(ROUGH DRAFT) Endless Sky ~Elemental Chaos~

Chapter Seventeen

Avaro sat there, completely horrified. Now he wished he'd lied about knowing how Wild cats were raised.
A test at birth? Where all kits are abandoned to fend for themselves for a week? Why? Just because a kit is weaker at birth doesn't mean they wont be stronger later on, right?
"So that's that. I'm not supposed to live. My skills are still weaker than the others even after all my training," Spike sighed. "So I feared the day he might find out I basically cheated..."
"But what about the kits that killed your sister?!" Avaro exclaimed, outraged.
"Nothing, they even boasted about it. But all they were doing were proving their strength," the Wild cat explained, her eyes filled with sorrow. "There are no rules during the test, just survive by any means possible,"
"Yeah, but I didn't see how killing you or your sister would help them survive," Avaro grumbled, crossing his arms.
"No, but it did make them look more stronger and feel more safer I guess..." Spike sighed as she loafed, tucking her paws under herself. Avaro stared at the ground, looking almost like a child who couldn't get the candy at the store.
"But who would propose a test like that?!" He wondered, already knowing the answer.
Zeru. Or maybe his father. Avaro couldn't remember the timeline at the moment. He just knew that one of those two must be behind this horrible test.
"Why would Zeru proclaim a test like that? Or better yet, why would anyone agree to a test like that?" He hissed. "To the Wild cats specifically?"
Spike shrugged, flattening her ears. "I don't know, I never questioned it before. I always thought it was some kind of cultural thing to the Wild cats," she replied.
"So you're saying the Wild cats are the one who made the test?"
"Maybe?"
Avaro hissed and grumbled, irritated that Spike didn't know more, but also understood why. No one really questioned things here, especially if it's about Zeru. Everyone simply followed him.
Was killing him still on the table?
Movement caught Avaro's eye as he looked up, spotting Blaze squirming to stretch and yawn.
"Good morning," he called up to her as she sat up.
Blaze mewed a tired response before letting herself slide down the sparkly beast. Lucerne stayed asleep.
Avaro handed her one of the prey and let the elemental eat. Explaining how Spike had shown up recently to discuss the events of yesterday. She just had to wait for everyone to wake up.
"Why can't we just wake Lucerne up?" The little cat offered as she took a bite of her meal.
"I don't particularly like waking Lucerne up, or anyone," Avaro lied, knowing full well he'd set a firecracker off anytime in Roxxan's room.
"But I woke you up before," Blaze pointed out with her mouth full.
"That was only cause I was sleeping a little too late. Also swallow first before replying, we don't need you choking right now," he added and the cat rolled her eyes but obeyed.
Spike gave Avaro a small amused smile.
"You know, I am pretty surprised with how level headed you are," she said, Avaro's brow furrowing in confusion.
"With all the things that happened recently, all the doom and destruction oh no save everyone, all that," she continued. "You still manage to act relatively normal."
Avaro blinked, shrugging. "I guess that's just who I am, would you rather have me sulking around everywhere?"
"Oh no no! It's fine!" Spike exclaimed with a small laugh.
Avaro grinned back. He knew deep down he was still hurting, but he learned years ago to never show it. Keep it hidden from others. Lucerne would be the only person he'd every cry to besides his parents, though he'd still not want to. Right now he had to focus on making sure everyone living here didn't join Mystic. It's what she would have wanted.
"Looks like Lucerne is waking up," Blaze mumbled though a full mouth, the fluffy blue beast having started to stir.
"About time," Avaro chuckled as he watched his friend yawn and sit up.
"Morning," he added once Lucerne opened his eyes and looked around.
"Mmmorning..." The celestial yawned before reverting back into his human self, suddenly looking very small now.
"Come on, I got you something to eat. It's not cooked yet but it shouldn't be hard to start a fire," Avaro said as he walked over, offering a hand to help Lucerne up.
"I can make one," Blaze spoke up as Lucerne accepted Avaro's offer.
"Do it then," the dragon replied.
"Not right now," Lucerne quickly intercepted. "I have to prepare the thing first! I can't just cook it with ther fur and all!"
"Sure you can!" Avaro laughed, patting his friend's back.
"You can, not me!" he retaliated, taking his breakfast and leaving the den to skin it.
"Oh well," Avaro shrugged and sat down. "He'll eat eventually."
Blaze nodded and sat up, having finished her meal. "Fresh kill tastes good though, I don't know why he would cook it," she commented, glancing at the exit.
"I guess that's what he's used to, or just cant digest raw meat as a human," Spike added in.
"Avaro's human,"
"He's also a fire breathing dragon with sharp teeth and wings, i'm sure all his forms can digest raw meat,"
"You're not wrong there," Avaro said with a small chuckle. "I never had an issue with raw meat, and i've ate it plenty of times in large quantities,"
"Well i'm just saying!" Blaze puffed out her fur, frowning. "So how long will it take for Lucerne to finish his breakfast?"
"Give him about, an hour or two," the dragon answered.
"An hour or two?! That's too long!" The elemental wailed. "We have things to talk about!"
"Sure we do, but a fire wouldn't fair too well in here and none of us wants to risk talking out there," Avaro explained, Spike nodding.
"And we don't want Lucerne getting sick from undercooked meat," she added.
