4 Accident And First Stage

Bloom concentrated, her hazel eyes now a fiery orange instead under the effects of her summoning her element. Then, she flicked her hand out...to no effect. The flame hovering above her hand swayed with the movement but never left her hand, and she looked to me for help.

"You need to imagine it flying off your hand, Bloom. It's not normal fire, for the most part, so just imagine and will it off your hand and at that tree," I calmly explained and Bloom gave a nod, looking a little disappointed at the lack of magical, sage-like advice that would allow her to do what we'd planned instantly.

But hey, like I said to her earlier, magic is a slow process. It doesn't happen instantly, even if you want it to.

It took a few more tries before Bloom finally managed to flick it off her hand but she didn't propel it any further once it left her hand, letting it fall to the ground. It set the dry branches and leaves around it alight but before it could get any worse I sent a burst of vibration at the flames with a snap of my fingers, separating the flame molecules from the oxygen around them and effectively snuffing out the flame. Didn't need to snap my fingers but producing noise and then manipulating it is far easier than producing noise from nothing.

The redhead next to me gave me a look, her palms still on fire and lighting up her surprised expression, "Was that your...you know, your element?" she asked.

"Yep," I nodded, "Sound Element. An element exclusive to Werewolves," I added some context to why she most definitely wouldn't see any other people in Alfea with magic like mine. Which is good because the Sound Element can be particularly deadly when it's a version like mine and I'd hate to see a school filled with hormonal teenagers who have the ability to conjure up invisible but deadly blades of sound or create shockwaves that could deafen people easily enough.

Seeing my element in action spurred Bloom on and she redoubled her resolve on trying to make a fireball appear and hit the target. Slowly but surely she got there. There were a lot of repeats of that same failure from before where the fire acted more like a sludge and fell to the flammable ground below, waiting for me to put it out. But eventually she managed to summon a more stable ball of fire a few inches above the palm of her hand and then without her having to make a physical action, it flew in a shaky arc before hitting the tree and charring it.

"Yes!" at that point Bloom jumped for joy and latched onto me who was right next to her. I reflexively hugged her back but quickly realised that my body had betrayed me:

It made me hug someone who was actively on fire.

"Uh, Bloom, as much as I'd like to continue hugging you, you're kinda still on fire," I said as I felt a slight uncomfortable sensation around the middle of my back where he hands were. She quickly let go of me upon hearing my words and backed up with a horrified expression on her face - I didn't blame her for it. She was just excited and overwhelmed by her success after plenty of failure. It's a mistake and it happens. No big deal.

...Though pulling off my dress shirt did show that it was completely ruined. Ah shit. Even the tank-top vest I was wearing underneath it was partially on fire. A blast of vibration snuffed out the fire either way and I tucked the ruined shirt into my jeans to save having to carry it around by hand.

Bloom, however, was going postal. Her face was twisted in shame and fear as she kept mumbling, "Not again," over and over, her voice breaking up and her fiery eyes becoming teary. Now that I think about it, didn't she burn her mom or something? I can't really remember it too well. Seventeen years without being able to check up the plot to refresh yourself will do that to you.

I moved toward Bloom, which caught her attention and she lifted her hands in a 'stay back' gesture but instead ended up looking like Iron Man about to blast me to hell, "D-don't get near me, Ezra! I don't wanna hurt you anymore than I have!" she borderline screamed and it hurt to see her like that.

She wasn't the fiery, impatient Bloom right now. Neither was she the cute Bloom who didn't deal well with being teased. Right now she was just a scared girl who had a lot of self-directed fear and distress. It kinda hurt to see her like this--No, it definitely hurt. Seeing her go from such a strong girl to this was just...it just felt wrong. Like letting it happen was a crime. But enough thoughts for now, it's time for some action.

"You haven't hurt me, Bloom," I said, raising my hands in a slow manner that I hoped with placate Bloom and I turned to show her my back to prove my point. Luckily the burns there had already healed but she didn't have to know that. I turned back to look at her, "I'm okay, Bloom. You burned my clothes but that's it. You didn't do anything--Did you think you were strong enough to take down a big bad Werewolf like me?" I joked with a gentle voice and her breathing slowly began to calm down as I approached her with measured steps and a steady gait.

