Generated word of the day: Position

___

"My friends, I am now pleased to introduce to you – The New Order of the Stone!"

The crowd went wild, screaming and cheering like mad. The four friends on the stage threw their arms around each other's shoulders, Jesse still clutching the amulet. All of them were beaming broadly, their eyes shining.

Jesse exchanged glances with the others, seeing her own joy reflected on Axel, Olivia and Petra's faces. For a moment she was happy enough to completely forget about everything that's been weighing her down the past week.

By the time the new group of heroes left the stage and the crowd started to calm down, their expressions hadn't changed. Even Lukas came running from the crowd, equally excited as he joined up with them.

"I can't believe it!" Petra exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air. "We're actually heroes! Like we're the Order-! I mean, the New Order!" She broke off laughing as her words fumbled over each other.

"Neither can I!" Olivia agreed excitedly. "A few weeks ago, we were nobodies! I didn't think we'd come out of this alive even!"

"It was so awesome!" Axel added, excitedly landing a punch on the nearest person and nearly sending Lukas to the ground.

"That's going to leave a mark." Lukas playfully whimpered, rubbing his shoulder.

"Who would've thought it could end this way, huh?" Jesse said, holding up the amulet. "This whole Wither Storm, all the destruction and pained it caused... I can't believe it changed our lives, and for the better at that!"

Without even needing a sign from each other, they just fell forward into a large group hug, practically laughing with joy. This was without a doubt the biggest moment of their lives.

"Hey, Lukas!"

They all turned to see the rest of the ocelots standing a bit away, leather jackets and everything. They had their arms crossed, looking over at the new heroes in what seemed to be absolute disgust. Aiden was beckoning for Lukas to come to them.

"Seems like Aiden wants a chat." Lukas said, pulling away from the group. "I'll talk to you guys later!"

As he walked away, Olivia also untangled herself from the hug. "I want to talk to Ellegaard about something before we head home." She said. "Catch up with you all in a few."

Axel, Petra and Jesse still stood beside the beacon with their arms around each other's shoulders.

"Since everybody's bolting, why don't the three of us grab something to eat?" Axel asked excitedly.

"I'm in! I'd give anything for something that doesn't taste like half-raw potato." Petra said with a chuckle.

"Actually, I'm going to bolt as well." Jesse said, taking a step away. "I just have something I'd like to do. You two enjoy your potato free meal."

Waving to her friends, Jesse strode off through town on her own. The concrete road beneath her feet was cracked, quite some trees were uprooted and most buildings were still being rebuilt. A hint of sadness rested in Jesse's eyes as she looked upon the broken down state of her home. It felt like only yesterday it was still bustling with life.

Finally Jesse reached the edge of town, where there wasn't a person in sight. It was exactly what she was looking for – loneliness. She wanted to be alone.

Jesse sat down on a wooden bench, jumping slightly as it let out a dangerous creaking noise. She just hoped it would stay in one piece, so that she wouldn't have to call her friends later to ask for help getting her out of a broken bench frame.

Jesse leaned back on the bench, closing her eyes slightly. A crisp breeze blew over her, but the brand new set of armour kept her warm.

"Jesse?"

Jesse jumped at the voice, immediately on guard. She looked around her for the owner of the voice, almost defensively.

"Easy, you can let your guard down. It's just me." The voice said as a figure stepped out from the shadows.

Jesse breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the man in front of her, before sinking back down onto the bench.

"Sorry, Gabriel." She replied. "I'm still on edge from the whole Wither storm incident."

"I don't blame you." Gabriel replied, sitting down beside Jesse on the bench. "Time may have passed since, but the battle will be with us for a long time to come."

Jesse tried not to roll her eyes at his cryptic way of speaking. She actually wished he would leave, so she could have some of that desired peace and quiet.

"Is something on your mind, Jesse?" Gabriel asked. "What are you doing all the way out here? I thought you and your friends were still back at the new Beacon."

"I just wanted some time to think over things." Jesse replied. She turned slightly to look at Gabriel. "Things changed so suddenly, so rapidly. Guess I'm having trouble keeping up."

Gabriel nodded thoughtfully. "Does it have anything to do with your new titles as heroes?" He asked.

Jesse felt herself stiffen a bit. Was she really that easy to read? Or was Gabriel some sort of psychic mind reader?

She just shrugged, not saying anything.

"I apologize if it came as a bit of a shock." Gabriel went on. "I wanted it to be more of a surprise, your big moment. The four of you deserved the credit."

"Five." Jesse replied bluntly. "Lukas wasn't on stage, but he's still one of us."

"But that's not what brought you out here, did it?" Gabriel asked.

"No." Jesse admitted, sliding slightly down on the bench. "I just have some questions about myself, that I preferred to think over out here... alone."

"What sort of questions?" Gabriel asked, seemingly not noticing Jesse's hints at wanting to be left alone.

Jesse didn't reply, looking down at her hands. She absent-mindedly fiddled with the gloves on her armour. While a part of her still wanted to be left alone, the other part wanted to talk to Gabriel.

"What's my place in the Order?" She finally asked, looking up.

"Excuse me?" Gabriel replied, puzzled.

"Everybody has their thing here." Jesse replied, picking up the amulet. "Everybody has something special about them, that makes them stand out their own unique ways. Like Ellegaard, Olivia is an amazing engineer. She can figure out any redstone contraption, no matter how complicated it is.

Or Petra. Like you, she's a great fighter, the strongest and bravest one I know. She was so sick during this battle, yet she never stepped down once to rest, she always kept fighting."

Jesse broke off, gently touching the amulet with her gloved fingers.

"But you don't know where you fit it. Do you?" Gabriel asked softly.

"I destroyed the Storm. I get it that I'm this over all hero that everybody looks up to..." Jesse closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before continuing. "But who am I really? What is my position here?"

Gabriel put his hand on Jesse's shoulder, causing her to look up at him.

"You're the one thing the old Order never had, that we so desperately needed. You're a leader, Jesse."

"You had Soren." Jesse pointed out miserably.

"He may had the title, but he wasn't a leader." Gabriel went on. "He was talented and a great artist – much like your friend, Lukas – but he wasn't a leader. He could never step up and take the lead when things went south.

You on the other hand, Jesse. You're brave, even when you're scared. You can think on your feet and make decisions when you need to. When everything falls into chaos, you're that one person who takes control and keeps everybody together.

And people listen to you, Jesse. I saw it when I was with your group. They turn to you when choices needs to be made, and they accept what you say. Nobody fights against your word, or decide otherwise.

You took a dysfunctional group, where everybody's different and don't get along – and you made the new Order. You held that little group together, through so much darkness and despair."

Jesse looked down again, biting her lip.

"I know it's a lot of pressure to take the lead." Gabriel explained. "But you're strong Jesse. You're the one who'll be able to carry this responsibility on your shoulders, when others can't."

Jesse opened her mouth to say something, but then only fell quiet. She looked back down at the amulet, Gabriel's words moving 'round her head. He stood up, ready to walk away before looking back at her.

"Good luck on your future adventures, Jesse." He said softly. "And whenever you're uncertain about you're position in this group, just remember...

You are the leader."

___

Eh.

I actually didn't have too much trouble coming up for an idea regarding "position." And overall I kinda like how this turned out? 

I like the basic concept of Jesse wondering where exactly she fits in, in the Order. Probably could've set this one up better though, so maybe a rewrite will be on my agenda when I'm done with this challenge xD

For day one, I'm quite happy with this! 

See you tomorrow with whatever weird prompt the word generator spits out next!