Elementalists (completed)

Chapter 18

We immediately put the plan into action once we finish eating and I tell everyone what it is. They all raise their eyebrows at me in surprise.

"Wow Blitz, didn't think you had so much evil in you." Ignis says approvingly. I playfully hit her arm to hide the fact that my face is burning from the compliment.

"Lets just go. We could probably catch some fish in the river, I'm still hungry." Terro complains.

We all roll our eyes at him and Kin points to Ignis, "Lead the way Captain Ignis."

She does and the next thing we know we're trekking through the dense, close knit forest, which, if you didn't know, isn't very fun. Leaves and branches hit you and get stuck in your hair while random bugs bombard you, leaves from the small plants on the ground both tickling and scaring the bajeebers out of you.

We walk and walk and walk.

Ignis is in the lead and burns some stuff out of the way but we continue to be very slow. Step. Step. Branch gets stuck in my hair. Stop and free it. Step. Step. Bug gets stuck in my eye. Step. Step. It's a painfully slow journey and I am just about to complain when Ignis stops and holds a hand up, telling us to stop.

Nero opens his mouth to speak but Ignis hushes him, cocking her head as though listening to something. I do the same and don't hear anything.

"What-" I start, but then I hear it. Running water and voices.

I feel an evil smile play on my face and I think the others are doing the same.

Time for payback.

. . .

We creep out of the forest into a clearing. I sigh in relief as the trees disappear and I hear Kin do the same. Those things are so annoying.

"Okay, we all know the plan?" Ignis whispers to us. I don't know why we're whispering, it's not like they'll be able to hear us over the roar of the river and we aren't even close to them.

"Yeah." Neve whispers back.

Ignis smiles and evil smile, one that suits her well, "Then lets get some payback."

I'm not sure what we're getting payback for. Their gloating? Their winning? The fight we had before?

Whatever. I'm all in either way.

I look over to where the voices are, curious to see what the Black Serpents' camp looks like, and am both surprised and slightly embarrassed they found it first.

The river looks fast, and a couple of the Black Serpents are standing in the water, doing something. As I watch, a fish jumps out of the water, making the metal elementalist on their team shout and leap toward the fish. Somehow he manages to catch it and lets out a bark of triumph. I feel my stomach grumble and my mood lower.

I turn my attention from the celebrating fishermen and look instead at what apparently is their home. Ignis described it to us, a small house made of hardened mud, but it looks bigger in person. It is a square about fifty feet with the fire, water, and earth elementalists working on making it either bigger or stronger.

"Lets go." Ignis whispers. We nod at her and she leads us closer, sneaking from tree to tree like spies. We slowly make our way closer without the Black Serpents even glancing our way, to absorbed in what they're doing, completely oblivious to the attack. I bet the viewers at home are either laughing or leaning forward eagerly to see what happens.

This could either go as planned or horribly wrong.

I hope it's the first one.

We stop about ten trees away from their mud house and Ignis turns to us, her orange eyes twinkling, "Ready?"