The Elementalists

 After everything had settled down, and we made our way back to the camp, Tom asked us what had occurred.
 Ethan's hand sprang right up into the air and he had a gigantic grin on his face. It seemed he was eager to share what happened.
 "Wow, Tom, you should've seen it. Dark was fighting these scorpion monsters- well we call them Scorpos- and we came to rescue him right? Well they all, like, fused into one  giant Scorpo when we got there and man I thought we were dead. Then out of nowhere Dark summoned a wall of darkness and then he freaking killed it! It was awesome!" The boy talked so fast we couldn't make out what he said.
 Tom sighed and looked at me for a clearer explanation. I rubbed the back of my neck and laughed before thrusting my hand out at a tree in the distance. A beam of black shot out of my palm and towards the tree, blowing it up. Shadows danced along my fingertips, and I was smiling at the new found power I now wielded.
 Tom's eyes grew wide as he looked at me, "I see that you now possess the element of darkness. That is one of the most powerful elements, as darkness is all around us."
 I nodded, "Yeah, with all the trees here they make a lot of shadows I can use."
 "That's... not exactly what I meant."
 Before I could figure out what he meant, he took a deep breath and stood up.
 "Alright everyone, we've stayed here long enough. It's time to get going. Do you know what that means?"
 We all shook our heads, confused as to what he meant.
 "It's time for the best part of camping," Tom clasped his hands and smiled. "It's time to pack up."
 Everyone groaned in unison.

When we got everything packed up we had a little something to eat and then we were back on the road (metaphorically of course, there was no actual road. Just lots and lots of dirt).
At least travelling with Blaze was a lot easier now. He actually treats me like a member of the team now. He keeps telling me cool things I could do with my powers, and I have to admit that some of them were sounding pretty cool. After he stopped talking (or ran out of air) I fell back behind to talk with Ethan, who as usual was in the back of the group.
 "Hey." I said.
 "Oh, hi." Was all I got back.
 "You okay buddy?"
 I saw him sigh and droop his head a little.
 "I mean I guess I'm okay. Yet at the same time I'm not. I know I seemed excited back at the camp, and I am excited for you, but now I feel like you are just going to be with them, using your powers all the time. And me, I'll be back here with my sword not being useful." He shrugged his shoulders and let out another sigh.
 I stared at him, "Ethan," I started, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Even though I can use my powers now doesn't mean I'm gonna stop wanting you having my back, and I'm definitely not gonna stop talking to you or anything like that. You're my best friend you know, and I would trust you more than anyone else here. Just because you can't use any power doesn't mean you aren't useful, you sure know how to use your blade and trust me, that will come in handy. Stay with me, alright?" I held out my hand.
 He smiled and nodded. "Alright." He clasped my hand and we shook.
 A few moments passed before I said anything.
 "So if you could have any of our elements which one would you pick?"
 He looked at me and blinked. "What?"
 "You heard me," I laughed. "What element would you pick?"
 He scratched his chin and tilted his head to the side for a bit.
 "If I'm being honest Dark, none."
 "Wait really, none?"
 "Well I mean I don't want any of yours. I want an element that's easy to control and that I can manipulate and shape. I want to be able to make things out of my element. I would want it to flow like your darkness, but I'd want it bright and powerful, you know."
 I looked at him and laughed. "Sounds like you have standards man."
 He punched me in the shoulder. "Oh shut up."
 Just then Sapphire came up to us.
 "Hey." Ethan and I said together.
 "Hello, Dark," She responded, ignoring Ethan. "I have a request for you and Tom said it's okay." I looked over at Tom and he nodded.
 "Alright, what's up?"
 "I want to spar with you."
I blinked. "You want... to fight me? Now? We aren't making good time already I don't think."
 "Good time for what? All we're doing is walking around, hoping to get lucky. C'mon, it won't take that long. Please?" She pouted and gave me her best puppy dog eyes.
 "Alright, okay just... stop." I sighed, putting my hands up in defeat.
 She jumped and clapped her hands before running over to Tom. She talked to him for a moment before he nodded, and out of nowhere pulled out what looked to be a bo-staff, only a tad smaller than Sapphire herself. She looked at me and smiled, then twisted her staff and two small blades sprung out of each end. I drew my swords and told Ethan to get back.
 "Real weapons then?" I asked.
