Hermia just glared at the dragon. As she suspected. The dragon was Aeris and that other fairy was hanging out with someone from another clan.

However, Hermia knew she was stronger than that. She would not give them her name, and she certainly wouldn't speak to them at all. She made a rather rude gesture at the dragon and then turned around so her back was facing the pair. Hmph. Silly dragon. There will always be friction between us, because the Aeris and Terra clans are incapable of living without attacking the Aqua clan, Hermia thought contemptuously.

Hazel was shocked. "Well! If you are going to behave that way, I shall no longer waste my breath on you." she sniffed. "No, instead, I shall use my tail." With a quick shove, she rolled the big ice ball with the horribly rude girl inside, into the water, where it floated toward the middle.

Hermia crashed against the side of her fort and gasped in pain as her bruises from her earlier fall smacked against the unyielding ice. With the loss of her concentration, the ball melted and Hermia plunged into the water.

The cool water helped to steady her senses. Hermia let herself float towards the top and surfaced for a moment to take a deep breath. All water fairies could stay underwater for hours at a time, provided they didn't go to deep and risk being crushed by water pressure.

Hermia also knew that she wouldn't be able to concentrate long enough to form another ice sphere. So she had to content herself with keeping her eyes above the water and the rest of her body submerged in the pond. Her blue eyes glared defiantly at the dragon, but in her mind Hermia was beginning to get worried. She said a quick prayer to Poseidon and Artemis so that they might help her get out of this alive. She knew it was a bad idea to undergo her purifying ritual in the middle of the war. Why had she wandered so far from her clan?!

"Hmph. served you right." she said, taking her position by the water, and started looking for fish. "Hmm, hey rude girl, did you happen to see any fish while you were in there?"

Undanna where this girls temple was. She hadn't known there were any temples in this area. Of course, she could be of the belief that a purifying walk aids the process. Undanna sighed. There was no way to get the nymph to listen to reason, so she decided she might as well go to another pond. It was nearly lunch time, and she was hungry.
"I'm going to leave for another pond. You're welcome to come with me."

Hermia couldn't take it anymore. She burst out of the water, glaring at the other fairy. "What do you mean 'You're welcome to come with me'?" she shrieked, her blue eyes like chips of ice. "That...thing is from the Aeris clan!" Hermia gestured wildly at the dragon. "Do you have a death wish or something?!"

Hermia pulled her long hair into a ponytail so it would stay out of her face. Then, she pulled up bits of water, freezing them into razor sharp needles. They surrounded her, floating in the air. She pointed the sharp ends towards the dragon. "I think it best," she said, dangerously quiet, as she looked at the other fairy, "that you come with me and avoid getting killed by this dragon." She spat out the last word, glaring contemptuously at the source of her derision.

Hazel was very insulted. Everyone new, sure, dragons did have a sketchy past, but hey, she was different. she blew some smoke as a warning, just in case she was actually damaged enough to throw those ice shards. "For your information, I am not a 'thing'. I am a dragon, and you are a nymph. Easiest solution, leave each other alone. So I will acompany this very nice woman over here to another pond, because obviously this one is tainted."

"Under NO circumstances will I let you take her, Dragon," Hermia spat out, eyes flashing. "You may have kept yourself from harming her thus far, but I am sure that once you are alone and away from witnesses...well lets just say that this fairy wouldn't be able to see her family again."

She crossed her arms and continued hovering in her spot. "Well dragon? Are you going to leave? Of are you just going to stand there blowing smoke?" Hermia smirked. These dragons, thinking they were so noble. Ha! They were still a part of the Aeris clan, and lower than dirt.

Hazel smirked. She noticed the nymph was above water. "No. I will be doing neither. Instead, I shall blow fire." with that she blew out a huge burst of flame at the nymph, not caring if she came out or not. "Come on Undanna." she said. "Let's leave this place. I suspect the nymph can clean it up all byt herself if she is so high and mighty." she wasn't going to put out the flame. It was already spreading to the shrubs that surrounded the pool.

Undanna sighed. Nymphs were so highstrung, as were dragons. She left, not really caring if any of the other dragons or the nymph followed. All she wanted was a peaceful lunch...

Only Hermia's quick reflexes kept her from being seriously burned. Even so, the wall of water she pulled up quickly became hot from the fire, burning her hands and arms. As the smoke cleared, Hermia let the water back down into the pond, noting sadly that the increased temperature would hurt the fish and any other animals living there.

But she didn't have much time to think about that. The fire was spreading and her arms were in pain from the hot water. Grimacing, she pulled up more water from the pool and flung it onto the burning bushes, not taking the time to aim carefully. Fortunately, since the bushes were still damp from the recent rains, the fire didn't spread too much, and her unaimed throw extinguished any flames.

Hermia sank down onto a moss covered stone, her mouth taut as she gingerly moved her burned arms. They looked pretty bad. Carefully, she got back into the water. It seemed that the water had not increased in temperature that much, so she sank her arms under the liquid. That helped, but she knew she didn't have the healing powers that other nymphs did. Even though she was not supposed to return to her village for another seven days, Hermia knew that the elders would make an exception for someone attacked by the Aeris clan.

Hermia rose up into the air again, her translucent wings making a slight humming noise. Quickly, she began to fly back to her village. The Aeris clan had made a mistake in attacking, and Hermia would personally make sure they would pay. As well as that Aqua traitor.

Hazel was very pleased with herself. She looked into the pond and found a fish. "Now what ever happened to that fishing lesson we had arranged?" she asked, as if nothing had happened.

Hermia arrived back at her village. The sentries at the gate were surprised to see her back so soon, but once catching sight of her burns they took her to the elders council room. In brief, Hermia explained the attack while a healer tended to her wounds. Of course, the fortunate thing about water abilities is that sometimes they bestow healing abilities. Soon, the burns were gone as well as the pain.

The head elder, Othello, appeared troubled at the notion of an Aqua fairy fraternizing with an Aeris dragon. The council agreed that the Aeris clan had to pay for their rashness. A small group of female nymph soldiers was quickly assembled as a scouting party. With Hermia leading them back to the pond on the cliff, they silently made their way through the forest.

Hazel looked up. "I'm sorry, how about we continue this later. I have something to do. So long!" Hazel quickly took flight. she knew the Aquis were coming after her, so she flew to the dryest place she could find. the top of the mountain.

Undanna sighed. That last stunt had definitely caused trouble. That was truly foolish. She swam back home, and relaxed in a hot water bath she had diverted from underground. She needed to practise for the archery championships coming up, but that could wait. If that nymph caused enough trouble, there might not even be championships....

Hazel flew until she got to a cave she called her home away from home. it was hidden by bushes and boulders, and only she knew how to move them just so that she could squeeze through. She lit a torch and started to see what was in her pantry. "Hmm, enough to last a while. that's good." she thought aloud.