Fire Petals Chapter 5
Inaudax
By Edenne
"Seifer, you idiot!" hollered Doctor Odine from across his lab, "You can't pick it up vith gloves! It interferes vith ze trainink!"
"If you call me an idiot one more time I'm gonna slice your throat!" Seifer replied from where he sat on a gourney. Odine looked at him and smirked.
"You vill not. You know zat ze sorceress vould zen slice yours." And then he added, "Idiot."
"Odine, I swear to god . . ." Seifer pulled off his leather gloves and stared at that damn little turquoise orb, "I'm gonna kill you."
"Vhat, vhat? You vant fisticuffs! I vill be happy to take zis outside!"
"I'm sure you would." Seifer replied, chuckling at Odine. He wouldn't have a fucking chance. "Anyways, Dr. Smartass Odine, how do you propose I pick it up without burning my hand?"
"Vow." Odine exclaimed, "You really *are* an idiot."
"What now?"
"Don't you know zat ze trainink is to teach you to overcome ze burnink, not to stop it from burnink?" Odine sighed and turned up his pointy nose.
"What the hell are you talking about, old man?" Seifer stood up and stared threateningly at him.
"Ze intense magical powvers vill alvays burn you." Odine explained, "You must learn ze discipline to hold it in your hand vithout droppink it."
"What!?" Seifer hollered, "You want me to burn my god damn hand off, don't you!"
"No, zough zat vould be entertainink to see." Odine giggled madly, "It is ze only vay. If I can do it, so can you."
"You're a liar."
"I'll pick it up."
"Then pick it up." Seifer dared him. He was sure Odine couldn't do it.
"I vill." Odine walked over to the table where the orb sat. Seifer loomed over the five-foot Odine menacingly. Odine reached over to the orb camly, not intimidated in the least, and picked it up, holding it tightly in his fist. "Zere. I picked it up. Now you try."
Seifer stared at him in shock. How could this little twerp . . . "Fine. If you can do it, so can I."
"Just as I said." Odine put it back down and walked back to his seat at the other side of the room with a smug smirk on his face.
Seifer reached over to to the ball and grabbed it. It seemed even hotter now, and he again dropped it, hissing.
"Again. Pick it up."
"I don't want to pick it up!"
"Pick it up!"
"I don't want to pick it up!!"
"PICK IT UP!" Though Odine's voice was high-pitched, it boomed through the lab.
"*Fine.* But this is that last time." Sefier grabbed it again, in his left hand this time, and held it in his fist. His eyes watered. It felt like his hand would explode.
Finally, after a painful eternity, Odine commanded, "Now drop it."
The ball fell on to the table with a little 'clink.' Seifer looked at his hand. There was a blistering red circle in the middle of his palm. "I can't believe this." He muttered.
Odine walked over and took the ball again, attaching it to a silver chain. "You vill vear zis around your neck at all times. It vill only burn you if it touches your skin. Hold it in your fist for thirty seconds and picture the person vhose body you vish to enter. Vhen you open your eyes, you vill be zere. I or the sorceress vill bring you back into your own body."
"That's it? I passed the test?"
"Yes. I vill leave now. You must practice. If you succeed, we will be back soon to return you to your body."
"Fine. Just get out of here." Seifer picked up the orb by the chain and put it around his neck.
After hearing Odine's muttering about "my damn laboratory and he's bossink me around . . ." and the door slamming, Seifer lay back on the pillowless gourney and closed his eyes, readying himself for his next attempt. After a few seconds, he took the ball into his hand (Damn it, it burned) and began to count the seconds: *One . . . two . . .three . . .*
.