Aerilyn glanced over to the side and saw him trying to smoke a second one. Is he trying to mock me? She wondered before she lifted her hand again, sending a blast of wind straight into his face, again blowing the cigar from his mouth as well as blowing his hair into sticking straight up. She smirked slightly before hiding it with a hand. "I knew you were thick-skulled, but I didn't think you'd be this much so.". She then stopped and turned to face him. She put a hand on each of her hips, giving her something of a power stance. She could feel the powers within her gradually becoming more apparent, but only when she was almost joking. In a way, she dreaded the thought that her powers may just be linked to her emotions, especially the happier ones. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but showing emotions around others was possibly her treated challenge in life. She'd been taught to conceal her feelings, that she was a servant and was less than human to begin with.

Now, though, she could possibly let that to and truly show how she felt to others without them putting her down. Would they truly accept her for how she felt? It could be quite possible, especially from how the others were joking and play fighting together earlier. Although this was a serious time that required her at her best behavior, she could feel her powers grow with the more emotion that she allowed to come out. Her emotions would give her the power that she needed to win this fight.

"I know that some snarky is going through your head right now." She said in the most casual tone that she could manage. A small smile even graced her iced-rose colored lips. "I dare you to too that." but then she remembered the task at hand. "But when we get back to base here, of course. I wouldn't want you to waste all of your brain power trying to top that."

"God f***ing dammit!!!!" Shida exploded with anger, she did it again, his cigar flew away and this time it was obviously not an accident. "You are messing with the wrong person missy!" he yelled at her. "You can't let me enjoy my cigar!? Do you HATE cigars or something!?"
"I know that some snarky is going through your head right now." she said with her hands on her hips.
He was growing mad with frustration, he wanted to strangle her. She had the audacity to sit there and talk to him as if she had the ability to read his mind. He wasn't going to be treated like some angry kid.
"But when we get back to base here, of course. I wouldn't want you to waste all of your brain power trying to top that."

Shida, did not like being criticized, or looked down upon. "My brain is just fine, I think it's your head that needs a checkup." his eyes shot sparks at hers. How could a woman that he found so attractive stir him to a bubbling rage this so? Such is the way of passion.
"If we didn't need you for this plan, I wouldn't even bother trying to protect you, so you'd better watch your step or I will make sure you find something in your way when the time comes." he promised her. "I'm not the sort of enemy you want to make out here, and I was trying to be kind, so don't mess with me again." he calmed down for a moment.. He walked separately from the rest of the group for a while, trying to calm down.. If she ever does that again, I swear it wont be the Vygorns that get to her before I do. He had a hard time taking himself seriously with that threat. He cursed the way his exterior made him seem. She probably hates me now.. but he managed to fool himself into thinking that he didn't care at all.. Whatever..

After cooling off for a while, Shida decided that it would be best to try and change his attitude for the rest of the journey, he truly didn't want to deal with being attacked again until they got there. He walked over to Will, hoping to discuss some battle plans. He also realized he forgot to tell Ghost that he was with Will. He thought it would be best to take care of that, and make sure everyone was up to speed on what was happening. "Ghost, I need you on the team with Will." he looked at Will, and instead of discussing tactics, he found himself seeking his advice.. he pulled Will aside for a moment. "Why does that woman always try and mess with me? She barley notices when I try to be kind to her.. how do I get her to like me more?" his expression saddened a bit, and he looked at his feet as he walked.

Will noticed Shida looking at him and could instantly tell something was wrong. Shida pulled Will aside for a moment. "Why does that woman always try and mess with me? She barley notices when I try to be kind to her.. how do I get her to like me more?" his expression saddened a bit, and he looked at his feet as he walked.

Will kind of felt sorry for the guy. "Who?" he said then turned to Aerilyn and back to Shida. Oh, Aerilyn? You got the hots for her eh?" he asked playfully and nudged Shida a little. "She's like... One of them career oriented woman, but if you really want her to like you, then my advice would be to talk to her, outside of the mission. Y'know, small talk. And no snarky comments either, yeah? Try... making her laugh or something?" Will advised.

Wolgran
Whats enough is enough, these Hygrons are late with their departure by a over half a day!
"I will keep my promise, the sun is going down and it will soon be night. So now I will "kick you out" as you youngsters would say."

Wolgran was already laughing in his mind at what he will do. He started summoning water, a lot of it, behind him, to form a great wall of water. When the wall was about 6 metres tall, he raised his arms and suddenly moved them forward. The wall of water went crashing along the cave and as it reached Wolgran from the back, he transformed into water as well, forming a big bearded face on the front of the wave. The water face opened its mouth and an elderly laughter could be heard. The wave took all the Hygrons from within the cave and spouted them out of the cave's mouth, like a huge geyser. The Hygrons went flying and crashed hard onto the ground.
Wolgran materialised from the sprays of water before the drops could hit the ground.

