Fantasy The Mage of Mountain

[silenttiger43]

He eyed her for a moment or two, deciding if it was worth coming closer for a look at the book. Evidently it was worth it as he stepped forward cautiously and snatched it from her hands before retreating back several steps again and opening it up with a growing curiosity. He leaned through the pages, a puzzling look crossing his eyes at the language used.

Focusing on the book he looked completely different, the childhood wonder that filled his eyes made him look a lot more his physical age.

Suddenly the boy looked up, although ignoring Melora as he glanced around the library before taking off through the bookcases. He pulled several volumes before flopping onto the floor and spreading all the books around himself. He was completely enthralled with deciphering the text, using various books as reference.

 

[Imaginiaria]

Melora just watched him scurry about. She smiled at the sudden child-like person he was being right now, she kinda felt like she was overstaying her welcome. That, and he couldn't care less about her right now anyway, she just made her way out of the library.

 

[silenttiger43]

The boy, who hadn't even given his name, was completely enthralled with examining this new book. He had a whole library, thousands of books but he'd been through most of them by now, or at least the ones that had interested him. This was like getting a new toy, it's all he wanted to focus on. The morning went on and then lunch came and went and he had barely moved from his spot other than to fetch more reference text. He was now laying on his stomach, flipping through pages and truthfully had no concept of time and was far too focused to even think about food.
As he had said, the rest of this mountain oasis was abandoned, no matter where Melora ventured there was only ever signs of one boy living there.

 

[Imaginiaria]

Melora sighed at the realization of this. How could anyone, eventhe boy, live in such a big place, all alone without a care in the world. She would try and explore a little more, but she didn't think it'd be worth it. That, and the boy may not like it anyway. Instead, she sat outside in the Oasis and leaned against a tree, admiring the scenery. Eventually, though, drowsiness kicked in and Melora closed her eyes.

 

[silenttiger43]

The air was warm and the grass so terribly soft and enticing, anyone would fall asleep in such a peaceful place after such a long, rough night. This place was a paradise within a world of harsh lands and people.

Eventually the boy's stomach began to growl and thus was no longer ignore-able. With a hefty sigh he pulled himself away from the books, he had learned long ago not to take them with him because he had ruined more than one doing so, especially whilst cooking. Heading outside to a garden that was along the back of the side building he harvested a few things and watered the lot of it. The small garden was more than enough to sustain one person with fresh fruit and veggies but as he took a look through the kitchen cupboards he frowned. Other such ingredients were harder to come by and he could only do so much himself.

While devouring his own little meal, the boy noticed Melora outside the window and paused. He'd nearly forgotten she was there, things had been so peaceful and quiet it was easy to forget that someone had invaded his little life here. Looking down at his food he frowned and chewed his lip in thought. He really shouldn't care about her, let her find her own food. He'd worked long and hard to build up that garden and it was his and his alone.
But then again, he knew the rough night she'd had and how hard it could be to trek up the mountain, especially if you weren't prepared for it. And then he'd gone and terrorized her with that dragon illusion.

With a groan he headed back into the kitchen and soon, after he'd eaten himself, the boy placed a bowl of rice next to the sleeping Melora, accompanied by a fruit salad with some lovely, if not a little stale, nuts in it.

With that he headed back inside, he had no intention of waking her as that would mean more bothersome interaction and as much as he wanted to go back to the library, there was something more important to be done. Returning to the kitchen he began taking an inventory of what food he had left and concluded that it was not enough. The rice was all but gone and flour had been used up last week, not to mention certain items he wanted and needed for keeping up the place. He plopped down at a table with a pencil and paper and started making a list, tomorrow was going to be a busy day.

 

[Imaginiaria]

About an hour had passed by the time Melora woke up. It was dark out and the stars were in the dark blue sky. Nighttime already? Melora would have to leave soon. She looked around and noticed the food in front of her and a fork. Now that she saw this, Melora realized that she was a little hungry. She grabbed the fork and began eating the salad. The food was still fresh despite how long it's been out.

As she finished the rice and salad, Melora grabbed the dishes and walked inside. The boy was nowhere to be seen. Probably still in the library or something. She figured it'd be best to avoid him for the time being.

Eventually, she got to the kitchen. No sight of the boy. She walked in and set the dishes in the sink. Melora then turned on the water, grabbed the nearby soap and towel, and began to wash them. May as well help out a bit before she goes.

