Chapter 7 – Parting of the Storm

"So how does one girl Smurf cope with an entire village of boys?" Storm asked as the sight of Smurf Village peeked into view through the clouds.

Clumsy gave a little chuckle as he started to bring Spitfire into a slow and careful descent. "Oh, not that differently, actually," he replied. "Smurfette makes herself right at home…sharp as a whip, full of resources and surprises, and gets along famously with everyone! She's basically one of the boys."

"Although, it wasn't always like that…" he trailed off, suddenly sounding hesitant.

Storm caught the shift in his tone. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

The boy rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, there was a time – long, long ago, that is – when we used to fight for her affection. It was never a pretty sight, 98 Smurfs battling each other to win her heart. Chocolate hearts, gushy love letters, personal sonnets, the whole nine yards! Papa Smurf tried to restore order, but it never did any good the moment Smurfette showed her breath-taking face of beauty into plain sight."

A mental image of Clumsy fighting for Smurfette against all the other boys amused Storm enough to make her chuckle. "I assume that 98 includes you?" she quizzed.

"Sadly, yes," Clumsy sighed, a prominent blush now filling his cheeks. "I had my share of scuffles trying win her over. Tried to impress her anyway I could, even tried giving her my lucky rock from my own rock collection! But no matter what I did, I never really stood a chance against others like Hefty or Greedy."

"But what made ya do it anyway?"

"Oh, I'm not fully sure, really. None of us had ever met a girl before she came along. This odd feeling worked its way up inside me that made me do it, I suppose…this warm and fuzzy feeling I just can't describe and barely remember now," Clumsy said loftily. "But it must have been what all the other boys had felt at the time too."

His particular choice of words rang a bell in Storm's head. "Warm and fuzzy, huh?" she repeated thoughtfully.

They were now gliding through the clouds, descending closer to the ground. "I'm not proud of my earlier behaviour," Clumsy admitted. "When I think back to those early days, I can see how downright foolish I was, fighting for a Smurf who was never a prize of any sort to begin with. But it all seems to be in the past now. Nowadays, Hefty is really the only one who still has eyes for her. Which is just as well…no Smurf could beat him in any competition. Unless brains are the strength, whereas Brainy would come out victorious! That's what Brainy says, anyway."

Nothing more on the topic was said as they came into landing, touching gently on solid ground once more. Back on the familiar dirt road, they were halfway between Clumsy's mushroom house and the girls' temporary settlement. Spitfire gave a final flutter of his wings and chirped with contentment as his two riders dismounted. This time, Clumsy did not stumble.

"I must say, Storm, that was quite the midnight excursion! I enjoyed it," he said brightly. "But here we are again, home sweet home!"

Storm looked around at the sleepy mushrooms standing as silhouettes in the moonlight. Everything here looked so peaceful…but so unfamiliar.

"Yeah…home," she muttered, suddenly feeling sadness wash over her again.

Her stomach weighed down heavily as her mind brought up a mental image of the Grove, all smashed to rubble and left to rot forever. She may have been feeling a bit better about Thunder and herself, but there was still no overlooking the fact that she had lost her home today.

Clumsy's hand flew to his mouth. "Oh…oh no, I forgot," he gasped, sounding thoroughly guilty. "I'm sorry for being insensitive, Storm, I-I-I should have remembered…"

Storm waved her hand to dismiss it all, even though she didn't exactly want to. "It's fine. I'm just feelin' a bit homesick, I guess."

She stiffened a bit upon feeling Clumsy's hand on her shoulder again. "I know this isn't Smurfy Grove, but I promise that we'll do everything we can to make you and your sisters feel welcome here," he said kindly. "Word smurfing on the street now is that a new village will be built close-by, and we'll all pitch in to do everything we can to make sure you're comfortable again."

His kind words and comforting hand couldn't help but make Storm smile just a little. Even though the root of her warrior spirit strictly forbade her to get all mushy and soft, there was something about Clumsy and the memories of their time spent together tonight that seemed to make her almost want to open up to him. "I loved my home," she mumbled. "Me and the girls made so many memories there, even the worst ones. The Smurfs are my family, but so was the forest. Sure, it was cursed and crawling with enemies…but it was everything I knew."

Clumsy nodded. "I know it must be very hard for you," he soothed. "I can't bear the thought of losing Smurf Village. But you'll always have those best and worst memories to live alongside with. And hopefully, you can make some new ones here. Hopefully many more good ones."

