Eye of the flame - 'Oh shit it fire'

Ah... So this was the place.

Among the crowd of curious onlookers and confused passers-by was one Doctor Seth. An unusual creature, of furless skin and pointed ears, the indefinable being would normally be the draw of attention himself... if not for, y'know, the fire. He'd never been much one for travelling. Despite a company that had expanded it's influence across multiple countries, the young business head only rarely travelled particularly far for himself. The world made him uncomfortable, and whilst it wasn't exactly conducive to his current goals, he'd just... rather stay in Trinus. At least for now...

Regardless, he'd forced himself to make the journey today. He'd been... tracking someone. An individual he didn't trust his staff near. Not that he believed them unable but... well, this had become something of a personal matter. Plus... he couldn't in good conciousness ask anyone else to try and approach this individual. The trail thusly had led him to this place at this moment in time. Stood before a burning bakery... with the very nature of the fire acting as a final clue that he had come to the right place. Now he just needed to make sure...

Ignoring the surprised cries of onlookers, Seth stepped towards the fire... and entered the bakery. He probably wouldn't have long to take a look inside before the local emergency services arrived - he needed to find out what he could.

"Excuse me sir!" Came the shrill voice of a young cat in a fire department's uniform.

Well, it was almost a uniform, minus the ridiculous colours no real firefighter would adorn themselves in, alongside the decidedly unofficial letter "C" written in marker on the front of her cap. She had placed her hand on the furless longcoat-wearing weasel thing's shoulder, and though she was youthful in appearance, she had a professional look on her face.

"It's dangerous to walk into fire. Like, seriously, I... I don't know why I'm the one informing you about this, but yeah. Please step away and let First-Response Elder One of Good handle the situation until the Fire Department arrives!"

Anger was a very fickle thing.

It was a very... potent emotion, powerful, and almost like a storm, allowing one to get themselves caught up in it and be swept away by the conjured thoughts that it led. There were varying degrees of it. A quiet, silent anger that waited, and built with time. A ticking time bomb. And the explosion of fury afterwards, the more active aggression and anger that sought physical relief to calm it. Both were equally dangerous, and for the most part, led by a sense of offensiveness, that something, foolishly, had triggered a surge of negative emotion. Anger, when acted upon, was acted upon by a sense of desire, a desire for justification to one self or others. And, of course, when led by such a potent, explosive thing, it can be easy to become blinded, engulfed, and consumed by it. Like a fire.

And she knew all this. And she let it consume her. And she could have stopped it. But she still felt it.
It was a dangerous emotion to hold close, it could lead to a sense of moral blindness and weakness, but she didn't care. She could have just... cut it off. Felt nothing. Changed it. Feel something else, instantly, without ever having to even think. This burning feeling, that tingled through her body and ate at her heart, would be gone in a moment and no-one would be any wiser. But she didn't. She was angry. Furious. She wanted to throw a tantrum and scream and punch things and cry and kill the person who caused all this, kept causing this, was always the cause for all the lives and all the children and all everything ever that was wrong and she hated it she hated him.

But, there's at least two types of anger. And for the moment, she was feeling that.. quiet, waiting fury. Because she didn't show it on her face. She didn't show it anywhere.

Because watching afar, watching the Good Doctor enter the flames, watching the masked being enter the alleyway, watching the little cat with her little hat and make-believe adorable goodness that she herself cherished, was a man. A bat, to be precise, with red frizzly hair and red eyes, with their body wrapped up in multiple layers that the beads of sweat rolling down their forehead, both from the flames and the sheer amount of fabric, were clearly visible. With a slow hand, they unzipped their jacket with a small sigh, and wiped their brow. Wherever that woman was, who was consumed with absolute hellfire anger, no-one really knew. But for the moment, there was a bat.

