Mark's eyes immediately snapped onto the forest as white flames erupted in the trees. "Issen fÿre!!!" He yelled, sounding the alarm. Issen fÿre, or Ice fire, was a type of fire that burned so hot that not even the Frösting could smother its greedy flames. Its center burned with a tint of blue, but the outer edges licked white hot tongues that now devoured the forest and started to spread. It was hungry.

The camp quickly came to life as the warriors stumbled out of their tents. Children wailed as they were comforted by their mothers, and Mark could hear Kathryn already barking orders for the fÿre brigade. He felt Ethan swiftly come to his side.

"How bad is it?" Ethan squinted at the rolling cloud of white smoke.

"Bad." Tyler came up to them.

"We need to isolate the fÿre and stop it before it reaches our border," he said.

"Cha, of course." Ethan sprang away to help the others collect water buckets. Tyler turned to Mark.

"Is there anyone out of camp?" He asked solemnly. Mark shook his head.

"No." But he hesitated. Earlier, just before the storm had unleashed its hot fury, he could have sworn he had heard screaming. "But I'll check," he added, "Just in case. But if it's just a mimic, I'll come straight back." Tyler frowned.

"Are you sure we shouldn't just roll call?" He asked. "It would be much less dangerous than gallivanting into the heart of an issen fÿre." Mark shook his head quickly.

"No, no I'll be fine," he insisted, "Besides, I never burn, remember?" Tyler looked back at the fretting tribe, and then he nodded at Mark.

"Just remember," he advised, "You do not have full control of your powers yet. Do not risk temptation, and stay out of the tongues as much as you can."

"I will!" Mark turned and ran toward the forest fire. It was already much worse by now. He could hear the crackling and popping as sap burned, and as he reached the borderline of the trees he unhooked his bow and quiver and tossed them into the grass. As soon as he entered the trees, Mark felt the temperature jump. Droplets evaporated in the presence of the furious fire, and Mark spied the edge of the issen fÿre just up ahead. With a deep breath, he charged through the white flames, and he was swallowed up by foggy smoke and hellish light.

Jack, meanwhile, groaned before coughing violently. The panther-like creature was long gone, had fled, but he was stuck. Stuck in the heart of the forest fire. Fog slunk through the cracked visor and filled his lungs drying his insides; hot, grackling flames made his blood run harder; and he was still in agony.

I'm gonna die, aren't I? He asked himself groggily. Through his delirious vision, he could see the flames edging closer to his tree: Soon, they would engulf the wood and turn him to ashes. He didn't have much time left. Weird, the weather went from ice cold and rainy, to... hot and burning, in the passing of a second. Jack couldn't wrap his head around it, but then again his blood was steadily draining from his ripped flesh, and his weak pulse pounded in his ears.

Jack tried to wriggle his feet and yelled out in pain. If he fell, he would snap his neck. If he somehow survived the drop, he would have to combat mother nature. And he knew he was way too weak to even make it that far. He wanted to close his eyes and pass out before more pain could come to him, but he couldn't tear his gaze away from the flames. They were beautiful. They flickered in the dark moody sky and danced in the wind, blinding Jack with their insidious light. He felt his muscles unwillingly relaxing as he slumped into a paralyzed gaze, turning numb. But as he watched, the flames suddenly wavered and took the shape of a gargantuan man. Jack's breath hitched, and he watched with breathless awe as a giant figure emerged from the fire.

Mark coughed and waved at the smoke. It was hot in here, even for him. The fire licked at his body, but it didn't burn him; he couldn't be burned, it was a gift from his ancestors. He looked through the flames and caught a faint scent of salt. He frowned and tasted the air; through the heavy fog and tumultuous winds, he could smell blood. He followed the trailing scent and entered a small clearing that had not yet been incinerated. At first, his eyes passed over the snare tree, but then he turned and found himself meeting a strange creature's veiled gaze.

