The Shifters: Katrina

"Alright, Katrina, what do you know about the glow?"

We sat in the center of the gym, criss-cross applesauce, Koren's hands clear of red light despite flames flickering in the air around him.

"It... happens?" I answered, frowning. I wasn't aware of the real purpose of what it was.

"Your glow reflects your element, of course," he smirked, "but we have our blood plants to represent our strength with them, and the bands to represent them constantly. So what could you imagine the function of the glow to be? After all, they're not always there, even when you use your element."

"Well, is it for control?"

He snapped his fingers. "Close. We're not completely sure why we have elements in the first place, but we suspect that the glow appears to show either how much we're focusing to use that element, how much brain power we're using, or how much raw energy and power it takes."

I frowned, relaxing as much as possible. When I tried to summon water to my palm, the first trick I ever learned, not even the slightest flicker of blue glow appeared. When I turned that water into another icy ball, one finger glowed. Next to try was fire. Relaxing, I called on the slightest amount of fire. A flame built up in my palm, and the glow engulfed my entire hand.

"Not bad," Koren nodded. "Does it make sense?"

"Yeah," I said, waving away the elements. "I get it."

"Alright. If you keep that in mind and keep learning, you should be good intelligence wise."

I nodded, drumming my fingers against my calves. The guard-deemed-instructor got to his feet, offering me a hand. He pulled me up before I felt a burn along my fingertips. A yelp escaped and I backpedaled, looking down at my pink fingers.

"No glow can give you some pretty sweet tricks," he smirked. "It's good to be able to burn anything you can touch without alerting nearby people."

Koren offered me his hand. "Try. Focus on the fire, even just a little bit. The more you're accustomed to bringing it out and finding your power, the less glow you need."

With a single inclination of the head from myself, we began. My palm laid against Koren's as I carefully called on my fire, a tiny piece of power being shoved through an even tinier hole. There was still a glow on all five fingers as he hissed. A light pink burn was on the pad of his hand. I lifted my other hand and covered the wound, the cool touch of water easing the burn without a blue glow appearing. We repeated this endlessly, the process of burning and soothing. The entire time, I had no blue glow and my fire glow was decreasing. A couple hours later, the glow was down to just my index and middle finger.

Our practice was interrupted as the doors to the gym banged open. Kami strolled inside with bags of food in hand and a mischievous grin. The red glow died from my hands as we turned to her.

"Peace offering," she grinned.

A matching grin lit up my face. She sat with us on the floor, distributing what looked like Chinese food. As we chowed down, Kami glanced my way.

"So, are you making progress?"

"She is," Koren said throw a mouthful of rice, "and if she answered that question herself, she would've been too humble."

I snorted, but my cheeks were also turning scarlet. "I guess I got some tricks down."

"So, learn any new powers? You seem to be brimming with them," Kami added, her voice drained of hostility. She seemed to be alright with me again, like our bond was reinstated.

"No, just the three assets I have," I laughed, "but I have had some weird dreams."

The extra comment wasn't something I wanted to admit, but the nightmare I'd had the morning of my first day of training had come rushing back without explanation.

"Dreams?" Koren prodded once his mouth was clear. I scarfed down another bite of my own food before sighing.

"A nightmare. About the compound. I was standing on the roof of Coraline's building, and everyone was fighting to the death. Not just for duels," I rambled. "Nathan... Nathan was there. He died, and then you, Kami, approached me, and I shifted... there was fire, too."

"A war?" Koren suggested. "Either way, it was just a nightmare."

"I know," I told him pleasantly. Just a dream. This reality is already enough for me, I thought, sharing a quick smile with the adults.

"Any other confessions?" Kami teased.

I snorted. "Nope. Just a lot of work for me."

The two of them shrugged. "There's always a lot of work," Koren told me through another mouthful. "It'll get worse once you get a job with the compound."

Right, my mind echoed softly, jobs. Adulting. I'll still be in this compound.

"What are jobs like?"

"There's storekeepers, teachers, people who go outside to negotiate for supplies, guards like us and people like Coraline who run things. There's also people that build and tend to the compound. Normal jobs altered for our needs, and less variety," Kami explained. None of them appealed to me, or seemed to suit me.

"Holy, imagine if you ended up taking Coraline's place," Koren snickered.

"What?!"

Kami rolled her eyes, swatting the wolf's arm. She still explained what he meant at the very least.

"The strongest shifters in a compound are possible leaders. Normally, the strongest one with the best level-headed skills appropriate to lead are deemed leader, and the strongest overall is made their bodyguard, assistant or head of the elites."

Head of the elites sounds enticing, I muttered to myself. "Where does Coraline fall?"

"The strongest one with best leadership," she answered.

"So she has a bodyguard?"

Kami shook her head, and it was Koren's turn to talk. "Do you remember Xavier?"

He was the red-haired, and I mean red, elite. "Yeah, why?"

"He's a tiger, and he was another candidate. Xavier could've been an assistant, bodyguard or head of elites. In reality, Coraline refused to have a bodyguard and he hated the idea of being an assistant," Koren explained, refraining from stuffing his face. "He's technically head of the elites, even if he refuses to do the paperwork for it, which means Coraline does it."

I nodded. Seemed to make sense, except for one thing.

"So why does everyone answer to you when you guys are working?"

The wolf grimaced. "For our particular team, Xavier decided I was a better organizer. I take over for our team, he takes over whenever more elites from other compounds are involved."

Checks out.

We continued to eat, our conversation turning back to normal things as we scarfed down food, the sky turning dark. The drain of energy I felt was probably from everything over the past while, but I blamed it on the training as I stumbled to the girls' dormitory. Kami waved goodbye to Koren before rolling her eyes and helping me to my room, claiming I was worn out.

"Idiot," she muttered as I flopped onto my bed.

"See you tomorrow," I murmured in response.

There was a light laugh, and the soft closing of my door. Then, a muffled voice from the other side.

"See you tomorrow, Katrina."