Elemental Genesis

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Chapter Twenty: A Very Busy Day

Nuitari or "Night" Hawking was sleepily getting dressed for the day in his room before the unexpected happened.

"Hey! Hello!"

His fingers slipped on the second-to-last button of his red button-up shirt and he whirled around in alarm. Floating in the middle of his room was a large, circular window. But instead of reflecting cool grays and vivid greens, it showed something - or rather, someone - else. The person had messy mixed dark-brown and black hair with deep arresting blue eyes. He was waving cheerfully at him.

"Tom?!" Okay. Zylle worked me way too hard last night. I am now seeing things.

"Yep!" Tom's tenor voice still carried that strange unearthly cadence. He was surprisingly cheerful. "I managed to find a way to communicate to you!"

"Umm...how?"

"Our so-called 'uncle' helped us."

"Uncle?" There it was. That piercing feeling of dread and fear washed over him. Vaguely, he could hear shouting in the back of his mind, but it sounded like it came from a far away radio with a lot of static.

"Are you alright?" Tom's face was etched with concern now.

"Huh? Oh! I spaced out there."

"I gathered that. So, how are things?"

Night launched into a summary of what had happened over the past few weeks since his awakening. He had gone into especial detail about Zylle, Gran, Bran, and his new home. "It's wonderful here! I don't think I ever want to leave!"

He thought he saw a flash of pain and regret pass Tom's face, but it passed quickly. Now he was unsure whether it had even happened. Now, Tom looked thoughtful. "This Zylle...is she good-looking?"

"Tom!"

"What? I am twenty-five, after all!"

"You're in your seventies," responded Night dryly.

"Twenty-five," said Tom firmly. "Without a body, but in my prime nevertheless."

"Who's this 'uncle' you talked about earlier?"

"Ah. He demands that we call him 'Uncle Nat'. I have no idea why. His name's Thanatos and he's the Lady's brother. Not to mention, a complete nutcase."

"The Lady's brother is insane?"

"In a good way. The Lady herself just makes a face and calls him 'extremely juvenile and mischievous'."

"When you aid the Lady had a brother, I figured he would be like her."

"He got a seal to get high on crack, if it helps you judge his personality. But I must go to the two points that I really need to discuss."

"Okay. I have been warned and am now prepared to take whatever bombshell you plan to mercilessly throw on me and my life."

Tom sarcastically replied, "Good, it makes things much easier when you accept it. First off, you haven't been practicing your wizarding magic, have you?"

"How can I? I don't have a wand or any books."

Tom smirked. "That's where I come in."

"Tom? No offense, but you don't look like the teacher-type to me."

"I can still try! And I've tutored plenty of people in my Hogwarts days. If I could do that while having a demon driving me insane, then I can do this. In a few days, you'll be getting a package from an anonymous sender." Tom's evil grin grew wider. "I wonder what that old demon will do once he finds my old wand is gone."

"You're giving me your wand? But Tom-"

"No but's. It will work for you so don't worry about that. Your old wand if I recall was strikingly similar to mine. There will also be a present in there that I think you'd like."

"Tom, you didn't have to-"

The older man brought up his hand to silence him. "Well, I did. Besides, I owe you a birthday present." Night now felt guilty. On his forms, he and Zylle had put down his birthday as July 31st, since that was the day that he woke up. It was the best they could come up with. "Now this mirror. You can use it to communicate me. Just say the password - Dark Sovereign - and I'm there." Night chuckled as Tom muttered, "Not like I can be anywhere else..."

"Who chose the password?"

"The Lady's aunt."

"How many relatives does she have?!"

"A LOT. She has a ton of brothers and sisters, but she doesn't keep in contact with them all that much. Her Aunt Destiny is a strange one though. She didn't explain why that was it."

"Can it be smaller?" The large mirror looked quite inconvenient. "And can it be used as a regular mirror?"

"Yes, to both. Why?" Tom's deep blue eyes glinted teasingly. "Ah. So, who's the lucky girl you're trying to impress?"

Now Night was confused. "Girl? What - oh." His face flushed scarlet. "I'm not trying to impress a girl!"

"Well, you should be. Take advantage of youth!" Then, Tom's handsome features took on an apprehensive expression. "You already had the talk, right? I don't need to do it, do I?"

<><><>

"Ready, boy?"

"Hans, why are you wearing a saucepan on your head?"

Yes, Hans was wearing a saucepan on his head. They were standing in the spacious backyard of Number 12 Zephyrus Court, Hans' home. Hans had a large cleared spot in the middle of the lot, while a number of vibrant plants flourished around the edges. Night had noticed that the chocolate trees were doing particularly well. Both of them stood in this cleared spot. Night wore regular clothing, while Hans wore his regular clothing: his lime green bathrobe and slippers, and sweats. The saucepan was new.