When she finished, Melora turned off the sink and dried her hands with her shawl in silence. After a bit, she sighed. There didn't seem to be a point in getting him to let her, as he was uninterested in her anyway and, while there was the library and she was a reader, he probably wouldn't let her near the books. Without a word she walked out of the monastery and began to leave.

 

[silenttiger43]

The boy was actually out where the grassy field turned to sand as it sloped into the lake. Only his silhouette was visible against the sight of a raging bonfire that cast long shadows and reflected brightly against the rippling water. His hands were moving in a particular way, enticing the flame this way and that so that it danced across the night sky, erupted over the lake and swirled around the dancing sparks that glittered up to the stars and died. It was entrancing and magical the way he moved with the fire.

It wasn't an easy task though. The boy had sweat dripping from his brow and those shimmering eyes were set with a fierce determination to tame the flames as they tried to pull him in and he pushed them away. He fought to keep his breathing steady, a deep breath in with a long release, control was key here. Every muscle was tensed as he moved and the heat of the bonfire could be overwhelming from ten feet away, but he was standing only five feet from it. He had removed his jacket and left it a safer distance back, sweat leaked through his shirt and dripped down the back of his neck.

He could feel his head spinning, reeling as he forced through the next motions, forming the flames into a giant fireball, trying to contain it high in the air but now his hands were trembling with the effort, his teeth clenched tightly and his controlled breath wavered. He had forgotten to keep it steady and now he gasped and let out a yelp, barely able to assure the fireball flung up over the lake where it exploded, sending a shower of sparks cascading over the water's surface.

Collapsing to the ground, he gasped for his next breaths like he was afraid they wouldn't come, sucking in sweet air but his vision was swimming and he was laying too close to the bonfire so that overwhelming heat just wasn't helping things. His skin felt like it was on fire itself and he reached towards where he knew the lake was but he couldn't focus anymore, the world seemed to spiraling down into darkness.

 

[Imaginiaria]

Just as Melora was walking down the narrow path that led to the entrance of this place, a loud yelp followed by what also sounded like an explosion rang in her ears. It was so loud, she thought they'd burst.The ground shook and rumbled for a bit too. Melora yelped and clung on to a nearby tree to keep her balance.

When it all subsided, Melora shook as she began to move again. What in the world was that? She was afraid to find out, but something told her it was important. With a deep breath Melora ventured back to the monastery. She stopped shortly before she arrived though, as she smelled something burnt. That was she saw some smoke far left from the monastery.

As Melora ran over, she saw something next to where the smoke lied. She couldn't tell what it was yet. But when she got closer, she gasped. Lying next to the ember of a bonfire that had went out not so long ago was the boy. He was in a lot of pain it seemed, but no wounds of any sort could be seen. He was hyperventilating to. Melora picked him up and headed inside the monastery.

As she ran through the halls, she soon found the one bedroom that was used and kept cleaned. Melora laid the boy down and tucked him in like the child he seemed to be. But...how would she help him? She didn't have much experience in healing and, considering what must've happened to cause this in a place like this, she wasn't so confident that she'd know what to do even if she did.

 

[silenttiger43]

The child curled himself in Melora's arms as she carried back inside the monastery, his skin felt like it was on fire. There was a soft whimper when she pulled away after tucking him into bed and his eyes opened slightly although he seemed rather out of it. "Water" his voice was hoarse and dry and soon he was coughing to try and clear the soot he'd inhaled from the fire. Even though he felt rather warm to the touch, the boy was shivering under the thin blankets and he curled onto his side with his limbs pulled in tightly to himself.

That had been a bad idea. He'd pushed himself too hard trying to control that much fire and now the magic in his chest felt raw and empty. Perhaps it was a good thing she had showed up when she did but that was something he'd have to think about later. His head was pounding with a headache the size of this mountain and it made thinking about anything at all, far too difficult

 

[Imaginiaria]

Melora sat next to him, wondering what she should do, but then the boy's eyes began to flutter open-if only slightly. He spoke what she needed to do and headed to the kitchen. She looked around for the cups and found some in a cabinet above the sink. Melora filled it with water and hurried back to the boy.

"H-Here," Melora said as she sat next to him again. She took the water and poured it in his mouth a little at a time she help him drink until the cup was empty. She sat it down and looked at him. "Anything else?"

 

[silenttiger43]

He had to sit up a bit to drink the water but once it was gone he slumped over into her. "don't leave me..." he mumbled, his eyes were distant and he was clearly delirious, "Lakar... don't leave me again..." the bright blue orbs disappeared behind heavy eyelids as he passed out again.