"Hah! Didn't have so much fun in years."
Then he looked up, at the sky, the moon barely visible and the stars not at all. He waved his hand in a circular motion as a hole between the smoke and the polluted clouds formed. There he could see the stars. It was quiet now. Everyone was looking at Wolgran, and he at the stars, a tear rolling from his right eye.
A slight whisper came out from between his lips
"Who would ever want to destroy something so beautiful?"
He looked back down to the Hygrons, and after a lengthy pause said.
"You MUST stop this. You MUST succeed. I decided, If ever you will need me, just call me with your powers and I will come flying. There are many ways of communicating with me, but all ways are associated with your powers."
Now Wolgran smiled, again, and even laughed a bit.
"And make sure you don't leave me out of the big battles, specially the final fight"

Phil went to walk out the cave with the others but was interrupted by a sudden amount of water spewing from behind him. Before he knew it, He was pushed through the cave entrance and onto his back quicker than he could say goodbye. Wolgran said entertained "Hah! Didn't have so much fun in years". Phil went to shout at Wolgran but saw him looking up at the stars. A tear appeared in the old man's eye as he said "Who would ever want to destroy something so beautiful?". Then, The old man's eyes darted from one of the group to another. Wolgran then said "You must stop this. You must succeed. I decided, If ever you will need me, just call me with your powers and I will come flying. There are many ways of communicating with me, but all ways are associated with your powers. And make sure you don't leave me out of the big battles, specially the final fight". Phil smirked at the old man's speech and said "Will do, I promise". He then helped himself up to his feet and finally noticed he was drenched through. Phil just sighed as he got ready to walk on in the tiring darkness.

"Shall we wait for Beau and Phillip?"

Cora continued her slow pace, pulling the diagonal zipper of her sweater to chest height to block the chill of night winds. The smell of air was fresh, but only if her head tilted away from the grungy trash littering the dry soil. "I'd rather they catch up later, I'm afraid I'll rip someone's head off if I talk to anyone else."  

"But I had a question for you, Aerilyn. And I need you to be honest, since I need to know your strengths for this fight. You were once a bodyguard, so I'm curious as to what combat skills you know. And how's your handle on your element? Can you control gale storms yet?" Cora asked, half expecting there to be no issues. Aerilyn was a confident, authoritative girl who was proficient at everything she did, from what Cora assumed. 

Her eyes lit up with curiosity when Shida walked past. Something smells delicious. I mean, fucking sexy. Is that a-- HOLY SHIT, CIGAR.

Her jaw almost fell off her face from how much it gaped open. A hand wiped the drool off her mouth, eyes totally fixated on that cigar. In the universe of Cora it was only her and that rolled tobacco. Her and her negative feelings, her stress, her need to beat someone with a chair -- repeatedly. And the cigar, smooth, rare, an instant fix. 

The ice girl's obvious goo-goo eyes stayed oblivious to everything but that cigar until Aerilyn gusted it from Shida's grip. His irritation was tangible enough that he stormed away. Leaping (literally) at the opportunity, a fish made of ice snapped up the tossed cigar before it hit the ground, swimming haphazardly through the air to Cora's open palms. It seemed to puff up at the chest before vomiting its prize in its puppet master's hands, disintegrating into snowflakes moments after. 

She cackled mockingly, looking devilishly at the barely used cigar in her hands. She knocked a few loose pieces of tobacco from it, examining the outer shell for any other imperfections. It was almost loving how she handled it delicately, putting the lightest amount of pressure on the object.

She could feel Aerilyn's eyes drilling holes in her brain. Nothing overly obvious, of course, but Cora was aware of her evident dislike of cigars. She decided to sound slightly responsible. "Typically I never smoke these. But nowadays it's hard to get any type of a fix, even legally. Would you excuse me a moment?"

Trailing Shida, Cora found herself back near the entrance of the cave. It was in unobstructed sight, at least. Her eyes hovered on the two boys having their 'bro moment', hungrily appraising Shida. There was only one reason she'd ever pull a desperado like this: Shida -- who still made her uncomfortable -- was her only source of flame at the moment. And a certain cigar begged her to be smoked.

Wait... He wouldn't let me have this. I stole it. Cora facepalmed, completely forgetting the most fundamental rules in civil society. It had been such a long time since her actions actually meant anything outside the walls of her Atlantian home. Whatever. He did ditch the thing. I'll play it cool.

She approached the two, a sly grin on her face that didn't seem to reach her eyes. "I just happened to stumble on a real beauty down the road, can't believe someone just left 'er in the bushes. But I don't have a light. Could you do me the honors, fiery one?"

