This Girl is on Fire (Pt 2)

Posted on Wed May 1st, 2024 @ 8:01 by Alastair Temple & Liana Zhao

Chapter: Winter's Crest Festival
Location: Loch-side, Avalon Institute
Timeline: Evening of 16th December
3778 words - 7.6 OF Standard Post Measure

"I did ask you out here for more than just another opportunity to fuss about the weather," she eventually confessed, veering to the right to follow the path that meandered around to the small gap in the shrubbery that lead to the outcrop popularly used as an access point to the water. Under supervision, it was deemed suitable enough for wading and crab-spotting, though the temperature both in and out of the water was rarely tempting enough for this to be seen as anything more than a dare amongst peers. Foresight had seen it earmarked as a point of interest for the self-guided tour, which was a good thing because Liana wasn't convinced she'd have been able to find it without the illuminated markers. "And there is some point to my interest in your transformation experiences." She lifted her gaze to study his profile, backlit as it was by a moon in its last quarter. "Can I speak in confidence for a moment?" This was less of an actual query and more a way of letting him know that this conversation was about to touch on something she preferred not to disclose in mixed company.

Alastair never trusted it when people suddenly became serious, it always meant that he had to be serious too. As she asked her query he halted, turned towards her and placed a gloved hand on hers, that was looped through his other arm. A nod, as eyes met hers. "Of course," he replied, his rich baritone soft, his expression kind but serious.

A breath drawn in through her nose was soon released and, perhaps as a means to mitigate her agitation, Liana started moving again, pausing to gather her thoughts into appropriate words before she spoke. "The altercation in town has forced me to consider something that was already bound to be a priority eventually. My mutation..." Once again, the typically graceful woman faltered. "I have learned to control it over the years. I spent some time very specifically focusing on just that, in fact, to the point where I generally feel I can guarantee it will remain inert unless I choose otherwise. There are no absolutes, of course, and I will forever have to take into consideration the destructiveness any lapse in containment but I am lucky, I suppose, to lack Jon's volatility, for example."

The curl of her breath once again punctuated a deep sigh.

"The issues arises when I am placed in harm's way." Liana smiled faintly and used her elbow to gently nudged at Alastair's side. "Thanks to your dramatics, we were spared the need for me to demonstrate but adrenaline does interrupt a person's composure. I have felt a little shaky ever since," she admitted. "Part of my meditation cycle does involve voluntary transformation, but it's thankfully not something I require very often and that means I can usually time it with being in a suitable location. With the upcoming festival..." Liana fixed her gaze directly ahead. "I haven't spontaneously ignited in over a decade, I don't wish to break that record in front of an audience."

"First of all, I'm sorry for causing you stress. That was not my intention," His words were quiet and honest, as he walked along, matching her pace, though for him it was very slow. His footfalls heavier and more sporadic than her lighter, faster ones. "So, using your power, letting it out so to say, helps keep you from - well, losing control?" he ventured. "And with the festival, yeah - that's a lot of potential stress," Beat. "So, from this follows that you want to - do it tonight? Before the festival, to get it out of your system? And - ... you invited me along for it?" as the 20 pence coin dropped and things clicked for the music teacher he looked at her with a sense of appreciation, feeling honored.

The hint of demureness to the smile Liana afforded him gave at least some indication of her relief that he didn't find the request an imposition. As much as there was a sense of reciprocated trust behind it, there was also a far more selfish desire to involve someone capable of assisting should it become necessary. "I have an odd relationship with secrecy where my powers are concerned. I am at peace enough these days with my mutation not to feel the shame I once did, but I'm rarely in a position to openly demonstrate without placing others in danger. On the balance of things, I have twice seen yours in action, it seems only fair." Several footsteps marked the silence before she added, gazing straight ahead to avoid direct eye contact, "It will also be helpful to have someone hold my clothing."

The "Uhhh~" that issued forth lasted perhaps a bit longer than one would expect, as Al processed that remark. A slight blush was barely visible underneath the hat and among the luxurious facial hair, though the low key goofy smile was more evident. "Uhm. Yeah. I can do that," he offered. "H-how do you wanna do this?"

