I said I'd left FA, but I did promise to finish my first book at least... but afterwards, bye bye!
CH 17 Summary: As Aerobolt and Shade prepare to leave Cavra, the town is swarmed with Kobold Bandits. So many, the town and themselves were almost completely slaughtered. But then the Warriors showed up...
Now they face the absolute rainy mess called the Marsh Plains, on the way to freedom, in chapter 18 of my first book...
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The Guardians of Life: Justice (Book I)
Chapter Eighteen-
The Marsh Plains

Rain. The sky water that plagued Aerobolt and Shade on the way back to Uron refused to let up. It had started just a few minutes after they had left on Salar’s gracious farewell. The trek was frighteningly slow; he and Shade were so banged up and exhausted from the fight with the Kobold Bandits that they almost turned back. They had one major obstacle to face, however. The river. They had to cross again, and Aerobolt was convinced he had no energy to keep moving, and Shade said ditto to that. What they saw across the river gave them a little bit of hope. It was Storm. He was perfectly healthy, standing on both legs, looking as bright as he normally does.
“Hey! You two look like you died and were just resurrected!” he called. His voice was almost drowned out by the rain. He then created a bridge of ice for them! “Be careful! It’s icy! Heehee!”
“Oh… thank you Storm, thank you…” Aerobolt gasped as he stepped onto the artificial bridge. The cold went powerful shockwaves through his leg and up his spine. The shock of it nearly made him lose balance and slip and fall into the river.
Storm noticed and laughed. “Didn’t I warn ya?! I bet the rain just makes it worse!”
Aerobolt smiled at the teasing cub. Aerobolt isn’t going to let him make a fool of himself, so he carefully weaved across the bridge, slipping every now and then, but regaining his balance almost instantly. His paws hated how cold the ice was. He ignored them and kept going. It was not terribly long until he reached the other side and sat down to rest.
It was Shade’s turn. Aerobolt burned red when she took far less time than he did to cross. She didn’t slip once either.
“It’s good to have you back Storm,” she said when she crossed. “Now we can get to Thalda together.”
Storm nodded. “She is amazing!” he indicated Mairce. “I don’t know what she did, but I was cured in no time!”
“Otter medicine is incredibly powerful. It can cure almost any illness, and heal any injury with so much efficiency, even the Guardians seek our medicinal capabilities,” Mairce said with no modesty.
It took Aerobolt a few more minutes to realize. “Kalaus! What the--! What are doing here already!?”
Jormund spoke instead. “This little miscreant never left! He wanted you two to go alone and deal with the problems Cavra had! He also admitted he knew the Kobold Bandits were about to strike the town!’ he was furious, and Aerobolt noticed Kalaus was restricted in movement. He had chains put on him.
“He what!? He knew the Bandits were threatening Cavra!? But why would he--!?” Shade demanded.
“His prejudice against foxes runs just that deep, I am afraid… I do not ask forgiveness for his actions against you two,” Jormund said regretfully. “You see the old chief was his father…”
Aerobolt shook his head, “That doesn’t excuse anything he has done to us,” and suddenly, he was furious. “That doesn’t excuse endangering our lives, Cavrans’ lives, and more importantly, Uronians’ lives!” he yelled.
“Please calm yourself, Arrabalta. He is now fully aware of all he is put at stake, and is regretful,” Jormund said evenly.
“We were just damn lucky the Kobold Warriors showed up, or we would not have returned at all!” Aerobolt snapped, not even close to calming down.
Jormund and Storm were both surprised. Especially Storm. “Kyaeta came to Cavra?!” he cried incredulously.
“He must have known the Bandits’ presence in this area. He said because of Storm’s warnings prior to our rescue, he was able to determine why the Bandits were suddenly much more active in Uron, Cavra, and the overall area between the desert and the plains. He said he was suspicious that Hydyraen sent a Shadow Vulpine ambassador to Koboldar to lead them. He said he thought Arcane was starting to build an army. An army, I think, he will use against Castla nu Craara,” Shade said.
