Chapter 5 – Thunderstorm
A really long time ago:
With the wind in her hair and the light of the setting sun in her eyes, Storm could not help but grin from earflap to earflap.
Smurfy Grove was a flourishing village in its own right. This hidden settlement provided its inhabitants with absolutely everything they could ever need. The forest it was based in was alive with hundreds of plants, animals, and creatures without a category. It was beautiful, but every Smurf girl knew that it was also dangerous. Luckily, that didn't matter. The Grove was protected and self-sufficient. It had a defense team, a medical team, a dedicated construction crew, harvesters, music-makers, party-planners, and everything in between.
Young Smurfstorm was just like all the other girls her age in Smurfy Grove. Cheery, giggly, and always looking for a good time. But she was also different. There was a rebel streak inside her blood that just could not stay hidden. She didn't mean to get into mischief, but her wild taste for adventure meant that her mind demanded action and wouldn't allow her to sit still. More than anything, she wanted to get out there to see the world. So it came as no mystery to anyone why Smurfwillow appointed her to join the tribe's alpha defense team.
Storm fell in love with this decision immediately. Her early days were spent tagging alongside the older girls, ten razor-sharp experienced warriors loaded with spears, bows, arrows, and fire-breathing dragonflies. In her eyes, they were simply the coolest Smurfs in the forest in a league of their own. While she was proud to join the team, every beat of her heart wanted to be good enough to step to their level. It was all she ever dreamed of.
The troops had welcomed their recruit and began training her in every skill she would need. Smurfblizzard was their squad leader and she never seemed to talk. She yelled. Nothing happened in the village without her knowing. Second in command was Smurflightning, who was as brash and orderly as Smurfblizzard, but was a bit kinder towards Storm (albeit not by much). The twins Smurfhurricane and Smurfblaze were never apart, and were always tossing harsh words and taunts at each other. They were fun.
But there was without a doubt not a member on the team that she liked more than Smurfthunder, the strong broad-shouldered girl with a tough tongue, sharp eyes, and long blue hair tied in a tight braid. She was as hardcore as the rest, but had a clear soft spot their new rookie. Every day when the regular training exercises had wrapped up, she would always make time for Storm, teaching her extra survival strategies and answering every single question Storm bombarded her with.
Storm treasured every second she got with Smurfthunder. With the way the older Smurf effortlessly lifted her off her feet with just one arm wrapped around her shoulders to make her giggle, the countless times she showed Storm how to properly mount her dragonfly Spitfire even when Storm always kept falling, or how she would patiently remain by Storm's side as the rookie tried again and again to shoot the moving targets with her flimsy aiming, Storm almost felt like one of the team even with her still-developing skills. Most of all, she felt happiest when it was just her and Thunder. The two Smurfs had struck a sisterhood so deep, they might as well have known each other all their lives.
Friday nights were special because that was when Thunder secretly took her out flying with Spitfire. The pair would sneak out under the cloak of darkness with Spitfire in tow to a secluded area far away from the watchful eyes of the Grove inhabitants. Thunder would then perform some of the most daring feats of flying that Storm had ever seen before teaching her how to do some basic aerial tricks, like simple upward and downward spirals.
Afterwards, they would fly high above the clouds to enter an expanse of stars and sky, where the clouds formed an enormous, thick layer beneath their feet, providing cover so they didn't ever have to worry about being spotted from the ground below. Storm liked this best of all because she always felt like they had entered a whole new world up here that was reserved just for them.
"I love Fridays. Did you know that?" Storm giggled with glee. She was hugging Thunder around the waist as they zipped through the night sky while trying to keep her hat on in the fast turbulence.
"Considering you've told me about a hundred times, I'd say so," Thunder smirked. "Smurfblizzard would smurf our guts if she knew I was taking you out dragon-flying."
She said this warning so casually, they could have been simply discussing the weather.
Storm suddenly frowned. "Why does Smurfblizzard always have to be such a grouchy sour-smurf?" she complained. "She won't let me have any fun during the day!"
Thunder laughed. "Ah, don't let our commander bog you down, rookie," she soothed. "You gotta be a sour-smurf when you're leading a team of scouts into unknown territory. Just do what she says when we're training. And when training is over, have some fun with me!"