The sheer amount of style points Wolgran earned from how he evicted the rest of the Hygrons was so great, Cora's enthusiasm got the best of her. She didn't speak, but her singular applaud echoed off the mountains in quick staccato. The moans of waterlogged Hygrons joined in shortly after.

Wolgran truly showed his resolve after he cleared a small part of the sky. "You MUST stop this. You MUST succeed. I decided, If ever you will need me, just call me with your powers and I will come flying."

Cora's gray eyes took in the sky, not remembering if she'd ever seen stars before. The little section clear of the polluting clouds seemed so pristine, so tranquil. Pure, glittering fat stars winked down at her, and she cursed her ignorance. The stars were eternal, having been twinkling away this entire time.

If anything, we'll steal the Vygorn's ship. If we can't save Kyra, there is hope in the stars. Cora pondered, her gaze fixed to the heavens until the clouds blotted out what lay beyond. 

Aerilyn looked to Cora and when she heard the girl's questions, she nearly froze up. This girl expected her to be completely proficient with her powers and her physical abilities. In a way, she gaped for a moment before regaining her composure, "Of course." She lied, but her voice was back to being stoic, so very, very few people could actually tell that this was a blatant lie. She was glad for the hood on her cloak to cover up the burning sensation at the back of her neck. "I'm proficient with martial arts and body blocking bullets." Her right hand throbbed as it seized up a little bit at the memory, but there was no emotion on her face to give away her pain. "So if there's any guns... I'm ready to take them." She'd been trained to die was what she was trying to get at. "And summoning up a gale storm should be easy enough." Not really, but... if I lose control, that means that there will be more of a distraction towards me rather than the rest of the group...

Then the girl swooped for the cigar and left, probably to ask Shida for a light. Inwardly, she groaned. She understood the desire for a fix, for she had smoked often enough whenever she ran across an abandoned cigarette box after a dinner party or gala. They never missed one or two cigarettes, anyways. She took a deep breath, imagining the burning sensation in the back of her throat and deep within her lungs, even the high that she'd get from the nicotine, but she had to put that behind her. Smoking was the last thing on her mind.

Just then she decided that it would be best to return and stick with Cora, who was the only one that she felt like she could stick close to without her getting upset with her silent presence. She stood next to the girl while she smoked, making sure that she was upwind of the affair, and glared down at Shida and Will. Somehow, she'd heard her name on the breeze, and she knew that they were talking about her. They're probably devising a plan to get back at me later. And probably hating on me. Oh, well. It's not like I think Shida's eyes are pretty or anything when they're angry--! WAIT, WHAT?! She blushed crimson and she quickly pulled her hood up to cover her face, pretending as if she simply wanted to blend in with the shadows.

Gazing up at the stars, a small smile graced her lips. They were the only things anymore that made her feel peaceful and truly happy without trying. Don't worry, kiddo, I'll make sure that your sniper gets what he deserves. She thought this for Kane, the young five-year-old that had been her charge before he'd been sniped from four blocks away, or so the police had assumed. The boy had been so lively, so... utterly ignorant to all that was wrong with the world. She had admired his ability to find beauty in everything, even the junk that was abandoned on the streets. He had been the last one who had made her laugh, because of all his funny little stories about trolls and junk goblins. The kid had treated her like a human being, unlike his parents, but then again... he hadn't known that there was a difference between a servant and a superior. I hope that one day, no one will have to learn that lesson. A tear rolled down her cheek despite herself, and she quick wiped it away, becoming porcelain once again. I'll meet you again one day, Kane, and then I'll be able to tell you so many stories that you'll never grow bored ever again.

Gilfred took a deep breath as he exited the cave, and grimaced slightly at the difference in air quality from the cave to the outside. In the cave the air was sweet, light, and overall pleasant. Out here however, among the waste a pollution, the air was thick, and the very act breathing it caused a slight burning in his lungs. He glanced down at the Respirator around his neck, tempted to pull it on to at least help himself acclimatize back to the air outside. but after a few moments of thought he decided against it, the canisters that it used were worth their weight in money in some places and he only had a few, better to save them for the worst areas of pollution. Instead he took a few deep breaths and held the air in his lungs for a few seconds before exhaling. He did this about three times until the burning began to abate, taking his grimace with it.

Turning around he was about to call back to his brother, who was taking his sweet time getting out of that cave, when he heard some of the scrap in pile next to him shift and fall. Closing his eyes he detached two slivers from shatter, exhaling he opened his eyes. Whirling around he came face to face with a fox, only this fox was shaped like a lion mixed with a greyhound, keeping the muscle density of the lion and the sleekness of the hound. It wasn't quite as big as a lion, but it was much bigger than a greyhound. But it's size, or body wasn't even the oddest thing about it, that honor belonged to the eagle talons that replaced its front paws.

