Mar said nothing all morning. If Gorian had not been staring at the back of his head the last few hours, he might not have known that the brown and green furre was there. Unfortunately, it still took the two of them to carry this shield. Even more unfortunate, they were carrying it up the Raina Mountains. They had to pick the easternmost trail, of course. The most steeped one. Periodically, Gorian would watch his feet to make sure he doesn't miss his footing. It was hard to see ahead of Mar.
"We'll stop here for a quick break," Moraine instructed.
That was the first time anyone had spoke since they left Slen. Gorian sighed as he and Mar lowered the shield to the ground. The blue furre grunted. He had a sharp pain in his back. How long had that been there? Gorian shrugged it off. He never had so much exercise in his life compared to the last few days. At least Moraine is slightly more tolerable than Forestwind, though he sensed that she was not excited to have them on this journey either.
Gorian spied his friend looking at the ground. He did not understand what happened between Mar and Chloria, but whatever it was, it really affected his friend. They were supposed to join Chloria and her brother, Forestwind, to the vamp hunters' "colony", but this new and mysterious tension changed that. They were now with the explorers, Moraine and Gelae, and the poet Cyiet, whom they had met days ago in Meovanni. Although Forestwind was gone, Gorian too missed the friendship of Chloria.
"Are you okay?" he asked his friend.
"The ground," Mar choked, "Why is the soil so dry?"
The orange-beige poet looked at him curiously. Gorian had no doubt that Cyiet felt pity for him too. He glanced at Gelae for a moment. He was sure that Moraine's mate also felt sorrow, even if the black furre herself showed no concern.
"This whole region is dry," Cyiet explained, "Everything from Slen to about halfway up. There's usually no rain for months at a time."
"It rained in Slen yesterday," Mar muttered.
"That I can't explain."
Mar shook his head, "She could not have done it herself ... she could not make rain."
"Who, Mar?" Gelae asked.
"Chloria," he answered with frustration, "How did it rain? And how was it that she was dry in the rain? Is there a trick I don't know about?"
Gorian looked at each of the explorers again. He knew what they were thinking. They did not know Mar as long as he did. They must think Mar's crazy or at least babbling. But Gorian knew that something was bothering him.
"She made me dry in the rain," he muttered, "Does that mean I have that power too?"
"Mar..." Cyiet began.
"No!" he shouted, "Don't you dare start thinking that I'm crazy!"
Here it comes, Gorian thought.
Mar pointed at Gelae and continued, "I saw you. I saw you under the drape at Espio's. It was raining and you made it sleet. You made it ice. What's up with that?"
Gelae gaped. Gorian had almost forgot about that. Gelae had been sleeping under the drape with them when the rain started turning into sleet. Moraine had to wake him to make it stop.
"How did you do it?" Mar continued, "How did you change the weather?"
"That's enough," Moraine ordered as she stepped in front of the large ice blue furre. She now stood between Mar and her mate, ready to take on this confrontation.
"What's the trick?" Mar asked. He looked toward
the top of the mountain, at the dark clouds above it, "How do I make it
rain?"
"Rain," she whispered.
"Kaelin?" Moonlit asked.
The furre of stars noted that her friend was not getting better since her nightmare with Earth. It had only been a few hours, but still, Moonlit hoped that a resilient warrior like her would compose herself. Now the ageless furre of water stood a few feet from the open door, outside her clay hut.
Kaelin took another step and stumbled. Moonlit was by her side, instantly. She looked into the face of her old friend. The warrior's eyes looked greyed and stale. Moonlit helped her stand again.
"I want rain," she said.
"It had been raining all day yesterday," Moonlit reminded her.
"I need the rain," Kaelin continued, "I'm too weak to walk to the river."
Moonlit heard the rumble. She wondered curiously if Kaelin had such a power to cause a change in weather. Moonlit looked up at the sky and sure enough, the clouds were forming above.
"Unbelievable," she gasped, "Did you do this?"
"Gorian!" she shouted, "Give me rain!"
Furre of stars heard it coming. A rushing wall
of rain was on the way, from the west. If it weren't for the explanation
she was given a few hours ago, she might have been frightened at this point.
The weather was not controlled by Kaelin, but by the furre of sky.
Moonlit watched as furre of water shouted above once more.
"Make it rain!" Mar shouted at the clouds.
Mar had the power inside him, he knew it. He felt it. Chloria had gave him it in the kiss. He felt her breath and it made him dry. He must have some sort of control.
"Mar!" Cyiet shouted, 'There's no way you can control the weather."
"Make it rain!" he shouted again, completely ignoring his companions.
Mar felt it then. There was something inside him that felt like it glowed. There was a dampness to it too. It had felt like rain inside him all morning. He wanted to release it.
The wind picked up. It started to blow hard from the east, down the mountain. Mar felt his green hair become blasted in the breeze. He looked above and watched as the clouds started to move downslope.
"Is he doing that?" Moraine asked behind him.
The clouds were overtop them now. But Mar felt nothing. There was no rain, but the smell reeked of it. He whimpered. Why did Chloria leave him like this?
"Ayem," he heard Gorian swear behind him.
Mar whirled around and gasped. It was pouring rain behind him. Gorian, Gelae, Cyiet, and Moraine were getting drenched in the storm and all of them were staring at him. Mar looked back to the incline. It was raining uphill too. But he did not feel it.
"Markliam!" Gorian shouted, "What did you do? You're completely dry!"
Mar jerked back to his friend. Gorian and the
others were still staring at him, dumbfounded. Mar felt his chest
and sure enough, it was dry. What did Chloria do to him? He
felt his knees wobble when he realized what he had just done. He
had controlled the weather. And this frightened him.
Kaelin washed the anxiety away. She flipped her wet hair and squeezed the strands under the storm. She felt the changes. She felt the vapor and the liquid. She felt the refreshing water against every part of her body.
She glanced back at Moonlit and grinned, "I'm fine now".
"I'll take your word for it," she muttered, "Do you mind if I get used to this whole situation before you start calling on dead furres again?"
Kaelin laughed. It had been a while since she
was able to do so. She was glad Gorian was still with her, even though
she could not see him. Silently, she thanked him for his help.
"It's raining again," Oylemanti observed as the three furres started walking uphill, "Is this your doing, Chloria?"
"Sometimes it just rains," she replied coolly.
Her brother led them onto the northernmost trail.
It should take three days to get to their colony. From there, they
would receive word or orders about the nearby vamp village they were keeping
an eye on. From there, the old story would continue. They were
vamp hunters once more.
"Is that rain?" Exavia asked herself in disbelief as she started to climb the easternmost trail of the Raina Mountains. She never saw rain in this region before. She had heard from Espio that it rained just last night. Apparently she would not miss the weather change after all. The storm was coming toward her.
As soon as the first few drizzles hit her, she knew this was rain like no other. This was the work of a furre who possessed an element. Exavia sighed in disgust. She did not want to deal with this now. Still ... she had no choice.
"I know, demon," she responded, "I know."