A/N:
Elements as a proper noun will be capitalized; such as when I mention the Element by its name or essence directly. Un-capitalized words that are the same as an Element (such as water, earth, air, gravity, etc) are indicated to be actual substances not being created/controlled by an Elemental—such as those that are already preexisting in natural states (oceans, the atmosphere, trees, sunlight etc).
"Sometimes love is not enough, and the road gets tough; I don't know why."
They say that those who don't fear death are the reincarnated souls of the dearly departed, who have long since passed and experienced death. Those who understand it best have unwittingly passed away before, and only have a vague idea of its so-called permanence, despite knowing it will eventually come.
(Six Months Earlier)
"I hope you like it." Foxfire stated quietly, smiling slightly. There was something about her gingery hair that made her chestnut eyes all the brighter. Perhaps it was why her parents had added 'fire' to her name; her hair seemed aflame in the sunlight—especially with the blonde streaks running through it. It shrouded her like a cloak around her shoulders, making many people jealous of such naturally beautiful hair. But of course, with every beauty lies a deadly secret.
Meo, her best friend, opened the small box that Foxfire had just handed her, a random, surprise gift. The box was small and black, with no markings or signatures. She carefully opened the lid to reveal a silver necklace with a worn, round pendant hanging from it. The pendant had a peculiar symbol, but it was pretty nonetheless. It looked tattered in a distinct way, with the metal around the edges cracked to reveal darker metal beneath. The darker metal was the same color as the odd symbol etched into the middle of the pendant. It looked to be of two comets swirling around each other in a perfect oblong, or perhaps they were stars. She didn't know, but she liked it anyways.
"It's beautiful! Thanks, Fox." Meo smiled, holding it up and inspecting it. She didn't ask about the symbol, for she had gotten used to her friend's strange fascination with different symbols. Meo had never learned what they meant, but she was sure she had seen this one from somewhere before.
Foxfire watched with guarded eyes as Meo moved to put the necklace on, whipping her long, sandy brown hair over her shoulders, out of the way. She nearly told her friend what the necklace was for, what it symbolized, but then bit her tongue. Then wasn't the time. And it'd be best to just let her figure it out for herself, even though Fox knew it was just about the dumbest thing she could do. But she had more important matters on her mind, like Gallissy.
"I hope you like it," she spoke to keep her tension from being obvious. She just desperately hoped she was doing the right thing, and that Dakedei wouldn't find out soon. Of course he'd find out eventually in spite of her true hope of no one ever figuring her plans out, but she tried to find the better of two evils. This is what Gallissy would've wanted, and what she felt that she had to do. Since it had been two years since Gallissy's death, Fox figured that Transition for the Element would go smoothly—especially since it was going to be a very long time before she returned to the family anyways. She certainly would miss them, but for the better of everyone, of Gallissy most of all, she had to go through with this. No turning back.
~
"How many days until Foxfire returns?" Dakedei asked, pacing around the foyer in anxious debate. It made him antsy that Foxfire had left and thrown herself into a public place like high school, and he doubted seriously of her stability. Even though it had been two years, Gallissy's death had greatly affected the family, Foxfire especially. He was worried about her because she had never quite returned to normal after Gallissy gave her the Element. And lately, she had been acting even more unusual; the family hadn't seen her in three weeks.
Dakedei knew she was at home, with her birth parents, but it was unlike an Elemental to just stay away from the family—especially for as long as Foxfire had. Eventually Dakedei had gotten in touch with her and asked her what was going on. She hadn't stated much, other than she'd return once school was over, which was in four days. He knew this, but he asked anyways. She was his responsibility since Dragonov, the family's head, was away—that was his job. He was the head while Drag was out on his prolonged trips to take care of whatever it was he did, and he didn't want to take full responsibility should Fox up and leave.
"Four days," Torren confirmed, holding up four fingers for unneeded emphasis. He was one of the younger members of the Element family, and definitely more dramatic for no particular reason.
Emilia tugged on Dakedei's jeans, her dark eyes already glistening brightly in her optimistic way. Emilia was special in the way she kept everyone calm and under control, even though she was the youngest member of the family, being only nine. She might've been really young (and short) compared to the others, but she spoke in a way that made people listen to her—yet she was gentle and had adoration for any living species. "Can we at least call her again, Dakedei?"
The family's co-head looked down and ruffled her strawberry-blonde hair. It was amazing that even with such poofy, long hair, she kept it silky and untangled. "Sorry, kid, but we can't bother her. She's taking a bit of a vacation."