Their eyes darted to the side, squinting into the licking flames. He... didn't worry about Seth, no. He was... fine, he was smart, good, knew what he was doing, always did. He was here for the same reason, though he didn't expect Seth to, well, be here too. Making a move? Maybe a little risky. Maybe they should just... take a step back. He knew how to handle this. He was the smart one. And he was the brilliant one. And they continued to stare, for a few seconds longer, lingering, before turning their head away, the fingers fiddling at the zipper with a bizarre sense of social awkwardness.

"He's fine, he clearly knows what he's doing," the bat stated clearly to the little cute cat, who they wanted to hug and mush the cheeks of and tell them everything was okay, "I think there is a fountain in the park. Please don't hurt yourself."

As they spoke, their eyes wandered to the alleyway where the masked being seemed to vanish. Perhaps, if he had not existed (and what a blessing that would be), they'd consider that mysterious figure to be the cause of the flames. More so, considering that flame-like pattern on their cloak. Had they... found something? Or did they simply not want to be part of this? Were they escape to appear less like a suspect? Or... were they working for him? The bat gave a firm yank of the zipper, and the little metal thing flew off and rolled across the pavement. They cursed silently to themselves, as the bat briskly walked in that direction to follow. While Seth was good and well handling any potential evidence within, and the bastards location, this bat was clearly more intentful on finding out who this masked person was.

The little red bat was a curious thing, but the woman was going to commit a righteous murder tonight.

For those stepping foot inside the bakery itself…

… well, a hellish landscape would just about begin to describe it. Bright, violent flames hungrily lick at nearly every corner of the room, and a billowing sky of choking black smoke ripples its way across the ceiling. Shards of broken glass litter the floor from the window and broken display counter, whilst several of the tables and chair in what was assumedly the ‘waiting’ section have been flung about the room, mostly reduced to little more than firewood and charcoal. To top it off, there are two small crater-like markings in the floor – and following the direction that certain tables and other… things have been flung, it seems more akin to some form of incendiary explosion, rather than a simple fire.

The worst part, however, would be the bodies. Whilst the fire had been going for a little while at this point, it was nowhere near the intensity nor heat to explain why the five or six in the room are scorched beyond near recognition. In one corner, the broken body of a what can only have been a small child clings to the smoking remnants of a stuffed toy, the corpse of their parent only a few feet away. Two more cling to each other, the smoky remains of several plastic bags hinting at a day spent shopping, and one more…

…one more seems to have been dragged towards the backdoor of the shop. Thin, crackly traces of blood mark it’s path, and the already coagulating blood seeps around the cauterised stump of where a leg had once been.

…Suffice to say, it was not a pretty sight.

--------

In the alleyway, the figure paused at the sound of footsteps behind him. The voices whispered, warning him that they would keep their distance and try to ambush him. That he should act first, strike out and kill them before they could give him away. Kill the weak, scorch the flesh and run. Run run run until he was strong enough to complete his task.

It was good advice, and he knew it to be so… but regardless he paused, barely healed scabs cracking open as he turned to face whoever it was who pursued him. He knew he would have to be quick, but even in this state he felt confident he could take whoever it was who pursued him. He would snap the life from their bodies and feed it to the Deep flame. He would do it. He would prove he was strong, and worth the voices praise.

So that is why, when the masked figure rounded the corner, the man – if you could call him that – stood there, unafraid. Fire billowed soundlessly around his feet as a low, raw sounding chuckle escapes from the ragged remains of his lips. ‘Y…you picked… a… bad… day…’ he says, practically spitting out the words, boiling blood dripping from his cracked skin.

… and then, wordlessly, he raises his hand, and fire begins to form around it as he prepares his attack.

As Seth stepped towards the flames, he found himself being halted briefly by... a child? He turned to look them up and down for a second. They were... uniformed? The doctor gave a confused look for a second. He hadn't realised that the fire service started so... young? Then again, he knew very little about the fire service. Or children. Was this perhaps... a game of sorts? Still, this was a very real fire so... he imagined not. He was evidently perplexed... and he really didn't have time to deal with this.