 She nodded, then jumped at me and swung her staff. I dodged the first strike, but she brought the other end up and slashed my leg. Before she could follow up I threw one sword in the ground, grabbed her staff pulling her towards me, and then head smashed her. She staggered back and this gave me time to cut her shoulder. She winced and jumped back, unsure of what to do next. This pause gave me the moment needed to strike. I retrieved my other blade then ran towards her, making it look like I would try to slash at her front, but as she got ready to block I jumped and landed behind her. I kicked her back as hard as I could then slammed the pommel of my sword into her head. She dropped to her knees, panting.
 "Does this mean I win?" I walked over to her and extended my hand.
 "Not yet." She growled and thrust her hand out. A blade of wind sped towards me and all I could do was cross my swords and block. Sapphire seemed to expect this, though, as she made the wind go around and strike  my back.
 My eyes widened as the wind tore through me, then again and again until I was being bombarded by crescents of wind. Sapphire raised her arm and a tree sprung from underneath me, sending me skyrocketing upwards toward the sky. As I started to slow down, I saw a vine whipping towards me. Spinning around, I cut it in half and grabbed the part that was retreating back towards into the ground. Sapphire saw this and started whipping the vine around trying to shake me off. I let go and sped towards the ground, positioning myself so that I was directly in her path. Her eyes widened and I grinned. Before I was upon her, I dropped my swords and stuck my fist out, striking her jaw with such force that a dust cloud arose.
 As I landed on the ground covered in sweat and a little bit of blood, either mine or hers, before my eyes the cloud began to swirl into a cyclone and rocks began to get swept up into it. It went faster and faster until it looked to be going so fast that it looked still.
 Sapphire was standing there, looking pissed and rubbing her cheek. She shouted something at me and stuck out her hand, sending the cyclone at me. As it drew near, I saw that her staff seemed to be the source of it and was pointed straight at me. I sheathed my swords that I had picked up before and focused. I felt that her attack was powerful, so I had to be sure I could match it. Using the new power I gained, I put my hand out. A black claw appeared in front of me, with shadowy wisps coming off of it. I closed my hand and the claw did the same. I/it caught the staff with surprisingly little effort and the cyclone dispersed. I grinned before throwing the spear back into the ground in front of Sapphire. She stared at me before slumping to the ground in defeat.
 I waved my hand and the claw disappeared. I walked over to her and picked up the staff.
 I smiled and held it out. "Here." She looked up at me and for a split second in her eyes I saw complete rage and hatred. Then she smirked and it was gone.
 "Well, aren't you going to help a lady up?" She winked at me.
 I blushed and helped her up off the ground. She thanked me and took her weapon back. The group came over to congratulate us, with Ethan and Jasmine coming to me while Blaze went to Sapphire.
 "That was a great fight, Dark. You both did really well." Jasmine smiled.
 Ethan on the other hand slapped me on the back. "Yeah, they both did well, but Dark did amazing. He beat her and could do it again with one hand tied behind his back."
 "Hey, don't go giving him a big head now. We don't want him thinking he's a celebrity."
 "C'mon, he deserves it. He barely used his power during that fight. He's a natural when it comes to swordplay."
 Jasmine laughed. "Alright, I'll give you that. Dark you're really good at fighting. But when it comes to other stuff, well, who knows."
 "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" I protested.
 The two began to laugh at me while I just pouted. Blaze came over and clasped me on the shoulder.
 "Hey now, don't go giving him a hard time or he'll give you a reason to be afraid of the dark."
 "Nah, he'd never hurt any of us," Ethan stated, then quickly added. "On purpose at least."
 I looked over at Jasmine and hung my head. Then she surprised me. She pulled me close and hugged me.
 "Dark, it's okay. I forgive you." She pulled back and looked at me.
 "No, yeah I know I just..." I let the sentence trail off.
 Before she could comment on it, Tom and Sapphire walked over to us, with Sapphire's staff strapped onto her back.
 "That was a good fight Dark," She congratulated me. "Just, why didn't you use your power more?"
 I scratched my head. "I guess I just don't feel comfortable using it yet and I didn't feel the need to."
 "Oh, well that makes sense. But my last attack must have taken a lot of your effort and power to block, so it's good you didn't expend your energy during the fight."
 "Well, uh, not really. I really only scratched the surface of it really."
 "Really? Not even half of it?" I shook my head. "Oh, huh. Darkness really is powerful." Then she whispered quietly enough that she thought I didn't hear. "No wonder he wants you so badly."
 Tom spoke before I could say anything else.
"According to Aether and Nether, there is a community very close to us. Shall we go, or do you need to keep resting?" He directed the last part to me and Sapphire.
 She looked over at me questioningly. I just nodded at her and gave Tom a thumbs up.
 "Alright then, let's keep going."