Asher meets Finlay's sharp gaze, thinking. The mountains and the forest extend beyond Eldernia's borders, and most of the land beyond is unexplored. Has he somehow traveled to another country? It would certainly explain the cut and color of Finlay's clothes, as well as the strange words he's using.

Finally, Asher breaks the confused, heavy silence. "The what?"

"The Anathe... no?" Finlay abruptly straightens, lifting one eyebrow. "Nothing?"

Asher shakes his head. A light breeze brushes the side of his face, gentle but frigid. The forest smells like snow. Above, the sky is unobscured by stars. It's quiet, peaceful. Asher's fingers twitch, and an extra thrill of fear tumbles through him. He's been in enough fights to know when one is coming.

A frown shades Finlay's eyes, but he chases it away with a smile. "Well, ah... what was your name?"

"Asher." His voice sounds muted in the quiet hush of the woods.

"Asher," Finlay repeats, tilting his head. "I'd love to explain, but right now you need to step aside. Nathan and I have some business to attend to."

Asher senses more than he hears Nathan's shuddering inhale. The boy's strange magic spikes, sending another bolt of cold through Asher's body. Asher swallows, but he keeps his eyes trained on Finlay. Nathan has yet to attack him—at least on purpose—but this boy... there's a strange air about him. Asher doesn't like it.

"If I did," Asher replies, clenching his hands, "what would you do?"

"Deliver justice," Finlay says, the softest hiss of hatred twining through the words. Then he laughs, light and genuine. Asher's skin crawls. "Save the world. Be a hero. All that awesome stuff. Trust me, I'm the good guy here."

Nathan lets out a choked sort of gasp. Asher glances over his shoulder. The boy stares back at him, desperation and panic wild in his face. His eyes are wet; as they flicker back to Finlay, Asher recognizes another sort of pain swelling in them. Betrayal.

Asher spins back around, flinching when he realizes Finlay has moved forward. "Save the world?" he croaks. "He's... he's just a kid."

"A kid that will grow to destroy everything you love." Finlay takes another step, still the picture of friendliness. He's only a few paces away. "I don't think—"

"Stay away," Asher interrupts, his voice hitching. Soren makes the same argument about magic-users: dangerous, uncontrollable. Threats that have to be eliminated. Finlay's words ring in his head, a horrible, warped echo. "I don't care what he did, or what you think he'll do. Leave him alone."

Finlay stiffens, narrowing his eyes. Exasperation creeps into his tone. "You really don't understand, do you? Look, I don't want to fight another Tía. Get out of my way."

"Please," Nathan's voice brushes against Asher's ears, shaking, crumbling away. "Please, Finlay."

Finlay glances over Asher's shoulder, and the friendly mask falters. His gaze sparks with a dark, bitter rage. "That's not my name."

Asher recognizes the bite in Finlay's voice a second too late. With a sharp crackle, blue flames roar to life around the boy's arms; then he lunges, eyes blazing as bright as his fire.

Asher twists to the side as the boy reaches for him, but he's too slow. Finlay's hand lands on his chest, just above his heart. A stinging warmth seeps through Asher, dragging at his body. He slips, sudden darkness sweeping in over his vision. His own flames flicker and fade, drowned by exhaustion.

"Sorry, friend," Finlay murmurs, a harsh, wolfish grin tugging at his lips. He's already looking away, back at Nathan. "But I can't have some rogue Tía getting in my way. I'll explain later, okay?"

"No," Asher grinds out, summoning his magic. He uses the last of his energy to battle back the heavy, foreign weariness. It falters, and Fiesi's eyes jerk back down to him. Asher throws out one arm, wrapping his power around Finlay's body and wrenching him backwards. There is little resistance; Asher slams the boy against the trunk of a nearby tree, holding him in place with one hand.

Finlay writhes, his eyes going wide. "What...?" The cocky, self-assured smile slides back into place, but the fear behind it is easy to see. "Two Adeía in one place. No wonder you want to defend him."

"I don't know... what you're talking about," Asher gasps. He shouldn't be using magic: after teleporting and battling back Nathan's cold flame and whatever the hell Finlay just did to him, it's becoming harder and harder to breathe. The magic is resisting him, too, unwilling to be bent in such a way for so long. If Asher loses his concentration, it'll fade in an instant. He curls his fingers, gritting his teeth.