"Yeah, she'll be back before you know it," Torren added. "Just be patient." That was an ironic statement coming from him.
"I hope so. I miss her." Emilia seemed really worried, but that didn't surprise anyone. Fox had been gone too long for anyone to think she had good intentions. She looked up at Torren, but couldn't see his reaction because of his floppy, black and overly-long bangs covering the top half of his face, leaving just his nose and mouth revealed. For someone with such a powerful Element, he sure did lack in keeping his hair trimmed. It irked her that she couldn't see his purple eyes; she couldn't tell his thoughts from his voice alone. But there was something strange about those eyes, and why he always kept them covered, and it irritated her not knowing. She had only seen them once for a brief glance. He didn't need to see anyways; whenever his Element wasn't in use, he was rendered partially blind.
"We all do," Dakedei responded. He turned at the sound of Alleghany's voice, seeing her entering the room with Laex behind her as usual.
"We're back." she greeted in her sweet, chiming voice. She elegantly moved her hand to fix the flowing draping of her dupatta back over her shoulder, her eyes not moving or blinking once in their strange way.
"Good. What did you find?" he didn't like snooping into Foxfire's business, but she was a part of the family, blood or not, and she was his responsibility. If anything happened to her, then it fell on his shoulders for not keeping her in better check. Alleghany had a knack for finding things out about people without really doing much snooping (even though her Element of Electricity had nothing to do with such a skill), which was why Dakedei had sent her out to see what the girl was up to.
"Nothing, really. Fox should return straight to us. Have you picked anything up, Torren?" she torpidly blinked her strange, reptilian eyes at the Psyche Elemental, her long pixie bob cut of bottle dirty blonde hair and burgundy ends not even moving as she shook her head. She was unique in many ways, starting with her odd eyes and quirks.
The amazingly tall man beside her crossed his arms, standing stock still and as silent as ever. Laex was a silent giant, as the family often called him, standing at six-ten and rarely speaking to anyone beyond Alleghany. It was only deeply ironic that he held the Element of Sound. He always had a sort of gruff look about him, when anyone could see his face. Normally it was covered with either his hair or some sort of scarf, hiding his expressions and making him even more of a stone.
"Nope," Torren yawned. "I don't think she'd do anything rash."
"Try not to jinx it." She frowned, an unusual sight for her.
The five remained standing in the foyer, too unnerved to move. It was very unlike the family to have such tension going through every single person. Although some were more worried than others, Foxfire had become a common topic at dinners nearly every night, and the worry of the four days closing caused much stir about the house. The family was big, consisting of eighteen members including Foxfire, but the worry didn't increase with numbers. It seemed to mostly be contained within a small group, and that was the five standing in a small semi-circle, staring at the front door, as if they expected Foxfire to waltz right in at any second.
It was going to be a tense four days, Dakedei reckoned. He needed to be ready for if those four days turned into five with no return of the Ice Elemental. He crossed his arms, his bright eyes holding back a deep concern. He had learned to hide it well, especially when people like Alleghany, Simple and Emilia could easily read emotions of others, but it wasn't enough this time. "I guess all we can do is wait."
Torren stretched, ready to go crash on one of the numerous couches in the large house and watch some TV. He was the laziest of the family. "When's Kazuna getting back?"
~
Driving to Meo's home, Foxfire dropped off her friend, like she usually did every day after school. Meo could drive just fine, but Fox preferred to do it, and so the girls had agreed that Fox would drive during the week, and Meo would during the weekends. But today she didn't stay over, claiming she had something to take care of at home—which was partially true. She drove back towards her own home, her mind already nagging at her about her plans. But right then, all she really wanted to do was read or take a nap; something quiet.
When she got home she dropped her keys on the small table next to the door where her family kept their miscellaneous belongings. Already she felt sluggish, so perhaps she'd just go ahead and sleep for the rest of the day. She could always catch up on reading later. She stood at the doorway for a few moments before shutting the door behind her. It was oddly silent.
"Mom?" she called. "I'm home."
It was only a few moments before her mother appeared around the corner, drying her hands on a towel. "There you are. You've got a guest."
Those words sent shock through Fox, but she quickly hid it. Already her jumpy, paranoid mind figured someone was already here for her, to drag her back to the family and ruin her plans. She hoped Torren hadn't picked up on them. She knew he wouldn't invade her privacy like that, but it was still a possibility, especially with the worrisome Dakedei.
"It's a member of the family—Kazuna, I think." She continued, stumbling on the foreign name. "She's in your room."
