Young Writers Society

*Jerr Hastings*

He chuckled at the proud look on Rory's face. "Don't get used tl it, they're the only ones that're ever gonna bow to you."

"Shut up." Rory grumbled, hiding a smirk.

"Shall we go in?" One of the Earth men asked. Without waiting for an answer, he held out a hand and jerked it upward. The ground they were standing on rose, much like a moving platform. Everyone cried out in suprise ad grasped each other for balance. The patform kept moving up into the brances, then moved to the center. It jerked to a stop in front of a thick branch. All of the brances they saw were thick, and Jerr could see why. Balanced on the branced, nesting in the curtain of the leaves, were cabins made of wood. Th ranged from small to extremely large and rectangular shaped. The man stepped off the platform and walked to two identical cabins. They were as big as a house, with oak walls, and, suprisingly, curtains the colour of caramel.

"The one on the right is the female cabin, the one on the left is the male cabin." He pointed to the largest cabin. It was shaped like a rectangle. "That is the dining hall. Fee free to eat, or rest, or explore. Try not to fall." He chuckled.

"Will we really fall?" Alice asked, her voice trembling.

"No. The men are setting up nets and ladders below us." He pointed. Sure enough, they were. "But you don't need to worry about that, young Air fundamental. You ve balance."

"I do?" Alice asked incredulously.

"Dur." Eli rolled her eyes.

The man smiled slightly. "Be sure to get some sleep. We'll wake you early in the morning." He then left, but not before he returned the platform to the ground.

The girls wandered off to their cabin, the boys to their's. The boy's cabin consisted of ten wooden beds, a wooden basin, a wooden table with wooden chairs and an unlit candle resting besides a box of wooden matches. Jerr was pleased to see that the bed had quilted blankets.

"Dude! Even the toilet's wooden!" Ant called from the bathroom.

"It smells like ground in here." Liam grumbled. Everyone laughed.

"You guys wanna grab a bite?" Jerr asked. David was already asleep but Liam and Antony said yes. The boys walked across a giant branch, and although no one said they were afraid, they so were. Safely across, they walked inside the dining hall.

The dining hall had at least 35 wooden tables, six seaters. Fruits and vegetables galore rested in woden baskets ontop of a wooden counter. Bread, hot and fresh, laid on wooden cut-boards. Jerr and the other two picked up a wooden nplate and selected what they wanted.

"What do we drink?" Liam asked. A woman pointed to a stack of coconuts resting in a wooden crate.

"Coconut milk?" Antony wrinkled his nose.

"I guess so." Jerr handed them each a coconut. The boys sat at a table beside the wall. "So.. How are you guys doing so far, with all of this?"

(I hope this will get everyone back into gear, or I'll eat you all. )

Liam - Water:

After taking a cup of the said coconut milk, I took my seat with the other three, then began purifying it slowly. Not that it really mattered. I kind of liked coconut milk. I was thirsty, though, and felt the need for something a little more refreshing so, with a quick flick of the wrist, I separated the coconut and the milk, letting the excessive coconut mixture become a powdered mix which I grasped in my hand. I chugged the water after that point, letting the liquid cool my parched throat before returning the cup back down where I put the excess powder.

"Its boring," I stated plainly, turning my eyes towards Jerr. "I'm starting to feel like this is a waste of time."

Antony's eyes narrowed but he said nothing. Jerr, on the other hand, seemed amused. "Really, now. Hadn't expected that coming from you."

"It's not that I'm against the cause," I added soberly. "Just that, when it comes down to it, I don't feel like I'm going to be of much use anyways. Not in the sense that you are Antony here could be. I'm no fighter nor am I really dedicated to much of anything."

"I don't think they cared too much about dedication," Antony said. His voice was low but there was definitely something behind his words that set me off guard. "And I don't think we can do this with so few. The odds are already starting to slip from our favor."

I watched as he raised the cup to his lips. He hadn't bothered with purifying it, surprisingly enough. In a few quick chugs, the liquid was gone.

"I want to do what is right," he said, flashing he blue eyes directly towards me. It was enough to unsettle my stomach. "Whether I'll be useful or not does not necessarily matter."

"And I just want to do something," Jerr added, sighly loudly. "So much to burn here, too."

We sat in silence for a bit longer. Unsure of what to really say to each other. It was quite apparent that we were very different people. Antony was quite the optimist whilst Jerr was, as usual, a hot head. I sat where I always sat. Watching, on the edge, waiting for something to happen.

"You'll have your chance to be someone, Liam," Antony's words were softer, now. Warmer. "I don't feel as if you'll always be so cold."

"And boring," Jerr said. "You really need to loosen up a bit, kid."

Jerrson Hastings - Fire.

"We can do this, guys. For Jayk, for our families, for the world." Jerr urged, rolling a tomato between his hands.

"Fuck the world! Fuck it all. The Society took us from our families! Why should we help the world when the world's been shit to us?!" Liam roared.

"Because it's our job! We were given these amazing powers for a reason." Ant said calmly.

"I never asked for them." Liam snapped, his eyes flashing. He really must be upset, he was usually so calm.

"I know Liam! I know! But it happened, and here we are, now deal with it!" Jerr said angrily, rollingthe tomato faster.

"We can't do it. There's only nine left. We'll get our asses wipped." Liam said negatively, picking at a piece of bread.