"You look tired," Finlay observes, a spark finally lighting amidst his fear. The fire around him surges, streaking toward Asher in a flash of blinding blue light.

Asher stumbles backwards, curling his fingers and forcing the flames aside. They twist and slam against the snowy ground, blazing up in azure coils before petering out. He looks up, anger flooding through him, and snarls. Finlay is trying to kill him, or at least knock him out. Asher's not going to let that happen again. He won't.

Before Finlay can attack again, Asher reaches for the boy and redoubles his hold on the magic, willing it to lull Finlay into a sleep of his own. Scorching heat surges through his heart, battling back his control. Asher embraces it, focusing on the energy, slowing it down, draining the fire away. Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Finlay sway.

"Hey, that's my trick," Finlay protests, the faked humor in his voice rapidly fading. Terror dances in his eyes even as his breathing deepens. "Rude of you... to steal it."

Another surge of searing flame burns through Asher's chest, stronger than before and far more painful. He sucks in a breath and redoubles his grip, lifting his arms. As he twists his fingers, he finally feels Finlay's strength waver. The boy topples sideways, catching himself on one arm. He remains that way for another few moments, trembling. The fire makes one last attempt to burn away Asher's attack, but he manages to push it back. Finlay's energy dulls a moment later, and the boy collapses.

There is probably a beat of silence, but the pounding in Asher's head drowns it out. His knees slam against the snow; he braces himself against his thighs, blinking a few times as his vision swirls. Everything aches.

"Wh...what did you do to him?"

Asher presses a hand to his head and turns around. Nathan looks horrified, his gaze darting between Asher and Finlay. Black flames still crawl across his arms, skipping between his fingers with a life of their own.

"He's sleeping." Asher's voice slips, and he sits heavily on his heels. Skies, he's tired.

Nathan doesn't seem reassured. "Was Fin... was he right? Are you Adeía? Like... like me?"

"Uh..." Asher blinks, trying to get his breathing under control. I'd better not fall unconscious again. "I really don't know what that means."

"Cursed," Nathan says thickly, choking on some hidden emotion. He holds out one hand, displaying the dark fire twining around his fingers.

Asher stiffens. Even from this distance, the chill of Nathan's magic pierces through him. "No, I... I don't think so. Not like that."

"Oh." Nathan draws back, hugging his arms to his chest. His eyes yet again move to Finlay, hesitant and afraid. He takes a step away. "What are you, then?"

Asher pauses, trying to collect his sluggish thoughts. "I'm... I'm just me. A human. I dunno."

"Human." Nathan lingers over the syllables, as if he's not quite sure what to make of that word.

Asher frowns. "You say it like you aren't."

"I'm not." Nathan swallows, his dark eyes regarding Asher. He glances at his hands, then his shoes. His fire recedes a little. When he speaks again, his voice cracks. "I'm a mo..." He shakes his head. "I'm not."

The faint sound of crickets buzzes in Asher's ears. Nathan doesn't look up, his hands clenched tightly in the fabric of his shirt. The boy's shaking. Asher's gut twists.

"You look human to me," Asher says quietly, shattering the brief pause. "You act human."

Nathan jerks; the flames twist up to his shoulders.

"So unless you're secretly a dragon or something..." Asher clambers to his feet. Darkness clouds his vision; he blinks it away, swaying. "I'd say you're human."

A weak, broken sort of laugh slips from Nathan's lips. But it's a laugh. He lifts his head, hugging himself tighter. "Thank you."

Asher offers a weak smile. A boy who thinks he's a monster. Maybe he is. Or maybe he's just another kid, lost and alone and afraid, hunted for something beyond his control.

Either way, this is going to be interesting.

><><

Fun Fact: this was originally intended to be combined with the last chapter, but Fiesi decided to make that one dramatic line the ending. Definitely his fault, and not because I was impatient to get a chapter out--

In other news, the intro chapters are done! That means that we'll be going into Nathan's POV next. (Surprise! Ash isn't the real MC, he just needed to be here for exposition!) So, uh, prepare for extreme amounts of angst, because we all know our dark boy needs therapy. I would say I'm nicer to him that Pup is, but... :D