Colliding Elements (Original Draft)

13. Friend or Foe?

"We haven't seen either of them at all yet," Aidan spoke as he yawned.

"Well, they're here somewhere," Chang observed the ground carefully. She stood up and turned to her left, motioning Aidan to follow her.

He followed along and pulled out one of his arrows, playing with it as the two walked. "They would probably be dead by now. That or they were captured."

Chang rolled her eyes. "They're human like us, they'd know how to survive, Aidan."

Aidan sighed while covering his eyes with his hand to see and looked far off into the distance. "There seems to either be an uneven patch of earth or someone fell up ahead."

Chang started to jog after hearing what he said. "Lead the way. You have the better eyes."

Aidan went in front of her, taking them both towards what he saw. They arrived in just mere seconds with their pace, stopping just in time not to step on the outstretched arm in front of them.

"Is this the earth kid?" Aidan asked as he nudged Hunter's hand with the tip of his boot.

Chang knelt down and examined the markings on Hunter's arm. "Her element markings show she's a tiger and a Capricorn. It has to be her." Chang grabbed onto Hunter's shoulder and shook it gently, getting no response from her.

Aidan looked over Chang's shoulder, eyes closed to a slit. "Is she dead?"

"No..." Chang shook Hunter even more, the force soon seeming violent. "Come on, wake–" she was cut off from yelling as a fist collided with her cheek.

Hunter looked up at Chang with eyes nearly closed and the corner of her lips turned downwards. "Why did you wake me up? I'm exhausted." She shrugged Chang's hand off of her and sat upright, scooting away from Chang a bit in the process.

"Well, you're on the ground, plus you're a mess," Chang spoke while pulling a piece of grass out of Hunter's tangled hair. "Plus, we are here to take you to the fire temple."

She hissed as she felt her curls being pulled as Chang continued to pull out more grass. "I'm not a child. Don't act like a picky mom towards me." She swatted at Chang's hand and went to stand, one leg almost giving out in the process.

Chang eyed the clumsy act while only moving away slightly to give the taller female some room. "What's the matter with your leg? Did you injure yourself?"

Hunter crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes into slits. "Some people get injuries when young. Mine has caused simple leg stiffness after it healed. It's nothing serious."

"It seems that's all you'll say, isn't it?" Aidan spoke, his hard stare fixed on the disheveled-looking girl.

"Why should I say anything else to you two? I don't even know you," Hunter trailed off at the end as she noted the man's marking on his right arm. "You're an Aries?" her tone had turned into one of disgust.

"Yes, and it's clear you're a Capricorn. Why should our signs matter? We're supposed to get you to the safest place possible, not squabble about other things." He started to chew on the inside of his cheek.

A light breeze came their way, making Aidan and Hunter's hair fly in the wind, Chang's not moving in its tight style.

"Well, if that's the case, then we should get going, correct?" Hunter turned to her left and grumbled under her breath. "Which way is this temple again?"

An irritated sigh escaped from Aidan, getting both of the earth users to look at him. "It's in the north! How ignorant are you?"

Hunter was taken aback by his sudden change in attitude, his fire stirring up one in her as well. "Well, excuse me! I happen to not know this world at all! Do you think I know everything about it?" She balled her hands up and clenched her teeth together, the ground around her feet began to stir and turn rigid.