Falcon and the Storm

Star looked on from the mountain smiling. "It seems the firewarrior has started... It also seems we'll see action soon too... Harnio, get ready." She turned to Harnio and saw him nod. "I'm ready... I wonder who we'll face up here on the mountain side?" She shook her head. "It doesn't matter who, as long as we take care of them, so they don't cause trouble to the others."

She looked at the base of the small mountain side and smiled. "See... Here they come. A small unit, all bows and fire energy weapons... Hey Harnio. Could you sort of make their path a little troublesome?"

"That I can do... Hang on.' She watched as he closed his eyes, and looked up at the sky as clouds started to gather. "A storm... This is going to be good." She drew her bow and fired off an arrow. She watched as it arched through the air.

"Thud..."

"It landed right in front of them..." She smiled. "This should scare them slightly." She turned and smiled as she started to feel drops of rain fall on her. She looked at the sky. "Lightning and rain... Lets bring the storm to them."

"Priestess... How is this?" She looked at Harnio with a smile. "Perfect... This is my favorite type of weather."

"Boomm!"

She watched as lightning and thunder clashed around them. "Just be careful you don't fall off the side, or be in a spot that they can see you." She saw Harnio look at the cliff. "Don't worry about me, the wind will never let me fall... What are they doing now?"

Star had a look in the distance where she saw the enemy group. "They're staring at my arrow, and trying to figure out where I am... They can't see us in this weather... Hey Harnio. Do you want to see how I mountain walk?"

"Sure. As long as they don't die... Remember we can't kill them."

"Yes. Don't worry about that. I won't make any lethal shots... Promise." She saw Harnio nod. "Than follow me through the wind, and lets do some mountain walking." She pointed her bow to the cliff face and started running jumping off the side before running along the side of the mountain before landing at another section of the small cliff. She turned and saw Harnio standing next to her in shock. "I thought you would take time to get here... Harnio, you're full of surprises."

"I don't have many surprises... I just am good at what I do." She looked at him in confusion. "What are you good at?" She saw his smile as lightning crashed around her. "I am good at everything I touch..."

"You're hanging around with Mouse and the brothers too much... You need to spend time with me and the firewarrior, so you can learn some good manners." She looked at the group far in the distance, and fired another arrow at them. "Come we need to move quickly, so that they don't know where we are." She watched as Harnio took a step and appeared in the distance waving at her.

She cursed and shot her arrow into the cliff before running alongside the cliff and stood next to Harnio. "Smart ass... You really have been spending too much time with them... Come on. I'll show you the life of a mountain walker sniper." She looked at Harnio. "Priestess... Can I try something first before you shoot some more arrows into them to scare them off?"

Star sighed and nodded. "Remember... No killing." She saw his nod and stood back as he started to draw into the air. "Hold onto something... Its about to get very windy."

She held onto the rocks around her as she felt the wind start to pick up. She watched as the path the other group were on started to break apart, leaving them stranded with no place to go. She smiled and looked at Harnio. "Good job... Now they're stuck... We have nothing to do, except knock them out."

"Boommmm!"

She watched as one of the group created a shield of fire around them. She cursed and sighed. "They'll stay in that for a while. We won't be able to touch them until the battery runs out of charge, or they decide what to do next. She watched as a flame from the group was shot into the sky. She aimed with her bow and fired at it causing the flame to fall to the ground and sputter out. She smiled. "No chance to call out to others... They're busy anyway."

"What do we do than?"

She turned to Harnio. "We just camp up and wait for them to do something... If the firewarrior was here he could do something about the fire shield wall thing." She looked at it in the distance. "Do you have any ideas about it?" Harnio shrugged his shoulders. "I can't tell from this distance. I would need to get closer to have a look at it... Maybe even touch it..."

"No touching... We're staying here, and we'll watch what they do. If they move, we move... If they leave this area, we'll follow and knock them all out as soon as they touch the ground." She saw Harnio frown and nod. "Good... You're learning." She leaned against the cliff wall and watched. She looked up at the storm and closed her eyes listening to the sound of the rain falling, lightning crashing and thunder roaring in her ears. She smiled.

Star felt the rain drops stop hitting her and opened her eyes in confusion. "Harnio what did you do?" She looked around her in surprise. "This is just a small bubble to keep the rain off us and any mud that falls on us from the top... It would be bad if we got sick and had a fever because of the storm that I brought here."