Gilfred and the creature stared at eachother for a good time, until a huge smile broke out across Gilfred's face "You shouldn't sneak up on me like that Gawain. I was this close to giving you a couple of lethal piercings" Gilfred held up his right hand and the two blade shaped slivers of Shatter that he had released on impulse returned to the gauntlet, once more making it a seamless piece. Gawain broke into his own version of a grin, his eyes lighting up and his tongue rolling out the side of his mouth. Turning Gilfred chuckled as Gawain made his way down to stand next to him, that was when the sound of roaring water caught both of their attentions.

Turning the two caught the sight of the wall of water carrying the trailers out of the cave.

"You MUST stop this. You MUST succeed. I decided, If ever you will need me, just call me with your powers and I will come flying. There are many ways of communicating with me, but all ways are associated with your powers."
Now Wolgran smiled, again, and even laughed a bit.
"And make sure you don't leave me out of the big battles, specially the final fight"

Gilfred smiled as the old man spoke, something about the sheer hope he had in his voice, alongside what sounded like the want for a bit of revenge. Walking back to the others he found that Will, Shida and the ice elemental were all standing together. It had looked like Will and Shida had been talking, but now Cora looked like she was asking Shida something as she held what looked like a cigar. Smiling at the situation of how even the most random and basic of things can bring others together, Gilfred and Gawain walked past the three to help the washed out elementals to their feet. He first reached out his hand to help the Flora Elemental up, Thema he thought she said her name was. "What a way to start a long walk huh?" He said with an honest smile "I don't think we've been properly introduced, i'm Gilfred. At your service."

"You and I are more alike than you know. I lived in Atlanta too, actually broke into a greenery one night, took as much as I could. The look of surprise on my boyfriend's face back home was priceless." While speaking to Thema, Coras gaze was vacant. Hadnt she said something about losing “everything she treasured” earlier…? Any normal person would have prodded for more information, but Thema was not normal and understood it was not her place to snoop. Before their silence could evolve to a state of awkwardness, a translucent being materialized and began bobbing from Coras slim fingers. "Irys says someone's intruding. But I don't know... how," she said, translating for her crystalline friend. Dusting off any jealousy of not being able to summon her guardian yet, it was then that Shida had offered up himself as bait and practically forced Thema to align with him. Sidetracked by the hotheaded fire slinger, it was then that Phil decided to make his entrance.

After a bit of explaining from Wolgran, the new guys ended up being the groups lux Hygron replacement. Cruel. Wolgran was getting impatient with the Hygrons delayed departure and even threatened to throw them out himself if he had to. A girl just died and hes asking us to rush!? The nerve of this old man… But to be honest, Wolgran wasn’t a bad guy. He was relying on them to save the world after all. Doubt flooded Themas mind, but it was too late to turn back. I have to do this, she would repeat to herself. She gazed at the trees and bundles of flowers and fell to her knees, grasping at the blades of grass. What a Kodak moment it would have been had she not been interrupted by a gushing wave that stood almost four times her height. Only a few stragglers had been left behind, but the cave had now been emptied and not a single Hygron was left inside the haven.

Though our plant mage screamed for help, she was beginning to grow use to the imminent threat of death. First with the sinking quicksand, then with her overwhelming powers, and now the tidal wave, it was all becoming normal. There was no doubt in her mind that Wolgran had caused it, Lord knows that water Hygron couldn’t manage something half as good as that. Washing up on the outskirts of the haven, Thema coughed up some water that had entered her lungs and tried to clear her ears of any water that had been trapped inside. As she beat on the side of her head, a tall shadow had appeared before her.

"What a way to start a long walk huh?" His emerald eyes shined under the dim moonlight. As he warmly introduced himself, he extended his arm and offered to help our damsel in distress up. "I don't think we've been properly introduced, i'm Gilfred. At your service."

“I, um…” she stuttered as she reached for his grasp. Tongue tied again!? she cursed herself. Her heartbeat accelerated to unfamiliar territories and she tried to find her words. After a moment of silence, Thema was finally able to speak coherently. “Thema,” she managed to spit out as she gazed into Gilfreds green orbs. “My names Thema.”