Her response made Storm's heart swell and she hugged her pilot closely, feeling immensely happy that at least someone on the team allowed her to let loose. "So how come you let me break the rules up here?"
"Well, let's just say you remind me a lot of myself when I was your age and just starting out with the team," Thunder said affectionately. "You're a handful, Stormy. But so was I. I just had that smurfy feeling ever since your first day that you have what it takes."
"You really think so, Thunder?" Storm squeaked.
"I know so," her pilot chuckled. "That usual fear factor found in most Smurfs was hardly in your system to begin with. Now we're just knocking out the bugs. A little more training, and you'll be ripping these clouds apart like dust bunnies!"
"And then can we get my own dragonfly?" Storm asked eagerly.
"You bet, little sister. We'll have to find one that matches your wild taste of adventure. But that's never been an issue when it comes to these fire-breathing babies."
She reached down to give Spitfire an affectionate scratch along his neck. Storm noticed that the dragonfly seemed to purr happily when she reached a certain spot.
Thunder tugged Spitfire's antenna, directing a silent guiding order towards a tree that was so tall, it penetrated through the thick layer of clouds. With perfect landing, they came to roost on a long branch. Once dismounted, Thunder allowed Spitfire to do some free-flying on his own. The pair sat on the branch and watched the mighty insect roam joyously through the night sky over the blanket of clouds that completely concealed the world below, all bathed by the blue light of the moon. A sight like this was truly magical in every way.
"Is it time to share Smurfy secrets now?" Storm piped up.
The older Smurf eyed her in amusement. "Yes, I'd say it's about time. And it's your turn to go first."
"Okay!" Storm squeaked, kicking her legs eagerly. "Well, today, I smurfed an extra honeysuckle cookie from the desert table."
Thunder raised an eyebrow. "You sound gosh-darn proud of that."
Storm beamed, her face filled with accomplishment. "Duh! Why wouldn't I be? Smurfwillow didn't even notice. I can sneak anything from under any Smurf's nose! Okay, your turn! Tell me your Smurfy secret!" she demanded, staring intently at Thunder with focused eyes as if waiting for the most amazing magic trick in the world. Thunder chuckled and turned her attention to the unreachable horizon.
"Alrighty, well…my favourite colour is green."
Her response was so quick and unexpected that it left Storm dumbfounded, wondering if she had either heard incorrectly or missed the exciting part of Thunder's weekly secret entirely.
"That's it?" she asked.
"Yep. Green's where it's at, kid."
Storm's disappointment soon switched over to confusion. "But how come? I thought blue was the favourite colour of all Smurfs!"
"Not to this Smurf, it ain't," Thunder said. "I've always secretly loved green more. Maybe that's why I love this job so much. You step into the wild, where leaves, stems, and shrubs are your stage. Green's the favourite colour of nature, ya know. You will never be alone when you have the company of green."
Storm was quiet as she thought of the colour green. Outside her treehouse and the other fragments of nature that was used to construct their village, the defense team was constantly exposed to the wild, always utilizing the environment to their advantage for camouflage, navigation, and communication. And almost all of it involved something that was green.
"Then green is my favourite colour too!" she declared.
"No it's not, ya lil' liar," Thunder sneered. "Purple is your jam. You told me that just a couple o'days ago."
Storm smiled and blushed. It was true that she did love purple more than any other colour in the world, but green obviously had to be awesome too because Thunder thought it was. Glancing up at her, she spotted green in the form of the four-leafed clover pinned to the side of the older Smurf's hat.
"How much longer before I get my clover?" she asked, changing the subject as she gazed enviously at her mentor's flower, the official plant worn by the defense Smurfs. Removing her own hat, Storm eyed her own flower, a small white daisy, with discontent. Though her hat was the new one with the earflaps, it just didn't feel complete without the coveted four-leafed clover on its side.
"Soon enough," Thunder assured her, able to tell exactly what the younger Smurf was thinking. "Just a little more training to show Smurfblizzard how much you've learned, and you'll smurf that clover before you know it.
"And then will I be a warrior too?" Storm asked hopefully.
Her question made Thunder chuckle. "What are you talking about?" she asked, playfully ruffling Storm's exposed hair, making it even messier than it was. "You already are, you little blue-eyed devil."
