I slinked through the grove, trying not to upset any of the Fanged Shriekers. I fought my way around a particularly large area of lush plants, cutting them down with my machete. “So, a guy called Flint?” I muttered to no one in particular, though one of the Shriekers cocked its menacing head and stared at me, a gesture I was afraid of returning. Instead, I continued my rant. “Why would she want me to find him? What’s the matter with him anyways? Argh! Wailing Creek’s eighty Krakens away from home!”

My name is Willow, and I am a normal Water girl. I practiced range combat every day, often meditated in a river, and minded my own business most of the time. So, naturally, when an ancestor by the name of Tide appeared in a dream and told me to head to the Wailing Creek to meet a Fire boy called Flint, who would explain everything, I was surprised. I found a necklace made from Bound Water on my desk when I woke up, and a note saying “be there at sunpeak tomorrow. SHARP.” Mystified by his random series of events and a surprising gift, I hesitated to tell anyone at all, and kept the necklace in my room.

After failing to hit a single target in four rounds of shooting, my friends asked me what was wrong. As someone who is usually skilled with a bow and trident, I replied with a sigh, "I thought you knew about my recent lack of sleep." They laughed and patted my shoulder, suggesting that I prioritize sleeping at dusk and reading at sunpeak. I stayed silent, opting to not tell them about leaving home after getting minimal sleep.

That night, I stayed up extra late, reading a scroll on using Bound Water jewelry. It was relatively simple, the same thing being used for hydrokinesis. After understanding the basics, I drifted off into a very uncomfortable sleep. As a result, I woke up late, even later than usual. I hurriedly put on my garments, warped my trident and archery materials into my storage, and ran towards Wailing Creek.

Just as I cleared the grove, I caught sight of a boy trying to fight an Aquamaw. I stood there for a few moments, confused. I then remembered: that could be the boy Tide was talking about.

“Flint!”

The shout burst out of my mouth before I knew what was happening, and I surprisingly found myself racing towards him to help. By that time, the Aquamaw had already seized Flint’s leg and started pulling him towards the creek. Flint’s face was twisted with pain, and he clawed at the dirt, trying to escape. “Help me...” he said weakly, almost in a whisper.

“Try a Fire attack or something! Aquamaws have noses that are sensitive towards high temperatures!” I shouted, while hurling my trident at the Aquamaw. It stabbed

Flint formed a fireball with his hands. As it grew, his once formidable-looking foe coughed and wheezed, releasing his leg and rapidly retreating towards its home. Groaning, Flint crawled out of the creek, the fireball floating around him, presumably to dry his back, and poured something that looked like healing salve onto the wound. He shivered.

After Flint had extracted himself from the predicament, removing some of the mud coating his clothes, I glanced at him. He was a tall, handsome boy with short, brown hair, with short hair, messy from his fight. He wore a dull, maroon jumper and cornflower blue pants. His lips curved into an ever-so-slight smile, despite his near-death experience, which I found amusing (and I can’t deny, cute). Then, he noticed me looking, his smile vanished, and his face took on a somewhat threatening look.

“Who are you and how do you know me?” he asked.

“Well,” I responded, “I’m Willow from Water, and a spirit visited me a few days ago in my sleep. It’s weird, and I still can’t quite wrap my head over it...” I then told Flint about what had happened the night that Tide came over.

“That’s coincidental! One of our ancestors called Serafina visited me as well!” Flint said excitedly, explaining what he heard. “What confuses me, though, is how you knew that I am Flint."

“Well, because no normal Water person would be dumb enough to fight with an Aquamaw, and that you’re so hot!” I exclaimed, then realized my poor choice of words. He emitted a lot of warmth from his body, making me slightly uncomfortable. Still, he was pretty handsome. But the word “hot” was a horrible choice of description, especially considering our difference of gender. “I meant, in terms of temperature!”

Flint smirked at my outburst. “I know, I know, I got mobs of girls chasing after me at home.”

“Well, with your stupidity I seriously doubt that” I retorted. He was lucky I was there to save him from being the meal of a ‘gator. We laughed awkwardly. I was surprised at how quickly we set our differences apart, forming our new friendship. I only really had a few, anyways, so I was always kind of outgoing in hopes of meeting new people.

“So, I guess we’re part of a team now?” Flint asked tentatively.

“You bet mister! Life back in home is quite boring.” I hated the normally repetitive lifestyle of Water, often volunteering for missions like hunting for some kick in an otherwise bland life. Travelling with Flint would be great.

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“What do you guys even do, swim in the water with crocs and sharks all day?” I frowned slightly. Average Fire view of Water. More like Fire people were born from volcanic eruptions.

“Of course not, we train just like you do.”

“You know, despite all our differences-” As we argued back and forth, we heard a deep roar in the distance, shutting Flint’s mouth mid-sentence. The shockwave emitted from the powerful sound was enough to ruffle his hair, given the distance it came from. He reopened his mouth, though slightly shaking. “What the HECK was that?! Some kind of Water beast? A Wyvern?” He demanded, probably still frightened from his encounter with the Aquamaw.

