(ROUGH DRAFT) Endless Sky ~Elemental Chaos~

Chapter Thirteen

"WHAT?!" Avaro and Lucerne exclaimed im horror, Renny flinching at their sudden outbursts while the two cats remained still.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN ON TRIAL FOR EXECUTION?!" Avaro roared, taking a threatening step closer to the left cat.
The cat only glared back, his dark blue eyes piercing as his black bet bristled.
"He's been convicted to being an illegal hybrid, his dad and supposed mate are on trial too. It started shortly after you two left," he hissed, flicking an ear.
Avaro didn't wait a second longer, he just turned and bolted through the entrance. Footsteps behind him indicated that at least Lucerne followed. Unsure about Renny.
"How did he find out about Cinder?! No one was around us! We didn't say a thing!" Avaro's mind raced as he made his way to the center of the village. A noticable gathering of cats were seated all around something. He could easily see Zeru's much larger shape near the middle, but nothing else. There was just too many cats.
Avaro slowed down slightly as he started pushing his way through gets, getting multiple hisses and growls of protest, but he didn't care. He needed to see what was going on and why.
"Was someone... Spying on us?" He thought as he got close enough to see over the sea of cats at the clear circle they created. Cinder was seated, hunched over with his dad next to him. An unknown fire elemental was on Cinder's other side. He could only assume it was the volunteered mother.
4 wild cats were lined behind the three, two bulky, two lean. Guards for just in case one tried to escape for whatever reason. Zeru was ahead, his friend Bob nearby with Stripe and Fuchsia. Patch and Rose were no where to be found.
A burst of fury erupted in Avaro's chest when he noticed his two friends. Sitting there as an innocent cat could be getting killed for something he had no control over.
Zeru had fallen silent, watching Avaro and Lucerne squeeze through the seated cats.
Avaro finally felt his legs break free from fur as he staggered, his friend joining shortly after as he straightened up.
He puffed out his chest and stared directly at Zeru's eyes, as if challenging the leader. He was challenging the leader.
Zeru's eye's narrowed, his tail flicking.
"Nice of you two to join us," he said coldly, but calmly. The cats around shifting uneasily.
"What are you doing?" Avaro hissed back, trying and somewhat failing to copy Zeru's cold but calm tone.
"A trial, what else?" He turned his cold eyes to the trio below him. "A few cats managed to break a few rules and slip under my radar for so long,"
"How did you find out?!" Avaro demanded, Lucerne grasping his wrist tightly that it almost hurt.
Avaro then realized his mistake.
"Find out? That's an odd question to ask me. Is there something you know that I shouldn't?" Zeru asked, turning his eyes onto the dragon.
Avaro stiffened up, feeling everyone staring at him. He remained quiet, but kept his glare on the leader.
"Well?" He asked again, expecting an answer.
"N-No," Avaro choked out, Lucerne's tight grip not helping his mood.
"Oh there has to be something," Zeru mewed as he got up, sliding over to the two and circling around them.
"Otherwise you two would be more confused rather than angry,"
Avaro grit his teeth, holding back from snapping at the creature. Zeru's pink red eyes scanned the two, looking down at them as if they were nothing more than an inconvenience.
Avaro kept eye contact, not wanting to show weakness. Something his dad had taught him.
"If you keep eye contact with the aggressor, it will show them that you are just as aggressive. Maybe even make them back down," he'd said. Avaro then using it to scare off other dragonets that annoyed him.
Zeru watched him closely, moreso than Lucerne.
"Go take a seat, no more interruptions," he said unexpectedly before padding off to his seat.
Avaro stared in bewilderment, having expected Zeru to toss them with Cinder and the other two.
Lucerne didn't seem to hesitate as he was practically dragging Avaro back to the group.
"Hey hey hey! Slow down!" He snarled as he tried to pry his wrist away from his friend's death grip.
Lucerne said nothing, just guided him out of the group of cats to where Renny was standing. She had managed inside without an issue.
"What's going on?" She asked when the two made their way over, Avaro finally freeing himself.
"Cinder's in trouble," he hissed, rubbing his sore wrist.
"Who's that?"
"Someone we spoke to recently, he has visions on this world's collapse," Lucerne replied, looking back at the trial.
Avaro growled, irritated. Someone must have overheard them. He never said anything and never in a million years would Lucerne backstab someone. He was also with him practically all day, so there was no way he could've slipped away.
"Whoever decided to be a snitch is sure going to regret it," he thought with fantasizing ideas. Imagining all the ways he would rip the life out of such cat, up until Lucerne's mental voice cut him off. Making him feel ashamed of wanting to kill someone so violently.
Avaro focused back onto the conversation Renny and Lucerne were having, pushing away yhe bloody images of unknown cats and Zeru.
"We have to get him out of there then!" Renny exclaimed, her face full of worry and horror.
"I know, but how? We can't just run in there and drag him out. Zeru can easily paint us as psycopahtic criminals and no one would listen to our warnings!" Lucerne replied with a sigh, shaking his head.
"Why can we just get rid of Zeru and not have to worry about a thing?" Avaro suggested, failing to keep the images back.