Beau waited outside the mouth of the cave, unsure of what would happen, hoping that the others would stop being slow, he definitely didn't want to have to sleep outside natures haven tonight, he had a feeling it was baaaadd juju or something. Anyway there he sat, watching the scene with the cigars, intrigued by the interactions of his new family, they were certainly a varied bunch, though that's probably good, if everyone were the same it might get boring. It was just then that suddenly a crashing wave came bursting through the cave, flooding everybody to the outside, definitely summoned by old man wrinkles to get them going an started on their paths, or however the old man liked to put it. As he watched what happened bed a sense of calm and peace washed over the old mans eyes, mixed with something that was a lot like hope, as they all stared at the stars, Beau couldn't help but feel a new energizing feeling, he had a purpose that wasn't entirely selfish now, he wanted EVERYBODY to be able to see those stars every night. So he turned his face toward Cora, the ice elemental who had offered a different solution to his council previously, and saw that her eyes were filled with something, what exactly it was hard to tell from this angle. Beau wondered what it could be. But he but just shook his head clean of the thoughts and moved on, thinking of the mission ahead and his part in it, and paying close attention to the other conversations around him.

"Who?" Will said then turned to Aerilyn and back to Shida. "Oh, Aerilyn? You got the hots for her eh?" he asked playfully and nudged Shida a little. Shida's face reddened as he began to realize exactly the position he just put himself into. However, he had no choice other than to listen to Will. "She's like... One of them career oriented woman, but if you really want her to like you, then my advice would be to talk to her, outside of the mission. Y'know, small talk. And no snarky comments either, yeah? Try... making her laugh or something?"

Shida listened to Will, as frustrating as it was to hear that someone thought that he could be snarky, which somewhere deep in his heart he knew was the truth. He managed to open up the smallest window of understanding, just enough for that comment to go through him. Shida knew he was good at small talk, and making people laugh. But what exactly to say to a woman.. and to have like, a normal conversation, especially with her, he just could not picture it in his mind. He decided he'd not waste another moment on it, and let it be until they got back safely, there were more pressing matters at hand. Shida grabbed Wills shoulder, and squeezed it a little bit harder than a friend should and shook him, "I appreciate your help on this matter, but if you ever call me snarky again, I'll kill you." Shida grinned at him, and was about to walk off when Cora came up to him and asked him something.
"I just happened to stumble on a real beauty down the road, can't believe someone just left 'er in the bushes. But I don't have a light. Could you do me the honors, fiery one?"
Shida looked down at her hands.. and she held out a cigar "Hey.. wait a minute. That's my--" *WOOOOOOSHHH* Suddenly, Shida was waist deep in a flood of water. As he watched the ground disappear before him in pure astonishment, he saw the old mans giant blue face in the waves pass through him. Could this day get any more.. he couldnt finish his thought, a voice began to boom around them.
"You MUST stop this. You MUST succeed. I decided, If ever you will need me, just call me with your powers and I will come flying. There are many ways of communicating with me, but all ways are associated with your powers." the old man said in a ethereal voice.
Who would want to talk to him? What are you a Hygron therapist now? Shida could probably benefit from of those if it wasn't such a dangerous position for them. Shida looked at Cora standing in front of him, in an equal amount of shock. He took the cigar from her hands and lit it up at the snap of his fingers, drew on it long and hard. Blowing the smoke up, he handed it back to her. "Enjoy kid, finders keepers."

Ghost just listened to everything that occured inside... He also glanced at the others who were already outside...
So these were the guys he had to work together with... To save this godforsaken world?...
Ghost sighns as he then noticed his best friend in the shadows, Ghost smiled at him as he then dissapeared again.
His friend was everything to him, and he woudn't care if the others would die... But his friend, he would protect it with his own life!
As the gigantic waterwave left the cave Ghost stood up, so the old man finally threw them out! Was just about goddamn time...
As Ghost noticed the old man standing at the entrance of the cave, telling them that they had to save this world... And that they could call upon him when ever they wanted, Ghost smiled. The old man truelly had an remarkable heart... But somehow the old man had two faces aswell in Ghost his eyes... Most of these guys had two faces... And no one truelly dared to show both of them, except for Ghost for he can't truelly hide it that well since his powers activated...
Ghost stood up as he then leaned against the wall of the cave, glancing at each and everyone, waiting for them to make a move towards one of the two destinations, or to split up the teams so that they could attack both encampments at the same time.

Phil watched as a part of the group started fighting over a cigar, mainly the owner and the air elemental. Phil just stared and was starting to reconsider such an easy alliance. He stayed on the side lines, didn't want to piss anyone off he thought bluntly. Looking at everyone one more time, Phil wondered about what these people have been through and what they were thinking about this whole situation. To be honest, Phil was just glad he could put these powers to good use, or at least a use. Toran swooped in from the darkness and sat on Phil's shoulder, Toran whispered in Phil's ear "They look like they are having too much fun...". Phil whispered back to Toran "I'll see if I can hurry this up" and he cleared his throat. "Guys, we should really get a move on if we want to get to these encampments in time!" He shouted loudly.