Had it not seemed a little cruel, Liana might have chuckled at his discomfort. It wasn't as if she was immune to it, the only real hesitation she'd given to inviting him along centred around this specific point, but she'd also had time to come to terms with it and recognise that a more permanent place at Avalon came with some responsibility that didn't leave room for excessive modesty in some cases. "My first intent was to make sure that we can avoid an audience." At this time of year, students were less likely to try and break curfew to hang out by the water's edge but it put Liana's mind at ease to check anyway. "Since that seems to be the case, the next step is to find somewhere with reduced likelihood of me starting a grass fire." She did laugh softly at this before turning her head to gaze across the loch. "A large rock would suffice."

"There's one over there," Al pointed out. He'd spent some time flying around every now and then, exploring the area, and knew where most major features were. The big, old oak tree on the east side of the lake. Some rocks, though most had plants near them, which would be too dangerous for Liana to use her powers near. But one rock he knew might suffice. "Here, I'll walk you to it," he offered.

There were a number of reasons for the silence that followed next. Part of it was preparation for the logistics of transformation itself, particularly at the other end of it when the undergarments she was very accustomed to sacrificing had already offered their services. There was also the matter of the cold, which admittedly wouldn't chastise Liana too much whilst she was airborne but that didn't improve the appeal of rendering herself practically naked in the process. More whimsical was the consideration for how infrequently she had ever shared this with anyone outside her family and those who had mentored her to the point of self-management. Transformation was always risky, she did not take a form that interacted kindly with the environment around her, particularly other people if they got too close. Whilst the benefit of a clear night was improved visibility, that also meant she would likely stand out like a small, flitting-about beacon to anyone with a decent vantage over the loch, and there was no real haste in longing to add to the castle's current reputation. Involving Alastair, however, did not fill her with the same kind of reluctance and though Liana worried that he would think she was just making use of him, the truth was, this felt like something she wanted him to know about her. She was just less sure of adding to that audience with any other nosy parker out for a late-night walk.

These were all minor concerns, however, that would have been easily reconciled if there hadn't been a very familiar need to bolster her rational mind's insistence over her more instinctual reservation in regards to the specifics of the location. She never transformed without an accessible water source if she could manage it, for obvious reasons. It was a very sensible precaution, but did require the potential management of one very essential flaw.

She couldn't swim.

Not only that, whilst dousing would prevent injury to others, Liana's relationship with water ran parallel to her requirements in ambient temperature. A long, luxurious bath of steaming water was easy enough to enjoy but a dunk in the frigid waters of the loch would not be the wisest of health choices. She was still struggling to determine the necessity of warning Alastair when they arrived at the spot he'd guided them to.

Nodding slowly, Liana exhaled quietly. "Yes, this'll be fine." For a moment, she stood and stared out across the water and then rallied, pulling a glove off by the fingers and stuffing it into her jacket pocket before repeating it again with the other glove and then reluctantly shedding the woollen garment. With a faint smile, she held it out to Alastair. "I'd never make much of a crime fighter," she joked, mostly to ease her own tension. "They'd be halfway across the country before I found a sensible place to change."

The notion of feeling used honestly never even crossed Alastair's mind. He knew this was something personal to her, and so, to be involved in it, invited to witness it, made him feel honored, even. It made him want to do the absolute best job he could. The thought of which made him chuckle softly - a gesture he then hoped Li wouldn't interpret wrongly - as he felt that that desire, so conscious, was perhaps a bit childish of him. The thought of witnessing the slow disrobing of a beautiful woman he'd grown very fond of and gained substantial rapport with also filled him with warmth and made him feel slightly awkward, more like a silly teenager, not fully knowing how the woman had further envisioned this moment to go.

He was sure she'd let him know, though. She seemed vocally confident enough.

"As I understand it, you can change at will, just at the cost of your outfit, right?" he asked, even as he took the offered coat, hanging it over his left arm to free up his right hand again. "Does the shift itself use up a lot of your energy, like it does me? Does staying in your other form?" Yes. Conversation was good. It distracted the awkward teenage boy inside him.

