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Twix crouched low in the bushes. Her palms itched like a new hatched dragon. It was past time for the other three to arrive, and the wait was making her jittery. She scrubbed at her hand with a fingernail and grabbed a twig to toast just a little.  The river just in front of her rose bush was gurgling along merrily, no sign of Kell yet. She sat back against the trunk of a tree behind her. Life was just getting too complicated, the anger and frustration of the gang was mounting a little high. Kell was alright, there wasn’t much that could faze the blue eyed water child, but still there were times when the steady gaze from beneath his dark tangle of hair seemed to scorch the air around her. Twix shook her head to stop thinking in such a way, to much poetry… to much fluffy junk. She twirled the twig in her fingers heating it enough to leave a trail of sparks through the air. Soran always said none of the four should get involved with each other… made life hard on everyone. That was ironic for her though; Soran was the pretty one, eyes a deep purple like the special type of violet she grew in her garden, and long golden hair that sometimes shimmered like the liquid gold of sunlight on water. Twix was just herself; a longish shaggy mane of ever changing red hair (Kell said that when she got angry it danced and sparked like a little camp fire) dark orange eyes that could (and often did) shoot piercing glares that an observer would swear burned like fire, and an over all air of the-devil-take-the-hindmost. There was nothing all that remarkable about her. Soran though she could just walk into a room and have every male in the vicinity drooling over her. It was no wonder that Tor had a thing for her. Tor’s element was wind, and almost any nitwit could tell it simply from the way a breeze seemed to constantly flick through his chocolate shag. Anyone who really knew Tor knew his favorite breeze, she was a shy little puff of air from the warm west wind. She had blown in one day when Tor was barely four and had stayed with him since, playing softly through his hair, she wasn’t a major wind or even a famous gust, Tor simply called her Ain. Twix liked Tor and Kell as much as Soran did, they were all her best friends but she wasn’t sure that she could handle having a relationship with either of them. Soran herself had said as much…but she sometimes had trouble taking her own advice… now there was a fight happening between her and Tor over some silly misunderstanding and to many nights alone in the back of her little car. Soran wanted to be with him, but Tor had a tendency to be a little like his wind, floating from place to place. Early on in his life he had learned that attachment brought pain, so he avoided it like he avoided small spaces. Poor Soran, Twix thought,  she didn’t understand the concept that someone might not want to stay with her forever. Her heart was nearly broken by Tor’s sudden coldness. 1

God! Why did everything have to be so damn complicated? It wasn’t just Soran and Tor, there was Kell to. The atmosphere of the four had dramatically changed in the past couple months. Starting when Tor had quietly seduced sweet Soran and taken her off to his hideouts, and escalating into the dark tension that surrounded all of them now. The guys acted all awkward and touchy… and the girls… well she liked to think that it was only Soran who was off her rocker, but lately she found her self thinking to often of the river and Kell. It looked nice to be held and touched and kissed, Soran had seemed happy enough…well until it had all fallen apart. 2

Twix dug her fingernails into the cold mud around the base of the oak tree to cool off her itchy skin a little. The fact was that everything was changing. She hated change… it always meant something bad was happening. Too messed up, too crazy she thought. Then there was Nana to, her little sib. Twix couldn’t tell yet but she thought Nana might be showing signs of being elemental… That would mean training and probably membership into the group. Nana was a gorgeous little girl, but really that’s all she was, a little girl. Twix didn’t know what she would do if Kell or Tor took a shine to her. Soran and Twix both could handle the advances of the men or choose to allow them if they wanted to… but Nana was so small and helpless… seemingly at least. And she had to admit it would be beyond sweet if Nana was another Pyro, but things weren’t looking up other than that. She sighed audibly, and her breath set the fragile leaves of the bush to rustling. She carefully curled a strand of red hair around her finger and tugged it free. Holding it close to her mouth she blew it into the rose bush, and watched. After a second a thin wisp of smoke curled from the little leaf that the hair was resting on.  Before it could catch and burn though, a drop of water fell onto it and snuffed out the smoldering flame. Twix looked up and grinned mischievously into Kell’s face.3

“Naughty naughty, T, what would Soran say?” Kell laughed4

“I just couldn’t resist… you’ve kept me waiting so long, besides my fingers itched. She’s lucky I didn’t torch the whole bush.”  Twix said still smiling at him… “ Just the same, you won’t tell her will you?”5

“Tell who what?” Tor asked appearing through the trees.6

“Oh Twix was just about to incinerate Soran’s rose tree here and is now begging me not to tell on her.” Laughed Kell.7

“I was not!” She protested. “It was only one leaf and I wasn’t begging either.” 8

Tor’s smirk melted for a second and then pasted itself back together. “Burn it to the ground Twix, it’ud serve her right.” 9

Kell and Twix both stopped laughing. They stared at him for a moment.10

“ That’s not funny Tor, you really don’t hate Soran, don’t even say things like that…” Kell finally said. Tor gazed blankly at the bush for a second, then down at the ground. “No, but I wished to god she would just leave me alone, its like she expected me to give her my signet…” When someone wanted to show their love and make a promise to be together with a person forever they exchanged signet rings, a sort of miniature symbol of each individual person. Twix shifted uncomfortably on the ground, “She did, Tor…”11

“Well she had no freaking reason to think it, I told her from the start I only wanted to be casual.” Tor snapped. Twix blushed a little and examined her own signet ring with its little curls of flame. She never failed to be amazed at how she could handle blood and guts, but always blushed at the slightest mention of sex.12

“ Aww don’t be that way Tor, you know damn well how she felt and you went on with it like your pleasure was the only thing in the world that mattered.” Kell said, fists starting to clench a little as teeny rivulets trickled through the crunchy leaves around his feet. “Oh stop it guys Soran will be here soon, and Kell your getting me wet.” Twix said picking herself up and brushing at a wet spot on her pants. “Ugg see what you’ve done? Now I have to get these dry cleaned...”13

“ Oh let me see,” Tor sighed. He brushed his hand quickly over the spot and directed a tiny current of air to dry it out. “ There,” he said when it was all done “Happy?”14

“Hmm I suppose.” she said suppressing a smile. Tor laughed a little letting the day sink in some and the dark mood go. 15

“Where on earth has Soran gotten herself to?” Kell asked. 16

“I’m here” a sing song voice said as Soran stepped into the little clearing.17