Lumen’s face was already set in a glare at her hand, so it was no trouble whatsoever to cast it at the stranger who decided to toss in his two cents on her problem. Had she sent out a request for help or suggestions? The answer was very strong no, but before she could tell him to take his opinion and shove it, he showed her exactly why he had the right to speak to her. Another fire elemental. They were an unfortunately rare commodity in Lumen’s life and whenever she met one, she was always more than willing to give them the time of day she didn’t afford to others -- especially when they could create flame the way this man was. She too stared into the flames and even leaned forward to study them more closely. A rare smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, one that disappeared when the man turned the flame off. She snatched the cigarette from her mouth so she could speak and tucked it behind her ear for later use. “Actually, very.” There was a huff of annoyance in her voice as she spoke. Wasn’t it enough that she had to deal with the fact that her best friend was at a higher level than her, now she had to be mocked by someone she didn’t even know? She crossed her arms defensively and narrowed her eyes before she spoke again. “I bet you had someone to teach you, right? I guess it would be easy for you then.” There was no denying that Lumen was bitter over the fact that her father hadn’t even bothered to tell her that she might have abilities, let alone shown her how to use them. She was convinced that with the appropriate teaching she would be at a level vastly surpassing the rest of her peers.
Begrudgingly, as if the stranger had expected her to, Lumen stuck out her hand again. She took a deep breath and pulled on the inner flame burning inside her. It rose, burned brighter, and she could feel it desperately trying to break out through her skin -- and then she sparked. Granted, it was brighter than her previous attempts, but it was still a spark nonetheless. Lumen released an aggravated growl and looked over at the man with a raised eyebrow, daring him to tell her how easy it was again. “I practice and practice until I feel like my brain is going to explode.” Sometimes she wished that it would -- maybe then she would actually get to feel what it was like to create fire on her own. Lumen slumped back into the bench, nudging the man next to her with an elbow as she went. “What else can you do, or are hands your specialty?” Most teenage girls would have been bothered or even afraid of carrying on a conversation with a strange grown man in the park, but she had dealt with much worse before. Her experience at the diner had taught her how to handle people, but her mother’s boyfriends were what truly taught her fearlessness. Besides, it was unlikely that anything would happen to her with so many people around.