Were she to be questioned directly on the matter, Liana would have confessed to being slightly surprised that she didn't feel more awkward than she did about the prospect of such literal exposure. Part of it, she'd already reasoned to herself, was because the other concerns had left only an already-overcrowded corner for embarrassment to fester, but the slight twitch of her lips as she bent to remove her boots was a partial reminder of her mischievous side, which had already proven itself deserving of accusations of flirtatiousness in present company. All the way up until her personal boundary, the psychiatrist was gracious and respectable to a fault; it was the deviousness that one found once they were allowed to cross the threshold that tended to come as a shock.

She rose, curling her toes against the cold, and regarded the music teacher with twinkling eyes as the woollen hat that had done such a decent job of keeping her loose hair out of her eyes was removed and, reaching up, removed his own hat and handed it to him before wedging down the beanie onto his head in such a way as to form a blindfold. Somewhat.

"If I were to attempt this too often, I would find it draining. Since it's mostly a response to pent-up energy, exhaustion isn't usually a problem."

There was a rustle of fabric that tempted the imagination.

"Ten minutes should be enough. I'll try not to go out of sight."

A snicker at the hat pulled over his eyes; so this was how she was going to solve the situation of modesty. Fair enough, it worked for him. He did feel a bit hot under the collar though when his imagination was tempted. But still, he dutifully held his pose and even inclined his head downwards, as if in a display of cooperation. No words spoken, he simply waited for what was to come.

What happened next, from a visually-impaired perspective, was experienced mostly as a sudden blast of searing heat accompanied by the woosh of thermal elevation and a very bright red-orange glow. In keeping with Liana's concerns about attracting attention, and in contrast to her lack of desire to make contact with the water, the streak of flames remained only metres above the water's surface and resembled little more than a rapidly accelerated fireball as it made its way around the circumference of the loch. The initial moments were the most volatile, where the struggle for containment demanded a form be selected promptly or run the risk of expansion exceeding Liana's ability to control. It was within that same space of time, however, that she released most of the tension that had been building and so the balance was always delicate. She had not exaggerated when she promised Jon access to mentors who understood the elemental process beyond the superficial; once upon a time, before she had learned how to channel this properly, it was not difficult to see how utterly destructive her potential might have been. What looked so graceful and effortless was actually ridiculously precise timing.

It was once she neared completion of the full circuit that she seemed to slow a little, and though the shift was gradual, the elongation of the molten ball eventually became prominent enough not to be mistaken as a trick of the eyes. A series of twists in a spiral that took her upwards finally resembled the final casting of invisible robes and in a flurry of flames, form took over. This was the point where her desire to involve Alastair took on a more profound clarity, for she'd never really elaborated on the nature of her chosen transformation, knowing it to be relevant but being previously unsure of her ability to demonstrate as easily as he had. Much like Alastair, the wingspan alone was easily double what her chosen alias suggested, (another thing they had not discussed because the name was more of a gift and one she found little use for currently), and the length of her tail placed the vermillion's overall size as roughly Liana's own. The next lap was at a slightly more gentle pace, for by this point, she had gained the focus to add purpose to her exploration.

At the sensation of the blast of heat - one that Al had expected, but even in his wildest imagination had still underestimated - he stumbled back a step, but still reached up to lift the hat from his eyes, squinting at the fiery display before him, lest he be blinded by it. The ball of fire, heat and violence, melted the layer of ice that was the surface of the lake - steam rose from the now exposed water, just adding layers to the sight before him, as Liana pierced the now arising mist, as she circled the water feature. But when the blazing inferno shifted, elongated, sharpened in definition, did his expression shifted, from merely being impressed at the display, to mouth agape, eyes wide. His arms wavered, lowering, though he remembered just in time that he had a job to do - and by the Gods of Metal, he was going to do it, thus her clothing saved the indignity of being dropped on the frost covered floor.

And so the man watched. Sweat starting to appear on the exposed skin of his face, from the heat. From the sight. All he could do was stare, as before him the magical, mystical form of a phoenix, wreathed in flame, regarded him. Oh he could see no eyes, but he felt them. A deep gulp, a goofy smile, and all he could stammer was " ... beautiful."

A discussion involving the liberation of flight would be something the pair could share later, when there wasn't a lingering threat of turning the loch into seafood chowder. Hovering in place came with a touch of vanity, though it was also true that Liana hadn't dragged Alastair all the way out to the edge of a cold lake only to afford him a fleeting glimpse of what her mutation resembled. Since coming to terms with her genetics, Liana had found a way to connect in very practical, very tangible ways through her work and yet there was no small amount of irony to the fact that she could rarely share her abilities with the troubled youths who were left to take her supposed empathy with a grain of salt. Making peace with it all didn't make it less isolating and so as she paused, occasionally twirling slowly on thermal air currents of her own devising, Liana gave them both time to absorb the enormity of it all.

