(ROUGH DRAFT) Endless Sky ~Elemental Chaos~

Chapter Fourteen

It wasn't easy finding Blaze in the moving mass of fur. Any flash of orange grabbed his attention, but it was always some bright earth elemental or a fire that wasn't Blaze. Even when the cats started to thin out, the young cat was no where to be found.
"Where is she?!" Avaro hissed quietly to Lucerne, not getting any response.
"Looking for someone?" A voice asked, Zeru padding up to them from behind.
Avaro held back an irritated growl, softening his face before turning around. The last thing he wanted was Zeru questioning his mood.
"Just looking for Blaze," Lucerne answered honestly before Avaro could.
"Blaze? Oh she was around here somewhere I believe," the leader replied, looking around.
"So helpful," Avaro grumbled under his breath, Lucerne nudging him.
"What?" he asked, looking over.
"Shut. Up." his friend mouthed, making Avaro frown. It was rare for Lucerne to ever tell him to shut up in such a serious way. It made him feel hollowed out, as if he greatly disappointed someone he was close to.
"She's probably with her friend, go check there," Zeru purred after a few moments, motioning his tail in the direction the two had searched earlier.
"Great, thank you," Lucerne quickly replied before grabbing Avaro's arm and walking off.
Avaro caught a glimpse of Fuchsia behind Zeru, quiet and emotionless. Avoiding eye contact.
"Odd..." He thought, frowning at his friend while being dragged away.
"Okay you can let me go now!" Avaro demanded as he tried to yank his arm away. Lucerne obliged and released his grip. "Sorry, I wanted to get away from him as soon as possible," he apologized.
"No, you just wanted to get away before I said something stupid," Avaro hissed, crossing his arms.
The Celestial Beast winced and shook his head. "No, I didn't want him asking too many nosy questions," he responded in a quiet voice, as if ashamed. Avaro instantly felt regret.
"Oh, sorry... I thought-"
"I know you can be reckless, but I also know you can control yourself when things are serious," Lucerne interrupted, his voice regaining strength.
Avaro wanted to believe his friend, but he knew he would lash out at a moments notice. Even if things were serious, he still would if pushed to the edge.
"...Alright..." Avaro hesitantly agreed. "Lets look for Blaze now, we already wasted enough time,"
Lucerne nodded and together the two set off, once again, to find their little friend. Unlike before when the dens seemed deserted, now they had movement.
Cats around were buzzing with conversations about the trial. Avaro couldn't exactly understand the full conversations as he passed, but he did hear the name Cinder being tossed around frequently.
The unnerving part was how surprised and excited the elementals and the other species were. Hardly did any cat look horrified or concerned on the leadership of Zeru.
"It's almost as if the flaws of this place are so much clearer. Now that I know they aren't even supposed to be here in the first place," Avaro thought, frowning at a pair of male earth elementals. Their conversation sounding as if they were disappointed in the fire elements for allowing a hybrid.
"Anything caught your eye?" He asked his friend, trying to take his mind off the buzz.
"No, nothing. Blaze isn't here," Lucerne answered. "I'm heading to Spike's den to see if she's there," he then added, pointing to the familiar ball in a tree up ahead. Crafted out of dirt and other materials.
"And what if Blaze isn't there?" Avaro questioned as he squinted at the den, hoping to spot some movement.
"Go back to our den, maybe she'll be there waiting for us," he replied and moved on, Avaro having to jog a bit in order to catch up.
"Spike?" The celestial called up once reaching the base of the tree.
"Might as well tell her what we're going to tell Blaze," Avaro whispered, not seeing a point to do it later.
"If she's even up there," his friend whispered back, keeping his eyes on the hole in the ball.
"Spike?" He called again, looking a bit defeated.
But to both of their surprise and relief, movement. The scarred yellow eyed she-cat poked her bead out from the hole, looking down at the two of them.
"Avaro? Lucerne? Is there something you need?" She asked, blinking.
"We were just looking for Blaze, you havent happen to see her around here have you?" Lucerne said to the Wild cat. To their dismay, she shook her head.
"No, i've been asleep for awhile," Spike answered, getting out of her den with a stretch.
"Really? You weren't there for the trial?" Avaro exclaimed in surprise.
"Trial? What trial?"
"Come with us, we'll explain soon," Lucerne cut in, opening a portal.
Spike blinked in concern and worry as she made her way back down to the ground, Avaro shrugging before walking through the portal.
Spike followed soon after with Lucerne just behind her. The portal having led to Avaro's crash site when he slammed into the wall.
"Woah, what happened here?!" Spiked meowed in alarm, her eyes wide as she stared at the splintered trees and crushed undergrowth.
"Just listen and you'll understand everything," Lucerne said, nodding to Avaro.
Despite trying to be brief and quick with their explanation, it still took longer than Avaro would have liked. Both having to explain not only Sunset, but also the wall and how Avaro had "found" it.
Spike asked little questions and listened, her expression giving off the impression that she understood.
A relief to Avaro. He really wasn't planning on having to explain the hundred reasons why Zeru is a bad guy.
If anything, Spike seemed to believe everything they had just said, even if it sounded odd and far-fetched.
"And that's about it," Lucerne finished with a sigh, looking as if he wished to have a bottle of water right about now.
Spike slowly nodded, now having her chance to spill any questions she didn't say beforehand.
"So, no one can tell Fuchsia or Stripe any of this?" She started, looking between the two.
"Nope, not even Patch and Rose. Though that's because they are way too young and wouldnt understand or care," Avaro answered with a shrug.
