Chapter 2 – Storm Takes a Step

Storm lay wide-awake in the plushy folds of her sleeping bag. Sleep was the last thing on her mind.

The rest of the evening had seemed to fly by. It wasn't uneventful though; Papa Smurf and Smurfwillow gave a speech after the feast to welcome Smurfette home, to thank everyone who had aided in the effort against Gargamel, and to finally bring forward the very serious matter that was on everyone's minds: where were the Smurfs of Smurfy Grove going to live now? After all, no matter how much more defenses the girls put up and no matter how tougher they trained themselves to be, nothing could ignore the fact that the Grove was no longer safe. Gargamel knew its location and could easily return there anytime should he come sticking his big nose around again. It was then when Storm finally saw the happiness floating in the atmosphere drop harder than one of her discarded arrows. It outright broke her inside to see so many of her friends looking so miserable. Admittedly, it gave her a little reassurance knowing that she wasn't the only one feeling depressed over their losses, but it still did little to ease such tension.

There was scattered talk about moving the girls into Smurf Village or constructing a new village that would neighbour this one. Neither of the leaders had finalized a decision and thought it best if everyone had a good night's sleep before working out the details tomorrow. Now the only thing left to figure out was where the girls would stay tonight.

At first, Smurfette had offered up a giant sleepover at her place – an idea that Blossom fell in love with immediately – but that of course couldn't happen, as Brainy reminded her that she simply could not house a hundred Smurfs. In the end, the boys donated all their tents and camping equipment for the girls to use and a large campsite was set up in the village square after the feast tables had been removed. None of them minded; sleeping in trees or makeshift shelters of twigs and leaves were a part of their survival training. Blossom, Lily, and Storm managed to share a reasonably comfy tent with Spitfire nestled outside.

Blossom and Lily fell asleep fairly quickly, but not Storm. Though her body felt tired, her mind was not. Her role as a defense scout often required her to be away for many long hours on surveillance rounds and night patrols, so she was used to limited sleep. But maybe it was because her mind was too busy trying to process too many things at once.

One of these was her discussion with Lily after the latter had led her away from the banquet to the wash trough around the corner…

Earlier that evening:

Lily squeezed out the damp towel before applying it gingerly to Storm's face. Storm simply sat on the nearby stone wall and let her work.

Every member of Smurfy Grove possessed the same basic survival skills as per the training they all received from Smurfwillow in their youth, but Smurfs who proved to be gifted in certain fields were given more specialized training to fulfill bigger roles. While Storm had been raised to serve as defense thanks to her daring personality and strong taste for adventure, Lily's calm and caring nature had earned her a spot in the Grove's infirmary to train as a medic. Today, whenever any of the girls was injured or simply got into a scrape, Lily was usually one of the first on call to tend to the matter at hand. Even when that matter was a Smurfberry pie to the face.

"Are you sure you're okay, Storm?" Lily asked cautiously.

"Sure. Why wouldn't I be?" she asked back.

"Because every Smurf back there was expecting you to be smurfing an absolute fit of rage back there," Lily said without any hesitation. "Remember what happened literally a few minutes before that? You were ready to beat the pulp out of that nosey Smurf!"

Storm blushed sheepishly. It was true. She had been ready to beat up that obnoxious Smurf with the binoculars. But somehow, she hadn't felt the same intention for Clumsy.

"So how come you're not the least bit bothered when you were smurfed with a pie to the face?" Lily pressed on, rinsing off the now-soiled towel.

Storm lowered her eyes as she thought back to the moments before she had been pelted with the creamy projectile, trying to remember exactly what had somehow quelled her usual anger that should have erupted but did not. "I don't know, Lily…maybe what you said before really spoke to me this time," she finally muttered. "And he's not named Clumsy for nothing. He couldn't help it."

Lily put down the towel and tilted her head. "So you knew it was Clumsy before he tripped?"

"Sort of. I saw him coming while we were talking."

There was silence as Lily studied her friend closely. "Huh. Well…if you say so."

The great thing about Lily was that she never asked too many questions. Storm put a small grateful smile.