Unknown

Junk and destruction everywhere, such a disgusting sight. There was only one thing more disgustin, a thriving planet. All this... matter and life and energy; it was horrible, it was hell. The only beautiful thing was emptyness. Total and complete void.

The scouting group was walking in the night in complete silence. Vygorns only did certain jobs, such as scouting, management and organisation of citys, towns, mining operations and other leader-like jobs. Some were guards at the more important Vygorn-only buildings. But all had one thing in common, they could all fight and use their powers offensively. Humans were completely controlled by these creatures of which they didn't even know the existence of.

"Lets walk about half a mile more and then turn east" said one of the dark figures. All three men, or at least they appeared as men, where in completely black clothes, with hoods covering their faces.
"There's light up ahead." One of the men stated in a very monotone voice.
They approached the light's source and noticed a group of people standing near a cave's entrance.

"Hey! What are you kids doing here?"
In the mens' hands, different kind of blade-like things appeared.
"We must ask you to come with us"

"I'm proficient with martial arts and body blocking bullets. So if there's any guns... I'm ready to take them. And summoning up a gale storm should be easy enough."

Cora noticed Aerilyn's hint of surprise at the question. But she brushed it off, confident if there was truly a problem, Aerilyn would stop her there and say something. Martial arts skills was a plus, Cora commended her for that. But the whole attitude against stopping bullets with a body -- her own skin -- was crazy. Why worry about that kind of thing when you had Ice in your team who could create barriers stronger than plexiglass? 

Aerilyn's tag-along as Cora sought after Shida did very much amuse her, though only a knowing smile graced her lips before she spoke with the Fire Elemental. He instantly recognized the cigar was his, of course. But after such a crazy few days, he did something she assumed was out of his nature. With a snap of his fingers, the tip burst into flames, then dimmed to something well-lit and smoky. 

"Enjoy kid, finders keepers."

She carefully took back the stick, eyes locked on the spiral of smoke twirling from the lit end. Her mouth watered, which was weird. A cigar wasn't food, but her taste buds treated it as such, and she could feel the core of her tension just waiting to be released -- beggin' for a toke of that smoke. Toke? Haha, there I go messing up my habits.

"You're a savior, man. Even if I don't like you." Cora said, sucking back on the cigar as though her life depended on it. The relief flooded her eyes, and the tension could be seen literally disappearing from her body. Cora relaxed, nodding to both Shida and Will with a gracious smile. "Gentlemen, I give you back your evening."

She stepped back, lips gingerly on the cigar like it was the sweetest candy. Her gaze was the softest its ever been, no hint of ice or malice in her gray eyes. She felt infinitely better, and it was evident in how she held herself. She glanced at her fellow Elementals, watching how some communed with their guardians, some talked in casual circles, some sat by themselves. Everyone was out of the cave, and Wolgran had gone off and done his old man thing, leaving them be.

"Guys, we should really get a move on if we want to get to these encampments in time!"

It was the newbie who spoke up, him and his impeccable timing. Cora had actually been about to get the show on the road. The cigar in her mouth reminded her that no, she wasn't annoyed someone beat her to it. Instead, she stuffed a hand in her hoodie pocket, held the cigar in the other while she exhaled, and turned heel away from the cave. 

"Aerilyn, Beau, we're leaving.~" Cora said in an almost sing-song voice, walking past the new Lux Hygron. She eyes up his ruffled white hair, tapping ash off her cancer stick. "Phil, was it? I think you're with us too. I'm Cora, by the way."

She kept walking at a steady pace, eagerness in her feet. It was pitch black outside, hard to distinguish heaps of rubble from the trailing path. Maybe having a Lux with them would be beneficial after all. Their destination was Riverdale, and heavens knew the way was a dark, obscure one at this time of night. Cora slowed her feet, hoping she could get a demonstration of Aerilyn's element when she caught up. 

A snap in the brush and ominous footsteps had Cora remembering how lithe her reactions could be. Abandoning the path, she dove behind a rather large rusted heap, hearing voices pass by right where she was moments before. Dark figures she could barely make out against the darkness picked their way to the light of the cave entrance, with the other Elementals none the wiser.

Their cold, foreign voices echoed off the mountain stone, intensifying the fear Cora felt building up inside. "Hey! What are you kids doing here? We must ask you to come with us."

Beau got up from his spot as he heard Cora call out a rollcall for her team, saying nothing but thinking that it was just about time, they had practically used the entire day strategizing, and it was going to be a long walk to riverdale, he got up and followed wordlessly, glad to be on the road, he stayed a ways but not too far behind Cora as she moved at a brisk pace, trying to keep his excitement and the electric current flowing through his veins getting the better of him.