"Best be prepared." He also gestured to the pile of sandbags piled in a fort-like manner behind him. "We're starting with earth element attacks first. No weapon summoning." The elderly man laughed at Night's disappointed face. "I'll give you about two and a half weeks before doing that. And it should be easy since Zylle and Sarah will be teaching the basics of it with wind and fire probably next week."

"Really?" Night's frown turned into a large smile at the thought of learning weapon summoning. He had tried it on his own, imitating Zylle's movements, but nothing had yet happened. He guessed that there was some sort of mindset to form that amazing blade.

"You know about element tapping, so I'll spare you the lecture." Hans winked. "Let's get this done so you can see your friends before heading over to Vinny Coulter's. You'll need the good mood. We'll begin with one of the most difficult of the attacks an earth elemental in the Gaia Kybele style could use, so that everything afterward would be easy."

Night raised an eyebrow. This is different approach. Zylle and Gran started with the easier techniques and worked up to the hard stuff.

"Fissure," Hans explained, "is one of the hardest techniques for any earth master, not just in the Gaia Kybele style, to learn. This is because an earth elemental's base instinct is not to destroy but to maintain a balance, be in control, and to create. With 'fissure', you are breaking the earth. The earth will react back to keep a balance. That is the main force of fissure: the combination of your power and the earth's following destructive response focused at a target." Hans nodded with pride. "It's a powerful attack and it won me the rank of Blue Dragon back in the old wars..."

Hans suddenly broke off his reminiscing to dive behind the sandbags. The top of his saucepan helmet was barely visible. "Break the earth and be sure to combine your energy with it in the attack! Break the pots over there!" Following Hans' gesture, she found standing on the ground an array of beautiful clayware about ten feet away.

"I can't destroy those!"

"Yes and you better! Or I'll tell your mother!"

Night started when Hans referred to Zylle as his mother. Well, she is legally I guess. It was still odd to hear, though. Even with all the remarks from passerby that he could pass as her son.

Okay. I have to break the earth. Tapping into earth, he concentrated on his task. He brought both his hands up in front of him and focused on making the earth crack. Night opened his eyes when he heard a slight crumbling beneath his feet. A large crack was in the earth, starting at his feet and extending in a relatively straight line about seven feet.

"Good start! Try again!"

Right. The pots. I have to make it there. Work with me, earth! Closing his eyes and doing what he had done before again, he concentrated into making energy travel in a large crack to break the pots. He didn't notice the ground shaking beneath his feet. All he was focused on was breaking the earth and the pots.

CRACK! That crack was followed by the sounds of shattering pottery in succession. When he opened his eyes, he saw the large crack, about two feet why and the broken pottery shards.

Hans whooped in victory from behind his sandbags. "Wonderful! You did it!" With a swift motion of his hand, the crack disappeared and it was as it was before. Another wave brought the pottery back. "Do it again! Repetition is the best form of practice!"

<><><>

He and Bran were sitting at the tree they had met at in Aiken-Quincy Park, waiting for Bran's friend. They had become close friends during the past few days. Bran's family eagerly welcomed him into their fold. The redheaded family was very open and fun loving. Even the reserved Bran jumped into the family activities that they enjoyed having with fervor. He was told later that it was from their Italian roots that they valued family so much. Not to mention Mariana Ravencroft made incredible lasagna. They shared similar interests and in Bran, Night found a fellow mischievous and cunning mind. At the moment, they were discussing various ways to get back at the annoying git known as Simeon Bradley.

"No, that won't work! We need a water elemental for that!"

"I'm going for a bit of training in the water element soon, so maybe that will help."

"With who?"

"Professor Coulter." To him, she was Professor Coulter, and only Professor Coulter. She wasn't even just 'Coulter'. Professor Coulter.

The redhead winced. "I feel bad for you."

"Tell me about it. I wrote a will just last night."

"Did I get anything?"

Night laughed and jokingly said, "Now why would I give anything to you?!"

Keeping in with the joke, Bran said mock-seriously, "Fine! This is what I get for lending you money, putting up with you in my house, and you stealing away all good candidates for a girlfriend. Thanks a lot!"

Both of them broke down into hysterics. But a female voice interrupted them. "Bran Ravencroft, laughing? I never thought I'd live to see the day!"