As Storm looked him, his hand reached up to his hat again. She thought he was merely pushing it back up as usual, but instead, Clumsy took his hat off completely. Reaching inside, he pulled something out.

"Here, I want you to have this."

Storm watched as he took her hand and placed whatever it was into her palm. There lay a small rock. Its surface was very smooth and shimmered with a purple-blue colour of silver ore.

"A rock?"

"Not just a rock, my lucky rock," Clumsy explained proudly. "I've always sorta had an affinity for rocks and intriguing stones, you see. Been collecting them for years, but for some reason or other, this certain one that tripped me one faithful day has always stood out. So I've kept it with me. In a little smurfy way, it helps remind me that no matter how many times Gargamel tries to capture us, or how many times I stumble over my own feet, everything will turn out all right in the end."

Storm looked at the little rock in her hand. "You're giving me your favourite rock?" she asked, trying to figure this out.

Clumsy nodded. "Right! I want you to have it as my personal house-warming gift to you to welcome you to the neighbourhood."

There was a quiet pause as Storm looked at the little rock. That was all it was: a rock. But it clearly meant a lot to Clumsy. The fact that he was giving a prized possession to her was causing a strange smurfy feeling to grow in her stomach, making her emotions rise up to her throat. She slowly curled her fingers around it.

"Thanks, Lefty."

"You're welcome," said Clumsy with a smile. "It's just a little something from me to you."

Storm looked at him. Half his face was concealed in shadow, but she could still see him clearly.

"No," she amended. "I wasn't talking about the rock. I meant…thanks for everything."

Clumsy looked confused. Storm felt her hands getting clammy; even after opening up this much to him, saying these kinds of things still wasn't easy for her.

"Look, I just…what I mean is…"

No way was she getting tongue-tied. She never had trouble speaking her mind. But Storm found herself struggling to put her thoughts into words. Why couldn't she just smurf out what she wanted to say right now? Cursing herself, she turned awkwardly away from Clumsy to stare at her feet.

"Ever since Thunder died, I've been completely messed up," she explained, feeling her heart starting to grow heavy again. "My friends tried to help me let go of the past, but none of them ever really got through to me. All I've ever really wanted was to make her proud of me."

It was totally out of character to be this sappy and she felt flustered all over because of it. Yet, everything she was saying was true. The voice in her head was telling her to keep pushing.

"…but then you came along," she muttered, "and you showed me that maybe I don't have to live like this anymore. You really did me a solid, Clumsy. So…thanks."

One measly delivery of 'thanks' didn't seem nearly fitting enough to cover over everything that Clumsy had done for her. But maybe it was because he had done so much for her, more than he could ever know, that she couldn't think of anything better to say.

Clumsy, however, simply smiled, and put his hand back on her shoulder. "You're welcome, Storm."

The way he said that and the sight of his smile was enough to tell Storm that Clumsy didn't need a show of excessive praise or a hundred thank-yous. He understood her.

And that made Storm grateful.

"Well, I…I suppose this is where we part ways," Clumsy said quietly.

The girl looked at him and knew he was right. It was late after all. That's what her brain told her. But her mind seemed to sink heavily at the thought of saying goodbye.

As if he could understand her silent reluctance too, Clumsy dutifully spoke with reassurance. "Oh, but don't worry, Storm. Saying 'bye' isn't too hard," he told her. "It's just like saying 'hi'…but with a 'B'!

Storm didn't know why she was overcome with this new feeling, a longing to stay with this boy, and the unwillingness to let him go. She knew she had to, but didn't want to. Why was that? Maybe because being with him made her feel at peace with her loss. Or maybe it was just him that she liked? Biting back any attempt of saying too much, Storm asked the question that had been lingering on her mind ever since they had started the flight back here from their little mountaintop.

"Will I see you again?"

A pause of silence fell between them after letting the words out. She hated the way her voice came out so desperate. But after sharing so much of herself with this boy, so much that she had forgotten and so much that she had never once thought of revisiting, seeing him again was all she could think about.

Clumsy peered at her from beneath his drooping hat and seemed to visibly brighten up. "Oh, that is a definite yes, Storm!" he said with a confident smile. "It may be tricky to navigate in a crowd of two hundred Smurfs now, but I shouldn't be too hard to pick out. Just keep an eye out for the Smurf tripping over his own two left feet. And I'll know who you are too. There's only one Smurf like you after all."

"Besides," he added, "we smurfed paths today without intent! Though I hope the next time, there won't be a pie involved."

His last comment made Storm chuckle slightly. She had the feeling that a pie to her face was going to be a moment that would last in both their minds for quite some time.

