literature

Delmar's storyline part 35 - Maxine

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Reed looked around in the library but could not find Shrapnel. He had been pretty upset at the meeting yesterday, so bad that Chemical had him thrown out. Reed could understand why, Shrapnel cared a great deal for Dawson, but Chemical had no intent of wasting resources on a human. Reed wanted to say goodbye before heading out on the next mission, tell Shrapnel that he would keep an eye out for the human. He couldn't help but starting to feel a bit helpless, he felt like he was starting to lose his control over the situation. He took another look around, Ramsey couldn't be spotted either, he was supposed to be with Nell today. Reed had no idea what he should do with the pup now either. When he had taken the mentorship for the pup he had time for it, but now? He hadn’t planned that he would have to run around with Delmar on a short leash whole the time chasing after the black shifters. Reed looked at his watch and sighed, he had no more time to waste, he was supposed to pick up Delmar now. Shrapnel was probably just reading a dusty old book somewhere. He’ll be fine, Reed told himself and left.

***

Ramsey sighed and put down his food tray on an empty table. He looked around in the cafeteria, it was crowded as usual. He was starting to feel very lost. Shrapnel hadn’t been in the library since Dawson disappeared and Reed had been busy going on missions with Delmar for several days, he had no idea when he would return. Ramsey was starting to feel like they had forgotten about him. A few tables away a group of students were eating and laughing together. He envied them, they seemed to have so much fun together. Sometimes he wished he hadn't skipped the basic shifter training in the T/M faction. He loved his mentors but sometimes he wished he had more friends his own age. He could always go and speak to the students at the other table? Just because he wasn’t a part of the education program didn’t mean he couldn’t hang out with the other students? Just as he rose from the table someone came up behind him. He turned surprised around to face a tall beautiful woman, her blond hair burned like a balefire on her head. She was obviously another fire shifter, she had a unique chemical faction outfit telling him this wasn’t just anyone.
“Hi?” Ramsey said friendly and a bit surprised.
“Hi,” she said with a very soft yet powerful voice. She sat down at his table and made an inviting gesture for him to do the same. “So, you must that fire shifter kid everyone’s talking about I presume?”
Ramsey gave the other students another glance before he decided that he could always talk with them later, then he sat down again happy he had gotten some company.
“I'm Ramsey Shaw,” he said with a smile. He usually added a ‘like the minister’ whenever he presented himself but something with this woman told him it wasn't time for jokes and silly comments.
“So you're Reed’s protégé?” she asked.
She didn't have any food with her and Ramsey started to wonder if it would be rude of him to eat while she was there.
“Yes Reed is my mentor, and Shrapnel too!” he said happily.
“Shrapnel? The weirdass librarian?? He is a matter shifter, he have no business teaching one of our kind.”
“What do you mean? Aren’t we all element shifters?” well except for Dawson, but he didn't say that, unsure if this woman knew about it or not.
“There are several kinds of shifters, our power is based on a pure chemical reaction, a pure form of energy, Shrapnel’s power is based on an atom, a matter. He’s not even close as strong as we are.”
“But Shrapnel got purple fire he controls?” Ramsey said unsure.
“He can light a fire, he can't control it.” she said and studied a flame she held burning in her hand. “So how's your training going?”
“It's going fine I guess. Controlling fire is a piece of cake.”
“And the war forms?” Ramsey looked down in his food. He didn't really want to talk about the war forms. Every time he shifted to either of them he completely lost control of himself at least one time per session. Reed had told him it was completely normal and there was those shifters who never managed to control their war forms properly. But as a chemical shifter he was expected to learn to control it completely. What if he never could do it? The person he became when he shifted scared him.
“I don't know…”
“You don't know? Haven’t you trained?”
“Well yes but.”
“Reed’s a bad teacher?” she asked.
“No!” Ramsey exclaimed.
“He won't tell you how he think it goes?”
“Well, yes. He says I'm doing well but I keep losing control of myself.”
“So that's the problem?” she regarded him with a raised eyebrow. “I heard you were pretty strong.”
“I don't know about that.” Ramsey blushed.

“This society relies on us to protect it. In a way we are the most important faction. When the others fails their missions to hide our existence are we the only thing who stands between the shifters and the gods. We got the final responsibility to fight the gods for our survival.” She explained.
“Why us?” Ramsey asked.
“Because we're the strongest faction. You wouldn't send those weaklings to fight the gods, would you?” she said and pointed at the same students a couple of tables away that Ramsey had planned to befriend.
“I'm not even sure I would do as a soldier.” Ramsey said carefully. Reed had always told him that being a soldier was the obvious career choice for him, but he had never said it was the only choice. Shrapnel on the other hand had urged him to make his own decisions about his future. He always told him that there was more to the Chemical faction then just the army.
“I was thinking of working in the library instead.” Ramsey said with a sunshine smile.
The other fire shifter looked fretful. Ramsey’s smile disappeared, had he said something wrong?
“Is this what they teach you? To be a librarian?” she said upset.
“But knowledge is important?” Ramsey said confused.
“You shouldn't listen to anything that weirdass librarian tells you. This faction, this whole society depends on us to defend it. It’s our duty and as a fire shifter it's your duty as well! When the gods return do you want to sit scared hiding in the library or do you want to fight for our right to exist and protect our people?”