"Aww crap" Beau said as he saw the men approaching, announcing their presence as they did, just as the the knives in their hands emanating and created with a nothingness that matched well the descriptions of the Vygorns and their equipment that the Hygrons had received from Wolgran, despite there only being three of them, the lightning elemental felt a deep worry in his chest. Near him, Beau suddenly sensed another presence, and with it came a thunderous bark, Tugg had appeared next to Beau, snarling at the vygorns, the furry......thing, rubbed against the lightning elemental and the two, looking behind themselves, debated the options, but then it occured to him that all the entire group had been doing all day was talking, discussing, planning, and that perhaps the time for plans had passed, so, unsheathing his beaumerang no, for real, i've got to stop calling it that, it's terrible he thought to himself as he unholstered the piece of wood.

Beau's eyes stormed, the cold yet furious rage of lightning coursed through his veins with an electric energy unlike anything else he had felt before, as his mind became overcast with dark clouds of thunderous fury, all he could think was that these 'men' wanted to destroy everything that he now held dear (which was a strange concept for his usual apathetic self), were he to let them be, they would make it so that those, what had the old man called them, Stars? would never be seen by anyone ever again, and Beau couldn't let that happen. So as Beau stretched his arm back behind his head and thrust the arm forward, letting go at the apex of the the throw, the strange-looking Zar flew through the air with unfettered freedom, arcing toward the approaching and clearly hostile Vygorns. Trailing it, and glowing around the dangerous toy, was a faint blue aura of pure electrical energy, and a sound like crashing thunder rang out across the small clearing as the Boomerang hit its mark. Standing his ground several yards in front of the Vygorns, Beau saw Cora dive into the bushes, but he didn't stop, all he could feel was anger, a welling of energy, the destructive nature of his element making more sense than ever now, but not caring enough to do anything about it, Beau could feel Tugg next to him, the companion had bared his teeth and was growling at the newly appeared Vygorns, apparently caught up in the same kind of elemental rage that he was, Beau boomed back in the direction of the cave, "GUYS, WE'VE GOT COMPANY" as he didn't move his eyes from the Vygorns as he shouted, watching them with cold, calculating eyes that felt no emotion, his feet ready to dodge a counterattack, he withdrew his Staff, trying hard not to think about the terrible pun printed under his fingers, and held it in front of himself.

Synchronize & Urukhai

"Well then. It is a pleasure to meet you Thema." Gilfred responded, his smile brightening as he helped Thema to her feet.

While Thema was being raised by the man, she was able to inspect his face. Though his face had small cracks, the moonlight coupled with his youthful demeanor masked his negligible imperfections. Thema could get lost in his eyes and would have had it not been for his guardian bucking him at the hip.

Gilfred looked down towards the Enfield with a flash of exasperation. He noticed that Gawain was motioning his head at the others that had been washed out. “Right,” he said. His tone was hushed. “Go see if they’re alright.” The Enfield nodded in response, venturing off to help the others.

Watching as Gawain walked off to go prod his nose into the other elementals that had been washed up by the tidal wave, a familiar twinge of jealousy washed over Thema. She had to reassure herself that she too would soon gain access to her guardian just like everyone else. In due time… But with the Enfield gone, the duo were left alone, only having each other for entertainment as they marched towards their destination.

Gilfred chuckled as he watched Gawain attempt to help the others. He then turned his attention back towards Thema who was being silhouetted in the moonlight. "So I suppose we should start walking as long as we have moon light." He wouldn't admit it, but small talk wasn't his strong suit.

Though she held her head low, her cheeks rouged and her heart was beating faster than when she was tossed out of Natures Haven by Wolgrans tidal wave. Thema felt coy and bashful in Gilfreds presence and she didn’t like it on bit. “So you’re the Flora Elemental right?" he asked, giving his best attempt to try and break the ice.

As she looked forward towards the trail they traversed, she prayed the moonlight would hide her blushing cheeks. Thema nodded in response to Gilfreds question. “I can control and manipulate most plants, though it’s almost impossible for me to create them.” Reaching into her utility belt, she pulled out a vial that contained a copious amount of seeds. “But I guess that’s what this is for,” she said, showing him the bottle. She assumed all she had to do was toss a bit of seed at the ground and vines or man eating venus fly traps or something would sprout at her aid. “Any cool tricks up your sleeve?” the plant mage inquired.

Gilfred looked down at the gauntlets that covered his lower arms and hands. "Other than the metal around me, and I suppose these,” he said. Feeding a little bit of power into Shatter he split it up into razor shards, each floated a inch off his arm which began to slowly rotate around his hand, shimmering in the low light like small shards of glass. Reaching out with his power, Gilfred brought a few small scraps of metal wire to hover above his left hand. Returning Shatter to its whole form he redirected the trickle of power into Unity. As his power flowed, ghostly streams rose from the polished surface. When they reached the metal, it began to twist for a small while until the scraps began to resemble a complicated wire puzzle.