"Avaro, you know that wont work," his friend responded, frowning in disapproval. "These cats clearly see Zeru as a good leader, we cant kill him and expect everyone to suddenly understand and follow us,"
Avaro pouted and crossed his arms, knowing the celestial is completely correct. Even if he killed Zeru in secret, cats could easily find his scent with their leader and connect the dots. They would also be rather angry if their leader died and some human suddenly told them all to leave. There was just no quick and easy way to remove the leader without other concequences.
"It would be easier to just let all the elementals turn on him themselves. Honestly that would even be much more entertaining to watch," Avaro looked back at the cats a distance away, their focus on the center. None of them can hear the trio talk.
"I can get Sunset to get Cinder," Renny was offering as Avaro went back to listening. "We can start talking to elementals about their home and Zeru," Lucerne agreed, the two having developed a plan.
"We can start with Blaze and her friends, I trust Sunset to be able to work without needing a distraction?" He asked.
"I'm sure she'll be fine, just trust her," Renny said with a small nod. "You two just focus on getting cats on your side, I'll rejoin soon," the alchemist added, Lucerne nodding and opening a portal for her to go back home.
"Care to tell me the plan now?" Avaro said as the portal closed.
"We need to find Blaze. We're going to try and convince them to move. Renny is going to get Sunset to save Cinder," Lucerne explain as he walked off, Avaro following.
"Why can't we do it? We can convince Zeru to not kill anyone," he replied as he followed his blue friend.
"We cant risk our allegiance to Zeru, if we lose that then we might as well lose all off the elementals as well," Lucerne said, frowning as he scanned the place.
"I didn't want to believe every cat in the village was grouped up back there, but I cant see anyone!"
Avaro blinked and looked around. The celestial was right.
The entire place looked deserted. Nothing moved, nothing spoke. It gave off an unsettling aura that sent chills down Avaro's spine.
"Maybe they are just all in their den?" He offered, shaking off the uneasy feeling.
Lucerne shook his head. "No, they are all with Zeru. All of them. Great stars theres so much fewer than I imagined," he added mostly to himself as he shook his head. Avaro frowned in slight confusion, but already started putting the pieces together.
While there was a lot of cats in general, splitting them up suddenly gave smaller results. Avaro had seen maybe fifteen ice elemental cats total, much less as oppose to the earth elementals. Those he sees all the time. But fire? Ice? Electric? Those were fewer in numbers.
"Because this isn't their habitat. Their home," he told himself as Lucerne moved on. "But what about the prophets? Or Wild cats? They clearly showed up later, how do we get them home?" Avaro glanced back at the cats in the distance, still following his friend. "Sunset better know what she's doing,"
After scouring the village, they concluded that indeed, everyone was centered around Zeru. Even the kits. Patch and Rose must have been in a differnet location with a caretaker. Blaze most likely with Spike or Ember.
"I guess we have to wait then," Avaro said as he sat down on a log, the gathered cats a distance away.
Lucerne looked troubled, as if waiting any longer would doom them all.
"There's nothing we can do right now, just sit and let us think about what we would even say to these cats," the dragon offered as he scooted to the side, patting the spot next to him and inviting his friend.
Lucerne seemed hesitant, but took the offer and sat down.
"There you go, that wasn't so hard now was it?"
"Do you think we should tell Blaze the bare truth? Not sugar coat anything?" The Celestial Beast abruptly started. "I don't want to scare her or anything, but I also don't want to downplay any danger..."
Avaro stared at his friend before reaching over and patting his back. "Blaze may be young, but she's still smart and strong. She can understand the danger and listen to us," he reassured. The young cat having just lost her only parental figure, yet still able to keep her bubbly and beaming self. Avaro could only hope she wasn't bottling things up.
"But this is different than Mystic," Lucerne replied, seemingly read Avaro's mind. "We're basically telling her that where she grew up, her home, it's all going to be destoryed and she has to relocate," he said. "Not only that, but if anyone refused to leave, or that we fail to get everyone out in time, they're dead!"
"Hey now, listen to me," Avaro demanded, making his tone serious.
"You're overthinking things, it's better to work with what we have now. No dawdling on the 'what ifs', they wont help us,"
Lucerne stared at him for a long moment, his glowing white eyes showing the mental turmoil as the celestial tried to calm down.
"You're right," he finally said, straightening up. "Everything's going to be fine, we can do this,"
"Thats the spirit!" Avaro exclaimed, slapping Lucerne's back and getting an "oof," in return.
"We'll try to catch Blaze when the group disbands, she has to be looking for us by now," Lucerne wheezed. "Maybe, though I can't blame her if she isn't. I never did honestly tell her where all my wounds came from. She doesn't believe me when I say I crash landed," Avaro chuckled nervously, hoping the little cat doesn't distrust him.
"I wouldn't believe it either. Never happened before and I can't really see a scenario on why you would crash land," the celestial commented.
"Except maybe by running into an invisible wall,"
"A scenario that makes sense," Lucerne added, making Avaro snicker.
Commotion and movement suddenly cut the two off from their conversation. The cats ahead of them had started to sir and move around, disbanding as they left to resume their normal lives.
"Well, it's now or never," Avaro said as he got up, offering a hand and helping his friend up as well.
Lucerne nodded, already starting to look anxious.
He couldn't figure out why or what made him decide to hold on, but Avaro kept his grip on his friend's hand and headed over to the cats. Looking for the familiar orange pelt.