When her brother had mentioned a volcano, Malka didn't believe him. Of course, she could believe that a volcano existed, but she couldn't believe there existed a volcano that you could actually visit. At any time, a volcano could erupt and engulf countless people in its flames. Burning your hands on a stove was nothing compared to the murderous heat of lava and magma. Even as she stood on one of the countless plateaus of the volcano, Malka couldn't believe this area was opened to visitors. It seemed the volcano was long dead, save for some areas, which still spurted some fire and lava. Fire was Malka's element — unknown to anyone but her siblings — and the chance to observe it from up-close was the chance of a lifetime.
Her short blond hair stood out against the browns, but it meddled perfectly with the fiery reds and oranges. The heat wasn't as bad as she had expected, but she had to admit wearing a sleeveless jacket could only help. The fluffy fur around the collar of her vest was enough to make her neck sweat, but she didn't mind that. Her pants stuck to her skin slightly, but she ignored that as well. Her attention was focused on the fire, on the small mouths that still spurted fire in arcs and splashes. It almost looked like water, but expressed with the opposite element. Miroslav had said that coming in close contact with your element could help you master it. For the sake of testing the theory, Malka used her hand in an attempt to control some of the fire in a deep crater. She used her finger to stimulate stirring, and to her surprise, the lava below began to spin into a circle, as if something were truly stirring it. As small as it was, it felt fantastic. It felt like this whole area was her playground...
As she was training to manipulate the flames around her, Malka suddenly had to cut her training short.
She turned around to see a Gyrophant, the creature's fur resembling fire, most likely from adapting to its environment. Gyrophants were timid creatures, but this one had probably been startled, or Malka had stepped into its territory without realizing it. The creature cried angrily, breathing fire from its mouth to scare the intruder away.
Of course, being a manipulator of fire herself, Malka didn't feel threatened by the Gyrophant. Time to see if this can help at all, she thought quickly as she used the fire around her to her advantage. Twirling her hands, she forced some flames towards the Gyrophant. The fire made the Gyrophant cry and step back slightly, but the creature huffed irritably. The flames had singed its fur, which was most likely somewhat resistant to fire. After Malka's act, the Gyrophant played its own cards and ran forward, its head lowered and ready to ram into Malka. Taken aback, the girl was hit head-on, and the Gyrophant sent her flying against a rock nearby. Malka hit the rock with a thud, and she couldn't help but groan from the pain. Ah, but she wasn't done...