yay chapter 4!! Thanks for all the support guys! Previous: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/833055351/ Next: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/965315287/ Chapter below!! Finn exits the room and I’m left alone, I take into my surroundings. To the left of me is a patch of dirt and past that is a larger, circular one. Instead of a large tank like testing day there is a small pool in the back of the room. The pool looks natural, not man-made, with boulders surrounding it and uneven edges. The water in it glistens from the sunlight coming from the ceiling made entirely of glass. The room seems so welcoming, so bright, a door opens behind me. Finn and 4 other figures stand behind him, Finn approaches me. He looks at me, “Autumn,” he continues, “we’re going to retest you.” “I'm good,” I say, “I don’t want to relive that again.” I make a hand gesture towards the equipment, especially the pool. “It’s not going to hurt you,” Finn says, “we make sure that it's all safe, It seems bad I know, but I promise you,” Finn locks eyes with me, “I promise nothing will hurt you.” With a shaky breath I nod and am escorted over to the rectangular patch of dirt. “Remember this one?” Finn asks, “the vines will trail up your legs just try to push them down.” “How?” I ask. “You’ll know,” Finn replies then looks down to dirt where one of the assessors Finn came in with already started to make the vines grow. They don’t look as bright or vicious as before, they almost look tameable. I lower my hand as if I were shoo-ing them away and to my surprise, they sink downward. Finn’s eyes light up and stare at me as the vines sink slowly back into the dirt. I step off the dirt as Finn says, “All right Ms. Earth στοιχείο bearer, well done,” he smiles at me and leads me to the larger circle of dirt. “Same drill he says, just push the flames away.” I nod once more and step into the center, immediately the flames surround me. They creep closer and closer, the heat licking the air around me. I think of how I pushed the vines away and to my shock the flames create an opening in the circle and I walk through, facing Finn once more. “Two for two darling,” he says as he leads me to the other side of the room. Without notice a gust of wind slaps me in the face and doesn't stop. Annoyed, I pushed that too, shocked to not only create my own gust of wind but so strong it pushed the assessor creating the wind backwards. “I'm so sorry,” I say. “Don’t be,” the assessor says, “that was impressive, especially for your first time.” He leaves the room with the rest of the assessors, I guess their presence was no longer required. It’s just Finn with me now, I turn to face him. “Two more,” he says, smirking. “C’mon,” he leads me closer to the back of the room. “Ok the small bolts will fly at you, they’ll only sting for a few seconds.” He steps back and one by one shoots them, once they begin stinging I hold my arms up, creating almost an X and the bolts deflect off a small barrier that seems to have appeared. Finn looks at me, smirks again and stops shooting them. “Man, Autumn, 4 out of 4, ready for the last one?” I shake my head, “I am not doing that again,” I point towards the pool. “I promise nothing will happen,” Finn leads me towards the pool, “just dip your head in and try to breathe.” “Absolutely not.” “Autumn, the worst that will happen is you get a mouthful of water, I won't let anything else happen, promise.” I nod and slowly lower my head into the pool, breaking the clam surface of the crystal clear water. My shorts are soaked. The water isn’t as cold as I would have expected, holding my hair into a makeshift ponytail, I let my face sink down and slowly try to take a breath. It works. It’s thicker and not as easy to breathe but I do, I inhale, exhale then whip my head out of the water. “What happened?” Finn asks.
More below! “I just took a breath underwater,” I whisper, I’m shaking, I must look just as terrified on the outside. “Hey, it’s okay, you’re okay,” Finn places his hand on the small of my back and guides me out of the room.” I look up at him, “What does it mean?” I ask out of curiosity, “that I have all the elements?” “I don’t know yet,” Finn says, “we’ll figure that out later.” “Where are we going?” “I’m going to tour you around the school.” He smiles, “Come on.” We exit the room and walk into a hallway. Kids my age and maybe a little older look up when we pass, I just smile and try to ignore them. Finn told me before we left the room that if anyone were to ask, I am a water στοιχείο bearer, nothing more. The school is massive, and the maze of hallways and classrooms intrigues me. We tour for at least an hour. When we finish Finn looks at me, “So? You like it?” I nod. “When you take classes here,” he continues, “it will be challenging. You have to take classes for all five of the elements, not just one or two like the other students. “Won’t they know that I’m not just a water στοιχείο bearer then?” I ask. “Eventually, but there isn’t anything they can do about it. You’ll do great here, I have a good feeling.” He says, “We should get you back home, I’ll walk you.” “I’m alright,” I don’t need someone to walk me home. “Fine,” Finn whispers, “but I am going to walk you out of this forest, I don’t trust the creatures in it.” I nod and start walking across the lawn of Everlore Academy. On Monday, I will attend this school, and I will have to learn how to control the magical abilities I never knew I had. Leaves crunch beneath my feet as Finn and I make our way down the dirt path in the forest. We eventually make it out of the forest and I start leading us back to my neighborhood, eventually we arrive at my doorstep. “I’ll see you Monday, 8 am sharp.” “What’s Monday?” I ask, Finn laughs, “You really should get some sleep sweetheart. It’s your first day at Everlore, remember?” “Yeah,” I say, it seems like it was ages ago. “Bye.” He walks away whistling, and the second my head hits the pillow, I’m out cold.
