[hr][center][color=808B96][color=00BFFF][h2][b]T a f f y[/b][/h2][/color]Southeastern Mir [b]-[/b] The Fall[/color][/center]
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Taffy was still kneeling by the otter boy when she overheard Max's remark about her being an "ornery little girl."  She shot him a glare, but saw that he was coming over, though the Draconi had taken the initiative and was already nearby.  She toned down the intensity of her glance just enough to be merely disapproving instead of scorching.  [i]I'm going to have a lot of trouble with him,[/i] she thought to herself with a frustrated puff of air escaping her lips, just forceful enough that it couldn't exactly be called a sigh.  [i]At least he's playing nice for now.  Choose your battles, Taffy-girl.  If we can just get through this, I'll be soaking my feet in hot water in no time at-[/i]

Then when she turned forward and bent to one knee near the boy's side and had said her piece...the next instant, a swirl of flames erupted from the boy, and Taffy's eyes widened as she saw the fire leap toward her.  A wave of heat washed over her, and the hint of singed fur and flesh.  [i]I'M TOAST![/i] was her very first thought as she leaned backward, and she tried in vain to shield her face and eyes as she scrunched her face up into a grimace, but it was just [i]too[/i] close, and-

"GET DOWN!" she heard, and suddenly she was yanked backward by a strong hand that gripped her collar and sent her sprawling backward onto the cool grass and dirt.  As she went down, she saw that it hadn't been the Draconi, but [i]Max[/i] who had been the one to pull her away from the sudden conflagration, having moved very quickly in such a short space of seconds.  As she landed onto the ground with her backpack first, which simultaneously lessened the blow and dug shapes in her backpack into her back, she saw Max try to shield himself from the bright orange light.

[i]What is that [/i]idiot[i] doing?![/i] she thought in a brief panic as she struggled to sit up.

The Draconi swore as he too guarded against the burst of fire, and Taffy thought she had heard a cry of surprise from Nikki somewhere behind her - or was it a mew?  Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the flames died out, leaving after-images of light in Taffy's eyes that she tried to blink away as she clambered to her feet and tried to approach the boy again.  She saw that the flames had scorched the ground around the boy...in such a small radius that, even if she had stayed where she had been, it was more than likely she wouldn't have been touched by it after all.  Max and the Draconi were equally unharmed, and she only caught a glimpse of their surprise before they both asserted control over their faces with a simultaneous discipline that made her wonder where they had learned that.

Max asked his question as to what was going on just as Taffy came forward again.  She balled her left hand into a fist and swung it sideways at Max's arm as she reached him, giving him a light thump on the arm and offering no explanation as to why.  She wasn't entirely sure herself, except she was sure somehow that he probably deserved it.  [i]Friggin' hero!  Why didn't he just jump away when he pulled me back?![/i]

Then the boy sat upright just after she had given Max that thump, and said his words that sent a shiver up her spine and caused her tail to fluff out.  It wasn't the words themselves so much, as the meaning behind them and the way they were said.

“Do you think he’s still going to need us to carry him?” the Draconi said in a stage whisper that made Taffy roll her eyes and give an exasperated sigh, as she then thumped [i]him[/i] in the arm as well with a quick jab of her other arm before she turned to the boy and knelt next to him again.

"Are you okay?" she asked the boy, the harshness of her manner losing its edge as she addressed him.  She could smell the sizzle of flesh, though she was surprised at how little damage had been done to the boy's fur or clothes by the fire.  And she was puzzled at what could have caused the sudden nightmare and its subsequent explosion.  She reached into her backpack and pulled out a ration stick.  "Are you hungry?" she said as she offered the compressed-nutrient bar.