Elemental Kingdom Chronicles: Living

Chapter Three

We arrived back home within about twenty minutes. Once we got back, Malina had Silverson came and bring one of the totes up, while I took one tote, and Malina took the other. Once we were upstairs Malina opened the door to my mother's room.
"Welcome to your new room." Malina said, turning and smiling at me.
"Thank you," I answered, looking around the walls of my mother's room. Her oak green walls, reminded me of my room back home. The windows showed a wonderful view of the woods, as the moon shined brightly on them. I grabbed all of my totes, and brought them into my room. "Thank you for helping Silverson."
"No problem." He answered, and then walked away. I turned towards Malina.
"Hmm?" She hummed.
"Thank you for talking to my dad, and letting me stay here."
"Of course my sun droplet." Malina answered, grabbing my head placing a gentle kiss on the top of it. I smiled back at her, watching her walk away. I closed the door to my room and walked over to the tote bins.
I unpacked my three totes into my mother's room, and made my bed with the bedding that I packed. Most of the stuff in my mother's room didn't bother me, rather it just helped everything feel more like home, and made me feel close to her. I just switched the curtains out, and added a few decorations from my old room. All for the benefit of my comfort of course. I smiled, grabbing my frog plush off one of the totes, getting ready to lay in bed and start reading, when there was a knock at my door.
"Come in." I said, getting into my bed, getting comfortable on the sheets, and adjusting my head to the pillow.
"I see you're all moved in." Nico growled, looking at my room. "How long are you planning to stay?"
"Until this entire freak show is over. After that I will be out of your hair." I retorted, rolling my eyes, grabbing my book off my nightstand.
"That's a stupid reason to be here. You'll be nothing more than your mother's shadow." He said, slamming my door, knocking down my mom's picture. I got up, quickly picking up the broken glass. I took it in my hand, quickly putting the glass back together in the cracks, and then making all the glass come back together.
I sighed, setting it up on the shelf. I looked at the photo of my mother. Her beautiful green emerald eyes held happiness, her smile was genuine, and her beautiful tan skin glistened in the sun. I sat back down on my bed, crawling up to the headboard.
What is his problem with me? After all, I've done nothing to him since I've been here. I sighed out in annoyance. Now is not the time to worry about something that doesn't affect me. I shook off how I was feeling, and smiled as I picked up my book, and finally got to start reading. About an hour passed, when there was another knock at my door. I wonder who it could be this time? I placed the book mark in my book, shutting it.
"Come in." I called out. The door opened, revealing Silverson.
"I see you're settled in." Silverson smiled. His gray and white hair was letting off condensation, from how warm he was. He wore a black hoodie with sky blue lines on the sleeves, and a pair of black shorts. I smiled at him.
"Yes, it's quite nice being in something that was my mom's at some point in her life." I responded, putting my book down on the nightstand.
"Well I just wanted to inform you that we have late afternoon training. So make sure you're ready. We want to see what your powers are like. If Malina is correct, your powers will be similar to your mom's. But I guess we'll just have to wait and see."
"Alright," I responded, getting up, and walking over to my closet.
"I will see you downstairs shortly Mira." Silverson smiled, walking out of my room, grabbing the door handle. He held a sad smile. "Oh, and Mira."
"Hmm?" I hummed, turning my head towards him.
"Don't let Nico get to you. He just has an issue with newcomers. No one knows why, so don't let what he's saying get to you." Silverson tells me. I nodded, and he smiled more, closing the door behind him.
I walked over to my dresser, and  pulled out a black tank top, a sports bra, a pair socks, and a pair of black leggings. I quickly got dressed, grabbing a pair of black sneakers, putting them on, and looking at myself in the mirror, before grabbing the necklace my mom gave me; an immortal daffodil.
I smiled looking at the outfit in the mirror. I took my glasses off and walked over to the makeup vanity. I sat down, pulling my contact lenses out of the drawer. I pulled my hair back into a quick ponytail, opened each lens case and placed the lenses in my eyes. I turned my gaze towards the mirror, and smiled, looking at myself. My honey kiss skin glistened from the natural light in my bedroom.
I took my hair out of my ponytail, and brushed my hair, parting it down the middle, and tying the one side of my hair. I took the top piece of my hair, and began braiding my hair into dutch braids. Once I finished both sides of my head. I checked to make sure everything was good, that my hair looked good, and I had the right attire on. After I did that, I left my room, going downstairs, to see Era filling up a water bottle.
"Mira!" Era yelled, motioning for me to come to her. She had a pink top on, with sky blue pants matching.
"Hi Era," I responded, walking over to her. She handed me a brown waterbottle with a green tree on it.
"Are you ready to start training?" She asked. 
"Ready as I'll ever be." I lied through my teeth. Truth be told, I haven't really used my powers to my full extent. Only time I use my powers were for small simple tasks. Not for fighting. Nor do I know how to use my powers all the way. That's something I can blame my dad for more than my mom. Mom was constantly ruling the kingdom so it was hard for her to train me. My father was constantly working for my mom, and avoiding anything that was brought up by my mom to train me on how to use my powers. I mean I was taught hand to hand combat, but that doesn't help with knowing how my powers work.
