by Dreagen
The two sat in silence for a time, both focusing on eating and drinking in an effort to not be forced to actually speak with one another. At last, though, EeNox found the last of the KonChoo sliding down his throat while Rex swallowed the last piece of bread. The two glanced up to each other, inadvertently locking eyes, with neither one of them wanting to be the first to look away.
At last, EeNox spoke, taking Rex by surprise. “Thank you,” he said in a monotone voice that seemed to be filled with neither kindness nor malice. “I meant to say it sooner…after what happened in the forest…”
“Thank me for what?” Rex replied, not sure of what he meant.
“For saving my sister’s life. FyNasia told me what you did for her back there…after she was…” EeNox could not finish the thought. He looked down and saw that his hands had clenched into fists and were now trembling.
“Don’t bother thanking me if you have to strain yourself to do it,” Rex replied coolly. “Trust me, I know how it feels,” he added with a brief sarcastic smile.
“It’s not that,” EeNox grumbled. “It’s just that…I’ve tried so hard to keep DiNiya safe ever since her accident. At least I thought I was, but now I see that I’ve been fooling myself. Pretending to be her protector when all I’ve actually been doing is emotionally checking out when what she needed was a friend.”
“I wouldn’t say that. I mean you’ve been acting like an asshole towards me ever since I’ve arrived like I’m assuming any good brother should when some strange guy comes along and starts hanging around his sister.”
“And I thought I was being subtle.”
“Trust me, you were. Had it been me, I would have hung him upside down from the roof and told them to stay away or learn how to fly real quick.” EeNox laughed out loud much to both their surprise, and Rex found himself chuckling along with him. “Hell, who am I kidding? I would just drop him.” The two laughed some more before they returned to staring down at the table.
After an awkward pause, EeNox ventured, “I guess that doesn’t say much about me.” Rex cocked his head inquiringly. “I mean, listen, making threats for something that for you is just hypothetical. The worst part of it is that I actually believe you. Then you have me, who is actually faced with the real thing, and all I do is act like a jealous child instead of a protective brother.”
“Maybe that’s because you are,” Rex said, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms.
EeNox shot him an angry look. “Well, what do you expect? You’re not exactly an ordinary scenario, Rex!”
Rex nodded thoughtfully. “I suppose so. Still, you think it’s hard having to watch your sister get close to an alien? Have you ever stopped to wonder what it must feel like to be the alien? At least everything else besides me is normal to you. For me, everything that you take for granted is like some impossible dream made real. Every little thing that you think is commonplace is like seeing the impossible made real for me.”
“Trust me, Rex, nothing has been normal since you’ve arrived.”
“Oh? So we’re back to that being my fault, are we?”
EeNox sighed. “It would be so much easier if I could say it is.” He looked down at his empty mug. “But…I would only be fooling myself if I believed that. The truth is you are one of several signs that things have been, well, changing.”
“What does that mean?” Rex asked, leaning forward over the table.
“I wish I knew. We all do. I suppose it really started with DiNiya, the first record of a sentient being born of the red flame in ten thousand years. If that wasn’t strange enough, she was a SaVarian. Prior to her it was only ever found in DyVorians, and even then only in one species.”
“The TyRanx.”
EeNox nodded gloomily.
“But what about Fire Roses? They carry with them the same flame, don’t they?”
“Sure, but the difference is they are not cognitive like animals. They rely exclusively on biologically programmed responses triggered by exterior forces in the environment. Because of that, they are predictable. Plus, the level of flame they possess is miniscule compared to that of an animal like you or me.”
“But why is it such a big deal that a species of DyVorian or one of any other would evolve to have it?”
“I suppose if you look at it objectively, nothing really,” he replied honestly. “It’s just that the red flame is so primal in nature, fueled by instinctive drive, and when coupled with the will of a living thing, it becomes a dangerous weapon.”
Rex leaned back in his chair, taking in his words. “Weapon,” he repeated aloud. “I’ve seen other flames used as weapons. TyRoas used his to try to kill me, and his was green like yours. Are you going to sit there and tell me that’s not the same thing?”
“That’s exactly what I’m going to say,” EeNox replied resolutely.
Rex glared. “Do you people know the meaning of the word hypocrite?”
“I know it sounds like I’m insulting you, but I’m actually being more courteous than anyone else here has been.”
“That’s stretching it, even for you, EeNox.”
“Listen, I could spend my time trying to smooth over what is otherwise a hard reality, but what good would that do you when you find out the hard way that the truth is much different?”
“I think I already have.”
“If you did, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“So what is the truth? Tell me, since you seem to be the only one ‘courteous’ enough to be so open and honest with me.”
“A person’s flame is like any other biological function in that it is governed by their biology.” Rex stared at him blankly. EeNox rolled his eyes and shook his head. “It’s like the Fire Roses. They use their flame on reflex. Well, for us it’s the same way at first. Our flames don’t ignite just because we want them to. We have to induce a sense of need to trigger them.”
“How is that useful? What do you do if you’re a baby and someone’s trying to hurt you? What good is your flame as a defense if you can’t even ignite it when you need it most?”
