[i]"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."[/i]

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. 

[i]"Enjoy kid, finders keepers." [/i]

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. [i]Toke? Haha, there I go messing up my habits.[/i]

[b]"You're a savior, man. Even if I don't like you." [/b]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. [b]"Gentlemen, I give you back your evening."[/b]

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.

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

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. 

[b]"Aerilyn, Beau, we're leaving.~"[/b] 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. [b]"Phil, was it? I think you're with us too. I'm Cora, by the way."[/b]

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. [i]"Hey! What are you kids doing here? We must ask you to come with us."[/i]