Elements United

-Chapter 4-

By the time it had gotten to be about mid-afternoon, I'd become pretty accustomed to my human form. There were a few times that I almost fell over, but other than that, it had all gone pretty well.
I stretched my arms behind my back, and let out a yawn. "Jeez...being a human is tiring," I mumbled.
"Need a little something to wake you up a bit?" Father asked.
I nodded, rubbing my eyes. "Yeah...that would be nice..." I said as I hugged him.
Father slightly chuckled. "Alright then."
I then jolted away from Father as a blast of cold air suddenly surrounded me. "A-ah! COLD!" I nearly screamed.
"What?" Father asked with a smirk. "You wanted a wake-me-up, so I gave you one."
"I know that!" I growled, not really in the mood for jokes. "You should've warned me before you did that..."
Father slightly chuckled. "But that would've ruined the surprise."
"...I guess you have a point," I mumbled.
Father nodded. "My point exactly. Now, you're pretty much ready to go for tomorrow...except for one thing."
I tilted my head, confused. "Hm? what is it?"

Instead of responding verbally, he suddenly slashed at me with his claws, and I had to quickly dodge his swipe. I then got the message. I hadn't had any combat practice in my human form.
After I jumped back, I quickly pulled out my katana, ready to counter any attack Father might throw my way.
He then lashed out at me with tail, and I jumped to dodge, and went to stab his tail with the katana, but he pulled he tail away in the nick of time, avoiding the blow.
He then turned to face me, and slightly smiled. "Nicely done, Yuki. You're reflexes are pretty great. I'm sure you'll be able to fight off an enemy sneak attack."
I nodded as I quietly slid my katana back into its sheath. "I see. Actually...there is one more question that I have."
"Oh? And what might that be?" Father asked, obviously intrigued.
"Um...how exactly should I hunt in this form...?"
Farher slightly chuckled. "You should be fine when it comes to that, son. Now, why don't we go and get some dinner? I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."
I sighed. "Alright. And yeah, I'm hungry as well."
Father nodded. "Alright. Let's-"
He was cut off as a roar suddenly filled the mountain.

Father looked at me. "Become your dragon form, now!" he said in an urgent tone.
I nodded and did so. "What's going on?" I asked once I was in my dragon form.
He slightly growled. "It must be Moeru."
"M-Moeru?! But he was here yesterday!" I exclaimed.
"I know that," Father said, suddenly taking on a calm tone. "I'll need to fight him off...I have no clue what he's thinking, crossing into my territory!"
I slightly ruffled my wings, getting readjusted to my dragon form. "Father...what should I do?"
He sighed. "You need to hide. Become your human form only if you need to, understand?"
I nodded and gently nuzzled him. "Of course, Father. Just...be sure to stay safe."
He nodded. "Right. Now, go!"
I nodded, and ran ran off into the nearby forest.

As soon as I was out of Father's sight, I changed into my hybrid form. It wasn't that I hated my dragon form, or that I wanted to disobey Father's instructions. Right now, it was just a matter of staying safe, and being agile, which was possible in my hybrid form.
Almost as soon as I did so, I felt something very strange. The temperature was fluctuating. One second it was warm, the next it was cold.
I then peeped over some bushes, and I saw Father engaged with a dragon that was red, orange, and yellow. It had to be Moeru.
There was no way that Father was going to win this fight. Moeru was a fire dragon, and Father is ice, making him weak to fire.

"I will not falter so easily, Moeru!" Father roared.
Moeru chuckled. "Moeru...it's been ages since I've been called that, brother. ...do you actually know why I'm here?"
"No, I don't," Father said as he began circling Moeru. "But I'm sure you're going to tell me."
Moeru nodded as he began circling Father. "Indeed. I'm here with only one goal in mind; to kill both you and Fuyu-Yuki."
Father growled. "And what reason would you have to do that? You know that we don't threaten to kill each other for no reason, Moeru! Much less travel to another continent!"
He chuckled in response. "Trust me, Fubuki. I have my reasons."
"And what might they be, then?"
"The neighboring kingdom of Samarando. You have intentionally been changing their weather!" Moeru growled, clearly angry. "Just days before the corn harvest, it became very cold, causing all the corn to die!"
Father shook his head. "And how do you know that? I thought you lived a life of seclusion in Hibana!"
"I do," Moeru sighed. "The king of Samarando came to my father, asking for his help, and sent me in his place. Sure, fire may trump ice in battle, but when it comes to weather, cold always wins."
"I am well aware of that, Moeru," Father spat. "But I haven't done anything! The cause of their fluctuating weather must lie elsewhere!"
Moeru didn't respond verbally, but slashed out at Father.
Father barely had any time to dodge, but he was able to, ans slashed back, hitting Moeru head-on.

I looked between the two fighting dragons, trying to figure out what I should do.
I had a couple of options, bit most of them didn't end well. A couple of these options ended with me joining the fight with Father. However, it was more likely than not that I would end up dead, or in big trouble.
That's when I realized I really had only one option. I had to run. There was no waiting for tomorrow to leave for Samarando. It was going to happen right now.
It then quickly and quietly made my way back to the cave, so I would be able to grab my stuff.
As soon as I had finished gathering everything together, I began to make my way down Mount Blitz.