Five

Hibis was led away from the center and weaved through the various elemental stations to reach a secluded corner on the right. Hibis peeked up to the flickering blue sign. Flight.

They had arrived at her designated station. In a glance, Hibis could see that the station looked like it hadn’t mean used in quite some time. Ace dusted away some mothballs from the buttons that switched on large fans pushed against the wall.“ Needs some cleaning. Someone call Glimmer,” the boy said to no one in particular, and almost immediately, a girl with fiery red curls came dashing over on roller skates, her hands clutching a bucket of water and a handful of towels.

“At your service, Captain,” she grinned, obviously keen to do her part, and within seconds, the once grimy training equipment was shiny as new. Hibis’s mouth gaped open as she stared at the now smooth fan blades. It was a shock to see someone smaller than her size clean so fast.

Glimmer immediately went back to Ace’s side, and it was only then did she notice Hibis standing there. Her eyes widened with amazement. “My my, Captain, what have you got yourself into? What a beautiful lady. Charmed to meet you, miss!” Her emotive language made Hibis and Ace’s cheeks go pink, and despite the age gap being two, her politeness was something that every age would have respected.

She mimed tipping a hat. “Howdy,I’m Glimmer, Ace’s most trusted and loyal assistant with the element of speed. I may be 12 for now, which doesn’t allow me to go for executive missions, but I’m certainly given the best privileges.” She winked. “I’ll be nearby, so just shout out if you need help and have fun with Mr Goody!”

As Glimmer whipped around and zoomed off, a red whirl of blur, Ace hastedly turned his attention back to Hibis. “Alright, start floating.” It was best to get started with business.

Hibis nodded, and immediately spun her hands to form the Lotus, something she had mentally started calling the move. When she had done it on top of the skyscraper, the girl had felt a thrill of exhilaration from the way her feet dangled above in the sky. However, just as she was trying again, she felt a heavy weight in her chest. The night before’s easy flight was replaced by the struggle to get herself to float. What had happened? She didn’t know. All she could do was desperately fling her wrists faster. With much effort, soon, she was a good 6 feet high.

But not for long.

In a wave of exhaustion, with a split second the girl fell back down, landing on her knees as she collapsed on the gym mat that softened her blow.

“Hibis! You…okay?” Ace was suddenly scooping her up. Hibis jolted at the feel of his breath against her ear, then felt tired all over. She groaned. “I don’t know. I feel weak, and I don’t know why…ah, get some hibiscus honey for me, would you?”

Glimmer, who really was just nearby, bolted from her rigid position at the station and returned with a glass or sparkling honeyed water, to which Hibis immediately downed in a gulp.

The liquid worked like magic. Colour slowly seeped into her face as Ace placed her back down to get herself steady. The boy stared at Hibis’s miraculous recover, face incredulous. “How did you know you needed nectar from Hibiscus flowers?” He questioned, to which Hibis sheepishly blushed, embarrassed.

“I was actually named Hibis because of the flower,Hibiscus. When I was young, I couldn’t really grow without a Hibiscus Nectar drink beside me. It was what made me special from all other babies, I suppose.” The girl scratched her neck and shrugged. Ace raised a brow. Well, that was something.

Hibis paused to take another sip. “Did you know, Hibiscus are actually packed with antioxidants, which helps my immune system? It really keeps me strong. And besides,” She added with flourish, “It’s very flavourful.”

Ace nodded. “I suppose you can try again now.” He signalled for Glimmer to turn on the fans and watched as Hibis inhaled a gust of air before gliding off, using the Lotus.

It was clear based on how much she had improved that the nectar had worked. Gradually, Hibis was able to gain acceleration and altitude, all the while never taking a break of forming the Lotus. Soon, she was onto the last level of wind training.

A burst of wind caught the girl off guard and threatened to blow her off course as the fan was turned on to its highest limit. Hibis braced herself, flying closer and closer to the target she was meant to be reaching. Al…most there. She flew forward, and with a burst of energy, reached up and grabbed the ticket by her teeth, instantly stopping the wind, making her hair curl back down from its frenzy. The girl beamed as she let go of the prop, letting it float down as a relish of triumph.

“Come down for a sec, Hibis,” Ace called out from below, face pondering as he thought about her progress. A small smile made its way into his face. “You’re a fast learner for balance and speed , I’ll tell you that, but you should try doing it without having to perform the Lotus with your hands.” Hibis blinked at the boy who looked right back at her. Fly without the Lotus? Was that even possible? The girl opened her mouth to object, when a sudden call from another station was heard and the boss whirled around to see something Hibis couldn’t.

“Take a break and think about it. I’ll come back later, alright?” He cocked his head and grinned in apology before strutting off to help another trainee.

Hibis watched his retreating back as she sat down, staring down at her hands, mindlessly thinking of ways to do what the lad had said. Without the Lotus…huh.

Hibis looked up towards the ceiling, mind drifting into the clouds and blue sky, when someone lightly tapped on her shoulder. She jumped, jolting out from her thoughts for the third time that day, to see an albino boy, probably 15, too, from the looks of it, with Ashened-Raven hair and golden flecked eyes and pure pink lips, standing right behind her. A strange resemblance to the girl from before.

Hibis cheeks went aflamed for staring at the cute boy all too long. The boy cocked his head as the girl’s cheeks continued to heat up.

”Y-yes?” She finally questioned, shuffling. The boy dipped his head to acknowledge her formally, a smile settling on his face as he introduced himself, shyly grabbing her hand to give it a tender kiss. A gesture that made Hibis’s heart jump. “I beg your pardon, but I’m Alistair, one of the co-executives you’ll be working with.” He glanced behind Hibis, before locking his eyes back at the girl. “Would you mind following me, please?”

The girl couldn’t exactly say no to such a sweet enquirer. Hibis nodded before trailing along beside him, who remained silent yet comforting by her side as the lad guided Hibis into a lab in the other far corner of the training section. “Come on in,” he said, holding the door open for her.

The lab was filled with nothing but nature and brightly coloured vials, each glowing and different from the rest. A true contrast from the one she had first seen, indeed.

Alistair went ahead to retrieve something from a drawer, then returned to stand in front of Hibis. She looked up to see him staring at her with soft intensity, eyes devoid of any negative or cruel purpose, only sweetness that made the girl want to melt. He held up a necklace with a vial as the pendant, filled with liquid nectar. She knew why she was there then.

“This is unlimited Hibiscus Honey.” He smiled down at the creation before locking eyes with her again, cheeks gaining colour. “Since I knew you’d be working with us I…I’ve been doing quite some research about you, so I know you’ll need it.” Hibis couldn’t believe it. It was made just for her.

Just for her.

Alistair shuffled to the back to place the necklace on her neck, his hands softly brushing against her neck, making Hibis feel jello. Her face tinted pink as Alistair returned to look at her in the eye, holding onto the pendant and stroking it softly, like it was a prized medal. “I’ll hope you’ll put some use into it. See you around, Hibis.” Alistair smiled, and Hibis couldn’t help but grin back.