Firewing

Ebony

Ebony fell, tripping on seemingly nothing. Pain sprang to her knees and palms. Without hesitation, she grabbed her bag and went for the stables again. Bursting through the doors, she cried, "Ebony needs a horsey!" A couple of the stable people chuckled until they saw the blood running down her knee and the tears in her eyes.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?"

"She needs a horse!" Ebony said again, "Her horse!" She pointed at a gray mare that was starting to get a bit anxious. She hadn't ridden in a long time but her mentor, who was like a big sister to her, had said that she would relearn it just as fast as she was relearning how she could use water.

Robin-

I eventually made my way to the stables, after following the Water trainee. I think her name was Ebony. I wined a bit when I saw the blood, and was just about to go and help her, but she just got up and continued on the way. I realized I wouldn't get anywhere, and just followed her all the way to the dark stables.

A few were already taken out, I noted. They must have just been brought back from the fields. Now, which one to pick...? The dark colored ones were usually a bit rough, so they were out. Maybe... yes. He would to nicely.

"Excuse me, may I ride him?" I asked, pointing to a large chestnut male. The horse stood there, watching me with patient eyes. The stable people shrugged, and one of them led the horse out for me.

"Just be careful, kid." Nodding to the man, I took the horse by the reigns and brough it outside the stables. It was almost time.

Cale

The swordsman arrived in the stables as everyone was choosing their horses, and he walked without hesitation to a stall right at the back. The horse there wasn't one of the Elite's horses, although it was of similar stock.

One of the stable hands led the swordmaster's horse out for him, and he tied his pack down to the saddle, taking the reins and leading out of the stables to join the others who were waiting.

The healer, Robin, he thought her name was, was already out there. As was Ebony, the Water trainee. Two others stood there as well, though he didn't recognise them so well as he did Robin and Ebony. Everyone remembered Ebony, she'd been brought in under strange circumstances, although he didn't know her personally.

Of the other two, he only knew one by name. That was the fire trainee, Indio. The other he'd steered well clear of, on his parent's advice, since she'd arrived. Darkness, He recalled them saying, Is a dangerous and rare element. We've seen what her teacher can do, and we're not entirely sure we approve. So stay away from that one, for your own sake.

Senra:

Senra smiled at the others in the barn. She spotted Cale. She had seen him around at different places, but never talked to her. He wasn't the only one. Alot of the people without powers, or even some with powers avoided her. She asked Keren about it one time and he said because of her power people were a little afraid. But that once they got to know her they'd be just fine with her. She had smiled at him and hten they had gone back to working on perfecting her powers.



*all I have for now*

Ebony

She smiled shyly at everyone, a bit shy. She didn't know these people. Sure, she knew their names but that was nothing. Searching her memory, she didn't remember actually talking to many of the other trainees. Ever.

"When is she and everyone going to leave? She wants to find her friends." Ebony felt tears try to spring from her eyes, but she easily held the water back.

Seline-

I dragged myself out of bed that morning, my body protesting from using to much energy even in cheetah form. It felt like it would take two days for me to recover all my energy, which wouldn't be good for travel.

I looked for the fox I had brought with me, but he had fled. I guessed his paw no longer hurt. I quickly filled the space I had left in my packs for him with the final reminder of home: a branch from the tree I had been sitting under when the Elite had found me. It didn't fill all the space, of course, but I didn't mind having more room. I simply shifted my belongings around so things would be more balanced.

At the stables, almost everybody was there. After I had chosen my mount I began calming it down, softly whispering to it. I didn't dare open my mind up to the mare's; my fingers were quivering over raw power from just her body. The little I felt from her mind was already causing me to fight a shift.

I snuck a glance upwards to see everybody looking at me and shying away. I blushed and returned my eyes to the horse, trying to ignore any strange looks. Most other animal students spoke mind-to-mind with their animals to avoid such looks, but for me, that wasn't an option. Staying human was hard enough without opening my mind to animals' minds.

I heard a hush fall onto the stables and looked up. Vincent had just entered and was going to his mount. I turned my head before he looked at me, not that he would. I had chosen a horse in the corner for that very reason: the farther away I was from people, the less they could say about me.

I couldn't help but look back at him though. This time he caught my eye. I quickly went to my horse's other side to finish talking to her.

I watched as all of the trainee's poured out of the room, some aimed towards the stables, the other's to pack. They had all agreed, along with the swordsman and the healer. That was a plus, at least.

Well, it wasn't that they had a choice. If they had said no, the death of their elite's would plague them for the rest of their existence. Had they said yes to save the elite's, or just so they wouldn't have to deal with guilt? Whatever their true motives were, they were all coming, and I couldn't complain.

