Like a Feather Tickling My Heart

2 A Long-Lost Egg

The Elders walked into the temple the next morning when the first rays of sunlight were just touching the horizon. Elder Bi was the one in the lead and there was a faint smile on his lips when he saw the young man kneeling in front of the altar with the egg held in his arms. "It's time to go and bring them back to the phoenix clan."

Zhu Hong glanced over his shoulder and then looked back at the egg in his arms. He had already calmed down after having a night to think about this. The guards hadn't noticed anything, neither had the other adults or the Elders. Most likely, the phoenixes wouldn't either. In any case, he had never heard that there was some kind of test to make sure that the connection was a genuine one. Also, why would there be something like this? Who would dare to tell such a bald-faced lie? In the history of both their races, he was probably the first to even think about it.

Zhu Hong got to his feet, took a last glance at the altar, and then turned around, following the Elders outside. He didn't say anything and just held the egg close to his chest, protecting it from the cold morning breeze and the sight of others. Hiding it away like this forever sure sounded tempting right now.

The group walked to the end of the valley, and then one after the other took on their dragon form before rising up into the sky.

Zhu Hong was the last one who was still left on the ground. He looked at the egg, carefully held it in one hand, and then changed his form as well. He made sure to keep his claws opened and glanced at the egg while rising up into the sky as well.

While the phoenix eggs were sturdy, the claws of the dragons were one of the few things hard enough to actually damage them. Thus, this way from the dragon valley to the forest of the phoenixes was actually the most dangerous part of the ceremony. If his claws damaged the shell, it might very well be that the phoenix inside wouldn't be able to hatch. Then, who knew if his partner would ever return? Even if they did, there might be things wrong with them.

The Elders also looked at the egg in his claws, trying to see if he was holding it carefully enough. When they couldn't see anything wrong with Zhu Hong's way of dealing with things, Elder Bi once again took the lead and the group flew over to the forest where the phoenixes lived when they weren't currently at the side of their spouses.

The forest came into view soon enough. From up above, it looked like a sea of green that was undulating in the wind. When they got closer, the whooshing of the leaves could be heard from down below, once again reminiscent of the sea.

Zhu Hong looked around, trying to see where they were supposed to land. An unmarried dragon had no business coming to this place until they delivered their partner's egg so he had never come here before.

Before he could figure anything out, the branches below opened up and three majestic phoenixes rose into the air, their colorful feathers glinting in the morning sun. These were likely Elders of the phoenix clan that had come to welcome them.

The dragons slowed down and greeted them, and finally, everybody slowly descended to the ground and once again took on their other form.

Elder Bi inclined his head toward the phoenix in the lead once again. "Thank you for having us. We have brought over the young one that has chosen his partner yesterday." He motioned toward Zhu Hong and waved for him to step forward and introduce himself.

Zhu Hong did as the Elder had insinuated and bowed to the three phoenixes. "Greetings, Elders. This one is named Zhu Hong."

The three Elders nodded and then glanced at the egg that he was carefully cradling in his arms. Seeing how careful he was with it, their expressions softened quite a bit. The one in the front even gifted him a smile. "Welcome. You must certainly be excited about this new stretch of your life."