Katia and Nathan met the rest of their friends at their cabin. They talked about their lesson while eating bowls of ice cream in the living room. Since the weather was so nice they decided to spend the rest of the afternoon in the park.
Aevria had a huge park with a vast area of grass, a lot of trees, a small lake, and many trails. It looked like it could match Central Park. They stopped on a small hill of grass and sat down.
Katia looked around and could see little kids playing tag, but they all had super speed so they just looked like colorful blurs. It was an effortless kind of day that just drifted by at a contented speed. For the first time Katia felt at ease with her life.
At six they went to dinner, and there was something Katia wasn't expecting. There was a circular stage in the middle of the dining area with Saladin standing in the center. As soon as Katia entered he called her on stage and everyone started clapping.
Katia approached it cautiously, not knowing what Saladin had planned. Once she was standing in the center with everyone looking at her, Saladin began to talk, "Tonight we officially welcome our newest family member, Katia!"
Everyone started to clap and cheer, and Katia blushed. Saladin touched the back of her left shoulder and she felt a tingling then burning sensation. Before any pain could register though, it turned cool. Katia looked over her shoulder and saw an intricate tattoo of the word Elicti written in their ancient language. Every Elicti received that tattoo to mark their identity. To any other person the tattoo will look like a pretty pattern of swirls. Katia turned back to the front and saw many people smiling at her.
She was excused from the stage and went back to join her friends. They talked, ate, and then hung out in their cabin until it was late, making sure to throw a little party to celebrate. Katia was really starting to like her new life. For once she felt special, and she was getting closer to her friends who were beginning to feel like family.
Katia easily settled into her new routine. She would train and go to classes all of Friday and during the weekend. Then during the week she would go back to her regular school. It always seemed even more boring but she liked being able to tell Julie about everything she was learning.
One day during combat training, the instructor decided to have everyone fight each other one on one using their powers. That way they could hone in their strengths and learn how to use them in the midst of a fight.
Katia watched in wonder as all of her friends fought. Mike with his telekinesis managed to beat David despite his ability to change his size by continuously tripping him up. Suki had it easy and merely went invisible while Laura teleported so quickly that even the person she was fighting with super speed had trouble keeping track of her.
Amanda was shocking to watch as she transformed herself into a lion and lunged at her opponent. But no one impressed Katia as much as Nathan. It was mesmerizing watching him fight with grace and confidence as he flew through the air and manipulated the winds around him. She believed entirely in him and wasn't surprised when he won.
"No wonder Hunters don't stand a chance with you," Katia said as he walked back over to them.
Nathan hardly even looked tired as he grinned. Finally Katia heard her name called followed by a girl named Celia. Nathan gave Katia a look she didn't like.
"What?" Katia asked.
"Nothing, Celia is just a challenge to fight. I'm sure you'll be fine though," Nathan assured her, but now Katia was feeling nervous.
She slowly made her way to the center of the field that was scuffed up from the previous fights. As she looked at Celia she remembered she was the girl who congratulated her after finishing the obstacle course for the first time. Katia didn't like the cold look in her eyes or the condescending smirk Celia was giving her.
"Ready?" The instructor called.
Both girls nodded and she blew a whistle. Instantly the ground started shaking and Katia dimly remembered Celia seemed to have control over the earth. Katia almost lost her balance but quickly righted herself up.
Celia smirked at her again and sent another tremor through the ground, teasing her. Katia could hear her friends cheering for her in the sidelines, so she took a deep breath and focused.
The obstacle course with its pool of water wasn't too far away so Katia summoned a giant wave of water to surround her. Celia narrowed her eyes at her as she sized her up. She started hurling large stones at Katia which she broke apart with water. They were coming at her so quickly though that she barely had time to react.
Suddenly spikes emerged from the ground and narrowly missed impaling Katia's feet. She gasped and stared at Celia who only grinned wickedly.
"Celia! Watch what you're doing. We don't maim each other," the instructor warned.
Celia rolled her eyes. "Why should I go easy just because she's behind in training? The Hunters won't go easy."
