The Storm's Thunder (#Wattys2016)

Chapter VI

August fourteenth, 2018

The sun, the moon, the earth, and the stars. Siblings born together at the dawn of time. Each has parts of the other, no matter how slight they may seem.
The stars are the eldest, the wisest. She is mysterious and all knowing. She is fleeting and swift like the wind. There are many secrets that only she knows. She bestowed her light upon the sun and moon.
She watches over the earth, cradling it in her arms.
The sun is a bright, powerful being. He is the second eldest, the older brother, the shining beacon for his younger siblings. He is a thing of extremes - of fire, of emotion, of light and heat. He provides light for the younger ones; the moon and the earth, and takes after the older sister, the stars. He only wants the strength to protect what matters, and his fiery exterior hides a warm heart.
The earth is the middle sister, the second youngest of the four. She's much different from her siblings. She isn't cold like the moon or hot like the sun. She is a playful, curious type and loves to create new things. She is cradled by the stars as she grows.
And the very youngest is the moon. She is silent and beautiful, hidden behind her brother, the sun. But only when the blinding light of the sun is gone does she gather enough bravery to show her face, glowing in the dark sky. She is cool as ice and takes after the stars. She lulls the earth to sleep and calls to the oceans.
But the earth is becoming corrupted by smaller beings known as 'humans'. She can't see the eldest sister, the stars, through the thick pollution that clouds her view. The sun hurts her eyes, and she continues to get warmer and warmer as the pollution traps his heat. The moon tries to stick around and pierce the veil, but even she is being pulled farther and farther from her sister.
Soon, the earth will hover alone in a void, her siblings torn away from her, her very body torn apart by the humans...
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    Storm crept quietly through the undergrowth. Earth was ahead, leading, but obviously had not been in the forest as long as she had been and was struggling greatly with all the debris strewn over the forest floor. They had to keep stopping because Earth would get stuck on a bramble bush, or Birch - her grizzly cub friend - stepped on a thorn and Earth would fuss about herbs. Eventually Storm just told her to pick up the cub and they moved much quicker after that.
    They walked on for a while, and Storm's mind began to wander. She had never been good at focusing with her mind full of stories, but this wasn't about her stories.
    Earth had been the shy one at school. She was the one who had turned Storm into a bookworm with her amazing recommendations - she seemed to always know exactly what Storm would like. She loved animals and anything having to do with nature. She usually had an answer to any question, but rarely offered input in class. She always avoided drawing attention to herself, and was always far more comfortable alone than with others. Storm had been the only one Earth had ever really opened up to, because they were so much alike. They looked more like they were each other's siblings than their real siblings. In fact, Earth didn't like Sky. She was afraid of her, and for a good reason.
    Sky was wild and loud. She often bullied her twin into agreeing with her about pretty much everything. She was the bad girl, and although she had a cute and innocent exterior, she was always thinking of another way to build herself up. Usually, those ways involved hurting someone else. But she always seemed to enjoy it. She was one of the 'popular' kids, always flaunting her status around the school, gossiping and putting everyone down. Thunder had never liked her either, although Storm never knew why. Finally Storm had stopped being friends with her in seventh grade, around when it was obvious that she was a bully, and not just kind of bossy. However, she had continued to be Earth's friend, and defended her when she could.
Judging by the way Earth was acting, this had something to do with Sky. But what could it be? And why were they in the forest too?
     Suddenly, Rouge lifted her proud head shot up and she fixed her gaze in the trees. She spread her dark wings and effortlessly rose off of her master's shoulder. The raven shot forward past Earth and zoomed through the trees, ignoring Storm's calls. She quickly disappeared into the forest, leaving the girls far behind.