Kat stared out across the sands as they sailed by. She had let her body relax even though her mind remained vigilant. She leaned her head over the front of the sand skipper using her arms as makeshift pillows. Her normally energetic tail with its constant balance corrections curled up on her back. Her wings fell to the sides hanging just slightly over the edges, though make sure not to catch the wind.
Kat's legs were in a less pleasant arrangement. Half bent and wedged against the canoe wall, but Kat didn't mind. Space was limited and her body didn't seem to mind sitting in awkward positions like it used to.
Kat stifled a yawn. She wasn't tired exactly but the sun and heat radiating from above and below was a perfect sensation. Like being warmed by blankets on a cold winter morning.
"Kat? You alright? Not getting heatstroke on us are you?" asked Skye looking at Kat's slightly goofy smile and relaxed attitude.
Kat lazily turned her head to face Skye and answered "Nope, I'm perfectly fine. Why would you think that?"
Skye wiped the immense amount of sweat that had piled up on her brow and looked at Kat confused "Um, because we are sweating more water than I've drank in a week and you just seem to be basking in the heat. If you've started losing it we need to know sooner than later"
Kat raised an eyebrow and looked past Skye at Grace, who was hunched over sweating buckets and looking at Kat with an unkind expression. What? Ooh… right. Kat quickly released her heat resistance was a much kinder boon then she really appreciated.
Grace sighed when she saw Kat not answering "Remember the orb?"
With that Skye's eyebrows shot up and understanding dawned on her face as Grace's words brought the scene of Kat hugging an orb capable of burning them all to a crisp like she was a cat in front of the fire during a snowy winters night,
With this Skye's expression fell as well, mimicking Grace's look of anger and disapproval towards Kat. "Give me back my concern" said Skye
Kat shrugged and returned to her lookout duties as she spoke "Look, I understand, but I'm keeping an eye out for anything on its way and just enjoying the heat"
"Wait a minute" said Grace suddenly even angrier "Don't you have ice powers?"
"Yup" said Kat
"And you aren't using them to cool us down at all?" asked Grace
"I don't exactly have the best grasp over control. I'm just as likely to freeze you both solid as I am to cool you down" said Kat
Skye seemed to see the wisdom in this. Understanding that Kat's fire was dangerous. She had seen it burn continuously over the orb to keep it frozen solid, and if Dusk couldn't manage the task she didn't want to know how much mana it took.
Grace, however, was much less used to the heat and dry air. "Try"
Kat looked towards Skye for confirmation. The healer had a pained look on her face. Torn between safety and the desire to be cooled at least a little bit. "How safe is it Kat? Could you limit the damage if something catches?" asked Skye
"Nope. I've not been able to put something out once I set it alight" said Kat *Which is probably something I should work on. I know I have Grace's contract to learn fans, but controlling my really deadly powers is probably a better place to start.*
Skye looked to Grace for some help but she just nodded in acceptance, as if implying that freezing to death was preferable to putting up with the heat any longer. Skye said and said "Go ahead"
Deciding to be a little careful with it Kat extended her tail as far as it would go. Which was about half way between Grace and Skye. The sand skipper being as small as it was, this was nearly it's entire length.
Leaving her tail to rest mostly on the bench that crossed the centre of the skipper Kat set the end of her tail alight and looked to Grace and Skye's reactions.
"What is that it?" asked Grace
*Welp, clearly it isn't what she was looking for.* "I don't think it's because it isn't cold enough, but that my flame keeps itself contained mostly" said Kat
"Are you sure?" asked Skye
Kat a demonstration would do best. Dimming her flame as much as possible she gently placed it on the side of the sand skipper. Just as the very edge of the flame touched the strange wood that made up the vehicle, the area flared purple for a split second then froze solid.
As Kat kept her tail in contact with the wall the ice started to slowly spread out from the spot, which was doubly concerning when you remembered that the sand here was super heated, and previously the wood had absorbed most of that extra heat without complaint, and yet it was not quickly dispersed in favour of Kat's flame.
Skye's eyes grew wide as she watched the ice inch outward from where Kat had made contact with the sand skipper. She examined Kat's face for any sign of fatigue or struggle that might indicate a significant amount of her total mana was contained in the small flame.
Of course her nonchalant and continued enjoyment of the desert heat quickly put those thoughts to rest. "That's enough I guess" said Skye.
Kat removed her flame from the wall. Just as she did so the ice around the edges started to melt and sizzle. Drops of water that fell onto the sound could be heard vaporising, and the ones running down the side of the skipper faired little better, drying up in just a few moments
"Can you perhaps spread it around a bit more? Make it less concentrated" asked Skye
Kat was about to shake her head, when she decided the system might have a few answers. *Hey system. Is it possible to disperse my flame a bit more? Use it as a coolant for these two?*
Demonic Flame can be dispersed, though it is more accurate to say User Kat may break the Demonic Flame into such small amounts that Entity can more easily resist the effects. While not perfect D.E.M.O.N.S believes something with an affect similar to User Kat's desired outcome is possible.
"I can try. I'm pretty sure I should be able to, but it's a risk to start testing it-" before Kat could even finished Grace said "Do it"
Shrugging her shoulders Kat tried to disperse her flame. Focusing on the tip of her tail she tried to let it spread further. It rather quickly regained it's former size, and even managed to enlarge itself slightly but as Kat kept a tight rein on the amount of energy supplying it didn't grow much beyond that.
Kat then tried to focus on forcefully spreading it out, but she found something fighting against her control. It was like trying to spread your fingers out past their limits. She could feel the flame, a little like an extension of herself, but not quite the same.
When she tried to expand it further, she felt that it needed more energy. Giving that extra, she found it rapidly expanding… but not as she wished. Rather than thinning the flame out she'd just stretched it into a wall, and the power contained within still wasn't small enough that she'd think of it as safe.
*System advice?*
D.E.M.O.N.S has records stating this is the best Advice.
Loading Advice…
Removing names…
Replaying suggested Advice: You must learn to let go. Let go of the shape of your flame. Allow to flow freely while keeping a tight reign on your energy consumptions
Unloading Advice…
Resuming normal functions…
*Huh, that's not the kind of imprecise mystical mumbo jumbo I'd expect from you system. I'm quite frankly disappointed.*
D.E.M.O.N.S has found that the preceding passage has a superior rate of teacher compared to D.E.M.O.N.S generated Advice. Thus D.E.M.O.N.S simply replays those words.
*Well that actually makes a lot of sense… unlike the strange advice.* But Kat listened anyway. Trying to let go without letting go. She nearly slipped up in fact. The first time she tried to let 'let go' her flamed flared to life. Only by quickly pulling the energy back in prevented it from setting the area alight.
Focusing instead on trying to lose the shape, Kat found that her flame was more than content to just remain as fire. What could it possibly mean? Kat looked back at the tip of her tail, and the flame as it swayed to a wind that didn't really exist considering it was casually blowing in all directions…
*Wait is that it? I have to change my idea of what my flame IS?* Trying this new approach Kat tried instead to clear her mind. Focusing on the flame at the end of her tail, not as a flame but as energy.. Letting it carefully flow out from her without increasing in power.