Thema watched as the elemental proceeded to give her a sample of his powers. She wasn’t sure what he was doing, but it was mesmerizing nonetheless. The shards of metal danced in the air like a symphony as they reflected the moonlight from the sky above. “I probably should work on the finer points of this,” he said, chuckling at the object that now rested in his hand. “I mean it’s probably not as pretty as all the plant life, but it’s something.”

Thema couldn’t help but blush, even if he had a point. His powers were rigid and harsh. It was almost unnatural while hers were the epitome of natural. She looked up towards Gilfred, offering a small smile.

The duo walked in the silence for some time until the new recruit, Phil, suggested it was time to split off. Thema was unsure whether it was a smart idea to follow orders from the newest Hygron. It meant she would have to group with Shida, something she was really dreading. “I, um. I gotta—“ she said, pointing towards the group of Hygrons that walked ahead of them. It was then that she was interrupted by a barking voice from someone unfamiliar.

"Hey! What are you kids doing here?" questioned one of the men. They wore all black and had their face hidden within hoods. "We must ask you to come with us."

Aerilyn nodded to Core, Beau, and Phil as they decided that it would be the best to start making their way to Riverdale. With a lighter feeling in her heart, Aerilyn started down the path with the others, making sure that she was spaced a little ways away from the group so that they could spread easily without being out of each other's sights. So far, everything seemed like it was going to turn out alright--at least the journey there. But that lovely thought was quickly ripped and thrown into the air like party confetti when a scouting party had spotted the group of Hygrons. Well, this is going to be just peachy, like a short vacation... She thought miserably as she dove the opposite way of Cora. It would be best if they noticed only Beau, who thought that it would be best to take them on headfirst.

If this scouting party doesn't return within their regular time limit, the Vygorns are going to note that and assume that there's more of a threat than the monstrosities of the wild... They're going to assume that there would be at least one survivor to make it back and alert headquarters that there was an attack. They may even have locators on them now, which would lead them to this direct spot... Aerilyn thought within the blink of an eye. That's when it hit her... they would have to make it seem as if these scouts had made it back all in one piece. Luckily for them, there were five scouts. If there's four of us, then that would make for the perfect one to do all of the talking if we can convince him, with or without force, to take us to their headquarters... then we could proceed with the plan sooner rather than later... She knew that this would be the best plan if they didn't want the Haven to be located so soon. Somehow, I'm going to have to tell this to Cora and the others...

Just then, she leaped from her hiding place and attacked the other two that Beau had not gotten to yet, her form lithe and swift as a shadow. Then she blocked a kick from Beau to the last of the Vygorn scouts and put the man in a headlock that would choke him if he struggled more than he was. "We can use these guys. They are the key to getting to their base of operations." She quickly shouted at them. "We just need to make sure that handsome here understands how painful it would be to defy us." She tightened her grip on the man's throat as she grinned, almost looking as if she were enjoying seeing his struggle. "Isn't that right, bud? You may just end up like your friends there, only I'll hang you with your own intestines."

After being kicked out, Will hanged with the rest of the group. Shida lost his cigars twice as Cora showed it off when she caught. He couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of the young girl being such an upstart. It was cool in a way, but this was not the task at hand. Suddenly, unexpected visitora arrived at the cave.

"Hey! What are you kids doing here?" Three voices questioned from behind, Will and the rest of the group turned to see three men in dark clothes and hoods, there faces were hard to make out. But then baldes appeared from their hands, rusty and pungent like garbage on the street. Everything else was a flash, two down already and Aerilyn had one in a headlock. Will formed a ball of water in one hand and geared up to throw it at the man. "Do as she says, or you'll have me to deal with as well!" He threatened as his eyes went a dim blue once again and the water still swirled in his hand.

Gilfreds expression hardened and his hand dropped to Clarent's hilt when the thunderbolt of a boomerang saild overhead. Almost without thinking Gilfred stepped in front of Thema, and closed his eyes tightly, as the flash and crack of thunder rang out. As the ringing in his ears abated, he opened his eyes and stepped forward, drawing his sword as he did so, the metal making a hissing rasp as it exited the scabbard. Gawain hurried up to Gilfred's side as he stopped next to his brother, he wasn't quite sure what the others wanted to do with what appeared to be scouts as of yet, but he was prepared to kill them if necessary. "I would listen to the both of them" he said in a low voice "You might have bitten a little more off than you can chew."