"Thanks," Fox mumbled and nodded. She immediately bounded up the stairs and down the hallway. She tried not to gnaw on her lip in worry. Kazuna wasn't so bad, just spontaneously quirky and definitely the mouth of the family. She talked enough to host a sitcom show and then some, but luckily wasn't overly distracted. She was always the first person that a new member of the family would get to know, for she definitely wasn't shy; which was why Foxfire was less concerned with Kazuna being the deliverer of bad news.
She focused on the white carpet beneath her feet as her door neared. It was already open, and she looked to see Kazuna sprawled comfortably on her bed, flipping through one of her various magazines. Fox took a deep breath, trying not to hyperventilate. When Kazuna heard her entering, she hopped up, smiling widely and enthusiastically.
"Foxy!" she greeted, embracing her briefly. "Long time, eh?"
"Yeah," Foxfire half-heartedly agreed. She forced a small smile, shoving her hands into her pockets.
"What's wrong? Hey, don't worry, I'm not here to drag you back or anything, I'm just visiting." She turned and flopped back down onto Foxfire's bed, resuming from where she had left off and turning to the next brightly advertised page. She crossed her knee-length socked legs in the air and focused on one of the more colorful bursts of ads. "Everyone's waiting for your return." She knew about Foxfire's "needing some time away," as she had said.
Fox went over to her dresser, preparing to untangle her hair with her comb and tie it back and out of the way. Kazuna spoke again as she began pulling the comb through her hair.
"How was school today?"
"Lame, as always," she nonchalantly answered. It wasn't like she was just going to open up and tell her about the emblem she just gave to Meo. That was a part of her plans: to keep the family's knowledge of it unknown for as long as possible. Hopefully, by the time they found out, she'd be long gone and in a place they wouldn't find her.
"Bummer," she feigned interest in the new celebrity wedding photos. "Why do you go? Dakedei doesn't make us, you know." That was because Dakedei would rather the family focus on their Elements, and honing their skills with them. General education was a must, of course, but the family was so vast and culturally integrated that school was found to not be needed in order to learn what the family would teach each other anyways.
"Yeah, but . . ." she prepared her already-made excuse, one she had been saying for the past few months. She tried not to let memories of Gallissy's corpse flash back into her head. Gallissy, her long lost best friend, lover, and more. The girls were like sisters, and Foxfire had been devastated in many different ways after her murder. "I don't know. Things just haven't seemed . . . ."
"Normal?"
"Yeah." Her voice was faint. She paused and then resumed combing her hair and her previous tone. "I thought it'd distract me."
"Ha!" she scoffed. "How's that coming along for ya?"
Foxfire glanced at the spunky girl twirling a dark brown pigtail around her finger through the mirror. "It doesn't work."
"Haha!"
She quit primping and turned to lean back against the dresser, staring off at nothing in particular on her ceiling. Kazuna hummed a tuneless melody, flinging her blue-tipped hair over her shoulder and tossing the magazine aside to pick up another one. To her it seemed like the spunky girl wasn't as affected by Gallissy's death like everyone else was, or perhaps it was that she was just that optimistic. Foxfire found it hard to have such optimism when you had to witness your girlfriend's murder. But then again, Fox was a bit of a pessimist when it came to anything.
It was hard for her to keep looking back on her memories with Gallissy. She hadn't been a member of the family, yet they still accepted her and treated her like a member. Fox had never expected to be accepted into the family as an Elemental after Gallissy died, and it was a terrible reminder to her to take Gallissy's place. It felt foreign and undeniably wrong. It wasn't something she had wanted, but she had come to know everyone so well that she felt she would've let them down by declining. Besides . . . Gallissy had asked her to take her Element should anything have happened . . . .
Perhaps it hit Mihael the hardest, the Weather Elemental. Romantic love wasn't always common within an Elemental family, but Foxfire and Gallissy weren't ashamed of theirs—Mihael had been their biggest support. He had been Gallissy's closest friend ever since she was a young girl. It had drastically altered the boy when she was murdered. He hadn't quite been the same since in the way he just acted different. He had become quiet and reserved. Even Fox's friendship with him had been cut off with the death. It was like they were never friends. It was strange how people drifted apart like that, no matter how close they once were.
Gallissy was almost like the heart of the family, making sure everyone was alright and keeping in everyone's business. Her Element was Ice, but she had never taken advantage of the power she bestowed. Everyone loved something about her, for she was kind, sweet and utterly caring. She was also the carrier of everyone's secrets; she was so easy to talk to. Why some cruel man had decided to kill her and then himself, no one could figure out. It was a tragedy that even Dragonov, the one seemingly void of emotion, was saddened by.
