Ten year-old Tempest stalked through the endless Prairie Region of golden grass. Her senses were tuned to the world around her: the rustle of grass, the summer sun glaring down at her, the musky scent of prairie dog. It couldn't be far now. She manipulated the wind, bringing any scents to her. This was her kind of hunt. She was finally in her own realm.
She parted the grass ever so slowly, revealing the small furry creature a few hand-lengths away from its burrow. It held in its paws a small plant it had been chewing. Tempest crept forward, her feet gliding soundlessly over the dirt. The prairie dog pricked its ears, beady eyes alert. Tempest froze. It stared straight at her, tiny nose twitching. It was too far away to pounce on, but she couldn't progress without it getting startled and dashing for its hole. She would have to kill it from here.
Very slowly, she rose her hand, fixing her eyes on its. It continued to stare at her, nibbling on its little leaf. Tempest squeezed her hand into a fist, taking a hold of the prairie dog's breath. Then, she ripped her hand back, leaving the the creature winded, gasping for breath. Tempest kept pulling, drawing air out of it, withering its lungs and crushing it from within. It squeaked in terror, clawing at its throat.
Tempest leaped forward, hands easily crushing the tiny spine. She held up her catch proudly.
"Even Wolf will be proud," she said to herself, marching back toward camp. As she got closer, she began to go along faster with excitement. Finally, she burst into the small grove of sunelms.
"Everyone! I caught this all by myself!" She held the prairie dog out, waiting for praise and excited questions on the exact details of the hunt. Aquilo gave her an annoyed glance.
"Tempest, we're busy right now," he said, standing next to Lynx. They were combining their powers, ice and wind, and shooting icicles at trees.
"Oh," Tempest deflated a bit, then bounced back up. "Can I help?" She scampered over, prairie dog still warm in her hand.
"No," Aquilo said flatly, "go bug someone else." Tempest stuck her tongue out at him and bounced over to Flood.
"Want to hear about how I caught this? It was really hard. But I did it all by myself!" She looked eagerly between him and Wolf.
"That's nice," Flood said and turned back to his conversation.
"Well, if you guys aren't interested, I'll go have this prairie dog all to myself! And it's going to be a delicious dinner, and I'm not gonna share with anyone!" She announced this loudly, stomping purposefully across the clearing to sit at the trunk of a sunelm, even though she had no idea how to start a fire, much less cook it. Everyone, of course, ignored her. She sat down in disappointment. They'll be sorry they ignored me, because I get to eat while they starve, she thought bitterly.
The grasses shook, and everyone turned to see what was emerging. Aquilo froze, ready to attack. Tempest peeked out from behind the tree. Permafrost materialized from the curtain of gold. His ice-blue skin was slick with sweat as he dragged something into the clearing. Tempest's eyes became disbelieving moons of green when he hauled a full-grown bison in.
By all the Winds!
"Oh my Earth," Lynx cried in astonishment.
"We will be full tonight!" Flood said, looking impressed. He and Aquilo helped to lug the huge, brown body across the crumpled grass to the center of camp.
"You've done well," Wolf said grudgingly. It was rare for him to hand out accolades of approval, and Tempest was simply appalled. Permafrost seemed to swell with pride.
"Come join us, Tempest. Sulking will do you no good," Aquilo said. Flood started a fire and began the long skin-and-gut process.
"I'm fine over here," Tempest said hotly. "I have my own meal, remember?"
"Who would want to eat a rodent?" Permafrost wrinkled his nose.
"Anyone hungry enough and grateful for the food Earth provides us with," Tempest said haughtily.
"Do you need help cooking it?" Lynx asked, tipping her head. She was the nicest of the band, in Tempest's opinion. But Tempest didn't need anyone's pity.
"I'm fine," she said. She climbed the sunelm, still holding the prairie dog tightly in her fist. It's body was cold by now, and it knocked against her arm limply.
