Erin never knew just how complicated a wizard's spells could be. Still, she watched, fixated, as Alastor Weiss added the final touches to his so-called transportation spell. A collection of vials, each containing a different coloured liquid, sat at his feet, and a miniature summoning circle had been engraved into the undusted floor.

A small, bubbling cauldron sat in front of Alastor, whose whispered chattering echoed throughout the room. He reached down, picked up one of the vials, and emptied its crimson contents into the cauldron. The boiling water within transformed from a dark blue to a brilliant purple, and a violet coloured mist erupted, bathing the entire area in a dense, coloured fog.

'Jesus!' Hirst exclaimed. 'That bloody reeks!'

Having grown used to the excessive odours certain magical ingredients emitted, Erin couldn't say this particular one was nasty. It was comparable to a gathering of boiled tamperbiweeds, which held a scent similar to a day old cabbage.

It certainly wasn't the worst thing she had ever smelt. Far from it, in fact.

'And now for the last ingredient...' Alastor's finger trailed across the pages of the tattered book in his hands, and a wide grin pulled at his lips. 'Nitroglycerin!'

'Nitroglycerin?' Erin's eyes widened and she took a cautious step back. 'You can't use that!' she exclaimed, as Alastor reached for a vial containing a colourless liquid.

The wizard laughed, instantly neglecting her words. 'Have a little faith!' he said, picking up the vial. 'I know what I'm doing...'

Still, she wasn't willing to drop it. 'B-but you can't! Not Nitro-bloody-glycerin!'

Casius, who had been silently observing Alastor's actions, leaned in towards her now. 'What is the concern surrounding this particular substance?' he asked.

'It's an active ingredient used to make dynamite sticks!' Erin explained.

Hirst looked up, his brows creasing. 'Dynamite?'

'Yes! Now that ignoramus is planning to add it to a transportation spell. It's an-'

Erin's words were cut off by the ear-splitting bang which erupted without warning, bathing the whole room a deep purple whilst emitting a brilliant heat that pushed forward, forcing her to retreat back a couple of steps. The floor trembled beneath her feet, seemingly intent on knocking her down. However, she was able to keep from falling flat on her arse.

'-extremely...explosive...substance...' she concluded.

'Piss on a stick!'

'Now I must admit that it's rather pungent...'

'Vanesco!'

Alastor's voice carried across the room, prompting the purple hue to disperse. The colour diminished to unveil a swirling vortex, which hovered above the cauldron, illuminating the entire place a dim blue. Its consistent, circular motions were similar to a whirlpool, and Erin found herself staring into the eye: a gathering of black mass which attempted to pull her in from where she stood.

The wizard gestured to the magical phenomenon. 'Ladies first?'

Erin couldn't resist taking yet another step back. 'I, uh...you know, I'm not really one to-'

'Oh, stop being a wuss and go!' a gruff voice demanded.

The magus twisted round in time to see Hirst running towards her, his head down, arms outstretched in front of him. But before she could attempt to move aside or cast a defensive spell to stop him in his tracks, the dwarf slammed into her. She stumbled backwards, tripping over her own two feet in the process, and fell butt-first into the vortex's embrace. However, instead of plunging straight into the eye of the vortex itself, Erin was forced dangle whilst enduring the strength of the whirlpool as it fought to suck her through.

'Hah!' Hirst threw his head back and laughed when he realised that she was stuck. He doubled over, hands clutching his stomach, succumbing to hysterics 'Y-your arse is plugging up the vortex!' he guffawed. 'I...I can't believe it! Your arse is actually-'

Erin's face flushed crimson when she caught sight of Alastor giggling. Anger surged through her, forcing her into a helpless battle against the magical vacuum clawing at her rear end. 'S-shut up!' she screamed, arms flailing, her legs thrashing. 'Hirst, you pompous little arse! I swear, once I get free of this thing, I'm going to f-'

Pop!

Before she could even get that last word out, the entire world disappeared, replaced with a surrounding sea of blue and black. Erin's screams were snatched by the gales of the tornado, which finally succeeded in pulling her in. The wind showed no mercy, throwing her around like a ragdoll. Nausea built up in her stomach, although she was defenceless to save herself as she plunged deeper into the vortex's hold.