I looked at Era, who was mumbling about something and I wasn't paying enough attention to know what she was talking about.
"Era, stop talking her ear off." Nico groaned, filling his water bottle up. "You're very annoying when you ramble about things no one understands." Nico had on, a yellow shirt and black joggers for a workout outfit. He looked like a bee. His hair was slicked back, and he looked ready to kill someone with the scowl he wore on his face.
"Well I'm sorry Nico, or should I say. 'Charger' that I have friends " Era responded, making air quotes. I heard someone snicker from behind. I turned my head to see Striker standing there, they had a red water bottle with an Atom on it. I heard someone clear their throat. We all turned our heads.
"I hate to break up whatever is going on, but they're waiting for us outside." Kai interrupted. His hair was wet, and he was wearing a black tanktop and black shorts. We all nodded. The room became deathly silent as everyone filled their bottles and walked out front. We all walked down the steps, to see Malina sitting in the van.
"Come on slow pokes, we have training." Malina giggled, putting on her seatbelt. Silverson was in the passenger seat. The two taller men filed into the back, as Striker sat in the second to last row, and Era sat in the front row of the van. She patted the seat next to her. I nodded, taking a seat next to her. Malina just had a black jumpsuit on and Silverson had the same hoodie on when I saw him and a pair of black joggers instead of shorts. We drove off. I fell asleep for a majority of the ride, until I felt something zap me.
I shot up, looking around to see what could've caused that to happen. When I heard snickering from the backseat. I turned and looked at Nico.
"What is your problem?" I asked.
"Nothing. Why do you ask?" He retorted. I watched Malina's gaze dart towards the rear-view mirror.
"Nico!" Malina yelled, breaking harshly, slamming him into the back of the seat. "How many times do I have to tell you not to zap people when they're asleep?"
"Well, she was snoring." Nico responded.
"She was not Nico," Era groaned, looking at Kai. "Everyone knows she wasn't."
"I agree with Era." Kai said, Striker just nodded their head, as they continued to drink the juice box in their hand. Wonder where they got that from?
"Well that doesn't matter," Silverson calmly spoke, looking at me. "What matters is that you don't do that again." He glared at Nico, who didn't respond. Malina began driving again for a few minutes, until a big silver building was in view.
"Mira, this is where we train, we come here once a day for afternoon training, and once a week for testing, to see where we have and haven't improved. You will have to take the test with the agency at some point this week, because we want to see where your powers are at." Malina spoke, pulling into a parking spot.
"Okay," I responded. We all got out of the van, and walked back towards the trunk area. I watched Malina grab a yellow duffle bag, and everyone else followed suit. 
"Here you go Mira." Silverson said, pulling out a dark green duffle bag with flowers on it.  I smiled, opening it, seeing all types of snacks, protein bars, and shakes for myself.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." He smiled. We made our way towards the building, as Malina put in a passcode and the door opened. I followed the group, as they walked inside the building. I followed them, as we saw people working out in a glass room. Malina continued walking back until she found a door that was tinted, and you couldn't see inside. She pulled out a badge from her bag, swimping it.
"Come on." Malina spoke, holding the door. Once the scanner turned gree, Malina pushed the door open. We walked inside, and the smell of dusty air smacked me us the face. "Era?"
"On it." Era smiled, moving her hands around in a circle, making the wind blow in the room, brushing the sand to the sides. The sand was still moving, Era sighed, and pouted. "I think I made the wind current too strong."
"It's alright Era," Silverson smiled, I heard a loud groan of annoyance from Nico. I rolled my eyes, raising my hands, pushing the sand particles back down into the ground.
"Thank you Mira," Malina smiled, walking over to a case and putting numbers into the number key. The room quickly changed from sandy, to just straight dirt. It was like an arena, except is would be one that we were practicing in.
No chairs for everyone, just a dark window in the wall.  "We would train outside, but with everything going on with Ember, we would be caught instantly. So we are staying in here until we fix everything." We all nodded, as she looked around the area. "Now let me pair all of you." Malina thought for a second, deciding on who to pair us with.
"Era you're with Kai, Striker you're with Nico, Silverson you're with Mira and I."
"Sounds good." Silverson smiled, rubbing his hands, and clapping them together. I gulped down the small lump that formed in my throat. Everyone went with the respective partner, to different doors in the arena area.
"Rock paper scissors for first hit?" Silverson asked. Malina's face turned towards mine. I awkwardly shrugged my shoulders.
"Sure." I responded, readying myself for rock paper scissors.
"Rock, Paper, Scissors shoot." We all said. I landed paper, both Silverson and Malina landed scissors. They both played another round with Malina landing rock, and Silverson landing paper.
"Guess I'm throwing the first hit today." Silverson smirked, rubbing his hands together, causing the condensation from the heat to rise around it. I readied myself, as Malina stood there unfazed by the whole situation.
Within a split second, a giant ice glacier spewed from the ground. I lifted the dirt into a wall a few inches higher than me, shielding me from the ice. I felt the ground stop shaking once the ice was done growing. We heard the speaker turn on.