 

[Imaginiaria]

Lakar? Who was that? Melora thought and caught him as he fell then sat him up on her lap. She probably shouldn't try and get into it though, as it shouldn't be any of her business. "Um...Mage?" She spoke to the boy. She couldn't tell if it had any effect.

 

[silenttiger43]

"mmnn" something inaudible was mumbled as he nuzzled into her, subconsciously drawn to her warm touch after being alone for so long.

 

[Imaginiaria]

Now he really reminded her of peasant boys from home. They would stay in her arms like this when she and her parents would occasionally help out other poor peasants like herself. It made her smile a bit.

 

[silenttiger43]

He stayed like that for as long as she'd let him. It had already been rather late and so now the boy slept the whole night through, only stirring ever so slightly in protest anytime Melora tried to pull away, causing his fingers to curl around her clothing and hold on tight.

Morning came and went and steadily whatever strange fever he'd had dissipated and his breathing evened out. The boy didn't wake until around noon the next day and even then he seemed rather groggy as he sat up with an extensive yawn and rubbed at his weary eyes.

 

[Imaginiaria]

Melora had been asleep by then and was leaning against the wall. She didn't seem to be waking up anytime soon.

 

[silenttiger43]

Blinking at few times it took a minute for the boy to acknowledge that she was in his room. But why was she in his room? He glanced around in confusion, hadn't he demanded she leave after a day? What exactly had happened last night?
Slowly the memories of trying to control fire magic came crawling back to the surface of his mind and as he sorted through the blurry memory a bit of a flush touched his cheeks. Had she carried him here? He looked down at the blankets, she'd even tucked him in. Just how much had she seen the other night before coming to his rescue-not that he'd ever admit that he had needed rescuing but it was what she had done all the same.

Peeling the blankets back, the boy swung his legs over and eyed Melora over. The dragon illusion hadn't scared her away, she'd come to his aid when he had made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with her and she had stayed to make sure he was alright, despite all the attitude he'd given her. Sure Melora had said she didn't have anywhere else to go but he'd never met someone so... so...

He didn't know what word he was looking for, the term escaped him for now and he shook his head of the thoughts before loosing a sigh. "Hey" he croaked and then cleared his throat with a cough, it was still rather dry. "Hey" he nudged her roughly with his foot, "wake up."

 

[Imaginiaria]

"Take...Away..." Melora muttered. Her eyes opened up. She looked around for a bit, trying to recall her surroundings, and then took notice of the boy. "Oh! You're ok," Melora said. She was happy to see that, but the slight drowsiness in her voice made it sound like she didn't care. Melora cleared her throat.

 

[silenttiger43]

"Geeze, if you were so tired why didn't you set up in one of the other rooms?" he frowned at her as he stretched his neck to the left, "the one across the hall is still in decent condition."

 

[Imaginiaria]

Melora frowned a bit. Yep, it was him alright. "I was only trying to see if you were alright," She said. "I didn't expect to fall asleep." She got out of bed and headed for the door. "I'll be leaving. It's about time to go now." She walked out.

 

[silenttiger43]

He blinked and then hopped out of bed, calling after her, "hey! Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you!" He demanded as surged forward to follow her, "rude much. Besides. I've decided that I could use a little help getting some supplies from a nearby village. It's hard carrying everything myself so you can stick around a little longer"

 

[Imaginiaria]

Melora stopped and looked at him. "I'm not trying to rude," She said. "I was going to help you get better, and then leave like you wanted me to and try to find somewhere else to go. I didn't expect you to change your mind like that or whatever."

 

[silenttiger43]

He crossed his arms, averting his gaze from her mostly, "What? I'm not allowed to change my mind? I was just going through all the things I had to get and it turns out it's a lot so whatever. Do you wanna stick around a little longer or not?" he demanded in that semi-angry tone that just seemed to be the normal way he spoke at this point. He shook his head and walked passed her, heading towards the kitchen, "unless you want to leave. I certainly won't stop you."

 

[Imaginiaria]

Something about that told Melora that him letting her go a different being fine with it wasn't exactly the case. It might be tough for him to warm up to her, or even the other way around. "Fine, I'll help you out again," Melora said with a sigh.

 

[silenttiger43]

"Pfft. It's the least you could do for me letting you stay here" he retorted simply, "It's Hemset by the way. Not that you ever cared to ask." he rolled his eyes as they manuvered to the kitchen and he started going through the cupboards again looking for food. He already knew there wasn't much there though and he let out an irritated sigh before leading the way out to the garden instead. They could munch on some strawberries for now.