Signs

The next Monday brought along the start of another school week. Standing outside, on his school's racing track was Heat. Sweat poured from his body, as the sun's rays rained down on the field. He slumped to the ground and spread out his limbs like a starfish.

"Of course it's the black kid who chooses to sleep in the scorching sun."

Heat sighed at the sound of the approaching voice. "What can I say? Being impervious to that which burdens the feeble skin of you lighter folks is a gift."

"Really? From who, the Creator? Eh, that's cool. I can accept it. That's a small price to pay to not have my ancestors shipped to the pacific against their will."

Heat sat up and gave Supido the middle finger.

Supido chuckled and joined him on the ground. "Oh lighten up. Your parents weren't even born in Zion."

"Those bastards, I wish they were never born, period."

"So, I couldn't help but notice…you and the new chica." "What?"

"Stop playing dumb. I can hear your heartbeat. It started racing at the mention of the words 'new chica'. That happens either when you hate the person or you love them. Or you've just crushed on the person, only to offer her your heart and have her stomp on it repeatedly and tell you that you're just not like Supido. Oh, that makes sense. Don't you guys hang out all the time?"

"Ahhh, shut it, Stupido."

Supido chuckled in response.

"Are you two gonna keep sitting there like two old men reminiscing their past, or are you racing?" That was the question asked by their stereotypical looking gym teacher, who walked to them.

"No thanks. I already suffered from a humiliating loss this past weekend," Heat replied.

"C'mon, I'll give you a five second head start. I can't use transportation in school," Supido said.

As fast as he could, Heat burst forward, but in a few seconds, Supido eased past him to the finish line. He slumped to the ground, trying to catch his breath, while Supido, still full of energy rubbed his hair out of mockery. Meanwhile, a group of girls also stood at the starting line. Heat watched Mel leave her competitors in the dust.

"I quit. I'm going to wash up."

It was afternoon, after training at Ur-tir'ak, Heat walked through the forest, punching every other tree he walked past. Some months ago, it would've taken less than punching a tree for his fist to be consumed with pain. More effort was required now. He stood in front of a thicker tree and began punching it continuously, not holding back. As its trunk started to cave in, he began to feel the pain he was searching for. He continued to punch the tree till he felt a hand on his shoulder. Instinctively, he turned with a clenched fist, but it was easily redirected and he was flipped over and onto the floor.

"Someone's in a bad mood."

"Hello, Mel."

She stretched her hand to help him to his feet. Heat grabbed her stretched arm and got flipped again.

"You're late!"

"Ouch." This time he got to his feet by himself. "I know; I was just…" Heat sighed buried his face in his hands. Mel slowly separated Heat's hands.

"You almost gave in again, didn't you?"

Heat turned away from her. "Yeah….I think I should just go home and rest."

He began to walk away, when Mel grabbed his arm.

"Are you serious or you're just kidding? Because I can't tell. You almost gave in, which calls for more training. Let's race over there."

Heat looked at her like he was a five-year-old who was told that he needed an afternoon nap.

"I'll give you a head start." She winked at him.

Heat grinned at Mel's obvious attempt to get him to race. He soon found himself sprinting as fast as he could. However, as was the case whenever they raced, Mel beat him to first place.

"It's not fair. You use your amen abilities to race."

"Nu uh! Unlike you regular amen who choose when to use your powers, it is part of us amaroqs, embedded into us. So instead, I try to suppress mine as much as possible…now get off your lazy butt."

Heat, who was squatting, looked up at her.

"Too much work," he said.

Heat managed to force himself unto his feet. When he did, Mel threw a punch at him; he ducked and summoned snakes from his sleeves, knocking Mel off her feet.

"You're not supposed to use that, remember?" Mel looked at Heat cautiously, as she rose back to her feet.

Heat realized what he had just done and got closer to apologize. However, Mel stopped him by putting her palm in his face.

"Heat, control yourself. You're the boss of your own mind, not that sage," Mel said.

She was clearly disappointed. She held his palm tightly.

"You can do this! That, I'm sure of!"

Mel took a few steps backwards.

"Has anyone told you that you talk weird? Like your choice of words are sometimes unusual for a teenager."

"You mean just like you?"

Heat chuckled. "Exactly."

"Let's just say I was born this way."

Mel took a fighting stance. "You can do this, Heat. If you don't, well, we'll stay here till you go an entire hour without snakes."

"That seems fair." In the end, Heat managed to live up to task, he sparred with her for a couple of hours, without relying on a supernatural ability. When darkness had covered the forest and Heat was exhausted, the two began their journey back home.

"So, was it one of your sage friends who made you angry?" Mel asked.

"Supido?"

"No, Ursus."

"Yhup."

"I guessed right!"

"Ursus is not a sage though, Supido is."

"I'm pretty sure Ursus is."

"I don't think so. How do you know that?" Mel hesitated but answered. "Sages are amen gifted with the powers of two animal counterparts, instead of the typical one."

"Two animals?"

"Do you even know what a sage is?"

"I figured it's just an amen with the potential for immense power."

Mel chuckled. "Not just that. Amen are a bridge between humans and lesser animals."

"That I know."

"Typically, it's a one-to-one ratio, but some amen have two, and in extremely rare cases, beyond that. Amen with more than one animal relation are sages."

"Oh ok, I get it now. What's the advantage with that?"

"Because they have a connection to more than one creature, they get extra abilities. That doesn't mean every sage is more powerful than every non-sage though. Sages are just likely to be more powerful and have a wider range of abilities. When they enter their sage state, which connects them equally to all their animal counterparts, they get access a deep reservoir of spiritual energy, which instantly grants them an advantage in battle, and increases pretty much every ability of theirs."

"So how can you tell when you're about to fight a sage?"

"Most people can't."

"But you can."

"Yup. Every sage has a unique spa buried within. I can detect it in a person, both those who have awoken it, and those who haven't."

"If it's buried, how can you tell the person is a sage? Because I doubt even Shishio knows Ursus is a sage."

"Well I'm gifted with that….long story."

"So what kind of stuff would release his buried spa?"

"Um….extreme emotion; anguish or anger, or love or something in that area. Or some kind of fight that forces it out. Maybe a serious damage from another sage or something down that path."

"Hmmm….I see."

"Why are you so interested?" "No particular reason," Heat replied with a wry smile.

Mel stopped walking for a moment, watching as Heat walked away from her. She released an exasperated sigh.