Checkmate

Kiro gave a maniacle laugh, “Any last words before I send you to hell?”
For once, Arrow drew a blank on something witty to say. Come on, wasn’t there a pun or something he could use right now? The moment was begging for it. Funny how stress tends to make your brain stop.
“Nah,” Arrow said and took some purposeful steps forward, “That’s all too sentimental for me.”
Damn that was lame. Worst last words ever.
The fire rippled at his touch, gentle and fervent, as if it were saying goodbye.
Kiro’s eye twitched, and it made Arrow grin. Kiro picked the least theatrical nemesis in the world. Sucks for him.
The two pyromancers glared at each other, sizing up the moment. Then Kiro charged. His inferno came with him, a wave of flame nearly as high as the ceiling. If Arrow were in the mood, he’d be impressed. But really, at this point, it was just fire to him. It lacked any grace or charm. It could’ve been a candle for all he cared.
Arrow kept up his slow and steady pace, not wanting to force himself. A plan was forming at the edge of his mind, a plan that might actually work if he had the strength to pull it off. He locked his gaze with Kiro, made sure he was the focal point of the psycho’s attention. There was a manic, arrogant grin in the fox’s eyes. He was finally going to win. It was all over.
That’s when Yiska dashed off, and the movement caught Kiro off guard. His step faltered, the wave of fire lost a little bit of its control and stability. That twinge of doubt crept back into his mind – if Yiska escaped, his plan would fail.
That lack of control was his final mistake.
Arrow dashed forward and grabbed Kiro’s collar with an iron grip. He pulled the fox close, their noses nearly touching.
“Checkmate, Kiro,” Arrow said calmly.

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Full Story Here

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I had to.

Also, today I've realized that I completely suck at drawing fire XD or painting fire. Whichever. Ah well, turned out pretty dang cool anyway.
For those of you observant enough to notice Arrow is wearing different clothes than I normally draw him in, that's because I normally draw him before he made this jacket XD
When Firemancers reach a certain level, they weave their own clothes out of a material called fire-thread. Arrow made his at this point.
Normally I draw him when he's younger and hasnt XD
Also his eyes are that color because of his use of fire. It's kind of rumored in the pyromancer/firemancer circles that when your eyes change to fire colors, you can actually speak to fire and it will do what you want. As far as Arrow's concerned, its just a rumor. Then again, he's been skilled with fire since he was a little kid. He kinda just woke up one morning and his eyes were that color. He'll admit using fire is easier for him than just about everyone else in the world, but he doesn't really believe in the mystical 'fire talking' mumbo-jumbo.

~L~ out!