The Bear and Barnacle

Fire is so many things,Albus mused, sitting outside in the sun, it is destruction and devastation, but it is also renewal and rebirth…fascinating that the same thing can be so ugly and also so very beautiful. He had wandered off on this contemplation after reading the article about the recent fire in Margate. It had led him to thinking of past battles with fire, and more tender moments as well.

Most recently, he had been recalling the last time he saw Fawkes burst into bright orange flame. “About time” he had muttered, before turning from his headmasters desk to watch the pile of ash as it shifted and baby-Fawkes poked a small chirping head out. With smiling eyes, he had coaxed the phoenix out of the ash as he always did, chuckling as the tiny bird preened against his hand. “Don’t worry, you’ll be lush and full again in no time.”

He thought, sitting here in the warmth of the mid-day, that he could almost hear the sound of soft phoenix song. Ah, if only! Albus thought. Then the song changed to a gentle keening. He blinked and turned his head around, to see a bright orange and red bird had landed beside him and was regarding him, head tilted, eyes blinking slowly.

“Fawkes?”

In his warehouse the Joker watched the flame underneath the beaker, flickering blue, as the liquid above bubbled and rolled. He followed the progress of the liquid up, over, around…twisting through glass tubing.

“Now I’m set to have some fun…oh, the people, how they’ll run!” He paused, frowning. Hadn’t meant to rhyme there. Oh well, it was sort of amusing. He shrugged to himself and smiled. “A new batch of Joker Juice, almost ready! Just have to keep the temperature steady.” He twisted the knob, the blue flame flickering slightly as it reduced. As he started to move away, he stopped. Had he just rhymed again? Nah, couldn’t have. But maybe… “Let’s consider this a test, as I give it all my best.” He clapped a hand over his mouth and giggled. “I’m being forced to speak in rhyme! This damn town is at fault this time. I’m doing nothing on my own, oh, this is going to make me groan!”

He did groan then, before immediately following it with laughter and spinning in a circle. “I can’t seem to let this drop, the rhyming doesn’t want to stop!” Merrily, he returned to filling a vial with Joker Juice, before placing his best trick boutonniere into the buttonhole on his jacket. Turning off the flame, he hummed a tune as he tidied and headed out into the town.

The bell tinkles as Lucius enters the bookstore. Behind the counter, an elderly gentleman looks up over his spectacles, lowering the newspaper he is reading. The article about the fire on Churchfield Place is visible on the front.

“Ah, good morning Mr. Malfoy! To what do I owe the honor?” he frowns. “I know I’m not behind in my payments.”

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From the Kent Chronicle

Margate- Fire roared through a block of shops on Churchfield Place, causing an as-yet undetermined amount of damage. Declared a total loss however, was Stearns’ Antiques and Collectibles, an upscale establishment that caters to the tourist trade. “It’s a shame really,” proprietor Thomas Stearns said. “Everything’s insured yeah, but some of these pieces were one of a kind.” Fire Chief Peter Brown said the cause of the fire was under investigation and that arson could not been ruled out at this point. “We’re checking everything,” Chief Brown told reporters. He also urged people to stay away from the scene, saying it was dangerous and he didn’t want the investigating team pestered by onlookers.

Firefighter Brian Davis was injured when a chimney collapsed on him. He was taken to Margate Hospital, where he is listed in guarded condition with a concussion.

Stearns, a strong front-runner for a seat on the Thanet District Council, had no comment on how this situation might affect his campaign.

The fight raged on around him, no one noticing but him at first, as the amulet around his neck suddenly glowed. Before he could react, sunlight was shooting out of it...and radiating around, and through him. Bright. Blinding. Glorious. He could feel his soul stronger than ever. It burned. No, it really sodding burned. She was beside him now. The burning was growing. He looked down at his hand, and watched the flames ignite over his fingers, even as her fingers were wound between them. It was like the fire inside was bursting forth from his very center, racing out in tendrils of scorching heat to burst out of the skin that held it in. It burned, burned so strong and so bright and hurt like, well, hell, literally. But he smiled, and smirked, and looked in her eyes calmly as she said she loved him. Stayed calm, stayed himself, even as he turned to ash from the inside out.

Gaav stares at his sister with his arms folded over his chest and radiates Not Amused. Dolphin moves a pawn in a direction that pawns are not generally allowed to move, she seems to be playing both sides, or possibly more as there seem to be three queens and four colors. "Well?" he says flatly.

Dolphin looks up and does a pretty good impression of an excited little girl seeing her favorite uncle, though the bouncing this results in inside her top is less little-girlish and pushes the chessboard carelessly aside so the pieces topple. "Brother! You look different. Did you cut your hair?"

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This month's topic is FIRE! Any and all kinds of fire, real or magical or meta- meta-four-icle!




And this month's topic and delay is brought to you by the letters C and A and the bloody wildfire that started on Monday 8 houses away and forced the evacuation of my and C's family. Luckily as of today, it's 45% contained and has been downgraded to voluntary evacuations. No structures have been lost because the firefighters rock (and were 2 miles away at the Oak Glen fire when this one started). And no, neither C nor I started it. It was always burning... since the world's been turning. ;)

Oh almost forgot, because I'm sure no one could figure this out on her own, the tag for this topic is fire.