A relatively pretty girl stood over them. Shining wavy brown hair cascaded down the length of her back and curious but warm brown eyes looked down on them. She appeared to be short, even shorter than Night was, and that was saying something. But I have grown a bit over the past few weeks, he admitted to himself. Her expressive mouth was twitching in suppressed laughter. She wore a colorful flowered t-shirt with a denim skirt and sneakers. Behind her ear was a red rose.

The one thing that Night knew instinctively about her was that she was an earth elemental. Lately, he had been becoming more aware of who possessed what element. He did learn to aura-read, but he found that he really didn't need to. Elementals seemed to have characteristics that resembled their elements so much that it was obvious. With his grandmother and Bran, the fire showed in their determination and curiosity. Hans and Mirabelle, like this girl, had the presence of security and a kind nature. He hadn't met that many water elementals, but he noticed that like Professor Coulter, they were usually very insightful and calm. With wind elementals, he noticed that they had a sort of aura of intelligence and adaptability. He also noticed that wind elementals seemed to move a certain way. Zylle showed it more than others.

Standing up and brushing himself off, Bran said to her, "C'mon, you're not going to just stand there and rag on me!"

"I don't see why I can't."

Night laughed and stood up himself. "Neither can I. It'd be fun!"

The girl smiled beatifically at him. "I like him already," she said to the fire elemental. Extending her hand, she said. "I'm Triana Smythe, earth elemental of the Arashi-Tenku. But just call me 'Trina'."

Night gratefully took it. "Nuitari Hawking, wind elemental of the Arashi-Tenku. And you may just call me 'Night'."

Trina's eyes widened. "Hawking? You're a Hawking?"

Bran interrupted dryly, "As hard as it is to believe, it's true. Didn't you hear?"

"No."

"I'm adopted," Night explained. "I was pretty banged up and somehow ended up here. Zylle found me and took me to the hospital. After a few days, I woke up and I couldn't remember a thing. Dr. An - I mean Dr. Diamante found that I had elemental ability, so Zylle legally adopted me."

Trina nodded and asked, "No memory at all?"

"Only a big black dog. And that doesn't really help much."

"True..."

"You sure you hadn't heard?" Bran persisted, "You're dad's the Green Dragon!"

"We've been out of the country! It's hard to get news in Hawaii," Trina said with a tinge of annoyance in her voice. "My dad, Jonathan Smythe, is an artist," Trina clarified when she saw Night's confusion. "He's world-famous so he has to go on several tours. He took me along to his exhibition in Hawaii."

"Wow, that must have been awesome."

"It was! I actually got to walk on an active volcano! Now...what were you two talking about when I came? It sounded good."

Bran grinned and pointed at Night. "His will. He has left me nothing after all that I've done for him."

"Can't blame him."

"Hey!"

Night made his face as formal as possible. "Well, I now have decided to let Trina here have my very rare bromeliad that I've been trying to grow."

"Yes!" Then Trina stopped. "Wait. Didn't you say you're a wind elemental?"

"I am, but I can use all elements know." Embarrassed at her shocked look, he said, "Now I can. Before it was hard because of my blocks on water and earth."

Trina raised an eyebrow and next said, "Well, warn me if you're entering the tournament then. I'll try to avoid you then!" She lightened the statement with a smile.

Bran looked at her with disbelief. "Of course he's going to be in the tournament! He's a Hawking! The only Hawking leader that we have ever had was Sarah, and she was married to one! It would detrimental to our clan not to have a Hawking leader."

"Define 'detrimental', Bran. Some of us don't eat the dictionary."

Night broke in with, "It means harmful and damaging, Trina."

"Oh no! Don't tell me I'm stuck with another intellectual!" She groaned. "I feel inferior in the presence of your genius." The three of them then laughed at that. Giggling while speaking, she asked, "So why is Night dead here?"

"I'm taking lessons from Professor Coulter."

She immediately sobered. "What?!"

"Me. Professor Coulter. Lessons."

"You're dead."

"I know. And I have to be there exactly at three."

Bran looked at his watch and paled. Which was an accomplishment considering his pale skin. "Umm...Night?"

"Yeah?"

"It's 3:10."

"Oh." Then, the force of this hit him. "Crap! I'm late!" Taking off down the path, he yelled back, "I'll see you guys soon!"

Triana muttered, "That's if he returns alive."

"He won't," Bran said seriously. "He's late to a lesson with Professor Coulter. No one has yet to come back alive from a double-hit like that."

<><><>

He skidded to the front of 6 Boreas Street. It was a street with respectable houses and flowers. But it was the creativity that went into the houses that amazed him. Plants of all sorts piled over intricately designed metal fences and when the wind blew from the north, wind chimes filled the air with delicate twinkling. 6 Boreas had glass-like looking pools in its front and its wind chime was made out of icicles. It was of solid brick and slate, with neat gardens and windows with blue fabric curtains. No question. This was Professor Coulter's home. He pressed the doorbell and heard its ring echo in the house. Then he heard the click of high-heels. The white door opened.

