Chapter 12: Birth of Fire
Magnus was walking with Hemm in the woods, looking for a nearby Paramite nest. Suddenly, a howl was heard. Hemm jumped, "What the heck was that?". A Scrab headed over to where they were and howled. Magnus stood his ground, raising his fists in a combat stance. "Frek, we'll have to deal with it". The Scrab started running towards him, when Magnus unleashed a powerful blast of fire from his hands. The Scrab lay on the floor, the body was cooked. Hemm was shocked, "Magnus, how the heck did you do that?!". Magnus smiled and looked at him, "I wish I knew pal... First time I've seen anything like it. Well, let's take it back anyway". Hemm nodded and helped Magnus carry the body back home.
Silpher and Karn were also heading back, carrying the spare Slig equipment and other parts back to the camp. Tulia greeted Silpher, "Welcome back. I see you have plenty of things there". Tulia helped Silpher carry them to the center. Lorn and Ulric smiled, "Ah! Booze!". Inna nudged him, "Hey, don't drink it all at once. We need to save some aside for a special occasion". Dogol nodded, "This is a special occasion, WE FOUND BOOZE!". Riley laughed, pushing Dogol over in a jokey fashion. Dogol pushed her back and they started wrestling playfully.
Magnus arrived with Hemm shortly after. Everyone was curiously looking at the Scrab body. Lorn raised an eyebrow, "Cooked? How did you manage that". Hemm smiled and looked at Lorn, "He's a firestarter". "A firestarter?", Bitsy asked. Hemm shrugged, "Well, not sure about the specifics... but he can use fire!". Magnus held his hand towards some uncooked Paramite meat. Within seconds, the meat was sizzling and a moment later, it was thoroughly cooked inside and out. Ulric was shocked, "Slimy Sligs... How did you find that out?". "I had to use it when a Scrab tried to jump me... I never knew I could do something like that".
Silpher raised a hand, "What if... we all had special abilities? Like, hidden away from us?". Bron looked skeptical, "What like some kind of TV show? Come on, we can't fly or cut peoples heads off can we? I guess it was just an added bonus of all the tests that were performed on some of us". Silpher still felt uneasy, like someone hadn't told them the full story about their abilities.
Everyone got some food and then ate. Magnus seemed to have a greater interest in cooking now, helping Bitsy and Riley to warm up the stove and light the fires. Bitsy looked at him, "You are quite handy aren't you?". Magnus blushed and picked up a piece of meat. Dogol gave Bitsy an annoyed glare, but then continued to eat his food. Ulric was clearly enjoying his meal, "This is some good stuff!". Lara smiled, "Much better than Lab food right?". Tulia agreed, "You got that right. Who needs pills when we have all this?".
Ulric and Inna were in their hut cuddling up to each other. Ulric nudged her slightly, "You alright babe?". Inna smiled, "Yeah, I'm just fine. Let's get some shut-eye". Inna fell asleep quickly after that. Ulric smiled, "As long as I'm with you, love". Ulric rested his head on the floor and slowly drifted to sleep.
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