“No way…” Storm breathed in disbelief. “But why…?”
“He wants something. Someone,” Shade answered vaguely.
“Who?” Storm persisted.
“He wants the sacred Force Orbs to drown all of Nyethra unto darkness, and dictate cruelty throughout our world. And he wants… me… and Aerobolt.”

Shade unfortunately did not wish to explain exactly why Arcane wanted Aerobolt and herself specifically other than the fact that he wanted revenge on the two for reasons that only she understood, and refused to tell Aerobolt and Storm. Aerobolt, especially. They were already out of Uron, and heading south into Marsh Plains. Shade explained awkwardly the reason the plains were so named, because the location gets so much rain, it’s practically a marshland. A lot of rain it indeed receives, for the water refused to stop falling from the sky. The three foxes became more irritable as it continued to soak them.
“I swear. If I get anymore wet, I will grow webs between my toes,” Storm grumbled as his paws hit a particularly sticky mud puddle. The otters may have healed his injury, but it still seemed stiff. Storm exclaimed in disgust, trying to shake the mud off.
Aerobolt was the only one who seemed to keep the bad mood from getting to him. “Hey, at least you’ll be good at swimming,” he teased.
“Speak for yourself. I’m so wet, I feel like I did just go swimming,” Storm shook out his fur. He was soaked again in seconds.
“We are all soaked, Storm. You knew this area gets tons of rain. Blame Plazma. He did not bring umbrellas,” Shade said.
“Yeah, I just don’t like being wet. It makes certain areas itch like crazy!” Storm huffed.
“Look on the bright side! At least we are out of Bandit territory. Right?”
“We should be. But with the unrest going on between here and Hydyraen is making them bolder; they are moving out this far more and more often. Soon, they’ll even be close to Thalda,” Shade said darkly.
“They wouldn’t dare!” Storm exclaimed.
“Shade shrugged. “Arcane’s charisma is just that strong,” she replied.
Aerobolt looked ahead. The mountains looked so big it was hard to believe that they were still a couple days away. The constant storms around its foothills gave the peaks beautiful white snowcaps. Some of the mountains had bare summits, however. Those mountains were so tall they rose above the clouds, too cold and oxygen starved to support any life. The Spires of Sky. Deep in those mountains lies Castla nu Craara, and Aerobolt’s new life. But he would still live with Arcane’s influence. He was destined to vanquish him one day, or vice versa. One day he’ll confront the life he abandoned for the last time, and defeat the oppression that desperately attempts to keep him back. One day he will know the truth to his entire life.
The sky’s persistent nature truly shown by evening; it seemed to have gotten even heavier. Storm was so angry, a fiery aura was held about him. This helped keep a lot of rain away. Aerobolt was surprised.
Shade was preparing dinner with the supplies Cavra had given them. Vegetable stew. Did the badgers really have food like this? It didn’t make too much sense in Aerobolt’s mind. Shade noticed Storm’s angry shield. The foxes had set up a large tarp that protected most of their camp from the rain. On the edges of it was an absolute deluge on all sides. Aerobolt was astounded the weight of the water didn’t collapse it on top of them. Storm stomped over splashing muddy water and leaving deep paw prints in the mud. “I’m done with the rain,” he grumbled.
“That heat shield you produced is fairly effective. If you were angrier, it’d be perfect,” Shade added with a little laugh.
Storm looked up. “What heat shield?”
“The one you used to keep you dry.”
“I was being kept dry? Have you SEEN my fur!? I’m soaked to the bone! And then some! Will I ever dry off again!?” Storm exclaimed.
“You know we can use this rain to train both your Forces of Water. Both of you were impressive commanding still water into ice, but… How are you with water like this? Why don’t you spar with one another until dinner is ready?” was Shade’s unexpected proposition.
Aerobolt looked back. That was a brilliant idea! Standing up, he faced Storm. “Well? It’s a great idea. Our Water powers will be trained some more.”
Storm glared at him. “I don’t care. I hate being wet.”
