Fire Elemental

Episode two of Life Concealed.

Sometimes you don’t understand what you did wrong. Usually you’re just born with a problem that will last forever. Some cats are blind, some are deaf. They didn’t do anything to deserve this, they are just cursed with a mistake will never end. In this case, I was born an Elemental. Now, I don’t know why I am so hated within the Clans, I just am. This is my problem.

Difficulties within life can be hard to overcome. Sometimes a deaf cat might make noise while hunting prey and not hear it. A blind cat can end up bumping into things accidentally. But with me, I’m trying to fight down a huge complication. I’ve been found out as an Elemental.

“Welcome the Elemental!” The brown tom was cackling, his laugh echoing painfully in my ears.

I was gullible and naïve. I knew Swiftcloud was bad news from the start, and that he would ultimately have me in trouble. Well, I guess this is the payback for trusting such a shifty tom.

My eyes darted back over to Swiftcloud, but he was avoiding my icy stare. Something told me he was regretting this very moment, but not as much as I was regretting it.

“What are you going to do to her?” A white she-cat sneered from the brown tabby’s side. “Are you just going to tear out that pretty little throat of hers, or make her suffer?”

What is the problem with these cats? My stomach was doing summersaults as my thoughts pierced the back of my mind. ''They don’t look blood thirsty. Is this hatred just targeted towards me?''

I was shaking violently, and I knew the others could see my fear as clear as day. The brown tabby rolled his eyes, lifting a paw and giving it a smooth, slow lick.

“Yes Icebreath, suffering is a punishment worthy of an Elemental.” His gaze shifted over to the white she-cat.

I guessed she was second in command in this ShadowClan place. Icebreath was a weird name just like Swiftcloud. I speculated that every cat in this Clan must have such confusing names. Like, Icebreath? Was her breathing cold or something? It just didn’t add up.

“The choice is yours petty Elemental,” the brown tabby crept closer, his hiss spitting out like a snake. It hurt to be called Elemental, as if the name were a terrible word that would burn the fur from your pelt. “Do you want a quick death right here or a suffering demise later on?”

Both would result in my certain death. However, it frightened me. I was a young she-cat, and I was orphaned at such a young age. I didn’t understand the complexities of death, or how it would truly affect me. Where would I go? Would I just be a helpless soul wandering in the darkness of above? Did it hurt to die?

I didn’t know the answers to any of the questions that flooded all the other thoughts from my mind. However, I did know one thing for sure.

I didn’t want to die.

There had to be a way out of this, just a small loop-hole in this chain of events. That’s all I needed. I had to escape and live out my life. I knew I couldn’t stay wandering about these forests if I did manage to get out. I would leave and find a new life, a new identity to shield my past as an Elemental.

<p class="MsoNormal">My plans were interrupted by the brown tabby’s angered growl. “Well?” His sharp green eyes narrowed. “Are you going to answer me scum?” His patience was growing thin, I could tell by his feisty tone.

<p class="MsoNormal">“S-suffer,” I replied without a second thought. What was I thinking? Was I complete idiot? They bite off my paws or tear off my ears! Suffering sounded worse than a quick, clean kill!

<p class="MsoNormal">“Oh, that’s such an unwise choice for an innocent she-cat.” The brown tabby closed his eyes slowly, his tongue swiping over his jaws with an intense hunger. “I’m glad though. It’s been so long since I’ve had an Elemental right in front of me.”

<p class="MsoNormal">The very nature of this tom sent chills down my spine. I didn’t know if he was naturally this nasty and blood lusting, or if it was just due to my presence.

<p class="MsoNormal">The brown tom whipped his head over to Swiftcloud and Icebreath. “Take the Elemental to the tree near the medicine den. She shall be on constant watch by at least one warrior. Do not underestimate her abilities. She may look weak and untrained, but we know nothing of this she-cat.” His voice grew cold and stern.

<p class="MsoNormal">Swiftcloud gave the tom a flick of the tail in obedience, Icebreath just blinked in acknowledgement. You could easily tell which cat was higher in this “Clan” hierarchy.

<p class="MsoNormal">Icebreath was growing closer to me; I was frightened she was going to drag me off to the tree near… What was it called? A medicine den? There was a den specifically for medicines? Clans were so bizarre. However, the white she-cat just gave me a mere shove to get me on my paws. I trailed over to where the tree was.

<p class="MsoNormal">The tree wasn’t very tall, and I guessed that the plant was stunted. The branches that stretched out from the trunk were covered in hard, green bristles that jutted out all over. It released a thick, minty sort of smell. It was probably pine; just like the trees I saw earlier when Swiftcloud lead me to my trap.

