This ain't a diary, this is a - mirror?

Chapter 6: Meeting Everyone Else...?

Samantha's eyes lit up as she saw Elena trotting through the cafeteria, carrying a tray in her jaws. "Elena! Over here!" She called, waving. Elena turned around and bounded towards her, somehow managing to keep everything on her tray as she did so.

Elena's tray clattered to the table. "Hey, Sam! What do you want to do later? We have the whole of today to chill." The brown haired dog grabbed a spoon and quickly delved into her meal.

Samantha shrugged and picked half heartedly at the remainders of her meal. "Dunno. We could... get to know people? Or we could explore the school."

"How about hitting two birds with one stone?" Elena offered, looking up from her tray. "And we can find our classrooms for tomorrow so we don't get lost! Don't want to make a fool of ourselves after all."

Samantha nodded. "That's settled, I guess. Well -"

"May I sit here?" A quiet yet firm voice asked. The two dogs looked up to see a white furred dog in a hoodie next to their table, a tray balanced perilously on their paws.

"Sure, I guess." Elena said after sharing a glance with Samantha. "Do you need help with your tray -"

As if responding to the statement, the tray of food slipped out of the dog's paws. Samantha and Elena yelped and attempted to catch the falling tray.

The two of them recoiled as they felt cold wind brush their paws. The tray and its contents tilted, but did not fall on the table - instead, it floated in the air. The mysterious dog calmly watched as her tray slowly and carefully landed on the table. "I apologise for that." She stated, sitting down. "My name is Kate Fuyukaze, and if you could not tell, I am a wind elemental."

Samantha blinked a few times, tryings to comprehend what happened. "I... assume you're Rank 1?" She blurted out.

Kate nodded. "Your assumption is right, but do not mistake me for one of her... minions. I do not agree with Abbey's way of... ruling but I do not think meddling with her is a good idea. She has some powerful forces on her side and I do not want to become their main target."

"Smart." Elena said. "But we've kinda... been made their main target anyways." Samantha shrugged sheepishly and shared a look with Elena. "Yeah, that's kind of true..."

Kate raised an eyebrow. "I see. I suggest you stay low until she finds someone else. That's how her kind works..." she trailed off and poked at her meal with a pair of chopsticks.

Samantha frowned. "I - we're not going to just step back and let her 'target' someone else. We're perfectly capable of taking whatever she throws at us. We shouldn't just wait and let someone else take the blows for us."

"Perfectly said!" Elena exclaimed, slamming her paws on the table. "We're not going to drag anyone into our mess."

Kate sighed and shook her head. "Your motives are honourable, but you do not know what she is capable of. I'll be wishing you good luck. If you back out... well, you won't be the only ones."

"What do you mean?" Samantha asked, suddenly intrigued. Kate shook her head and looked away. "Let's just say... you're not the first to try, and probably not the first to fall. Good luck."

Elena frowned and stood up. "Hey, Sam, I'm done. You want to go out?" She asked. Samantha nodded and stood up, picking up her tray. "Sure, I guess."

---

"Aren't you the two... actually, wait a second." The duo halted in their tracks and turned around, looking for the source of the mysterious voice. They were met with a black furred dog in a semi-transparent hoodie and a glowing green tail. The dog gestured towards a side corridor after looking both ways.

Samantha glanced at Elena, who shrugged. They turned and followed the strange dog down the corridor.

The dog opened a side door and stepped aside to allow the two in.

"Wait. How should we know that you aren't going to kidnap us or something?" Samantha asked, hesitating and crossing her arms. The dog simply shook his head. "This is school. Even if I did kidnap you, you would be discovered pretty quickly, so..." He gestured again.

The two dogs entered the room. The black furred dog closed the door behind them and let out a breathy sigh. "Thank goodness she wasn't around when I blurted that out. I'm sorry, it's just... uh..." He bit his lip nervously. "Sorry about dragging in here all of a sudden. I thought I smelled a certain Rank 1 dog right after blurting that out, and, I, ah..."

"Alright, alright, slow down a bit." Elena said carefully, raising her paws. "First of all, who are you?"

"Ah... I'm sorry. My name's Alexander Fern. I'm Rank 2... and, uh, I'm a limited plant elemental?" Alexander fiddled with the blue lantern he had been carrying.

"Limited?" Samantha echoed. Elena glanced over at her. "You mean you don't know? There are several different types of elementals -"

"I know, I know. I meant, limited in what way?" Samantha asked, frowning. Alexander, in response, held up a paw and clenched it. There was a small, pale green spark and the glowing object in his paw lengthened to become a blade. The glow faded slightly to reveal a sword that appeared to be made out of a leaf.

"I can conjure weapons made of plants. It's... probably a useful ability, but with someone like me... it's not great. Anyways, less about me." Alexander dematerialised the blade and put his paw down. "Uh, you two are the ones who... annoyed Abbey yesterday, right? I, uh, didn't catch your names..."

"Great, now we have a reputation," Samantha murmured, just loud enough for Elena to hear.

"I'm Elena Kitsune and this is Samantha... uh, Sam Rowell." Elena introduced. "And, uh, yes, we were." A small smile crossed her face as she recalled the memory.

Alexander bit his lip and looked at the door. "Well... that wasn't the best idea -"

Samantha frowned. "Ex-cuse me, but we've heard enough of that already. We'll be able to deal with it, right, Elena?"

Elena nodded eagerly. "And no one's going to be able to stop us!" She high fived Samantha and turned to Alexander, who seemed to be shrinking away under their gaze.

"Ah... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I just wanted... um, you know..."

"You don't need to apologise!" Samantha blurted out. "We just, uh, got a little excited. But... thanks."

"I see..." Alexander mumbled. "Well, you're welcome. Be careful out there, okay?" He flinched slightly and looked away, ashamed. "I'm, uh... just going to hide here for now... if she catches me with you guys, she..."

"Alright, we understand." Elena nodded. "Come on, Sam, let's go." The orange furred dog nodded at Samantha and opened the door.

"Let's get back to it!" Samantha announced.