The Affinities

Ariana nodded and did as Jo asked her to do. "I'm happy your okay Jo," said Ari.

 

Just like Andrew had said, he stayed at the tavern, gazing outside sulkingly and trying to admire the night sky. Looking up at the stars was also nice and calming. Gradually the stars were getting harder and harder to see and the night sky seemed to get brighter and brighter despite it being early in the night. What the- oh come on...now I can't see the stars either? Good grief...what are those guys doing? sighed Andrew in annoyance again as he closed his eyes to concentrate on the movements of the party that went to the cave. He almost immediately regretted not checking on them earlier as he felt a great concentration of magic in the cave. He noticed that Ulrich was indeed a talented enough earth user to form a sword, even if it wasn't all that substantial. Making glass huh? You guys'll have to make it really hot in there. I hope those 3 make it out without burning in an inferno for that glass. Sheesh. As he opened his eyes again, Andrew looked even more exhausted and tired. With such a bright glow, as if the sun had descended down, no doubt the townspeople would be curious. What are we doing here? Seriously, what are we doing here? He briefly wondered if he should give the bar a visit and start up drinking as a sort of anesthetic for the craziness around him.

 

Jo used the momentum of the water to keep herself from falling back down as she scaled the wall quickly. Steam rose from the water and the fire Jellal created and Jo disappeared in the steam. The phantom turned around and around, searching for Jo to no avail. Launching herself out of the steam covering, Jo formed a fist and flew at the skull. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Jo slammed into a pile of solid rock. Blinking, she stood and heard chuckling. "Idiot...you missed." Sliding her eyes to the right, she felt her jaw drop open, "You've gotta be...KIDDING ME!" She really had missed. "You really are path-" Jo flung herself upwards, "Fire Dragon Iron Talon!" Knocking the skull upwards, she quickly aimed both her pistols at it. "Goodbye, Igneel." The skull shattered into fragments and Jo landed on her back on the ground, limp as a rag doll.

 

Ulrich was about to move forward to strike with the molten glass in his hand, but Jo already made her move as Jellal's flames and the water within the cave caused by Ariana and Keel from their earlier exploits caused steam to rise. Ulrich forgot about the molten substance in his hand as he noticed Jo perform her "Fire Dragon Iron Fist" twice. Once was when she missed the levitating skull, and the second time when she manage to knock the skull into the air, followed by a few short bursts of pistol fire. When it was all over, Ulrich stood there smiling. "Good job," he congratulated her, though he knew the two attack spells must have drained her... and the jagged rock that had hit her from earlier. The adrenaline rush seemed to have left her when she felt triumphant. Ulrich's smile turned to a grimace as he smelled burnt flesh.

Say... what's that smell? He thought. Pain wracked his hand and arm and he immediately looked at it. "Oh good lord! It's me! I smell like rotten pork!" He cried, dropping the magical orb of melted glass. He ran around holding his hand as his sword dissipated into dust, crying wildly. "My hand! My hand! Good God my hand! Save me baby Jesus!" Ulrich ran around comically, waving his burnt hand around like a white flag... though the pallor was far from being white. The heat of the molten glass had severely burnt his hand, but not as bad as it could have been. "Why, Jo! Why didn't you wait for me!" He whimpered, still running to and fro, waving his hand about. "Rosie! Make the pain stop! This isn't funny anymore!"

 

Keel let out a sigh as Ulrich ran back and forth. "This should help." He said as he cast a simple water spell adn drenched him in water.

 

Ulrich stopped in his tracks as the water poured over him. "Ack!" He yelped, slipping on the not-so-molten glass, landing on his back. Inadvertently, Keel saved Ulrich from having a burnt foot... though the wet glass, hissing, broke into tiny warm shards. Ulrich rubbed the back of his head as he slowly got up, though drenched from head to toe. "Geez," he muttered, shaking his head as it ached. He looked at his hand. His fingers were badly burnt, and it stung madly, but his entire palm was saved from any worse damage. His leather glove was gone but there was some damage that hid his previous scar. He smiled a little, glad to have been rid of that horrid, mysterious puncture mark. The skin appeared to be tight against the bones, and tremors of pain wracked each and every patch of skin. His hand had some darker marks, but his fingers appeared much worse, having some blackness to them.

Manipulating hot-earth is way too dangerous, he thought to himself. He flipped his hand over. The studded knuckles from the glove he wore had nearly melded into his actual knuckles, and if it weren't for Keel dousing him in water, it would've caused much difficulty in his dexterity... not like it wasn't already ruined by the globe of molten glass. The metal studs were still on his knuckles and he grimaced as he pulled each one off, ripping away dead, burnt skin with it. Waves of nausea clouded his vision and his stomach was threatening to relieve him of whatever he had left in his stomach. Ulrich fell back down and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths.

"Thanks, Keel," he said, grinning. After a few moments, he rose back up, removed his leather coat, and then his shirt. He used his undamaged left hand and his teeth to tear to shreds the white t-shirt. Ulrich wrapped his right hand in a make-shift bandage. The cotton and polyester made it sting worse.

Revealed around his neck was a chain-and-locket.

 

Andrew closed his eyes and concentrated on the movements of everyone at the cave. It seemed like they were going to do some sort of super charged attack together before Jo decided to just finish things by herself as always. But then something strange happened. Ulrich kept hopping around and stamping as if he were doing a victory dance or...Or he's in pain or on fire...why won't they help him? Geez, bunch of jerks. Andrew sighed again as he narrowed his eyes and focused on trying to form an imprint of a sentence in the ground where everyone was. He gritted his teeth as the following sentence slowly showed up on the ground in the cave. Are you okay, Ulrich? No one would be able to see the strange face he was making unless they happened to look up and see him through the open window, which luckily, no one seemed to be doing. Most everyone in town was still concentrated on the bright but receding light.