“What are you? A cat? You already are wet! Now come on!” Aerobolt snickered.
Storm rolled his eyes at him as he followed Aerobolt back out into the deluge. Storm looked up. After a few seconds, Aerobolt noticed the tiny water missiles were repelled away from his head. “Humph. Why did we not do this before?” he grumbled disappointedly.
Aerobolt looked on curiously. He had wondered the same thing. Did umbrellas truly matter? Did Plazma do this on the way to Hydyraen? What about Storm…?
Turning to the rain, he willed the water droplets to miss him. The feeling of water hitting his fur began to diminish to let him know it was working. When it stopped, he found the rain falling around him instead.
“Look at you two! Shielding yourselves from the rain, only to soak each other completely! Have you know common sense!?” Shade called.
“Why didn’t we do this before!? While we were traveling!?” Aerobolt countered. He felt satisfied when Shade did not reply. “Whoa!” he exclaimed when he saw something silvery fly past inches from his nose. He swerved his neck to see Storm’s arms outstretched and pointing to him.
“Darn it! I missed! Next time I won’t!” Storm called. His annoyance towards the rain seemed to have been pushed aside. Aerobolt gave him a mischievous look.
“This time I’ll be ready! Don’t think I’ll let you get the better of me easily, just because you have more—“ he was cut off by an orb of water splashing into his face. A little penetrated his repulsion technique. Spluttering, he finished his statement, “Experience…” as Storm howled with laughter.
“Oh yeah!? Let’s see how you like this!” Aerobolt halted the water directly above Storm’s head and let it collect. It grew in size and weight with each drop. Oh just you wait, Storm. Storm wasn’t sure what was going on, or what was about to hit him. He looked around waiting for Aerobolt’s attack when it did not come after a few seconds. The volume of the water Aerobolt held over Storm;]’s head was already the size of their camp. The second Storm looked up, was when Aerobolt released the bomb. It absolutely shattered Storm’s barrier, soaking him even more than any of them could have thought possible. It seemed as if Storm himself was a part of the water. The loud splashing sound alerted Shade. She yelled something and turned to face them. Her tail hit the piping hot pot and she recoiled away, yelping. The water poured and rushed out in all directions. It pooled around Aerobolt’s footpaws, but never touched them. His barrier was still active. The water got close to where Shade was. She was sitting on the wet grass on her tail to ease the pain.
When it was all over, Aerobolt turned to Storm, who was square on his back, looking straight up, breathing hard. “I will never need a bath ever again,” he gasped. Aerobolt was astonished at his power. So is this the power of Hyda nu Craara? Good thing he planned on using it against its intention.
“Holy Iridescent cubs…” A female voice sounded behind him in shock. Shade was standing next to him now, still trying to ease her burning tail. “I haven’t seen anyone sustain so much water like that since shortly before Nereid became Arch Guardian! I cannot believe how much power you carry, Aerobolt!”
Aerobolt felt hot around the face. “Aw, I’m sure it was nothing,” he began bashfully as the barrier around him faded. Instantly he was re-soaked.
“Nothing? Don’t be so modest, Aerobolt; you truly are a remarkable fox! A tip for using water in an actual fight, freezing it and turning it into ice will make it a much more formidable Force,” Shade said.
Aerobolt looked at her, puzzled. “Freeze it?”
Shade nodded. “It is actually much deadlier this way. Like this.”
Before Aerobolt could react, the water on his fur suddenly turned colder until it solidified into ice around him. His entire body neck under was now being encased in a thin layer of ice. Thin, yes, but Aerobolt couldn’t move an inch.
“Ta-da!” Shade exclaimed triumphantly. “Well, what do you think of this?”
Still struggling, Aerobolt said, “Yeah it’s pretty good. But can you please release me? I can’t feel my paws anymore.” Rain hitting the ice froze on contact, making his prison thicker and more inescapable, as well as colder. All four paws were numb. Shade already was holding an orange light in her paws and waved it over the ice.
