ELEMENT

Chapter Six: Caves and Cliffs and Birds

The wind gently shook the grass, and the warm breeze made for an interesting and comforting landscape. Trees surrounded the area, and in the distance, you could see the castle in the Element Kingdom. The three had come far. They were in a plains, where rolling hills covered most of the area, but you could still see where the forest began again.

"This is where I learned a while ago," Meadow started, backing up, "and this is where you're going to learn!"

"It's quite beautiful here." Sage had never been in such a nice place before.

"It is nice, isn't it?" Meadow sighed contentedly, her calm expression faltering, before turning back to Sage and Ethan. "Okay! The first thing you need to know about using your Light powers is that, because of the nature of your Element, it's extremely unpredictable. You need to have a leash on it before you take it on a walk. Make sense?"

"I already know that," Ethan replied, rolling his eyes. 'You're not teaching me anything I don't already understand."

"I think I am," Meadow giggled, coming closer to Ethan. "Want a test spar?"

"You'll lose real fast." Ethan bared his hands, bending over slightly.

"I bet I wouldn't."

Sage stepped back a bit, knowing shit was about to go down.

"You and me, now. Let's go." Ethan was eager to begin, standing in the clearing. There was a considerable distance between him and Meadow. You could feel the hunger to prove himself.

"Alright. Fine." Meadow smiled, her eyes gleaming.

Quickly, Ethan sent a beam of light towards her feet, expecting her to fall.

But Meadow stayed firmly planted on the ground, still giggling. "I told you! I'm way more experienced!" She stomped her foot on the ground, and as she brought her hands up, yellow energy charged from under her, and sent a shockwave towards Ethan. It not only made him fall, but blasted him backwards.

He landed on the ground with a thud. "Fuck!"

"Told ya." Meadow was smiling, standing over him now, and holding out her hand.

Without taking her hand, Ethan shot up from the ground. "Keep being cocky. I'll best you next time."

Sage stepped closer to them. "Ethan, you're forgetting we have to do this as a team." They sighed, exasperated. "If we're not on her level, we're not a good team."

"I don't trust her enough to let her help me one bit." Ethan squinted at Meadow.

"Kay." She shook her head, still laughing. "You don't need to trust me, you just need to win."

As the two were bickering, Sage felt an odd energy from the Light Emblem. It was burning with pressure, as the gem had a slight, foggy purple tint.

A bird flew overhead, squawking at the three above. The closer it came, the more pressure was on Sage.

"AND ANOTHER THING, miss smart ass—"

"Shut up."

"Ohoho! You don't get to tell me to—"

"Ethan! Shut the fuck up!" She held a hand out to his face, watching the bird come closer.

Sage felt as if there were rocks on her chest, like something was trying to break through. "The necklace is- doing something-"

"We need to get out of here." Meadow stepped in front of them both.

"What?!"

"You fucking heard me, Ethan!" She snapped. "Take Sage and get out of the open!"