[ WP ] fire is a manifesting force that can only be put out through hand to hand combat . You are training to become a firefighter

Callouses are only formed on the bodies most equipped to deal with them, my father always said. He'd come home, silt stuck in his brow, heaving from the heavy blows of another forest fire. That's all we ever worried about now, especially after our longer than average drought season. It's been years since I've seen him, but that heroic image burned forever in my head, like flames on a hardwood floor. Training started three weeks ago, and already I could feel the callouses begin to form on my once soft hands. 
 This is n't a profession for women they said, but I insisted. That's one of our lessons, persistence. If you do n't have it, the fire will win. You must always persist through the flames, until you've found the source. That was the easy lesson, now came the hard part, hand to hand combat. 
 It's been decades since water stopped working on flames, it's more of a running joke now. The course only has three more weeks before our final fight, after that we will be sent out like cattle to slaughter, with nothing but well wishes and hope for the best. 
 
 ( To be continued, when I'm not studying )