She looked down (or was it up? She couldn't tell which way was which) in time to see the eye of the vortex pushing up (or was it down?) to meet her.

A final, silenced scream escaped from the back of her throat seconds before the darkness slammed into her, and everything fell silent.

* * *

'You don't think she's dead, do you?'

'Nah, of course not. Her arse probably opened up like a parachute and cushioned her fall.'

'I happen to think that the size of her posterior is most adequate.'

'Ooh, you dirty boy, Cassidy. You've been checking her out? I knew you had a filthy mind!'

Distorted voices and garbled laughter echoed in the back of Erin's head as she regained consciousness and opened her eyes - a decision she instantly came to regret. Her surroundings were but a mixture of hazed colours which refused to stop spinning, forcing her to close her eyes once again. Nausea still bubbled in the pits of her stomach, accompanying the symptoms of vertigo and the dull, aching sensation that seemed to rip throughout her entire skull.

A clouded shadow fell over her and something touched against her forehead. In an instant, a warmth consumed her from within, ridding of the vertigo and calming the nausea. At the same time, her vision cleared and the face of the person looming over her came into focus.

However, it wasn't the person she was expecting.

Alastor Weiss withdrew his hand and nodded. 'She's fine,' he announced, to nobody in particular.

Using all of the strength she could summon, Erin pushed herself up and shuffled away from the wizard. 'W-what happened?' she asked, her voice trembling somewhat. 'How long was I out for?'

Alastor managed the most reassuring smile he had muster. 'Only a few moments,' he said. 'You had a rather unfortunate experience with the gate of transportation and landed on your head.'

'Your fat arse plugged it up!' The magus' gaze strayed over to Hirst, who was standing over Alastor's shoulder, donning a look of amusement. Suddenly, she remembered how the dwarf had pushed her into the vortex, only to laugh when she became stuck.

The embarrassment of it all!

'You insensitive lout!' Erin scrambled to her feet, forcing a suddenly fearful Hirst to stumble away. Ignoring the little man's protests and phony excuses ("Whoa, whoa, I was only joking, woman! Calm your knickers!"), she thrust out her arms and lunged in a bid to seize his neck. 'Come here and apologise for those remarks, you little- gaah!'

Her fingers barely brushed against the dwarf's stubble before an overwhelming force wrapped itself around her waist, preventing her from reaching any further. For a second, she was convinced it was Alastor who had grabbed her from behind. However, before she could attempt to lash out and catch the wizard in the face with her elbow, a familiar voice - one that wasn't Alastor's - whispered in her ear, urging her to calm down.

Hirst, as is knowing that she wasn't going to get any closer, sneered. 'Fat arse,' he whispered. Then, with a sinister giggle, he retreated back over to where Alastor was standing.

'Just let me kill him!' Erin exclaimed, whilst struggling against the pair of arms intent on holding her back. 'Just once. Come on, Alastor can always revive him afterwards!'

'No.' Casius' iron grasp showed no signs of weakening, even as Erin continued to fight, wriggling and squirming, doing everything in her power to escape. 'Do not acknowledge him. His intentions are to simply enrage you,' he said. 'Besides, I believe that your behind is of perfect proportion.'

'That really isn't the- wait, what?'

Erin's whole body sagged when she picked up on Casius' exact words. If he hadn't been holding her, she would have fallen flat on her face.

'Did you just compliment my rear end?' she asked. Her voice was but a startled whisper.

'Yes.' His response was instantaneous.

The magus' entire face flushed puce and a brilliant heat tickled against her cheeks. She slowly twisted round to meet Casius' unaware stare. Dark eyes peered down at her, questioning the embarrassed expression plastered across her face. He always held that look, that blind, absentminded look that suggested he was oblivious to his own words. Though she had grown accustomed to it, she still couldn't help wondering what exactly was going on inside of that holy head of his.

'Oh, why don't you guys just go behind a bush and get it over with already?' Hirst interjected, prompting both Casius and Erin to look round. Alastor stood beside him, his entire body trembling as he fought to keep from laughing. The dwarf, on the other hand, gave nothing more than a disgruntled glare. 'Seriously, all of your lovey-dovey crap is starting to get on my nerves. You guys are already married in my head! What more do you want?'