"How did you catch it?" The admiration in Lynx's voice made Tempest's insides roil with envy. Nobody ever speaks to me with such idolatry. She shook the branches as hard as she could, trying to disturb her bandmates below with a flurry of green leaves. But the leaves stayed put, and the conversation below continued nonetheless.
Night steadily approached, smothering the world in the fold of her black wing. The only source of light was the small fire which the five band-members circled around. The smell of roasting meat taunted Tempest, curling around her tantalizingly. She fell asleep with hunger gnawing at her belly.
Tempest awoke, drenched in sweat. She groaned; her whole body ached from sleeping on stone. Her head throbbed, feeling heavy and thick. When she looked up, she could see noon light streaming through crack in the cave ceiling. All the Storms were asleep, including the Alphas who, even in slumber, looked menacing.
Tempest nearly jumped in alarm at the heavy blue paw laying on her leg. She shoved it off and stood up, shivering from the dawn chills. She crossed the cave, kicking bones aside and tip-toeing between bodies, and climbed out to the top. For a few moments, she sat there, taking deep breaths, eyes closed. She let her mind wander.
She wondered why Blood had chosen the day after the Bane Trials to begin the attack. Why after all these years? Did something or someone provoke this? Were any Storms killed last night? Had anyone failed the test?
A nose nudged her hand.
"You'd better do well today," Tempest said in a stern voice as the leopard sat beside her. "As much as I hate to admit it, my life kind of depends on you right now." The leopard gave her a thoughtful look. She wondered if it understood anything she was saying at all.
"I should give you a name. I can't keep calling you 'the leopard' in my head," Tempest said. "Give me some time to think."
And then, the peaceful silence of the morning was shattered by the waking of the other Storms. Tempest waited.
"Onward, Storms! We shall begin with our attack on Borealis City!" Blood shouted.
"What!?" Tempest spluttered. Was she out of her mind? That was the second most advanced city on the continent! A discontented muttering spread throughout the crowd.
"We'll be slaughtered!" someone exclaimed.
"You're not afraid, are you?" Blood accused, narrowing her eyes. "The Stormlets are only for the strongest, bravest, most powerful of all chromaveins." The crowd parted to reveal a small lightning Storm.
"I'm not afraid!" She said defiantly, but her shaking legs said otherwise. She muttered to herself, "I'm just not stupid." Tempest waited tensely for Blood to kill her, just as she'd done to the water Storm.
"Then, let's go," Hurricane said. Tempest let out a breath of a relief that she didn't realize she'd been holding in. The Sapphire Alpha was already out of the cave in a couple antsy hops. She appeared to always be on the move, like a restless river. She couldn't seem to stay anywhere for long.
"That was the whole point of having the Bane Trials here," Cyclone explained. "We are very close to the Arctic Region."
"Yes, my terrain," said Avalanche. "I will be leading from here." The Storms filed after him out of the cave in a chaotic mass. Tempest was near the front. For a moment, she thought she'd lost the leopard. The rush of color unbalanced her, making it hard to see anything. But, there it was.
Tempest stared at her feet, focusing on putting one in front of the other. Keep moving, just another step, another arm-length, another sky-length...
~.^.~
Tempest was beginning to feel the steadily dropping temperature as they travelled north along the rocky shore and onto the ice. She firmly clenched her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering, even though her feet felt like they would burn off. She could see the earth Storms becoming increasingly sluggish and the fire and lightning Storms falling behind, their bodies shaking violently under their hides and skimpy clothing. They had to wear moccasins over their feet.
But Blood marched on relentlessly, her ruby flashing madly to the rhythm of her heart. The lead warrior of Amethyst, Hail, snapped at anyone who started to fall behind.
When Tempest was so cold that she couldn't feel her balled fists or feet, the city seemed to appear out of nowhere before them. Because the ice was so barren and lifeless, and the sky was white with mist, it was hard to tell where one began and the other ended. So, when this icy city just melted out of nowhere, it was quite a surprise. Blood stopped suddenly. Storms nearly collided into her, causing a chain reaction of pushing and shoving.