Storm wanted to laugh too, but something was holding her back. "I just really, really want to fit in with the team so bad!" she stressed.
A sudden surge of nervousness seeped through her tummy. "Do you really think I can be as good a warrior as you?" she asked in a worried voice.
"Maybe not as good as me…but good enough," Thunder answered simply.
As if to prove her statement, Thunder suddenly whisked out a blunt-tipped arrow from the grass-woven quiver around her shoulders, snapped it across her bow, and fired at a single dangling leaf from a second equally tall tree standing about a million miles away in the distance (or at least it looked that far in Storm's eyes). The leaf was downed in an instant, disappearing into the clouds below. Spitfire, who had been circling nearby, immediately swooped down to retrieve the arrow.
Impressed as she was by Thunder's expert archery skills, Storm felt her lip tremble. "But…what if I can't? I still can't shoot all the targets without you telling me when to release my arrows. And I don't think I'm getting any better with the stealth exercises. Smurfblizzard keeps on yelling at me like I'm always messing up! What if I just end up slowing the team down? I don't want to be a useless Smurf."
She didn't even register the tears that had slowly begun to trickle down her cheeks, but Thunder did. The older Smurf gently wiped them away with a thumb before looping her arm around the Storm's shoulders to bring her in close.
"Stormy. Here's something I learned when I was the newbie of the team," she told her in a gentle tone. "You'll learn it too, but I'll smurf you a sampler to chew on now. In Smurfy Grove, no Smurf is ever useless. Every Smurf brings something."
There was silence as Storm listened, her eyes looking down at her feet dangling over the world below. "But I don't wanna just bring something," she insisted. "I wanna bring something big…something really big!"
She threw her hands and feet up in emphasis, as if summoning her big mystery contribution to rise up through the clouds and present itself that very second.
"I wanna be the bestest, most usefullest Smurf the world has ever seen! I wanna make Smurfblizzard proud of me. Most of all, I wanna make you proud of me!"
Thunder smiled, giving Storm a squeeze with one hand and twisting her long braid idly in her free hand. "Size doesn't matter, kiddo. Big or small, we're all important," she said firmly. "We all bring something different that is no more or less valuable to the village. And you'll find what you'll bring very soon."
A different look came over her eyes as Thunder gazed down to the clouds. Her smile slowly faded.
"Do you remember what Smurfwillow taught you and your friends about the forest?" she asked.
Even her tone had changed, causing the Storm to look up at her to meet her gaze.
"That it's cursed?" she answered quietly.
"That's right," Thunder said in a very grave tone. "And that's why a defense team was set up to protect our village."
"That's us, right?" Storm cut in.
"Right. And that team must always smurf on their toes. We have to be ready to protect our village at all costs and fight whatever threat we face. That's why Smurfblizzard yells at you so much and pushes you so hard. Just like me, she sees the potential inside you to be a warrior, and she only wants you to be a worthy member of the team. So do the rest of us."
Storm gulped, wondering how this sudden mood shift was supposed to make her feel better. "But for a cursed forest…it seems so harmless. It's pretty too, with the way the glowbugs do their nightly dances and the whistling tulips hum their songs in the morning. And didn't Smurfwillow say we tamed most of the wild plants and animals?"
Thunder didn't answer right away; she rested her chin on her hand thoughtfully. "This forest is beautiful," she said at last. "But it's also dangerous. Very dangerous. Not every living thing here is so aggregable, Stormy, that's the first thing you gotta remember. We can't get careless around here because there are always new creatures smurfing up from the ground with minds of their own that we've never catalogued before. Some can be tamed, but others not so much. Nature always has tricks up its sleeve, and cursed nature is extremely unpredictable. So yes, we may live in harmony with most of them, but there are plenty of enemies out there who will smurf you if they get the chance. That's why we're here…to make sure they never get that chance."
Swinging one leg to the other side of the branch so she could sit facing her little rookie directly, Thunder put both hands on Storm's shoulders. "And it's why you're here, Storm. By joining us, you're already well on your way to giving something big to our village. Bigger than you can ever imagine and you'll find out just how big in time. Defending your fellow Smurfs from harm is the greatest gift you can ever smurf for us."
