"If he's your older brother then why don't you seem to care at all?" Sayla looked at Len with furrowed eyebrows. She had never in her wildest imagination expected the sister of the thief to have such rapid mood swings. Hearing his last words, she had assumed that he had a very close relationship to his sister and that she would be devasted on hearing what happened to him. The young woman in front of her was anything but devasted- she sat with great poise and eyed them with a dose of suspicion.
"Would you care about something that you often forget about?"
"Huh?"
Len looked at her and repeated the question seriously. "There are people who say that thinking often about someone means you either love or hate them. I'm not interested not because I hate my brother or hold a grudge against him but because I have no emotions towards him- positive or negative. If something appears suddenly that I never thought of before, the most I can do is say- 'thank you' and move on, am I wrong?"
"I see, what amazing reasoning." Sayla looked to Norris with shock. She hadn't expected him to say anything more considering how stiff he was and the fact that he was still standing. "Unfortunately we're not here to discuss your philosophical principles. Are you his sister or not? Just saying it isn't enough and what you just did isn't what I'd consider proof but violence."
Sayla was now looking at him with wonder. His words were convincing and sharp. He was always yawning and spacing out. Who knew he could be a smooth talker too? It looked like Len wasn't the only one with many sides. As if sensing her inner thoughts, Norris shot her a quick glance as if to tell her to cut it out.
"I see. Then what exactly do you want me to do? I've described him and proved that we are related."
"It's a common misconception that magic is hereditary. Though the chances of acquiring the same ability or an extremely similar ability as your family is 99%, there's still a 1% chance that you can be dealt something else. Aside from that, magic isn't unique. I didn't see your brother myself so I don't know what it is that he did but I do know that your ability is different."
"What?" It was Sayla's turn to stand up. "I saw him myself, Norris! It was the same thing as what she just did."
"Hold on." Len said, her book closed once more. "Let me entertain your friend here for a second. What did my brother do in front of you?"
"He lifted his right hand and there was a burst of fire."
"A burst of fire?"
"I didn't see the moment he used his ability but the glove on his right hand was definitely burned and he was holding it up."
A chilly feeling enveloped her and she turned in the direction it was coming from only to see Norris rolling his eyes at her. Sayla felt her face heat up again and huffed. "You weren't even there!" Sayla sat back down on the couch and crossed her arms.
Norris looked like he was about to say something but Len beat him to it.
"He was there just now, wasn't he?"
Sayla looked up at her with confusion, "Yes?"
"Since the two of you don't seem to have magic, I assumed you wouldn't be able to tell but it looks like I was wrong. What I just did is actually very different from what my older brother could do." She turned to Norris, "Please sit down."
Reluctantly, Norris took a seat. Sayla looked between them both, feeling left out from whatever it was that they were talking about.
"My brother was born with many genetic defects. His magic wasn't exempted from this. His powers are actually quite abnormal." She looked up at the ceiling as if recounting memories from a different time, "He always wanted to look after me which was ridiculous. If anything, I was the one who was always looking after him."
She tapped her fingers against the armrest of her chair. "The magic I possess is the same as most of my family members. I can heat up the air around me- energizing the molecules present. Fire is different from this. Producing fire requires-" She held up three fingers, "Three components- a fuel source, air and an ignition source. I can only produce one of those components- heat. Without fuel, there's no fire."
"But what about the wall?"
"That wall is made out of wood. The fact that the house isn't on fire is only proof that my magic is extremely limited."
"But I'm sure your brother produced fire!" Sayla yelled, becoming more excited by the second. She felt as if she was taking her first proper steps into the world of magic. She looked towards Norris wondering if he would be experiencing the same thing. It was only natural to!
...Nevermind, Norris' eyes were half-open and he was staring at the window on the opposite end of the room.
"My brother did." Len nodded. "Because he can. He can provide the fuel source." She paused, eyes drifting to the same window that Norris was looking out of. The window didn't face the town but rather a wall. She could see a set of rolling, green hills in the distant.
"It's an awesome power, isn't it? That's what everyone says and thinks." Len pursued her lips. "But it wasn't all that it seemed to be. The power drained his blood and would often burn his skin. He wore extremely thick gloves to try and increase the insulation between the flame and his skin and to hide old scars. It's fine in the winter but doing that in the summer definitely made him stand out. Unfortunately, it was even more dangerous to use his abilities in the summer which made the gloves more necessary then."
"So...the flame doesn't come out of his hand?" Sayla couldn't help but feel stupid as she asked the question that had been weighing on her mind. Len shook her head like a disappointed teacher.
"Of course not. Why would he wear gloves if it came right out of his hand? The fire appears a few centimeters away from his hand of the part of his body he uses. But if I'm being honest then-"
"You don't know either." Norris cut in. He was resting his head on his palm and looked ready to spring up and walk out any second. "I doubt anyone can understand just how such magic would work especially someone who never thinks about her brother in the first place."
"I can't argue with that." Len said, lifting her hands as if to accept defeat.
With those words, Norris stood up and walked towards the stairs. "I'm leaving." He announced as if it was a second thought, his footsteps already becoming more muffled with each second.
"I'm going to go too!" Sayla said, jumping up. "I don't remember if I already said this but your brother told me to tell you not to worry and-"
"You did." Len said, there was a slight smile on her face but it seemed bitter and sad. Maybe she already knew what actually happened or maybe it was just Sayla imagining what she must feel based on her preconceived notions about them.
"Ah alright. Thank you for telling us so much!" With that, Sayla ran down the steps after Norris. After thanking the owner of the apothecary again, she darted out the door. Norris was leaning against the shop's wall, eyes fixed on the sky.
"You're more knowledgeable than you look!" Sayla couldn't help but blurt out, quickly covering her mouth as she realized what she said. "Wait, I actually meant-"
"Thanks."
It was still hardly afternoon but Sayla already felt like the day had been extremely long with how many times she embarrassed herself. To her relief, Norris didn't seem offended at all. It did fit his character well the more she thought about it. He didn't seem to hold grudges or feel offended very often.
"Well we sure learnt a lot today!" She remarked as they began walking. She wanted to go around the town more. The incident had delayed many of the plans that she had in mind earlier.
"The only think I learnt is that this thief's sister loves rhetorical questions." Norris replied. Sayla shook her head but found herself thinking back to their interactions. Len did actually ask a lot of those...
"Anyway let's go get lunch! I want to check out all the places were we can get food!"
"I don't think that's possible..." Norris mumbled but he still followed after her as she walked to the town center.