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Elemental
by Miststream
"Elementals, rise!"
The five cats stood their ground, their backs arched, their lips pulled back into a snarl. A white she-cat with frost littering the ground in her wake advanced, and with a swipe of her paw sent snow whipping into the cat's face. It growled, shaking away the slap of cold material, and took a step forward.
"Cold, come back!" a light gray she-cat shrieked. "It will kill you!"
"If I do, it will kill us all!" Cold hissed back. "We are the Elementals, Air— with power like this we are all destined to die."
"No, we are destined to live." A blue-gray cat slid up to Cold. "With power like this, we are destined to live. For with much at stake, we shall work together even further." She gave a short purr and pressed up to Cold. "Me and you together, Cold. All of us together."
The remaining three cats proceeded, and took position next to Cold, their eyes glittering. The Elementals created an impenetrable barrier between them and the enemy. Fire, Water, Air, Nature, and Cold spirits rose into the air, and mixed the contents together to form something, something dangerous, a force against the evil, fed by the will to help the greater good. But it was more than the Elementals that came together that night—it was the love and fellowship each cat was compelled to feel for another, the urge to protect the weak and fight alongside each other. The Elementals grew together, their hearts entwined forever, creating a path to be followed by every cat in their wake.
"With power like this, we are not meant to die. We are meant to live. We are meant to grow and learn together, and feel the power true love. That is the meaning of the Elementals."
Chapter One
"Graypaw! Graypaw!" a voice meowed loudly in Graypaw's ear. "Wake up, will ya?"
"Unngh," Graypaw groaned as she sat up. Slowly she blinked her eyes open, and screwed them up as the blinding morning light filtered through the gaps of the ceiling of interwoven brambles. A white face with sparkling blue eyes was staring at her, eye-to-eye. She was shoved aside by Firepaw, who pounced on her with his body, (which nearly took the breath from her because of his deadweight muscle), and began play-fighting. Oh, come on, Graypaw, she though to herself. She began scuffling with the fiery tom, while Frostpaw, refusing to be left out, quickly scrambled up and leaped into the fray.
"Apprentices!" Cloudfur popped his head in with a disapproving gaze. "What's going on here? Firepaw, Frostpaw, you were meant to join the hunting patrol which left without you just a moment ago. And Graypaw, you were supposed to be on the dawn patrol. It's sunhigh!"
That woke her up. She quickly gave a lick to her chest and hopped up, painfully aware that she still looked like she'd just woken up, which was quite true. Graypaw followed Frostpaw and Firepaw to the training hollow instead, and they sat in front of the two Elemental mentors, Icestorm and Scorchpelt.
Ever since Graypaw was born many cats acted weird around her, and gave her looks. Maybe it was because of the doubt, the confusion with her. Graypaw's mother and father, Grayfeather and Darkthorn, were equally mystical—they were the bravest cats in the Clan, ready to do anything with their Elemental powers, but they were easily diminished by the fact that they did not have normal abilities—they were what the Clan called a "Shadow Caster," very rare Elementals who had great but dangerous, and frightening powers.
Most kits showed their abilities at a young age, about six moons, when they would be paired with another Elemental with their ability and essentially temperament, but Graypaw had never shown hers. She did have dark fur and a shadowed personality, but that could still just be from her parents. Though her father died long before her birth and her mother died at birth, the Clan leader, Stormstar, named her Graypaw, in case she did turn out to be like her parents.
"Hey, um, Graypaw," Firepaw mewed, waving his paw over her face. "We have to do the drop and kick. I'm paired with you." Graypaw nodded gratefully and they began to get into position, their paws ready.
Firepaw steadily advanced, but his tail swished at the ground, sweeping up the leaves. Graypaw stifled a snort. She may be doubtful upon Elemental training but she was surely better than Firepaw at this!
Firepaw broke into a sprint towards her, ready to be the one to drop, but Graypaw knew that she was the one who was in the right position to do it. She dropped and as Firepaw landed on top of her she kicked out with a hind leg, taking out his paws and losing his balance. He scrambled up but Graypaw was already ready for him. They purred with amusement and scuffled on the dusty ground, play-fighting.
