"Do you yield?" I said, my hands still sparking.

She looked at me and for a short moment, I saw the anger flicker behind her eyes. She turned her head away.

"Like always," she said, her voice still filled with anger. "Are you locking me up again?"

I wanted to. It was clear she was too unstable to work with. I even doubted if I wanted to bond with her like I'd done with the rest. Yet, the defeat in her last sentence fell heavy. I understood why I never became angry. I was terrifying. I would hurt myself. I was a danger to me. But I didn't understand why.

"Depends," I said. "Will you go rampant again?"

She snorted. Her lips were twisted into a snarl. She crossed her arms as she turned away from me. "You make me sound like I'm an animal."

"Aren't you?" I asked, pointing at the devastation she had wrought.

Her eyes took in the destruction around us, but I saw no hint of regret or shame. That said, I also did not see any pride in what she'd done. If anything her face was a mask, impassive and unresponsive to our surroundings. She shrugged.

"If this is why I am an animal, then what are you?"

I frowned. I didn't destroy. I didn't do anything. I was the victim in this fight.

"I'm Zephyra," I said.

She cocked her head. The embers burnt a little brighter. A snarl formed. "So am I."

Her words were harsher again, the same raspy tone as before. Even the simple change in her voice caused my heart to beat faster. I swallowed and held up my hands. If I thought Earth had been easy to insult, I'd definitely not taken Fire's disposition into account.

"Listen, I understand why you're angry. We've been ridiculed, bullied and now they've destroyed the one thing we care most about. What was ours. Is ours."

"Then why are you keeping me locked up?"

She yelled. I winced and shortly closed my eyes, averting my face as if preparing for another hit. I realised I'd taken a step back in the process. I lowered my hands and balled them.

"I failed at that, didn't I?" I said. "Didn't we try to jump them?"

This time a satisfied grin formed - if only for a moment. It quickly turned into a new snarl.

"But we didn't reach them. You let us be subdued. You pushed me away! Now they're probably laughing at us again!"

Her hair had started to light up again. A small ember was flickering in her right hand.

I lifted my own hands, which sparked ever so slightly to remind her what might happen. The ember remained in her hand, but her eyes refocussed on mine instead of my eyes. The snarl turned uglier as she narrowed in on my hand.

"What were you going to do? Shirley already passed two years at the Guild. She was surrounded by many adults who are also far more versed in magic than us. Even without them drawing circles, they could easily stop us. Worst thing, they could have deemed us under Umbra's influence and execute us along with Richard!"

"Then what do you suggest? Sit back and let it happen? Swallow every insult and smile like always? Let them allow us to reduce us to the scum underneath their feet? Just like always?"

I pressed my lips together and looked away. Earth's proposal came again. We could stay here. Safe. Away from that which Fire was saying. Fire was right though. I've always had to grin and bear it. I'd promised myself it wouldn't happen anymore after I got my familiar. Even if I joined the beetle clan, or the butterflies or spiders or whatever. I was going to make a name for myself. And no longer allow others to treat me like dirt. While Earth's proposal was still in my mind, my counter offer was as well. I was biting my bottom lip when I finally dared to look back into the eyes of Fire.

"We leave this place, get out familiar, and grow strong. Every insult will be your fuel. Every mockery they make of us, you will remember and store. And when the time is there, we get proper revenge. They won't expect it. And we'll make them feel all the pain they've inflicted upon us."

Fire regarded me. Slowly the fires around us started to dim. The heat that had been pressing down on me the moment I'd entered, began to lessen. Her hand no longer held the ember. Her face no longer held the snarl. Instead, a smile formed. I didn't want to say I was disturbed by her apparent glee over the idea. I'd said what I thought she wanted to hear. But to know that a part of me would be excited about it, scared me. More so than her rampage of before.

"Us. Or anyone or thing we care about," she added.

I nodded. That was something I could get behind. Earth was willing to protect and it seemed to me that Fire only wanted to punish those who got past the protection. I wondered if Earth would have blocked off Fire, had she known this. Right now, I was glad she had. Because facing the two of them would have been impossible. I tentatively took a few steps forward. Fire only watched me, but showed no new signs of aggression. Now that her face was no longer twisted into a snarl, she looked - for the lack of a better word - warm. The smile held no malice and was even inviting. Her eyes wrinkled at their corners and she slowly opened her arms to me. I looked from them at her.

"Just promise me, okay?" she said, her arms still inviting me.

I scratched the back of my head. I could not not do that. I nodded firmly and walked into her arms. She was warm and as she held me closer, I felt how that warmth was slowly spreading into me.

"I promise," I whispered.

