Scenario: Ham, a talented young man, ends up terribly hurt after he and his partner Ell set off a booby trap during a dangerous retrieval mission. While he is nearing death he ponders his life and future and relationships, knowing his usual concealed feelings are overlooked by the people he feels the most connected to, especially Ell. Ell who has a born ability to sense magic and usually very detail oriented and factual, not very good at reading between the lines but very good at providing structure and support to her friends. She is easily fooled by Hams funny and easy going personality and is slightly jealous of his seeming perfect everyone loves him self , while Ham is really frightened of speaking the truth of what is really in his heart and envy's Ells ability to bravely speak her mind and say her true feelings when passionate on a subject. Helen, the anchor friend, has a healthy view of herself and her friends, never expecting more than she believes they can provide and often offers her insightful advice when asked, pushing them outside of their comfort zone to build more trust between each other While Ell and Ham both skirt around the hard things in their relationship that they try to ignore that truly bother them to stay in comfort zones. they must find the shape shifter who is imprisoned and is being hunted by a bounty hunter who only cares about the pay and the thrill of the hunt. Everything seems to go terribly wrong from the beginning of the mission due to mistakes from bad choices and lack of good communication. Ham downplays how injured he truly is, not wanting the spotlight or for the others to worry. Ell not seeing that her magic is misleading her, causing her to see things that arent truly there and not wanting to ask others for help originally aids towards the mishaps. The team, Ell the leader, Ham the male lead, Helen the glue of the team, Gabe and Jordan the protectors, and their teacher/mentor Andy who specializes in shapshifters and mystical creatures and magic. the team must all work together to regroup and succeed. The Mysterious Stone. CHAPTER 1. The sky was heavily clouded, and Ell could hear the distant rumbling of thunder. She looked over her balcony and took a deep breath, smelling the rain that was coming. Ell thought about the mission she would be participating in tomorrow. Finding the young shape shifter will be difficult, especially since she was being imprisoned in Throast, the Rangers personal dungeon. Ell didnt know much about shape shifters, except that they could change into anything, as long as the shifter touches its preys blood. Everyone knew that though. Ell resumed her morning schedule and got ready for her classes. All classes focus on an individual students strengths and weaknesses. But when your chosen for a mission, the Board of Education switches the classes around a little and sometimes they bring in experts to help fully prepare you. Her first class was going to be on shape shifters. Ell wasn't sure exactly how learning about the shifter they were going to rescue was going to help, but she enjoyed learning about other species anyway. The Board of Education is connected to the Y.T.F., a.k.a. Youth training facility, and what they do is train young people to adapt to any mission, and to basically, depending on who you are and what your strengths are, teach you how to fight, or survive in the woods, or what to do when the enemy captures you, etc. And do all of this, so you could best perform under any curcumstance, at least theoretically... "Shape shifters are rare," Andy began, glaring at the snickering group. "Only because they usually are in a different form, and you wouldent know it just from appearance. If you said the shifters true name and touched it while it was in a from, then it wouldn't be able to change into that form again, even if it touched a different ones blood of the same species. Shifters true forms aren't usually seen since they dont like humans, but excitingly enough, we all will see one in this upcoming mission. Shifters are extremely loyal, but introverted, and that is why they have asked us for help." Andy paused and Ell rose her hand tentatively, noticing Hellens hand go up confidently. "Hellen, question?" Andy asked, nodding toward Ell, acknowledging her hand as well. "Yes, how exactly did the shifters reach out for help?" "Not really your concern Helen, but if you must satisfy your curiosity then I'll say this much; The shifters have a precarious relationship with all but our species. So if need be, we make ourselves availible to them. Not going into specifics because that is a need to know basis, but we know how to communicate." Andy turned toward Ell but she shook her head, she would ask her question after gaining more details. Andy continued to explained the shifter speicies in debth, totally exposing anything of near relevance to the case. Ell noticed Ham across the room, lazly doodling into his note book. She felt