It also allowed time for one of them to realize he needed to close his eyes.

He didn't, though. At least, not yet. Instead he instinctively took a step back, squinting and bringing a hand up to shield his eyes. She wanted to show him her alternate form, this magnificent and gorgeous phoenix, and he was going to observe it. Another step back, until he found a decent compromise between the discomfort of the heat, yet still being able to witness her fiery form. His mind raced, he struggled to keep from just transforming into his own raven form, then and there, to fly with her. What interesting, magnificent thermals she would generate, that could see him dancing through the air with her - but, no. Once again, he'd made a promise to her, to hold her clothes, and that's what he did.

It wasn't exactly possible for a bird fashioned from flame to look amused and yet there was a familiarity to the tilt of its head as Liana waited for an opportune moment to land. It was the risky part, of course, since a misstep or stumble held the possibility of unintentionally setting the underbrush on fire, at which point discretion regarding her lack of suitable clothing would be very much a secondary concern. A spin upwards created a slow backward arch, after which a more purposeful approach was kept in check by steadying wing-beats as curled talons unfurled to take the shape of more recognisably-human feet, for all the metamorphosis was still very much in the transition stage. As she landed on the large rock already identified for its suitability, Liana resembled a partial hybrid, having mostly reverted to her feminine form whilst still being composed of flame enough to preserve her modesty.

"You can set them down." It was her voice, unmistakably so, and yet carried as a partial whisper as solidification took its time.

"As you wish," Al smiled, referencing The Princess Bride, as he carefully put the clothes down, on the cleanest spot he could find within reach. He made sure the jacket was the thing touching the ground, as he took another step back, and another, once more pulling the brim of the hat down to cover his eyes.

The haste behind the rustle of wool was more a feature of the sharp contrast in temperature than any rush to avoid embarrassment. Though she would benefit from her self-generated heat for a little while longer, Liana still felt the bite of the cold across her shoulders as she struggled firstly into her dress and then pulled back on the thick tights and boots that would help to trap the warmth. There was less of a hurry to pull on her coat, draping it instead over one arm as she flexed her still-toasty fingers and then ran their tips quickly through her loose hair to coax it to settle. A glance at Alastair and his willingness to embrace the rather silly method she'd inflicted on him for keeping his gaze obscured prompted a smile and Liana resisted the urge to admire the result for too long before announcing, "You can look now."

And so he did, pulling the hat up again and smiling warmly. "That was - ... Beautiful," he eventually managed, reaching a hand out to her, though he wouldn't be able to tell why even if asked, and so he awkwardly lowered it again. "Fierce. Powerful. Free," It was all he could say, really. Adjectives. But he meant them. Robert was always the poet, not Alastair. "How you feeling?" he added.

"Ask me again in a few minutes." It was a delicate way of confessing to the disturbed equilibrium that followed transformation without making too much fuss out of it. There was exhilaration to the release but also a lingering sense of temptation, a desire to remain in that form despite the fact that it would obviously render her incapable of a functional, normal life. Curbing her wild side had taken years of dedicated control but Liana wasn't immune to the allure of absolute liberty and typically took a while after returning to find her peace again. "I'll be fine," she added quietly as extra reassurance. "Though I think moving away from the water's edge is probably a good idea." Clambering down from her rock took a moment's hesitation to find her balance, after which Liana still reached out a hand to prevent herself from slipping.

A hand in aid re-extended, to offer some guidance and support for her descent from a rock never intended for this purpose. "I have so many questions, just - not sure how appropriate they are, in nature and timing," he confessed, even as he braced his arm for her to balance herself against. Now that he'd seen the power of the transformation, and how much effort it eemingly took to get or keep it under control, he also better understood the need for a big rock with little in the way of vegetation around it, for the transformation to take place. Not that he didn't believe her when she'd said that was what she ideally needed, but respecting someone saying they need something and seeing it for yourself are not necessarily the same thing.