Still teary-eyed, Bloom looked to her still on fire hands and began to panic as she turned back to me, "How do I stop?! How do I stop it, Ezra?! I want the fire to stop!" she desperately begged and I slowly nodded as I got close enough to place a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Magic is fueled by emotion, Bloom. The way to stop it is to cut off the fuel supply and to do that you need to calm down. It isn't easy to calm down out of nowhere, I know, but it's what you have to do," I calmly explained as the fire acted more like napalm than anything else, dripping to the floor and rapidly spreading around us. I protected myself with a vibration barrier that snuffed out any fire near me and Bloom seemed immune to the heat and fire anyway.

I tried to overpower the flames in her hands with the unique frequency that snuffed out flames but it only made the fire burn hotter, for some reason. Like it was alive when it was still in her hands.

So the only way to get it to stop is Bloom herself calming down.

The fire all around us was beginning to creep up the trees and Bloom's eyes darted back and forth before I snapped my finger in front of her to capture her attention, "Focus on me, Bloom. Ignore the fire. Ignore the trees. Ignore the smoke. Ignore the crackling of the fire. Just focus on me," I kept speaking to her in the same gentle, calming tone and she turned her fiery orange eyes to me.

They looked frantic at first, going to dart towards looking at one of the sounds before she stopped herself, but after a few seconds they calmed significantly just like her breathing. We stood there as the fire burned for a little while until she was ready for the next step.

"Now, you remember the funnel and the pipe that connects the memory to your hand?" I asked with a smile, and Bloom nodded, "Good. Then add a valve. When you turn it one way, it lets the emotion flow to your hand. Turn it the other way and it'll stop the flow. Can you do that, Bloom? Close your eyes and add the valve."

She gave a shaky nod and closed her eyes, and after a few seconds of her brow being scrunched up in concentration and a bunch of other emotions, the fire in her hands slowly petered out and her face began to relax again.

When Bloom opened her eyes, I'd already snuffed out the fire around us with precise blasts of vibration - the only reason I hadn't done it before was because I needed to focus on Bloom and multitasking while using magic? Kinda hard. Especially when you're trying to be precise. One little mistake and I could create shockwave that could either make Bloom and myself deaf or blow a part of her body off. Emotion-based magic is incredibly tricky to use, if I'm being honest.

Before I could think or say anything further, Bloom lunged at me and hugged me without her hands being on fire this time, "Thank you, Ezra...thank you..." she whimpered out and I could feel that she was beginning to really cry against my chest. Knowing she was pretty emotionally fragile right now, I just stayed silent and tenderly stroked up and down in back in what I hoped was a calming gesture.

We stayed like that for a minute or two before Bloom pulled away with a red face and puffy eyes that were back to being hazel coloured again.

"Ha," she chocked out a forced laugh as she sniffled and wiped at her eyes with her sleeve, "I don't think anyone would blame you if you didn't want anything to do with me after what just happened, Ezra. Certified idiot, right here," she pointed to herself as she spoke in a self-deprecating tone.

"And let you get rid of me that easily? Good try but it ain't enough," I joked and gave her a light slap on the shoulder, "Besides, it's because you're an idiot that I'm gonna stick around. I did promise your mom that I'd look out for you, right?" upon the mentioning of her mom, Bloom's expression soured slightly with sadness and I gave her a worried look in reply, "You wanna talk about what just made you look like you've been sucking on a lemon?"

She looked hesitant at first but actually nodded her head soon after I'd asked and we walked over to the nearby bank that gave a wonderful view of the nearby river and the forest beyond it. We sat there, not minding the fact we were dirtying our clothes - mine had already been on fire, so what was the point in caring?

