Original Stories Fan Fiction / Fables/Fairytales Fan Fiction ❯ The Elementalists ❯ Ten - To Kaer ( Chapter 10 )

Once again, the group was rudely waken up at dawn by both Ilias and Guren. Eryk had a terrible hangover from the previous night, which Florian and the rest only laughed at. “Dammit,” he cursed under his breath. He stumbled out of his room, his clothes slightly wrinkled. He looked at them, sighing and running a hand through his unbrushed hair. “It would help if I got dressed, maybe,” he muttered tiredly. He went back inside and changed into a simple button-up shirt, navy blue pants, and a long black coat. His hair was brushed as well, and the girls supposed that he used hairspray from the human world to keep his curls nice and tidy.

 

Kai yawned, scratching her head as she sat up on the bed. She, too, had wrinkled clothes. She groaned in annoyance, changing into white capri pants that ended just below the knee and a tight, long-sleeved black shirt underneath a short-sleeved zip-up jacket.

 

The other girls changed as well; Candis came out in tight blue jeans and a short-sleeved black shirt. Chi was wearing another chinese-style dress the previous night, though its color was yellow, and she changed into a clean white shirt and pants. Feng had stayed in the same clothing, for she was the most wise of The Four and didn't waste time drinking and passing out.

 

“They don't look very happy,” Ilias commented, seemingly amused as he laughed quietly to himself. Guren snorted.

 

“They never do,” he added, though Ilias had barely caught it because it was muffled behind the back of his hand.

 

“Morning,” they all said blearily. They took seats at the bar, ordering small breakfasts and orange juice or water to get rid of their headaches. When Ilias thought that they were woken up enough, he told them once more the directions from Pyre to the North-West, to a village that their spies had said Rika visited often.

 

“Many humans are found around the area of Kaer,” he explained. “Some of them wander around to the village, so she often goes there to find them. Though most of the time, she checks the outskirts of the forests; that is where the biggest hole in the barrier is located.”

 

“There are holes in our barrier?” Candis asked, taking a sip of her orange juice. “I thought those were closed up years ago.”

 

“Decades ago,” corrected Eryk, feeling a little better. “Even though there is still a strong barrier up, a lot of idiotic humans find their way here anyway. Maybe you should do more research.” Candis glared.

 

“Are you implying that I'm stupid?!” A nod was his reply. She huffed, her face as red as a tomato, though it was from no embarrassment. “You jerk! Fine then, be that way,” she said icily, turning the other way. Eryk, thinking he had seriously offended her, made a sound of disapproval.

 

“I'm just kidding, geez,” he said. “Can't you take a joke?” Candis only made a `hmph' sound. Eryk rolled his eyes.

 

“Stop fighting, children,” mocked Kai, raising an eyebrow at the two. “Or should I say, flirting?” Candis gave Kai a good slap in the head, growling almost. “Okay, okay, it was a joke!” She rubbed her head soothingly, muttering incoherent nonsense at nothing in particular.

 

Guren slumped his throbbing head down onto the table, closing his eyes and wishing for peace and quiet. `With all these damn emotions, I don't think I'll last this journey,' he thought.

 

“Hey, are you alright?” Chi asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. He winced a little, but it was not noticeable. He sighed, sitting back up.

 

“I'm fine,” he said shortly. “In any case, stop with all this bickering. We have a mission to complete, so I suggest you finish your food. I'll be waiting outside.”

 

The group watched him walk outside of the Inn, slightly stunned. He had never shown such a strong reaction since they had met him, except perhaps when they did first meet him. He had been very quiet since then, showing little to no emotion on his delicate features.

 

“Forgive his actions,” apologized Ilias, frowning as he looked at the lone figure leaning against the wall just outside. “He is not feeling very well. It would be best to…” He paused, looking straight at Florian. “…keep as quiet as you can.” He stood up, bowing towards the group. “Anyway, I am most glad to have met all of you. I hope we can meet again sometime in the future,” he said, smiling ruefully. “Goodbye.”

 

The group said their goodbye's and stacked their plates up, swinging their packs over their shoulders and walking outside. Guren looked at them for a moment, not saying a word, and then he turned, walking towards the forest.

 

By noon, they had covered at least a fifth of their journey to the village of Kaer. They stopped first at lunchtime, after traveling a good 5 or 6 hours. “From the looks of it, we will probably have to camp out tonight,” Guren said, looking remorseful. “I hoped we could reach there by midnight, but even all day on foot takes at least a day and a half.”

 

“Well, we could have skipped breakfast,” said Chi, “But that would be no fun! Besides, I'm still a growing girl!” She grinned childishly, because she was still growing. She was the youngest of the elementalists, for she was only 15 years old. Though they all had many previous lives, their ages differed but the order from eldest to youngest was always the same. Feng was the oldest, at 20 years old. Candis was 18 and Kai was 17, putting those two in the middle.

 

“Just hope it doesn't rain tonight,” said Kai, looking gloomily at the graying sky. “It's still the middle of summer, though. I don't understand why rain clouds are visible now,” she mused, a puzzled look in her eyes.

 

“In the human world, some countries have summer rain,” explained Guren, slicing up some vegetables for lunch sandwiches. “Though I must admit, I have never seen a rain cloud in the summertime in the magic world since…” He trailed off, looking very forlorn. `It probably has something to do with his father,' Florian thought. Kai caught his thought and looked at him, question in her eyes.

 

“Hey, I think I sense something,” Florian blurted out, clearly not thinking. The rest of the group looked at him with confusion on their faces. “It… isn't a very strong feeling, maybe Kai and I should just go check it out, to be sure.” The group caught onto his drift but merely nodded, athough Candis was still lost.

 

“Wait, what? I don't—” `I need to tell Kai something,' Florian said in her mind. `Ohh,' she replied, shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts. “Oh! Now I feel it!” Feng and Eryk shook their heads quite solemnly at her. Guren paid no mind to the group, focusing on a particularly interesting rock in the grass.

 

 

“Kai, Guren… He's an empath,” he said quietly, once they had reached a small lake not too far from the group, but out of audible range from them.

 

“An… empath? But…” she started, but Florian cut her off.

 

“That's what I thought,” he admitted, staring into the glistening water. “But last night he told me that when his father died in the war, years and years ago, he obtained the technique from him.”

 

“Oh…” She stood there, silently, taking interest in a sharp blade of grass flowing with the wind. “Maybe that's why he wouldn't finish his sentence earlier,” she suggested. Florian nodded.

 

“I figured as much. I don't know if we should tell the whole group, but… I just thought you should know.” Kai smiled at him, shaking her head.

 

“Aww, thanks, hun,” she said jokingly. His cheeks tinged pink when she walked closer towards him. “Ha ha, but in all seriousness,” she said, her smile fading somewhat, “Thanks for telling me. I don't know if the others should know it either, but it may be better if they could suppress their emotions.”

 

Florian nodded, turning around. “Let's go back. There's nothing here, anyway,” he added, laughing. Kai laughed, too, and jogged a little to catch up with her friend.