"Awe come on Silverson, you're blocking all the fun." Era whined out.
"Sorry, just part of my plan." Silverson called out somewhere. I looked around lifting my hands, causing the dirt to float up in the air. The sound of ice breaking broke through the air. Light was reflecting into the ice, causing the ice to break quickly. Soon droplets of water fell onto my head.
"His ice melts as soon as light touches it," I muttered, looking at the area I broke. "Meaning Malina is trying to reflect the light on his ice to blind him. I placed my hands on the ice, quickly focusing my energy, turning the entire ice glacier into sand.
"Not more sand." Malina groaned out from somewhere. I thought for a second, and smirked. I grabbed a handful of the sand, focusing my magic on it, making it float. I pushed the sand to the side, as it lifted the rest the of the sand and formed it into the wave. I checked both my sides to see if anyone came up, but no one stood on the sides, so I pushed the wave of sand forward.
"First win goes to Mira." Kai spoke, as Malina and Silverson came up to the surface. Malina smiled, as Silverson had his arm crossed.
"He doesn't take losing very well." Era snickered.
"I heard that." Silverson responded.
"Whoops," Era giggled. The line went quiet.
"Come on you two let's go, so the other two can come out." Malina called out, motioning for the door. I walked to the door, turning the sand into grass.
"Great job Mira." Silverson panted. His hair was letting off steam, like the rest of his body.
"Thank you," I responded, turning my head and looking at him. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," He smiled, his chest still heaving. "I'm just really hot right now, so my body releases steam, so I can cool down." We walked up steps, opening another door where Era, Kai, Striker, and Nico were.
"Here's your water Silv." Malina spoke, holding a blue thermos.
"Thank you." Silverson smiled, taking a seat, and grabbing an iced cold towel out of a bin, placing it on his head. The room became cold, as Silverson cooled himself down.
"You're the first of us to break Silverson's win streak, besides your mother and Nico." Malina smiled.
"I feel accomplished," I smiled, drinking water from my water bottle.
"Well," Malina smiled, dimming the lights in the room. "Era and Kai, you two are next."
"Alrighty." Era smiled, going to the door.
"So, if I win, do I get a kiss?" Kai came over, he held a smile on his face. I rolled my eyes, smirking.
"Only if you win." I responded, holding my water bottle.
"Well," Kai smiled, holding the door open. "I guess I'll just have to make that happen then." He walked out of the door, as it closed.
"That won't happen right?" I asked, turning towards Silverson and Malina, who sat there looking out the tinted glass from earlier.
"He probably will win," Malina spoke, drinking water out of her water bottle. "Era has great control of her power, but she can't do what Kai can do with his powers." I nodded, turning my head towards the glass.
"Yeah, but Era can control her emotions better than him." Silverson responded.
"I guess we will just wait and see." I said, sitting next to Silverson, who didn't seem to mind at all. He continued drinking his water, as we watched Kai and Era separate.
The sound of howling wind filled the room outside of us. Era stood strongly, as the sound of water droplets hit the glass. Striker, Malina, Silverson, and I watched as the two fought, while Nico just sat on his phone. The two went back and forth for a while, shooting their elements at one another, before we noticed Kai wasn't anywhere.
"Where'd he go?" I asked, looking around.
"You'll see." Striker called out, leaning out of his seat. Silverson watched, and Malina was asleep. All of a sudden, a tall man appeared behind Era, wetting her. Era pushed a gush of air forward, drying her off, pushing Kai into the wall, he didn't get up, as he held his hand out.
"Next win goes to Era," Striker called out into the system.
"Yes!" Era yelled out, giggling.
"Damn," Kai groaned out, getting up, walking towards the door while rubbing his back. "I forgot how strong that tiny little munchkin can be." I got up walking towards the system pressing the green button.
"Guess you don't get that kiss then." I spoke, watching Kai's face go red. Everyone in the booth snickered. Kai and Era came back in the room a moment later.
"The room is dried." Era said.
"Okay." Silverson said, taking the towel off of his head.
"Our turn Nico," Striker spoke, getting up, and walking out. Nico rolled his eyes, throwing his phone on the seat, and walking out.
We waited for a few minutes, until the sound of zapping filled the room. Malina dimmed the lights outside till it was completely black. Their battle went on for a while. Two giant things of lightning going back and forth, with one being slightly faster than another, or the other being stronger then another.
"Shouldn't we stop them?" Era looked at Malina.
"Not yet," Malina spoke, looking at the screen. "Their powers are useless against one another, one of them is bound to deliver a strong blow." Silverson and I watched the screen. Anticipation swelled through my veins. Striker was moving a lot slower than Nico, but Striker was holding off on the energy that they had.
Striker stood strongly, as Nico tired himself out. Nico's final blast was about to be used, when Striker ran up at full force, removing the energy from Nico's body, knocking him to the ground. We all stood up, as Malina quickly turned the light back to normal, and ran downstairs. Era pressed a button.
"The win goes to Striker!" She giggled.