“Sorry,” she said guiltily. “But if a case of ice gets too thick like this, and then you are hit by something, particularly something solid, you could be killed instantly. Fortunately, as far as we know, no one evil knows they could do this.” She crouched down to melt his legs. Aerobolt saw that Storm was getting back to his paws unsteadily. He coughed up a little water. When he saw Aerobolt frozen, he burst out laughing, his cougs mingling in.
“Water alone is the weakest Force., but when turned to ice like this, it becomes the deadliest. Kind of reminds me of well… Arcane and I,” Aerobolt whispered mostly to himself.
Shade stood up. “There. Finished! What did you say just now?”
“Nothing important. Thanks Shade. I feel really cold though.” And it was true. Being trapped in that ice chilled him to the bone. The rain did the exact opposite to help. He shivered. He walked awkwardly towards the camp, and to the fire. Dinner was nearly done cooking. Something as warm as that never sounded so wonderful right now! Aerobolt sneezed. That made Shade fretful.
“Damn it. If I had given you a cold-“
Aerobolt put his trembling handpaw on her shoulder. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be all right. Besides, all that water probably did the same thing to Storm,” he added when he heard sneezing behind both of them.
Shade sighted. “What am I going to do with you two? I am the only one unscathed.’
“What did you say burned tail?” Aerobolt teased and sneezed violently after. He sniffed indignantly.
“You cheeky reynard,” Shade replied. She sniffed. “Ah that stew smells so good, doesn’t it?”
“Huh? I can’t smell anything,” Storm sniffled.
Aerobolt tried to himself, but he found his nose so clogged and runny, it was impossible. He sniffed again. “Yup. We have colds. Great idea, Shade,” he said.
“You thought it was a good idea too,” Shade reminded him.
“That was before—achoo! This…” Aerobolt tried to keep his nose from running too much by sniffing repeatedly, to almost no avail. “I need so much chicken or something right now it isn’t funny.”
“Ditto.” Storm’s wet pelt touched his. It felt unnaturally cold. Aerobolt used his powers to warm both of them up. He coaxed all the water off of both of them. It took him several minutes, and by the time he was done, Shade had handed them each a bowl of soup.
“Thanks, you guys,” Storm said gratefully, sipping on his share contently. “Mmm, I am feeling better already. Great cooking Shade!”
Shade looked at him. “You know, that is the first time you have called me just Shade. You didn’t add, “Miss” in front of my name,” she said, as Aerobolt worked on his share. Storm was right. After a cold rain, it tasted better than ever.
“I-I am sorry Miss Shade,” Storm said uncertainly.
“Oh no! Don’t apologize! I’d rather you call me just Shade! And you Aerobolt. You don’t need “Mister” in front do you?”
Aerobolt looked up from his stew. “Hm? No. Not at all! Please Storm these formalities are not really necessary! We are all friends now.”
“Really?” Storm’s eyes gleamed.
“Absolutely! What made you think otherwise?” Aerobolt asked, not being able to feel hurt that Storm did not think of them as friends.
Storm’s eyes darkened. “Because I am a screw up. I am the very cause, the very center of when everything goes wrong. No one wants to be friends with someone like that.”
Shade gasped. “Are you still going on about that? Storm, you are not a problem to anyone! You know who the problem is!?”
Aerobolt tensed up. Not again. He hoped Shade didn’t call out herself.
“Arcane is.”
Aerobolt breathed a silent sigh of relief.
“Problematic creatures are those who deliberately try to hinder someone’s life. You haven’t deliberately tried to set us back, have you Storm?” Shade asked sternly.
“I- no…” Storm said sullenly.
“There. You see? You are not a problem. Arcane is the one that tried to set us back. He is the problem. Not you.”
Storm sneezed somewhat violently. The stew in his bowl sloshed out and spilled on his footpaws. “The rain is the problem,” he muttered.
Shade looked out into the pouring rain. “It will let up eventually. Don’t worry.”
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Wanna start from the beginning? Here is chapter one! http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11187661/
My series index! http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5340298/