"He's a cute anti-social asshole, though." Cora lifted her head, watching as Toran flew out the cave in a huff. The dragon on the floor, Salamander, barely reacted to the whole situation. Yahtzee further demonstrated this lack of damns given when he rolled the beast over. Cora tried too, curiously poking the dragon's side. He squirmed, but was quickly still again.
Cora ruffled her messy chocolate hair, seeing the distress in their newcomer's eyes. Behind her placid face she winced. He looked as though someone slapped him in the face with a bag of bricks. Which he might as well have been. She remembered the night Wolgran explained it to them for the first time, and her whole world had been ripped to pieces. But she had come to terms with it; adaptability was survival in this age. She had come to accept the fact that Kyra had given her an icy gift, and a guaranteed power-struggle against 'nothing' in an effort to save their solar system from goddamn aliens.
So why can't I accept they're dead? Why does it hurt so? Cora glanced down, already answering her own question. The other elementals, her friends. Dead. She felt responsible. Her actions were directly tied to their disappearance. That's why the cuffs had remained around her wrists after all. But, looking at them now, maybe two was over-doing it. One cuff would do fine. Plenty reminder there.
Cora flash froze the right cuff, breaking pieces off and tossing them into the fire pit. It was the poor timing of Yahtzee that he sat down, saying with a grin: "You guys are freaks."
Instantly she saw a vivid image of her lover in her head, the horrified look etched in his face, the curl of his lip as he withdrew in disgust. His eyes couldn't even look at her, he stared off to the side. The rejection hurt beyond words. It did then, it did now.
"...You don't know what you say." Cora said, crestfallen. Her voice wavered, speaking with raw emotion. "There is more pain here than you can begin to fathom, my friend.
"Let me tell you first about this place. You have the right to be fascinated so. It was once a garden of life, housing a spirit that watched o'er its eternal fires. We knew him as Wolgran, an enigmatic old soul who fed us, sat us around this very fire pit, and told us the truth.
"Now, the truth I'll get into. First you should know about where your powers come from. The pull you feel toward this place, this sense of oneness felt here, that is from Kyra. She goes by many names, Earth, Gaia, Mother Nature. She created these safe havens as the last reserves of nature, hidden away so that only the worthy may tread in its lush embrace. The worthy would be those not only gifted, but also listened to the summonings of Kyra -- that's us. The Guardians of Nature. It's not something you choose, it's who you are. It's why you're here, Yahtzee.
"Does that mean there are rouge Elementals? Perhaps, but not likely. They are not the enemy Kyra needs saving from. Look at the world around you, the trash that piles the wasteland like skyscrapers. She's dying. Our world is under attack, it's losing, and the enemy has been here, slowly killing us since the beginning of humanity.
"They are from another world where nothing is beautiful. The aliens -- also known as Vygorn -- are ruthless on their assault of life. They leave black holes in their wake, and they devour planets as they go. They've been working with us for a very long time, and are about to pull the plug. Vrail, their leader, plans to turn our sun into a black hole so powerful it would consume our entire solar system.
"The Elementals, due to desperate measures, went toe-to-toe with those alien bastards earlier today. We entered the fight with almost a complete set of elements. And out of the group of Shida, Thema, Gilfred, Aerilyn, Beau, Phil, Will, and myself... What you see is all that remains. It pains me greatly... Wearing this cuff on my left wrist reminds me of their... Goddamn sacrifice.
"Yahtzee, I won't lie to you. Facing us is a shit storm. I thought we were in the storm but I realize this is only the beginning. It's gonna be intense, it's going to be hard, but," Cora sat up straight, gazing dead straight into Yahtzee's soul. She was incredibly serious in the severity of their situation. "We need your help, unlike anyone has ever needed someone in the history of the planet. We need it."
She narrowed her eyes, taking on a very no-bullshit demeanor. "But I need to know you're not sitting on the fence with this. I need to know we can count on you, I need to know we have your commitment. If you're not interested, all you have to do is get up and leave. No pressure.
"If it takes you longer than five minutes to make up your mind, this isn't for you. But I have a feeling you've already made up your mind, somewhere in the back of your head you know this is the right path. We..." Cora glanced at Phil and Will, feeling very unified with them in their little group. A glowing smile crossed her face. "Would be grateful to have you with us."