The Blue Burn

And Then This Happened...

Madalyn

    I finally make it back to our camp shortly before sundown. Swiftly, I place my black sling pack with the Elixir tubes still safely inside, underneath my cot. My blanket is a little larger than the cot, so it hangs over the edge enough that my black bag stuffed underneath should be well out of sight. Not that anyone should be poking their nose somewhere that it doesn't belong, but you never know. This world has gone from strange, to absurd, to down right bat s**t crazy. 

    After I get the majority of my gear(my handy dandy thieving accessories), I go and check on Jasper, my BFF and go-to blacksmith. When we were kids, he got really into this T.V. show about forging and blade-smithing. Next thing you know, he was making some pretty badass stuff before he even turned 12. I think he is one of the very few people who coped with the transition quite remarkably. To only know and grow up with our technological-age and then go into this blast from the past wild-west type of days we live in now? Most people didn't handle it well, and so many people had livelihood's that were based upon those technologies. 

    Jasper fell right in line with doing this blacksmithing stuff. Don't tell him I said this, like EVER! But he is actually very talented and probably makes the best weaponry you will find anywhere. He has made every weapon I carry. 

    So, of course I know exactly where to find him. Not too far from my tent, is Jasper's shop. It's an old abandoned tire & lube shop. This space is great for what he does. Plus, up front where there used to be a waiting area for customers, he uses it to display and sell his already made items and weaponry. He lives in the back of his shop where there is a small live-in space. A decent sized apartment for one. It consisted of a little bedroom, bathroom, and kitchenette. He is constantly insisting that I stay there with him.

"It's safer here." He says to me all the time. 

What? It's safer because it has locks on the doors? Locks sure don't keep ME out of ANYWHERE I want or need to go.

    Yeah, not going to happen. I like my space, and honestly.... I like being able to just pick up and go anytime I please. Go where ever, whenever. It needs to be this way, at least until I find and rescue Sebastian. Then, MAYBE. Maybe I could settle down somewhere. 

    I walk through the massive garage door that is wide open. Jasper is hard at work with his back turned to me. Standing at his coal forge, he works a blade within the coals. I've watched him do this so many times that I know he is at a very precious moment and I should wait until he is able to step away. So, I decide to sit at a nearby stool and watch the master at work.

    Very meticulously, Jasper clutches the oversized metal tongs that hold the long piece of metal resting inside the red, yellow, and orange glowing coals. Switching over to his left hand and to stand at the side of his coal forge, giving me more of a profile view of him. He watches it so carefully, occasionally I catch him biting his bottom lip. This of course makes me chuckle because I know this familiar face of his. I'm sure underneath that bandana tied around his forehead, he is scowling. Furrowing that brow, one eye squinting a little more than the other, and biting the bottom lip every so often. He must be working on something very important.

    I see a smirk creep across his face. He gains a tighter grip on those tongs as he uses them to grasp the long steel and pull it out of the coals. In one quick motion, he is swinging the slender steel onto a nearby anvil, and grabbing his Pein Hammer(blacksmith's hammer). Within seconds he is swinging precise and forceful blows onto this steel that is still glowing from the heat. Every strike booms with a loud metal bang, accompanied by Jaspers grunts. Call me strange, but this is a soothing sound for me. I am taken back to a time when things weren't so crazy. Sitting in his parents' make-shift forge that they built for him in their backyard behind the garage. We would blare music and I'd watch him forge.

    A smile started to slide up my face from the nice thoughts, but I am quickly pulled away from my pleasant stroll down memory lane. I notice a glow coming from this steel that I've never seen before, but is oddly familiar. This beautiful icy blue beams bright from what seems to be inside. As Jasper reveals this steel's beautiful shape and metal sheen, black charring from the coals flecks off, and the orange heat glow resides but is replaced with an icy blue that is so enchanting. I feel drawn to it, as if it is calling me to it. 

    Standing, I can't help but walk towards the blue glow, and Jasper. I begin to feel a slow warmth move throughout my body. This blue glow casted on Jasper makes me feel like I am seeing him for the first time.  He is quite tall, above average I would say. Shoulders, back and arms are broad, muscular. His arms bulging with chiseled muscles, the sweat gleaming a shiny blue glow on his mocha tanned skin. His slightly long, tousled auburn hair peeks out from under the red bandana he has tied around his head. A goatee, well kept at a short stubble. Framing his lips, a pouty bottom lip, a little bigger than his top lip. I've managed to get close enough to him that he has noticed I am there and I'm walking right up on him, which is a little out of character for me. Especially when he is working. 