'Married?' Casius blinked. His arms fell limp at his side, and Erin stumbled forward.

'M-married?' she demanded, trying with best efforts to ignore the blistering sensation in her cheeks. 'Who said anything about marriage?'

'Forget about marriage.' Alastor inclined his head towards the sky. 'Twilight is nearing'

Following the wizard's gaze, Erin saw that he was right. Tints of pink, grey and orange were starting to form against the late afternoon blue - an indication that sunset was not far off. They had, at most, a few hours before twilight fell upon them, temporarily halting their venture.

She looked around, taking in the trees and dense foliage which stood all around her. 'This doesn't look familiar,' she muttered, her brows furrowing. 'Where are we?'

'Oh, we're in Bayloch,' Alastor explained. 'I made sure the gate of transportation re-emerged on the eastern outskirts of the town, since it's within walking distance of the warehouse.' Now then, we should be off. We haven't a moment to waste.'

* * *

Erin edged closer to the fire, thankful for the warmth it provided. She stared into the flames, whose slow, swaying movements were almost hypnotising, before looking up at the night sky. She smiled when she caught sight of the gathering of stars sitting against the black canvas, illuminating the skies ahead. Their presence filled her with an internal warmth, one even the flames of the campfire could never hope to surpass.

'Those few hours passed by quickly,' she noted, eyes wandering to the figure perched beside her. 'Don't you agree?'

Casius offered a curt nod. 'Certainly.'

The magus couldn't help frowning when she noticed the look of concern plastered across his face. His gaze lay fixated on the campfire, on the dancing flames, which appeared to have completely consumed him. Still, she thought it was best not to ask what might be troubling him.

He could be wondering about his family, she mused.

In order to distract herself from the uneasy silence, which she feel forming in the very air around her, Erin looked about the area, taking note of the lack of company. Alastor and Hirst had both gone to collect extra wood for the campfire, although she couldn't help wondering why they had both chosen to go.

'Does it really take two fully grown men to go and gather wood?' she muttered, thrusting her hands out at the open fire. She closed her eyes, immersing herself in the feel of the faint heat that brushed against her palms.

'What are your family like?'

The question came out of nowhere, prompting Erin to open her eyes. She looked and found Casius staring at her, eagerly awaiting some kind of response. The look of concern he had donned mere moments ago was nowhere to be found.

'Um, well...' She spared the campfire a glance and shrugged. 'Aside from Elric, I don't really have a proper family. My mother apparently abandoned the Maelstras family shortly after I was born, and my father...' She trailed off, her features hardening as she recalled what Xalvadore Maelstras had been like. 'Well, he was a hero who lived up to his name,' she continued. 'He devoted himself to his people, but not so much to his family.'

In the corner of her eye, she noticed Casius' face softening. His sympathetic expression was reflected in the orange tint of the flames. 'For us angels, devotion is what makes us stronger,' he said. 'Families unite, regardless of what happens. The same goes with love outside of the family.'

At the mention of love unrelated to the family, Erin threw Casius a curious glance. She could almost feel his dark eyes burning into her as he stared, wearing a look that was a tad too serious for her liking. Still, she thought it was best to keep her mouth shut.

'Should we be fortunate enough to find and experience love,' Casius continued, 'then we must remain devoted to that one person, no matter what.'

'But what if that love is nothing more than an illusion?' Erin asked. 'What if it isn't real? I mean, people sometimes make mistakes when searching for love. What happens if it turns out the love you feel for a person diminishes over time?'

The corner of Casius' lips twitched. 'We never make mistakes,' he said, 'because true love never leaves you once you find it.'

Erin's gaze drifted back over to the fire. The low crackling of the flames was the only thing keeping absolute silence at bay, and a faint smile played on her lips as she contemplated on what Casius had just said.

Perhaps it's just a case of knowing when love is near, she thought.

* * * *

And so our fantastic foursome (can I say that yet?) resume upon their wondrous adventure. Tell me, what campfire scene isn't complete about a nice discussion about love and family? :D

Any thoughts on this chapter? Comment below!