As they reached the border, Flameheart sat back slightly, and Flame slowed his pace. Flameheart had never been to the West border. It was a clear plane, with a few trees and bushes dotted about. Out of the corner of her eye, she noted that Breezestorm and Fleetwind were looking about them exitedly. No doubt this was a perfect place for them to use their Air Element powers.

"Split up into pairs. Look for any signs of magickal or Elemental activity. Do not go out of sight." Reddust ordered. Flameheart wondered why he had been put in charge of this mission. Sure, he was the most powerful and well trained Apprentice, but he was still just an Apprentice.

"Where can we go out of sight here," Snowrush muttered. Is he ever nice? Reddust gave him a sharp look, but said nothing.

Flameheart trotted over to Reddust, assuming he wanted to be her partner, since they were lovemates and all. "What exactly are signs of magickal and Elemental activity?" she asked in a low voice.

"You'll be able to sense any traces of magick. Elemental or other." He replied.

"Other?" Great, more things to learn.

"Magery, Witchcraft, that sort of thing. It'll feel off to you. Not many Guarders are Witches and/or Mages." Reddust looked sideways at her. "Reach out with your powers, and your Mind Talent. Use them to probe for anything unusual."

Flameheart did as he said, and saw a flare of energy off to her left. It looked like a, a person. Her mind flitted back to Reddust's lesson on auras, how some Guarders could see them uses they're power senses. Someone else was here, and using their magic to disguise them.

She sent all of this in a quick Mindlink to Flame, knowing it was quicker than speaking it. Flame passed it on to Reddust's Companion, who told Reddust.

"Ambush!" He yelled, and Flame dropped back, saving his Guarder from an arrow that flashed in front of her face.

Night Riders dropped their illusions and showed themselves, leaving no hesitation before attacking the scouting party.

Fireflame reared back onto his hind legs, allowing Flameheart the time to draw her sword. As soon has he hit the ground again, she kicked him forwards and crossed swords with a mounted Rider.

"Can't you all just leave us alone?!?" She hissed at him.

"There's no fun in letting you pathetic Guarders live." the Rider snarled back, and Flameheart realised with a shock that it was a woman attacking her. Not that it should be a surprise, girls can be evil as well.

The Rider was fast, faster than any opponent Flameheart had faced before. She hadn't fought anyone with the Speed Talent except for Reddust, and she was a match for him in speed.

The Rider swept her sword down in a single stroke, clearly trying to end this fight in one go. Flameheart threw her sword up and blocked the stroke, and the clash of weapons on weapons rang through the clearing and the battle raged.

Giving no time for the Rider to retaliate, Flameheart launched into a blinding sequence of backhands, forehands, thrusts and sidecuts, using her Speed to her advantage and putting the full force of her newly-discovered Strength Talent behind the blows.

The Rider fell before her, and Flameheart hesitated, unwilling to deliver the killing strike. The only time she had ever killed was that first day at Camp, but she had not been in control then.

The Rider's lip curled. "Are you so weak that you cannot even finish your enemy? You Guarders are soft, and it will be the end of you."

As soon as she had finished, the Rider launched herself upwards, thrusting with her sword as Flameheart fell backwards.

The Rider's body jerked to a stop, and her eyes widened before going blank, and Snowrush pull his sword from her back, its blade red with blood.

"Don't ever hesitate. You might not like to kill but here it is the only way to survive. The Night Riders kill without thinking. We cannot afford to do anything less than the same." He told her, and gave her his hand to pull her up.

"Yeah well I'm not exactly a cold blooded murderer." She muttered in reply.

"None of us are." He replied, then suddenly spun to block another sword stroke, and rammed his sword into the Rider's sternum. 

A cry of pain came from Flameheart's left, and her blood ran cold when she recognized Willowheart's voice. A quick glance over showed her the scene of her friend with a knife in her chest, before she fell to the ground.

Another yell sounded, this time one of anger, and the Rider crumpled to the ground, dead. Dustleaf fell to his knees beside Willowheart, his face full of grief.

"Am I missing something here...?" Flameheart muttered. Dustleaf placed both his hands over the wound in Willowheart's chest, and mouthed words that Flameheart couldn't hear.

"He has the Healing Talent." Snowrush said in wonder. The fighting died down as Riders and Guarders alike stopped to witness the two Earth Elementals.

Dustleaf's muffled sobs reached Flameheart's enhanced hearing. Everything slowed down, she could hear Dustleaf begging Willowheart not to leave him, feel the warmth of his Healing magic. And a strange aura surrounded Willowheart and Dustleaf - and Flameheart realised she could see their emotions. Was this another Talent? What sort of bond did the two Earth Guarders have?

"What's going on with them? Why are they connected?" She hissed at Snowrush.

He looked at her startled. "What do you mean, connected?"

"Can't you see it? He's in love with her. There's this sort of aura surrounding them." She replied.

Snowrush opened his mouth to reply, but at that moment the remaining Night Riders decided to take advantage of the Guarders distraction and attack again. Flameheart found herself fighting for her life once again. There were so many of them, she couldn't see how she and her friends would survive.

"Flameheart! How the stars are you doing that!" Kennaspark yelled. It took Flameheart a moment to realise that Snowrush had disappeared from her side, and that she was now in the middle of an inferno - that she of all people had started. It didn't harm her, of course, but the same couldn't be said for those around her.

"Pull it back! Cut the power or you'll burn us all to death!" Oceanfrost shrieked, and with no small amount of effort Flameheart pulled the fire back into her. As the power hit her, she stumbled, her vision flickering as she tried to control the flames.

A hand gripped itself firmly around her arm. "Are you okay?"

It was Reddust, his eyes dark with concern. Flameheart nodded, then glanced over to where Willowheart and Dustleaf were. The fighting at stopped - the last Night Riders had fled.

''Willowheart," she gasped. "Is is she ok?" Fireflame came up to her and nuzzled her arm.

:|If it weren't for the fact that she was lifebound to Dustleaf, and he has an exceptionally strong Healing Talent, she wouldn't be alive.|:

Flameheart was too tired to ask what a lifebond was, and as the backlash of redrawing her flames back into took toll, she let her legs buckle underneath her and fall.

Ok, ok yell at me. I am a TERRIBLE updater. Ugh. I'm sorry. I try, and then writer's block happens, and then exams happen, and then a suicide attempt happens. I'll try to get the next chapter up within a few weeks.

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