"Firepaw, Graypaw, stop it!" Icestorm hissed, breaking them apart by inserting her paw. "This is a training session, in case you haven't noticed, not a play-fighting practice."
"Sorry," Graypaw murmured, then kicked Firepaw to do the same. The looked at their paws but secretly glanced at each other, snickering quietly.
"Right, then," Scorchpelt continued. "We'll go hunting and see what you three can catch. Then we can be in time for Leafpaw and Tricklepaw's warrior ceremony."
Graypaw bit back a hiss of disappointment. It would be hard for her to get to her warriors ceremony, her assessment, even. It was truly harder for her to get it than Frostpaw and Firepaw, and she knew she might even be denyed the chance of becoming a warrior.
Graypaw tagged along with Frostpaw and Icestorm, trying not to feel terribly left out. As they neared a tree which apparently contained a creature rustling in the leaves above, Icestorm glanced at her apprentice and then at Graypaw. She would obviously leave Graypaw out again.
"Frostpaw, let's see if you can go get that squirrel," Icestorm whispered. "But don't stalk it, this time you'll use your abilities." Frostpaw's eyes shone as she neared the tree, her tail quivering with excitement. As she got near the tree she swept up her paw, sending an array of frost into the tree. The squirrel gave a squeak of alarm and ran down the trunk..
...straight into Graypaw's paws. "Great catch!" Icestorm meowed enthusiastically, but directing her praise toward Frostpaw. She looked at Graypaw and shrugged sympathetically.
Graypaw had never known why Icestorm hated her. Everyone else in the Clan seemed okay with her, except for a few highly traditional elders who believed that a follower of Shadow Elementals, or "shadow-casters" were a high disgrace, a rarity as they were in real life.
"Wake up, will you, Graypaw?" Icestorm snapped. "We're heading back to the training hollow with our catch." She followed the white and light-gray she-cat as she directed her paws toward the training hollow.
Firepaw and his mentor, Scorchpelt, stood with a squirrel and a starling, looking smug. Frostpaw glared at Firepaw as he gave she and Graypaw a triumphant gaze.
"Well," Icestorm said. "Three pieces of prey, well done for an afternoon. Well, that is, Firepaw and Frostpaw. Graypaw couldn't catch a blind, deaf, and crippled mouse if it ran into her paws." With that insult, the rude she-cat whipped around and stalked back to camp.
"What's her problem?" muttered Firepaw under his breath. Scorchpelt gave him a sharp glance, although he looked a tad bit angry as well. "Graypaw, not to worry. You will be having your afternoon meal as well. Now, make haste, or you will be later to get to the fresh-kill pile for the juiciest piece of fresh-kill!"
With an excited squeak, Frostpaw leaped to her paws and raced away, Firepaw and Graypaw haring after her.
_______
As Firepaw hungrily tore through his mouse, Graypaw and Frostpaw shared a rabbit, somewhat more civilly.
"So I was thinking," Frostpaw mewed. "About you and Icestorm..." But before the white she-cat could finish, a scream sounded from the other side of the hollow.
The trio of apprentices quickly leaped up at the shrill noise, while warriors around them were stirring. Leafpaw and Tricklepaw jumped, as they had been thoroughly into watching Tricklepaw's amazing agility with water. Graypaw had to admit though, floating an orb of water in your paws was an accomplishment, and Graypaw hoped someday, whatever her Elemental ability turned out to be, that it would be just as amazing, if not more.
A talon of ice stuck from the ground, already melting in the ground and stuck up so it had nearly impaled Blazefur in the belly. She carefully dislodged herself from her position and glanced up at Vinestar. "It nearly killed me!"
"Where did it come from?" Vinestar queried, sliding down to where Blazefur sat.
"It just...popped out of the ground!" she gasped. "Right where I was standing." With a glare at the half-melted pillar of ice, she thrust out her paws in outrage, sending out a faint column of fire to douse the ice.
"Well," Vinestar meowed, "maybe there are some severe climate changes because of the diversity of cats. You know that happens sometimes."