F3 Burners

     Jack and I coasted down on our cloud boards to the top of a small crater. Small being just a couple of miles across. A woman stood at the top. My eyes easily picked out that she had spotted us, and she didn't look particularly happy about it.
      "Reilly, keep cool."

      Jack didn't often go serious on me. The man's primary nature was smartass, seconded by a practical joker. For him to actually be serious meant something.
      Since Jack wasn't forthcoming, I had to ask, "Why?"
      "Burners don't have much of a sense of humor, and they've got a temper that suits their names. We don't often get along." By that he meant Storm Riders and Burners. Actually, I bet he meant it as all of us. The Gaeans and the Aquarians had their issues, too.
      I was about to ask for more when a plume of fire shot towards us. I dodged, carving my board sharply to the right to get out of its way. Jack to a second to look annoyed, then shot a lightning bolt through the plume of fire. I thought the lightning would pass through harmlessly, but the plume of flame split apart in an instant, then was snuffed out.
      "What the fuck!" I swung my board back over to Jack. "You said to keep cool!"
      "I was just saying hello."