IRIS FOCUSED ON THE CANDLE BEFORE HIM. A week earlier, Iris had instantaneously put out all the fires in Jack's house. Prior to that, Iris may or may not have put out a fire that was burning for decades, but Jack didn't know that. Nevertheless, it was obvious Iris had abilities similar to those down here, and to survive, especially with the Embers on his tail, he needed to master these abilities. Plus, he had Jack's encouragement, so it should be fairly easy. Iris pointed his index finger at the little flame, and willed it to come to him. From previous experiences, Iris couldn't make fires - he could only control them. This had never been heard of before; Jack, however, didn't seem concerned, so Iris was safe, for now. Meanwhile, the candle flame remained stationary, flickering slightly as Iris sighed in despair. He was getting nowhere. Focus didn't work. Neither did will. Perhaps his power really was different, considering the principles of regular flame conjuring that Jack tried to educate him on did not work Iris' unique variant. At this point, the only evidence of his prodigy-ness was his powerful awakening. Iris kicked back on the sofa, not noticing the candle fall over as his legs hit the table. All his 'incidents' were caused by deep emotions. Maybe it had something to do with feelings… Iris attention was caught by the table, which was now covered in flames. Dry wood burns really fast, Iris thought as he dashed outside to get water.
"Hey Iris! You cooking something?", Jack shouted from his bedroom.
"No, I am not. Your table's on fire!", Iris shouted back, hurriedly filling up a metal bucket with water.
When the bucket was half-filled, Iris picked it up and dashed back inside, spraying the water over the flames. Quick footsteps sounded behind Iris.
"You fool! What have you done?", Jack bellowed.
"I'm sorry, Jack. I really a-"
Iris turned to see Jack swinging a bat, before the lights were knocked out of him, the metal clang of the bucket echoing in his head as he was knocked out.
+ + + + + +
Iris awoke to a terrible headache. This was worse than the regular migraine; it was like a searing hot iron embedded itself in his skull, and bobbed up and down like an oscillating spring. The headache made his entire body feel clustered, unable to move, and the pain was so intense Iris couldn't open his eyes. He felt like he was stuffed into a big, dark sack and was being hauled like garbage.
"Hey… !", Iris croaked.
"Huh. You're awake.", A familiar voice spat. Jack.
Wow. Iris was stuffed into a sack and was being hauled like garbage.
"Jack! Why are you doing this?"
"Shut up!"
Iris felt momentary weightlessness, before he / the sack / both he and the sack were kicked into a streetlamp post, the impact nearly knocking Iris out again.
"Aargh!", Iris cried out.
"I said shut it, you demon!", Jack yelled, "I should have been quicker. Now you've cost me an expensive table! Selling you like I intended before will barely cover the costs."
Sack Iris was kicked again, this time landing hard on the street floor. The cold betrayal, coupled with the awful pain, lit up a flame in Iris. One of anger and vengeance.
"I don't know how you got your powers, you inferior devil, but your days are over, once I hand you in for the sweet bounty reward.", Jack said.
"Oh yeah?", Iris managed.
Though shrouded in darkness, Iris could still see - no, feel the little balls of heat that floated in even rows throughout the street. He could sense the streetlights, each burning with imagined passion, waiting to be harnessed by this… prodigy. In a bad attempt at bravado, Iris stuck out his arm, and 'held' the orbs of flame, visualized them being sucked into his palm, and released it like dynamite. Streetlamps up to five blocks away burst open, and a white flame swirled into Iris' palm, burning crisply through the sack.
"What the-"
Jack couldn't finish. The flame exploded, and a warming but powerful shockwave sent both of them flying. Somehow, Iris managed to land on his feet, having been blown out of the torn sack. Pain shot up his legs, but he staggered into a run. If he could just get to that alley over there…
"Not so fast, demon!"
He turned back to see Jack's outstretched hand, before a column of fire engulfed Iris.
"Haha! You idiot!", Jack laughed with crazed glee. "Now I can kill you without any consequences! Plus, I'll still get my bounty reward!"
The fire column raged with increased intensity, brilliantly illuminating the street. Its bright orange flames swirled powerfully - wait, yellow? Jack's smile withered as his column of fire shrank into pale curtain of flames, and a singed Iris walked out. Blurring heat surrounded him, and Iris himself didn't know what was going on. His anger was consuming him, heightening his abilities but waning his control. Just now, he had completely overpowered Jack, sucking the very heat out of his flames, and he could fry the bastard, right here and now, but he didn't know if he would be able to move after he did that; his muscles ached already. He didn't need another explosion, but he needed to get away from here. Maybe he could forget about the flames and just jump on a roof or something… Surprisingly, as he focused on his legs, so did all the heat, collating into spirals. As his feet left the ground, they were met with the an explosive force, and Iris shot into the sky like a firework, leaving a gaping, bewildered, and afraid Jack. However, that last unintentional move drained the last of Iris' strength, and he passed out - mid flight.