<p class="MsoNormal">Swiftcloud. My eyes darted over to the grey tabby that was slinking towards me ominously. I didn’t know what he was trying to do; he was anything but frightening at that moment. The only cats I was truly frightened over in this Clan were Icebreath and the creepy brown tabby.

<p class="MsoNormal">Speaking of Icebreath, she was just making her way back to the crowd of cats that were beginning to disperse. Great. I sighed softly. I’m going to be stuck with this traitorous idiot…

<p class="MsoNormal">Swiftcloud settled himself in front of my, turning his head slightly so he still had me in his sights. Something told me that this tom wasn’t the brightest of the bunch. He seemed like a young tom just trying to make his way in life, trying to prove his worth so he wouldn’t be made fun of. Well, he probably just proved himself for the rest of his life by catching me.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Don’t try anything funny,” the grey tom growled, trying to act superior. “I know you’ll try to escape with your little powers. But even a bit of water won’t faze me!” He meowed with confidence.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Do you even see a hint of water around here?” I frowned. Even though I wish it wasn’t true, there wasn’t a single puddle to help me out in this situation. Not that I even could even use my powers to my advantage, I was still so undertrained and nearly clueless about being an Elemental.

<p class="MsoNormal">He let out a breath of impatience and stopped replying. I wish he would still talk to me, even if it was in threats and insults. I felt so alone and so scared at this moment, despite trying to act strong in front of these Clan cats.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Can I at least get some answers?” I straightened myself, narrowing my grey eyes. Swiftcloud jumped slightly at my words, staring at my paws as if I could just summon water out of midair to attack him.

<p class="MsoNormal">He shrugged. “I guess so. You’re going to die anyways, so why does it matter?” His words choked on last few words. Was death a touchy subject with Swiftcloud?

<p class="MsoNormal">I pondered for a few moments, wondering what questions I could possibly want answers. Finally, I decided. “What is that brown tabby’s name?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Oh, our leader?” Swiftcloud flicked his ears, turning his head to fully face me as he grew more comfortable with my presence. “Hawkstar. Trust me he’s… He’s nicer than he seems. And ShadowClan isn’t the worst Clan, if you ended up in some place like WindClan, you would’ve been mauled!” He smirked after seeing the fear in my eyes.

<p class="MsoNormal">I cleared my throat, avoiding his eyes so he would stop finding amusement in my distress. “W-what are the other Clans?” My voice trembled at the thought of being mauled.

<p class="MsoNormal">“There’s WindClan, RiverClan, and ThunderClan. They all live a ways away and aren’t our biggest fans. We’re currently in a peace, but I’m sure that won’t last long. WindClan and ShadowClan’s tensions with each other are high.” Swiftcloud continued.

<p class="MsoNormal">I tried to drink all this in. There were four Clans, and WindClan was probably the most vicious of them all. Well, at least to an Elemental like me. Windclan… Mother came from there, that’s how I remembered the name. If they despised Elementals so much it’s no wonder why she had to escape.

<p class="MsoNormal">The grey tabby sighed slightly, shaking me from my thoughts. “Hawkstar isn’t really going to make you suffer. By suffering, he means he just wants you to worry yourself sick until he kills you. Honestly, he’s probably going to get another cat to kill you, probably Icebreath.” He started on a new topic.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Is he not good with blood?” It made me queasy to talk about my death so calmly.

<p class="MsoNormal">“He’s quite the pacifist, really.” Swiftcloud noted, ears flattening.

<p class="MsoNormal">I stared to my white paws, not understanding why such a peaceful tom would be so cruel to a cat like me. “Answer one more question for me… Why are Elementals hated?” My head rose back up to gaze him directly in the eyes.

<p class="MsoNormal">Swiftcloud fidgeted uncomfortably at my stare. “Well, it’s a long story. So I’ll just shorten it,” his tail curled up around his paws. “Cats got jealous, okay? If StarClan gave powers to one cat, why not give them to everyone? So everyone ended up deciding that Elementals didn’t get their strange powers from StarClan, since StarClan would’ve given everyone the talent. Instead, they thought the Dark Forest gave the Elementals these powers.”

<p class="MsoNormal">I remembered StarClan from the creative and beautiful stories my mother told me as a young kit. They brought back bittersweet memories from long ago. However, I did not recall ever hearing of the name “Dark Forest” before.

<p class="MsoNormal">I opened my mouth to spit out more questions, but Swiftcloud rose up his tail, shaking his head in denial. “Hey, you said one more question. I’m finished talking chatty whiskers.” He snorted, turning his back on me.