"Not now, Era." Everyone said, but she and I. She turned her head towards me with a confused face, I shrugged not knowing how to answer her question. Silverson looked around for Malina.
"He's fine, just a bit shaken up. But he's fine." Malina called out, holding a thumbs up. Silverson's hand brushed against mine by accident clicking the button.
"Okay," Silverson responded, letting go. Everyone walked outside of the room, while I cleaned up, and Silverson turned the computers and everything off. His hand was cold, just like the color of his gray eyes. "Come on Mira, they're waiting for us." I nodded my head, getting ready to walk out the door.
"Don't forget your towel Silv." I told him.
"Thank you," He smiled, grabbing his towel. I nodded, walking downstairs left alone in my blank mind. Everyone was huddled around Nico, who looked a bit aggravated. I chucked at all of them, watching them.
"They're like a giant happy family aren't they?" Someone whispered.
"Who said that?" I asked, looking around.
"Someone you know," They whispered, not speaking for a second. "Someone you've seen but aren't close with."
"That helps a lot." I spoke.
"Come outside," They whispered, as it echoed in my ears. "Then you'll find me." I stood there confused, but the sentence echoed in my head. 'Come outside, then you'll find me.' I quickly looked at everyone, seeing Silverson hadn't come downstairs yet, and they were all too busy being focused on Nico. I quietly left the room, closing the door. "That's right Mira, come and find me." The voice was stronger to the left of me, so I followed the sound down the hallway, and into an empty room.
"You're Mira?" The person asked. I looked around the room and didn't see anyone. "Hello? I asked if you were Mira."
"I am yes," I answered, continuing to look for the person around the room.
"Look at the wall next to you." The person spoke. I turned my head towards the left and saw my shadow waving at me.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"No one." They answered.
"You're someone," I say, looking at them. "Just who exactly are you?" The voice sighed, as they emerged from the Shadow. He wore a black cloak, with purple embroidery on the hood, and all black outfit. I watched him pull his cloak down. I could see messy black hair, purple eyes, and a pale face. It was Keirian. I readied my hands, getting ready to use my power.
"Look, I'm not here to harm you." He yawned, his eyes were full emptiness, and his face was tired.
"Then why are you here?" I asked, still having my hands readied.
"I am here to warn you," He sighed, fidgeting with his hands as he looked outside.
"About what?" I asked, putting my hands down by my sides.
"Ember, the girl you saw-" I cut him off.
"Yes, the girl I saw in the forest." I sighed, crossing my arms. "What about her?"
"I came to warn you that Ember won't stop until she has you. She will not stop until she gets her revenge for what happened to her parents."
"I didn't do anything."
"I know you didn't do anything, but." Kieran sighed, looking at me with eyes full of pain, helplessness, and sadness. "I only have a limited time before she calls me back." He whimpered.
"What do you mean, calls you back?" I asked, unsure of the situation I was in.
"Ember," He whimpered again, gripping his head. "We shadows have a spell book that controls us. It specifically controls me, and any high powered darkness holders. She has the spell book to use dark magic to hypnotize us to her will." He held his head harder. "I must go Mira, be safe, and know she's coming for you." And with that final sentence he disappeared. I looked around the room, as I saw no one was in my shadow. I quickly left the room, walking back, waiting outside.
"There you are Mira." Silverson called out, his hair was wet but he was cooled down now.
"Hi," I said calmly, holding my water bottle with my bag on my shoulder.
"We were looking for you." Silverson spoke, looking at me. "Are you alright, you look out of it."
"I'm fine I've just got to make a call to someone when we get back."
"Alright," He began walking. "Malina is waiting for us in the van."
"Coming." I responded, following behind him slowly. I thought for a moment trying to think of who I could call, because there are only a few people. I'll call my dad first and see what he says, and possibly my college professor from my dual enrollment class because he also is an elementalist my dad knows. I probably will stick with asking my dad. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket, sending my dad a quick text message, while we walked back to the car. I looked up and saw Silverson held my door open. "Thank you." I smiled a bit, getting in the car after.
"No problem." He smiled, his eyes swelled shut a bit, and his teeth sparkled in the light, his hair was falling over his face. He shut the door, taking a seat up front. The drive home was pretty uneventful, till we transitioned out of the city. The smell of smoke was fresh on the earth. I looked around.
"What's going on?" Striker asked, looking around. We entered a fresh cloud of smoke. Era sniffed the air a few times.
"Fresh fire," Era spoke, looking out the windshield. "Malina stop the car."
"I can't stop the car in the middle of the road, Era," Malina paused, her eyes flicking right up to the rear-view mirror. "There's someone behind me."
"No there's not." Kai spoke, looking out the window. The clouds were getting darker, as we continued forward.
"I'm stopping the car, and we're getting out. Then we are going to create a game plan." Malina sighed out.
"Got it." We all spoke. The car came to a spot as Malina turned off the car.
"Okay so, first things first we need to clear the air up so everyone can breathe. Era you need to take care of the smoke for everyone, and every animal outside."
"Got it," Era spoke.