Without a second thought, she put her arms around his neck and hugged him. She had no idea why. Ever since the loss of her sister, she had never been the one to initiate hugs anymore. She tolerated the embraces from the girls, even Blossom's suffocating squeezes that always left her gasping for breath, but no longer was she a giver. But in this moment, she felt like a hug.

Clumsy's eyes widened blankly before putting his own arms around her to warmly return the unexpected hold. It was hard to tell who was more surprised here.

"Thanks for saving my butt back there," she mumbled into his shoulder.

"That's what friends are for," he replied simply.

"Well, thanks again…friend."

They stayed like this for a few more seconds before Storm's brain caught on to what she was doing, and hastily let go of the boy. "Okay, okay, enough," she muttered, feeling really flustered now. Her cheeks were on fire.

Clumsy tucked his hands behind his back. "Storm, there is…one more thing I really want you to know."

She picked up on the sudden nervousness in his voice. "Yeah?"

"It's nothing too important…but back there when we were flying over that smoldering swamp, when the two of us were being stalked by Gargamel's big dumb bird…and you said that you 'liked the way I think' when I told Spitfire to light your arrow…"

Storm eyed him with curiosity.

The boy kicked his foot absent-mindedly. "No Smurf had ever told me that before," he said quietly. "And for the first time in my life, it made me think…for just a few moments…that maybe I really could be something more than just clumsy."

The girl said nothing, but just looked at him. Such a detached comment that she had really only said for the moment had such an impact on this odd boy. But it reminded her of everything he had taught her that night, proving that such an offhand phrase could have more to it than she thought.

"Well…you have a good night, Storm."

With a friendly wave, Clumsy slowly turned on his heel to leave. Storm watched him head back towards his house, her mind sitting at a standstill.

He was about halfway there when it whirred back into motion.

"Clumsy, hey Clumsy! Wait up."

Clumsy stopped and turned to look at her from their new distance that now stood between them. "Yes?"

Storm paused for a breath, wanting to be absolutely clear the first time. "It's still true, you know," she said. "I do like the way you think. It's a weird way of thinking…a total boy way. But I like it."

There was silence save for the gentle chirping of the crickets as the pair looked at each other. Then Clumsy walked back up to her. "Well, thank you Storm! I like the way you think too," he told her. "If you have anything on your mind ever bothering you again…you can always tell me."

Knowing that her biggest insecurities and secrets were safe with him, Storm felt her heart glow in gratitude. She turned her face slightly away.

"Guess you better get going now, huh?" she muttered to a most interesting tuft of grass by her feet.

Clumsy's smile didn't even waver. "Alrighty then. Take care, Storm."

Then he leaned towards her and gave her a very light kiss on the cheek, making Storm go rigid. With a blushing face, Clumsy turned once more towards his house.

This time, she let him go. She was too stunned to do much else.

A warm wind drifted lazily past, brushing the ends of the grass; it grazed her blushing cheeks and played with her curtain of hair. Smurfstorm stood there in the middle of the dirt road with a heavy blockage that seemed to obstruct her throat and paralyze her brain.

It was funny, really. She had spent her whole life learning how to be quick on her feet and to stay one step ahead of the enemy. Battling killer plants and vicious animals that dared to disturb the peace of her village stood no chance against her. Yet Clumsy's little actions had somehow neutralized her whole body, rendering her completely helpless. Movement finally came to her a few seconds later as she touched the spot on her cheek that he had pecked.

Spitfire came up alongside her, staring in wonder in the direction where Clumsy had disappeared, then puffed some smoke at his master's face to bring her back to reality.

Storm coughed before glaring at her dragonfly with annoyance. "What are you looking at?" she snorted. Spitfire rolled his eyes.

It took Storm another moment to realize she was still holding Clumsy's lucky rock in her fist. She raised it up to examine it, observing how the sparkles of the purple-blue portions shimmered in the moonlight.

"Stupid boy. Making me all mushy inside," she mumbled. "I can't believe I already miss him."

Spitfire gently nudged her shoulder. Looking up at him, Storm's demeanor changed instantly and she couldn't hold back her wide smile. She dropped the rock into her quiver before wrapping her arms around the neck of her dragonfly in an emotional hug.

"Oh, Spitfire…I'm glad you're alive," she gushed softly.

Nuzzling his master's head, Spitfire cooed in mutual agreement.

