The Keepers of the Elements

Tulii

 Watching over the camp was uneventful, luckily. The air definitely had a slight chill to it, but it was bearable. The group that had attacked them earlier were still unconscious. And it didn't look like they'd be getting up anytime soon.

"Hey, I'll take over." Tulii spun around. Huro was awake.

"No, I'm good."

"Alex snores." The two of them had a stare-off before Huro finally sighed and looked away. "We'll take watch together until you get tired."

The two of them wandered around the camp, kicking twigs here and there and folding their arms over their chests to warm them up a bit. The minutes ticked by.

Eventually, Huro sat down by their prisoners, and rested up against a tree. Tulii, not knowing what else to do, joined him.

At some point she must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, Huro was shaking her awake. "Not tired, eh?"

"Whatever," Tulii grabbed his hand and he pulled her to her feet. "Make sure you get some sleep at some point too, alright Sparky?"

"Sure thing." He said in a tone that didn't exactly sound convincing.

Tulli narrowed her eyes at him as menacingly she could, which must have been pretty menacing considering that Huro stepped back a little. "See ya in the morning."

"See you then."

The elf began to make her way to her tent (which she had all to herself!) before turning around again. "Make sure you keep your sword close!" She turned around and went to her tent, falling asleep as soon as she hit the ground.

The next morning, Tulii woke up to arguing. Surprise, surprise.

"Why did you cut it?!" Pippy was yelling. Cut what? A horrible realisation dawned over

Tulii. Had somebody cut the prisoners free?

She rushed out of the tent, daggers in hand, to see Pippy slapping Huro, while he pathetically dodged. "Why did you cut your stupid man-bun?!"

"Because it was stupid, just like you said! Ow!" The princess nailed him in the face. "Would you stop?!"

Huro's hair was cut into spiky, uneven parts that hung just under his ears. It did look weird... but good.

Pippy turned to Tulii. "Where are your little braid thingies? Why is everybody's hair weird?"

Ash, who was face down on the ground, groaned. "Why isn't there any food and fresh clothes? I feel gross."

And that's when Tulii got a bright idea that involved team bonding, fun, and the buying of basic necessities. She grinned and grabbed Pippy and Huro by the shoulders, pulling them into an awkward hug. "SHOPPING!"

"Uh what?"

"We go shopping! I have some money on me, so we can go get new clothes, food, and other stuff!" Tulii explained excitedly. "I mean, we are in the Brook Forest. It's stocked with villages!"

Pippy clapped and squealed. Huro yanked away from Tulii. Ash arose from the grass.

"SHOPPING?!" Alex yelled, running out of his tent. "HOLY ZYA WE'RE GOING SHOPPING? I LIVE FOR SHOPPING! ASH-"

The princesses went to work on calming him down, while Huro and Tulii began packing up camp and getting. After a few minutes, they had what valuables they had packed up and ready to go.

"Which way do we go exactly?"

Alex, who was somewhat over his excitement attack, looked around in a circle before pointing in the direction where the stream that they had tested Pippy in earlier. "Probably that way. There's always a settlement where there's a water source."

The five of them began hiking along the side of the water, stomachs rumbling, and occasionally stopping to clean the dirt off of their hands. Finally, Tulii changed the conversation to the topic they were all avoiding.

"How are we going to learn how to control our abilities?"

Ash kicked the ground. "Well we found out that we can really only use them if we're freaking out."

Alex nodded. "We have to be feeling a lot of emotion."

"Fear?"

"I think more... desperation."

"Well, Ash was desperate to get out of harm's way when the castle was exploding, and then probably desperate to get her and Alex outta Gronadar's rope thing." Pippy said. "And Tulii, Sparky was gonna die if you didn't fly, right?"

The elf nodded. "Then were you desperate to be the water keeper?"

"Heck yeah. Zya was hardcore from what the scrolls have said! Who wouldn't want to be the like... champion of the defeater of Oshi?"

Her sister flinched, but Tulii seemed to be the only one that noticed.

"Okay so... desperation. That's the key emotion?"

"CIVILIZATION!" Ash suddenly cheered. The group had reached a small, bustling village. People- and elves- made their way up and down the streets, in and out of the shops. No one took interest in the newcomers.

Tulii grinned, pulling out the pouch of money she had. Huro donated the two gold pieces he had as well.

"Okay everyone, we're gonna use the buddy system. Each person can get," She did the math quickly. "Seven pieces of gold. There'll be a group of two and a group of three."

"I CALL SPARKY AND TULII!" Pippy screeched, grabbing onto the bewildered pair. "We're gonna have some FUN."

Ash grabbed Alex's hand. "Then we'll meet back here in... an hour."

The groups rushed off. Tulii tried to convince them to go over to a smithy shop, but Pippy dragged the two of them to a boutique of sorts. "You should probably get out of that dress, princess." Huro said. "Unless you want to fight an army in it."

"Yes, weapons, exactly." Tulii nodded, her gaze drifting off.

"Windy, no. Clothes first, weapons last, okay?"

Pippy gasped. "I just realized you both have nicknames for each other! Holy scrolls, I think I'm gonna die of the cuteness."

Huro raised his eyebrows. "Cuteness?"

"Uh. Sparky Elf. Duh." Pippy shrugged like it was no big deal. Huro and Tulii stared at her. "It's your ship name, guys!"

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no."

"Oh, yes." The princess grinned. "Sparky Elf is the most amazing ship of all."

Huro's face had turned bright red, but Tulii was still trying to play it cool. "Don't make me drop you off with your sister."

Pippy faked a gasp. "Oh Zya I'm so scared." She rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's shop."