The three Elementalists

13 Jessica's Invisibilty

It began with meditation. Jessica sat cross-legged in the training field, her brow slightly furrowed in concentration. Around her, Aira’s breeze gently circled her head in a lazy halo, while Nerida’s water swirled beneath her like a cool tide just under the grass. She inhaled deeply, trying to quiet the noise of the world and Ray. A grape smacked her squarely on the forehead. "I’m trying to focus!" she hissed, glaring at Ray, who was clearly the guilty party. "You’re trying to float," Ray corrected, lounging under a tree. Big difference. Clara sighed from the sidelines, arms crossed with a patient look. Guys, please. Jessica’s about to reach her next elemental stage. Jessica opened one eye, half-annoyed, half-amused. At this rate, I’ll be the Elemental of Patience. Then, without warning, her body shimmered like sunlight over water and disappeared. Clara blinked. Did... did she just vanish? Ray sat upright and clutched his chest. Oh! Great. Now she's a ghost. I’m next, aren’t I? Invisible... and Not Loving It Jessica was still invisible an hour later. She crept around the campgrounds, delighted by her new stealth mode. She crouched beside Ray as he roasted marshmallows. "Hey Ray," she whispered directly into his ear. He screamed, flailed, and threw his marshmallow stick like a javelin. It hit a tree. GAHHH! I’m haunted by sass! From the other side of the camp, Clara laughed. Jessica, maybe try turning it off? I WOULD if I knew how! Jessica's disembodied voice echoed. I’m stuck like this! She tried everything, calming thoughts, shouting commands, even somersaults. Still invisible. Later, still unseen, Jessica wandered the academy courtyard. Rain puddles from the earlier storm shimmered beneath moonlight. She stepped into one absentmindedly and froze. The puddle rippled unnaturally and began to rise. It coalesced into a jellybean-sized blob of water with eyes and a smiling mouth. It blinked. Hello, Jessica. You now wield water. Jessica gasped. Did... did that puddle just talk? Ray, who’d been stalking her with a bucket of flour in hopes of revealing her location, came around the corner and saw the floating water blob. He dropped the bucket. Why does everyone else get epic elemental awakenings and I just got zapped by a flaming cheeseburger?! The blob squeaked, wobbling happily. Name me! Jessica tilted her invisible head. You’re... Splashy. Ray facepalmed. Really? Not 'Tsunami' or 'Poseidrop'? Splashy?! Splashy bobbed cheerfully. I like it. Pranks, Pants, and Powers Jessica remained invisible for two days. Two glorious, prank-filled days. She swapped Ray’s shampoo with sticky jelly. She moved his gear precisely two inches to the left, just enough to make him trip on reflex. Furthermore, she whispered random prophecies in his sleep. One night, he bolted upright in a cold sweat. I SURRENDER TO THE INVISIBLE SASS MONARCH! Jessica reappeared, rolling on the floor laughing. Clara clapped. Water and Invisibility. Not bad, Jess. Ray, still tangled in his blanket, muttered, "I want my cheeseburger powers refunded." After her reappearance, Jessica began to train in earnest. Clara helped her focus on balancing the opposing flows of air and water. Aira taught her to glide with the wind, to slip like vapor. Nerida showed her the art of becoming, not just unseen, but unnoticed. Jessica learned to phase through the shadows between raindrops, to vanish with a breath, to bend light like a ripple. She wasn’t just becoming stealthy. She was becoming elusive. During one session, she vanished mid-dive and reappeared at the top of the spire. Ray watched, slack-jawed. "Okay, that was actually cool," he admitted. Still want cheeseburger fire, though. Jessica smirked. You’ll settle for flaming sass. Splashy proved to be more than comic relief. The water blob had instincts, sensing threats and revealing secret currents underground. Once, while training near the coast, Splashy led Jessica to a hidden cave. Inside was an ancient altar carved with both air and water symbols, an echo of someone who’d walked her dual path before. She touched the altar, and a vision flooded her mind: a cloaked figure shifting between sea mist and storm clouds, walking unnoticed through armies. When the vision faded, Jessica felt stronger. More balanced. More real. Night settled over the Academy. In the map chamber, the stars above twinkled in constellations only visible to those attuned to the elemental bonds. The Devil of the Seven Seas was on the move, his darkness spreading across the southern waters. Clara traced glowing ley lines on the table. His fortress lies beyond the shattered reefs. We’ll need stealth to get in. Jessica? Jessica looked up, her eyes reflecting both the sky and the sea. She was no longer the jokester hiding behind sass. She had become something else. Whole. I can get us in. Aira’s voice brushed her thoughts like wind through feathers. You are the breath before the storm. Nerida’s whisper followed like a tide and the silence beneath the wave. Jessica closed her eyes and let their words flow through her. She nodded. Then let’s sneak into the Devil’s house. Quietly. Ray groaned. "We’re all going to die, aren’t we?" Clara grinned. "Only if she names another water elemental." Jessica snapped her fingers. Splashy popped up and waved with a watery arm. Say hi, Splashy! Ray face-planted onto the map table. We’re doomed. Jessica laughed and turned toward the dark waters beyond the horizon. The storm was coming. And this time, she would walk through it unseen. Moonlight blanketed the ocean in silver as the trio stood aboard a stolen fishing boat drifting toward the Devil of the Seven Seas’ fortress. The waves lapped quietly, betraying none of the tension that coiled in Jessica’s stomach. "Why do we always end up sneaking into cursed fortresses at night?" Ray grumbled, gripping the side of the boat. Can’t we ever just knock politely? "Because that’s how you get eaten by sea monsters," Clara whispered, her eyes scanning the horizon. Besides, Jessica’s our ticket. "She’s gone again, isn’t she?" Ray muttered. If she sneaks up behind me with another ghost whisper, I swear I’ll jump into the sea. A moment later, a splash. ... Jessica? "Not me," her disembodied voice said cheerfully. That was a fish. But nice try.