"Kai and Silverson, any fire you see, put it out, and fast we need to keep the fire at bay, and damages at minimum." Malina tells them, they both nodded. "Striker and Nico, I need you two to both listen." They looked up at her, and Nico still held his hand in his phone. "You two need to scout ahead and see what you can find. Do not fight, and do not use your powers out of everything. You will attract press, and that is what we're trying to avoid."
"You got it!" Striker spoke, smiling, holding his thumb up. Malina smiled, rolling her eyes.
"As for you Mira, repair anything regarding wildlife, I'll handle anything regarding needing light. I'll be with Silverson and Kai. Era, you need to go out now." Silverson held a bag of things.
"Ear pieces." Silverson spoked, putting his in. Malina grabbed hers, and Era grabbed hers, I grabbed mine, and the other three grabbed their's after us.
"Let's move out, people." Malina said. We all nodded. I opened the door, and we all filed out of the van.
Era was already on top of the smoke, moving it out of the way. Silverson was gliding on the ice line he made, Kai not following too far behind. I took care of leaves that were off of plants, flowers, and grass. Striker and Nico were long gone, as I was left alone by myself in the back. I walked up the street, as I saw a few people standing there. I didn't recognize them.
"So what's going on down there Mira?" Silverson spoked.
"Not a whole lot of damage down here." I answered, looking up at what I was getting ready to walk into. "Farther up, it's just quite a bit of fallen trees. I saw a few people but they're in their houses packing to leave. Otherwise no signs of any civilians." I responded,
"Alright good," Silverson spoke, the line went quiet for a second. "When you get the chance can you come up here? The fire hit pretty badly up here. A lot of homes have trees in them. The area that I took care of with my ice is clean, so repairing these trees would be great.  Malina is also looking out for firetrucks and police, if they even show up. Era, what's going on where you're at."
"Fire is bad, however I found something addressed to Mira."
"What street?" I asked, moving trees out of houses.
"Shirensteel." Era said calmly.
"Is there a house with red flowers up there? It has a brown staining on the outside of the house, with large glass window, and black interior on the inside that you can see from the windows."
"I'm not sure," Era spoke.
"Can you check? I'm not sure if my dad is home."
"I'll come back when I find out. The smoke is bad up here. I need back up. The fire is closer up here." Era spoke.
"Era, I need you to find out if my dad is home." I spoke quickly. My anxiety was through the roof, as I was worried about my dad. I grabbed my phone, quickly opening my phone, and dialing my dad's number. "Come on, pick up, pick up, pick up." I waited only for me to be sent to voicemail. I swallowed the lump on my throat.
"Mira, I need you to listen to me." Nico spoke, for the first time in a few hours. "You need to focus on saving people, not just your dad but others. You cannot expect yourself to save others if you dwell on one person. If you can't do that you might as well quit the team. Now get off of your feelings and do your damn job."
"I agree with Nico." Malina spoke. I continued walking up the mountain. "You need to focus on salvaging anything you can."
"Got it." I responded, taking a deep breath. Continuing up the hill. I heard the sound of cars honking. I went up and saw the cars were stopped behind a burning tree. "Kai, can you come here and put a tree out?" I asked, looking around to see where the road is.
"Yeah," He spoke. "Where are you?" I looked around for a moment, seeing a campsite sign and a road sign.
"I'm by the campsite wilderness resort, from what it looks like. The area is pretty burnt down here, and the trees are mainly burning."
"Alright, do you see any waterfalls or know where any could be?" Kai asked. I thought for a second, looking for the wilderness map. I found it, quickly checking the map. "If you take a left after you are all done setting up at the campsite, there's a waterfall."
"Alright perfect, I'll be right there." Kai spoke.
"Thank you." I looked around, at the twigs on fire by the cars. I lifted the dirt particles off the ground, and spread them all throughout the ground. Killing the fire by the cars.
"Mira, I hope you don't mind getting a bit wet, I'm coming in hot!" Kai called out, a giant thing of water just came out of nowhere raining all over the trees, plants, and cars. I smiled, feeling the cold water hit my skin. I sighed out in relief from the water. Once the fire on the trees were put out, I lifted the trees up, and brought the plants back to normal. "Do I get that kiss now?"
"Not yet," I laughed, spinning around in the rain.
"Guys, we need to move out now." Malina spoke. "There's police, fire trucks, and ambulances coming this way."
"What are we supposed to do about the ice and stuff?" I asked.
"Leave it, it'll be melted by the time they get here." Malina spoke, going silent for a moment. "Find a place to meet up, and someone grab Mira. You either need to find a place to hide, or get back to the car as fast as possible."
"On it," Silverson called out.
"Malina," Striker came on. "Shadows were here."
"Where are you?" Malina asked.
"Secondest tallest part of the hill." Striker called out. "Nico and I have found clues that they were here, or are here. We just haven't found them."
"Check your shadows, or anywhere dark." I spoke, hiding behind a tree.
"Why would we check our shad-" Striker stopped mid-sentence, making it become very quiet. "Nico is down, gotta go, just come up to the secondest tallest part of the mountain."