Bloom started soon after we sat down," So my..." she trailed off as she wrung her hands together like you would a wet cloth, "My mom and I don't really get along," she gave a sad laugh after that, "I know. It's a real shocker. I'm not, uh, exactly the ideal daughter for her," she paused and looked down at the dirty sand below us, "She'd love a socialite cheerleader, and I'm...well, I'm pretty far from that. And because of our differences, we'd always argue. Over the silliest crap, as well. Stuff that doesn't matter."

"Mhm," I hummed before nodding, "Yeah, I get it. Some parents can be like that. My dad included. I love both my parents but sometimes it feels like they're trying to live vicariously through me. Dad wants me to be the best warrior, mom wants me to be the best magic user - and it all really stems from them wanting to make the perfect mini-them and saw the opportunity when I came along," I paused before picking up a nearby pebble and messing about with it in my hand, "They love me. I know that. It's just sometimes they have trouble separating what they want me to do because it's something that want and letting me make my own way through life."

Bloom looked at me, a hint of understanding alight in her hazel eyes as she nodded along with what I said before forcing a laugh as she continued herself, "Yeah, well that all reached a crescendo with me, like, three months ago. Dad took the door off my room because I slammed it in my mom's face--I mean, I'd have taken a punishment, sure, but taking away my privacy? It just really pissed me off!" her eyes flickered orange and she stopped speaking as she took deep breaths.

Tentatively I reached out and put my hand atop hers, giving it a comforting squeeze. She looked back to me, her eyes snapping open in surprise but she did jerk her hand away and she gave me a thankful smile as she continued.

"That night...I just couldn't sleep," she said, her smile fading as she struggled to keep eye contact with me, "Just sat on the edge of my bed because every time I closed my eyes, that anger from earlier just kept building and building...and then it happened," she finally kept her gaze locked with mine and tears began collecting in her eyes again. One of her hands went up to stifle a sob and I shuffled nearer to her and put an arm around her shoulder to pull her into a side-hug, "The fire just started in front of me a-and it was like it had a life of it's own--" she stopped as she broke down in sobs.

I had a feeling this was the first time in a long time that she'd finally been able to let out all these bottled up emotions. Which was good. It was only a matter of time before she used an emotion or memory that would trigger this one and...kaboom. The end result would be some of the strongest magic Bloom could pull off right now but it's also be just as equally uncontrollable. If the memories she used earlier were like gunpowder, these ones were nitroglycerine.

I hugged Bloom close and she latched her arms around me like I was some sort of life raft in the middle of a storm. The strength with which she held onto me was almost like a death grip. It belief her relatively petite frame.

For a few minutes we sat there before Bloom was okay enough to continue, "I don't even remember how long I let it burn. I just remember my parents...screaming. I remember rushing to them after I realised what I was doing--that I was causing them to scream--and when I entered my parents room I saw my dad holding my mom who was covered in a blanket...after it was all sorted out, I found out my mom was covered in third-degree burns. Because of me. Because I couldn't control my emotions and the magic that's seemingly linked to them."

She snuggled in closer, uncaring for whatever embarrassment she'd normally be feeling and I just held her.

"Every night after that, I snuck out," she murmured, "I was so...so scared that I'd hurt them again, that I slept in this," she stopped to give a sad chuckle upon remembering something, "Creepy-ass warehouse near my house," she sniffled before finishing, "All until Miss Dowling found me."

I sighed and gave her a squeeze with the arm I had around her, "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Bloom," I said before looking down at her, "Yes, you caused a fire that hurt your mom. But you didn't know that was gonna happen, and minutes ago we literally saw how hard it is to cut off magic you've already started when you have someone tutoring you. So there was nothing you could've done when you didn't even know you were a Fairy, was there?"

"I guess not," she huffed in a reluctant way and I tilted her head up to look at me. Tear stained cheeks, even puffier eyes and a slightly running nose. Far from the beauty I'd seen earlier but I couldn't find it in me to be deterred by her current appearance, so I smiled widely and brightly at her.

