the last of us

“Rikka…” Maeryn nodded towards the mirror. “You should check on her.”

Rikka nodded. “Yeah. I know. But…”

“She needs you,” Lulu said, looking with sad eyes at her best friend.

“I know!” Rikka exclaimed. “Just…go somewhere else, okay?”

“But–” Lulu started, but Maeryn shook her head.

“Lulu, let’s go. You wanted to be able to keep Talie, you need to be able to take care of her.”

Rikka shot her twin a small, grateful smile. Maeryn nodded back, her expression not changing. Rikka knew that the loss of Shira, Talie’s older sister, was still hard on her. 

The two girls ran upstairs and Shira walked towards the mirror, tracing the edge with her finger. Her clear blue eyes reflected against the shattering light that Evy’s pale green eyes would show through.

“Evy?” Rikka whispered. “Evy, it’s Rikka. Talie’s safe, in Lulu’s care. I know that Shira’s death has affected you—it’s affected everyone. But we’ve taken care of it. Please, come back. We need you. I need you.”

Green, light-reflected eyes blinked, and then narrowed.

“Evelinnia, I know you’re there. Please, speak! Say something!”

The light faded.

“Evy!” Rikka shouted. “Evy, please!” There were tears in her eyes as the mirror returned to normal.

“Evy,” Rikka whispered.

She’s gone.

At least, gone for now.

~*~

“Evelinnia, Faithlyn, Journee, Luna, Shira. Five warriors, here, asking for me and my fighter’s help.”

Evy watched Korrina through narrowed eyes.

“Hrm. Shira, right? You want to get your sister back?”

“I do. I need to,” Shira replied. “But Rikka, Lulu, and Maeryn all think I’m dead. They could be dangerous…Evy has contact with them, but she never talks. Just in case, you know?”

“I see,” Korrina murmured. “Well, I can tell you this: there is nothing I can do to help you.”

“What?!” Luna yelled. “NOTHING!?”

“Luna…” Journee tugged her down. The girl growled and sat again.

“Um…” Korrina was clearly intimidated by the dragon-girl. “Well, I have some fighters. One of water, but I didn’t know if you had that element yet.”

“We…don’t. Ever since Rikka ran off and took Talie…” Faith blinked back tears.

“Faith…” Evy glanced at her friend. “It’s fine. I think. We’ll take them, because we don’t have Rikka anymore. Or Talie.”

“Well, then. Let me go get him. Really quick. Be right back.” Korrina tugged aside the curtain and stepped inside.

“Luna!” Journee exclaimed. “YOU CANNOT GO RELEASING YOUR DRAGON ON INNOCENT PEOPLE!”

“I was NOT,” Luna muttered. “I was merely releasing my anger. As you all call it.”

“Okay. No more fighting, guys, it gives us a bad name. Journee, would you like to switch seats?”

“I guess,” Journee said, giving Luna a look. Luna bared her sharper-than-normal teeth at her. Evy settled down next to Luna, on the edge. Luna was scooting closer to Shira, who was rolling her eyes at everyone. Faith was quiet, looking closely at the curtain where Korrina left.

“Okay! I’m back! Um—he actually went somewhere else at the moment. So maybe he’ll be back later. But…um…we’ll see. You’d best be off, however, the city becomes a dangerous place at night,” Korrina said, walking back from behind the curtain.

“Actually…” Faith stood up, walking closer to Korrina, “We will take you.”

“M-me!” Korrina sputtered. “I’ll be of no use!”

“Oh, you will be of very much use to me, watergirl.”

“Uh…what’s a watergirl?”

“Don’t play coy with me, Rina. My father knew every watergirl in the village, and you were one of them. Remember that day we played tag with Kiri, and you cheated?” Faith asked.

“Um—well—” Korrina sputtered. 

Faith smirked, and the icy blue light in her eyes brightened. “Come on, watergirl. We have places to be.”

Tap, tap, tap.

Water. Rain.

The rain that pounded on Talie’s window was almost like ice. It reminded her of her best friend, the long-gone last elemental ice-girl Faithlyn.

She remembered Faith’s friends, too. Luna, her other best friend, Evy, the leader of the group, Journee, Faith’s twin sister, and lastly, her dead sister, Shira. 

She missed them. And this rain just made her more sorrowful than before.

Talie walked across the cold floor and opened a drawer. She pulled out two blue gloves, which she put on.

Talie took a deep breath, and flicked her fingers out to pause the drumming of her sadness. Pause the tears of the sky raining down on the world.

“So…what now?” Journee asked. They were halfway through the desert, where there was a river.

“We let Luna swim. And we rest,” Evy replied, sitting down on a rock.

“Yesssssss,” Luna hissed, her skin shimmering into dark blue scales. Dragon-Luna dove into the river, disappearing from sight.

“Urgh. I’m so hot…” Faith complained, collapsing on the sand.

“Oh, relax,” Korrina snapped. Faith rolled her eyes. Shira bit her lip and sighed, shaking cactus prickers out of her black hair.

Journee flicked fire at her sister out of her dark red gloves, a mischievous smile on her face.

“Heeeey!” Faith flicked snow back at Journee, glaring.

“Would you two cut it out?” Evy asked, glaring at the two of them.

“Yeah,” Luna cut in, surfacing from the river. “Cut it out, Journee.”

“Yeah,” Korrina giggled. “Cut it out, Faithlyn.”

“Everyone just shut up!” Shira shouted. “Would you please just get along?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Luna muttered. 

Evy looked down at her feet and yawned. “I’m tired. Anyone wanna come to bed with me?”

“I will.” Korrina stood up, sticking her tongue out at Faith.

“I’m going to stay out for a bit,” Shira murmured, tracing a pattern in the sand. “And Luna’ll probably stay, too.”

“I’ll come,” Journee said. “As long as they stay out.”

“Fine, then. If it’ll stop the fighting. ‘Night, Shira. Thanks for being the one person I’m not annoyed at right now.” Evy rolled her eyes.

“Goodnight,” Shira murmured as Evy disappeared into the tent that Korrina set up. She traced a line of darkness along the pattern, making a circle, and then swept it up in a bubble and watched the sand flow through. It was…mesmerizing. Shira felt powerful.

She felt that, with this power, she could do anything she could ever imagine…