Not much was said after that, but Storm had a feeling that there was slightly more behind that response as she let Lily remove her hat and begin cleaning off her four-leafed clover.

Present:

After the pie fiasco, Storm didn't see Clumsy again. Her friends had been left in utter disbelief that the mighty Smurfstorm, the fiercest, toughest, most volatile girl of the entire tribe, had not been the least bit angry at Clumsy for literally goofing up in her face. Honestly, even she wasn't quite sure why she hadn't blown up in a fury. Was it really because Lily's words had made an impact so quickly on her and she was truly going to try to be nice to these boys? Or was it because the boy to have dropped the pie had been Clumsy, the Smurf who had genuinely impressed her with his flying skills during their recon mission?

Her mind began replaying even earlier events. Flying a dragonfly was no smurf through the park. It took lots of practice and she was one of the few to have mastered the skill. Heck, she and Spitfire trained every Friday to stay in top shape. But Clumsy had proven himself to have quite a knack with flying even when placed on the spot coupled with his lack of initial confidence to do so. His idea to light one of her arrows on fire straight from Spitfire's breath was so pure genius that she couldn't believe that she had never thought of that herself. And Lily was right: Storm had indeed let Clumsy pilot them all the way back to Smurfy Grove while she rode as passenger the whole time.

Storm sniffed. For some darn reason, she couldn't get that klutzy boy out of her head. With a frustrated sigh, she turned to her side and tried to get comfortable, desperately hoping this new position would magically bring sleep to her.

A Smurf with broad shoulders, long blue hair tied in a tight braid, and a four-leafed clover pinned to her hat began to materialize in the recesses of Storm's mind. She stood tall and powerful before Storm's eyes, bearing many ancient scars on her face and forearms, and that sharp confident gleam in her steely eyes that flashed nothing but the total superiority of a warrior. This Smurf didn't have to say a thing to declare loudly to the world that she was in charge and nothing would ever take her down…

Storm tossed to her other side, squeezing her eyes tight to try and ward off the fleeting picture, wanting slumber to take over in a quick instant so that she could be spared from her jumbled thoughts and haunting memories. But instead, more problems seemed to come barreling in. There was the return of the lost Grove and the miserable feelings that went with it. Then there was the fact that she and her best friends had almost died today in the hands of an evil wizard whom she had greatly underestimated. And it was all because she, Smurfstorm, had failed to protect her tribe.

Pangs of guilt began to fill her, finally prompting Storm to sit upright in her borrowed sleeping bag. With sleep clearly not going to happen, she pushed the padding off her torso, deciding that what she really needed now was not rest, but fresh air. Slipping her hat over her head, she quietly picked up her bow and quiver of arrows (never ever leave without them), and sneaked out of the tent. Blossom and Lily didn't even stir.

Now outside, Storm felt a little better as she inhaled the cool night air to clear her head. It was dark now, yet the moon shone brightly, casting shadows from mushroom buildings and towering trees over the ground. Storm preferred night over day; it was far easier to run stealth missions when cloaked by darkness. Gazing up, she was met with a partly cloudy sky, but through rifts in the fluff, she could glimpse tiny bright stars watching over her. Though she would never say it out loud, she found the sight of stars very soothing. Just another reason to prefer the dark.

All around her, she could see many tents of different shapes and colours pitched along the wide dirt courtyard that made up the village centre. A sigh of relief escaped her at the acknowledgment that her whole tribe was safe and smurf. That was what every single moment of her life depended on. Right now, they were all tucked in for the night. Her only company now was the fireflies and crickets.

Instinctively, Storm clutched the strap of her quiver filled with arrows. Never did a day pass when she went anywhere without her trusty grass-woven container of weapons. You never knew when there was something to shoot at.

In fact, there were some idle leaves dangling from a low hanging branch of the tree nearby. Storm couldn't resist extracting an arrow from her back and loading her bow; easy targets like these were just too tempting. With skillful aim, she released. One…two…three. And just like that, all three leaves were knocked down. Storm smiled smugly as she retrieved her arrows. She could hit anything she wanted.

Except that bird…Storm frowned as the disturbing reminder of her many failed attempts to shoot the pesky vulture out of the sky until Clumsy had given her a hand came rushing back. She shook her head in disgrace.

