Original Stories Fan Fiction / Fables/Fairytales Fan Fiction ❯ The Elementalists ❯ Four - Preparations ( Chapter 4 )

The group retreated back inside the house, sitting down at the dining table in an orderly fashion. It was almost as if it was an official meeting for some sort of big business. Feng reached into her pocket and took out the wrinkled piece of paper.

 

“So Chi did get it first, then,” Eryk said thoughtfully. “You received it last?”

“Yes,” Feng answered. “It was burnt almost all the way to the writing.”

 

“And naturally you assumed it came from Candis, no?” Florian inferred, staring intently at the strange little piece of paper. “Does it smell like anything now?”

 

Feng took a small whiff of the paper and shook her head. “No scent whatsoever.”

 

“Well, there should have been an unfamiliar scent on it before,” Candis concluded. “It picked up our scents after it had come to each of us, then drifted off on its own to the next person.”

 

“That's true,” Kai offered, “Chi, you received it first, right?” Chi nodded. “Did it have any sort of scent on it, or any clue?”

 

Regrettably, Chi shook her head. “Not that I remember…” She looked down, feeling useless to the group. But suddenly, she seemed to recall that it did, in fact, have an aroma. “Wait! I remember that when I got it, it had a strong smell of perfume on it… It must have been one of those expensive, fancy, rich-people types of perfume. I had never smelled anything like it before.”

 

“Gee, that helps us so much,” Eryk mumbled sarcastically. Chi frowned, and Eryk earned himself a low growl and piercing glare from Candis. But, as expected, he simply smirked back, not caring whose feelings he may have hurt.

 

Florian shook his head. “We won't get anywhere if all we have for a lead is a strong smell of expensive perfume, which no longer exists, apparently.” Chi grinned mischeviously, her eyes twinkling.

 

“How many wealthy women do you know from the West that wear expensive perfume, Florian?” she inquired in a rather interesting voice. “If you ask me, most of the people there are only in the middle-class. Those who are wealthy rarely spend money on little things such as perfume, unless they're filthy rich.”

 

Everyone at the table turned their heads to Chi, regarding her in a curious way. “How do you know it came from the West, Chi?” Candis asked.

 

“I am the Earth Elementalist, thank you very much,” she answered. Everyone muttered one thing or another, realizing that she had a point.

 

“Well, we should head out to the West as soon as possible, then,” Kai said, making the group decision certain as she stood up from her chair.

 

“Are you mad?” Florian exclaimed. “It's almost nightfall. You can't start traveling at night. Only a fool would do such a thing.”

 

Kai sighed very audibly, her hands balling up into fists as she glared harshly at Florian. “Are you saying I'm a fool?!”

 

“Maybe he is,” Eryk said, cutting into the conversation while grinning wickedly. Kai shot him a death glare before making strange noises, indicating that she was angry and stomping into the kitchen. Feng shook her head, and Chi giggled behind her hand.

 

“I have plently of guest rooms, though we should probably stay on different floors. Candis, you and Eryk will take the second level. Make sure your rooms are right next to each other. Feng, Chi, you'll take the third level. Kai and I will take the bottom floor, in case anyone tries to break in. I'll strengthen the barrier on the outside, and we'll head out tomorrow morning.” Everyone nodded and got up from their seats, heading into each person's respective rooms.

 

“What?! Why do I have to share a floor with Florian?!” Kai whispered, though it sounded like she was trying to shout it out. Candis shrugged, trying to look uncaring and attempting not to laugh. Kai sighed in frustration. “He's always making fun of me and hates me and thinks he's so much smarter than—”

 

“If you're done ranting, we can all go to bed and get a nice night's rest before the long journey tomorrow,” Florian interrupted, disgruntlement written all over his face. Kai gulped, swallowing her previous statements and merely nodding.

 

Candis laughed tensely before heading up to the second floor to go to bed. Kai sighed, rubbing her forehead lightly. `Why do I overreact all the time?' she wondered. She dismissed the issue and retrieved a pillow and blanket from the cabinet next to the bathroom on the first floor.

 

She walked out into the living room, taking in for the millionth time the exquisite sight of it. Paintings of nature and Florian's ancestors hung all around the walls, a large fireplace was lit up amid two windows to keep the room warm, and the floorboards were polished and shiny nearly at all times. She spotted Florian putting a sheet on the cold, hard floor. `Aww, how kind. He's letting me sleep on the couch,' she snickered in her mind. Shaking her head at her silly thoughts, she flopped down on the couch and fell to sleep almost instantly.

 

 

“CANDIS!” Kai shouted, jumping on the fire elementalist's bed. “Wake up for Buddha's sake!” she exclaimed, shaking her friend by the shoulders. However, it did not faze the fiery girl in the least. Kai groaned in frustration. “She's gonna kill me…” she muttered, as she walked into the bathroom and filled a paper cup with water. “Well, it's the only way.” She nodded to herself, albeit uncertainly, before dumping the cold water onto Candis's head.

 

Soon a loud yelp was heard through all the halls of the house. Candis jumped up out of bed, her eyes wide and frantic. She spotted Kai hastily leaving the room, slamming the door behind her. “…KAI!” she shouted, literally glaring holes through the door. “Ugh!” She groaned irritably and got out of bed, mumbling to herself new ideas for revenge to pay back Kai with.

 

Kai stepped out of the bathroom in simple enough attire. She wore a sleeveless purple Chinese-style shirt, with cerulean dragons wrapping themselves around it. On her lower half she wore simple black pants that clung to her legs, and on her feet were slip-on street shoes.

 

Seconds later, Candis emerged from the stairs in casual attire. Or, what she classified as “casual.” She wore a long-sleeved red shirt with a long, black trenchcoat and dark blue jeans. She wore simple tennis shoes that were comfortable and quite useful, in her opinion.

 

Feng and Chi also came down to the living room, about a quarter of an hour later. Feng wore a white karate-style shirt with no sleeves along with white pants. Simple black street shoes adorned her feet, as they did Chi. Chi was wearing a green Chinese-style dress that almost reached her knees.

 

Florian also dressed “casually,” in a simple polo shirt and khaki pants. He combed his hair back a little bit, which made him look very intimidating. Eryk dressed more fancy, probably to show off how rich he was, everyone thought. He wore a silk button-up shirt, not tucked in as to show that he was no goody-two-shoes. He put a dark green snake-skin jacket on and admired himself in the mirror.

 

“You're so full of yourself,” Candis muttered, rolling her eyes at him. He returned the gesture, claiming that she was just jealous of his looks and money.

 

“Well…” Florian started, gathering his pack. “You guys ready for this?”