34(Whom should I write about? Confusing… Four ppl to choose from) (Note: I'm still not sure about the time period for this story, I like medieval time so, ignore the futuristic swearing okay =D. Actually it could be on a whole different planet…I'll stick to that, but it's gonna be Earth-like.)
Meeting UpShen woke up from her sleep, to find the sun shining in her face, it's rays making through the canopy piercing the heart of the forest. She heard a sound to her right, the rustling of leaves, immediately she called a couple of bushes to hide her camping spot. Watching through the bush she saw a girl of her age appear from behind a tree.
"Arg! I hate this! Eek!" the pale girl let out a shriek, "A spider!" She quickly scrambled away and ran into the bush Shen was hiding behind. They collided into each other and tumbled into the stream.
The water turned ice cold as they hit, colder than Shen ever remembered it being. The forest girl jumped out of the stream and cried, "Who are you!? What are you doing here?"
"My name's Bing, don't hurt me," she cowered, holding her hands above her in defense. As she sat there in shallower waters, ice crystals began to form around her body, freezing the stream.
Shen let out an obvious gasp as she watched the scene in front of her eyes. Bing looked up, confused at the sudden change of emotions, still not used to people who didn't understand her powers of water and ice. She slowly got up, and the water pooled back into the spot she once occupied.
"H-how d-do you do th-that?" Shen asked cautiously.
Bing blushed, "Oh that? It's pretty easy; all I do is touch it, the water. It's been doing that ever since I remember. Watch, I can make these ice figures too." She held her hand in front of her; slowly she brought her hands together and lifted the top one higher. An outline of a four-legged animal began to take shape under her hand, when it was complete, the outline filled in, creating a white form of a deer.
"Wow!" said the completely amazed Shen. Then the smile was wiped off her face and replaced by a look of concentration.
"What's—"
"Shh!" interrupted Shen. She started to glance around her, then, "Duck!" she yelled.
"Huh? A duck—" Bing was obviously confused, but Shen had already forced her down when a ninja star hit a tree behind them at a place directly above where Bing's head had been. It stuck to the tree with a twang noise and then stopped.
"Oh my gosh…" cried Bing, just a little bit too loud. The two girls got up slowly, then a new voice sounded through the forest. A girl came through the bushes, using her hand to push away the leaves and the branches in her way. She was tall, with her black hair done in a long braid that ended at her waist. A brown leather pack was carried with her that held a sword sticking out slightly to the side.
Walking over she plucked the star from the tree. "I was hoping for dinner," said the new girl regrettably. "Sorry I gave you two such a scare, you're pretty lucky though. I usually don't miss." She then held out her hand in greeting, "My names Dien."
"Uh…n-nice t-to meet you," stuttered Bing, "mines Bing."
"The names Shen," they all shook hands and sat down.
Bing began to look at Dien curiously, "Have we met before? Your face seems slightly familiar."
"No I don't think so…" replied Dien. "Since it's easier to prepare food with more than one person, how about we have dinner now? Or have you guys eaten already?"
"Sure! I'll get the plants, berries, and spices we need, Bing can get the water and the fire started, and do you think you could find us some meat, Dien?"
"No problem, this'll be cinch." She took out her sword, tied the sheath to her belt, and left her pack by the log bench. "I'll meet back here in an estimated 10 minutes, 'kay?" Without waiting for a reply she darted off into the forest.
Shen left to pick more berries and mushrooms, collecting some herbs and spices along the way. Bing sat there and held her hand out, palm up. A swirl of mist developed just above her hand. When it finally settled it revealed a large ice bowl. "Okay now, to get water," she said, standing up. Turning towards the stream, she saw a large fat orange spider dangle from a branch just a few feet away. "Never mind then, I'll just do it the short cut way." Sitting down again she put the bowl down, and stuck her index finger in front of her above the bowl. Cold water began to stream out filling the bowl slowly, while Bing sat there pondering about the new people she just met.
Are we supposed to be heroes or something? Well let's see, now Four shall meet… where's the last one then? So I guess neither Shen nor Dien can be evil…can they? Oh this is so confusing already! We'll probably have monsters and beasts after us, and who knows what else!