"On it, meet me up there." Malina spoke. I heard the sound of ice filling the area.
"Mira, have your hand up." Silverson said.
"Why?" I asked, looking around.
"Just do it." Silverson spoke. I sighed softly, raising my hand while still looking around. I felt a cold hand grab mine, pulling me up. I looked and saw we were gliding across the middle of the woods, the ground was far below us, as the tree tops were closer to us.
I ran my hand across the tree branches, spawning leaves and flowers. "That's why." He spoke, going back up the way he came. The fire was melting the ice as quickly as it was placed down, except for my area, because of the water. Silverson's face was covered in ash, and he was emitting off a bit of steam. He was overheated. I probably didn't look any better, my hands were covered in cuts, blisters, and blood. I made a bit of mud, sighing in relief of the pain.
"Mira," Era said softly. "If your dad was here he wouldn't be alive." I went silent thinking for a minute.
"Is there an old blue chevy truck in the driveway?" I asked, feeling my heart race again.
"No," Era spoke.
"Okay, he's fine. Just do what Malina said." I sighed out in relief, feeling the weight leave my chest. I can't lose him, I already lost my mother, but I can't lose him.
"You got it!" She giggled, cutting her ear piece off. Silverson glided the ice perfectly up to the area of the hill where Striker and Nico are. He placed me down once we reached where Nico and Striker were.
"Silverson, Nico is hurt badly." Striker spoke urgently.
"Okay where is he?" Silverson asked. Striker began walking away. We found him lying under a tree. He had a clear cut across his abdomen. I looked around for a patch of dirt, quickly walking over to one, growing silverweed, Marsh Fivefinger, Cinquefoil. I pulled the weeds out of the ground, grinding them into a paste in my hand, with a bit of mud I made. I saw Silverson applying pressure to his abdomen.
"Move real quick." I spoke quickly, getting on my knees. Nico groaned, feeling the pressure off his abdomen. I quickly spread the paste I made across his abdomen. He hissed.
"Whatever you put on me, take it off." Nico groaned.
"I can't," I said, putting the rest of the paste on his abdomen. "It'll stop the bleeding in a few minutes."
"So you're the four cleaning up her mess." A deep voice spoke. I got up, absorbing the paste into my hand, and grabbing Nico's arm and lifting his arm over my shoulder. This man didn't weigh as much as I thought he did.
"Who are you?" Silverson called out.
"Why don't you look behind you." They called out. They all turned around. "Down here." Silverson, Striker, and Nico turned their faces towards the voice. A small person in each of their shadows smiled sinisterly. "Hello."
"What do you want?" Silverson asked, looking at them.
"Her." They all spoke, pointing towards me.
"Well you can't have her." Silverson responded.
"And why not?" The one from his shadow asked.
"Because she doesn't belong to anyone." Malina called out, shining down the light on everyone's shadow. They all hissed, seeing smoke burn up into the air. "Come on you guys, we've got to move, cops and everyone aren't that far away."
"Well, where are we supposed to go?" Asked Era, who stood there. She had ash on her face, and her hair was entangled in leaves.  "Because we can't exactly go down the mountain, they'll ask if there's any more stragglers and stuff like that."
"She's right." Nico spoke, grunting in pain. "We can't go back to the van unless we find a way down that avoids the road, but there isn't a way."
"Yes there is." I spoke, thinking of what to do. "What if we took that broken log down the hill, and used Era's air to push us down. At some point gravity should take it. Unless Silverson creates a chain with us and uses his ice to get us all down."
"I say we go with Mira's idea." Nico groaned out, trying to stand up on his own. I wrapped a few vines around his arm onto my shoulders. "If we want to get down there quickly without getting caught by the press or peoples' eyes we are going to have to do our best."
"I'm in." Silverson and Era spoke.
"I agree." Striker spoke.
"Guess that's what we're doing." Malina said. I got in the log, as everyone else did. I closed my eyes, focusing the plants on the ground to pull us forward. When we immediately made it back to the car. My eyes widened at what I just did.
"That's new." I mumbled, looking at my hands.
"Mira," Silverson spoke, getting out of the log. "How the hell did you just do that?"
"I'm not exactly sure..." I responded, getting up, pulling Nico with me.
"We need to get him back to the house as soon as possible. I want to see how bad this wound is, so we can heal it." I nodded, going into the car, sitting with Nico in the front seat. Everyone else followed after.
Malina quickly drove back to the house. No one was on the road, as certain streets and exits were blocked off because of the fire. Once we reached home, Malina went up to the door unlocking it. I was the first to go inside, as I had Nico attached to me, and the factor that I needed to get him to the couch, meant I went in first. I walked over to the couch, placing Nico down on the couch, and then I grabbed a pillow, propping his head up on it. Everyone else fled inside a moment later. Silverson grabbed stuff out of the cabinet, and Kai went and grabbed the remote to the TV.
"Mira can you get me luke warm water and a washcloth please." Malina said.
"Yes I can." I answered.
