Trish was used to weird sounds coming from the forest, rumours of witches, savage wild life and poisonous flora had always kept her far away. But something felt different today, Trish was a sensor by nature, she could pick up on strange energies a mile away. Her slick, flexible, black jumpsuit had been designed to ease her movement in the tightest shafts of the mine, but it also, made her running deadly silent.
It had been a long day with little to no reward from the quarry, a kilo of coal if that, she should just keep marching on home.
But there was something in that forest that hadn't been there the day before, she'd never sensed anything that strong and she'd found diamond in her life. Whatever was calling to her in there was beyond power and she had a feeling there wa more than one.
And who was she kidding? She loved a little bit of danger.
"What the-" Marlin stopped, looked at the girl, then back at Ignis. "Is this- did you? Did you just dance with fire?" He stared at both of them with his hands in front of him. "Am I about to be sacrificed in some sort of weird cult thing?" he asked.
Sage shyly raised her hand. "To be fair, I know about as much as you do…"
"Take the girl."he said pointing towards her. "I'd make a horrible sacrifice. I'm a loud one."
Sage looked at the other man, green eyes wide in alarm. "What did I do?"
"What? I'm not paid enough to die for the cause." Marlin glanced at Ignis. "And I don't wanna go near that crazy kid." He shooed her down the path he had came, "We should probably get going, thanks for the whole performance,"
Ignis laughed at the both of them. As he stands up his smile never ceased. He points at the stone circle, "There is no sacrifices. That is a seal of Astra, the water elemental. There are five seals placed around the world. Each seal glows in the presence of an elemental. So far, judging by the glow, all of us are. I am a fire elemental." He raises an open palm and a ball of fire emerges. As he looks up he sees another girl, "Well well, you're a silent one."
Aria's eyes widened as she was noticed. She stumbled forward, making herself known to the others. "Was- were- are you really controlling fire?" Aria hummed softly to herself, as she often did when she was stressed.
Ignis greeted the new girl, "Hello. You are surprisingly silent, however you are not invisible." he point to his eyes, "I can see in the dark. the night hides nothing from me."
Sage looked between the three, fidgeting nervously, toes digging into the dirt and… ash? "Please, for the love of something, what is happening?"
"It is not so private here as I can see. Perhaps all this madness can be explained. Shall we proceed to the village?" ignis spoke
Madness. About the best word to describe it."Yeah let's get out of the forest before people come looking for that wildfire you started." he said glaring at Ignis. "I'm sure somebody else saw it if we did." he motioned vaguely at the two new people.
Ignis saw the three look at him with disbelief. His heart raced as he took one last look at the stone circle and back at the singed trees. The stone was still glowing and the trees black and cold. He realized his own power was enough to make the circle glow, but not this bright. His expression darkened and his hope dwindled, "I walk among the mortals of the world. Theirs eyes see not the spark but the horror it may cause…" Ignis began to walk by himself away from the three and the village. He stops for a second and speaks softly, "I know what you are. Who you see may be the only ones who will accept it…" Then he runs, disappearing into the woods.
Marlin stared at Ignis' disappearing form. He almost followed him, but his job was to help civilians, he needed to get the others out of there. "Come on." he sighed. "Let's get out of here."
Sage watched the man run, blinking. The man left, but the circle still glowed. She was still horribly confused.
Aria tilted her head, confused. As the man ran away, she retreated back into the forest, running back in the direction she came from.
"Hey! Where- never mind." Marlin sighed and looked at the green eyed girl who was still there. "You okay?"
Sage nodded. "Yes, sir." She said softly, the bird on her shoulder finally poking their head up. "Though I should be getting home." She went to walk down the path, bare feet poking out from under her skirt.
"Um…" Marlin felt like he should follow at least one of them. "I'll… walk you home." he said. "To be honest I'd rather not stay in a creepy woods at night with magic glowing things. Especially all by myself." He stomped on a bit of ash that floated by. "Also, I need to ask you a few questions about this fire. What all did you see?"
Sage shook her head. "Nothing. I tend to walk in a different part of the woods. I have since I was seven, and I have never seen a glowing stone circle. I just heard voices. I don't hear them often in the woods."
((Dumb question, but about when does this take place?))
(It just got dark I think)
"So you've never seen anything like this before?" asked Marlin "And you don't know either of those people?"
Sage shook her head. "No and no. I may have seen the other girl with the other miners, but I don't know her. And I've never met the other man."
((Okay, just wanted to double check, sorry))
"Hmph." Marlin reached to his pocket for a pencil and pad of paper, but they weren't there. Right. He'd left them with the rest of his gear. "Do you have any idea what he meant by 'elementals'?" he questioned.
"Well, they can't be real… my grandmother told me the stories like every other kid in the village, but that's all they are. Stories. Fairy tails. Like the Pied Piper and Tinkerbell." She shrugged, looking to the ground. "Some of the older folks and little kids believe them, but unless you're someone's grandmother, you kinda outgrow the belief, you know?"
"Well I am not someone's grandmother but I'm about sixty-five, maybe sixty-six percent sure there is something very not normal with that guy." he nodded to the path Ignis had taken. "And the glowy." He nodded at the circle.
As they conversed, the seal began to crack. Unleashing a beam into the night.
Sage nodded. "I know. The situation reads like a weird adaptation of what my grandmother would tell me." She said, looking at the circle. "But I never heard anything about a glowing circle." She jumped back as the seal cracked. "Or that."
