[cetra_aeris]

Aqua ran next to the Shuyin River, her laughs loud and carefree. Beside her was her dear wolfish friend Shuyin, named after the River he had been found by. His gray fur matched with the rivers flowing color, a color that Aqua found beautiful.

Shuyin panted in laughter as she dived into the green grass, rolling from the impact. Shuyin ran up to her, his tail lightly wagging. Everything was peaceful here in Suiren, the animals still wandered the woods, the wind still smelled of ocean and river water. The dreadful scent that she'd heard had killed so many animals seemed not to have reached quiet Village of Suiren.

Shuyin growled, nipping at her gently, a playful game they played often. In doing so it helped Aqua learn plenty of hand-to-hand combat moves. But that just came with the game; she could have cared less about the actual learning of the moves. But that was why they were here, to improve another type of move, one that dealt with her powers.

Aqua was a Hydro-kenetic, a young teenage girl blessed with power over water. That alone made her a treasured member of Suiren, since they treasured the water surrounding their village. She also had another power, but one that she seemed to only share with one particular wolf. She could understand animals, what they said and meant with gestures and sounds. Although, she could only seem to understand Shuyin, who tended to translate when she needed to know what other animals were saying.

Now, he growled softly in the same voice she’d heard for the past two years. "We should stop our playing. Time is of the essence, and though I do enjoy these puppy games with you," He said nudging her to her feet. "We need to get to work. The 'Death Scent' may not plague us now, but it is getting closer. You must improve to have a way to survive should I fall ill."

Aqua looked at him, tempted to growl in turn. She hated when he talked like that. She refused to think that Shuyin would fall to the illness that spread on the wind. He was too strong willed for that, and she herself would not allow it. "Fine." She said letting out a sigh. She would do as he wished, he's nose was keener than her's was it not? So she would train, if for no other reason than to pacify the wolf.

He smiled that wolfish grin as he often did and they set to work. She usually would use her powers as a decoration of sorts, but Shuyin had begun to insist that she work on her fighting skills with it. She began pulling the water from the river, an easy task that she had learned long ago. She'd often questioned how this would possibly help, but Shuyin insisted that it would be of use.

Shuyin insturcted her on how to make the water take shape of a weapon, any would do. She'd made a bow before as well as a spear, but she had found that she preferred a whip since it was much easier to handle and form with the water. She did so now, taking the water and forming it around her hand. Concentration was needed to keep it formed, but her long hours of practice had made so she no longer had to focus all her attention on the water. It was second nature now, and she only had to become one with it, let it flow through her, calming her so she felt as if she was nothing but water.

Shuyin looked at her, his amber eyes glinting. "This time we will try something else. This trick is getting too easy for you, dear one. Try pulling the moisture from the air to form your whip." Aqua let the water flow back into the river, wondering as she often did if he was a kenetic as well, with all he seemed to know about it.

She looked at the air, being the Hydro-kenetic she was, and could almost see the water in the air. She reached out for it, grabbing at some of the particules and making them form together, her hand being the wayward for it's transformation. She was pulling a whip slowly from the air when she heard a peircing sound traveling in the water/air. Sh dropped the water she'd been forming, letting it spalsh to the ground so that she could cover her ears.

Shuyin nudged her, growling in urgancy. "Come, it is time we left. The scent is drawing nearer to these woods. We must practice else where, lest we succumb to it's wishes." Aqua nodded, laying a hand on his back as she always did, and they ran from the woods, heading to the sanctaty of the village as birds flew from the skys, their crys filled with terror.