Little Storm stared up at Thunder. Though she felt a little scared, she also felt brave at the same time by hearing this.
Thunder lifted her chin with a finger, looking right into her eyes. "Until then, never give up, little sister," she whispered softly. "Train not with your head…but with your heart. You got this, Stormy, because I believe in you. Now you just gotta believe in yourself."
Warmth spread through Storm's heart as she felt the hand at her chin gently move its way up to caress down the side of her head, stroking her hair and ending at her cheek.
"Can you do that for me?" Thunder asked with a smile.
The young Smurf was quiet as she peered up into the eyes of her mentor, whose hardened face bore numerous scars, toned from a lifetime of scouting military action, yet was graced with warmth that seemed to melt all frightening features away, revealing a Smurf who was gentle and cared about her all the way through. This sight made Storm feel ever so safe in her presence.
And while there still lingered a glimmer of uncertainty in the depths of her mind, Thunder's words and the exciting prospect of her responsibility of protecting her entire village were enough to make Storm finally smile back. "Okay," she whispered with a brave nod, snuggling up warmly to her mentor, feeling at peace as Thunder's arms looped around her in a comforting hug.
"I'm so happy you're here," she mumbled into her shoulder.
"Well, I'm happy you're here," came Thunder's answer. "This team is better off with you on it."
"But I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for you," Storm insisted. "Even when I don't think I can do it…you're always there to remind me I can. So thanks for believing in me."
The older Smurf's warm voice swirled into her ears. "It looks like this was your real Smurfy secret."
Storm blushed. Then she grinned with determination. "But I'm still gonna make you proud, just you wait," she said, pulling back and with sudden rising strength lacing her voice. "Promise me you'll be proud of me when I smurf my 'really big something'?"
Thunder chuckled as Spitfire returned, the arrow clamped in his beak. "I promise."
Having her big sister to hold her hand for guidance, and knowing that one day she would make her proud of a super grand accomplishment, Storm's whole body was filled with a very familiar sensation. It was the feeling stemming off the belief that nothing truly bad could ever happen to her as long as they were together. She did not want this wonderful dream to end.
"If four-leafed clovers really do bring good luck, I sometimes wonder if things would have been different if I did have mine by that point," Storm muttered. "Maybe then, my luck wouldn't have run out."
Clumsy gulped. "What happened?"
Feeling her stomach empty in the pit, Storm hugged her knees to her chest, just staring out to the wilderness beyond.
The team was on their evening recon patrol, performing a general scope of the Grove boundaries to ensure the village was free from threats before calling it a night. Everyone knew that this forest, no matter how harmless and beautiful it seemed on the outside, was littered with carnivorous plants and unknown creatures who would love to feast on a Smurf-kabob should the chance arise. And it was the mission of the Grove's defense team to ensure that chance was never given. While the tribe had a night guard posted, it was routine procedure to sweep the area before dark.
Especially now. With the level of darkness saturating the low-hanging clouds heavy with rain combined with the cold wind and a distinct scent in the air, there was a guaranteed thunderstorm on the way.
Ten dragonflies flew high over the ground in the standard V-shaped formation. Each insect carried a Smurf rider, except for a fiery orange-red one that carried two. All the riders wore a hat equipped with earflaps, but only one of them did not sport a four-leafed clover on hers.
"I always say the sky is way better than the ground," Smurfthunder breezed as she skillfully piloted her dragonfly with speed and precision at the very back of the group. "Wouldn't you agree, Stormy?"
Sitting behind her mentor with her arms wrapped tightly around the waist, Smurfstorm giggled in delight. "A-doy! Of course it is! I wish Smurfs were born with wings 'cuz flying is the coolest!"
She felt very proud to be all the way up here, smurfing patrol alongside the other brave Smurfs, especially as she carried her own grass-woven quiver of arrows and a bow, just like Thunder's. The only way she would really be in with the cool girls would be if she wore her own clover and flew her own dragonfly.
Speaking of dragonflies, Thunder deliberately performed some surprise maneuvers by tugging Spitfire's antenna to send out silent orders to her insect. Storm reacted appropriately, squealing and laughing out loud as they dipped low, then quickly back up, and dipped again.