The fires around us died out at the same time Fire vanished into me. The sensation was similar to Earth's and not as intense as it had been with Air. Still, I felt her as I'd felt the others. I felt my anger - that which I should have had since the start - boil within me. My hands balled as a lump formed in my throat. Tears started to roll down. Fire might have cooled down enough to merge with me, but her pain and anger still very much burned within me. I took several deep breaths to get a grip. Destruction had proven to be unhelpful. My plan - which I'd thought to be nothing but words first - slowly became a handhold for me. I'd show them. Anyone who ever doubted me. I briskly rubbed my tears away, nodding to no one in particular. As I did, I realized the fires around me had doused. The only light left came from the pockets to the outside world that Fire had blasted open.

"A silver tongue runs in the family, I suppose."

I hadn't been able to take a step to freedom when the voice of before echoed again. Still with balled hands I looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the one who'd been watching me this entire time.

"Who are you?" I yelled.

A deep chuckle rumbled.

"Step into the light. Let's talk."

I looked ahead, seeing movement beyond one of the higher holes. I swallowed. The darkness of the cave felt more familiar and safer than the ominous voice in the outside world. It was my curiosity that pushed me to take the first step. It was my caution that made certain I remained on guard. With balled hands and raised shoulders I tentatively moved to the closest hole in the cavern wall. This hole was far larger than the others around me. Judging by the rubble that was strewn across its threshold, I assumed there had once been multiple holes that had caved in to create the gaping exit now before me. I had to shield my eyes against the sudden influx of light. When the pain subsided and I dared to pry open my eyes, I saw I was standing on a precipice of a mountain, overlooking a vast forest. It was quiet. A wind blew across the valley, causing the treetops to dance on the wind.

"Beautiful, is it not?"

I stiffened. The voice came from behind me. Warm air pushed past me, causing my hair to move in tandem to the being's breath. The scent of freshly dug up dirt, mixed with a burning hearth blasted past me with every exhale. I did not dare to turn around, for any being who could make my hair sway with just their breath, was certainly big enough to swallow me whole. Even if they were a herbivore.

"You wish power. Power to protect yourself and yours from the world. To punish those who mocked you. You wish to be more than your forebears," the voice continued, either uninterested in my opinion of his previous question or simply taking my silence as an answer. "What will you give in return?"

Something large and sharp tapped my head. I winced at the touch. From my periphery I saw the tip of large black claw point in front of me. The tip alone was already as large as my face. A magic circle briefly flared up, before four versions of Mousey appeared in front of me. Each made out of one of the elements I possessed. The claw retreated out of my view. Silence followed. My heart was thundering madly, but any sound it would have made, was silenced by the raspy breathing of the being behind me. I swallowed and took a step forward. When there was no reaction, I took another. It put me in front of the four replicas of my plush toy. The first one was made of air. Looking at it, I remembered the times I played games with Mousey. My brother or parents were too busy and thus he was my playmate. Memories of me reading aloud the few books we did have, while he was snuggled against me and of how I'd bring him everywhere until only a few years ago. He'd been my partner in crime.

The second one was made of earth. As I looked at this version of him, I remembered the times when I was ill. He'd be there for me. Also times when nightmares would terrorize me, Mousey was protecting me.

The third one was made of fire. Being close to him I felt the warmth I always did when I had a particular bad day and would find him on my bed. I had done the same for my parents and brother. If they had a bad day, I'd snuck in Mousey for them to cuddle. Or, I used to anyway. When you get older, you understand that not everyone feels the same. Still, Mousey would be with me when I went to comfort someone. They knew. They didn't laugh.

The final version was made of lightning. And while the others each elicited a familiar feeling and memory of Mousey, this one held them all. With this version, I felt my heart plummet. A tear ran down my cheek as I reached out. Even if it was made of lightning, this version felt like the real one. The one I lost and would never reclaim. The one who was with me through the good and the bad. The one I could always depend on, despite him not even being alive.

"That one?"

I froze, my hand hovering in mid-air towards the lightning version. I'd forgotten where I was. And what I was doing. The voice had rocked me back to the present. It hadn't been judgemental. If anything, the tone of voice made me think whatever was behind me was pleased. Still, a heavy feeling rested in my stomach. I didn't know what would happen if I were to sacrifice this. Would me memories disappear? What would I get in return? Was the voice even truthful? Slowly my fingers curled, balling my hand into a fist.

"Can you give me what I want?" I said. My voice trembled more than I'd hoped it would. A soft snicker followed, bathing me in warm air. I heard something large move behind me. A large snout came into view of my right and purple eyes stared at me. The lips curled up into what looked like a grin, showing several large white fangs, each bigger than my arm.

"Certainly."

I lowered my arm.

"Take it."