Dien came back holding two rabbits, one in each hand. Her sword was fully in its sheath, dangling readily at her side. She walked over and put the two rabbits on the log. "You need help with the fire?" she asked.
Bing looked up, nodded and smiled, curious at what Dien would do. The girl held out a hand and watched as a tiny flame ball grew above her palm and then tossed it among the twigs and the remaining ashes. She then looked to the side at the bowl. "Isn't that gonna melt?"
"No, my power is based on water, but I think it prefers cold. In other words, it won't melt," replied Bing.
A voice came from the forest, "Oh Bing, I forgot to give you the matches," and Shen appeared. "Okay… never mind then," she said, realizing that the fire had already started.
"Yeah, I had a little bit of help from Dien here." A strong gust of wind came out of nowhere and the fire went out. "Darn it!" All around them, leaves began to rustle as darkness fell upon the forest.
"I think someone's coming," Shen said. "Quick into the bushes." The three hurried into the bushes, gathering everything along with them.
A figure appeared from the sky. Whatever light was left revealed a tall girl carrying a backpack. She wore long pants and a t-shirt, with her brown hair tied back in a ponytail, and bracelets jingling on her wrists. "I thought I saw a fire here. Hmph! I guess I must've been mistaken." *Sniff, sniff "No, it can't be, I can smell smoke." A thought occurred to her. Oh shit! Did I just invade a hunter's campsite? "Probably not…okay now to find those three."
"! She must be the other one!" whispered Bing.
"What other one?" Shen asked.
"I'll explain later, but if I'm wrong we may be at a big risk."
"Huh? Is anyone there?" the stranger turned to look at the bushes where they hid.
"Great I think we blew our cover. What were you guys whispering so loudly about, anyways?" Dien joined the conversation.
"Okay I'll take the risk!" Bing got up. "Are you one of the four?" she asked the newcomer. Dien and Shen turned to look at each other, oblivious of what she was talking about. They then turned back to see what would happen.
The girl jumped back in surprise, but regained her calm quickly. "Yeah, you?" Bing nodded in reply. Finally I found one of them! "So do you know where the others are?"
"In the bushes actually." The two others then got up, confused and embarrassed at the same time.
Great another joyful little introduction ceremony, when are these people going to stop popping out of nowhere! Shen thought as she stood up. I'll just get it all over with now. "My names Shen, this girl next to me is Dien," Dien waved sheepishly, "and she's Bing," Shen nodded towards Bing.
"My names Feng, The Master of Wind!" Feng smiled at the new name she gave herself just moments ago when laying back in the air, searching for the others and anything to do.
"Bing? What did you mean by one of the four?" Dien asked suspiciously. Shen also stared at the ice girl.
"It may seem weird but I learned of a poem, actually only the first verse, that may give us a clue. It goes like this: In a forest, four shall meet, to learn of an evil, they must defeat. So I'm assuming we're the four." Bing stood there uncomfortably, unsure of herself.
"Yes, Shoren told me that I would be meeting you three," cut in Feng.
"Who's Shoren? Is she some kind of fortune teller?" the curious look only got stronger on Shen's face.
"No actually she's just the person I live with…"
When the matter was settled they all sat down. Dien first called upon her fire and relit the twigs and branches, producing soothing warmth. She then skinned the two rabbits with her dagger and roasted the meat on two long sticks; occasionally juices would drip and then sizzle away into nothing.
Bing took her bowl and settled it over the fire with the help of Feng's wind power to make it hover over the fire. Shen took some carrots and veggies and began to chop them up with Feng's knife, letting them fall into the weird looking ice pot. Soon a sweet aroma filled the air among them though the knife owner made no effort to blow it away.
When dinner was finally set they sat around the campfire and began to eat. Each used a clay bowl, any bit of bacteria had already burned away by the intense heat of Dien's fire. They each ate in silence pondering about the new lives they would live and what separated them from the rest. Only Shen realized that altogether they had the four powers, of wind, ice, fire, and earth.