Mark froze. He felt a chill shoot down his spine. The ensnared animal looked so... strange. Blood stained its pelt, but a weird black bubble covered its head. Its skin was shiny and silver, and it was dangling pathetically from a snare the hunters had set the day before.

Jack wasn't conscious enough to feel frightened. He felt numb and dazed with awe. The native studied him with flabbergast as he in turn absorbed a few tidbits. He recalled wondering why this strange man was so big, why he was covered in tattoos, and why was he wearing animal skin? Why was he here? Was he a hallucination? Were the flames toying with him? There were so many questions that would later resurface, but now Jack was losing his grip on reality. The sight of a gargantuan man emerging from the holy fires, unharmed, perplexed him too greatly.

As Mark cautiously approached, he heard the small thing groan as its head hung. Worry sparked fear, and he snapped out of his apprehension and approached quicker. He hurried up to the snare and reached up, putting his hand under Jack and breaking the rope effortlessly. Jack collapse in his hand, fitting perfectly, and Mark winced as he heard the tiny man groan again and ever so weakly stir. This is what was screaming before, Mark suddenly realized. He carefully rolled the diminutive human over on his stomach, and his pupils constricted when he saw the scarring wounds that covered the backside.

He muttered a curse, and his head snapped up when he heard crackling. His eyes widened as a flaming branch fell, and he held Jack to his chest as he rolled out of the way. I've got to get out of here! Mark cradled the mangled body with both hands to shield him from the flames and charged through the white nightmare. He coughed and ducked his head, keeping as low under the throng of smoke as he could while running through the burning trees. The issen fÿre had gotten bigger, hungrier.

Jack felt so still in his large hands, Mark was worried that the poor creature, whatever it was, was already passing into the next world. He spied an open space up ahead and churned the ground harder. Hang on líten häna, almost there! He jumped through the flames and tumbled out of the forest fire. He coughed and lay on his back, breathing hard. They were out. He made it. They were alive. Mark closed his eyes and smiled as the rain poured over him, washing the soot off his face. But then he remembered his objective and sat up, looking down at the strange creature. It was barely breathing. Mark could feel Jack's heart faintly beating, and he quickly got up.

I need to get it to Amy. He spotted his bow and quiver where he left it and slung them over his shoulder. As he hurried away from the issen fÿre, he couldn't take his eyes off of the shiny creature limp in his hands. Should I tell Tyler? He suddenly wondered. It'd be easier if I didn't. Just say that I didn't find anyone, and not trouble him with my sympathies. Mark felt a small prickle of guilt, but he pushed it away. It was the truth. Tyler had other things to worry about anyway.

When he returned to camp, Tyler was helping the fÿre squad refill their buckets as efficiently as possible. As Mark trekked into the clearing, their eyes briefly locked, and he shook his head. Tyler nodded and gave the squad the ok. While everyone else was busy, Mark spotted Amy in her tent and went over to her.

"Amy!" She looked up and immediately rushed to meet him outside. First she hugged him, and then she slapped his arm.

"Why did you risk your life like that!" She exclaimed. "You could have gotten hurt!" Mark bit his lip.

"I-I know, serönoba, I just wanted to make sure no one was in the fÿre. But..." He hesitated and looked around. Amy noticed this and gestured him inside. Mark waited until Amy dropped the flaps down to conceal them both inside before he let his hands lower, revealing Jack.

At the sharp smell of blood, Amy immediately stiffened. "What is that?" She gasped. Mark could see her instincts as a healer already starting to kick into gear.

"I found it in one of the snares," he told her as she scooped the broken body up. Amy set the limp Irishman down on the table and crouched, peering at his injuries. "It was screaming," Mark said quietly. Amy shot him a startled look.