    Jasper stops, sets down his hammer, and releases the tongs to rest them on the anvil with the still glowing steel. Pushing up his shaded goggles(for eye protection), he looks at me, his eyes heavy with worry.

"Maddy! Is everything okay? What's wrong?" he asks with ragged breaths.

"Everything is fine Jasper. Don't freak." I try to calm him, but I am also so distracted by these thoughts and these feelings that, to be honest, I've NEVER thought and I've NEVER had. The heat of the warmth inside growing by the minute.

"What are you doin herrrreee....WHOA! Maddy? What's going on with your eyes? What the?" Jasper's voice starts to take on such a high octave that I haven't heard him be able to reach since hitting puberty. Grabbing me by my shoulders and bringing my face closer to his. His eyes running wildly across my face, searching for answers to questions neither of us know.

"What are you talking about Jasper? My eyes are fine!" I attempt to reassure him, but then I get distracted with how close our faces are to one another. His mesmerizing almond shaped hazel eyes. How they bore into me. 

"But yours on the other hand, Jasper..." I change the subject, "Your eyes are quite captivating. With the light brown and amber outline, filled with a bright emerald green and a small burst of amber around your  pupil. How have I never noticed what beautiful eyes you have?" my heart starts to feel heavy for some reason and I look towards my feet with guilt.

"Maddy? Look, I really don't know what to say right now..." he tilts my face back towards his with his hand gently on my chin, "Maddy, Look at me. There are SO many things I would love to say and tell you right now, but I'm worried and I don't think right now is the time to discuss this. We need to figure out what's going on with you. Your eyes...."

"Your lips..." I cut him off and close the distance between us. Bringing my lips to his, softly. I breath in as our kiss deepens, and so does he. The heat inside me has turned into a fire raging within me. I can't contain this burn I feel inside.

    Breathing him in, he smells like home. Not like the oil, grease, and the smell of sweat. This close to him, I am engulfed with the smell of our childhood, with home, with happiness. Cut grass and mom's homemade cooking. The sensation rushes though me, taking me back to how happy I was before everything went to s**t. The weight of the harsh reality of what our world looks like today feels as though it is washed completely away. His arms wrap around me so gentle, yet firm. Cupping the back of my head with one hand, and the other pressed against my back, pulling me into him. 

    I press deeper into the kiss, and he responds by doing the same, only he is much stronger than me. I loose my footing a little bit. His reaction is so swift and graceful as he lifts me onto something standing right beside us. The anvil.

    Next thing I know there is this LOUD crashing and clanking sound. The blue glowing steel he was working on. 

SHIT

    It was like someone threw a bucket of ice water all over me. The burn inside is snuffed out so much swifter than the ease that it came in. Bringing me to my senses, and then that's when I noticed what happened. When Jasper lifter me onto the anvil, my butt pushed the tongs off. The tongs were still clasped tightly on the steel, which was still glowing that icy blue color. So the tongs go flying, still gripping the steel. As the tongs drop to the floor they release the steel. Steel goes sliding across the floor with amazing speed and grace, all the way across the entire backend of the shop and right underneath the door that leads into Jasper's home side of the shop. 

    The realization of what just occurred between Jasper and me starts to hit, and I try to form the words to explain or apologize, but nothing comes out. So, after we stand there for a few silent moments, I decide to leave. 

"I'll catch you later Jasper. Maybe at a better time for the both of us." I rush to get it out and then rush to walk out. Not sure where, but I have got to get somewhere that I can gather my thoughts. I feel like there is such a jumbled mess inside my head.

    My footsteps quickly taking me out of his shop and back out onto the road where many shops and  makeshift stands are placed. The Market. Trying to gather my thoughts and wrap my head around what the hell just happened, I feel a few raindrops hit my face. Within seconds, it begins to downpour and I am soaked before I have time to pull my hood over my head.

Perfect. Absolutely perfect.... Now I know exactly what I need right now, and I know exactly where I need to go.... The Tavern.

I need a drink.