. I'll come back to get you and we'll find our way back together, with the twins. You'll have to tell me everything that happened while I was gone, and... We'll find a place to bury him. Agreed?"

"Okay."

I embrace her again, this time letting her go after only a few seconds have passed. Standing, I ruffle her hair. Ah, but what am I going to do? Talking to them doesn't seem like it will work, considering they disregarded even my order to them as familiars. But force? I don't…

I jump, heat sparking in my fingers. Pressure pushes at their tips, eager to burst forth. As I stare at them, they begin to leak out a yellowish glow. My heart races at the feeling, excitement building along with the electricity beginning to spread from the tips of my fingers into my veins.

Where did all of this come from? Is it mine? All this...all this power...is mine? But...why? What happened to me while I was in that place? Did I just...activate something? How did my magic enhance this much in such a short time? I mean, I couldn't have been gone for hours, or the sky would be growing light. Just what went down while I wasn't here? Whatever. I'll have Haruhi explain everything to me when I get back.

Confidence renewed, I hitch up the skirt of my dress and take off running. The energy in my fingers tug outwards, urging me to use them. I don't even wonder how to. Somehow, I just know. Is this what it's like to be a witch? Is this what it's like to have the blood of fire flowing through me? Everything, anything around me is mine to command if I so wish it. And the flames! The inferno calls out to me with a furious passion that sends my magic aflutter. Even as I race towards the disaster I'm determined to stop, I laugh at the beauty of it all. The world just feels so clear! I don't know how else to describe it!

Just outside of the village limit, I slow to a stop. Everything that went through my head just now sounded insane. But, if this is what's it's like to lose my mind, it's not so bad. It's like a cloud has been lifted off my brain.

Emotions sure change fast, don't they? I dive into the flaming town, not an ounce of fear in me. With the reptilian twins towering above everything, it isn't hard to figure out where to go. I dash towards them, weaving in and out of the houses. Not a minute has gone by before I pass into the fiery parts. Flying embers cause me to slow down cautiously. Luckily, since the area is without a roof, no smoke accumulates low to the ground and I don't have to worry about getting smothered.

I raise my hand, creating a barrier to ward off the sparks in the air, and hasten again. There's not much left of the village that isn't being consumed, only a few perimeter houses. If I don't put a stop to this quickly, there'll be nothing left of this place I call home.

I round a furious flame and collide with a figure, stumbling backwards upon impact. It's Eclair.

"You're alright!" I breathe a sigh of relief. She immediately snaps her hand upwards to send my flying, but I grab the magic and misdirect it. Grab may not be the exact action, but there's really no better way to describe it. My own magic closes around hers and throws it to the side. Grabbing is the best comparison I can think of. Over the roar of the fires, I shout, "I'm here to help you! They aren't doing this on my order!"

"You think I'll believe that?" she huffs, not daring to lower her guard. The quaking of the ground speaks of the dragon's movement, forcing me to glance up. They've rotated to face us, their gaze locked onto Eclair. Sensing the birth of fire in their mouths, I grab her arm and yank her along, running with no particular destination.

The second we're out of their sight, she jerks her arm back hissing. That's when I realize the sleeve of her dress has singed away. Under it, there can be no less than a third degree burn.

"Let me see that," I request, holding my hand out. When she doesn't move, I grab her hand and extend her arm assertively. She tries to pull away, but I keep a firm grip on her hand. I was right in saying it's third degree. The skin has withered away and blackened, mixed with a bit of fleshy red. Surely there's some way to treat it with magic, so why hasn't she done it? "You haven't even cooled the skin, yet. Why?"

"Why does it concern you?" she retorts. "Let go of me."

"Let me at least relieve a bit of the heat," I demand, holding my hand over the injury. I focus on my fingers, willing them to absorb the warmth too warm that radiates around her arm. As soon as it feels like her body temperature's reverted to normal, I release my grip on her.

"Where," she inquires, "did you learn to do that? You barely could throw a flame last time we met!"

"I'm sorry I can't heal you. That isn't within my abilities."

