Peaceful Turned Frightening {Taylor}

He hated the cold, he really did. There was nothing good about it in his eyes. All it did was chase the verdant greens of the land away and trap it under frozen wasteland for a couple months, not to mention draining his power while it was at it. He wasn't too concerned about the negative affects it had on his fire nowadays, though, because as a college senior Joshua was top dog at the Academy and suffered little threat from anyone. The Waters were the only ones who posed a real challenge and since he was on their side they tended to leave him alone more often than not. He liked that, being left alone. He had friends but that did not mean he was unable to enjoy his solitude when he did get the chance to experience it.

The grounds were as cold and frozen as they had looked from the library window and he made a brief face upon stepping outside, then flicked his wrist and suddenly the cold was gone. He loved heat manipulation, he really, really did. Fire elementals had a natural resistance to the cold but it was made all the better by his control over heat. His body heat automatically adjusted itself to suit the temperature and keep him warm. With that in mind and the bright sunshine filtering down from above, he decided that it was not such a bad day after all. Not the best, no, he much preferred a hot summer afternoon, but certainly better than freezing his ass off, he decided.

He decided to practice with his powers for a little bit before heading to his car and going home. He didn't have much to do today other than study. Quitting his job had turned out to be a wonderful idea—now he had more time than he often knew what to do with instead of feeling stressed out twenty-four seven. He was able to see his friends a little more often, cherish the time with Nell. Practice his powers for an hour or two instead of heading home to shower in preparation for a long shift. The fire responded to him as if he'd never had to learn the ability, like he'd possessed it his entire life. There was an ease to it now that he cherished. He could remember all too well the ninth and tenth grade days of cursing the wind every time his powers would not heed his call. Now the fire danced and played in the air around him like he'd always been able to do this.

Eyeing the lake from a distance off, he decided that he would send his fireball into the water. He wanted to see the brilliant clash of enemy elements and the cloud of steam that would rise in its wake. When he released the burning orb of his element and directed it toward the glassy surface, he blinked when he realised that he had almost hit a girl who was standing by the water. Whoops. He hadn't realised anyone was there, absorbed in his own thoughts as he was. "Sorry about that!" he called, already walking in her direction. "You alright?" He didn't know her nor did he know what element she was in. She looked younger than him but that was the only thing he could glean.