Walking lightly on her feet in the way she had been taught to navigate undetected, she approached her fiery-orange dragonfly Spitfire, fast asleep with wisps of smoke floating out of his nostrils. He was harnessed to a hitching post that Handy had thrown together. Storm only intended to check up on him, but the gentle beast awoke when she got close, prompting him to wag his spiny tail and give his master's face an affectionate lick, eliciting a quiet chuckle from the girl.

"Hey, buddy. You holding up?" she asked, scratching his slender neck in the certain spot where he liked. Storm loved her faithful dragonfly dearly. The other girls on her defense team also rode dragonflies, but none of them had managed to build up a bond like the one she shared with Spitfire.

So closely connected they were, Storm could tell what the dragonfly was thinking. "I know, I know. It's weird not being home," she whispered. "We might be shacked up here for a little while. At least it's not raining."

The dragonfly gave a low rumble accompanied by a single flutter of his powerful wings. Storm understood that too. "Yeah, I know it's Friday. I'm sorry we missed training today," she said apologetically. "We'll do some extra flying tomorrow."

She received a gentle puff of smoke to the face. "Right now?" she asked, coughing a bit. "Well, I guess we could do some laps. I can't sleep anyways. We'd have to be quiet though…don't think these boys are used to dragonflies."

Spitfire nudged her and softly moaned again. Then, using his tail, he pushed Storm's hat lower down so it partially concealed her eyes. These actions made Storm look at him with an incredulous frown. "Huh? You want…Clumsy?"

The mention of the name made Spitfire perk up and hop on his front feet eagerly. But Storm shook her head as she pushed her hat back up. "No, Spitfire, it's the middle of the night. He's probably smurfed off to bed by now."

With a click of his beak, Spitfire jabbed his tail forward. Storm turned around to where he was pointing…way down the dirt road at the cluster of mushroom houses was Clumsy standing in front of what she assumed was his house. It looked like he was fiddling with a mailbox.

It was like a giant acorn had fallen out of a tree to land right on her head. "You gotta be smurfing me," she facepalmed, feeling like the whole world was out to mess with her.

And yet, something deep inside her wanted to go see that clumsy boy just as much as Spitfire did. Probably to confront that pie incident, yeah that was it. Just to make sure he wasn't still bashing himself about the whole ordeal. Storm adjusted the strap of her quiver and made sure all her arrows were still with her.

"C'mon," she said, untethering the harness around Spitfire's neck and taking hold of one of his antenna reins. "And be quiet…don't want anyone seeing us."

Clumsy Smurf had a firefly lantern sitting by his feet as he used a large mallet to get his mailbox back into its spot, or at least tried to as he swung the tool and missed each time. He wasn't expecting to do a good job at this.

He also wasn't expecting company at this late hour.

"Hey."

"WAAAHH!" Clumsy yelped, doing something between a jump in the air and a running start as if neither of his feet had agreed on where to send him. It ultimately brought him crashing down to the ground, topped by his mailbox landing smack on his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He wound up staring up at the sky in a groaning daze with the wooden post lying across him, stars circulating his head like a weird solar system.

Then a face loomed over him, an upside-down face with a raised eyebrow illuminated by the lantern.

"I see you still have two left feet," the face sneered.

Clumsy froze when he realized that not only was this one of the girls, but the last girl he wanted to see right now. "Ms. Smurfstorm!" he gasped, scrambling hastily to his feet. "G-Good evening! I-I-I mean…I'm sorry! The pie earlier…oh, I didn't mean to throw it at your face! You startled me and I lost my balance, and…oh smurf, I hope I didn't humiliate you in front of all your–"

His babbling was silenced when Storm clamped her fingers firmly over his lips. Anyone within a hundred smurfsteps was bound to hear him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy there, Lefty," she said calmly. "Don't blow your smurf up for nothin'. I'm not mad at you."

Clumsy stopped rambling and stared at her with eyes huge and round beneath the brim of his cap. "Yur nawht?" he asked, his voice obscured from his pinched lips.