Standing in the middle of the empty room, I coughed and sighed. My bags were already packed, waiting for me back in my quarters. My horse, already saddled. Being the spy, I had to be ready to take off at any given time. I had no time for a lover, or any hobbies. My job was my hobby; invading the privacy of other's to see if they had any plans to steal meat from the local butcher. Exciting.

Getting the courage to leave the large auditorium, I made the short journey to the elite quarters. My room was just before the long hall that led to each of theirs. Apparently being the spy was important; but I didn't feel that way. It was just another job. I didn't have any powers or anything, I could just blend.

Opening the door to my room, I squinted in the sunlight that poured from the large window on the far wall. For living in a closet, it had a pretty large window. My quarters were nothing but grey stone walls, an uncovered window, and a small bed with two small bags atop of it. Grabbing the bags from on top, I dropped to my stomach and slid out a bigger, more sturdier bag. In order to transport my many weapons and poisons, I needed something bigger and sturdier; exactly why I had a cow-hide bag.

Grabbing my bags and closing my door behind me as I left, I headed out the large doors that led to the horse pasture to find my stallion. A few of the trainee's stood there, all holding onto the reins of different horses and looking at them, trying to see if they were good enough for them. After all, they were finding a lifetime partner, here.

Hopping over the fence, I noticed the trainee's casting strange glares into the stable as they stood with their horses, talking amongst themselves. Laughter came from one; Ebony, I believed her name was. It was good that they had already became acquainted, but obviously that had also created an underdog.

They all came to a hush as they noticed me. Grimacing, I ignored the silence and stares and walked into the stable. Either they respected me and thought of me as leader, or they suspected something else. Something far more troublesome.

I lifted my gaze from the dirt floor to the stable in front of me as I entered. Standing in the far corner patting and talking to her mare, the student who had carried a bird on her shoulder stood. From the quick movement of her head, I could tell she was avoiding my gaze. I could sense that she didn't believe I was a spy for Rasdont or respected me as leader. She was just shy; and the way she talked to her mare told me that she was like that normally. And already the underdog.

Keeping my gaze on her, I walked to the end of the stables where she stood and opened the stall door where my stallion rested. Reaching into the stall and grabbing his reins, I led him out into the large hall of the stable, cathing Seline's gaze. She quickly moved from one side of her horse to the other, still avoiding me.

"Saddle her up," I said quietly. "We ride in one hour." With no response from her, I walked out into the pasture with my all-black stallion. For a spy, his color fit. The trainee's once again hushed as I came closer, causing me to roll my eyes and scoff. Standing in front of them, I repeated what I had told Seline, "Saddle up, we ride in one hour."

Ebony

She sighed, it was too long. Ebony wanted; needed to leave now or else she might explode. An hour.

Without another word to the other trainees, she walked off. Then she ran, she had to. There was nothing else she could think of doing.

To the woods, she sprinted, ignoring the pain in her knee. Then she came to it, the pond. It was small, and in the hottest summers it turned into a mere puddle, but she needed it right now.

"What does Ebony have to do!?" She whispered to the familiar water. Touching it, she watched the ripples spread through the pond. Then, under her command, they moved towards her, back into her fingers. It was a very basic exercise, the first that Shae, her teacher, had retaught her.

Robin-

"An hour?" I asked myself. "So soon?" Sighing- since there was nothing I could do about it- I settled down on a rock, content to watch the other trainees. Jethra had taught me to ride bareback, and it was much more comfortable than a saddle. Besides, saddles were kind of troublesome to take care of.

A clatter of noise exploded from my left, and I saw Ebony moving away. She shouldn't be moving so soon on her injured knee, but she refused to get it bandaged. She was strange, at times.

You're one to talk. You aren't just strange, you're cursed. Remember what happened with Arin? I winced at the memory. The blood splattered walls, the rotting bodies. And the glass eyes. Empty glass eyes.

"You don't have to remind me," I whispered. I could just hear the voice laugh.

No, I have to. You are a curse. You can't get close to anyone. Arin, and now Jethra. You should be locked up.

"Maybe," I quietly agreed. "But not yet. First save Jethra. Then I'll consider it."

Cale

An hour was a long time to wait, as Cale soon found out. If he'd had more preparation to do, he might have been able to stomach the waiting. But after only five minutes of it, he found he was getting impatient.

So, figuring that there must be plenty interesting about someone his parents were so adamant that he shouldn’t talk to, and seeing that she didn’t have any one to talk to anyway, he guided his horse across the few awkward paces between him and Senra.

Awkward, not because of the ground, it was perfect outside the stable. It was awkward because despite his apparent calm in his decision to talk to her, simply talking to her out of the blue was easier thought than done.

"Hi." He said, starting simply, "I'm Cale."

Senra:

Senra looked at the guy and smiled. "I'm Senra." She replied.

"I know...I mean..." He started.