"Thank you honey." I quickly walked into the kitchen. I grabbed a bowl from the cabinet, filled it with lukewarm water, and grabbed a washcloth. I quickly went back out to the living room, settling myself onto the ground next to Malina, as I rung out the washcloth, and gently wiped the paste off of his abdomen. The bleeding had stopped, but the wound was open widely and was a bit deep.
"We're going to have to stitch this shut." Malina spoke, guiding the light onto his stomach, as she had a suture kit in her hand.
"I could just heal it with a paste." I spoke.
"That won't work, I'm going to have to sew it." Malina tells me, settling into the stool she brought over. Her tone was aggravated, and her mood was down. It was best if I didn't argue with her for the time being.
She cleaned the area, and applied a small amount of lidocaine to it, and began to stitch Nico's abdomen back in place. After a little bit she had him all stitched up, and bandaged. The news played quietly in the background.
"This just in." The newslady spoke, looking at her papers on her desk. "A fire was spotted in the mountains just now. A giant ice glacier appeared out of nowhere, as views of other elements randomly showed up. Hear from a few people about what they saw."
"A burnt tree, to crisp ashes turned back into a regular tree, as the scenery became green, lucious, and clean again." A male spoke, his voice shaking.
"It randomly started raining out of nowhere, even though it's bright and sunny out." A female spoke.
"I saw a person on ice, and what I could presume was a girl." Someone else spoke. We all watched the news as we saw people talking about the situation. We flipped through every channel seeing the same thing. Malina's face was in a scowl, as she turned towards Silverson.
"How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of the way of the public eye?" Malina asked.
"Multiple," Silverson answered, his fist clenching. "It's not like I had much of a choice. I had to grab Mira like you asked."
"Yes but you could've told her to meet you somewhere else."
"No I couldn't Malina. You even knew that." Silverson said, standing up. "With the way the forest was looking, Kai wouldn't have been able to put out the fire that was growing by the minute off of the plants and the trees that the fire is feeding off of. Mira was safe in an area she was in, if she was in any other area, she could've been hurt or worse. Killed."
"I wouldn't have been killed. That's not how this works at all." I muttered, looking at the two of them. They just ignored what I said.
"Silverson, your ice froze so easily in that area because of Kai's water."
"I know that,"
"Then why did you still go in that area?"
"Because I said I would get her, and that was the area she was in. If she isn't hurt, and we got what we needed done, I don't understand why you are throwing a fit over this situation."
"I'm throwing a fit because I'm not trying to have another attack like what happened with Mira and Ember, or people trying to figure out that we're existing in the eyes of regular people."
"Well you see there wasn't an easy way around this Malina." Silverson sighed, getting up and going upstairs. Striker awkwardly got up going to a door and going down the steps. Era looked at Malina, who's face held a bit of sadness in her eyes.
"I'm going out." Malina spoke, getting up, grabbing her keys and leaving.
"I better go with her." Era spoke quietly, getting up and following her. This left Nico and I alone in the living room. I turned my head and saw Nico was sound asleep. I checked my phone and saw my dad still hasn't called.
I hope he's alright after what just happened. I went up to my room, changing into a t-shirt and shorts, and opened the window. I crawled back into my bed to pick up where I left off in my book.
I read for a few more hours, before I knew it. It was almost dark out. I got up, feeling the brisk air come through my room. I shivered, reaching out for the crewneck that Silverson gave me. Placing it on my body. I closed my window, walked out of my room, and walked down the stairs, and went into the kitchen, walking out the back doors. I looked out at the sunset that was setting on the horizon.
"I didn't know you were out here." Nico spoke, his voice was rough, signaling he had just woken up.
"I just got out here," I spoke a bit too harshly then I should've. "I can go back inside if you like."
"No it's fine," Nico answered, sitting on the step, letting out a deep sigh. "I had to get away from whatever was going on inside." I nodded, watching the sunset. "What's wrong with you? You're usually very talkative."
"Just worried about my dad." I responded, not really paying mind to the house behind me. "Why do you care? You don't like me."
"I never said that," Nico growled, trying to get up, only to sit back down. "First of all. Second of all, don't put words in my mouth. I don't like talking to people, and I don't like people in general. Besides, your dad will call. Just give it some time." He spoke calmly. We sat in calm silence for a few minutes before my phone started buzzing. It was a random number. Please don't tell me you're calling to tell me my father is dead or something. I sighed out a quick breath answering my phone.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Mira!" My dad called out. "Thank goodness you're alright."
"Dad!" I yelled, Nico shot me a glare. I mouthed sorry to him, as he just turned his gaze back towards the sunset.
"I'm so sorry I didn't call sooner. I left my phone at home. After the fire that was broadcasted on the news, and the sighting of you and the others I had to get on a phone somehow. So I'm on the one in my hotel room."
"It's fine dad, I'm just glad you're alright."
"I'm glad you're alright," He chuckled. "You saved people today Mira, I'm proud of you. Your mom would be proud of you."
"Yeah," I sighed, watching the last of the sun slowly sink down into the horizon.
"Well, I'm going to let you go. I've got dinner with a friend tonight, I'll call you tomorrow."
"Alright." I spoke. "Also dad."
