The first day of lessons is surprisingly draining, so we all decide to cook out. Once dinner is eaten, EJ suggests a bonfire. I think he just wants to show off his fire elemental magic abilities, but we all have no problem indulging him.

Everything is going great. Dom and Ande are even giving each other side glances they think are unnoticed. The only problem I've seen so far is Mick standing off away from everyone else. She acts like the group is going to hurt her or something. And she keeps glancing around the area, seeming to look into the forest—for someone or something. Maybe I should ask her later if she is okay.

Estel brings out the fixings for s'mores, and we all dig in to make the yummy, sticky treats. Jonah helps Carleigh with hers. The look of love and admiration is glowing in their faces. Dom moves as if to stand up but he just keeps sitting back down again. Maybe he wants to go help Ande like Jonah is doing with Carleigh. I'm not sure why they are dancing around each other. Maybe they think it's too quick. Personally, if I had such a powerful connection to a guy, I'd jump at the chance. Well, maybe not the first day. But if he is showing signs of feeling the same way, I'm not sure I'd dance around the subject — not that I have much experience on the topic.

The evening ends with us cleaning our messy fingers the best we can with hand sanitizer and head to our rooms. Mick quickly heads to her room, shutting and locking the door. Guess I'll have to wait to talk to her.

If I thought today was draining, I'm pretty sure tomorrow won't be any easier.

The sun isn't even peeking through the trees when banging wakes me up. I guess the trainers won't wait for us, and they shouldn't. Now it's time for our first lessons in elemental magic.

The walk to the clearing is peaceful. Fog lingers just above the wildflowers waking from their slumber, waiting on the sun rays that will filter through the trees on the outskirts of the clearing. Water cascading over rocks and other fallen debris gets louder the closer to the western edge of the clearing we get.

Estel stops just steps from the stream and gestures for us to gather around.

"Today's lesson is about elemental magic. Elemental magic is the magic and energy within certain people that gives them the ability to move and manipulate the natural elements. Most people have the ability to manipulate only one element. However, in recent years, more Elementalists, where both parents have a different element they can manipulate, have been gifted with the ability to move one or the other element - or on rare occasions both.

Sounds pretty cool, if you ask me. However, I don't think I want that gift; what I have is quite enough.

A strong voice comes from the back. "And why has this been happening?" Dominic asks.

Estel pauses. "That's a good question. The best the Elders can figure out is these children need to be prepared for more battles ahead."

"The Stormer Rebellion isn't the only enemy?" I ask.

"Oh conejito." Estel starts, and I glare over at Mick, who shrugs, but the corners of her lips are upturned. If the nickname makes her this amused, I don't mind being called this.

Estel clears her throat, and heat rises up into my face.

"As I was saying, if that were only the case, life would be much easier. No, there are always people who want access to one of the crystals."

Tanner's voice interrupts. "One of the crystals? How many of these crystals are there?"

"Eight that we know of." She pauses then shrugs. "There could be more that the Elders haven't heard of."

"Isn't that a problem in itself?" Jonah asks from my left.

"Of course, it is. But those places have people to protect them just like we do. It might not stop evil from trying to get a hold of them, but it can be a good deterrent for most people who would like to try and get their hands on a crystal."

"Conejito, come here. The first thing you need to learn is the basic techniques of air elemental magic. After you master this, you can move up to more intermediate then advanced techniques."

My eyes narrow. "What is there other than just making the air go where I will it?"

She chuckles. My eyes narrow further. Why is this so amusing?

"It's just the idea that the only thing you can do is moving the air at will couldn't be further from the truth. You could do such things as move objects by creating air around them, attacking or defending with air, heightening hearing and touch with vibrations and disturbances in the air, and crushing an object, even a person, using increased air pressure."

My eyes widen. "I could crush a person using just air?"

"You will find out there are plenty of things that can be done with elemental magic. If you and another Elementalist get advanced enough, you could combine your magic abilities to do things such as, work with Tanner to create ice or work with Dominic to create lightning or work with Mick or Jonah to create a moving wall of dust—like a sandstorm."

"Cool," comes from most surrounding Estel.

She claps her hands. "Now back to today's lessons. First you need to use some of the techniques EJ talked about with meditation. Clear your head of everything. Strong emotions can change the way you use your elemental magic. Sometimes this is good, and sometimes this is bad. Strong emotions can add energy to what you are trying to manifest. Power can be added to your elemental magic if you are in control of whatever strong emotion you are having, but if you are not in control, you could do things you never wanted to happen. I've seen a building destroyed and people severely injured when an Elementalist was out of control."

I gasp. "I have that much ability and power?"

She smiles at me. "Conejito, you are stronger than you think you are." She turns to the rest of the group. "All of you here are stronger than you think you are."

When everyone settles, she looks at me and continues.

"Since air cannot be seen, you might have a slight advantage over other Elementalists."

My forehead scrunches. "What do you mean?"

"Air, or the wind generated off of it, cannot be seen by a person."

I look up and then tilt my head. "Sure it can."

"No, what you see is the effect of the air or the wind it generates, but not the air or wind itself. Do you see what I'm saying?"

"Okay, you're saying if someone can't see the attack by the wind except through what it creates, I can essentially attack someone by surprise."

"Yes, especially if they have no idea you have the ability to start with. If they know, it is still possible to use the element of surprise on them during one of your attacks. What you are going to now is imagine anything you want to about the element you can use. Build on those images until you feel power growing inside of you. Once you feel that power, try to do something simple like move a twig or a leaf."

I nod my understanding before continuing.

One of our first lessons was about centering ourselves, so I start with this. I focus on the air, the feel of it, the direction the wind is moving, any smells in the air. Taking a deep breath through my nose, the smell of wet and decaying leaves and other plants, fill my nose, sending a bizarre indescribable taste across the back of my tongue. The smell of the wildflowers in the nearby clearing reminds me of a picnic at the nearby lake at home. I imagine the wind moving around me slowly at first. A nice gentle breeze begins. Something brushes up against my leg, and I open my eyes to see twigs and dried leaves from the forest moving around me.

My concentration breaks and everything drops to the forest floor.

Estel claps. "That was really good for your first time. Whenever you have a free moment, I suggest you work on some of your air elemental magic. With practice, you won't have to concentrate so hard on making small, light objects move."

After her lesson, with me, on just working on sensing the element, she moves on to talking with the rest of the group. During this first lesson, I pay attention to what she is teaching the other Elementalists. Who knows when it might come in handy one day?

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[A/N]:

conejito (Spanish) - little bunny