Luckily, at this moment, a voice spoke up - one he recognised well. Glancing to the... bat, the owner of the voice, he gave a small nod of acknowledgement. He hadn't expected them to be here... but he really shouldn't be surprised. Still, there was a brief look of concern, quickly covered again by one of determination. They'd have a chance to talk this over later - for now, there was something more important at hand... Turning back to the bakery, Seth walked through the flames... and stepped inside.

It was a ghastly sight. It was senseless violence, seeming to serve no purpose beyond collaborating a sheer grusome display. The stench was the worst of it - burning flesh. It was one Seth was unfortunately experienced with... but not one anyone could ever get fully used to. The doctor decided against poking around anywhere inside. He figured he wasn't exactly about to find any significant clues among the deceased body's shopping, or in the young child's teddy bear. The most significant thing here seemed to be the pair of impact craters central to the bakery... It indicated that either a power was used here - or a bomb of sorts. Still... he'd drawn conclusions on the exact nature of what had happened here. It wasn't an accident... and that trail to the back door had defined a direction for him.

Fire licking around his ankles, he made his way to exit out back. There was nothing that could be done for the people here.

Chant'd heard the batty conversationalist, though as she turned around to face him mid-air, he'd already been off chasing after who-knows-what. Quite frankly, if she'd had the time to contemplate his advice, she might have taken it as condescending, which would have made the quasi-professional kitten a little grumpy. 

But there was no time for that, because that dumb weasel thing was trying to get himself killed!

"W-wait sir-!" she called out to him. The dummy didn't even have a shield or anything and he was just--!

... Walking through the fire and the flames. Well, carry on. Of course, she'd have to follow him, since she was deputy keep-everyone-out-of-the-area engineer! He might have been fireproof, but the building could still collapse at any time, so with a big shimmering bubble of light popping in around her, she followed the mysterious man in suit.

And good golly did she wish she hadn't entered. Nope nope, that was enough. The sight was described in plenty enough detail in previous mentions and Chant really didn't want to see any of it any longer. The sight of it all made her chest lurch, and she quickly covered her mouth, though it seemed like... Little glittery stars were leaking through her fingers anyways.

No no. Be strong Chant. She had to hold on to save others. Right now, bigger fish to fry. Oh how she hoped there weren't any fish here in this store that made that joke in poor taste. No. Yes. Yes sir. Pull it together. Of course, by the time she gathered herself, there went the man again, acting like crime scenes were a leisurely stroll in the park.

"Hey wait!" she called out, more definitively this time, swivelling through the air to block his path. She even readjusted her hat to remind herself who was really the law around here. Were firefighters part of law enforcement? Questions for later. "You can't just leave! If you can survive fire, then you'd be able to help put them out better than the other firefighters! You gotta help me!"

Before the inquisitive bat had even a second to approach this mysterious masked figure that seemed hell-bent standing their ground, and indeed the bat reached forward with a gloved hand with a small start-up of a 'wait', their voice caught back in their throat. For that one moment, that one second where there was just sheer silence between the robed being and the unknown opponent, they caught a glimpse. They stared at him, him, and their eyes bulged, and sweat dribbled at a steady pace down their wet and matted mop of a head, and their mouth remained in a frozen state of slightly ajar with no utterance of words. The woman, wherever she was, was screaming for murder and wanted to tear his head clean off.

The wall of flames obscured their vision, and for those 10 seconds, immediately their mind went to action. Like a machine. Calculating a flimsily sewn together plan.

Immediately, the little bat threw themselves backwards. They had to get out of sight before that flickering fire dimmed. If there was even a sliver of a chance that he saw them, well, it was best to run before he knew where they was going. Out of the alleyway and out of the fire, the heroic little bat ran to the side and down the street. They planned to turn into the next alley and get the fiery beast of a man from behind. And did. They flapped their wings. If they took to the air, he'd notice. But if they could just be more... discreet. Maybe they could launch some sort of sneak attack.