"Hey! No horse-playing, you two!" Smurfblizzard barked loudly from the front, demonstrating as always that she had eyes in the back of her head. "The sky is not a playground!"
"The last thing we need is Smurfs dropping outta the sky," Lieutenant Smurflightning shouted at them. "If you break it, you buy it!"
Beside her, Smurfhurricane whipped the hair out of her eyes and laughed. "Hey, but that's our pride, ain't it?" she sneered wickedly. "Gotta have the scars and fractures to say you did your part in the war!"
Smurfblaze yawned, her feet propped lazily on her dragonfly's head and her hands resting on her stomach. "Got a quill on ya, Hurricane? 'Cuz you should save that for your tombstone!"
Smurfthunder waved to her comrades before looking back to her passenger. "They're right, Stormy. We better hold off the creative stunts…"
Then she winked and whispered under her breath, "…for now anyway. It is only Friday after all."
Storm beamed.
Aside from being younger and less experienced than the other ten, Storm had quickly learned that she also had a very different personality. She was more eager and gigglier compared to her teammates, who were tougher and stricter, no-nonsense kinds of girls. They didn't really seem to her that they knew how to have any real fun besides cracking jokes at each other's expense or exchanging outlandish banter back and forth with jargon she didn't understand.
So that's why tonight, Storm decided that she would get them to loosen up, and she knew just how she was going to do it.
"Thunder? Can I smurf the reins for a while? Pleeeease?" she begged, shaking Thunder's shoulders.
Her pilot turned to look at her with endearing affection. "Eager McBeaver, aren't you?" she teased. "All right, go for it, kid."
With the fluid skill that only a Smurf trained to live life on a dragonfly could master, Thunder stood up on Spitfire's back and causally maneuvered around while Storm shuffled cautiously forward to take her place. One day, she would be able to effortlessly walk on a dragonfly's back while high in the sky without the fear of falling crossing her mind.
Now that the pilot and passenger had swapped places, Storm grasped Spitfire's antenna with determination. The other girls knew she had the basics of flying down packed, but they were about to see Thunder's private lessons pay off.
She pulled on the antenna, causing Spitfire to yelp as they suddenly began spiraling mid-air, nearly clipping Smurftwister. Thunder cried out in alarm as she grasped the dragonfly. "Storm, no!" she exclaimed.
But Storm, pumped with adrenaline that rendered her deaf to Thunder's shout, had already switched to her next move: a good old-fashioned barrel-roll. They spun wildly around, and then suddenly, Storm pulled on the reins to make Spitfire fly a vertical beeline straight up into the sky!
"What the heck is goin' on back there?!" Smurfblizzard hollered, looking over her shoulder.
She was just in time to see Smurfthunder and Smurfstorm shoot straight up…and then Storm herself plummet straight down.
"Heeeelp!" Storm screamed horrorstruck as she fell right out of the sky; her quiver slipping off her shoulder and all her arrows flailing away after attempting to do a loop-the-loop while slicing the air. She had forgotten about gravity while flying upside down.
Everything happened at once – down she fell wailing and screaming into the mist – a million thoughts flashing through her mind as she saw the rocky terrain below heading towards her faster and faster – suddenly Spitfire was there, flying in at top speed with Thunder's arms outstretched to catch her before hitting the ground –
But gravity's pull was stronger. No sooner had she caught the falling girl, the two Smurfs and dragonfly collided roughly with the earth with a gut-wrenching crash.
Coughing and gasping for breath, Storm winced painfully as her vision bobbed about in blurred pictures; the combination of the dust cloud they had kicked up and the mist was so thick, she could barely see five feet ahead of her. The ground felt cold and hard; it took her a moment to realize she had landed in some kind of rocky gorge. "Thunder?" she called out, propping her aching body up feebly with one hand and an elbow as she struggled to stand up.
Then a big drop of water splattered just in front of her face, quickly followed by many others as the the rains finally commenced, quickly settling the dust. Peering hard through the screen of mist and falling rain, she finally spotted Spitfire moaning as he stood back up from where he had crash-landed. And there, marching straight towards her through the storm was Smurfthunder. And she was not happy.
"STORM!" she exclaimed angrily. "What in Smurf's name were you thinking?! You could have killed yourself! Why did you do that?!"