a tug of disbelief that he wasnt taking this seriously until remembering his sponge of a memory. She had to stop diverting her focus and start trusting her new team. If anyone needed a level head it was her. As Ell walked into the dark, cavernous room she immediately felt a presence. Not a good presence. As she looked around, Ell was drawn to a small wooden peeling table in the middle of the room. On top of its cracked surface, was the most beautiful stone she had ever seen, its aura was luring her towards it. Then there was a crash. Ell forcefully turned her gaze upon a boy, sprawled on the floor. Ell stifled in her laughter as Ham stood, dusting his pants off. "Are you alright?" She managed to say with a stern tone but the corners of her eyes crinkled. She then shunned herself for getting distracted and promptly moved on. Ham mumbled something unintelligible as he rubbed his backside. "Just clumsy ol me." He said aloud, kicking the empty can rolling toward him. As Ell re focused, she saw Ham spot the exotic stone on the small table. "Whats with the rock?" Ham asked. Ell turned toward the object in question. "Isnt it enchanting?" She tested, knowing Ham couldnt see magic. Ham looked at her, then the stone. "Uh," He said eyeing her suspiciously. "We are referring to the pebble on the table, right?" At that moment Ell felt a chill go up her spine. She sensed someone watching her. "There must be magic involved here." Ell looked around the room again searching for the source of the off energy. "I think we should head back, this place is giving me the creeps." She said, not liking how her voice shook. "Shouldn't we wait for the others?" Ham asked. Ell hesitated, then moved back toward the hall they came from. "Ill let them know as soon as we're safe. The magic here isnt steady and Jordan hasn't caught up yet." Ell said. Once more she found here eyes land on the rock, knowing it held some secret, not wanting to leave it. Ham studied Ell. Even though he couldn't sense magic, it was clear that something was wrong, and Ell didnt seem to be completely in control. "Ell? We were going now?" No response. "What, are you having a conversation with a pebble?" He laughed uncomfortably. She started toward the rock slowly, her sluggish movement suggesting a magnetic magic pull. Not knowing how else to undo a possessing spell, Ham quickly put out his hands on Ells back and shoved. Ell grabbed onto Ham, suddenly aware again of herself when suddenly the floor caved in from a shifted stone tile. They fell into the abyss with Ells mind screaming for a solution with too little information with the sudden change of her entire world. Ham, the more practical spontaneous thinker, tried to pull himself underneath Ell to buffer her fall but struggled to get a good grip on her flailing body, and quickly gave up after a large gap formed between them. He tried instead to brace himself for the contact of the fast coming ground. Ham smacked into the cold and slimy floor, and heard a series of cracks as he rolled a few feet, trying and failing to spread the impact. The pain came only a second later. He lost consciousness just as it hit, coming to a few minutes later. He felt a pressuring weight come off of him, and the pain, not as searing then at first, was now throbbing, coming in waves, each hurting a little more than the last. He couldnt distinguish the specific place it came from, only that it washed over him, mercilessly. Ell felt disoriented after the impact of her falling onto the soft and damp grassy floor, and she couldn't recall for a moment the series of events that led to her situation of now. The last thing Ell remembered was that there was a magnificent stone she needed to get. Ell had major vertigo trying to sit up, and fell to the floor again. She turned her head slowly, trying to calmly process what just happened. What she could see was that there were no hand holds anywhere in the large circular pit she had fallen in, most likely a trap that was set off by her snooping. She ignored the dizzy spell that plagued her, and lifted herself shakely to the wall closest. Ell judged the distance between her and the gap in the ceiling to be about thirty feet, which made her wonder how she was still breathing, even standing. A sudden realization struck her; Ham was nowhere to be seen. El noticed she was actually on a ledge in the wall and peeking over the edge into the dim pit she saw a motionless body not fifteen feet below her. She would need her rope to get there. "Ham!" She called out but there was no answer. She had to alert the others, this was not ideal at all of a situation. In her head she concentrated, picturing Hellen, sending her Ell's thoughts. "Where are you and Ham? I'm sensing panic." Hellen's sweet and comforting voice asked, just an echo in Ell's head. "We set off a trap which opened the floor up, so be careful of additional traps. I'm not sure what happened to Ham but I'm alright and I'm going to climb