They jumped over a wall and flapped their bat wings once more, giving them a forward momentum push without touching the ground, gliding through the air as they made for their destination - behind him. If he was busy with whatever the masked being had conjured up, well, the woman hoped this would be over as soon as possible.

For a moment, Mark froze as a wall of fire errupts in front of him.

It was not that he feared the flames - indeed, fear of all flames bar those of the voices had passed from his mind long ago - but rather, he was... startled by the idea that someone would attempt to use such things against him. As addled as his mind was, even he knew that he seemed... foolish to attack fire with actual fire, yet the voices in his mind whispered to him not to grow relaxed. Danger, danger was close. He had not seen... what had he not seen? They whispered urgently about things beyond his gaze, of how the Dragon had left his Corp to be here, that the Furry-Goodness was near, and that.. that... what...

His wandering thoughts were torn back to reality by the flames shifting and dying, twisting into.. something different. A low chuckle ripped its way out of his twisted lips, amusement briefly touching his mind for the first time in years. The voices continued to whisper that he should flee, be safe and wait... but he could not. He was challenged by Flames-Inferior, and he need to prove that he was still worth the voices love. To prove he was worthy of being The Beacon. To be worthy of his name, the name... his name... what was...? No, that mattered not. Not now. All that mattered was that he sent this Fire-Inferior to the Deep Flames embrace.

'You... dare...?' he chuckles softly, his body snapping into a rigid, up right position. For a moment, parts of his skin seemed to bulge slightly, almost bubbling as if some foul parasite crawled beneath it. His breathing grew ragged, before suddenly a low, pained screech ripped from his lips!... as four skeletal arms, alight with twisting and violent flame tore their way from his flesh. Almost spider like, they latched onto the floor and the walls around him, lifting the pained form of the burnt human slightly from the ground. The new limbs clacked and shrieked angrily as they moved through some foul power, seemingly drowning out all sounds around him - perhaps explaining why he did not hear the additional patter of feet from behind the woman before him... and perhaps more importantly, from the alleyway behind him.

'Very... w...well, F-flame-... Inferior. Let us... us... s-see... how well... you... d-dance.'

Pausing at the door, the furless creature turned. He'd been addressed, evidently by the poor child who'd followed him in here. This was... a bad situation. This was no place for a child - even Seth knew that. Still... he wasn't exactly sure the best way to dissuade such a forward spirit. "...Whilst the flame here is an issue, it's unfortunately too late to do much here," he commented, "I am however, intent on putting a stop to this fire spreading. I intend to stop the source. So that it may never burn again." As he spoke, the scientist seemed largely unaware that the hem of his labcoat was cindering - the light from it silhouetting him dramatically against the doorway. Taking another second, he reached inside that slowly-burning coat - pulling out a strange device of sorts - sorta like a watch, only with a... phone on the back? It was similar to a phone at the very least. He was beginning to realise the longer he waited in here, the less time he had.

And then there was the screeching. A bizarre inhuman wailing sounding out from behind the building. Like a monster being born into the alleyway beyond. That... wasn't a good sound. "You need to go," the doctor stated to the floating figure, turning on their heel as their jacket swept behind them, "And get as many people as you can FAR away from here." He moved to step outside - before pausing. Reaching one hand out, he grabbed a bread knife from the side. From there, it was a straight exit...

"But I'm-" She started. "I'm stronger--" A valiant effort. "WHAT THE HECK DOES THAT EVEN MEAN??"

Chant grumbled to herself, having been very offput by the skin-y guy. Not because he treated her like a powerless child, or at least, not solely for that reason, but also because he was right. Those people crowding outside were in lots of danger. This made her mad because there was now obviously some kind of super-arsonist running around, and instead of being the super heroine that stopped them once and for all, she was being asked to play as caution tape! I mean, that weasel-looking dude can't even fly does he have no respect for heroism??

But she sighed. Everyone had to play their part to keep people safe and stop the bad guys, and that included her! Drifting around, Chant soared through the flames and popped back out the entrance of the once-bakery. Only this time, she was screaming at the top of her lungs.