"Good point Harnio... Better we stay healthy. I think the firewarrior would be upset with me if you got sick while on a mission with me." She heard Harnio sigh. "I'm not some weakling, who can't do anything... I'm strong too you know? I may not like being around people too much, but I have what is needed to make this group number one, and for us to become guards." Star nodded. "I'm not saying you are weak Harnio, I'm...."

"You're going to say that you're protecting me from the people who I find uncomfortable?" Star's mouth fell open in shock. "Do you know why I enjoy spending time with the brothers and Mouse?" She shook her head in silence. "Its because they don't tell me what I should do, or how I should act... They let me be me, and accept me for who I am... They don't treat me as some fragile treasure that can break at any moment." Star took a step back from Harnio looking down at the path she was on.

"I'm sorry Harnio... I never wanted to treat you like that at all. I just want you to be happy, and be who you are. If you feel that the firewarrior and I treat you carefully, is because we saw what can happen when you lost control, and we both care for you greatly."

"What happened in the tunnel, was my fault! I told you that." She watched him scratch his arm in frustration. She put her bow on her back and raised her hands. "No one is blaming you for what happened... If you're happy... I'm happy. If Mouse and the brothers accept you for being you, than I want you to know that I accept you too the way you are."

"What is your problem with men priestess? Why is it hard for you to be close to them, and every action we do, you think that we are trying to take advantage of you or something? You know that I accept you for you, and I don't go about trying not to say something or do something that will make you angry or upset."

Star shook her head. "Its not that at all..." She felt a tear fall down her face. "Harnio... I'll tell you, but you must promise not to speak with others about it." She saw Harnio and nodded. "All my life I was in someone's shadow. Always a follower... Everything I did, I had to follow, I was never my own person. I want to make my own shadow, I want to live my life. I found my life in the stormy mountain with my queen... Yet, I still had to leave that place... as they said for the coming war... Here, I don't want to follow anyone's shadow, as I want to make my own."

"Trusting your team mates, doesn't mean you are following their shadow priestess." She looked up at the sky, watching the rain hit the bubble of wind around them in thought. "I also don't want people caught in my revenge... My problems are my own." She crossed her arms and looked at Harnio.

She saw him shrug his shoulders. "Everyone has problems... Look at me, I have a mountain of problems, but do I push them on people, or expect people to treat me differently because of them?" She shook her head.

"That's right I don't... Don't treat people as you are. Let people be themselves. Everyone in this group that has problems. You have revenge on your mind, than fine. Get stronger as a guard, and use that strength to make your own shadow and get your revenge..." She looked at Harnio with a smile on her face while wiping tears from her eyes. "When did you become so smart and wise Harnio?"

She saw his smile. "I've always been those things and more... It doesn't matter that you enjoy the company of women, and you're in love with the queen... I'm happy for you Star, the priestess of the stormy mountain."

She looked at him. "You called me Star... Why?" She felt her face redden. "You also know of my feelings?" She saw his nod. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because you needed to hear my words... I don't say things that aren't important... I'm not everyone's boss here. I may have ideas and suggestions, but I don't train people a certain way, nor do I get protective of them because it is raining. Also, it isn't my job to tell if their preference is right or wrong... That is not what we are here for..."

"What if someone called your team mate terrible names?" She saw his smile. "I would wipe them off the face of Athlos, until people learned, you don't call any of my team mates a terrible name."

"Hahahaha... You sound like the firewarrior..." She turned and looked at the first chock point. "He seems like he has finished..."

"What about Mouse... Can you see him?" She frowned and shook her head. "He is one person I can't keep my eyes on." She sighed.

"Who cares if you can or not... He is in our team, he may have things on his mind, a mission for something, but what we do as a team is stick through all the shit together... Do you finally understand?" Star looked at him and nodded. "I understand, and I'm sorry."

"Stop saying sorry... the firewarrior gave us a task to do priestess... Let's finish it, before he wonders why we have been sitting here doing nothing." She smiled and nodded, turning to the fire shielded group in the distance. "They still have the shield up..." She cursed.

"So, the way to beat them is to let the shield take the damage for their fall." She looked at him. "What are you suggesting?" She saw his smile and shook her head. "What are you thinking? Out with it? If we're going to do this, we got to work together so your plan works..."

"She gets it finally... Happy to hear... To beat them, as they're trapped now, all we do is take the path out from under them, I slow their decent down, and you knock them out... Easy enough?"

Star looked at him confused. What about the shield?" She watched him turn and take a step towards them, and a moment later he was standing once again with her holding a fire battery. "I just took their fire battery. The shield is going to fail very quickly, so we need to move." Star cursed and looked at him. "We better go and finish our mission..."