"What sweetheart?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, my flower." With that being the last he said, he hung up. I placed my phone gently back into my short's pocket.
"See I told you he would call." Nico spoke, now looking at what was the pitch black sky.
"Yeah," I responded, not knowing what to really say to him.
"Sit down." He tells me.
"Okay," I said, not questioning what he said. I took a seat next to him.
"You see that right there," He points to four stars spaced out, with a tail of stars connecting to one. "That's the little dipper, right next to it is the big dipper." He went on about the stars for a little bit, as I listened quietly. The cold air blew briskly moving my hair out of my face. I shivered a bit. A moment later I felt something being placed on my shoulders. The light smell of burnt grass hit my nose. I looked up and saw Nico had already placed his jacket on me.
"I'm going inside, do not mention this to the others. Got it." I nodded, looking into his hazel eyes. He smiled a bit, walked inside, and turned on the porch light. I turned my head back towards the ground, as I grew a few buttercups out of the ground. I heard the sliding door open.
"Knew I'd find you out here." Silverson spoke softly, taking a seat next to me. He wore a gray long sleeve, and a black pair of joggers. "You alright?" I shrugged, not really knowing how to feel after today's events. Whether that was moving in, going to training, meeting Kierian, dealing with the shadows, my feelings towards Silverson, my feelings towards Nico, and anyone here. "What's going on?"
"Nothing, I'm fine." I lied, continuing to build the buttercups.
"Y'know your mother did the same thing when she was nervous." He chuckled.
"How would you know?" I asked.
"Because, I knew your mother right before she had you."
Right, I forgot a lot of the people here knew my mom, and worked with her before I was born. "Really? What was she like before she had me?" I asked, turning my head towards him. "My father didn't talk much about her after she died. So I don't know what she was like prior to my existence."
"Well, she wasn't much different from you." He spoke, leaning himself against the pole. "She loved to read, loved gardening, and most of all loved adventures. Before she had you, she absolutely loved to go on adventures with all of us and your father. Your mother and father were very close, best friends before they ever were romantically involved with each other. Their relationship was very close, whenever they had a problem they would go to each other, they helped everyone out, and always put each other first. Your parents I don't think ever thought about having a family, but I remember the day she told me she was going to have you. She came into my room. Well actually I was setting up my room, after we had just moved here. She goes 'Silverson I have a problem, and I need to talk to you now.'" He quote with his hands. "And I respond with. 'Well, what's going on?' She handed me a pink test, and I saw two dark red lines and the test saying positive. Now mind you, I did not know what a pregnancy test was, or why they were used at the time. I recently had just finished my contract with the olympics and I retired. She goes 'It's a pregnancy test, I'm pregnant Silv.' I looked at her with my eyes wide as saucers. 'So you're having a baby?' is what I asked. 'Yes I am, and I'm not sure how to tell him.' Is what she tells me, I told her to be straight forward as much as possible."
"Wow," I responded, so my mom was scared of something. "You know," I spoke, settling my head onto my knees. "I never knew what my mother was afraid of. My father used to tell me that my mother was the most fearless person in the universe. You had a problem, she'd be more than willing to help. Dad said she would put everyone in front of her in the face of danger and take the danger and problem head on. Dad would always say this to me because, when she wasn't around, she would be fighting for the greater good. My mother, when she was around, would always teach me how to use my powers for good and not evil, she would say even if I could use dark magic, use it for good, so it can help others."
"Yeah," He spoke, smiling at me. "Your mother was one of the nicest and bravest people anyone knew. When she died, Malina was lost for so long, because that was her best friend. Malina was like a sister for your mom, and Malina was there the night your mother died. Malina was supposed to die, not your mother, but your mother did what she thought was best, and put herself in front of Malina to protect her."
"That was my mother for you." I smiled a bit, reminiscing in my memories for a few minutes. "I miss her."
"We all do." He looked at his watch, and got up, reaching his hand out for me. "Come on let's get inside, it's getting a bit cold and your body isn't meant for the cold." I nodded, grabbing his hand. It was cold, but soft leaving a warm feeling in my hand.
I got up, looking at him. He smiled, looking at me before pulling his hand away gently. We went inside, and saw that Nico immediately turned his head from the door, and walked away back upstairs. I could tell that he looked a bit disappointed. But why?
"Goodnight Mira," Silverson smiled, grabbing a cold water bottle out of the fridge, and going upstairs.
"Goodnight Silverson." I smiled back, turning the kitchen light off, and going upstairs to my room. I placed Nico's jacket onto a hanger, hanging it on the closet door. I sniffed Silverson's crewneck, smelling the slight hint of burnt grass stinging my nose. It didn't smell like Silverson, and it bothered me a bit, knowing that something I was given, no longer smells like the person who gave it to me.
I walked over to one of my drawers, pulling out a mint green long sleeve shirt. I slipped on the mint green long sleeve shirt, and crawled into bed. I got under the covers, turning to my right side, switching off the lights, and looking out at the window. I found the little dipper, and smiled gently at the memory of Nico smiling talking about the stars. I fell asleep into a calm and dreamless slumber.