One thing I quickly learned is that I can't complain about something I brought upon myself.

    Rye pulled her new orange goggles over her face. They helped her in combat and also made it easier to see in bright light, how could she not wear them? The large orange goggles were a gift from her friend...

    She promised herself after her repeated uselessness and mistakes in combat that she would go find her old friend and have him train her in the ways of elemental magic. Little did she know, he was far harsher than she remembered or expected.

    Smack. He slapped her and the sound resounded in the dark, empty concrete room.
    "Do it again!" The boy yelled, crossing his arms. He had semi-long black hair, and he wore a black blazer with a red tie, and black jeans. His purple eyes passively stared at her "This time, don't suck at it!"
    "I'm tryin'!" Rye cried, rubbing her face. She held out her hand in front of her. A flame appeared in her hand, it was orange.
    "Arceus Christ, Rye!" He rubbed his hand against his forehead. "You keep choosing to use orange fire! If you want power, you need to be able to use blue fire! The energy is more concentrated!"
    "Stop hitting me." She mumbled. The flame wavered, a little blue creeping up from the source. But it suddenly died. Rye stared blankly at her hand.
    "Almost, almost." He sighed. "Try again."
    "I'm tired, Jack." She stared at the ground. Her legs felt weak. She hadn't eaten in days. Jack said that it would help improve her concentration, but she could only think about how tired and hungry she was…
    Smack. He slapped her arm this time.
    "Pay attention!" He yelled. "Try again!"
    "Can I sleep?" Rye muttered, her voice almost incomprehensible. Jack sighed again, and grabbed her hand a bit forcefully.
    "Alright, but if you're really going to continue, you'll go non-stop tomorrow. Otherwise, I'm sending you home."


    Again, again, again. She created a flame only for it to never be completely blue. It needed to be blue. Even though her favorite color was orange.
    All this pain would add up to something…
    
    Rye just stared at Jack's violet eyes as he laid more bruises on her in the name of making her tougher. Her frail form took the beating without much of a complaint. She continued to stare into the purple depths until she saw blue reflected in them. Both her hands were extended, and blue fire surrounded both of them.
    "You did it!" Jack smiled brightly. "I told you that you could." Rye didn't respond. Suddenly, she screamed in pain. Her hands hurt so much. They felt burning hot… But her fire power was activated, how could that be?
    She quickly extinguished the fire and hugged her hands close to her body. Jack raised an eyebrow.
    "Did it… hurt you?" he asked gingerly, showing one of his rare moment of affection. He knelt down and gently pulled her right hand out and inspected it. But he found nothing wrong.
    "It felt great." She muttered. "I had all the power in the world… but then it really hurt me…" Rye's speech was that of a child in her weakened mental state. Jack blinked.
    "…No more fire training for you." He pulled her to her feet. "Let's go get you something to eat." Rye leaned against him mindlessly, hoping that soon, she'd be able to go back.

    I'm not going to be worthless anymore. I was born to fight, and now I'll be good at it.

    Diversity alone is not good enough. Rye was a jack of all trades but  a master of none. And that was going to change.

    Months of different types of elemental training went by. She could use telekinesis without getting headaches after ten minutes and had fine control. She could conserve the energy used with her electricity far better. The things she made out of ice were much more polished and strong. Her fire was now concentrated and packed more of a punch.

   And yet, at the height of her power, a sharp pain surged through her veins every time. Rye always wondered why, but never questioned it. Her human body probably couldn't withstand the stress... But it could hold out more than if she wasn't half-demon at all.


    She pulled the hair out of her goggles. It had started growing again. In her months of training, she had neglected cutting it, but didn't feel like it anymore. She wasn't trying to destroy her past connections anymore, she could relax and let her hair grow out.
    Jack's living room was now covered in an orange tint from her large goggles, and she played with the new device on her wrist. The orange screen displayed the word "DESTINATION?" on it. It was Jack's new teleportation device… He had apparently gone through six prototypes…
    He walked into the barren living room. He had a warm smile on his face.
    "You've grown a lot in the year you've been training with me." He said. Rye nodded. "You've also gotten less chatty."
    "Well, you did starve me, bro." She glanced down at her stomach, which was slightly swollen. Her arms and legs were looking thinner, and her skin was pale.
    "Starvation hones one's mental endurance." He shook his head. "But you're free. I've imparted all I know about elemental magic to you. So use the teleporter to go back home now." Rye jumped excitedly, and giggled.
    "Thanks, Jack!" She gushed, and ran out the door. He followed her outside.
    Outside his house was nothing more than a black void. Its exact location was unknown to her (He always brought her here with a portal), but the lack of day and night drove Rye nuts. That would all end soon. She tapped in the device strapped to her wrist, which now said "CONSEQUENCE" on it. Jack had heard that the planet in trouble, which didn't surprise her.
    She pressed the green button on it, and in and orange flash, she was out of here.

    I'm going home…

Hello, Rolepages! IRL Rye here! I've missed you all but I can tell you I got through the worst of the school work! I'm still in Summer School but only for one more week... and when that happens, I'll be returning more regularly. I'm still busy with art and things, but I'll try and get back into going on Rolepages every night.

Also I needed an IC excuse for not being here lol.