<p class="MsoNormal">There it was. The end to the conversation. It felt so good to slip back into my old ways of socialness and chatting. It had been moons since I’d had a proper conversation, other than the talk Swiftcloud and I had before he brought me to ShadowClan. My hunger for social interaction gnawed at my belly, and this small chat didn’t feed it.

<p class="MsoNormal">But I knew it was over, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever get another chance to do it again.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;">~_~_~_~_~_~

<p class="MsoNormal">My dreams are usually just memories with my family. Sometimes I dream of things like me and my siblings growing up, exploring the world and using our powers freely. Usually, mother is right there with us, enjoying the free use of her own Elemental abilities.

<p class="MsoNormal">However, tonight was a different story.

<p class="MsoNormal">I’ve never had nightmares before. I’ve never woken up yowling.

<p class="MsoNormal">What was my bad dream about you may ask?

<p class="MsoNormal">My death.

<p class="MsoNormal">I imagined trying to escape, trying to use my water powers. The scene around me was a blur of water freezing and shooting out at my victims. The cat bolted away screeching, their claws flinging out to deflect the icicles zooming towards them.

<p class="MsoNormal">The leader, Hawkstar, was stalking towards me at a slow pace. Whatever I did, the ice would not penetrate his thick, brown tabby pelt. I tried so hard, but nothing I did would slow him down.

<p class="MsoNormal">My breath was escaping my body in short gasps. I could see that my powers were growing weaker, for my unknown water source was vanishing. Soon there were very small and very few icicles in the air. Many of them melted before they even hit the Clan cats.

<p class="MsoNormal">My eyes widened with an insane fear. Hawkstar was snarling words out to me, his saliva flinging from his sharp, bloodstained jaws. His claws were extremely long, and he pounced. I used all the power I had left to send out a few more weak icicles, but it did nothing to the attacker.

<p class="MsoNormal">Hawkstar landed hard on me, slamming me to the ground. The air from my lungs was knocked right out; I was struggling to catch my breath as I felt Hawkstar’s claws against my throat. His eyes were full of rage and pure hatred. Oh, why did he despise me with such intensity? Why did anybody hate me? What did I do to deserve this?

<p class="MsoNormal">Tears spilled out from my eyes as I realized the answer. I didn’t deserve this. I was born with a blessing that was treated a curse. It wasn’t fair! Nothing was fair for me!

<p class="MsoNormal">His claws were sinking into my throat at a slow, agonizing pace. I let out a gurgled scream, the blood pouring from my neck and escaping from my mouth. My body was convulsing, and I shuddered violently against his tight grip. My eyes zipped around wildly, catching sight of Swiftcloud nearby.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Die Elemental beast!” I heard him chant out with a chorus of meows echoing in harmony from the Clan cats nearby.

<p class="MsoNormal">Hawkstar pulled his sharp claws from my throat, whispering softly in my ears. “Go back to the Dark Forest where you belong,” he brought his jaws down to my neck, quickly sinking them into my flesh and tearing my throat right out.

<p class="MsoNormal">My vision went black, and that’s when I started screeching. I found myself on my paws, glaring around wildly. Cats were running out of their dens, staring at me with fear. The cat on guard was glaring with me with wide eyes, staring at my paws. Once she realized I was not wielding any sort of weapon of Elemental power, she relaxed.

<p class="MsoNormal">“False alarm!” The she-cat on guard calmed the others flooding out from their dens. “Go back to sleep. The idiot just had a nightmare,” she shot me an icy glare with a growl.

<p class="MsoNormal">I shied back, glancing towards the cats slowly trailing back into their dens. I probably just made the hate me even more… My face grew hot with embarrassment. But my dream was still fresh in my mind, still making me quake with an unimaginable fear.

<p class="MsoNormal">My guard quietly crept over to my side; I jumped away from her, catching her eyes. She nodded slowly, I didn’t understand why.

<p class="MsoNormal">“What’s your name?” She questioned softly.

<p class="MsoNormal">What? My name? Why was a guard so concerned over my name? Every other cat just called me Elemental, or beast, or scum, why wasn’t she doing the same?

<p class="MsoNormal">“Chime.” I replied quickly, not wanting her to lash out at me in anger like a few other guards did.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Chime,” the guard repeated. “Sounds very… Dreamy. I don’t understand it though, what does it mean?” The ginger tabby asked quietly.

<p class="MsoNormal">I was astounded by her calm tone and friendly aura. No other cat from ShadowClan was like this to me before.