"They will see us. We must begin the attack here," she said, her eyes fixed on someone in the black tower. Tempest squinted, but she couldn't see anyone. They were too far away.
"Curse this Earth-forsaken ice," Inferno complained. "There's nowhere to hide and ambush from." Blood ignored him.
"My Storms," she shouted, whipping around to face them, "this is your moment to prove your worthiness to yourself, your loyalty to me, and take our first step in bringing revenge upon the mud-skins! Just think of it: a free world where we reign supreme, roaming the land without having to worry about Earth-cursed metal piercing us. FOR DISASTER AND DESTRUCTION!" Shouting, Storms blundered forward across the ice. Tempest imagined they must seem pretty menacing- half a thousand beings appearing from the mist and charging straight toward you and your home.
As Tempest pelted forward, working warmth back into her feet, she wondered how Blood would be able to do anything in this battle with no earth or rocks nearby. She was blown out of her mind to see Blood twisting ice around herself and being propelled forward.
"Is that even possible?" Tempest asked herself. If Blood could do it, why couldn't she? Like she did with the wind, she tried to speak to the ice. There was no response, only a cold wall blocking her. She felt a little silly for even trying. Still, it was strange that Blood had power over two elements...
The wind here was unfamiliar, more stubborn and unpredictable. It was a little more work to drive behind her and boost her forward. It felt really weird, with no trees or grass or animal scents carried on the air. It was just ice, a little bit of salt, the city, ice, mud-skins, ice, ice, ice.
The lightning Storm in front of her faltered, falling into pace with Tempest.
"Hey," she said, giving Tempest a goofy smile. She had to have only been twelve or thirteen, judging by her height. It was the same lightning Storm from this morning.
"Hi?" Tempest said. Storms rarely conversed. They prefered to keep to themselves, even in a band. "Do I know you?"
"No," the lightning Storm said. "My name is Spark. Now you do."
"Okay..." Tempest said. She puzzled over the odd encounter as she continued to run. Shouting began to fill the air and echo across the ice as they drew closer. She began to feel the unnatural flatness of a road under her feet. It stretched from the city to here, but it spanned no farther, fading into the vast whiteness.
When Tempest veered off from the group, Spark followed like a loyal pup.
"I've heard a lot about you, Tempest," Spark said, her golden eyes glowing with admiration.
"Um... okay," Tempest said. That's not creepy... For a moment, she was indecisive of what to do. She'd never done this before, and the thought of more killing and blood made her sick. She was better at behind-the-scenes fighting, destroying supplies and other small tasks that would help. Then, that's what I'll do. She decided to take out what seemed to be a communication tower, the one which Blood had been pointing out earlier. Disable the communication, and the Storms would be at an advantage.
Tempest veered off towards the towering black building that loomed much higher than any other in the city. It had one door on the side. With a running start, Tempest threw herself at it. It didn't budge. Countless times, she slammed herself into it, but nothing happened, except that her arm was beginning to turn an odd shade of purple, bruising. It took her a moment to realize that Spark had followed her and was now watching through amused, golden eyes.
"What are you laughing at?" Tempest flared, scowling at the girl.
"I'm not laughing," Spark stepped forward, hand on the door.
"It doesn't open," Tempest said, preparing to fling herself forward again. Spark held her hand out to block her.
"Look, kid-" Tempest growled. Spark swung the door open easily.
"It was a 'pull' door, not 'push'. See the sign?" Spark said. She disappeared inside. Tempest looked up to see 'pull' in big red letters printed across the top of the door. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
Quickly she paraded up the stairs, her feet gripping the edges of the frosted stairs.
"I saw you standing up to Blood. You are one sassy Storm. Blood is just a bully. You must be really brave," words streamed from Spark's mouth. Or really stupid, Tempest thought.
"She's just doing what she needs to. We need a strong Alpha, not some squishy leader who sits around all day," Tempest grunted. "That's what makes us strong."