"She's not easy to forget." She quietly stated after awhile, those horrid feelings of regret coming back. Regret for what, she didn't know, but it still hurt deeply.
"I can't imagine how Weather-boy feels." Kazuna added in a half-joke. "At least he still has Emilia." He and Emilia were particularly good friends. She hummed a bit more before tossing aside yet another magazine. She sighed and gave up on finding juicy gossip. She looked up to Foxfire instead, resting her chin on her palms and swinging her legs in the air. She gazed for a few moments, then stopped in her movements.
Foxfire's eyes flickered to hers cautiously.
"Fox . . . where's your emblem?"
Immediate panic took over Foxfire, but she hid her guilt. "I didn't feel like wearing it." She easily lied, hoping Kazuna wouldn't pick up on her distress.
"Dakedei would never approve if he found out." She shrugged, using her if-you-say-so tone. Emblems were the little harvesters of the Elementals' Elements, and they were never supposed to leave them off for long periods of time. It was like a balance for the Elements. It kept everything in check and made sure that the Elementals weren't overpowered or depleted from their Element. Everyone had a different emblem, each emblazoned with their Element's symbol, making every one unique. They were supposed to be worn at all times, but Foxfire was breaking that rule.
She had just given her emblem of Ice to Meo, and would release her Element that night so that she would no longer possess it. This she had to hide from the family, and under no circumstances would she let them find out. She'd be in major trouble, which she couldn't afford. She knew as soon as she released it, Dragonov would sense it, so she had to act quickly.
"Dragonov doesn't wear his." She pointed out.
"He doesn't need to. He's too powerful." Kazuna shrugged again, inspecting her neon orange nails. He wasn't around much, save a few times out of the year, and possessed the most powerful Element: Spirit. He had never really used it around the family, but they had read in their ancestors' books that it contained chaotic powers, capability of unimaginable destruction, and ultimate peril—along with restoration and an almost intangible serenity. Dragonov was more of an enigma to the family—they only half knew him.
Spirit was an Element that could control all others with ease, as well as serving as the backbone and basis for them as well. He had the capability of using his Element so that he didn't need his emblem, but he took good care of it anyways, for emblems were not mere toys to discard. They were relics, almost; ancient pieces of a world long ago where Elementals were heroes. Now they were just people that blended partially in with society and didn't hold much purpose to the outside world.
"I'm powerful too!" Foxfire replied defensively.
"I never said you weren't." Kazuna replied calmly. She sat up, making her pigtails bounce with her. "But you've only had your Element for two or so years. Your emblem should be sacred to you."
"Still, I may be the newest member of the family, but I'm one of the most powerful. Dakedei said so himself. Ice is one of the—"
"-Most powerful sub-Elements that almost overrides the third main Element, Water." A voice from the doorway interrupted.
The two turned to look and found Djaja standing against Fox's doorframe, his arms crossed with a smirk tugging at his thin mouth. He cockily raised a pierced eyebrow, like he always did when trying to prove a point, and waited for them to take recognition of him.
"Hello little brother!" Kazuna greeted with a tease. The two were undeniably siblings, looking exactly the same save the difference in height, but Jay was definitely the cockier smartass, taking advantage of his height over his shorter, older sister. She didn't let her lack of size get to him, for they bickered enough to be mistaken as a married couple if one didn't look at their faces.
"Hello Jay," Fox smiled warmly at the Water Elemental.
"Hello all. Not to break up the henhouse or anything, but Dakedei wants you home, Kazuna." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. His head reached up to the top of her doorframe, but he was still nowhere as tall as Laex. He had about another foot of height added on with his towering black mohawk, but was as skinny as a rail. He was a typical punk, straight down to the leather jacket, ripped jeans, combat boots and random piercings. Even his attitude and ego added onto his height, totaling about three more feet. But he was a lovable guy underneath such a rough posterior.
"Oh, well darn." Kazuna began to straighten all the magazines she dragged out and put them back on Foxfire's bookshelf in the right corner of her pale yellow room. "I guess I'll see you in a few days then!" she smirked at Fox over her shoulder and moved to follow her brother out the room.
"See you later, dude." Jay waved and turned down the hallway, leaving Foxfire to listen to their bickering over who got to drive back to the house.
Their voices carried well down the hallway, not that they were overly loud, and were only faint as they descended the stairs. She listened to the front door open and close and then moved to sit on the edge of her bed. Fox smirked, having forgotten how those siblings could always make her day brighter in the way they were so energetic and charismatic. She was certainly going to miss them.
x_xv