[Winter - Moonton]

Traveling alone amid the walls and halls of his compound, the Immortal often fell into the habit of thinking aloud. He was of course surrounded by his almost filled cell space of captured Agists, but he paid them no mind. Instead choosing to ignore every sound they emit, from pleas of anguish to spats of rage. Eriko had discovered a way to tune it all out and breeze by daily talking to himself.

“Did I check the perimeter this week? Ah, I must’ve if I closed the shed. I surely remember doing that. Yes.”

At the end of the latest hallway, he reached a locked door to his right. Peering back to ensure no last-second visitors, he unlocked the polished wooden entryway, twisting the knob open and rushing inward.

The door slammed shut with the weight of his reversing back. The thick bolts used to fasten the hinges protruded into Eriko’s thin skin, causing discomfort. Not enough pain to interfere with the Immortal’s anxious nature and sweaty palms. With hampered breathing and an increased heart rate, the man scattered for the nearest seat at his desk.

The black leather desk basked in a direct beam of the day’s sunlight. Illuminated and sprawled across the surface, pens and pencils lay in a heap ready for the mad man’s grip. The wooden casings of some precise pens stood out to contrast the bite-marked and ramshackled tips of most pencils. Those that hadn’t already fallen to the floor.

The Immortal slumped to wipe his brow in his uncomfortable, seated position. He then returned to an alert posture, before proceeding to his task.

Eriko brought the end of the pen to his exposed tongue and gently pressed the tip against it. A prepared letter was missing some key elements before it was ready to be delivered.

“Dear Sheriff Haggart,”

Much quicker than needed, he went for more saliva on the pen. He liked the taste of the ink, but continued the letter aloud once near the finish.

“You’re well aware about the desperation found in desires. I reckon you deal with it on the daily through the misdeeds of the many. It’s your burden and a truly thankless job. That’s why, today, I am thanking you.”

With a silent pause, the Immortal looked up. Looked around, then continued.

“Fires can start, or end anything. Fire is that passion to overlook the, ‘right thing’ to do, in favor of what you know benefits ya’ kin. A common misconception about that is that you don’t find your family, it finds you. Yet, fire is also that same blaze that’ll wreak havoc if the wind breaks sideways. So tell me, Good Sir Haggart, if I have something I want from that southbound 480-train that’s chugging along, then shouldn’t I be granted permission to burn it, sir?

Or instead, will you take the enclosed payment wrapped in a handkerchief, and shut your mouth to your grave for the respect of someone as kind as myself and supportive of your sense of justice. Let’s start and stay- family.

Cordially,

The Immortal-”

[Winter - Parso]

Running in the same vague direction that Eriko left in, the Ageast sprinted off. Embers trailed and disappeared just as quickly in the hot breeze. However, credit to Penny’s astute attention, she noticed that orbs of excess fire Agi burned longer in a breadcrumb-like path through the dirt landscape.

She failed to grasp confidence, but her body acted in desperation. Lunging down the hallway to the occupied bedrooms, yelling and banging her fist along the sides on the way.

“It’s burning- fire! Fire everyone, wake up, we gotta get out of here!”

Scrambling and half-dressed in night-time attire, the ladies ran through their doorways and shuffled down the hall alongside Penny. The column next to the original spotted scene had become inflamed. Rugs furloughed beneath them, now a curtain and couch had ignited from the spreading embers. They lunged for the back sliding doors of the house’s study. Penny took one last passing glance as she whisked herself and her friends away from the residence.

Safe for the time being, they attempt to socially regroup their ideas. Next immediate step was where to go.

“What’s going on? Are we under attack?!”

Anette decried into the crackling night that they’d been exposed to. Wolves in the distance howled in response almost as a reminder that the natural power of fire was their current enemy.

“I don’t know, but I know I saw something,- and we have no way to put out this fire at this moment. We have to find a safe place, then return.”

Olivia nodded along, Anette too frozen to do anything but wrap her shaking arms around herself while standing, hunched, staring back at the melting structure. The situation wasn’t going to settle itself. This had been the sight that instilled that realization.

While Olivia was dealing with internal dialogue, Anette brought her arms off herself and yelled into the rippling sound of the crackling night fire, finalizing the consumption of their comfort, all in a brief second.

“I’ll go.”

“Go? Go where exactly, we don’t even know where J.J. is?”

Overlapping, Anette interrupted.

“-We know what direction he went. I-...I won’t need a map this time.”

Penny was subconsciously counting the seconds dwindling as the heat began to warm her back against the flames. Now was not the time for any divisions, she noticed the intent in Anette’s words. It would have been too easy, she contemplated even petty, to mention what had occurred the last time she ventured for help by her lonesome.

Instead, a picture of resolution became clear to Penny. She blurted out the makeshift plan before second-guessing herself. The fire from behind roared louder and scattered closer by the meters with every responsive gust.

“Great! I believe in you, Olivia and I both do, you’re going to bring J.J. and Wolf back.”

Penny extended a hand to rub the back of Anette’s slender elbow. A sign of sympathy, but also an acceptable queue to leave. Penny added one last self-command.

“Olivia here is going to go with nearby family that I met and are the kindest souls. While I’m going to chase down that damn Agi-critter and see where exactly it’s going. That’s how I’m going to help. I used to run fast when I was little in school, this is how we help ourselves.”

Anette obliged with a smile, gaze and finally a nod to each of the other distressed women. She appreciated the understanding from Penny. A true friend in the moment.

“I don’t need to say it but, be safe. See you on the other side.”

Anette closed her mouth and ran off in the direction of the Dead Canyon without looking back.

“Ms. Penny, I appreciate what you mean, but I can’t just leave.”

Olivia looked with messy hair and an uneasy expression. She wanted nothing more than to flee and land in the comfort of local family, but her professionalism and emotional fortitude prevented that selfishness.

The fire was reaching its apex, a giant pair of supporting beams nearby crashed into a crumbling, orange mess. The snapping of the wood persisted louder, causing both women to flinch backwards and regain their footing. This pause allowed them to restart their waning conversation. Penny was quicker.

“I’m going to do something I learned from J.J. himself, self-sacrifice. I’m not trying to get myself picked off, I’ll return safely, but I’m going to flirt with that sonuva’ bitch Death until I know everything I need to know about this arsonist- for J.J., for all of us.”

Olivia couldn’t think of a more profound response than silence, so Penny finished, raising her nose into the air while breathing deep. Through her coughing, she still declared to her housemate.

“You go with your family, I got an Ageast to follow- safely.”