Brianna ran towards the sound trying to make sense out of it. The village was deep asleep and even if there was an insomniac awake, there was no reason for him to be this far from home in the middle of the winter. When she arrived to the recently burnt land, her heart clenched at the sight of a laying male figure.
Coming closer she noticed he was covered by ashes, but very much naked. His chest was moving up and down, which was a major relief. She was not a fan of accidentally killing people. She shook him up a bit, trying not to look bellow his waist. It would be extremely awkward it he were to wake up to her staring at him. Unfortunately for her, he didn’t move, so she understood her only choice was to bring him home to tend to his wounds.
She didn’t even try to lift him up, knowing a well-built man like him would be too much for her to carry alone. She asked the earth for a little help and was immediately granted with the strength to carry him home. She was glad they were not in the water domain, because that playful little prankster would smirk at her for leading a handsome naked man into her home at that time of the night and she was simply not in the mood.
Reaching her cottage, she placed him on her bed and started to assess his condition. Surprisingly, he had no traces of burnt flash or any other wounds for that matter. With a wet cloth, she cleaned him up as best she could. She skipped his mid-section thinking he could manage the dirt down there when he woke up.
To avoid any embarrassment, she got a large piece of clothing she had and put it on him with her eyes away from his body. She glanced at him to see if her movement had caused any disturbance, but he didn’t move. His face was peaceful, but Bree couldn’t help but notice he had a fierce expression even with his eyes closed.
She took her time to take in his figure, imagining there could be some indication as to what he was doing in the middle of the woods. He was strong and tall, had a short copper hair and his messy beard gave off a perilous vibe. His hands were calloused and big, and when she touched them, she thought them warmed up a bit. It reminded her of the sensation of calling for fire, but the rest of his body was cold, and the feeling was soon gone.
The sun was rising by the time she finished, but she was exhausted from the agitated night, and her guest was deep asleep in her bed. She went towards the small couch near the bed and decided to rest her eyes for a while. Soon, she drifted off to dreamland hard and heavy.
Bree woke up in an awkward position in the couch. She stretched a bit and scanned the room, fixating her gaze in the guest on her bed. She came closer and noticed he was on the same position she left him, indicating he was not simply resting, and his unconsciousness was deeper than she thought.
Now that she was rested and the sun was piercing through the window, she noticed a few things about the unexpected guest. First, he seemed strong. Not his body, though he was indeed muscular, but even in his sleep he would let out a powerful aura that was a bit overwhelming. Second, he was somehow calling for her.
It was a small pull, that had her confused at first, but kept bothering her like a strand of hair attached to your arm that you can’t locate and remove. When she focused on it, the pull drove her to touch his chest lightly. She cleared her mind to make sense of the foreign sensation that spoke to her and when she did, it was strange and dark. He was calling for fire.
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Nathaniel knew it was to soon for the Council to have found him already. He was in a void and had no way of knowing the exact passing of time, but he was not restless yet, which indicated not much time had passed. Maybe one of the members was passing by and found him earlier than expected or perhaps his deed in the forest was noticed and they came to reward or punish him.
Either way, he felt power and knew he needed to reach out. He expanded his energy aura to make his possible savior aware of him and asked for fire. He felt light hands touching his chest right above his heart and felt a presence unlike anything he knew. His fighting instincts kicked in and he was ready to pin down the owner as soon as he was granted the fire he needed to wake.
He knew this presence was the source of power he had identified, but the pump of flames didn’t come. The soft touch he felt left and he went back to feeling only the void.
Brianna stood frozen in place trying to make sense out of the calling she heard. How could she call for fire and place it within a person? She had never experienced a call from something outside the raw elements and was ultimately confused by it. She knew the elements like childhood friends and although they sometimes played tricks on humans, she’d never seen them go straight for the kill like that. Placing fire within that man would kill him, wouldn’t it? She backed away from the sleeping figure to think and decided to go by her day. He wasn’t going anywhere in that state, so she had time to think about it while performing her daily tasks.
“Who are you?” he asked, sensing he was dealing with more power than he originally thought. She noticed the change in attitude and decided to leverage his reduced aggressiveness. She let go of the water and allowed some branches to retreat, which was a major relieve for them both. She took a deep breath to steady her own voice before talking“I am Brianna of Hawthorne, and I would appreciate if you cease to attack me for no apparent reason” She felt drained and still scared but was glad her voice didn’t tremble.&
He watched her cook for a while, but got a bit confused by her ways. She was obviously powerful, and by now he was positive she had domain over all the four elements. However, she cooked as a peasant. She got water from a bucket she clearly got from the river, and he noticed a fireplace bellow beside the stone oven, which meant she didn’t even use air to stoke the fire. When she got the flint to start the fire, he couldn’t help himself.“Are you really going to use that?” He pointed towards the stone. Her confused expression made his eyes roll and he ignited the wood inside the fireplace with a small hand gesture.
The day after his awakening, Nathaniel made the quick walk towards the witch’s cottage to begin training. They meet by her door and she swiftly took him through the woods, into the clearing she described the day before. The spot was perfect for training and the man noticed how comfortable she was in the nature.“Where do we start, Nathaniel?”“I was the one to make the offer so it’s only fair I start teaching. Perhaps you can show me what you can do.”
Bree regained consciousness before she opened her eyes, which allowed her to enjoy the feeling of being taken care of a bit longer. The gentle strokes on her hair and cooling sensation on her neck took her to a blissful state and when she opened her eyes, she met a pair of hazel ones that gazed her with such intensity she found it impossible to look away. Nathaniel froze when her eyes fluttered. He wanted to stay there, but he was not known for his self-restrain when it came to matters of the flesh and escalating things with the witch would only compromise his endgame. He opted for a harsh approach instead.
About a month into their training, Nathaniel was finding the nights exceedingly long and the days spent by Brianna’s side way too short. As he made his way to the clearing, he reminisced the day they practiced way after dark. At dawn, he asked her to start a fire pit for practice purposes, but in truth he just didn’t want to leave. In return, she asked him to kill the fire with water from the river and though the water started to move, it was not enough to perform the task. The woman held one of his hands and he felt a surge of power coursing through him, allowing him to call for the water and lower the flames. The memory almost put a smile to his face, but he frowned, shook his head and kept his morning path towards her.
That night, Brianna laid in bed lost in thought. She did not plan for any of that to happen and was puzzled by the consequences of her acts. The construction of a rational train of thought was constantly broken by flashes of his hands on her body, the softness of his hair, and then the agonizing detachment of their lips. She shook her head trying to focus. There was something there, just bellow the surface. It needed to be thought through and brought out.She was a master of the elements and her purpose was to answer their callings and tend to their needs, not the callings of men. Mankind had a way of satisfying their needs without her and she had no business messing with the natural flow of th
His kisses trailed down her neck and she tilted her head invitingly. He groaned at the movement and she felt his manhood swell against her skin. Her knees weakened and she felt his grip on her tighten, but Bree decided the gravity was not helping her stay vertical. She called for the wind and it wrapped around them like a cloak, lifting them gently and placing them back on the ground on a horizontal position. She made sure to end up on top of him and backed out just enough to see his eyes widen in surprise.Her heart was racing, and she felt daring, so she went down to kiss him again but not missing the chance to lightly brush her nipples against hi