“Well, that’s just it,” EeNox explained. “It would ignite, but on its own, because of a biological imperative to survive. The same baby couldn’t then turn around once it was completely safe and do it again.”
“Why?”
“Because instinct would be telling them that they were safe and so they would have no need of it.”
“That still doesn’t explain how you can just ‘trigger’ yours right here and now if you choose to.”
“That’s because I trained and learned how to induce the same triggers on the mind that would occur naturally when in danger. It’s all in the mind, after all: chemical signals telling it to do what it has evolved to do. So it doesn’t matter if those same signals are sent by reflex or on purpose. The mind and body react the same way, and the flame ignites.”
“And you can just do this on command?”
“It’s not even a matter of commanding myself to do it. By now it’s so natural that I can do it without even thinking about it.” EeNox was suddenly enveloped in his green flame, which burned harmlessly over him and his section of the table. Rex just stared, unfazed by the sudden burst of fire no more than two meters in front of him. “You see?” EeNox continued. “Takes no thought at all. I can even control its intensity so it doesn’t harm anyone.” His flame grew and reached across the table, where it lapped harmlessly against Rex’s arm. He winced reflexively at its touch. Satisfied, EeNox allowed his flame to fade until it vanished entirely.
“Okay,” Rex said, placing his hands on the table. “It’s impressive, I’ll give you that, but I still don’t see how it’s any different than mine.”
With an uncomfortable look, EeNox explained. “The red flame, as best we can understand it, is not controlled by mere instinct or triggered by just reflex. Well…in a way it is, I guess.”
“You’re talking in circles, EeNox. Which usually happens when people start talking
out of their ass.”
EeNox frowned. “Well, to put it bluntly, the red flame is controlled by sheer will, or rather, raw emotion. So you could say it’s instinctive in that if you react by getting angry by someone say…attacking you…your flame would come out not as a result of the attack itself, but your desire to hurt them because of it.”
“But you see, that’s still no different from any of you. Being angry is a natural response to something like that.”
“Fear is the natural response to something like that,” EeNox corrected. “And so is the desire to want to protect yourself that follows. The urge to want to punish that person out of revenge is an act of will. Therein lies the difference.”
“You know, for such an off-limit subject, you seem to know a lot about it.”
EeNox looked off to the side, as if averting his gaze on purpose.
“Not to mention no one alive has ever seen someone with a red flame in action.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” EeNox spoke softly, still avoiding eye contact.
Sensing his aversion, Rex knew he was hiding something. His first instinct was to circle the issue, slowly closing in until he drove the truth out of him. Then again, there was the direct approach. Still, I doubt very much that DiNiya would take kindly to me torturing information out of her brother, he thought as his lips spread into a sly smile. There I go allowing her to dictate what I do and don’t do again. Then again, she has been through a lot recently, and I suppose I do owe her a favor or two. Refocusing his attention on the other boy across the table, he spoke in a more neutral tone. “So you’re saying I fought TyRoas with my flame because I hated him rather than being afraid of him?”
“In a manner of speaking…”
“Bullshit! I was scared shitless when I saw that huge fucking cat leap out of the forest at me!”
EeNox chuckled. “Wish I could have seen that.”
“Fuck you,” he growled.
“In all seriousness, though, think about that day, or better yet, the one where you fought him the second time.”
“What about it?”
“You clearly weren’t in any danger then. If he really had gotten the upper hand and tried to kill you, enough people more than capable of protecting you from him were there to intervene. His brother alone could have ended another potential skirmish before TyRoas even managed to bound at you.”
“You think so? As I recall, he just stood back and watched us go at it.”
“Yeah, well…you’re right in that case. Still, character flaws aside, had you been in any real danger, he would have stepped in and ended the fight. That’s not the issue, though.”
“Oh,” Rex said, raising an eyebrow. “And just what is exactly?”
“The fact that it was you that time who instigated the fight, not TyRoas.”
Rex went to retort but stopped when he realized that as much as it upset him to admit it, EeNox was right. TyRoas had made no attempt to strike first, rather, he had been dragged by NyRo to apologize, which he did in fact do, albeit half-heartedly.
“I remember seeing the look in your eyes, Rex,” EeNox said seriously, lowering his voice. “The mere sight of TyRoas made you angry, very angry. So much so that you couldn’t hold it back, could you?”
Rex could remember how he had felt in that moment. The way his skin flushed and his blood boiled just at the mere sight of TyRoas’s face, the face of his enemy. But why was he my enemy, he wondered, because he attacked me? Given what he had already learned about why he did what he did by that point, he really could not blame him for his response to finding him in the forest, especially under such peculiar circumstances. Still, all rationale had been immediately thrown aside when he saw him and been replaced by a seething rage and desire to strike back. Not in defense, but like EeNox had said, vengeance.
“Scared as you may have been the first time,” EeNox continued, “you didn’t even think twice about lunging for him the second time you met.”
“It wasn’t like that,” Rex said through gritted teeth as he clenched his fists on the table and leaned forward.