"We. Can. Do. It." Antony leaned forward, staring into Liam's eyes. "How? Because we are the universe's only hope. Because we're nine amazing teenagers with powerful abilities. Because I said so. Because there's always a way. Because theres still hope."

Antony Cove

I give Liam a serious look, which is saying a lot since I'm rarely this serious.

"You back out on us, Liam, and I'll kill you." He looks surprised for a moment but I smile quickly to reassure him that I was kidding. "Just joking. Hey, I'm going to retire for the night. We'll probably have a big morning tomorrow." I stood and walked away, waving at the boys casually. Once in the cabin I flopped down on the bed next to David's, who was not snoring softly. I laughed at him and settled my head on my arms.

My head was full of today's events and I was just thinking that my frantic brain wouldn't allow me to sleep when dreams slowly took over.

Alice Belltris

I climbed into bed, watching all the other girls as they too got ready for sleep. It was eerily quiet and I felt as if I should say something to lighten the mood but nothing came to mind.

"Umm... So this is the Earth Continent, nice, right?"

"Yeah," Rory replied, "just like I expected."

"The leaves don't burn," Elijah grumbled. I laughed lightly and turned to Hanna and Natalie who hadn't yet replied.

"It's nice," Hanna said slowly, "but we're up so high..."

"I like it up high," Natalie spoke, "I guess it's because I'm an air..."

"Me too," I piped up. "I like it up in the air. Oh, I can't wait until we get to the Air Continent." Another silence fell and I cleared my throat. "So, Rory, what do we do next. After we wake up?"

"We should probably get a move on as soon as possible. We can't let Karzai run free for too long. He's already having impacts on the Continents and how long will it be until he gets to the mortal world? We can't waste time." I smile and settle down into bed, pulling the covers over my head.

"That's why I like you Rory," I say with a yawn, "you always know what to do. Well, goodnight!" I close my eyes tight and yawn loudly. Sleep comes soon enough.

No offense but that was extremely out of Liam's character, guys :/

Liam - Water:

I started picking a batch of grapes, biting my cheek. That was unusual. Unusual for me. Unusual for what I had really believed myself to be like. Then again, I was a creature of emotion.

Personally, though, I had liked my powers. Liked what I could do with them. It wasn't that I was really dis-hearted, per se. More or less, I didn't feel like I cared all that much anymore.

And then I had done that.

"You are going to stay with us, right?" Jerr asked, brow raised. "You're not going to ditch out like the other two."

"Nah," I muttered before popping a grape into my mouth. It was nice, eating. I had always liked fruit. "It's not like I really had much going for me at home anyways."

"Family issues?"

"Nah," I shrugged. "I've got a decent family. Just don't see them that much."

"Thats a shame."

"I suppose."

After a couple more grapes, I pushed away from where I was, not really sure what else was left to say. He had seen me in a moment of anger. There really was no coming back from that.

"I'm going to bed," I said, rubbing my eyes complacently. "You should probably get some rest too. Long day tomorrow."

"Yeah," he said. "You're right."

Aurora Clavelle - Earth

"Goodnight Alice, goodnight everyone," Rory said softly as she thought about the girl's words. Did she always know what to do? Could she always know what to do? They were going to come up against monsters and demons, things that bellonged in the nightmares of children, not here in the real world. And she was big sister Rory again, telling the children that there was nothing to fear, but this time there was. She hadn't said it directly yet, hadn't lied. But the confidence she showed and the actions she planned to take. Those told the lie for her, those said: 'It's alright little children, I will keep you safe.' Well she wasn't keeping Arwen safe was she, or Thuake. No, she'd named them as traitors to the Earth leaders and they would be hunted down. And they would be killed. Earth did not take chances, it acted fairly but firmly and it did not take chances. That was why she'd told on them. Did she regret it? No. It had been the action to take. But she did wish it didn't have to be.

Sleep came eventually for Aurora and despite her glum thoughts, she slept well. The beds were to her liking and the air was so fresh and beautiful. So unlike it was on the human world. She woke not long after first light and wished there were clean clothes to change into. They'd been made to travel light and she could see the need in that, but having only one change of clothes wasn't practical as she'd had no opportunity to wash her last set. But surely the Earth kingdom would have facilities.

Rory moved around the room quietly, searching through everyone's bags for their other clothing and decided she would need to do something about the boys as well. She considered sneaking into their room, it wasn't like she hadn't seen her brothers being bathed before, but wasn't entirely sure how they'd take it. So she wrestled with the idea for a moment before deciding that she would knock. It was early, true, but clothes needed to be cleaned and the Earth council meeting would take up much of her time after breakfast. Plus, she wasn't entirely sure the Earth people would be willing to wash the clothes if one of the others asked; it seemed like they kept to their own kind. She wasn't sure how much she approved of that.

"Hello?" Rory called softly as she tapped on the boy's door. A moment later it was pushed open by Liam, his dark curls dishevelled but his ice blue eyes were alert. Had he already been awake? Perhaps so, there were troubled thoughts to haunt any of their dreams.

"What is it?" Liam asked quietly.

"Could you bring the clothes out? I... I was going to ask after some wash rooms and see if they could spare us some powder to take with us." Liam looked surprised for a moment but then nodded.

"Yes," he said. "That's a very practical idea." He ducked back into the room and came back with the pile of clothes, closing the door behind him. Rory accepted his help without question and turned to lead the way.