"HEY! ALL YOU DUMMIES NEED TO LEAVE! IT'S NOT SAFE HERE! THERE'S A PSYCHO RUNNING AROUND WITH, I DON'T KNOW, LIKE A FLAMETHROWER, OR A BOX OF MATCHES OR SOMETHING. I'M NOT TOTALLY SURE BUT GET OUT OF HERE ANYWAYS!"

And a pause.

"ALSO THERE'S A FIRE. SERIOUSLY WHY AM I THE ONE WHO KEEPS HAVING TO REMIND PEOPLE HOW DANGEROUS THAT IS?"

Flying up behind him, the face of the bat was not of a little curious thing, but absolute unholy fury, with a small hint of tears at the edges of their eyes - the kind of fury that develops from experiences, and twists a person to hold an unwavering grudge, the kind of fury that you cannot just create, but instead boils up with time and explodes the moment the trigger is near. And while they didn't want to get anywhere near this monsterous beast, they had reached this point where they dismissed their fears, and their worries, and their anxieties. They had simply... turned all of that off. Like a light switch. And by all accounts, perhaps that didn't even make them them. Because, heading towards this fiery monster, there was a little bat fueled only by a singular emotion and was utterly blinded by it.

This bat, no, the woman, flew forward, arms outstretched.... and without a moment's hesitation, they wrapped their arms around the face of the man from behind. Specifically, to cover his eyes.  She couldn't do much about him. She was a weak thing with no actual means of harming this beast, but she could at least hinder one of his primary senses to allow the others to strike him down.
"KILL HIM!"

At the young cats shouting, many of the individuals located outside the still-burning husk of the bakery seemed to snap from their dazes! Slowly, oh so slowly, they began to trickle away, stories and gossip flying from their lips as they treated it as nothing more than a mere spectacle instead of a tragic loss of life. In fact, most of them seemed to ignore her comment about a psycho running around, although a few latched onto it as a form of exaggerating the story - something that seems kinda dumb, considering most people around had all witnessed the same thing. In the distance, sirens could be heard growing closer as the fire department finally began to arrive on the scene in force, and people hurried their way off of the street.

In the back alleyways, a different scene began to unfold.

Gazing upon the burning form of the Lesser-Flames burning Familiar, Mark twitched slightly. Fresh blood boiled and bubbled around the base of his skeletal limbs as his skin tried and failed to cauterise itself. His broken eyes roved quietly, his head tilting to one side as the voices attempted to screech over the sound of roaring flames and the drumming of his heart. They warned him... warned him that the furry-goodness was strong, to fear the blade of the Dragon out of the Court... that he... she...? It? They? That they ran. To watch, observe, to be care-

'Get him'

And just like that, Marks attention snapped back to reality, his gaze settling on the firey hound as it charged towards him. Weak, pathetic, simple. Did the Leser-flame think he feared such simple fire? This meant nothing to him, it was a set back, an annoyance... he had expected a fight, and this was all he got? With an almost casual movement, one of the many skeletal limbs slipped away from the wall and reached over his shoulder and attempted to swat the beast into the ground as it moved. in comparison to the violent reaction of his own body, the skeletal limbs showed no concern for the flames. Where regular bone would black and begin to smolder at the heat, those of the limbs seemed to glow with a new light, almost as if they were feeding upon the heat...

And then he heard her. The Lady. She he knew. She who he had failed to kill. He could hear what passed as her heart. He began to turn his head to try and look at her, but his movements were too slow. Before he knew quite what happened, the woman had launched herself upon him, and wrapped her hands around his head. He hissed, scabbed hands reaching up to try and throw her from his back. Another one of those odd, skeletal limbs reached out in attempt to grab her, but she was pressed too close, and it found itself unable to bend enough to touch her. He was a fool. He had been blinded. Now he was blinded further still. The voices had warned, he failed to listen...

'G-GET... Y-YOUR HANDS.... OFF... OF.. .ME.'