"I knew you were Cale too. But talking gives us something to do." She shrugged as she rubbed her horse's neck. "An hour is a long time to wait."

"Yes, but everyone needs to be ready so that we be well prepaired." He replied.

"I'm not sure we'll be prepaired." She sighed. "What if the Elite is made to attack us? We aren't strong enough for that. And I would never even think about hurting Keren, even if he was made to hurt me."

Seline-

He had spoken to me. Vincent had actually spoken to me and me alone. I had heard him tell the others to mount up, but before that he'd spoken to me.

I quickly shook my head to snap myself out of that mood. Of course he'd speak to only me. I was the only one in the stables by now. Finished talking to the mare I saddled her and brought her over to the others. Everybody was in their own group, with plenty of space left for me to sit alone. The only people that were sitting together were the darkness trainee, Senra, and the swordsman, Cale.

As I waited for us to head out I kept my mind open to some of the animals around me. Horses were off-limits, as were most animals over the size of a large cat. The pull from those animals was too strong for me. I would shift in an instant if I opened my mind to theirs.

I managed to find a pair of hawks near by, one of the animals I was experimenting with opening my mind too. For the next while I kept my mind open to theirs', fighting a shift every moment. As time ticked on I found my powers slowly coming back under my control.

Vincent's voice calling everybody's attention brought me back into my body. Once fully conscious, I found my shirt damp with sweat. I hopped the sun would dry it before we left. I didn't want people asking questions.

Once Vincent had everybody's attention, he began. "I've heard some of you asking what will happen if we face the Elite. I know you are also worried about hurting your mentors and friends among the Elite, whom we will have to face eventually.

"The Elite, even though captured, are by no means slaves to their imprisoners. They will be able to resist any commands given to them, and they will not attack with their full powers. They might be able to avoid an attack on us altogether. I'm almost certain that they know who will come to rescue them, and even though they won't be able to surrender to us, they will be able to make it easier for us.

"That does not mean either they nor us will escape without any scratches, but it does mean that none of them-- or us-- will die as a result from an encounter with them. And as long as we stay on a safe course, there should be no other encounters."

He looked around at the nine others, his eyes resting a moment longer on me. I brought my knees up to my chest to hide behind, but he had already looked away.

Vincent looked around again. "Alright then, mount up. We leave for Rasdont now."

*If your character has any questions about this or the mission in general, ask them on the road or wait until the group has stopped for the night. If not, continue the plot*

Cale

As they rode out, he raised his voice in question to Vincent, “How long until we arrive there? I’ve never travelled straight to Rasdont from the Academy before.”

“It’s relatively close, no more than two days ride. Why do you ask?”

Cale shrugged, “I thought it would be good to know how far we were from it, makes preparing myself just that much easier. Besides, it’s better than silence.” His question answered, he looked back to Senra. He’d seen a glint in Seline’s eyes that said Vincent would probably have someone to talk to for the trip anyway. Besides, Senra could probably use some normal conversation. He knew he hadn’t been alone in avoiding her back at the Academy, and he felt guilty for her now. Loneliness never did anyone any good.

Picking up on what Vincent had said about the Elites going easy on them, he gave her a smile, “Glad you’re not going to have to hurt Keren?” He asked.

She nodded, “He’s been like a father to me. He’s pretty much the only one at the Academy who’d accept me.”

“Your power, right?” She nodded again, and he went on, “My parents, uh, warned me about it. They said to stay away from you and Keren, because they thought it was dangerous.” Without letting her react, not wanting to make things any more awkward than he realised he already had, he rushed on, “But, you know. I saw you sort of off on your own when I did see you around, and you looked kind of lonely. I figured my parents had to be wrong about you, since you didn’t look remotely evil or anything. But you know, they told me to stay away, and they would’ve been pretty pissed at me if they found out I’d ‘put myself in danger’.” He imitated his father’s gruff voice.

She gave a soft laugh, “Who are your parents, anyway?”

“My father’s one of the Light Elites, and my mother’s a Nature trainer.” He gave a mirthless chuckle, “Sort of figures, huh?”

Senra:

"Ya, Keren always said the Light Elites never really liked him. I guess it's a hard concept to grasp, darkness being good and all." She smiled. "But that's life. Fire is normally bad too, but we have a fire elite and trainie. It's just easier to see it as good."

"THat's true." He smiled.

"So, if you could pick a power to have. What would it be?" She asked.

Cale

He frowned, "Hmm...tough call. I haven't really thought about it before." He ran his tongue over his teeth in thought, "I guess, from what I've seen so far, I'd have to say wind."

"Why?"

Cale shrugged, "Like I said, from what I've seen of the wind trainees and elites, it looks like fun. It speaks to them, shows them things. And the way it seems to act is like a child, it just seems to be so delighted at everything." He looked to her, smiling, "What about you? If you had the choice, would you change what power you had?"