The Five Elementals

Chapter 1 - POV Kevin

A/N: I really shouldn't be writing two stories at once, but here I am. :) While I'm still working on Fangs and Fur, this will be updated whenever I have time (so probably not often). I'm also not really sure where this is going but I love the idea (so don't steal it :) )!

Thank you for reading this and enjoy!

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I relax on a bench on the Academy's quad, absorbing the sunshine. It's a beautiful day - March 31st. Spring is in the air. Flowers are popping up on the expansive quad, and the last traces of snow have resolved themselves into tiny puddles. It's also warm, a comfortable temperature somewhere between cool and hot.

I know that the early flowers probably have something to do with my fellow Terras. We're always growing plants on campus. It's good practice for finals.

Well, this year's finals are officially over, as of this morning. A smile spreads across my face: there is never a time quite as relaxing as right after finals, when all the old stress has been removed and so far, no one has added any new stress.

I close my eyes and let the faraway babble of students talking and birds chirping wash over me.

"Thinking about Miranda?" a deep voice asks. I know that voice - it's Avriel, my best friend. We're the same age, twenty-one.

I open one eye, then the other. Like I always do when I see Avi, I reach out a hand over the lawn surrounding my bench and, reaching for my power within myself, cause a flower to grow. I let the stem stretch higher and higher until the large yellow blossom blooms in his face.

Swatting aside the sunflower, Avi superfrowns at me. "How many more times are you going to do that, tree-hugger?"

I shrug, smiling. "Forever and always, Mr. Fire Pants."

"Hey, fire is cool," he reminds me, like he always does, and opens his mouth. A stream of glowing red flames comes out and torches my sunflower. I pout and pretend to be offended. "See? I'm like a dragon," Avi says.

I roll my eyes.

"So were you thinking about Miranda?" Avi presses, going back to his first question.

"No." I shake my head. Miranda is the code name for the girl I have a crush on. If I told Avi who Miranda actually was...he'd probably have my neck. But right now, he teases me about her all the time.

Avi raises an eyebrow at my response.

"Hey, look!" I say, pointing in the distance, partly because I'm trying to distract Avi and partly because our friends have just emerged from the Castle, the student's nickname for the largest and most ornate building on the Academy's campus. If it were larger, perhaps, the building could pass for an actual castle, but the way it is, it's just "large," not "enormous." The building was also built for looks, not defense, so I would compare it more to a gothic-style church than a medieval castle. It's complete with soaring buttresses, stained glass windows, and arching doors and stone supports. I find its architecture fascinating.

Avi follows my finger with his gaze. "Ah, there they are! I guess they just finished their last final exam as well."

We watch them approach, using the path cutting down the center of the massive, grassy quad. Scott, the tallest of the three, walks in the middle, his blonde hair bouncing on his head. Mitchell walks to his right, and Kirstin to his left.

"They must be dying of excitement," Avi comments. "Tomorrow they'll learn which element they can control."

I look back at him. "Want to take bets?"

Avi meets my gaze. "Alright. Let's hear it."

"I bet...Scott will get fire, like you."

Avi nods. "Yeah, yeah, I see it, but I bet you five bucks he's gonna get the power to control the air."

I scrutinize the trio walking towards us again. "You're on. What about Kirstie?"

Avi squints. "Plants, definitely, like you."

"You think she's going to be a Terra?" I think about it. "I don't know. She might be. How about you owe me if she isn't?"

"No, you have to pick what you think she'll be."

I shrug, holding up my hands. "Okay, air I guess."

"And that just leaves Mitch," Avi says, stroking his beard thoughtfully. I laugh at how serious he looks. "Mitch," he continues, "would find a way to somehow control all four elements at the same time. Like a crazy fire-breathing tree-hugging water-bending air-gusher."

"A what now?" I ask, cracking up. "Can you say that ten times fast?"

Avi chuckles a bit too. "Honestly though, I'd probably bet on fire for him, too. He's got a pretty explosive personality," he says with a straight face.

I can't stop laughing. "Explosive personality?" I double over. When I finally stop laughing, I add my thoughts to the mix. "I don't really picture him controlling earth, air, water, or fire," I say. "None of the elements immediately stand out to me when I consider Mitch."

But there isn't time to bet on anything else, because the trio finally arrive near us. Kirstie immediately plops down on the bench next to me and stretches out. "Ugh, that final was so horrible!" she complains. "How were we supposed to know anything about how the four elements work together?"

"Kirst, we've been learning about that all semester," Mitch says.

"Ohhhhh!" Kirstie says. "Is that what that question was talking about...I get it now." We all laugh at her, especially Avi. Kirstie laughs the hardest.

The three of them just took their Elemental Education, or El Ed, final. It's a class all students have to take the semester before their nineteenth birthday, when they will discover which element they can control and start taking specialized classes tailored to learning that element. The Academy offers other subjects, too, like math and science and English and history, that everyone takes.

"So the final was a bit rough then?" Avi asks, raising an eyebrow.

"No, it was easy," Scott says seriously.

Mitch elbows him. "Well, not everyone can be a stud like you."

"No, it was pretty easy," Kirstie says from beside me on the bench. "There were only a couple questions I think I missed. Wow! It's so nice outside."

"Yeah." I reach out a hand and grow another flower next the still-smoldering ashes of the one Avi burnt. I make this one pink and delicate.

Kirstie stares at the flower. "That is so cool. I would love to be able to control plants."

Avi shoots me a glance, like, I am so going to win this bet. I make a face at him back. "Being a Terra is about more than just growing flowers," I say.

"Still, I wonder what will happen tomorrow?" Mitch chimes in. Kirstie, Mitch, and Scott all turn nineteen tomorrow, and will discover their elements. Scott nods in agreement, his hair bouncing on his head.

"What will happen?" I look at Avi. "Someone is going to win some bets."

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A/N: Feel free to comment and guess which element Scott, Mitch, and Kirstie will be able to control!