Many years later159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfG8BX5dcxy
Blaze was having a bad day. He’d overslept that morning and had had to skip breakfast, and then found out that he’d not done so well on his last test, and on top of all that he couldn’t find his textbook for his next class. Classes had only just begun, his life sucked already, and he was in a terrible mood because of it. It was lunchtime now, though, which made things a little bit better.
He’d taken some food with him down to the willow tree at Siren Lake, which made things a lot better. The willow had started as just a simple meeting place for him and his friends, but as time passed, he hadn’t been able to help growing attached to the spot. He’d been particularly bitter after the tree had almost been completely burned in a recent fight with Electro, who was probably the most irritating person in his life right now aside from Luke, obviously.
Blaze sighed heavily and leaned back against the willow tree. The breeze blowing in from over the lake ruffled the tall grasses around him, and he could see the distant crystal blue waters of Siren Lake glistering in the sun. He tried not to let his mood spoil the near perfect day. After all, he was in his favorite place in Asandra, the weather was beautiful, and the apple juice he was drinking right now was absolutely delicious.
He sipped his drink, inspecting the tree. Using his magic, he had been able to heal most of the damage the tree had sustained during the fight, though it hadn’t returned completely to the pristine state it had been in before. There were still a few burnt patches up and down the sides of its trunk, and many of the higher up branches were completely scorched.
Pressing a hand against the rough bark, he watched a burn mark slowly seal under his fingertips, new bark stitching itself together before his eyes. The tree seemed to visibly perk up the more magic he used on it, looking stronger as more burns vanished. Blaze was eager to see the willow restored back to full health. He felt the last of his anger dissipate as he healed the willow tree.
“Lovely tree you’ve got there, boy,” an unfamiliar voice said. Blaze startled, turning. “You’ve been staring at it for quite a while.” It was a woman, dark haired and pale skinned, her voice silky smooth. She didn’t look like a student.
“It’s not my tree,” Blaze said, biting back a harsh, ‘who are you?’ He’d never seen this woman before, but she unsettled him in a way he didn’t know how to put into words.
“Sure,” the woman said, smiling knowingly, in a way that only deepened his discomfort. “Tell me, Blaze. How do you feel about plants?” The woman trailed a pale, slender hand over the willow tree’s bark, and he bristled, feeling perhaps not unwarrantedly protective of the tree. Usually his overprotective nature applied to people only, but ever since he’d almost lost the tree he’d felt like, in this case, he had a right to extend it.
“I’m a Life wizard,” he said drily, “how do you think I feel about plants?” He had decided he was thoroughly not in the mood to talk to this person.
“And how,” the woman continued, seeming to ignore him completely, “do plants feel about you?” After a long moment, she tore her gaze away from the tree and stared at him with burning blue eyes.
“Do you want something from me?” Blaze asked her. “Or are you just going to stand here and ask me weird questions?”
The woman was still looking at him. She tilted her head ever so slightly to one side, observing him. He felt as if he were a particularly interesting oil painting hanging, dusty and forgotten on the wall of a gallery no one visited anymore. Then, her gaze drifted away from him, down to the ground, fixed on a clump of grass no one else would have looked twice at.
Blaze watched as she bent down, slowly, and plucked something from the grass, a low laugh unfolding from her throat.
“Here,” she said, holding it out to him. “Take this.” When he remained motionless, she grabbed his hand and pressed something into it, something cold and heavy and hard, like ice, but without the frosty bite.
Staring down at the coin in his palm with a vaguely annoyed expression, he didn’t notice when the woman slipped away, but when he looked back at the spot where she had been standing, she was gone. He peered around the side of the willow, squinted into the distance past the field and towards the school, but there was no sign of her. Nothing but the coin she had dropped into his hand. He put it in his pocket. It had been heavy in his fingers, and he did not forget about it when that weight shifted out of sight.
Blaze spent the rest of the day thinking about the strange woman, and the coin, and, as usual, the willow tree.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvpzQ2kcqGG
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