Towering above him was the woman herself. Her shoulder-length chestnut hair was as impeccably styled as always and her ice blue eyes behind their spectacles pierced right through him. He only knew three other people who could do that: the Lady, Tom, and at times, Zylle. She wore a Chinese-inspired blue top with black slacks. And of course she had the high-heels: this time the same blue as her shirt. Her arms were bare, excepting a few silver bangles. Night could see clearly the majestic dragon of the Arashi-Tenku her left arm, perched above the eye mark that was individual from person to person. "You're late. By...13 minutes."

13? I made good time! I thought it would at least take me another 8 minutes to get here. "Yes, Professor," he said respectfully. "I'm sorry about that."

"I'll let this go since you apparently got lost, being new here," she said. "But I expect you on time for our next lesson, Night."

He took the escape without hesitation. "Yes, Professor. Thank you."

"Come in." She moved out of the doorway and into the house. He followed her obediently and the door closed behind him.

He asked Professor Coulter, "Is the house like Number 14?"

"Yes, but not as advanced. The older the house is the more conscious it becomes. It's believed to be because of the magic radiated from its inhabitants and from everyone else who lives in Grey Tower. Number 14 is particularly advanced since it is one of the oldest homes here. Number 6 is about half as old." Night then got the feeling of pride, but not from the professor. It was from the house, actually. "As you can tell," she said smiling. "It's quite proud of itself."

The interior of Number 6 had a blue and white scheme that prevailed around the house, making it feel icy. The furniture was obviously antique and there did not seem to be anything of the modern style around. He assumed she disliked it. Noticing a few photographs on the wall, he saw what was an evidently younger Lavinia Coulter. He noted that she seemed to be very determined in every picture, her chin held high. Night nearly laughed when he saw one of the later pictures. She was obviously fifteen or sixteen and wearing fighting gear. But the left arm was torn off, revealing the dragon, and she was smiling fiercely. Next to her, was a girl with red hair and the red dragon - Mirai - and a girl with messy dark-hair that just had to be Zylle. Yes, there it is: the Black Dragon mark of the leader. Zylle had not shown him it yet, but Gran had shown hers. On the surprisingly still smooth of his grandmother showed him the Black Dragon. It was located on her right, though. Since she had switched clans, she already had her clan's mark on her right arm. Gran showed him that one too: the red panther. Behind them all was an older boy that looked a lot like Trina. Obviously, he was her father: Jonathan Smythe, the Green Dragon. This was obviously a picture taken right after the tournament.

Night was led into the predominantly blue and green kitchen. It was amazingly modern, much like the homes of other elemental houses. However, jars upon jars of potions ingredients lined the walls here. Professor Coulter noticed his curiosity. "I keep some of my potions ingredients here. Usually the more common and more widely used ones. My main stores are in my basement. It's much cooler and more circulated there. Sit."

He followed her gesture to sit at the table. To his surprise, she put in front of him and herself two empty glasses. Night looked up questioningly at her.

"We are made up mostly of water, correct?"

"Yes."

"This is what makes tapping of the water element one of the easiest out of all the elements. Since our being has so much of it, it isn't that hard to summon up. It's the direct using of the element that is difficult."

"Wouldn't it be easy as well since it was easily summoned?"

"Unfortunately, this isn't so. In order to use water effectively, you must have a calm and serene state of mind. Water is fluid and composed. Very rarely is water ever out of control."

"What about storms and rapids?" He explained further. "Water is wild then."

"But that is different. In storms, the wind fights against the water to make that happen. And in river rapids, the earth influences the rivers path to make it go faster. Water does not do this. It just goes with the flow. It is quite different from wind and fire, two elements that embrace chaos and speed. Did Zylle ever tell you about the elemental centers?"

"Elemental centers?" He didn't recall her ever saying anything like that. "No, I don't think so."

Professor Coulter sighed. "Typical Zylle. There is a philosophy that the elements are connected to certain parts of the body. They are: Earth through the physical body, water through the heart (emotions, so to speak), wind through the mind, and fire from the soul. Personally, I think it is all rubbish." She scowled in distaste. "I agree completely with Anastasius Diamante when it comes to that. The magic is much more personality based."

Night nodded in understanding. That was what he noticed. That was how he knew what element a person was before actually meeting them.

"Let's get back to the subject at hand. I'm just going to test you first. Then I'll have an idea on where to go with you." Motioning to the glass, she commanded, "Fill the class with water."

