"Halvatt! How many shells do you have?"
I had tried keeping my head low as I headed back to the beach, but as soon as I made it back onto the sand, you came running up to me like a lost dog, holding a bag in your hand that seemed to carry a sorry amount of shells.
As you got closer though, you stopped in your tracks and looked at me with concern.
"Are you okay? Your skin's awfully pink...did you get a sunburn?"
"No. I set myself on fire a few minutes ago," I said curtly.
"Why'd you do that?" you asked, coming closer to prod at my sensitive skin, as if it was helpful to do so.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Didn't an accident like that happen before? I remember you got really mad last year on that fishing trip while-"
"I. Don't. Want to talk about it," I snarled, and that seemed to be enough for you to back off on the subject.
After a brief moment of silence, you opened up the bag of shells and shoved it in my face, confirming my suspicions that there really were a pitiful number of them inside.
"I only managed to find these ones," you said, putting the bag away. "But I was looking for you because I think I found our ace in the hole. I think we can still win this. Come with me!"
I wanted to protest, but I instead allowed you to grab my hand and pull me along, too weary to put up another pointless fight against your decisions.
Eventually, I found myself in front of a group of children. Actual, sand-covered children that had sweat dripping down their faces, none of them looking older than twelve summers.
"Well, this is my brother, Halvatt," you said, patting my back. "We'll help you bring those other kids to justice!"
"Maybe I'll finally have an opportunity to grievously injure another person," I said under my breath.
"Ma'am, what does 'grievously injure' mean?" one of the damned children asked, and you frowned, patting me once more.
"Halvatt, we are not grievously injuring anyone. Some bullies took the collection of odds and ends these kids had been collecting. And we're going to get it back for them. Without violence," you said, using a tone that made you sound like some disappointed mother. I sighed and adjusted myself, moving a little further from you now that you had gotten much too close.
"What exactly did they steal?" I asked reluctantly.
"It's their collection of stuff they found on the beach. They had it in a bag too, it was full of stuff like bird feathers and sea glass," you explained. "But they said they'd give us the shells in their collection if we get the rest back for them!"
"Ma'am, he doesn't sound like he wants to help," that same child said, looking at me with a dubious expression. "He doesn't look very strong either."
"I could easily erase you from existence," I said pointedly, locking eyes with him.
"Really? Then prove it," the child said, putting his hands on his hips. "You look like you'd even lose against a girl."
Taking one step closer, I held out the palm of my hand and ignited a fire in it, hovering barely above my skin. Though it was not large, as to not attract attention, I concentrated a great amount of heat in the little flame's tip, which could easily melt metal.
"I won't hesitate to end your pathetic life," I said, staring unblinkingly into his eyes.
The child's irises widened, quivering ever so slightly, and then, much to my confusion, he broke out into a wide smile.
"That's so cool!" he exclaimed, looking back and forth among his friends, who also seemed to be engrossed in the deadly flame dancing in my hand as well.
"How'd you do that?"
"Can you teach me?"
"Move, I wanna see!"
Before I could understand what was going on, you were at my side once more, and I felt a cool sensation as you put out the flame in my hand with your water magic.
"Uncle Halvatt knows a lot of little tricks. He's a really good magician, he used to be in the circus," you said hurriedly, trying to defuse the situation and not draw any further attention to our abilities. "We'll get your collection back for you, I promise. Let's go, Halvatt."
Still lost in my attempt to process what had exactly just gone down, I could only wonder what went on in the minds of such stupefyingly naive children as you dragged me, once more, to our next destination in this nonsensical journey.