Katia's blood began to boil. She hated it when people thought she could just be pushed around. She forced a large wave of water at Celia who easily deflected it away. Celia would then counter, forcing Katia back while at the same time raising more of the ground so that Katia was slowly becoming surrounded by mounds in the earth.
Meanwhile Celia was standing in her same spot, a confident grin on her face. She was so sure she was going to win that she didn't notice the large puddle of water surrounding her. With the little room she had left, Katia suddenly swept her hands out and around, forcing the water underneath Celia's feet.
The sudden current brought her down and before Celia could get up, Katia quickly created a deep trench of mud. She could feel Celia controlling the earth, but she couldn't rid it of the water. No matter what she did, Celia was still stuck in the mud. Just as she was managing to get up, Katia blasted apart the stones and dove at Celia. She pinned Celia down for a whole three seconds and smiled widely when the whistle blew.
"Katia wins!" The instructor announced and everyone cheered.
Katia couldn't help it. She smirked down at Celia and met her glare. "Thanks for not going easy," Katia said.
Celia suddenly let out a furious growl and pushed Katia from her body. Then she lifted up all of small pebbles and debris left behind from their fight and hurled them all at Katia. She lifted her arms up and a curtain of water lifted from the ground. However it didn't stop everything and Katia felt the rocks cut her face and arms.
Katia ignored the pain and put all of her strength into the wave she sent at Celia. It hurtled towards her with the pressure of a firehose, but suddenly stopped as it hit an invisible wall.
"What the hell is your problem?" Katia shouted. She tried to hit Celia again just as she raised more rocks. They each attacked again but both failed as their powers fell in midair.
"Stop it! Both of you!" The instructor shouted angrily. Her hands were raised, holding up a force field between them.
"Celia! That was unacceptable! You have clean up duty for a week," she said sternly.
Celia only glared at her and then Katia before storming away, mud all over her and her hair stuck to her face. However she made sure to pass Katia and bump into her shoulder on the way.
"You're still weak," Celia hissed and walked on.
With Celia gone, the tension melted and everyone rushed forward.
"Katia, are you okay?" The instructor asked.
"You're bleeding," Nathan said in concern.
Katia just shook her head. She was still seething. "I'm okay."
Wordlessly she lifted the water to her arms and face and the cuts quickly healed. Katia didn't even wait to be dismissed before she walked away, leaving the class behind.
"Katia!"
She turned around and wasn't surprised to see Nathan running after her.
"I'm fine," Katia snapped. Nathan stopped mid-step and nodded once. He looked behind unsurely where the rest of their friends were still standing.
Katia sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm still a little angry."
"A little?" Nathan joked half heartedly.
Katia laughed once without much humor. "Fine, a lot. I mean what the hell was with her?"
Katia started to walk again, her pace quick, powered by her anger. Nathan easily kept up and followed her down the random path she was taking.
"Celia hates losing," Nathan said lamely.
Katia rolled her eyes. "Well serves her right. She had the nerve to act all condescending."
"You showed her though," Nathan pointed out.
"Yeah, but Celia could have easily beat me and she knows it. That's why she was so angry," Katia explained. "I only won because she was too confident and I saw a way to outsmart her."
She finally stopped walking and sat down on the edge of the pier standing over the lake.
"That means you were better," Nathan said as he took a seat next to her.
Katia shook her head. "She's still stronger. I'm still weak and I refuse to be."
Nathan knew she wouldn't believe him but he placed a comforting hand on hers anyway. "You're not. You never were."
Katia looked up at him, but she didn't know what to say.
***
The weeks went by fast and before she knew it, Katia had been there for a month. She was training harder than ever, even after her sessions ended. Katia was improving in the obstacle courses, and she was becoming a good fighter with her sword.
She was also getting really good with her power. She could breathe perfectly under water, lift a whole tsunami wave, and she was practicing using the water in the air to make a storm. She was getting better at it but the best she could do was make it drizzle.
As she was attempting to make a storm towards the end of one practice, Nathan stopped by.
"Looking good Katia!" he shouted.
"Thanks!" Katia said, her hands stretched towards the sky. She closed her eyes and thrust her hands down. It began to rain harder and Katia smiled.
"Okay I think that's enough for today," Wes said. "Great job! I'll see you tomorrow."