"You can sit there and pity yourself, Bloom. Think about all the bad you've done and all the bad you could've done," I stood up and held a hand out for Bloom to take, "Or, you can stand up and accept what happened. Realise that no one's really explicitly at fault and that you didn't burn your mother with actual malicious intent. Most importantly, you feel remorse for an accident - that proves that you're a good enough person, Bloom, and we don't have enough of those in the world."

She looked up at me for a few seconds before wiping at her eyes and clearing her face up a bit, and then she took my hand, letting me pull her up off the ground. I let go of her hand but she took an extra few moments to let go of mine and she did so reluctantly as well, but I didn't read too much into it and just carried on, "You wanna head back to the dorm then? I doubt you wanna practice much anymore and I wouldn't recommend it either."

"Yeah..." Bloom shook her head, "I don't think I could think of any happy memories right now," she gave a weak chuckle and then the two of us began walking our way back. Just as we reached the barrier, however, I felt a heavy pressure begin to build at the back of my skull.

A feeling of nausea assaulted me and it was only my experience with such a feeling that I didn't double over and start gagging. Still, I grimaced and stopped in my tracks.

"Ezra?" Bloom asked worriedly, seeing the paleness of my skin and the subtle shaking of my body.

I held up a hand to her and covered my mouth for a second, closing my eyes to center myself. When I opened them a few seconds later, I lowered my hand and gave Bloom a forced smile, "You might have to go back to the dorm alone, Bloom," I said and just as she looked like she was about to question it, I cut in before that, "Werewolf stuff. Trust me, you don't wanna be around for what's about to happen next."

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish's before she gave a hesitant nod, "Are...are you going to be okay?"

"Y-yeah," I stuttered as I held back a wince as I felt the pain begin and the nausea receding, "I'll be fine, Bloom. Done this loads of times before. I'll explain it to you later, yeah? For now, go back to the dorm and get some rest," I bit the inside of my cheek at the end of my sentence to stop me from making any type of noise that would give away the utter pain I was feeling creeping from the base of my skull to the bottom of my spine.

Bloom gave another hesitant nod, obviously not okay to just leave me after I'd just helped her but it didn't matter what she felt in the end. This was way above her paygrade and if she stayed around, she'd probably end up hurt.

So, to stop that from being a possibility, I turned and walked away myself. I used what little power I was able to, to speed away and deep into the forest. I heard Bloom call me but I didn't hear her trying to follow, so that was good. Instead of worrying about that then, I focused on finding the right place for the first stage I was going through.

You see, a Werewolves body? Incredibly stupid. Despite lacking the ability to change, it still tries. Every full moon. And prior to the actual full moon, it tries to get into the best condition it can to change. This is referred to the first stage and it takes half an hour to be over. But that's half and hour of bone breaking, mind-shattering pain. It's horrific and trying to stop it only makes it feel worse, so it's an unfortunate part of being a Werewolf.

I came to a stop in front of a big oak tree, my skin red and even subtly steaming under the cold air around me. Ignoring that, I jumped and let loose all my claws, since it was part of the first stage anyway, and I sliced through a decently thick and strong-looking branch before letting gravity bring me back down to the ground.

Grabbing the branch that was still mid-air in front of me, I sliced parts off and was left with about a foot of the branch that was the thickest part. Opening my mouth wide, wider than most could, I chomped down on the wood and sunk my teeth into it.

Then the first stage really started kicking off.

I collapsed to the ground, on all fours, and my back contorted away from the ground in an unnatural curve. I groaned around the branch in my mouth and bit down harder on it, the wood creaking and splintering where my teeth dug into it. Cracks rang throughout my body, centered around my spine and ribcage, and I felt like my bones were trying to leave my body. My lower jaw ached and then began to grind at the part where it was connected to my skull, something changed there and then it was onto my teeth.

Canine teeth lengthened, all my other teeth sharpened, I felt them move and rearrange themselves...and then they stopped. The changes reversed, returning my teeth to normal. The bones in my spine and ribcage began to return to their normal states and weren't trying to forcibly leave my body anymore.

And when they returned to normal, the process started all over again.

