The Calm

"Well this is unexpected." Wisteria stated, looking them over.

Thora and I gave them death stares, wondering how and why they where behind us. "What is the meaning of this?" Thora turned to me, face twisted in annoyance.

"As you can see, I'm as shocked as you are!" I looked back at them. "What in the world are you doing here?"

"Uh well we hitched a ride with you guys! I mean, isn't it obvious?" Donny shrugged.

Angelo approached me with Mason in tow. "Did you honestly think we'd let you out here on your own?"

"But I'm not alone!" I pointed to the Naltanierans behind me. "Not to mention that I supposedly have magic. You guys don't!"

"You're right." Donny stalked toward me, putting a finger on his lips. "I didn't think this through at all." He looked into my eyes, his eyes reflecting the evening glow. "But I don't regret it one bit."

~~~

"Nawi this is unacceptable." The green, almost black leaves dripped with water from the incessant drizzle, our boots hitting the muddy ground makes splat noises over and over, barely seeing the way ahead, Thora raises a hand making everyone stop. "Let's stop for the day. There are humans among us, wouldn't want them to perish." She looked directly at me.

Mason came up behind me. "I don't think the elf lady likes us."

I turned abruptly, my damp hair slapping him in the face. "You think?"

He groaned while wiping his face. "Oh come on!"

"Why don't you make yourself useful and follow me?" We both jumped at Wisterios' eerie voice.

"For the love of all that is good. Stop doing that." Mason spoke, shuddering at Wisterios' stare.

"Doing what?" The red haired enigma cocked an eyebrow at my brother as I slunk away.

"Hey, Thora." I padded through the wet sugy grounds, standing beside the tall framed princess. "I just wanted to apologize. I had no idea they would follow me I swear."

She gave me a look through the corner of her almond-shaped eyes. "You don't need to apologize." She crossed her arms. "It's not your fault. I could also feel it."

"Uhh you could?"

"Well yes. My air bubble started falling apart for a moment there. The power I used was for us four. Plus I could sense more than four people but I thought of it as nothing."

"You don't trust your senses?"

"Well, it's more complicated than that."

"Care to share? I'm a great listener."

She stared at me with an unreadable expression on her fair features, features fair enough to see in the dark. "I'd rather not. Besides you don't know me, why would you want to listen to my problems?"

I shrugged.

"That's nice. To want to help people. But it's also very naive." She turned her whole body, facing me completely. "The enchanted realm isn't always a nice place. Yes we might've been gifted with powers that humans can only dream of, but that's where the extra problems come in. The level of your power is unknown to us, Nawi. Therefore you must be extremely careful. Just like how thieves want your riches in earth, there are beings that would go through great lengths to get their hands on your power."

"Well what am I supposed to do about that?"

"Find out how to use your magic at your own will."

"How-"

A loud thunk resounded throughout the bushes, followed by a loud painful-sounding slap and we turned, following the origin of the sounds.

"For goodness sake Rio!"

"Ria that hurt!" Suddenly the firewood burst out in flames, the sparks dancing unto the brown sand of the forest.

"You couldn't drop the wood gently? Who knows what could be lurking in these woods?" She whisper-shouts.

"I swear it wasn't me! It was him!" Wisterio pointed an accusing finger at my wide eyed brother.

"W-what?! That's a lie!" He raised his hands in defense.

"Thora what did she mean by what could be in these woods? Have you not been here before?"

"No we haven't, and she's right we should lay low and try not to use any magic. Some creatures are drawn to power."

I chuckled. "You definitely don't need to worry about me then."

~~~

"Wisteria." I sat beside the blue eyed female, pointing to her hood. "You're not going to take that off? You literally haven't since I first saw you."

"Oh! Probably just a force of habit. It's usually really cold in Naiad." She finally brought the hood down, revealing her blue, but red stained hair, noticing my shocked expression, she smiled sheepishly, toying with the hair. "….and my hair is also a bit of a soft spot for me."

"Are you kidding? It's beautiful." I resisted the urge to touch the amazing-looking hair.

"Oh! Thank you, but that's probably because you've never seen such. In Naltaniera, it's not commonly smiled upon to have the blessings of more than one element."

"But I thought your brother said you're monobreeds?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yes we are." She stared into the flames burning in front of us. "Isn't it beautiful?"

I turned, staring into the thick flames lighting up the circle we sat in, admiring the embers rising from it and the warmth it brought. "Yeah I guess."

"It really is." She stood up, walking towards her brother not long after Angelo appeared beside me.

"Hello, Nawi." He put up air quotes around the foreign name.

"Angelo. You okay?" I turned my gaze to him, admiring his side profile.

"No, Mis." He turned, the flickering flames somehow making him look even more attractive. "I am nowhere near okay. To think that you were in so much danger and you wanted to leave without a word. Not even a goodbye. Do you know how that makes me feel? How that made us feel?"

I opened my mouth to speak but he continued. "Trying to protect us or not, you could've let us know at least and then let the decision of our safety lie in our hands."

"I'm really sorry." I looked up into his eyes. "But I would do it again given the chance." He frowned at my words. "I do feel bad for not letting you know but I would do it again if it meant you'd be safe."

He heaved a laborious sigh, taking my hands in his. "Did you know that you're the most amazing person I've ever laid eyes on?"

My cheeks heated and I looked down, hiding my wide idiotic grin.

"I may be human Mis." He weaved his slender fingers into my hair, making me look up. "But I would die protecting you."

I smiled, heart racing In speechlessness.

Suddenly the sound of a twig snapping echoed beyond the tall trees, Thora jolting from the log she sat on, eyes glinting in the night, searching for what could've made the sound, her eyes widened in what I understood to be horror.

Beyond the flames, I could see Wisteria stiffen, her eyes widening. "No." She whispered.

Thora walked lightly toward our gathering. "Nobody make a sound." She put a finger to her lips as she gestured for us to stand, whispering just so we could hear her. "We need to leave now."