Katia stopped the oncoming storm and waved goodbye. "Okay see you!" She walked over to where Nathan was standing on the side.
"Hey come with me. I want to show you something." Nathan had an excited glow in his eyes as he pulled Katia up into the air. They flew over the fields and landed in the spot where they first appeared from Jason's house.
"Is it going to take long?" Katia asked. "I still want to practice."
Nathan rolled his eyes slightly. "You'll tire yourself out. Besides you're doing amazing already. Just take a quick break."
Katia sighed a bit. She knew she was getting a little obsessed with training lately. She knew she was making a lot of progress but she couldn't stop comparing herself to everyone else. Everyone fought with such finesse and confidence that she looked amateurish next to them.
Katia would train during their free time in the lake and would practice sword fighting until nightfall. Then usually she'd be so exhausted she would head straight to bed. She started pushing her friends away, but she couldn't help it.
"Okay," Katia agreed, and Nathan beamed. "Where to?"
"A special place I found," Nathan said. "I think you'll love it."
Nathan led the way and together they entered the forest. They followed a path that Nathan knew well through the trees and up the mountain. They passed a small creek, jumping over the rocks. The forest was colored with the bright hues of fall. The trees were bright red, orange, and yellow, and leaves littered the ground. After hiking for a couple of minutes, they came to a break in the trees. Katia could hear a waterfall nearby and felt the mist floating in the air.
"This place is great. You can see pretty much everything from here," Nathan explained.
They walked through the gap in the trees and the whole scene opened up before them. Nearby was a sparkling waterfall that emptied into a river. There were more brightly colored trees, and in the distance, they could see the city. Katia just stared at the scene before her in silent disbelief. It all looked too perfect.
"Wow. How did you find this place?" Katia asked quietly.
"I was just flying around one day, and I stumbled across it. You're the first person I've ever shown this place to," Nathan said, turning to face Katia.
"Thanks," Katia said with a smile.
They sat on the ground and talked about little things and joked around. Slowly Katia began to ease up after all of the stress she had been putting on herself lately. They eased into a silence and just sat next to each other appreciating the view.
"I'm sorry I've been so difficult lately," Katia apologized suddenly.
Nathan turned to look at Katia who was staring blankly ahead. "It's okay," he said. "I understand. But you have to trust in yourself. You're amazing with your powers. If only if you could see yourself. Don't listen to what other people say, unless they're good things."
Katia laughed a bit and smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks Nathan."
After an hour of just sitting there, Nathan and Katia fell into a comfortable silence. Suddenly the wind started to pick up, and the breeze swept the colorful leaves off the ground. They began to surround them in a mix of colors, floating lazily through the air, following the path of Nathan's finger.
Katia's face lit up in a smile at the dancing leaves. She lifted her hands and took the mist from the waterfall. She formed it into millions of little droplets and added it to Nathan's funnel of leaves. The water began to sparkle with the leaves around them, surrounding the two in beauty. Katia looked at Nathan and could see him staring deep into her brown eyes. A small smile began to tug at the corners of her mouth.
The breeze pushed a strand of hair over Katia's face, and Nathan lifted up his hand to move it. He gently tucked it behind her ear, causing butterflies to appear in her stomach. She blushed slightly and looked into his eyes briefly before flitting them down nervously.
"You ready to go back? It's almost time for dinner," Nathan asked Katia.
"Yeah okay," Katia whispered.
The leaves fluttered back on to the ground and the water droplets rained down on them, making their hair sparkle in the sun.
"You want to jump?" Nathan challenged as the neared the edge of the waterfall.
"Okay you're on!" Katia answered back, always up for an adventure.
They held hands and jumped over the cliff. They free fell for a couple of moments while Katia screamed in exhilaration. Nathan had the wind catch them and they flew by the waterfall. Katia reached her hand out and had a trail of water follow them before letting it fall back down.
Nathan turned his head to look at Katia, and she smiled back. Finally Katia felt like she found a place where she truly belonged. All of the people and her friends made her feel special, especially the boy flying right next to her.
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Ten chapters! I hope you like the story so far :) Please make my day and vote, comment, spread the word