"What?! I can't do that!"

"I don't see how you can't. You can make fire in your hand, right? Also wind?"

"Well, yes..."

"Water is no different. Concentrate on the element. Remember that you yourself are water. And then just let it flow out of your hand."

She put her hand over her glass. As he watched, he saw her palm fill with crystal clear water. It overflowed out of her hand and into the glass, filling it up. Night noticed with a bit of amusement that the water was fogging of the glass with its chill. At the end of half a minute, the glass was filled to the top with icy cold clear water. Professor Coulter fixed him with her blue glare. "You do the same. And I expect at least three-fourths of it full."

Getting the message, he held his hand over the glass as well. Like she said, it was easy to tap into the water element. But he couldn't manage to let it out like she did. Water...our bodies are mostly water...calm and focus...argh! Yes. He was frustrated. Calm, serene...boring...Lethe! Maybe that was it. The land of Lethe was filled with water from its rivers to Annuvin to the great Ocean of Eternity. It was perpetually calm and serene, just like water. He had to force down a laugh. Tom definitely isn't a water elemental. As he thought about the realm of oblivion, a pool of water formed in his hand. But it did not overflow like Professor Coulter's had: it instead trickled down at an annoyingly slow rate. Hurry up! The water got even slower. Okay...be calm...need new strategy...Lethe worked, what next? Then his mind fell on the Lady. Perfect! I always feel calm and secure when I'm around her. He summoned up his last memory of her. The dark hair, the blue eyes, and the smile that made him feel like everything was all right in the world.

"Mr. Hawking, I believe you can desist now."

He opened the eyes he hadn't realized he closed. His glass was full with water. Night looked up at the professor and to his amazement, she was smiling. But he wasn't sure if that was a good thing. Maybe it was something in her eyes. She looked like she was going to give him tough times.

"Well, you have exceeded my expectations of you. Therefore, I will work you harder than I had planned." Professor Coulter smiled even wider. "I'm going to have fun."

Night suppressed the urge to groan.

<><><>

Night wasn't prepared to have someone come straight up to him and start talking to him. He was especially not expecting an older man whom he didn't know.

Night didn't like him. He could tell that he was dealing with a water elemental, but he did not exude the control and reserved feeling he usually got from water elementals. Night was reminded of the fast-moving river that he had spoken about with Professor Coulter. But he really disliked him at first sight.

He wore an expensive dark-blue suit with white shirt and tie. Blue-tinted sunglasses hid his eyes from the afternoon sunset. He leant against the picket fence of 19 Viento Street as if he owned the town. He had perfectly groomed blond hair that was the very anti-thesis of Night's own black hair. He had the kind of aura of someone who always got what he wanted. Night didn't know what he disliked about him, but there was something that was there.

"Hello. Are you Nuitari Hawking, boy?" The man had said this kindly while exposing perfect pearl white teeth in a smile. He didn't fall for it. Night wanted to get away from him. Or hit him. Mostly he felt the urge to hit him, but he wanted to get away since he didn't want to embarrass Zylle.

"Yes. And you are?"

"David Crowley, Black Chimera of the Rekka-Ki."

Oh. So this was David Crowley. Gran hated this guy. A lot. Night could tell since she would mutter angrily and more often than not would make something explode.

"Yes," Night asked coolly. "What do you want?"

"You are Zylle's new son, correct? With exceptional abilities?" Crowley said the word 'son' with an insulting tone in his perfect voice.

"Yes, you are correct. I am her son," Night responded. "But you didn't answer mine. What do you want?"

"My, my. You're quite the rude one."

"And your point?"

"You should be more polite. I might become your father."

"I severely doubt that."

"What? What about me that any woman would resist? Would you rather that Zylle marry some former convict?" Crowley laughed.

"Actually, I would." The idea did appeal to him for some odd reason. He didn't know why, but it DID sound better.

Crowley looked shocked at that admittance, but smiled that smile yet again. "Too bad. Since I will be the one to get Zylle. And who knows?" He laughed. "You may need to go to another family."

Crowley was suddenly lifted eight feet in the air. His legs kicked at nothing in his panic. But Night gazed at the man with a cold anger in his blazing green eyes. "I am a Hawking. And you definitely won't end up with Zylle. I won't let you and I severely doubt that she would let you either." Night sent him flying into the yard of 19 Viento Street, straight into a mud puddle. With a satisfied smile at Crowley's horrified mud-covered form, he continued down the lane towards his home.

If Night were paying attention, he would have heard amused chuckling coming from the circular mirror hanging around his neck.

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