It was a repetitive torture and I was glad I had so much experience with it now. This, despite being the exact same as when I first went through it, wasn't as bad as it sounded. Sure, it hurt, but I was kinda used to it by now.

Half an hour later and dozens of cycles of changing and reforming later, and the first stage was done.

I stood back up into a bipedal stance, my joints stiff and aching, and I spat out the wooden branch I'd used to gnaw on so I could lessen the pain in my jaw and teeth. It was completely ruined and left a bunch of wood shards in my mouth. Which meant I spent the next few minutes spitting out the shards and splinters still left in my mouth. By the end of that, my body felt a lot less stiff and the pain I'd just been immersed in felt almost like a distant memory.

Sighing, I looked up into the canopy above me, the sky still light, "Doesn't even need to be dark for me to start the first stage. What a load of bullshit," I mumbled to myself, knowing that in media back on Earth a Werewolf would only change under the direct contact or the appearance of the full moon.

That's not how it worked for me. You could change at noon on the day of the full moon. It really didn't matter if the full moon was there or not.

With that over and done with, I decided it was high time I headed back to the dorm.

...Though I could do with some more food so maybe stopping by the cafeteria would be for the best. Decisions, decisions~

. . .

Walking back into the dorm with a box of food under my arm, I saw that the dorm was pretty empty aside from Stella who was sitting on the sofa in the living room looking down at her phone. As I entered, she looked up and gave a smile, "Oh hello, Ezra," she put her phone down and sat up from her prone position, "I didn't see you at the orientation party. What were you up to?"

"Oh, you know, helping Bloom with her magic and then Werewolf stuff," I said as I walked into the living room and sat on the sofa opposite Stella, "How was the rest of the party? It was dreadfully boring when I was there."

"Nothing changed then," Stella scoffed before leaning forward a little, "But you helping Bloom? Where did you do that?"

I shrugged, putting the box of food on the coffee table between us, "In the forest beyond the barrier. Open space, plenty of silence and not much going on in terms of danger. Contrary to popular gossip anyway." I opened up the box and pulled out a sausage roll before gesturing to the box, "Want any?"

"What's...in there?" she asked curiously, leaning even further forward to look into the box. It was mainly filled with a bunch of pastries and the like. Cornish pasties, sausage rolls, some bacon and egg sandwiches--carbohydrate and protein heavy stuff. Without waiting for me to answer, Stella reached into the box and pulled out a sausage roll, "What's this...thing?" she asked in actual confusion.

"What?" I blinked before giving a disbelieving laugh, "Are you being serious? It's a sausage roll, Stella. A sausage covered in pastry."

"Well I'm sorry I've never heard of it," Stella huffed in mock annoyance that I could tell was really covering her embarrassment. Still holding it like it could somehow poison her, Stella took a tentative bite out of it before chewing and then she stopped, "Oh," she said, swallowing the contents of her mouth, "That's actually quite nice."

I gave a smirk upon hearing her, "Oh? Is commoner food to your liking, Princess?" I teased.

Stella's cheeks sported a faint blush at that but she gave a light laugh before taking another bite. This time she hummed her enjoyment of it, "Yes, I think it is. We never have anything like this in Solaria. Didn't even think we had it at Alfea...how did you get this?"

"I made it," I answered and she gave me a surprised look, causing me to laugh and raise my hands in self-defense, "Hey, I know I look like a Specialist brute but I'm pretty handy in the kitchen, you know? I went to the cafeteria, asked if they had the ingredients and then pulled out the 'I'm a Royal' card on them and they let me do what I wanted...Kinda weird that they started treating me so different right after that though - do you get that a lot?" I asked curiously, not being used to people actually caring that I'm a part of the Royal Family for Werewolves.

I mean, sure, people showed me respect. But that's because of my strength. In Werewolf society, like the Eraklyon culture it came from, people are respected based off of their strength. Not just physical strength either but magical and intellectual strength as well. Werewolf society is a complete meritocracy - you're given what you earn. Even if I was a Prince, if I was talentless and useless, nobody would've respected me back in my Tribe.