Something awoke inside of him, he had always tried to protect his loved ones but he had always failed, he couldn't protect Sillof from Delmar, nor Dawson when he had thought shrapnel was going to hurt him, he couldn't even protect his own biological parents from himself.
“I want to protect everyone!” he said.
“Then you need to be a soldier! You need to learn to control your powers properly.” she urged and hit the table with a closed fist. The table took fire where she had hit it and she wiped it out with a stroke of her hand. “Where are your teachers? You should be training.”
Ramsey looked down in his food again.
“I don't know, Mr. Johnson is away on a mission and I can't find Shrapnel.”
“Maybe I can help you? I trained a lot of students, I might able to find what's holding you back.” she said friendly.

***

Reed seemed very restless as he dragged Delmar first through the dorms and then through the whole chemical complex looking for something.
“Why are we here? I thought we were going to Brenner?” Delmar asked. He could have checked reeds mind without asking but Reed seemed to be friendlier when Delmar asked what reed thought instead of telling reed what he was thinking. Delmar could spare himself some pain this way.
“I'm just going to find the kid, I can't just leave him without further explanation.”
“Ramsey? Can’t his other mentor take care of him?” Delmar asked.
“I don't think Shrapnel is the best company for the kid right now. Would you put a kid in a room together with a furiously upset scorpion?”
“Scorpion?”
“A poisonous land-lobster.” Reed explained.
“I know what a scorpion is you moron. Why would you put the kid in a room with one?”
“I wouldn’t.” Reed looked at his watch again, it's was half past noon. “He could be in the cafeteria.” he mumbled.

Right outside the cafeteria they encountered Ramsey in the company of a tall blonde female fire shifter heading out through the doors. Ramsey shined up in a smile when he saw them.
“Mr. Johnson! Your back!” he exclaimed happily. “I didn't know you were home already.”
“What's this?" Reed asked peevishly and not at all as enthusiastically. He stared angrily at the other fire shifter who looked pleased back at him with a hand on Ramsey’s shoulder.
“She was going to show me a few tips on demon shifting down the training halls.” Ramsey explained. He didn't seem to notice the sudden tension between his new friend and his teacher. Reed went up to her and dragged her hand from Ramsey’s shoulder.
“Stay the hell away from my student Maxine.” he said with a very hostile voice.
“I'm just doing what you're not, taking care of the kid and teaching him what he need to know to survive.” she answered pleased.
“He don't need your help with that, thank you.” there was pure fury in Reed’s voice. Delmar had to back a few steps away from the three fire shifters. They didn't notice it themselves but the temperature around them increased rapidly with the increasing amount of flames surrounding them.
“I heard you're pretty busy these days, he said you don't have time for your lessons. Maybe its best I take over?” she asked still smiling.
“I'm doing fine! And I just came to pick him up for his lesson. You can go and stick your nose into someone else's business!”
“What’s the point in having a student if you don't have time for him? I'm pretty sure Chemical thinks it's a waste to have him wandering around like this without nothing to do. The kid should be training.”
“He is training.” Reed gnarled.
“How are you supposed to keep training the boy when you run around on missions?” Maxine asked pleased.
“Reed she was just going to help me.” Ramsey said as he had started to realize the emerging fight.
“You don't need her help.” Reed gnarled.
Maxine shrugged with a self-assured smile.
“You know where to find me if you change your mind. Let's see what Chemical thinks about his mentors not having time for him.” she said. Then she caught eye on Delmar. She regarded his clothes a bit.
“So you're the new psychic?” she put a hand on top of his head and ruffled his hair. “An ice shifter? That’s cute.” if he had been in his wolf form he would have snapped at her hand. Instead he tried to find something he could use as a comeback but he couldn't make any sense out of the thoughts swirling in her head. It was something about an old lover but it was no faces he recognized.
“See you kids!” she said and waved with a hand as she walked away.

The flames around Reed still burned like they were out of control. He looked angrily at Ramsey unsure if he should be mad at the kid or not.
“Let me tell you a story kid, about a young fire shifter your own age who was a student under Maxine and thought she was going to make him stronger. She locked him up in the training halls and tried to form him into a mindless soldier by abusing and torturing him in every imaginable way until she would get the desired result. At first the student thought it was probably completely normal but as her abuse got worse the student started to resist her. This only made her methods even worse…” Reed paused.
“What happened?” Ramsey asked worried.
“She almost killed you.” Delmar said in realization when he peeked into reed’s mind curious of the story. “You would have died unless Chemical had stepped in and saved you in the end.”
“Stop snooping around in my head dog!” Reed hissed and took a strangling grip around Delmar’s neck. The grip wasn't so hard and wouldn't have done any real choking damage unless Reed’s fingers had been hundred degrees warm.
“Let go of me! You’re burning me!” Delmar started screaming and pushed himself away from the fire shifter. Reed let him go as he realized his mistake. He stared at the ice shifter for a while unsure if he should say anything or apologize before he decided Delmar had brought that down on himself. He turned to Ramsey again.
“You don't want Maxine’s help. Whatever you got trouble with you should always come to me first.”

Delmar wrapped his scarf up around the bruises to cover the burn marks.
“Do you want me to find you something to cool the burns with?” Ramsey asked and thought of how Dawson had asked for ice when he accidentally had burned him. Delmar looked doubtingly at Ramsey, then he put an ice cold hand in Ramsey’s face.
“That won't be necessary.” then he sighed and mumbled, “geez, fire shifters. Sometimes I wonder what you use to fill up the empty space in your heads where your brain should have been?”
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