Storm released him. "No," she said with a smirk that she hoped could pass off as friendly. "I was surprised, sure. Maybe a little mad at first. But being clumsy is your thing, right? Can't fault ya for that."

A small voice in the back of her head silently wondered what Clumsy had meant when he said that she had startled him.

The male Smurf blinked in surprise. "Well gee, I…I don't know what to say except…thank you, Ms. Smurfstorm." He then bowed graciously, which surprised Storm. She wondered if this was something the boys did regularly with Smurfette. Whatever it was, she didn't need it.

"Hey, none of this bowing and Ms. Smurfstorm crud, alright? Makes me sound like I'm a celebrity or something. Smurfstorm is just fine."

Clumsy got back up. "Okay…Smurfstorm," he smiled gratefully. "Still, I'm mighty sorry about that pie. I'll try to watch my step…or at least more than I normally have to."

He was answered by a dismissing wave of her hand. "Forget it. Everything's cool now."

Then she turned that hand into a fist. "Just don't let it happen again, or I'll turn your head into a mushroom," she warned in a dark tone.

Clumsy chuckled nervously. "Can do," he said, his fingers fumbling with themselves. "Oh, hello there, Spitfire!"

Spitfire eagerly nuzzled the boy, making him giggle. "I'm happy to see you too!"

Seeing this made Storm crack a tiny smile. "What are you doing goofing around in the middle of the night?" she asked. "Unless that's what boys do."

Clumsy pushed his cap up away from his eyes, something that Storm once again took close note of. "Well, funny story," he said, bending down to pick up his mallet. "Seems I stumbled right into the ol' mailbox again on my way inside and knocked it over. It happens at least twice a week. Normally, I'd get Handy Smurf to fix it for me, but seeing as how late it is and that Postman Smurf won't give me any mail if this mailbox isn't standing where it should be, I thought it best if it were fixed as smurf as possible. I'm not very handy with the tools myself as luck would have it…rather clumsy with them you might say."

He slouched unhappily. "Okay, maybe it's not that funny after all."

Storm wasn't sure why she found Clumsy's honest and humble admittance to his own clumsiness genuinely funny, but she did. Holding back her urge to laugh, she picked up the mailbox and took the mallet from his hand. "Step aside, you doofus," she ordered.

He did so and watched as she shoved the wooden post into the grass with a single thrust, followed by a few sharp and precise swings of the mallet. And just like that, his mailbox was standing as good as new, ready for mail collection with its door hanging open. It matched Clumsy's equally open mouth.

"Golly," he gaped in wonder. "Thanks!"

Storm shrugged, twirling the mallet easily in her fingers. "Meh, don't mention it."

Clumsy beamed at her, but then dropped it almost instantly. "What are you doing up this late?" he asked. "Did you need something? An extra pillow perhaps? I may have some spares you can borrow."

"Nah, I'm good," Storm assured him, permitting a slight smile for his kindness. "I just didn't really feel like sleeping."

"Oh…why not?" Clumsy asked, sounding concerned. "Is something wrong?"

Storm paused, wondering if she wanted to tell this boy whom she had only met yesterday about the things on her mind. Opening up was not something she could do easily anymore.

She wasn't sure how it came to her, but glancing over at Spitfire, she suddenly smurfed up a better idea. One that she felt would make Blossom and Lily very pleased.

"Nothing's wrong. I just remembered that Spitfire and I usually go out for a little extra flying on Fridays," she convincingly threw together. "So I was just going to take him for a spin."

An unusual hint of shyness mixed with her natural courage as Storm looked to Clumsy in the eye. "And I was wondering…if you maybe want to smurf along with us?"

Clumsy gazed at her with surprised confusion, trying to think if he had heard her correctly. But his puzzlement was replaced with a wide smile. "Sure, I'll tag along! It does look like a fine night for flying."

A/N: I said I would discuss Smurfstorm here. I love her. What she represents in Lost Village is handled very well…at least for the first half.