Storm pulled back and pressed her face against his beak affectionately. "C'mon, old friend. Let's head back." She tugged gently on his reins to lead them back to the girls' campsite. For the whole journey back, she couldn't stop thinking over everything that had transpired that night.

Thanks, Clumsy, she thought.

Suddenly, she was looking forward to tomorrow.

Everything in their temporary settlement was exactly the same as she had left it. All the tents were still pitched and not a sound to be heard aside from crickets and the soft melodic tunes coming from Smurfmelody's tent as the musical Smurf sang quietly in her sleep. Storm walked Spitfire back to the little wooden post that Handy had put up and carefully harnessed him. With a farewell puff of black smoke, Spitfire settled down and closed his eyes.

Storm smiled as she watched him for a while, then turned to head back to the tent. Halfway, she stopped for a moment to stare up at the moon.

The clouds that had previously swirled around it seemed to have vanished as the pale blue orb shined uninhibited over the world below. The sky she loved so much loomed over her, so vast and so open. For as long as Storm could remember, her sanctuary had always been up there. A place where she could temporarily leave the bounds of Earth and be free, even if for just a little while. Thunder had introduced her to the sky, for it had been her favourite place too. Her sanctuary. Their sanctuary. A place where they had bonded together.

And in turn, she had introduced the sky to Clumsy. It was the place where she and Clumsy had first bonded too.

Storm twisted Thunder's quiver around her shoulder so she could extract not an arrow, but Clumsy's lucky rock to look at it again. Its tiny sparkles seemed to dance in the light, mingling and prancing along the rocky surface on which they were bound to. The calm wind brushed her face gently again, and she closed her eyes.

When she opened them, a familiar figure was standing before her. A Smurf with scars and long hair tied in a braid.

But this time, the Smurf was doing something different. She was smiling. Almost in a proud sort of way.

From the darkness appeared nine more Smurfs, all of them wearing a four-leafed clover on their sand-coloured hats with earflaps. All of them were smiling at her, even Smurfblizzard, as they emitted an ethereal blue glow in the light of the moon.

Storm swallowed hard as she tightened her grip around Clumsy's rock. But for the first time ever, she did not try to push them out of her mind and pretend they were not there. No longer did she want to pretend, to hide from the burdens that had weighed her down for so long.

With slow, yet brave steps, she walked up to Smurfthunder and found herself standing right before her. She had grown considerably since she had last seen her sister, for she no longer had to crane her neck up to meet her gaze; now they stood at eye-level with each other.

Tentatively, Storm raised a hand and held it just in front of her as Thunder did the same. Their hands pressed against each other and Storm swore that she could feel the touch of their palms making contact.

Storm managed a brave smile.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you for everything. I'm sorry…I'm so sorry I've held onto you like this. I guess it's time…for the next step."

Behind Thunder, the rest of her team all bowed their heads low in gratitude. Then they raised their arms like wings. One by one, they lifted slowly off the ground. Storm watched as their shimmering forms gently took to the sky, their bright glow soon mixing with the stars. Thunder stayed, however, standing in her place before Storm. It looked like she was waiting for something.

Feeling what that something was, Storm's vision began to cloud with tears. Her smile faded and her lip quivered. Her chest felt heavy as she looked into the eyes of her long-lost sister. It was taking everything she had to hold back her tears.

But knowing that it was long past-due for this and remembering what Clumsy had taught her, she inhaled a deep breath. "You're free now, Thunder," she said in a breaking voice. "I'll be okay…a good friend told me that saying 'bye' doesn't have to be hard. It's just like saying 'hi'…but with a 'B'."

Her legs wobbled weakly and she found herself down on her knees, letting her tears drop to the ground in silent sobs. Her head lowered and her heart lodged within her throat, preventing her from saying any more.

But a soft touch, one that felt lighter than air, cupped her shoulders as Thunder's hands lifted Storm back to her feet in one rising motion before tilting her chin back up. Storm looked into the eyes of her lost sister once more.

Thunder said nothing. Instead, she smiled and passed a caressing hand down the side of Storm's head, stroking her hair and ending at her cheek.

Then, raising her arms, she slowly lifted into the air to follow her team.

Storm gazed solemnly up to the heavens at her departing sister and released a gentle sigh.

"See ya later…big sis."

She watched as Thunder ascended into the sky until there was nothing left to see. Though her heart still weighed heavily and stomach hollow, Storm was surprised to find that she felt okay.

Clumsy's little rock still rested in her palm as she stood alone in the street. Casting a final glance back to the sky above, Storm continued back to the tent with very much on her thoughts.