"That alone was far out of your ability!" she exclaims. Although she's tense, her arm has relaxed significantly, telling me I was able to at least relieve some of the pain. She doesn't look too happy about it, though. "If you didn't order them to do this, why are you letting them? A familiar is bound to obey every order its master or mistress gives, so why aren't you stopping them?"

"I did tell them to, but they must not have heard me."

"Are you just going to yell at them until they respond?"

"No…." Honestly, I'm still not entirely sure what I should do. Yes, my powers have radically increased, but I don't want to harm them. Soothing them with words doesn't seem to have credibility at this point. So what am I supposed to do, then? If words and force are out of the question, am I just useless?

But familiars are bound to their witch's word. If I can get them to hear, to comprehend what I'm saying, they'll have to obey. So I have to get close to them, right? Their heads are above any of the buildings, though. They were before any of them began to burn. How am I supposed to…

The scene from yesterday plays through my mind. When Matsuo dropped Saki's ribbon from the tree, it nearly blew away, but by manipulating the heat in the air I was able to guide it straight to me. I hadn't thought much of it, as it was just a bit of magic to assist Saki, but couldn't I do that with myself? It's on a much larger scale than a mere ribbon, but I should be able to perform such a feat now, shouldn't I?

"Find some place to hide, Eclair," I instruct. She looks at me in question, but the look in my eye keeps her from asking anything. Not wasting a moment, she dashes past me and disappears between two flaming buildings.

Returning my gaze to the enormous dragon, I spread out my hands with palms facing the ash-covered ground. And then it begins. I wobble into the air, my feet lifted from the ground. Unexpectedly, balance proves to be the hardest thing to maintain. I waver, but the farther into the air I go, the more I'm able to sense my center. By the time I've topped the rooftops still standing, I've stabilized.

The heads both face away from me, searching for the witch that came to take me away. I doubt she'll being doing any such thing at this point. Why are they doing this? Renge told me they wanted me to love them, but how does that entail this? Do they think that I'll love them because they kill the people after me? Why?

But love...I know what family love is, but love as in a husband? Not to mention that there's two of them. Surely if they're jealous over Kyoya, they'd get jealous over each other. Or would they? They're nearly the same being to the extent that they're actually conjoined in dragon form. And even then, I'm not entirely sure they're jealous. I mean, there's nothing going on between Kyoya and me. We're just friends.

Would I consider the twins my friends? I mean, they're my familiars, but friends? I want to protect them, so it's possible. Even after everything they're demolishing, I'll still accept them, won't I? No, that isn't even a question. I definitely will. They act like the children, so maybe I feel the same way about them as I do my siblings? That doesn't seem quite right, though. I find their childish possessiveness kind of….is endearing the right word? All the kids in the orphanage have each other, me, and Mother. Hikaru and Kaoru only have me. It makes me feel needed, somehow. When they so openly express their desire to be with me, I find myself wanting to coddle them. Their usual carefree attitude brightens the atmosphere wherever they go, and I want them to return to that. Could that be love?

Or is it lust? That's yet another feeling I have no experience with, but I'm pretty sure wanting to touch them translates into lust. Whether it's just being close next to them or snuggling up against them, I want to. Although I scolded them for sleeping in my bed after my nightmare, I loved waking up to find them with me. Had I not been so embarrassed, I would have laid there longer. I would have taken one of their arms and held it close to me, and maybe even tried to fall back asleep. I just wanted to stay with them longer. Their voices low in my ear do something strange to me as well, again something I'm unfamiliar with, but something I want to hear more of.

So what is it? Is it lust? Love? Or simply a feeling of family? Or maybe even just the bond between a witch and her familiar. Renge did say that many witches, if they ever marry, marry their familiars. But what does that mean? Are amorous feelings simply instilled in the natural bond between witches and familiars?

