Dark Days

Chapter 1

The young wolf fell to the ground, defeated and out of energy, she did not move. Her blue and silver fur was matted with blood at this point, but her attacks had barely left a scratch on the owl. She looked up to the silver owl perched precariously on a bare branch and attempted to get up slowly. The owl watched her with a kind of mocking in her eyes, almost making fun of the wolf's weaknesses. The wolf let out a howl of pain before falling back to the ground. She opened her eyes slightly, only to see the owl glowing with a green aura, charging at her at full speed. Panic had struck the wolf and she had brought her wings forward to at least slow down the oncoming attack.

A few moments had passed when the wolf realized she had not been hit yet. She opened her eyes slowly, fearful that she had died and just had not known it. Instead, she found that there was a giant shield of rock in front of her, which had saved her from the oncoming attack. She sighed and turned back into her human form before peeking out from around the rock to see the owl getting back to its feet. The panicked, injured woman spread her wings and flew quickly into the woods in hopes of escape. The owl watched her fly off in shock but did not pursue after her. She knew they would meet again very soon, but now was not the time with as panicked as she was.

As the woman flew further into the woods, she kept glancing under her wings as they beat, trying to see if the owl was pursuing her. As her wings gently flapped, and her panic receded, she felt herself get clumsy. She pushed on for a very long while, trying to put as much distance between her and the creature of her near demise. She finally lost the remainder of her strength as she hit a clearing in the woods and crashed into the earth with a huge thud. The girl just laid on the ground with her blue and silver wings spread out as if she was still in midflight. Her long, dark blond hair was matted with blood and her body was covered with gashes.

She laid there for a minute before attempting to get up, yet she was so strained that she could not do it. She then noticed a shadowy figure out on the edge of the clearing and felt panic fill her again. A rock dome went up over her, and vines shot up from the ground around it. She was beginning to realize that she was accessing the powers that the legends her parents told her about were coming true, but she felt that it was too late and that these powers were not going to save her now.

"Malelia!" a voice shouted through all the chaos. The girl recognized the voice, but she couldn't calm herself. Her panic rose more and the vines outside her rock dome became more violent. The man outside the dome knew that she was hurt and had little control over what was happening. For as long as he knew her, she didn't have access to these powers. He himself had just recently gained his powers, and he knew how dangerous they could be to others and one's self. The man encased himself in fire and flew up over the vines in an attempt to reach the dome somewhat safely. As the vines reached out to grab at him he would summon fire to his hands and burn the vines. When he got close enough to the dome, he outstretched his arms and charged it with a spin, crashing a hole in the top of it. He landed really close to the woman at the center of all the chaos and saw that she was almost unconscious.

"Malelia, it's okay..." he said softly picking her up in his arms. She opened her eyes slightly and felt her panic recede once she saw his face. Malelia, embraced him softly and shortly after the dome and vines disappeared back into the earth.

"Hi Ritsu," she said weakly before falling asleep into his arms.

A few days passed before Malelia woke up in a small cabin that she barely recognized. She sat up slowly and glanced around the cabin, spotting Ritsu's Eagle elemental, a spirit that takes on the form of an animal and embodies the natural elements of the earth, perched on a chair by the door watching her. She got up slowly and decided to go find Ritsu, so she could thank him for bandaging her and taking care of her while she was out cold. As she approached the door she heard an unfamiliar voice come from outside. She peered through the window, only to see the owl that attacked her holding a conversation with Ritsu. Chills shot up and down her spine as panic took over her body again, and she transformed into her wolf form. She silently crept toward the door when the eagle flew down in front of her to stop her.

"Malelia, I know that look, what are you doing," the eagle asked her calmly.

"Hakan, that's the owl that attacked me, that almost killed me!" Malelia hissed through her teeth.

"It's an elemental's job to give their ward the ultimate challenge. If the ward lives through the battle or manages to escape, they have proven themselves worthy of having one of us by their side. If they cannot hold up... well, you know..." Hakan explained to her.

"So, you're telling me that this owl is meant to be my elemental," Malelia asked stoutly. Hakan just nodded at her and glanced out of the window at the owl again as it talked to Ritsu. "Hakan, I'm not going to let this owl think it had the upper hand. If she's going to fight by my side, she must know I'm in charge," Malelia growled.

Hakan just watched as Malelia crept out the door and into the shrubbery not even ten feet away from the house. She kept her wings folded close to her body and crept around under the shrubbery and weeds to a good angle to attack the owl. She took a deep breath, slowed her heart and focused on the owl very closely. Malelia felt as if she was a predator stalking her prey, and in a way, that was exactly what she was doing. She closed her eyes and relaxed for a brief moment before opening them and using her wings to launch her out of the weeds. She took the owl by great surprise, catching each wing under her paws and pinning her to the ground.

"Malelia stop! This owl is an elemental!" Ritsu shouted at her.

"I know Ritsu, but that doesn't change the fact that she almost killed me, and I'm not letting her get away with that!" Malelia snarled through her teeth. At this point, the owl was too frightened and shocked to even utter a word. She seemed to be wondering how long it would be until Malelia decided to dig her teeth into her throat and rip it out. The owl closed her eyes trying to keep her calm, but she could feel the fear overtaking her body and her pulse rising.

"Malelia!" Ritsu shouted as he transformed into his lion form and tackled her off the owl. They rolled around in the dirt for a moment before Ritsu came out on top. He held his body low and his wings spread against the ground giving Malelia no room to move. "This owl wants to be your elemental! She knows she almost killed you, but that's what they do! They fight until you die, win, or manage to escape!"

Malelia kicked him off her and walked off from the two of them. She sat on the ground and stared at them for a moment, thinking and debating what to do with the whole situation. The owl cautiously approached her, making sure that Malelia was not going to attack again.

"My name is Makka..." she said cautiously, still keeping her distance, "Your fighting skills are amazing, and the fact that you're just accessing your earth powers tells me that we're meant to fight together. I want to help teach you how to control them and use them to your advantage."

Malelia just glared at the owl for a moment. She didn't know what to think about this owl anymore. One minute it was trying to kill her, and the next minute she wanted to be best friends. Ritsu turned back into his human form and walked over to Malelia, as she turned back into her human self.

"Malelia, take this opportunity. I've been talking to Makka, and she's very much like Hakan in all actuality. She'll be a great partner for you, and if someone can teach you to harness your powers, it's going to have to be an elemental. You know I couldn't control my fire abilities until Hakan came along," Ritsu said softly, but Malelia would not take her glare off Makka. Ritsu grabbed her chin and turned toward her head to him and kissed her softly. Malelia smiled softly at him and focused her attention back on Makka.

"I guess I can let you fight by my side," Malelia smiled. Without another word, Makka took off into the woods. She was sending a message out to the other elementals that she had found a ward, and that her ward was not to be challenged by another elemental unless something was to happen to Makka.