Why does homework even EXIST? I've had so much lately I've been plotting the storyline in bed.
And all you people who are asking about Hesperia and Karst and Agatio and all that good stuff, just hang on. *sagely voice* All will be revealed. ^_^
You all know the disclaimer.
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It was cold in the mountains.
The Adepts felt small as they plodded along through the wind and snow, mere specks in the huge mountain range. Weak attempts at converation were drowned out by the wind, and when there wasn't any, their words were lost in the muffled silence that blanketed everything.
Mia battled the wind alongside her friends. As the primary healer, she still found time to bustle between the others, adjusting cloaks and checking for any signs of sickness. The cold was becoming unbearable. Garet was clearly pained with every step, as Mars has a natural aversion to snow and water anyway. Isaac was dragging his feet as he walked, and he had lost all leaderly determination as he shuffled through the snow. The two youngest lagged behind, leaning on each other for support.
Mia looked over her shoulder at the two Jupiter Adepts. Normally, she would be concerned for Ivan in this sort of weather, as he was smallest and youngest, therefore more vulnerable to the cold. But this time when she looked back, she saw Videll's deep violet cloak wrapped around Ivan's shoulders. Smiling, she moved back toward Garet. She took care of the party, but Videll would take care of Ivan.
Nearly an hour later, Mia's legs collapsed out from under her, and she sank to the carpet of snow under her feet. Her overtired muscles refused to carry her any farther.
The other Adepts looked at each other uncertainly. Ivan was in a similar position, leaning heavily on Videll in an effort to stay standing. They still hadn't found a place to stay the night.
All eyes turned to Garet first, as he was strongest physically. Hiding his disappointment, he lifted Mia carefully off the ground.
"Can you carry her for a while, Garet?" Isaac asked tiredly. Garet nodded bravely, trying not to show his exhaustion. But Ivan was still a problem. Videll couldn't support him for long. "Are you sure you can't walk?" Isaac asked tenatively. Ivan shakily stood up, but he only took one step before he fell - back into Videll's waiting arms.
She had known he couldn't walk - hadn't it been obvious? Sighing inwardly, she scolded herself. Isaac didn't have a mental link with Ivan - he couldn't have known for sure.
The others watched in amazement as Videll, tired as she was, gently swept Ivan up into her arms. "Are you sure-" Isaac finally stuttered, "I mean, you're sure you can carry him?"
Garet didn't wait for her answer. "I didn't think you could do that! Not after hours of hiking... What did you do to get you that strong?"
At this, Videll turned away. Only Ivan saw the tears in her eyes.
Garet and Videll couldn't do much under the weight of their burdens, so Isaac navigated. It was hard work without Garet's Psyenergy to clear the way through the snow and ice, but finally they reached a small cave in the side of a cliff.
Wearily, the Adepts filed inside. Mia and Ivan were lowered gently to the ground near the back. It was still extremely cold, even out of the wind, until Isaac found some twigs and branches that had been blown into the cave by the harsh winds.
The group moved toward the back of the cave as Isaac gathered the debris together into a small pile. Garet held his hands out in front of him, and closed his eyes. A small tounge of flame flared between his palms, and shot into the wood. Soon the Adepts were huddled around a crackling fire, warming their frozen hands.
The group was silent for a while, the only sound being the flames licking at the wood of the fire and, occasionally, someone moving closer to the warmth of the fire and their neighbors. Finally, Garet's curiosity got the better of him.
"So... what did you do - you know..." for once, Garet was at a loss for words.
"Garet..." Mia began, knowing this was a sensitive topic. Videll cut her off.
"No, it's all right... you deserve to know." Looking around the circle at the eager faces of her friends, she took a deep breath. Then she began her story.
"I was born in Suhalla. It was just me, my mother, and my father, no siblings. My mother - ran away when I was four. And my father..." Here she stopped, resting her forehead on her knees. The others looked hopefully to Ivan, sitting next to her, but he kept silent. Just because he could see Videll's secrets didn't mean he would give them away.
