Colliding Elements (Original Draft)

19. Having Hope

It was early morning as Kyle and the other four arrived at the fire temple, all of them exhausted from the long night of riding. They all slipped off of their horses at the entrance of the temple, Geyer and Bellus leading the horses over to a stable only a few meters away. Kyle looked at the buildings along the path they had to take, looking at them in amazement.

"Are these really made out of lava rock?" he asked as he walked up to one of the buildings and hesitantly ran his fingers against the rough surface.

"They are," Angela spoke as she walked past Kyle and placed her hands on her hips while waiting for the others. "I'll lead the way through here since this is my home." She smiled at Kyle and laughed as she caught a glimpse of Geyer rolling his eyes.

"Just because you grew up here doesn't mean you're the only one who knows how to get around." Geyer walked up next to her and continued on walking. Aquilla and Bellus followed behind him, leaving Angela and Kyle at the back of the group.

"It's been a while since I've visited..." Bellus spoke as she looked around. "A lot has changed since I left."

"When were you last here?" Angela asked from behind while looking at the decorated staff that Bellus carried with her. "I don't remember ever seeing you."

Bellus glanced back and smiled. "I was here until the water stone was brought up to the country." She turned her head back forward and continued on. "My brother was a fire Elemental, an Aries to be exact. My family moved to the city just next door to the temples so he could train here. I was born a few years afterward. So I was here for about six years."

Angela scrunched up her lips while still thinking of any occurrences in seeing Bellus, giving up momentarily. "We must've never met then."

Bellus smiled as she chuckled. "Apparently not."

Kyle continued looking around, not paying attention to the conversation. "Where would Jim and my other friends be?"

Geyer looked back at him before looking ahead again. "They're going to be in the Dormant Valley. That's where the sleeping quarters are."

"And how much longer until we get there?"

"It will take a few more minutes, Kyle," Angela spoke. "This place has become quite large."

Kyle looked at her with impatience written all over his face. He wanted to see his friends as soon as possible, he didn't want to wait another minute. He sighed and thought for a moment before getting a simple idea.

"Geyer," he yelled, "let's run!"

"What? You think I'd do that in a safe area?" Geyer yelled back.

Kyle started to walk quicker as a deviant idea came to his mind, soon jogging up to Geyer and pushing aside a bit.

"Hey!" Geyer shouted and chased after Kyle after regaining his balance.

Aquilla looked at the two with an eyebrow quirked. "Angela," she began, "is this common for Kyle?"

Angela scratched the back of her head. "I'm not sure yet..."

~~{*}~~

Ash sat on a stool far away from the small fireplace while looking at the cracks in the wall. Not having any windows in the room was slowly driving her insane. Seeing the outdoors was what she wanted most at the moment.

She took another glance over at Hunter's sleeping form, seeing her friend's body move under the fur blanket. "Come on..." Ash muttered. "Wake up already."

Her request was not granted as a snort came from Hunter as she continued to sleep. The waiting was making Ash antsy, knowing her attempts of waking Hunter up wouldn't work.