Storm trembled in fear, now cowering on her knees as her mentor stood over her, arms folded tightly across her chest and a face so furious, she resembled Smurfblizzard. But to see this display in Thunder's eyes and aimed at her was downright terrifying. "I…I…"
"You WHAT?" Thunder snapped as a huge bolt of lightning flashed timely behind her, magnifying her dominant form and livid state tenfold.
"I just wanted to show you all what I could really do! Prove to you that I'm as good as you!" Storm burst out before breaking down in tears.
"I'm sorry, Thunder, I'm sorry!" she sobbed pitifully, her head hung in downright shame. "I just…I just really want to be a warrior like you! It's all I think about! It's all I've ever want to be!"
The rain had begun to fall harder, soaking Storm from head to toe. But amidst the rain pattering her all over, she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder. Daring to look, she was surprised (and relieved) to see Thunder kneeling down to her level and her once flaring eyes replaced with her familiar sympathetic ones.
"Storm…I know you want this badly. But there are better ways of proving yourself than what you just did," Thunder told her. Despite her comforting words, the tone she was using laced with distinct disappointment, making Storm feel deeply crestfallen. "You know you can't just break protocols like that – "
CRACK!
Without warning, an explosion sent rocks flying everywhere as something burst out of the ground, – something that was long and covered in spikes!
Like lightening, the tentacle surged straight for Storm, but Thunder shoved her out of the way just in time. Yelling out in pain, she collapsed to the ground.
"Thunder!" Storm shrieked.
As fast as she had fallen, Thunder was quickly back on her feet in an instant, but was now clutching her left arm and wincing. Spitfire screeched and tried to make a dashing flight to save his master, but more spiked tentacles were smashing their way through the rocks and blocking his path as they flailed wildly about and accompanied by menacing heads of the creatures they belonged to. Storm's stomach turned over as she glimpsed the scariest beasts she had ever seen. They were worse than the ones pictured in Smurfwillow's books; horrifying, monstrous heads with sharp teeth and jaws wide enough to swallow ten Smurfs at a time. And all of them were searching hungrily to find the intruder who had landed in the gorge.
Then the air was filled with the shouts of the other Smurfs and screeching of their dragonflies as the rest of the team came swooping in. Smurfblizzard was barking orders at the top of her lungs. Arrows were flying, spears slinging, battle cries whooping, jets of fire spewing in all directions as the rain poured heavily on them all.
Suddenly, Storm was yanked right off her feet! She was about to scream, but then realized it was Thunder. Having been separated from Spitfire, the warrior led them both swiftly to a dislodged pile of crumbled rocks near an overhang in the gorge wall. Out of the rain now, Storm felt a terrible pang as she peered at the deep wound in Thunder's arm.
"Thunder, what are those things?" she squeaked.
Her big sister was peering over the rocks that now served as their makeshift cover. "I don't know…these aren't any kind of creatures we've seen before, let alone faced off."
Despite the fact she was terrified beyond control, Storm swallowed everything she could to summon the fighting instincts she had been building all this time. "T-t-then what are we waiting for?" she stammered, desperately trying to shake the fear out of her voice. "Let's join the others! Show those creepy snakes who's boss!"
But then Thunder turned around and put both hands on Storm's shoulders, stopping her from moving.
"You need to get out of here."
Storm was stunned. "What? What do you mean? Smurfblizzard and the others need our help!"
Thunder shook her head. "No. They need my help. You need to go back to the Grove."
That answer just shocked and confused her more. "But why?!" she cried in despair, tears suddenly pooling in her eyes again. "I can help!"
She stood as tall as she could and held out her fists together in fighting stance. "This is what I've been training for! Just let me get out there…we'll take 'em down together!"
But Thunder shook her head firmly. "No, Storm. I need you to head back to the Grove ASAP. We'll hold them off and clear you a path. That's an order, soldier!"
"NO!" Storm burst out, no longer hiding her anguish now as her tears fell harder in frantic desperation. "I can't – I won't go! Thunder, please don't send me away! I won't let you die out there –"
"AND I WON'T LET YOU DIE OUT THERE!" Smurfthunder thundered fiercely. "Your life is what matters right now!"