<p class="MsoNormal">I thought thoroughly about my next words. It had been so long since I remembered the true meaning of my name. It felt so good to recall the story of my name that mother told me moons ago.

<p class="MsoNormal">“My mother named me it after a Two-leg contraption called wind chimes. They were metal tubes strung together; when the wind blew they made beautiful sounds…” My voice trailed off, memories of mother and my siblings flowing back into my mind.

<p class="MsoNormal">The ginger she-cat looked surprised. “Two-legs?” She was taken back. “It’s been so long since I’ve heard a cat use that word before. They’ve been gone for seasons, longer than Hawkstar’s been alive.”

<p class="MsoNormal">I nodded. “My mother’s father was a descent of kittypets.” I meowed.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Kittypets…” She looked to the ground, eyes narrowing as if trying to remember something. “Those were the cats taken care of by Two-legs, correct?” She looked back up to me with big, amber eyes.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yeah.” I confirmed her suspicions. “I don’t know much else about them, though…” I frowned slightly, feeling sort of ashamed that I couldn’t tell the ginger cat more. “But now it’s my turn to ask a question. What’s your name?” I smiled slightly, feeling more comfortable with her.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I’m Suntail,” she introduced herself formerly, giving me a small wink. I suppressed a small giggle. It felt amazing to finally laugh again.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Why… Why are you talking to me like this? Aren’t I like… A monster to you guys?” I felt obliged to ask her this. It was normal for me to be confused at such a welcoming cat after all the others treated me like a beast.

<p class="MsoNormal">Suntail smirked, bringing her muzzle close to my ear. “Well Chime, let’s just say not everyone in the Clans hate Elementals.” She paused, her breath hot on my fur. “Some even are Elementals themselves.”

<p class="MsoNormal">I pulled back with a gasp. My black and white fur puffed out as I stared to my paws with disbelief. “You’re an Elemental?” The words spilled from my mouth.

<p class="MsoNormal">The ginger she-cat shot me a fierce glare. “Quiet down! Of course I’m not an Elemental!” Her words brought disappointment to my hopes. “But that doesn’t mean you’re the only Elemental in ShadowClan right now.” She smiled deviously.

<p class="MsoNormal">“What do you mean?” I quieted my voice to a hushed whisper, my tail twitching back and force with anticipation.

<p class="MsoNormal">“There’s another warrior here with the power to wield an element. You’ve met him before…” Suntail inspected my face to see any sign of recognition of whom she was referring to.

<p class="MsoNormal">“S-Swiftcloud?” My grey eyes widened with surprise. But it made sense. He was always trying to prove himself within SHadowClan. I bet hiding an extreme talent would be exhausting to him. “How… How do you know?”

<p class="MsoNormal">Suntail’s ears flicked as her whiskers twitched slightly. “I saw him wielding it before. You can’t hold it in all the time, Chime. If you do, you’ll be a hazard to yourself. But it was beautiful truly. I’d never seen flames be controlled in such a calm, peaceful manner...” A smile slowly spread across her ginger muzzle.

<p class="MsoNormal">“A fire Elemental?” I was astonished; any cat could see the surprise shining clear on my face. I’d never met a fire Elemental in my life. It was even more astounding that another Elemental was sitting under my nose the whole time!

<p class="MsoNormal">“Why do you think he so desperately wanted to capture you? Other Clans were saying they sighted another Elemental amongst the forests, but they didn’t mean you. They meant SwiftCloud,” the ginger she-cat explained with excitement. “That’s why he set off to capture you; he didn’t want to get caught himself!”

<p class="MsoNormal">I stared blankly at her for a few moments. Elementals shouldn’t be turning each other in, they should be working together to escaped these terrible Clans. I was angered, no… I was furious that Swiftcloud would do this! He could’ve helped me find a new place, and help me control these abilities I was born with. How could one tom be so selfish?

<p class="MsoNormal">Suntail’s ears flattened, I could tell she wanted to say more. “But I’m not going to let his egotistic ways endanger to life of another cat. I am not against Elementals, why would I hate a cat who was blessed with powers they have no control in having?” She paused, licking her paw thoughtfully, then continued. “Swiftcloud made a grave mistake, and it’s high time I take a stand. I’m not letting you get killed in the morning.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“What?” I managed to choke out. This cat was endangering her life for me? A hated Elemental?

<p class="MsoNormal">“I’m going to help you escape. But first we have to make a plan.” The ginger she-cat held her head up, eyes narrowing with determination. “Are you with me, Chime?”

<p class="MsoNormal">There were no second thoughts to what I was going to say next.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yes, let’s get me out of this place.”