Convulsion

♔ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇɴ ♔

I've always thought it was a shame that we've never been able to witness the full array of colors that this Realm has to offer, because the Ebengate blocks most of the effects of the sun. The Ebengate that's supposed to shield us from all forms of danger. Because of the Ebengate the sky is always shimmering here, and the clouds are always disappearing. It always amazes me that our Realm can share similar things with Earth, for example a sun, and still manage to be equally complex and yet so different from one another. It's mind boggling.

I turn back around, remembering what I'm supposed to be doing. I need to stop getting distracted. Lily is standing at the top of one of the mini staircases, staring at me. She looks perfectly fine and yet Richard and Steven are still lying down at the front of the room, all crumpled up on the floor as if in pure agony. I know they're fine by now, so I end up rolling my eyes, motioning for Lily to join me as I go back down the steps.

I realize as I study the room around us that I haven't been in it for a while. It's an oddly shaped room. If you looked at it from a bird's eye view it would have looked like a huge bean, filled with furniture. Half of this bean-like room is that part that we're in, that contains the window facing the ocean and the rock landing beside it. When you come back down the stairs to the level we're at you can see a plentiful amount of vines crawling across the walls, thin little green vines littered with tiny pink flowers. Along with the vines running about on the walls there are a bunch of shelves placed at random. Some are filled with books while others are filled with weird gadgets.

A few mini couches are spread out around the room as well, along the bases of the rocky cavern walls. A number of fluffy chairs are additionally hanging from the ceiling by vines, with only the chair part attached; the legs have been removed so that they give the appearance of floating. There are some nice rugs on the ground, with some pretty flowers and leaves woven through some of them. There are even some glowing flowers dangling from the ceiling, being only about ten feet high up, giving Lily a nice break from the massive cavern ceiling of the whole Grandcrest Cover and some light to go with it.

"How did you do that?" Steven gasps, grunting as he struggles to pick himself up. His voice sounds more amazed than curious or pained. Lily must take it the wrong way because she takes a step backward, holding her hands up in front of her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" I hold up my hand to cut her off.

"You have nothing to apologize for," I assure her. "That was outstanding, Lily. Honestly. Do you have any idea what you just accomplished? These boys here, still lying on the ground for whatever reason, are supposed to be two of the best Guardians this Realm has, and they didn't learn to control their elements as quickly as you just did." 

"Really?" She asks, brightening up a bit.

"Really." I poke at Richard with my foot after taking a few steps forward. Steven has gotten up so now he's the only one still lying on the ground. "Stop acting like you're hurt, you're perfectly fine," I say. Richard pushes my foot away from him as I try to kick him once again, and he ignores me.

"Come on," I groan impatiently, reaching out my hand to help him up. He grabs it, heaving himself up and moving to stand beside me. When I glance back at Steven I realize he's looking at Lily with a fierce look of concentration on his face, and I sigh when I realize what he's doing. He's communicating using the wind. I have no idea how he does it, but it can be annoying, especially when he uses it just so I can't hear him.

I run one hand down the side of my face when Lily laughs abruptly, waiting for their conversation to be over. According to the The Representatives of the Council, things like this cause us to have setbacks and weaknesses, and it makes us unfocused as Guardians. With how close Steven and Lily are right now, even though I warned him not to become friendly at all, I realize that the "R.O.C"- as Steven calls them- are going to command me to keep the two of them apart. I have a feeling this won't end up well. Richard elbows me and raises one of his eyebrows slightly, but I just shake my head at him and clear my throat. He knows what I'm going to have to do. He just wants to see if I have the guts to do it.

"We'll leave you to get some rest now, Lily." I turn around and point at the other half of the bean shaped cave by the entrance. "That's the restroom, in case you need to use it." The flower curtain entrance to the restroom hides it from view, so I can't really see inside of it from here, but I do know it's the restroom. "Oh, and I know there isn't a bed in here, but I'm sure you'll figure something out. Nature is all around you, after all." I motion towards all the plants everywhere.

"So, get some rest. We'll start training early in the morning, so be ready." I turn around and head towards the exit. If she wants she'll be able to ask more questions later, but we're done for now. Without hesitation I jump off the ledge that leads to the cavern below. Going down is much easier than going up. I know without a doubt that Richard and Steven will follow my lead, and I breathe out a sigh of relief when I feel the rush of wind that means Steven is softening our landings. It's going to be a long night, because I know tomorrow is going to be a big day. Tomorrow is the day the Gloaming are going to come after Lily, and I'm going to let them in.