The cracking of timber rung throughout the village, accompanied by a chorus of shrieks and yells as the house toppled over. Adrenaline rushed through me as I witnessed a large support beam fell in the direction of a mother and her daughter, my legs began to move before I even gave it a thought, as I caught the pair and dove with them out of the way of the collapsing beam.

“Are you all right? Any injuries?” I asked a bit more forcefully than I’d intended.

With determined eyes, the Mother looked to me and shook her head. “N-No, I’m fine. Are you okay Naomi?” She glanced down to her similarly red-headed daughter, who shook her head, big green eyes full of fright.

I smiled to the both of them and pointed to the gate, closer to the train station. “Go take shelter there, we’ll take care of the monster!”

The woman nodded her head, and bundled up Naomi over her shoulder, who waved at me as they dashed away. I couldn’t help but smile, and return a wave to the girl. The scene would be almost sweet, if not for the falling timbres of the homes around me. Right.

Following the trail of devastation led me to the edge of the town, where I found Alder carefully scanning his surroundings.

“Alder, the townspeople are all evacu-”

He raised a finger to his mouth quickly, and shook his head.

The sound of more crashing timber from behind made me wheel around in an instant to witness…

Nothing.

The home behind us crashed downwards as an invisible force broke through the walls, bringing the room above tumbling down into a heap on the floor below. Whatever force had destroyed the home was clearly heading in my direction, and I dove headfirst out of the way as a giant footprint impressed itself in the space I had occupied.

In the blink of an eye, Alder rushed over to me, and hoisted me back to my feet with one smooth motion.

I smiled with a grimace as pain shot through my rib where I fell down. “Thank you… but what in Valyk’s name is that?” I asked, while invoking the name of my people’s guardian spirit.

The old butler looked in the direction of the massive footprints, and quietly shook his head.

“It’s a monster. Disturbingly, it seems to have the ability to turn invisible, quite vexing indeed.” His hand rose to his chin, thoughtfully stroking at his short white beard.

My brow furrowed, and I let out a deep sigh as memories of dealing with monsters from my old village returned to me. It had been many cycles since then.

“I suspected as much. The cunning beast must be trying to prey on the villagers.”

That was par for the course with monsters. They would invade villages, and devour whatever it could find, before vanishing as quickly as it had arrived.

The old butler pushed up his glasses thoughtfully, and shook his head ever so slightly.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.” Alder replied. “Its movement patterns thus far have been unpredictable, and it has altered its course each time it has crashed into a structure. Were I to guess, I think the beast is simply lost and confused.”

He dusted off a speck of dirt that had fallen onto his coat sleeve, and then pushed up his glasses again.

“Nonetheless, we must protect the townsfolk. I have a plan in mind, but it will have to wait until the others arrive-”

All of a sudden, an ear piercing shriek ripped through my mind,  and I hastily moved to cover my ears. A melodious voice echoed inside, accompanied by a sensation of embarrassment and shared pain from the sensation.

Oops. Sorry about that. It’s always difficult to get the… ‘frequency’ right the first time.

I blinked, and looked around in confusion. Alder simply smiled and pointed upwards.

Lilia was in the sky, her characteristic uniform and long blonde locks gave her away, but the rest of her body was Vastly different. She was covered in downy white feathers, and her elf ears had become a pair of smaller wings that gracefully swept behind her. Upon her back, larger wings had unfurled, beating steadily and keeping her aloft above the battlefield.

“Wh-What… how…?”

Alder held up an arm, the man’s appearance having changed as well, his skin covered in orange fur that spread all across his body, and ended with his face turned up into a vulpine snout. The devious butler grinned, and I leapt back and let out a cry.

“Surprised, Master Matthew? These are our true forms, brought about by Wild Magic. We’d hoped to have a better demonstration prepared for you later, but ‘twould seem that circumstances have deemed otherwise.”

My mouth was dry from hanging open, and he pressed his hand beneath my chin and closed it with a gentle clack.

“S-So, this is what Wild Magic will do to me?”

He frowned and shrugged his shoulders. “If you want it to, yes. Your form will reflect whatever your mind truly perceives you as, but if it is not to your liking, we have the means to remove the magic and return you to normal.”

I felt as though I should be very afraid of this revelation, but instead I felt a curious excitement. What kind of magic would I develop, and how would my form reflect that?

An amused presence brushed the edge of my thoughts, accompanied by a familiar melodious giggling.

I hate to interrupt your fantasizing, but we still have a monster to take care of-

On cue with her thoughts, Alder held out his arms to catch what I assumed to be the monster’s tail. Despite its enormous size, the dutiful Butler managed to keep the appendage at bay with three layers of a translucent barrier, which I assumed to be his style of magic.

“Quickly now, while he has it pinned, hit it!”

“What? How?!” I exclaimed in exasperated bewilderment.

I could feel her sigh reverberate through my mind, and she cast me a dubious look. “With your magic, of course.”

Confusion arced through me like a lightning bolt. “What-But I haven’t-”

“You’re the one that wanted to come and help us. We prefer to train new Wild Mages in less extreme settings, but I suppose this time it shall be trial by fire.”

She giggled at her own joke, and I returned a glare at her. Pushing up her own glasses, the maid smiled gently, and I felt as her amusement turned to that same caring aura I’d felt before.

“I’ll guide you through it. The magic responds to your emotions, and draws upon your inner passions. Keep your mind focused on the monster-”

Before she could finish her thought, Alder was knocked back, the old butler landing on his back and grimacing in pain.

Hot fear shot its way through me, and my mind flashed back to the image of Lord Grey laying in his bed, delirious with fever and begging for the return of his daughter. Now another figure had stepped up to take care of Luk-Iris, and she would suffer another loss.

My burning hot anger swelled at the thought, lighting a fire beneath my very soul. The next few seconds were a blur as my hands rose, and white hot fire gathered in my outstretched palms. I aimed it at the general direction of the monster, and as I released the built up magic, I shouted.

“Burn!!”

“Wait, Matthew that’s too much, you’ll-!”

The fire released in a blazingly hot stream, a conflagration of flames that torched all in its path. By sheer luck, it impacted the monster square in the face, and it recoiled in pain, stumbling backwards and falling onto the ground below.

I grinned, but then panic started to set in as the stream of fire did not cease, and I hastily closed my fists. The stream of fire ceased, but it continued to burn all across my body. It didn’t cause pain, but I could feel the steady drain of Something Important inside of me.

“Breathe Matthew. Control your fire, or it will consume you-”

Lilia’s words of guidance were drowned out by the tempest of emotions that swirled inside of me. She cast a helpless glance to Alder, who was only beginning to get back onto his feet.

“If we can’t get it under control, it will consume all your mana and then you’ll-”

I closed my eyes, and considered the possibility. I’d successfully safeguarded my Lady’s family this time, and if it cost me my life then-

Biting cold snapped me out of my dark thoughts, my fires dimming as I found myself embraced in a wall of ice. Ice that felt somehow familiar. A smile spread across my face, as I turned around to face who I knew was waiting for me.

Violet_Velvet

Thank you for reading Chapter 25 of Getting Comfortable!

Matthew seems like quite a stand up fellow, though perhaps a bit of a hothead.

Apologies for the long wait between chapters, I've been adjusting my schedule to avoid burnout. Currently I am planning on a biweekly posting schedule, which I think will strike a nice balance between my own needs, and providing all of you with regular chapters to enjoy!

Stay safe out there, and take care!