down, ill update you soon. Please come quick. What's Jordans position, he was supposed to protect us from this sort of thing?" But the connection was already lost, the stiff magic clouding her brain. Ham separated and hurt somehow ends up saving the day in the end. The air is thick with dust, and the faint smell of damp earth fills the space. Ell lies sprawled on the ground, disoriented from the fall. The pit is deep, its walls steep and unyielding. Ell quickly pushes herself up, her heart racing as she dizzely reorients herself to her surroundings. She slowly gets over the shock and notes she is unharmed. After taking a few moments to clear her head she remembers Ham was with her when she had fallen. She quickly looks around. Noticing she's on a ledge she pees over to see Ham's motionless body not fifteen feet below her. "Ham!" She calls out, but he doesnt stir. After precariously climbing down a rope she rushes over to Hams still body. Ell:(panic seeping through now that she has a better look at him )"Ham, are you okay?" She turns him to her, her eyes widening in concern. Hams face pale and slick with sweat. She then notices fresh blood seeping through the torn fabric of his shirt, and he starts to stir awake. Ell backs a little away from him, her heart spiking with adrenaline and deep concern. Ham opens his eyes slowly and looks a bit groggy. "What happened?" He asks, his unfocused eyes blink in confusion. "We set off a trap and fell into a pit. I seem to have had a significantly lesser fall than you. How are you feeling? Can you tell me where it hurts?" Ham forces a wan smile. "I’m… just a little banged up. Nothing I can’t handle, right?" As Ham becomes more aware, Ell notices the tremor in his hands and the way his breath quickens, betraying his unease. Ham tries to push himself up, but the effort causes him to gasp in pain, and his bravado begins to crack. "Ham, you don’t look good. I need to assess your injuries." Ham’s smile falters, and he swallows hard, his breathing quickening even more as he glances at the blood seeping from his side. The sight sends a wave of panic coursing through him, and his mask completely falls for a swift moment betraying a deep fear. He clenches his jaw and feigns indifference. (nervously chuckling) "Well, I always wanted to go spelunking. Guess I’m getting my chance!" Ell glances around the pit, searching for anything that could help. She notices an entrance to a cave, other than that The walls were too steep to climb, and the cut off of her magic prevented any sign of anyone nearby. "I’ll figure this out. Just stay with me." Ell says, determined not to give into her growing panic. Ham takes a deep breath, trying to steady himself, but the paralyzing fear is evident in his eyes. He reaches out, his hand trembling slightly as he steadies himself against the wall beside him. Ham coughs softly, his weary face tinging green. "Ell... I don’t like this... I don’t like blood." Ells expression is steady as she focuses on Ham. Comforting him weighing as a good distraction for the moment. She takes a deep breath, feeling the warmth of stress for not being readily prepared for a scenario like this. "Let me see." Ell gently lifts his shirt, ignoring both her and Hams embarrassment with the over stepped boundary. His nicely muscled torso couldnt distract her from the deep gash on his side, blood oozing from the wound. She didnt realize how bad it was. Ham’s breath hitches, and he quickly looks away, his face paling further as he tries not to vomit. Hams voice trembles "Oh no… " Ell feels a rare surge of emotion. She leans away, giving him a little space, her voice calm and reassuring. "You’re going to be okay, Ham. Just focus on me." Ham tries to maintain his composure, but the vulnerability in his gaze betrays him. Ell nods, her gaze steady and unwavering. "We are going to get through this together." Ham’s heart swells with emotion, and despite the pain and fear, he manages a weak smile, determined not to let her see how much he’s hurting. "I don’t know what I’d do without you, doc." Ell ignores his persistent need to lighten the mood, looks into Ham’s eyes, knowing she needs to help him through it despite the indifferent facade. "Ham, look at me. Focus on my voice, okay? I'm going to stop the bleeding. It will hurt." Ham nods, but his breathing intensifies, Ell even see his muscles tense into a shaking mess. "Just keep your eyes on me, don't look at what I'm doing." "I don’t know what I’d do without you, doc." Ell ignores his persistent need to lighten the mood, looks into Ham’s eyes, knowing she needs to help him through it Her magic seemed to be blocked but she still trained for similar medical situations. She ripped a piece of Hams shirt, wadded it into a ball and only hesitated a seconded before steadily pressing into Hams side. Ell felt the warm blood seep through her fingers but she cleared her mind, dissociating from the moment. That was when Ham threw up.