The Power of Four

Chapter 12 - Raine

Yay! Ash gets to be a mentor and Alder won't be lonely anymore! My puppy eyes always work. I looked over at Ash to see the expression on her face. She looked very annoyed and positively miserable.

"So, um, mentor, what are we doing now?" Alder wondered tentatively .

"We're walking. You use your feet and legs. Do I need to go into more detail?" Ash gritted out.

I sighed, that seemed like the best we were gonna get out of Ash for now.

"I'm not an idiot either," Alder said, swishing his bangs to one side. Because the whole Ash-Alder enemy thing was over for now, I finally got a good look at him. Alder had chestnut brown hair and green eyes flecked with bits of gold. He was tall. Well, shorter than Ash, but still. His bangs were eye-length and were always getting in his eyes. He wore a brown vest and leggings. Actually, he was very brown. His entire outfit was stained brown, as if he had lain in mud. If we were still enemies, then I would say he looked like a burnt biscuit or a cocoa bean. I giggled.

Aspen gave me a look, wondering what I was giggling about. When she asked me aloud and I told her what I was thinking, she burst out laughing. Ash and Alder whirled around to look at us and Aspen wiped her eyes.

"Sorry, I just can't picture Alder as a cocoa bean. It just doesn't fit." Aspen laughed hysterically and Alder raised an eyebrow.

"If it helps, you can be a burnt biscuit instead!" I offered. Ash facepalmed, not moved by our humor.

"So... Mentor Ash, what are we doing next?" I asked, using a new title for her.

"Mentor Ash?" Aspen asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It sounds formal," I said, bounding ahead of Aspen.

"Please stop," Ash moaned.

"Hey. You all call me fish," I argued.

"Hey, the girl's got a point." Aspen chimed in.

"So?" Ash inquired

"SO, MENTOR Ash, where are we going next?" I giggled.

"DON'T DO THAT!" Ash snapped. "But don't ask me, I've done my trial," She did a classic hair flip, and for the first time I noticed a streak in her hair. It was red- no orange- no. It was flaming. It pulsed through the different colors, as if it was made of fire itself.

"Hm... Peculiar." Aspen whispered, fiddling with her own hair as if she was thinking about her trial this minute.

"Can I touch it?" I asked, reaching out for Ash's hair.

"No. But it's cool, right?"

I nodded. Alder jutted in, "Well, now that you know my 'sob story', MENTOR Ash, someone explain to me this power thing."

"NOT IT!" Ash shouted, slapping her hand to her face and smirking.

"Not it as well." Aspen said cooly, putting her hand more gently to her face.

"I'll do it!" I said enthusiastically. As I explained every detail and power to Alder, his eyes grew wider and wider.

"And so, next we are going to do Aspen's trial!" I finished. Aspen winced.

"Don't put me in the spotlight, Raine." She said, but she grinned as if she couldn't wait herself.

"I don't believe it," Alder said.

"I know, right!" I said, bouncing up and down.

"No," Alder said, "I literally don't believe it. That's like impossible. Why are you guys trying to trick me?"