Her words shook Storm to the core; her lip trembled; all her protests now lost. But the fear and sadness in her eyes begged pleadingly.
As for Thunder, she looked thoroughly pained as she let out a low sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers. The fight just beyond their hiding place was getting more intense by the sounds of it.
When she met Storm's eyes, her face had become hardened and deeply serious.
"Storm. Listen to me," she hissed, her voice firm, yet gentle. "This is a new type of enemy. We don't know their tactics or their poisons if they have any. But we can't let them find our village. Even if we have no hope in winning, we have to fight. This is our mission. To battle to the end protecting Smurfy Grove. We may not make it out of this one alive."
Her slow words tore at Storm's stomach, rocking her insides hollow. Despite the battle raging on, Thunder squeezed her eyes for a moment shut to compose herself before speaking again.
"If anything happens to us, who will be left to protect the village? This is your new mission, Smurfstorm. I know you want to fight, but for now, value that life of yours. Use it to continue on fighting for your fellow Smurfs. I'm counting on you…we all are."
Then she reached up and unpinned the clover from her hat. Before Storm could register what was happening, the clover had been repinned, but to the side of her own hat that was not already occupied by her daisy.
"You're one of us now, Stormy," Thunder told her as she ran a caressing hand down the side of Storm's face. "You're a warrior. Protect Smurfy Grove no matter the cost. Now do as I say, and go. Make us proud."
Smurfstorm stood in silent dismay as Thunder loaded her bow with an arrow from her quiver.
But before the older Smurf charged out of their shelter to join the battle, she turned once more to face Storm. And she permitted a tiny smile upon her scarred face.
"See ya later, little sis."
Then she disappeared into the melee.
With tears still streaming down her cheeks and the rain pelting down on her, Storm raced as fast as she could to escape the gorge. The two flowers pinned to her hat that flapped wildly in the turbulence. The thunderstorm had reached its peak; lightening flashed the entire sky and thunder crashed violently, making the whole forest around her shake. And the whole time, Storm's body ached with nothing but pain and sorrow.
I'm sorry, Thunder…I'm sorry, Smurfblizzard…I'm sorry, everyone! I'm so sorry…
The words rambled endlessly in her mind, jumbled with the pounding of her dashing footsteps as she sloshed her way through the puddles, struggled to navigate her way back home. Blinded by tears, the heavy rain, and unfamiliar territory, she could barely see where she was going. The gorge seemed to go on forever.
Then it was nowhere. Storm skidded to a halt, almost slipping right off the wet turf as the ground at her feet suddenly ended at a large cliff hanging over a raging river. On a normal day, this would be a wide, yet steady stream. But in the whipping wind and rain, it had transformed into a charging torrent of rapids that would sweep away anything that made the slightest contact with its chaotic waters.
"Oh crud, now I'm lost!" Storm groaned.
A yell suddenly ripped through the air. It was not a battle cry, but a scream of terror.
Storm gasped, her knees buckling in fright as she turned towards the sound. "What am I doing?" she moaned. "I-I have to go back and help them! They-they need me!"
Her mind then slammed a stake into her brain. No…no I can't disobey orders…not again! It's my fault we're in this mess in the first place! But…they wouldn't be fighting if it weren't for me!
Bent on her split decision to follow Thunder's orders or to disobey them a second time to turn around and run back to assist the battle, Storm was completely caught off-guard when a tentacle burst out of the bushes right in front of her face.
She screamed as her left wrist was caught by the razor-sharp appendage. Scrambling to catch her breath and clutching her bleeding wrist in pain, she groped around for her bow and an arrow, but then remembered she had lost them in the fall. Searching desperately for a weapon of any kind, she finally grabbed a large rock by her feet and stood up.
"You want some of this?" she yelled out to the monster, which had now revealed its face in the sloshing rain. The fear in her trembling voice could not be more evident, but despite all this, she clutched her only defense as if she were a baseball pitcher and planted both feet on the ground. "Well then come and get it! I am Smurfstorm…I'm a warrior! And I protect Smurfy Grove no matter the cost! So come get some, you wormy freak!"
Mustering all the bravery to protect her village to her arm, she threw the rock as hard as she could.