"It's not a mimic." He shook his head, and Amy frowned at Jack's suit. "And this isn't organic, either," she pointed out. The healer reached and pinched Jack's helmet, and she carefully pulled it off. The glass bubble hissed as it gave away and came off, and both giants gaped at the face beneath. Jack's countenance was twisted with pain, and his eyes were almost completely closed as he took ragged wheezes, struggling for breath. His skin was ashen pale, like paper, and the two giants could hear every weak gasp of air.

Amy whispered an ancient prayer and leaned away, flabbergasted. Mark, stunned, stared at the tiny human. "It looks like us," he breathed. "H-he looks like us? I-I thought it'd be a bug or-or something! Not..." Amy recovered herself and started gathering herbs.

"Can you take off the rest of its armor? I'll need to stop the bleeding." Mark complied, but his hands trembled as he carefully peeled the poor excuse of "armor" off of Jack. With the human laying bare and exposed in his strangely colored skins, Mark felt his heart squeeze. He's so small... He turned Jack over on his stomach, and he held his hand out as Amy finished grinding the herbs and carefully poured the juices over the ripped flesh and cloth.

Jack, in his delirium, seized up and cried out with pain, unaware of what was happening to him. Mark stiffened and, unsure what else to do, gently rubbed the Irishman's head. "Shh, It's ok," he whispered. "Líten häna, it's ok, shh..." He murmured some soothing words in their old tongue, and Jack slowly relaxed again, shuddering. Amy rolled up his tattered shirt to examine the slashes.

"I've never felt skin like this before," she puzzled out loud, frowning at the shirt and ragged jeans. "He has two layers of it. It's like animal skin, but... but scratchy." She shook her head and reached for a plant leaf that acted like a gauze. "Take the top one off. I need to bandage him." Mark did his best to remove Jack's shirt without ripping it any more, and Amy pushed the human's pantleg up to wrap his bad leg. Mark watched the frail creature suck in a rattled breath and shiver in his hand. Every tiny movement sent cold vibrations through Mark's entire body.

Amy covered Jack's thorax with wrappings and sighed. "I'll get something for the pain." She rummaged through her things, and at the mention of pain Mark found himself holding Jack closer to his chest, using both hands to cradle the mangled body. Amy boiled some water over the fire and dropped a plant's precious leaves in, and when the tea was done she carefully poured a small cup and returned to her patient. "Sit him up." It was a simple and easy request, but Mark felt his heart shriveling as he gently pinched the human's shoulders and propped him up. Amy held the cup with skillful precision as she held the lip of it to Jack's lips, and she tilted it just a little bit.

Jack throbbed with a cough, spraying some of the herbal liquid before he managed to swallow. "Good, good ..." Amy kept murmuring encouraging words as she got the tiny man to slowly drink. When she pulled the cup away, Jack swayed and blinked, but his eyes were still almost completely closed. He slumped unwittingly against the bare part of Mark's broad chest, and his head hung as he weakly yawned.

"He will sleep now," Amy murmured. Mark watched as the tiny human slipped into a doze and wandered off into the dream world. A breath he didn't realize he had been holding escaped his lips in a relieved sigh. He's going to be ok. But once the relief and worry wore off, questions began to cram their way into his head. Who is he? What is he? Where did he come from? Why is he here? Did the ancestors send him? He looked at Amy and saw these questions in her eyes too, but she didn't ask them.

"If anything happens, for better or worse..." she said instead, "You can keep him here." Mark nodded.

"Of course. Thank you." Amy smiled a little.

"Or you could just give your woman a friendly visit or two," she offered. Mark chuckled, but it was weak.

"Of course, serönoba."

"It's nothing, really. You have your hands full now." She pursed her lips, thinking. "Have you told Tyler yet?" She asked. Mark winced. "No? You aren't going to?" Her eyes got big.

"I just... I think he has plenty on his hands," Mark answered. "Besides, I found this... this thing, so it's my responsibility."

"Our responsibility," Amy kindly inputted. She was going to keep his secret. Mark blinked at her gratefully. She is too good to me.