Disclaimer: I dun own CCS wish I did, but for now I just own my prattlings.

A LITTLE TOWN

Aariah had been in refuge in this little town for a long time. Her two years here, she has spent her time wisely. Living on her own was one of the requirements of her strong magical power. Closeness would reveal it eventually. She had defeated her strongest opponent before she moved here, but she knew that she would have let him be, had he not pursued her and tried to steal her magic. Here, in her little town, she became well know as the kindest stranger to move in. She made her money by mending clothes, keeping books, and every once in a while, taking care of the local children.

"Little one! You mustn't climb on the shelves! Your not as little as you once were!" Aariah plucked a small young eight-year-old boy off from her bookcase. He had raven hair, a pale complexion and a unique face of both eastern and western design.

The little boy smiled, "Then why are you still calling me little one?" his eyes were shut in happiness, hiding their depths.

"Well, what would you rather I call you?" She was playing with him and only acted frazzled.

"Sir of the Magic!" he cheered and plucked one of her books from the shelf before running off.

"Hey! I thought I told you not --"

"I'm so magical I can make this book disappear!" he called as she ran after him. The book wasn't really that important, but she knew it would make him happy if he got to pull her strings slightly. It was actually one of his training books. It was true that he was an apprentice for magic and his master allowed her to keep the books for him if the little one ever wanted to practice or study. The boy pranced off to the stream in the woods behind her house. "Watch! Watch!" he then proceeded to toss the book into the center of the stream.

"Oh, really!" She puffed. He had done this before and had found out that the book could not be ruined by water alone. The ink was waterproof and the pages had been made with a whale oil added to it. Not one part of it could be ruined. She did know however, that it was her job to retrieve it. She began to wade into the water quietly while holding her blue dress above it.

"See! I bet it's gone this time!" He skipped onto a large rock next to her in the water. "Quick! Look!" he gave her a little shove.

"Oh!" Aariah flailed as went falling to the water, her only escape was that she grabbed the little one on the way down, pulling him under as well. When they surfaced, they were both in giggles.

"Well, did you see it?" he gasped.

"No! Not a sign of it!" She smiled. "Good job!" They laughed some more. "But, we must be going now," she composed herself and stood.

"Why? I like the water, it's fun, and it just helped me make my book vanish!" he was teasing of course, he knew that he had to go, but still would fake a try anyway.

"Well then I guess you'll have to say your "thank-you"s to the river tomorrow then, we must be going," as she walked out of the water, the skirt of her dress, a sopping mess, was bundled under one arm so that it wouldn't trip her on the way back.

"Alright," he agreed and followed her back to her home.

"Where have you been!?" a startled voice acknowledged them when they had entered the back door.

Aariah looked up and saw the little one's master sitting inside her house. "Oh! I am so very sorry, the little master gave me the slip, it appears. A slip on wet rocks."

The little boy giggled.

"Miss, you must stop allowing him to goof off like this, he has to learn some discipline in order for his teachings to mean something!" he sighed.

"Yes sir, I know that. But he must also have his moments in nature in order to be friendly with it when he uses its tools?"

"Yes of course but --" he cut himself off, "How did you know that?" he looked at her quizzically.

"Oh! Well, you told him that once when you two left one evening, I just remembered and thought it an idea to help out," she told him. It was a lie of course, she knew it from her own lessons from long ago in Potoremin, but she wasn't about to let any one else know that especially the little one's master. For that man, being as renowned in town for his magic was really equal to a first year apprentice from where she had studied.

"Alright, I suppose I did. You have such great memory of things, it's a pity I can't teach you to teach him." The master took his apprentice's hand and headed for her front door. "Good day miss."

"Tomorrow again, right?" The boy asked.

"Yes," She giggled, "Tomorrow is right." She waved as they left her house.

After they had gone from sight of the house, Aariah went to her bedroom. "I wish I could teach him. It would be much more useful for him than that man's teaching." She sighed and pulled open her bottom drawer and reached underneath it to open the bottom compartment to it. Out slid a tiny dagger, no bigger than her thumb, attached to a dainty chain. "I has been a while hasn't it?" She swore she could hear the whispers of the elementals within her. Air, Water, and Fire were all hers. Both of the elemental entities of each element had become part of her after her fight with the Traveler, and now they resided within her, for her to tap into when she needed them. "Two years" she mumbled to herself. "Two years since I needed to use you" She held up the necklace till the dagger hung at eye level. Its dulled surface reflected the mild glow of the candlelight. "Perhaps I will have a chance with you yet."