“Calm down, it sounds like a Leviathan. It’s probably fighting something like a Clawed Krak-”

I paused mid-sentence and stared in disbelief at the sky. Flint, following my gaze, glanced up at the sky. The already bright sunpeak light was dwarfed by a ray of orange piercing through the white clouds. This could only mean one thing. “Heck no, an Earth dragon all the way in our land?” They were super destructive.

“Willow, we have to go there and kill it! It’s destroying everything!” Flint pointed at the forest in the distance, where trees started to topple like dominoes. Faced with this ridiculous proposal, I agreed.

“Let’s go then!" I tossed my skateboard beneath my feet and jumped onto it. It expanded rapidly, forming a skateboard, made purely out of water. This skateboard was a recent craft by my tribe members for quick transport. It was intricately designed, with a head shaped like a dragon and a long, scaled tail behind the wheels. Flint grabbed a pair of wheels from his pack, jumping as well. The wheels shifted to rest underneath his feet, as if pulled by invisible strings. They burst into flames, rotating with tremendous speed and propelling Flint forward. I gave a quick, strong push, moving my board forward and activating it. It sprang to life, furiously rolling its wheels. I tilted slightly, guiding its path.

Flint’s wheels would periodically fizzle out, causing him to fall off and stumble, before gaining control of it again. Perhaps, he was still new to it, or the damp ground would periodically extinguish the fire.

Flint was unable to get past a marshy area as his wheels kept getting stuck in it. He had to wade through it, constantly complaining about the coldness and how sticky the mud was. He dove into a river after getting out of the marsh to clean it, despite the water being cold for him. He was brave, I’ll give him that.

After we arrived at where the dragon was , we returned our vehicles and crept up, hiding near a tree. “That thing is massive! I regret this.” Flint whispered. The winged creature, swinging around menacingly, kept destroying trees, as if venting its rage. “I doubt that we’re safe here...”

Just as his last words left his mouth, the dragon slammed its mighty legs on the trunk of our tree, sending it flying and exposing us. Setting its gaze on us, its pupils contracted and it gave a deep roar. It stood up straight, towering above Flint and me.

Flint quickly unsheathed his weapon, a sword with blades attached, while my trident materialized in my grip. Seizing the opportunity of the dragon’s surprise, I flung the trident at its eye, trying to strike it. It turned its head and batted it aside with its snout with a clang. Now thoroughly enraged, the dragon raised its legs and slammed it down on them, with us ducking just in time.

Before it raised its legs again, Flint gave a tentative swipe at it. The weird sword bounced off, not even denting the thick scales. He sighed and quickly sheathed it, grabbing a handful of things that looked like explosives, a new form of weapon that had recently been widely used in battles. If you pulled a pin and waited a few seconds, they would explode. Raising my hand, I pulled my trident back, getting into a battle stance. Flint magically summoned a flail from somewhere.

“You distract it with your explosives, I’ll try to hit it on the eyes!” I told Flint, hoping that he could be of use with that he had. Flint primed two of them and threw them at the dragon. They sailed over the dragon and landed behind it, immediately sizzling and exploding, igniting the forest floor. “Oh no, this is going to be troublesome...”

Although it achieved no effect on damaging the dragon, the two flame charges successfully distracted it, allowing me to get a decent angle at its eye. Aiming it cautiously, I threw it at the winged beast, hoping for a direct hit on the right eye. “Bingo.” My trident work paid off. The trident pierced the iris, causing the dragon to recoil and hiss in pain. It lashed its tail in fury, knocking both Flint and me back. Flint grappled onto and landed in a pile of shrub with his flail and was overall fine, but I hit my back on a Thorn Oak. Hard. I screamed, my back partially pierced by its sharp barbs. I slumped to the ground, my vision fading into another world.

I was falling. I found myself plummeting through a silent darkness, illuminated only by a faint, eerie glow. Panic coursed through my veins as I tried to scream for help, but all that appeared was a garbled gurgle that swiftly dissipated. In my desperate attempt to clear my throat, I felt an oppressive force constricting my neck, as if an invisible hand was throttling me, allowing me only a rasping breath. Within the void, a pair of bloodshot eyes glared malevolently at me, their menacing gaze piercing through the darkness. Slowly, a mouth begins to appear, with large, faintly glowing fangs as sharp as a Shadowblade.

I tried to move away from the beast by waving my arms about, failing to put any distance between them. The beast’s mouth curved into a menacing grin, and it slowly floated over to me. The lower body of it began to materialize, with curved claws just as terrible as its teeth.

It grabbed hold of my arm and tore. My shoulder cracked, a sharp pain flaring through it. My pulse raced, my eyes darting frantically in search of a rift in the shadows—any glimmer of hope, however faint, that would indicate a possible escape route from this nightmarish realm. I tried to resist, but I could barely even breathe, let alone move.

With each passing moment and each hammering heartbeat, the malevolent presence drew closer, its claws poised to strike. My mind raced, desperately seeking a solution, but the oppressive grip of fear tightened, threatened to paralyze me. A wicked arm cleaved through my chest, drawing a silent scream from me. I thought of my family, my friends back at home, before my sight began to fade and my body began to falter.