 

Ulrich yawned, scratching at his bare chest where there was a long, jagged scar. It didn't necessarily itch, the scar, but just the skin around it. Ulrich had forgotten his scars after so long, and even if someone were to ask how he got all of them, he wouldn't remember. His life before this one was a mystery, even to him, and he wish he knew who he was before he became Ulrich Ravenhardt. His real name was buried beneath all the memories, though he knew the name Ulrich must have meant something to him. After a moment's musing, he felt the earth shift. It was subtle, but he felt it as if it were his own heartbeat. He saw the message before him and he quickly wiped it clean, placing his left palm where the previous message was.

He created a link between him and Andrew, smiling all the while. Without much thought, he sent a response to Andrew using the dust in the inn.

I'm fine. I apologize for my lack of foresight. Ulrich replied by accumulating all the possible dust. After a moment, Ulrich felt a sharp pain in his left arm, making him hiss slightly. I think I overdid it... he told himself, knowing full and well he was all dried up on magic. He vowed that that was going to be the last time he ever performed so many large spells in such a short period of time.

 

Ariana was about to try and help Ulrich when Keel did it for her. Sighing she said "Are you sure your okay?"

 

Ulrich turned to Ariana and smiled widely, picking up his leather trenchcoat. "Just a small burn, nothing serious," he told her, walking to Jo. "Is she alright? Or is she just out cold from using her battle spells?" Ulrich asked, concern in his voice. He knelt before Jo, analyzing her for any serious wounds. "Thanks for coming, by the way," he said, turning to Ariana. "If you or anyone else didn't follow, things would've got messy." Ulrich smiled at her, trying to hide the pain in his right hand. Earth magic would become a lot more difficult now that his hand was burnt to a crisp.

 

Ariana got worried as she looked at Jo. Slowly she knelt beside her good friend and sighed. "Please me okay,Jo," she whispered.

 

Andrew gasped and quickly opened his eyes after Ulrich erased his message. His mind reeled from the effort that it took to write it and he needed a moment before he noticed the dust in the room, and the words it revealed. Despite still feeling somewhat hazy, Andrew did catch sight of how rapidly the dust settled from the reply. He didn't believe Ulrich's cheery response. If nothing else, he was obviously drained of power and needed to rest. Why can't he at the very least be honest with me? thought Andrew as he sighed for the umpteenth time. Sure he admitted that his display of anger at Jo was probably uncalled for, but there have been few times in his life that someone had annoyed and angered him to that extent. That was probably the first time he exploded on someone in a long while. And now he had to pay the consequences. Andrew still wasn't sure if it was worth it. His heart felt it was. His brain said it might not have been. Well I guess I won't know what Ulrich's deal is until he gets back here. And I guess I probably can't do much healing for him either. Man, I really hope it's nothing serious. I can't possibly deal with something like that now at this crucial stage of moving. He willed for Haley and all the others that left to come back to the inn quickly and quietly. If all goes well, they would actually be able to spend a night resting here in this town. If not, they'd be on the run. And he'd been off and on the run for a long while and was not looking forward to starting that up again with extra baggage. Briefly, Andrew wondered if it had been a good idea to come back to the orphanage. Would the whole fiasco with Jo happen anyway, with or without him? Would Haley and the others have handled the situation better by themselves? I guess I'll never know. Too bad there isn't an affinity for time. he mused as he looked back out the window towards the cave.

 

Ulrich stared at Ariana for a short moment, trying to think of a way to cheer her up. "You know... if it weren't for you, I doubt Jo would be alive," he remarked. "She was a loner when we first met her. You were her first friend. I think you gave her a reason not to be alone anymore. You showing up here... yeah..." he went on, beginning to yawn. He laid his trenchcoat over Jo, picking her up in his arms as he did. "Well, there's no point in staying here... we should head back. Oh! And if you could do me an incy, wincy favor... that would be awesome." He added, laughing. Ulrich made his way out of the cave, yawning again as he did.

I should definitely sleep when this is all over... he thought, trying to keep his mind off the pain.

 

Ariana nodded her head and sighed. "What do you need," she said as she walked out of the cave with him.

 

He looked at her. "Nothing much... just some bandages, alcohol, and a new shirt," Ulrich told her, smiling. "And, if you wouldn't mind... could you help me dress my hand? I would do it myself, but..." he glanced at his hand to accentuate the point. "Now that I think about it, it's not really an incy, wincy favor... nevermind..." he murmured, quickening his steps.

 

Now, how're we going to explain this to Haley and the others. Keel thought as he follwed behind Ariana and Ulrich

 

Jo felt herself being carried but she couldn't open her eyes. Her body hurt all over. Igneel would be safe now. But...the nagging feeling in her heart still hadn't disappeared. She hadn't wanted to return home...not to deal with that spirit...or anything else. What was left for her to resolve? The Church...the story...it was still infecting her home...and her fire. Her own healing had to begin with getting rid of the Church from her home. Slipping back into darkness, Jo's breathing shallowed and her blood drained from her face with dread. Those in the Church weren't magic users....but they would use what they could if they found out Jo and the others were. They'd burn down the village again. She wouldn't do that to Berry again.

 

Ariana nodded at Ulrich's request and nudged Kel. "You'll help me help Ulrich when we get back right?" said Ariana smiling kindly.

 

"Sure." Keel replied.