Without even realizing it, I've reached the height level to theirs. My hands tremble with the effort to hold me up, sweat beading on the back of my neck. The strands of hair that hadn't already been stuck to my neck from sweat caused by the heat of the fire are sticking now. I'm not used to using magic like this yet. I won't be able to stay up much longer. There are also my ribs, which are starting to hurt again. As soon as this is over, I'll have to get either Umehito or Kyoya to take a look at the injury.

Making a quick decision, I pull myself over to one of the heads and land. Whichever one I land on, he doesn't respond. He doesn't even seem to notice. If I knew which one this head was, I'd call his name, but like this their appearance is completely identical. Only their voices are slightly varied, and they don't seem likely to talk any time soon.

"Stop this! Hikaru, Kaoru, whichever one you are! I'm telling you to stop chasing after Eclair!" Nothing changes. Biting the inside of my cheek, I peek over the edge and down at the village. So hot their fires burn that their heat licks my feet, even from this high up. Making a wild guess, I pick one of the names and address him. "KAORU! KAORU, LISTEN TO ME!"

The head I sit atop stiffens and I let my head fall in relief. He heard me! And thankfully it is Kaoru. I've noticed that Hikaru tends to be a bit more unwieldy than his more logical brother, so getting through to Kaoru might be a tad easier.

"Kaoru, it's Mari. I want you to stop going after Eclair. You understand what I'm saying, right? This is an order, Kaoru." He shifts, turning to look behind him, but I'm not in a place he can see. "I don't want you two to do this, okay? It doesn't make me happy. I'm not like Chiyoka. She may have hated this place, but I love it. This is my home."

"Then what do we have to do?" he growls, but it sounds more like a plea than anything else. "Last time it was Tamaki, and now it's Kyoya. Why doesn't anyone ever look at us?"

"I'm looking at you, Kaoru! I'm looking at both of you! I'm so glad I chose you two as my familiars. And you're wrong, you know? I like Kyoya, but I like you better!"

"You're lying!"

"I'm not! I swear to you on my life, I'm telling the truth!" Hikaru's head has stopped moving, having heard my voice, which encouraging me to continue. "I love everyone at the orphanage as my family, and Kyoya has become a good friend of mine, but you're more important! I promise, you're more important than anyone! Look! You're the legendary creature that I've been taught to fear since childhood, and you've almost completely eradicated the town I've always called my home, and I'm still here for you! If...if that's not proof of love, then I don't know what is! I love you, both of you! And I'm telling you to stop this unnecessary rampage! Come with me back to the forest!"

I meet Hikaru's eyes. "Mari-"

"I'm saying I want you to come with me. Will you come?" Even though I know he can't grab it, I stretch out my hand to him. Please, please let this work. Please let this get through to them.

And then a jolt, and I start lowering back towards the flames. They're morphing. I prepare to hoist myself into the air again, in case I end up in danger of falling, but as soon as they're able they remove me off of Kaoru's changing head. As the last bits of their dragon form melt away, I reach an arm around each of them and pull them to me. Their inhumanly sharp nails burrow through the cloth of my dress, drawing droplets of blood as they cling onto me, but I don't so much as wince.

Amidst the raging flames and ashes, we embrace in silence. No words need to be exchanged. The wetness of tears and their quivering hands speak more than words ever could. I return their death grips without concern for our surroundings. After all, no beings are more at home among the flames of the world than dragons and witches of the bloodline of fire.

I mentioned her being of the bloodline of fire multiple times during this chapter. In case you're wondering, that's just the specific elemental magic she has. It's likely a bit of information her biological mother left with her when she gave her away, but it's also possible that she figured it out by studying magic. A witch doesn't need to know her specialty to function, but she does need to know it to make familiars. If you flip back a couple chapters, she first speaks of her bloodline when deeming the twins as her familiars. It's just a ritualistic incantation that is needed to bind familiars in this universe. Anyway, the twins have finally calmed down a bit. Mari has also begun to actually think about her feelings and sort them out. I think she's the type of person to completely overlook romantic feelings unless they're pointed out to her. It's not that she's dense, but instead that it's not something she really thinks about. We'll have to see how she handles it now that it's been brought to her attention.

Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!