Videll brought her head up again, looking deep into the fire. "My father beat me," she continued in a quiet voice. "He made me cook, clean, and do all the chores." She looked at Garet. "He made me carry firewood, lumber, heavy bags and boxes. Not just when he needed things moved, but just for fun. I would have to slave away for hours at a time, even through the night." Her fist clenched under her cape. "And if I couldn't do it, he beat me.
"But he made a mistake, because that got me strong," she continued, her voice steady now. "When I was ten, I ran away. I discovered my Psyenergy in the wild, when I had to fight off monsters on my own. Now that I had that, I could go anywhere I wanted. But because I was afraid my father would come after me, I headed to Tolbi. When I first arrived, the Collosso tournament was going on. I climbed a wall of the stadium and watched the battles. I was amazed at all the powerful warriors, and wanted to be just like that, so no one could hurt me ever again.
"After the tournament was over, one of the soldiers who had helped to run it found me outside the stadium. He brought me into the palace, and gave me food and a bed for the night. He was really surprised when I asked if I could use the palace's equipment to train, but he agreed to it. I quickly learned that no one else could see my power, so I trained it even more than I trained myself physically.
"Then a lady who could see it came, one with violet hair and eyes." The others glanced at Ivan, who was now staring into the fire himself. Master Hama? Videll had met her too?
"She told me that my power was called Psyenergy, and that I was a Jupiter Adept of the wind. She knew I could already read minds, and said that I would learn many other things, like how to see the future, and reveal hidden objects." She gently squeezed Ivan's hand as she talked, partly for her own comfort, partly for his. She knew how he felt about Master Hama.
"After she left, I tried to use these powers she had talked about. By the time I was eleven, I could use Reveal. I would roam around the palace where I stayed, and find all sorts of things hidden in the boxes and towers. At thirteen, I could see the future.
"Once, down at the docks, I was sitting by the edge of the Karagol, letting my mind wander. Then the wind brought me a vision from across the sea. I saw a boy my age sitting by the opposite shore, in Kalay docks. My Psyenergy showed me that he had the same powers I did." Again her voice grew softer. "I could tell he was lonely like me."
At first the others didn't make any connections, but as they looked at Ivan across the fire, looking so depressed, they realized who that lonely boy was.
"My visions started following him on his travels. I learned his name, and the names of the two boys he met in Vault. I watched the battle with the thieves. Every time they found a new adventure, I saw it all.
"I saw a girl join them. I soon learned her name as well, and watched the battle with Saturos on Mercury lighthouse. I was determined that I could go out and help with this mess somehow. A year ago, on my fourteenth birthday, I left Tolbi."
Videll let out her breath, looking up at the astonished faces of her friends. "You know the rest."
There was a long, awkward silence. Finally Isaac spoke. "I guess none of us have really had... pleasant childhoods."
More silence. Neither Videll nor Ivan seemed in the mood to talk any more. Mia, too, looked troubled, and the others realized that Mia had never told them exactly what had happened in her past, what sad fate her parents had met.
The howling of the wind outside the cave entrance brought everyone out of their thoughts. In wordless agreement, the Adepts began to pull blankets from their packs, and assembled in the back of the cave, forming their warm cluster once more. One by one, they drifted into sleep.
Videll lay awake, wide awake. She had never talked with anyone about her past before, and it left her restless and uneasy. About to shift into a more comfortable position, she stopped abruptly as Ivan, lying next to her, slowly rose from his blankets. As quiet as the snow falling outside their shelter, he padded to the mouth of the cave and sat, his back to her.
As quiet as he had been, she rose as well. She crept through her sleeping friends and over to where he sat gazing out at the snow.
Ivan felt Videll's presence long before she sat down next to him. He didn't need to speak - she had felt the pain too, she understood.
Finally, someone who loved him. Thinking about the family he never had, he felt the tears he had held for so long begin to spill over.
She held him close, and let him cry.
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Um... oh, yeah, review!