The Prophecy of the Fire Phoenix: #1 The Gift of Phoenix Fire

Chapter 17: Mourners

    It can be surprising by how refreshing water can be to a Fire Phoenix. Smooth elements swirling blissfully around you, with little tiny fish swimming blindly around. Yeah, she couldn't deny how she felt right now.

    Canyon was bathing in The Falls, an ancient waterfall that was one of the only relics from the time of the Ice Dragon's reign. Glittering diamond-like bubbles floated around, before disappearing and shimmering. The waterfall roared down in a peaceful current, as if it was a hologram. How cool it felt to her feathers after thinking so much about her past. These waters did not extinguish her fire, and that's one of the things that made The Falls so special. It never harmed the good-hearted. But whenever evil is somewhere close, it would turn into an ash that could kill someone in agony. It depended on one's soul for how bad it would be. Evil did want this mysterious, powerful falls for their own benefit, but it never succeeded. Of course, they could not deny in their hearts that they are evil. Some just pure evil.

    Anyway, Talios had introduced to her this pool of water. At first she rejected, then he pushed her in with a wing. From the moment she landed, she just stayed there. Talios laughed, then left to perform some other duty. And Canyon had been here ever since, enjoying it's great texture and warmth, sometimes refreshing cold. That was five hours ago.

    "...Upon the upcoming war, we must find him before the second strike rings," A soft voice suddenly said, then faded into a louder one. Gravel crunching, disintegrating plants. The voice was somewhere out of The Falls, and was coming closer. Canyon quietly floated to the other, dark end of the pool/waterfall, hoping that whoever the voice belonged to wouldn't see her. She couldn't fly, in fear of her splashes being heard. A few seconds later, the hazy image of a phoenix came into view. Now, it was not in her nature to eavesdrop, but she was just so panicked that she just waited in silence. "We're lucky that for now, we have them."

    "Now, now, sire," This was now, questioningly, Flame's voice. "I know that we certainly are, but still, we have to make sure that all units will be approved for."

    "Flame," Said a voice that was more deeper than Flame's. Canyon peered over, and almost gasped at who the other voice was - a Lesser Frigatebird! One of the rare species, one that Canyon thought that she'd never meet in her life. Well, technically speaking, she now got to see one, "we must win the second one. That's why we must find him, the Fire Aura. "

    "Hhmm, you do know how hard it will be, right?" There was a pause as Flame looked over The Fall's pool. "Care for a dip?"

    "Um...no thank you. I'd rather not soil my feathers through these parts of the phoenix realm."

    Flame sighed, then looked behind him. "The only way that I can see it to find him is by tracking her."

    "...Who?"

    "Canyon."

    Canyon gasped as Flame mentioned her name. She tried to stifle it by stuffing her beak into the bush, but the damage was done. Flame's head snapped towards her hiding place. "Who's there?"

    Canyon didn't answer. Silence.

    "I repeat, who's there? Show yourself!" He waited for a moment. "Alright, I'm coming over there."

    The Lesser Frigatebird turned towards Flame. "Sire, I'm not so sure that it's a good idea for you to cross The Falls's Pool."

    Flame didn't listen. He swooped over steadily to Canyon. Her heartbeat raced. If he didn't hear her clearly enough then, he surely must've heard her now. Flame was so close, and just when he was five wing beats away, his tail brushed the surface of the pond. He yelped, lurching upward, away from the pool. He was fast, but not fast enough. His tail sizzled where he touched the pond. He stared wildly at his tail, and in his panic, his primary feathers touched the surface, creating soft ripples. Flame screeched quietly, beating his wings against the stones above, trying to get rid of the acid-like water. His feathers started to crumble into ash.