It's made very clear that she distrusts the newcomers to her territory. She remains suspicious of their actions and doesn't accuse them until she picks up evidence to back her up. From the start, we are told right away that she does not like Smurfette and is pushed to dislike her even more when they ready into battle-mode before Gargamel's attack. Unfortunately, that element completely ends there. There's no moment in the climax where Storm pulls through and comes to Smurfette's aid or has a change of heart that earns her any sort of redemption. She's not an antagonist, but is missing that bigger piece in the end where she redeems herself, paying off all the build-up of her animosity towards the heroes. It could have been as simple as her walking up to Smurfette and apologizing for her hostility before welcoming her back. They kinda did this with her confessional at the end, but those interviews were such a dumb element to begin with, and were in no way adequate enough to redeem her. A scene dedicated completely to Storm and Smurfette's direct interaction would have achieved it. As such, Storm's arc does not feel complete, leaving viewers like me disappointed.

Let's talk about Storm's character because it's a great one. Her official movie bio states that she's a no-nonsense, tough-as-nails warrior with a protective nature. She also has a heart of gold and will do anything for her tribe. And I totally see that. Storm lives up to her bio perfectly in the film. People might say that she's far too hostile towards Smurfette and the boys, but that's the whole point. Storm doesn't fool around. She has reason to take everything seriously. It's very clear that she is extremely selfless and loyal, only wanting to protect her tribe from outside dangers. She will not hesitate to point fingers at anyone she deems a threat. She will even work with Clumsy, a stranger she only just met, to fend off an attack if necessary. And she only comes off as mean because she cares deeply for those she loves, even if she doesn't show that. This subtle characterization of what on the outside looks like an aggressive girl is what makes Storm a very deep character in retrospect. She is the Sgt. Calhoun from the Wreck-It Ralph films: ruthless, tough, and abrasive, but purely because she cares only for the safety of her squad.

Naturally, I did a ton of research before tackling this character through fanfiction. This meant reading whatever comics featuring Storm I could find. And I quickly noticed how her character strikes a different tune in those stories. There's no way around it: in the first 2 comics, she is an absolute jerk. Comics tend to have more of a creative license, meaning the characters are always slightly exaggerated to make the stories more interesting, and in my opinion, Storm was done particularly dirty. She retains her hostile streak, but her motives are completely different. They are more out of competition, rather than protectiveness. She's extremely competitive and completely arrogant. She only cares about winning. And she only protects her tribe when she has to at the very end. So focused on her own image as the star, she's now willing to ruthlessly knock out her opponents and even disown her own friends. 'The Betrayal of Smurfblossom' completely destroyed Storm's original character and turned her into a total prick. Again, comics have more freedom to stretch their source material, and it definitely shows in Storm's case. The comics basically made her the Rainbow Dash of the group, but with her loyalty trait pushed aside and her jerk-level jacked up. No longer is she the jerk with a heart of gold…she's just a jerk.

Compare that Storm with the Storm from the movie, and the difference becomes so obvious. There's not a single hint of her wanting to show off or do anything selfish in the movie. Despite only having a few scenes, every single one of those scenes sends out a clear message of exactly who Smurfstorm is. That she's a tireless Smurf who will lay down her life to keep her friends out of harm's way. That every motive in her bones is not for her, but for her tribe. That nothing she does in the movie is for her own personal gain. That her mean streak is justified because of her reasons behind it. It's a crucial aspect of Storm's character that makes her stand out from the rest. In the comics, everything she does is about her. Every action she does is to protect her title as Number 1. It's a very flipped trait of her original basis and one I think greatly decimates her.

Thankfully though, her character seems to be a bit more aligned in comic 3 onwards. It's very clear that out of all the girls, Smurfstorm is the most popular one given that she's played central roles in every single comic and is the most outspoken character.

So when it comes down to it, the difference to me could not be more clear: the Smurfstorm in the comics only protects her friends because she has to. The Smurfstorm in the movie protects them because she wants to. Storm of the movie is definitely my preferred version of the two personas presented and favourite character of the Smurfs overall. This is why I write fanfics like this. I break down characters who are often overlooked by the general public eye and analyze them thoroughly. It's my way of celebrating each wonderful character and showcasing them in what-if situations that shine their known and hidden personalities at full throttle. That's why I enjoy writing. You should try it sometime. It's fun.