The Elemental Trials

Four

Aurora
My eyes slowly opened as I came to, taking in my surroundings from my sleeping position on the bed. I was back in mine and Skye's room, although the other girl was nowhere to be seen, which was strange considering I had no recollection of walking back from the living room. I thought back to the night before, trying to remember exactly what had happened. I finished unpacking and went downstairs to read, after a while Luke came down and then- oh my god. I sprung from my bed and ran towards the door, immediately heading along the hall to the boys' room and swinging it open. Marcus was face down in his pillow, but Luke was nowhere to be seen. I exited it, instead moving to the top of the stairs to look down onto the living room and kitchen. I paused in seeing Luke sitting at the kitchen counter, but also took notice of Alex who was stood cooking something on a pan and Skye who was laid out along the couch. I quietly walked down the stairs, receiving and returning a nod hello from Alex as I moved over to the counter. Luke was eating toast and was dressed in a plain patterned shirt and casual trousers, turning his head to look at me as I approached. I didn't say anything during the scarily long walk between the stairs and him until I was right beside him, one hand subconsciously gripping onto the fabric on his arm "I'm so so sorry Luke, I didn't mean to fall asleep..." I said quietly, showing how guilty I felt about what had happened "You told me all those things about-...you know...I should have stayed awake, I should have spoken to you about it, I-" I was cut off by him placing his hand gently on mine. It sent a slight tingle up my arm. "Aurora, you don't need to apologise. You helped. A lot. I didn't need to talk about it, in fact that might have made it worse, I just needed...some comfort. And you most definitely gave me it." He flashed me a soft smile, and I gave him a grateful look in return. I was so worried he'd hate me for it. The guilt was horrible, I hardly even remembered feeling tired. There must have just been something relaxing about...that couch. Was it just the couch I fell asleep on? It wasn't important anyway, what was important was that Luke wasn't pissed. I was about to say something else when I was interrupted by Skye shouting from the couch, still wearing her surprisingly short shorts and a crop top like t shirt for pyjamas "Alex! How long does it bloody take!" "You'll get it when it's ready, be patient!" He shouted back to her, continuing doing whatever he was up to at the hob. "Pancakes." Luke said to me as a sort of explanation, which I nodded my head at. "Pancakes that apparently take twenty minutes to make." Skye commented, clearly unhappy about the wait. "It's a special recipe, it'll be worth the wait." Alex chimed, flipping the pancake effortlessly in the pan "Anyway I think that's it about done." "Just toss it into my mouth, I'll eat it that way" Skye said, which I managed a small chuckle at. "Why would I when I could just do this?" Alex said as the pancake began to float in the middle of the air, moving away from the kitchen and over to the living room. The three of us watched in awe as the pancake floated all the way over to Skye before dropping down onto her lap. All of our heads spun towards Alex, who simply let out a small laugh "You'll all learn about it in time. Training starts today, like I said. I'll take each of you out to your designated area and give you some pointers for getting your powers kickstarted. After that, all you have to do is practise." "What exactly are we going to be able to do?" I asked Alex as Skye started to munch on her pancake, half concentrating on the conversation. "Lots of things, but you're all unique. I'll explain most of the things you can do as I teach you, and if you want to you can show each other, but trust me, there's a lot." "When do we get started?" Skye asked with a mouth full of pancake, which I heard Luke chuckle at. "Whenever you want." Alex replied, cleaning up the stuff he was using in the kitchen "Although, seeing as Luke's the only one dressed I'll take him out first, if he's ready." Luke gave a small nod and stood up from his seat, a slice of toast in his hand "Sure, lets do it." "I call going last" Skye said, still enjoying her pancake on the couch. "That works out, you don't exactly have a designated area anyway." Alex commented, which made Skye pause her eating and look at him with a confused but clearly unhappy expression. "What does that mean?" She questioned, narrowing her eyes at him. "All will be revealed in due time. Now, Luke, lets go. We're heading to the forest." Alex said, before he started to head towards the front door. "Right...see you guys" Luke said to the two of us before following Alex. "Good luck" I said to him, standing awkwardly beside the counter as I flashed him a smile. "Thanks. You too, since I...probably won't see you." He returned the smile, before walking out the front door and disappearing from view. I stayed where I was for a second, feeling Skye's gaze drift over to me, before I walked into the kitchen and started to pour myself a bowl of cereal. "You seemed in a hurry to speak to him this morning" Skye commented, sounding more curious than accusing at that point. I poured my cereal into a bowl, trying to seem casual about what she had clearly witnessed "We were talking last night and I fell asleep. I felt bad and was just apologising to him." It wasn't a lie, it just wasn't the whole truth. "When were you guys talking?" Skye asked me with a raised eyebrow. I could tell she was suspicious, but I didn't know why. Maybe she was trying to find something to mess with me with. "After you and Marcus went to bed. In here." I answered truthfully yet again, pouring milk into my bowl of cereal and picking up a spoon, before starting to walk over to Skye with it. "And you fell asleep?" She asked, watching me with a slightly smug expression on her face "Yes." I replied simply, sitting down across from her. "And I presume you just...sleepwalked your way back to our room?" She said, her smug smile widening very slightly. I felt a blush appear on my face as I realised what she was saying, and the fact that it was true. "He must have...carried me back I suppose. He's a nice guy." I said, trying my best to play it off casually despite thinking it was anything but. "Mmmhmm." Skye said, grinning slightly as she stood up and stretched "Imma shower and get ready. And possibly wake Marcus up with a bucket of water. Peace." She said as I gave her a small wave, before she walked away up the stairs to go and get dressed. I let out a sigh and leaned back into the couch, my bowl of cereal on my lap as I took a minute to think. Luke must have carried me back to my room but I could have sworn something else happened. Or maybe I just dreamed that something did. Either way, I was grateful for his kindness, even if it meant Skye getting something to hold over my head. Maybe she wasn't that kind of person; I was still working on figuring her out.