Blaze pouted, but seemed to have understood, taking thr scraps of her meal away to properly dispose of it.
Luckily for everyone, it didn't take even an hour for Lucerne to finish cooking his food, allowing him to join the others in the den.
Together, Avaro and Spike reiterated the Wild cats test. Making sure to not leave out any details. Avaro trusted Blaze can tolerate it, but also knew she would throw a fit if they tried to tell her to leave or cover her ears.
"We age similarly to you all but mature sooner! I can handle a scary story, i'm not a baby!" She most likily would have said.
So they let her stay, trusting they wont tramuatize or scar her.
By the end of it, Lucerne ironically looked more horrified and afraid than Blaze did.
"So that explains why I never get to meet any Wild cat newborns," Blaze mewed quietly, the celestial looking as if he was going to hurl.
"I know it's dark, but that's how its been for all these years," Spiked sighed. "Zeru clearly doesn't want to change it, otherwise he would have done so ages ago..."
"I'll make sure it stops when we leave this place," Avaro growled in addition. Lucerne nodded slowly, still processing and trying to not lose his breakfast. Perhaps they should've waited for him to finish his meal, he'd lost his appetite halfway through.
"But maybe we can use that to our advantage!" Spike meowed, straightening up. "Not everyone knows about the cruel start we all deal with, so maybe we can use it to show others how cruel Zeru is!"
"You're onto something!" Avaro exclaimed, raising his eyebrows.
"No one likes it when kits die," Spike continued. "So if they find out Zeru lets so many meet that demise, surely they would react!"
"But why haven't the Wild cats did anything?" Blaze asked, looking confused.
"Because we see it as a cultural thing, not a cruel action that lets innocent kits die," Spike replied. "We were also led to believe it was a safety measure. We didn't want our home to be attacked and only have weak Wild cats,"
"When the last time your home got attacked?" Avaro questioned, feeling as if he already knew the answer.
"Well, Sunset is apparently not evil so... Never. We've had cats being attacked by large creatures in the woods, but any cat can take them out," Spike responded, shuffling her paws. "We don't really need powerful and fast cats, the elementals alone are already so much more powerful!" She turned to Blaze who looked startled at the sudden attention. "She can literally set me aflame right now and send me running!"
"But that can risk the forest catching fire!" Lucerne protested.
"An ice elemental can freeze me! Or a lightning one zapping me!" Spike countered, huffing. "Why haven't I realized this before...?" She added mostly to herself.
"...When everyone else treats it as normal, you're led to believe it is..." Lucerne said in response, a silence following.
Avaro stuck to what Spike said, curious. Why hasn't anyone questioned anything? Sure there was at least some reason behind preventing hybris, but the Wild cat test didn't really have a clear reason. The village isn't under much threat and most cats are strong enough to defend theirselves. There is hardly a need for cats that could run fast when wind elementals can go faster. Or cats with stronger legs when male earth elementals are strong enough to crush boulders. What was Zeru's intentions on making this test? To fulfill some sick fantasy of watching kits die? To try and kill off the Wild cat population? Or maybe it was an attempt to selectively breed them and only have strong ones have children. Letting weaker ones die.
But wouldn't that risk a possible revolution and have Zeru or the next heir overthrown?
Avaro wished he could ask Zeru himself, but he knew that would most likely never happen.
"Do you think Renny and Sunset got Cinder back?" Lucerne asked, breaking the silence.
"I hope so, though i'd expect a commotion to happen," Avaro responded. "Zeru telling everyone that Cinder fled and to kill him on site or something,"
Lucerne and Spike nodded, agreeing. Blaze frowning.
"Something wrong?" Avaro turned to the elemental. "Why does Cinder have to be killed? Can't he just not have babies?" She asked.
"Well yeah, but I don't think Zeru trusts him not to," Spike piped up, looking over at Blaze. "Love can really come out of no where and make you do things you know you shouldn't," she explained. "We all know hybrids aren't allowed and are punishable by death, yet that didn't stop his parents... Though it is a shame Cinder must be punished, he never asked to be made,"
"Mmhm," Avaro agreed with a small nod. Blaze stared back at Spike for a moment, but understood and nodded as well.
"We'll find out the Wild cats original home after settling the elementals," Lucerne promised. "The prophets too,"
"We'll beat it out of Zeru if we have to," Avaro added with a growl.
Spike's eyes glimmered a bit as she looked at the two, smiling. "Thank you, but honestly any home away from Zeru would be better," she admitted with a laugh, making the others chuckle with her.
"So we'll wait for information on Cinder, then start informing others about the kit test," Avaro said, refreshing and simplifying the plan.
"It shouldn't be long now, more cats are waking up so someone has to have checked up on him," Lucerne said.
An angry yowl came from outside.
"About time," Avaro snickered maliciously, reconizing Zeru's voice.
"I guess we better get going, make sure to act confused," Lucerne ordered as everyone scrambled to leave. "We don't wan't to draw attention to ourselves, that means you too Avaro, I see that grin!"
"What grin? I'm not grinning!" Avaro protested, quickly making a big fake frown. Lucerne narrowed his eyes at him before shaking his head, continuing to gather up his half eaten breakfast.
Spike and Blaze had already left as Avaro headed out of the den.
"Can't wait to see the look on Zeru's face."