Oneshot Collection

Fear of Flames: Silveny

So this is set before Silveny meets Sophie. There are lots of random things thrown together because I'm bored and procrastinating and https://lost-cities-keeper.fandom.com/wiki/User:TheObliviousWhale requested this.

And I got inspired... and wrote a little too much-

What else is new.

Anyway, here it is! A good ol' Silveny oneshot!

Silveny hated fire.

It represented all the wrong things about the world; withering and blistering and greedy. 

Fire didn't seem to like her either- it followed her, crackling and ravenous. Wherever she went, there would always be flames, whether they were simply sparks, or a giant wildfire that stole the air from her lungs and crisped the end of her mane before she was able to teleport away.

She hadn't always hated the flames; they hadn't been friends, but simply tolerated each other. Indeed, there had always been a certain beauty about the way the sparks leaped from the tongues of flame, and the way the curling fire wove and danced.

But then came the day; the day the fire had started hating her, and leaped from the sky to the forest. The day the trees had collapsed around her- around them- and they peaceful home had fallen. The day she'd flown away, wild-eyed and terrified, while her family burned.

The day everything changed.

Sometimes the nightmares would keep her from sleeping at all, and sometimes they would haunt her in the middle of the day until all she could do was fly and fly and try to ignore the bombardment of regrets, and guilt clouding her heart.

Silveny hated fire, but she was mostly afraid of it. It terrified her more than anything else (next to cages, but she didn't know about that one. At least, not yet).

...

The sky was the only place Silveny felt truly calm. 

She was safe here- there were no humans running after her with pointy weapons, and later, things that smelled wrong and reminded her of fire.

They hurt her ears.

The wind would caress her feathers, and the clouds would weave around her in a dance that they'd been rehearsing for millennia. The water droplets dampened her mane, and the cold air made it freezing like ice.

The opposite of fire.

So she would fly, and fly, and fly. Fly until her wings were aching and her sides were heaving and sweat coated her flanks. Fly until her mind was clear, and thinking was impossible. Twirl through the air until her nightmares seemed silly and her memories didn't exist.

...

The water was cool. Refreshing.

Silveny allowed it to dapple her coat, trickling down her flanks. She couldn't stay here much longer- she'd already been here too long.

The meadow was beautiful, but it had been over seven sunrises already, and there was a human village who might think to explore the dense forest.

But the water was chilled, and it was peaceful. The grass was soft and green, and the sky was blue.

She could stay a little while longer.

...

A little while turned into a lot while, and after six more sunrises, the humans arrived.

Silveny was sleeping when they first came, standing beside the river with her wing over her eyes. She was a light sleeper (she had to be, after all) so when the first crashes and shouts appeared in the distance, her eyes snapped open and she was almost immediately in the air.