"But, don't you think that there's another way? A less... well, violent way of leadership?" Spark asked. "I only joined the Stormlets because I know I have a greater purpose. Maybe I'll save the world!" Ha! A little runt like you? she thought, but she didn't say it aloud. Spark followed Tempest as she spoke. It was kind of annoying. Tempest ran faster, her chest heaving for breath. Spark followed with just as much vigor, not even breaking a sweat. Light flashed across her skin every now and then.
"I prefer to do things on my own, so stop following me, if you don't want to get hurt, that is," Tempest said in exasperation. Spark completely ignored her polite (or impolite) request and launched into a discussion.
"You're so cool! I mean, you flippin' brought in a leopard for a sacrifice! Not that I want to see the leopard eaten. Eww, that would be so gross, actually. I like cats. I like all animals, in fact. What if I went a while without eating meat? Would I die? I guess I could eat leaves and berries like a deer. Nah, that doesn't sound too great after all. Have you ever had deer before? It's actually pretty good. I feel bad for the deer though. But I do like chicken. It tastes good with salt and pepper, especially if you fry it and give it a crispy bread coating. Mmm, now I'm hungry. Good Earth, what do these Tundiran people eat? Ice? 'Cause they sure got a lot of that. Earth's blood, I don't think I could survive out here if I tried. There's nothing, just white in every direction. It's so boring. My band leader once told me-"
"Okay, what do you want?" Tempest stopped short. They were halfway up the stairs.
"A friend. An adviser. Someone to talk to," Spark said in a matter-a-fact tone.
"Well, I don't like to talk. So, good luck trying to make me," Tempest grumbled, concentrating on feeling the air for the approaching top. She was getting tired from so many steps, but she wasn't about to show it.
"Did you know I was born on a savannah?" Spark asked. "That's where I wish I was right now. Not this block of ice. It had way more animals too." Tempest ignored her.
"Aren't there supposed to be penguins or something here? I wonder what they taste like. I've only heard what they are from stories. Are they like chickens?" Spark said, words flowing from her mouth incessantly.
"I've got a question for you," Tempest hissed. "Do you ever stop talking?"
"Well, technically-"
"Shoosh!" Tempest slapped her hand over Spark's mouth. She could hear someone speaking. They were nearing the top. Thank the Earth. Why do they make the towers so tall? Won't that make them vulnerable to wind and weather?
She crept upward more carefully. Two men having a laid-back conversation sat at a small table, playing some kind of card game. They didn't seem at all worried about the entire army of Storms charging towards their city. Or, maybe they didn't even notice. Looks like Inferno was wrong. He was being paranoid.
Tempest raised her hands slightly, drawing the wind toward her. Even Spark began to charge herself, finding electricity from some unknown source. Tempest felt her hair stand up at the base of her neck as the air near her began to fizz with energy.
Spark was the first to move. She let forth a jolt. The first man fell over, jerking. The other man lifted his walkie-talkie.
"We're under attack!" he screamed into it, his ridiculous little mustache flying.
Tempest threw a wind forward, knocking the man to the ground. His walkie-talkie clattered to the ground. Tempest crushed it under her foot. Spark sent another shock wave forward, knocking him unconscious.
"Nice," Tempest said grudgingly.
"Thanks," Spark said, looking pleased with herself. Tempest threw the windows open and shivered as she was blasted by cold air and screams. The Storms must have been winning. Once they took possession of this city, they would be invincible against the capital kingdom: Shate.
"Let's shut down the city's communication. Do you have any idea on how to work this thing?" Tempest let her fingers trail across the board which surrounded the perimeter of the circular room, covered in buttons and switches and screens.
"Pfft, 'course," Spark said. Her fingers danced across the dashboard, flipping and pressing. A red screen appeared.
"Access denied," said a cool voice.
"Earth's truth," Spark cursed. She typed something in.
"Access denied," the voice said again. Spark furiously continued typing in different codes.
"Access denied. Access denied. Access- acc- acc- acc- access denied."
"Earth-cursed, light-forsaken-" Tempest raised her eyebrows at the stream of curses that streamed from the young Storm's lips. Out of rage, Spark swiped her hand over all the keys and pounded the keyboard.The screen flashed green.
