Fire & Water & Earth & Air

10: Earth

Annabel

           He's holding me upside down and it's all I can do to not knee him in the face. I can't, however, stop myself from punching and slapping his back.

           I hear retreating footsteps and I know -I just know- that he let that stupid girl go.

           He finally sets me down in front of him. I cross my arms and glare at Robert but he won't meet my eyes. Instead, he brings a hand up to the back of his neck and rubs it.

           "Hey," he says. "What's up?"

           I take big, calming, breaths and say, "Nothing much. What's up with you, you imbecile?"

           He casts me a hurt look and I immediately regret being rude. "Sorry, I didn't mean that. It's just that, that- ugh! Look at what she did, yeah?" I motion to the trees again. "And you let her go!"

           Robert nods but still won't look at me. "I didn't want you to kill her," he says quietly, and I realize that his rollick attitude is gone.

           I give a light chuckle and say, "There's no way I'm capable of murder."

           I see his face smile and he finally peaks up at me. "Yeah?"

           My lips match his smile. "Yeah."

            His usual smile is back now and he stands at his full height instead of the crooked posture he had earlier. "Because the way you were punching me earlier," he winces, "that's definitely going to leave a mark."

            I wince too. "Sorry about that."

           His face gets serious and perhaps even a bit ominous. "No, you aren't sorry. Not yet. But soon you will be."

           I furrow my eyebrows and look at him, wondering what just happened. That's when I feel the gust of wind that picks up water from the lake. I look at the ball and contemplate running or ducking, but suddenly it's too late and I'm drenched in lukewarm water.

           I open my mouth to say something, but before I can threaten him and his future offspring, I get more water in the face.

           "That's it! I'm going to make you p-" More water.

           That's when it hits me: another water ball and the realization that this water is always cold, but today it's lukewarm, maybe even a little more on the hot side.

           "Wait, Robert, wait. This water is warm."

           He tilts his head to the side, a sign he doesn't see my train of thoughts.

           "It's always cold, Robert. And the girl was naked!" He blushes and I make it a note to tease him about it later. I continue with, "She is fire. Remember last night, how the fire came back to life? It was her!" My voice has taken on the tone of excitement.

           His furrowed brows shoot up to his forehead as realization settles in. "So, she's like...." He trails off and I nod.

           It takes a few seconds then we shoot off, running in the direction she went. When we come to the edge of the woods, there is no sign of her anywhere. I sigh, dissapointed. Robert and I share a look and I shake my head. He shrugs, saying, "Maybe we'll see her later." I purse my lips and nod. "Maybe."

            We stare off into a random direction for a while before I nudge him in the arm with my elbow.

           "So, Fire Girl, huh?"