It smacked a bulls-eye right between the eyes, but that was all the damage it did; the beast growled angrily before letting out a roar so fierce that it knocked Storm off her footing and sent her flying right off the cliff. Down she fell, down, down, down before splashing into the river. Instantly swept by the current, she frantically tried to surface, but was pulled down under each torrent that mercilessly tossed her in every direction beneath the raging water. Struggling and distorted, her head struck an underwater rock that not only knocked her out cold, but dislodged the daisy from her hat.
And everything went black…
All that happened beyond that point was nothing but a blur in Storm's memory, for she would never know what happened until much, much later. She couldn't remember being taken by the river and down one of the three waterfalls that fed into Smurfy Grove. She didn't remember Smurfblossom finding her barely conscious body washed ashore, and carrying her back to the Grove in a frantic state to raise the alarm. She had no memories of Smurfwillow sending out a massive rescue team straight away. All of that was clumped in a missing fragment of time that she could never claim back.
By the time Storm had regained consciousness, it was the middle of the night and she was lying in one of the medical beds inside the infirmary tent; the thunderstorm outside was still beating down hard. Her head ached and everything hurt, while the heavily-bandaged gnash in her wrist raged war on her nerves.
But Storm felt none of that. All she could feel was the cloud in her heart as terrible images pierced her mind.
She knew. Even before the search party returned hours later, she knew. Her whole team was gone. Smurfthunder, Smurfblizzard, Smurflightning, Smurfhurricane, Smurftwister, Smurfwave, Smurfblaze, Smurffire, Smurficicle, and Smurfavalanche. All because she had dropped her guard to have a little bit of fun. She had defied orders, ignored the warnings, and this was how it had ended up. They had given their lives to protect her and paid the price that she should have. The rain outside fell heavily down, but the tears pouring down her face fell harder as she hung her head with her face in her hands, sobbing in agony. The four-leafed clover still pinned to her hat seemed to wilt.
Cradling a tray of herbal elixirs, the infirmary's rookie medic Smurflily gazed worriedly at the grief-stricken soldier as she silently tended to her patient's wounds. Smurfblossom stood at the tent entrance with trembling lips. It was all they could do.
Storm's sadness became guilt that weighed her down for many weeks as she joined the village to mourn the loss of the ten brave Smurfs. But it didn't stop there.
Her guilt twisted into rage. And her rage manifested into stone.
As time went on, Smurfy Grove saw a slow transformation in Smurfstorm. She began to distance herself from the other girls. When anyone did see her, it was very clear that she was different. She was very moody with hardly a fleeting chance of a smile. No longer did she join picnics, attend the concerts, or bust a new move at their dance parties like she used to. Never again did she sing at the bonfires or take part in any of their annual competitions. She would always make the excuse that she needed to keep training or head out on patrol. While the parties happened within the safety of Smurfy Grove territory, Storm would be on the outskirts, keeping guard. Indeed, it seemed that her only interests now were in fine-tuning her archery or flying on Spitfire.
Spitfire. The only other survivor from the attack. Storm had been heart-struck when she learned that Thunder's dragonfly had been found gravely injured, but still alive. From the day Spitfire had been healed thanks to a potent elixir brewed by Smurfwillow and was ready to fly again, Storm vowed to take care of him and master her flying until she was as good as the one who had introduced her to the sky. Together, the pair ran trial flights every Friday until they had become the most top-notch rider and dragonfly the Grove had ever seen. But their time together was always bittersweet. Away from the crowds, they quietly grieved their loss together.
Storm took over as commander of the village's new defense team and worked tirelessly day and night to train replacement recruits to fill the void. Her new teammates were suitable enough, able fighters who worked alongside her to fend off signs of threats. None of them seemed to carry the same thunder as Thunder or any of the fallen soldiers. Or even her. But they were still good. However, Storm refused to let them join her on the bigger missions. Unwilling to let any Smurf step into harm's way because of her again, she would go on to handle them and all the night patrols solo. She fully understood now why Smurfblizzard had been such a sour-smurf because she felt like this every day.
It was a hard transformation for all of them. But her deep devastation had channeled into crafting a warrior spirit that would be used to lead her life of strict dedication to her job, making the Smurfstorm everyone knew today.