Meaning it's odd to me that the staff here care so much about my status without actually seeing me in action, so to speak.

Stella rolled her eyes, "Oh definitely. Everyone around here is all about status and if you're a royal? They automatically put you on a pedestal. I'm not saying it doesn't have it's benefits but it definitely has it's negatives. But enough about that," she changed the topic quickly and the fact there was history in it that made her uncomfortable was easy enough to see. "I care more about how you made this yourself. It's absolutely lovely," she said, punctuating her words with another bite.

"Thank you," I smiled and finished off my first sausage roll in one big bite. I gestured to the box of food, "You're welcome to have whatever you want, Stella. From one royal to another," I gave her a wink and her smile got ever so wider.

I studied her face a little at that. She was a beautiful young woman, like Bloom, but her kind of beauty was different. Bloom was the comfy and cute kind - the kind you want to protect and hold close so the world can't tarnish it. But Stella? Stella's beauty was intense. She had a face like a supermodel. Perfectly shaped eyebrows, almond eyes and thick, feather duster-like eyelashes that made every blink of hers look hypnotic and not to mention her plump lips. Her entire face was perfectly in proportion. She'd definitely won the genetic lottery, that was for sure.

"Why don't you take a picture? It'll last longer," she teased upon seeing me staring and I just laughed in reply, leaning back against the sofa and then realizing that most of the back of my vest was burned with holes in it.

I pulled the shirt off, unabashed, and reached forth to grab a pasty, "I've got a pretty good memory, Stella. A gorgeous girl like you? It'll be there for a while," I flirted a little and she practically preened at the compliment before her eyes fell down to my torso and stomach.

"Well, I can't say I'm not getting anything in return, can I?" she gave a wide, suggestive smile and finished off her sausage roll in a rather sensual way. Who knew you could make eating a sausage roll hot? Not me, but I'm not gonna complain about it either. She put her fingers in her mouth and sucked off whatever juices were left on it before letting it come out of her mouth with an audible pop, "You're quite different from the boys at Alfea, Ezra. You're quite fun. Unlike them you're even blatantly flirting with me - It's quite a nice change."

Seeing a chance to tease her, I pulled on a bit of my Werewolf speed and sped up right behind her, and leaned down to her ear, "I'm not blatantly flirting just yet," I whispered and she took in a shape intake of air. I pulled her hair aside and gave myself a clear view of her neck and her face. Her eyes were dilated and her cheeks were red. Her heart was beating a mile a minute and it was clear to my nose that she was at least somewhat turned on by my proximity, so I took it a step further and turned her head to look at me, "You'll know when I really wanna flirt with you, Stella," I continued in a whisper, getting closer and closer to her pink lips. I gave her plentiful time to say no, to move away, to slap me--and yet she did none of that.

Her eyes fluttered and she looked down at my lips before looking back to my eyes, her lovely lips ready for the taking and slightly puckered like she wanted the kiss to happen...and then I sped back over to where I was originally sitting just before our lips met.

Stella, as hot and bothered as she was, didn't notice for a few seconds and when she did her head snapped back to where I was, "What--" her cheeks were crimson red and her eyes slightly dazed.

But most of all, she was confused. How had I made her feel like that? How had I resisted kissing her when she was letting me go ahead? How, how, how, how--All the how's in the world were flashing through her head at the minute and I just gave her an innocent smile as I picked up the pasty I'd set down before speeding over to her.

Moments later, three people entered the dorm room and I gave Stella a knowing look and she quickly realised I'd heard them coming and then decided to stop. Or at least that's what I wanted her to think - Maybe it's the full moon effecting me but I just wanna ruthlessly tease a woman like Stella.

So pretty and confident. For some reason it really gets my heart pumping when I think about making her ask for it--making her make the first move.

I don't know what it is but something about Stella makes me have a lot less self-control than I should have. But those thoughts would have to wait as the three people who entered, Terra, Musa and Aisha, all looked around the dorm room as soon as they appeared before Aisha looked to me with a worried expression on her face.

"Where's Bloom?"

...Ah, shit.