Ignite: A FC/UC Short

Synodic
The Nexus
Creation Era
xxxx, X.X.

“This was home.”

“It still is, Amina,” Calor attempted as he placed a hand on his sister’s shoulder. “We just live elsewhere now. But you know that classic saying, right?” the girl turned her green eyes onto him questioningly and the Fire Deity tapped her nose with an amused look in his eyes. “Home is where the heart is.”

“Mine is still here,” she admitted. Calor then smiled and took his sister’s hand. “My heart is still there. This is still home…even if we made our own separate places.” Calor nodded and Amina gave him a smile of her own. “Thank you, Calor. I…I think we should meet our other siblings now.”

“Go ahead.”

“W-What?”

“Go ahead, Amina.” He let go of his sister’s hand and turned away, “I’d like to get some peace and quiet in here before I go and meet them. You know how they get. Especially Unda and I.” she gave an understanding nod and hurried away, Calor listening to her steps before walking down the halls of their old home.

It only seemed like yesterday when Vito broke in and delivered them the news with a broken look on his face. He remembered how the rest of them took it; Amina looked destroyed, Unda’s eyes were wide and filled with fear, and Ventus had the blankest look on his face. On the outside, it seemed like the eldest of them was trying to maintain his calm, but Calor could tell that the Air Deity was trying his best to not break in front of them.

And Calor?

Calor was emotion and fire and fury.

He recalled stomping towards Vito and demanding for him to take him to where his parents were. He recalled emotion getting the best of him and the entire room where they were warming up; he recalled demanding and demanding, with Vito apologizing over and over. Vito couldn’t bring them. It was too dangerous for him, more so for them –

And Calor nearly burned the place down with the intensity of his emotions.

It took Unda and Ventus combined to restrain him while Amina hurriedly brought Vito out. Ventus soothed his nerves while Unda did her best to wash the flames away. Once they were gone, Unda immediately blasted into a cold rage, asking him why did you do that and where is your control while Ventus regarded him with a silent expression. Ventus’ locked jaw, however, told Calor that the eldest was extremely disappointed.

However, Ventus said nothing and vented nothing.

This made Calor more nervous, who then proceeded to lock himself away in order to deal with his own grief. Amina was the first to approach him, ignoring the uncomfortable warmth of the room and taking her brother into a tight hug. Calor said nothing; for once, the Fire Deity felt numb and emotionally shaken. Emotion was what fuelled him and there he was, blocking it out and trying to push it away as best as he could.

“We’re here,” she had whispered.

Her whispers passed through his ears but not quite into his heart.

The next one to come was, surprisingly, Ventus.

Calor would be curled up in bed, dealing with his own pain. Three knocks would come and Ventus would enter the room, locking the door himself and then taking  seat a few feet away from the other’s bed.

Without saying anything, Ventus would summon a book into his hands and proceed to read without prompting Calor to do anything.

It was strangely comforting. Ventus would do the same thing for a certain period of time, reading. Occasionally, he would ask if Calor wanted anything – something to do, something to eat – but the Deity would refuse each time. At that, there were no qualms or signs of protest. Ventus would allow him, preferring to let the other heal at his own pace.

And then there was Unda.

Unda was the one he was most unsure of; after all, he and the Water Deity had always been at each others’ throats since they were children. Perhaps it had to be the fact that they were polar opposites – Unda controlled the calm waters while Calor took charge of the emotion-filled flames. They contrasted each other to a T and argued most of the time (just not in front of their parents, that was).

If Amina reassured him through her touch and Ventus through a pleasant amount of distance and time, Unda did it through her small actions.

Unda would enter his room and begin to clean out. She would scout around with magic, wrinkling her nose at the sight of the room in shambles, and begin to clean around. Windows would be wiped and floors would be clear of any kind of trash while the walls cleaned itself. Burn marks would leave and somehow, Calor would feel cleaner even under the great amount of blankets on top of him.

Unda would draw back the red curtains and let light pour in; not too much that his eyes would hurt but not too little that he wouldn’t be able to see. It was the right amount of light; the proper amount that would hopefully get him back on track to being himself once again.

It was her small actions which made the difference.

Before she would leave, she would hang by the door and keep an eye on him. He would feel his Twin’s eyes on him before she would exhale and say quietly, “I’ll be going. Call me if you need me.”

The door would open and then close.

On one particular occasion, Unda had just left and Calor somehow found the strength to peek from under his blankets. When he did, he almost retreated back once more. The sunlight startled him; he could barely even remember what his own room looked like due to it being so dark all the time.

When he did see, he remembered why he liked the light so much.

The sunlight illuminated the room, giving the warm oranges and reds life. There was so much life to the two colors and how they swirled together; he could detect a few yellows and he marveled at how stunning it looked.

During the night, they glowed. The colors drew him in instead of threatening him. For once, Calor slept with the curtains a little open, not wanting for the light to be cut away completely.

And it was a sign.

It was definitely a sign.

After months of being tucked away, Calor slowly came to life. He opened the curtains more until they were fully open, and Calor found himself opening the windows and letting the light immerse him completely.

He stood there, arms extended and eyes closed, just basking in the warm sunlight. Warmth rejuvenated him. Warmth made him stronger.

His siblings were able to relight the flame his parents’ disappearance nearly extinguished.