“How do you mean?”
“You make it sound like I was being crazy; like I was the one with the problem.”
“Weren’t you though?” he asked innocently.
“No!” Rex shouted angrily as he raised his fists and slammed them back down on the table, completely destroying that entire section of it. EeNox jumped back, startled by the sudden outburst. “I wasn’t looking for trouble, but he, on the other hand, wasted no time in playing the role of judge, jury, and executioner on the spot. He came looking for, and found, more than he could handle. Then all of you expected me to what—simply say ‘apology accepted’? Fucking insulting.”
“Rex, it’s okay,” EeNox said, raising his hands up in front of him in an effort to try to calm him. “Just relax, all right?”
“I don’t take requests,” Rex replied, bearing his teeth and rising to his feet. “I was scared…I didn’t know what had happened to me. I still don’t know what happened to me.” His voice grew lower, more distant, as if he was somewhere else. “My head…so full of things that I don’t understand.” Rex could feel the back of his skull screaming with searing pain, like it was slowly splitting open. EeNox could now see the telltale signs of red fire igniting around him as Rex seemed to slowly come undone right before his eyes. “I wasn’t bothering anyone, wasn’t trying to hurt anyone. I just wanted to stop feeling so scared…lost and confused. Then he came. Tried to kill me! I was so afraid that I didn’t even realize what was happening. I just remembered feeling something breaking out and then it was…over.”
Rex looked up and saw EeNox had backed against the far side of the kitchen with his back pressed firmly against the wall. It was then that he noticed the destruction at his feet, where he had reduced yet another section of the large stone table to crumbled rock. His feet, he suddenly realized in wide-eyed horror. The stone floor beneath them had been burnt to the point of melting almost a half a meter into the ground. Rex stepped out of the hole and regarded it inquisitively for a moment before looking back up to EeNox, now with a look of uncertainty: the kind born of latent fear.
Seeing this, EeNox felt something surge up inside of him that took him by surprise. Gone in that moment was the image of the sinister and dangerous enigma, replaced by one of a boy no older or even different than him, except that unlike him, he had not been fortunate enough to have had guiding hands to explain everything he was going through. Now he began to understand that while possessing a power that could be deemed monstrous if left unchecked, Rex himself was no monster, just a scared and confused boy. Had he been in his position, could he say for certain that he would behave so different? “Come on,” he said, regaining his composure and stepping forward.
“What?” Rex replied distrustfully.
“I have an idea.”
EeNox led him out through the fields to an area that wasn’t being used for farming. The plants here were lower, coming only to their knees, allowing for greater ease of movement. Scattered around them were several large rock outcroppings, where to their surprise they found LyCora laid out, napping in the warm mid-day sun.
“Fancy meeting you here,” EeNox said, stopping just short of where she rested.
LyCora lifted up her hood and glanced over to the two of them before scowling. “Wish I could say the same,” she replied, lowering her hood back down in front of her eyes.
“What brings you way out here?”
“Rest and relaxation, which I’d like to get back to, so feel free to keep going on your way.”
“Actually,” he replied with a grin, knowing full well his answer would sit less than well with her. “We were coming here.”
“Seriously?” she replied in a sardonic tone.
“Yup. It just occurred to me this morning that Rex here could do with some lessons on how to control his flame.”
LyCora suddenly shot up and peeled off her hood. “You mean you’re going
to encourage him to use it?”
“Well, sure, why not? How else is he going to adjust to life in EeNara?”
LyCora seized him with an unwavering gaze, like a predator fixated on its prey.
“Why would it matter that he knows how to control his flame more here than anywhere else?” she asked suspiciously. “And why doesn’t he know how to, anyway? How old are you?”
Rex stared blankly for a moment before pointing to himself and replying, “Who, me?”
LyCora sighed. “Who else?”
“Fifteen.”
“That’s what I figured, same age as us, which means you were born during the same breeding cycle. So why can’t you do something as basic as control your own flame?”
“Never got enough practice, I guess.”
“Not enough practice?” she replied in disbelief. “You can’t be serious. Not much use for it where you’re from?”
“Well, no, actually; I would have thought of a great many good uses for it back home,” he replied thoughtfully as he thought of all the heinous acts he could have committed on those who were foolish enough to cross him, which seemed to be everyone towards the end. “It’s just that…well, I never knew it was there.”
“So you were like my sister?” EeNox asked.
Rex nodded. “That’s right. Her eyes look just like the way mine used to.”
“That’s hard to picture given how bright they burn now. I’ve never seen a flame burn so bright in any living thing.”
“That’s because no flame does,” LyCora explained. “Or at least is supposed to. In any case, I still can’t believe you grew up without its use.”
“You can’t miss what you never had.”
“So what changed, I wonder? When exactly was it that you started being able to use it? When did it first ignite?”
Rex pondered the question, mulling it over in his head. Try as he might, he could not recall the memory of when he was first able to ignite his flame. Strange, he thought. Why isn’t it there?
“Well?” LyCora pressed.