"Huh. Who would've thunk it," Spark said.
"Validated. Contact will be disabled in five seconds. Press ctrl+esc to cancel," the voice said. "Five... four..."
"Put a tower with the ability to shut down everything on the edge of the city with only two guards playing cards to protect it. Smart," Tempest commented.
"Three... two... one... deactivated," the voice finished. The sound of buzzing and beeping that they hadn't noticed ceased abruptly, filling the room with a palpable silence. The screens shut off, leaving the room dark. Neither said anything for a while.
"We did it, I guess," Tempest said as she saw a wave of shadow ripple outward through the city. Night was falling, and the Storms seemed to be retreating.
"We should go," Tempest said. "I think we're preparing for another wave of attack tomorrow. I don't know. We'll meet up with the others. I really hope Blood knows what she's doing. This mission could end very badly."
"Indeed," Spark said. "But, the soldiers are in for a bit of a surprise when they come to. I changed the password to 'sparkisawesome'."
The two ran down the stairs, knees bobbing, and they held the rail to keep from slipping on the ice.
With nothing sprouting from the ice to blemish the horizon, the sunset seemed to linger.
"They're over there," Tempest said. The Storms had marched out of the city, congregating in the distance. Tempest and Spark bolted across the ice to them.
"That was almost too easy," someone was laughing.
"Without their power and electricity, they were helpless," another Storm said. "Look, they're not even coming after us." Thanks to us! Tempest thought proudly. I did something useful for once!
"Tempest," Blood said, and the Storms parted, revealing Tempest and Spark. "Come speak to me.
"Good luck!" Spark whispered. Tempest took a deep breath. Did she do something wrong? Did she do something right? Either way, she would absolutely not show fear.
She straightened and walked slowly over to Blood.
"Yes?" Tempest looked into those devil-like eyes, forcing herself not to flinch.
"Your leopard, it did well," Blood said. "You may join the Emerald Stormlet."
"Oh, thank you-" Tempest felt the tightening in her chest unwind, lowering her head to be branded with the mark of Stormlet recruit.
"However," Blood said, "you, yourself, haven't proven that you can fight like a true Storm. We're about to leave for a second raid. And, this time, Tempest, you will have to fight. Not, go hole in a tower."
"I was not 'holing up in a tower'. I was-" Tempest retorted hotly.
"I don't care," Blood growled. "We need good, capable Storms who can kill. Understood?"
"Understood," Tempest ducked her head reluctantly and trudged away.
"Hey, what did she say?" Spark asked.
"Go away," Tempest said flatly.
"C'mon, Tempest. You can't just mope around," Spark said. "Ooh! Can I pet your leopard?"
"Sure, why not?" Tempest sighed. Spark squealed in excitement, earning her a few wry looks. She petted him gently, and he purred.
"What is he called?" Spark asked.
"I dunno yet," Tempest said.
"You should call him Indigo. He's such a pretty color," Spark said, stroking the glossy fur.
"Whatever," Tempest got up and began to pace to keep from freezing.
"And now for the second wave!" Blood shouted after what felt like only a few minutes, but was actually an hour later. "Now, they've relaxed, thinking we've run away. Everyone, go for the palace. We take out the king, and they'll all bow down to us. We have the night to cloak us."
"There's no way out of it this time," Tempest said. And she plunged into the city after the Storms. The fire and lightnings lit up the way, glowing. Spark, naturally, tailed Tempest. I guess I'm stuck with her. This kid seems to hero-worship me. Then she gave a slight smile (only to herself, of course). Maybe this won't be so bad after all.
*Author's Note*
Sorry, another long chapter *pulls at face with mock boredom*. I wrote it during NaNoWriMo, and I was cringing while writing it because it was so bad. But, when I read over it again, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was... Spark was added because of a prompt to help spice up the story. But, you're welcome for posting the chapter early!
Hope you enjoyed it!
-Starry