Spike nodded, passing on a few more common questions that were easily answered. Bored, Avaro found himself sitting on a nearby tree he'd knocked over. It's base a splintered mess with a few roots sticking out. He'd let Lucerne do most of the answering as he looked around and let his thoughts wander.
What would they do if they managed to bring all the cats to the other world? Assuming Zeru would let them, he wouldn't be able to lead them anymore. They would be too far spread out to travel to without some method of fast travel.
"He might have some portal making device or ability, how else would they have gotten to this world?" Avaro thought about that for a moment before frowning, unsure if Zeru even came here using a portal he made. All these details were hard to follow, he felt like he'd already forgotten some.
"Avaro?" Lucerne called out, grabbing his attention.
"Yeah? Need me?" He replied as he got up. His friend nodded and motioned him over. Avaro made his way back to the duo, wondering if it was time to head back now.
"We've decided to split up," Lucerne unexpectedly announced.
"Eh? Split up? Waddya mean?!" Avaro exclaimed, disliking the idea.
"If we all just went after each cat one by one, it would take us days. We might not have days," Lucerne explained. "But if we all split up, we can get three times the work done, and finish sooner,"
Avaro shook is head, still disagreeing.
"You make it sound like each cat is going to listen to us, what if one snitches and Zeru gets a hold of us?" He pointed out, making the celestial frown.
"That's why we have to get as many as we can before that happens," he responded. "So when we do get caught, we already have a group behind us ready to back us up,"
"You already have one," Spike spoke up, her stubby tail flicking.
Avaro was still hesitant, but no longer saw a point in arguing. They have already decided, nothing he could say or do would change his mind.
"Fine, we'll split up," he grumbled, dissatisfied.
"Great! Lets get going then," Lucerne beamed, opening a portal and letting Spike hop through. "I believe you can get lots of cats on your side," he added as Avaro stepped into the portal. He felt a twang of fear, realizing one of the reasons why he didn't want to split, was because he was afraid of messing up.
Worried that one cat would question him, irritate him, run off and snitch before Avaro could get anyone to believe in him. Lucerne was good at convincing. Spike knows the cats around and knows what they are like. Avaro was just a reckless hothead.
Spike had already bounded away when Lucerne appeared behind Avaro, the blue portal closing.
"Let's get started then, you can keep an eye out for Blaze. All of us are. If you see her, talk to her," Lucerne said, patting the dragon's shoulder before walking off. Leaving him all alone.
Avaro shivered in discomfort as he watched the blue figure move on and vanish behind some bushes and trees. He was all alone now.
"I can do this, how hard can it be?" Avaro thought, already regretting his thoughts. "Great, I jinxed it,"
Straightening up and taking a deep breath, he turned around and headed in the opposite direction away from Lucerne. A part of him wanted to only focus on Blaze, ignore everyone else until he could find his little niece. But something told him that wasn't the plan  anymore, that Lucerne would want him to spread the word now to any cat. Not just Blaze.
The village waa basically back to normal now, still buzzing with gossip, but at least there were cats grouping for hunting sessions, repairing, building, decorating or just relaxing.
A pair of female earth elementals were carefully weaving a pretty vine into the bark of a tree, bees buzzing around the flowers growing from their pelts. A wild cat was covered in mud in a tree as he build a nest, adding twigs and branches to help strengthen it. Down by the river were a trio of water elementals, splashing around and flapping their fins on their back and legs. One of them even having a tail like a dolphin's.
But Avaro didn't want to speak to any of them. He'd decided on the dark blue cat laying alone, a sunbeam filtering through the tree leaves and shining down on the cat. Making his fur glimmer. Avaro believed that a prophet had the highest chance on understanding him. They all seemed wiser and more opened minded with the fact they can glimpse into the future. He just hoped that was true.
"Excuse me," Avaro waved his hand to try and grasps the prophet's attention.
The cat's main two eyes slitted open before he jerked upright. Startled on Avaro's arrival and presence.
"Oops, sorry, didn't mean to startle you!" Avaro exclaimed, having ceased his wave. "What a great first impression," he added silently to himself.
The cat just stared in silence.
Avaro's spine prickled with discomfort and anxiety as he tried to think of how to start.
"Do you mind having a word with me?" He tried, attempting a friendly smile but the cat's eyes only widened more. As if afraid.
"Ah right, being woken up by a pale scarred beast with red eyes, horns, and wings really is enjoyable," Avaro grumbled in his mind, wishing he looked at least a little bit less intimidating. Maybe more pink eyes or pinker skin to hide the scar, but frankly he can't change his features unless turning into a dragon. Even Lucerne couldn't change his glowing white eyes or remove the white specks all over his body. Regardless of the form, he always looked like a starry blue alien.
"Sorry if I disturbed you or anything, I just need to spread a word around and hoping you would listen," Avaro attempted to explain. Maybe if the cat knew his intentions, he would be a little less afraid. It seemed to have worked, the prophet's face now looked more confused and skeptical instead of frightened.
"You want to spread gossip? I am uninterested in the Cinder business! He was never associated in my life so I do not care!" He abruptly exclaimed, fur puffing out. Avaro raised his eyebrows, startled on the sudden outburst specified on Cinder.
"I'm sorry? It's not really about Cinder, just other things that might interest or concern you," he said.
The blue feline narrowed his eyes, his tailtip twitching frequently.
"Alright, make it quick, but don't expect me to reply often! I have nothing to say or hide!" He hissed, catching Avaro off guard once more. "I never assumed you did have anything to hide..." He thought silently, deciding not to ponder on it too long while he found a spot to sit.
"I'll try and make it brief, just hear me out until the end."