Lily

18

"You're never going to start a fire like that." Virgil laughed with a taunting smirk as Roman sat there trying to create a spark with sticks. "You're not creating enough friction. It's pointless."

"Virgil, do you mind actually doing something instead of... Oh, I don't know... bothering me." Roman snapped one of the twigs and sighed in broken frustration before shooting Virgil a desperate look. "Please?"

"What do you need me to do... you know. Since I'm bothering you." Roman frowned as Virgil smirked with a playful roll of his eyes. "No, seriously. What do you need?"

"Water..." Roman glanced around and rolled his eyes. "Anything for a shelter..." Roman gestured to the pathetic pile before him with clear exhausted frustration. "More wood. For the fire..."

"You mean the non-existent fire that you're hoping to create with..." Virgil laughed as Roman glared over at him. "...sticks?"

"Just go, please?" Virgil laughed as he shot back a piece sign before walking off. Roman frowned as he looked at the pile before him before glancing back up at Virgil and biting his lip. "We need a fire..." Roman rolled his eyes as he picked up the stick again and laughed at himself. " Yeah, like these were ever going to work... Unfortunately... I am not a boy scout." Roman tossed them into the pile and sighed. "We need a fire."

"Wood for a fire." Virgil rolled his eyes as he looked around him. "Oh, theres plenty of wood. No fire..." Virgil leaned against a tree smacking his head back as he shook his head trying hard not to cry. 5 years. That's how long he estimated he had been up there. The problem was he lost track of time around the time... he ran out of ink. He had marked the walls with a tally for every day he spent there before he ran out. He managed about 4 months that wasn't very long and considering he slept most of the time... he just assumed. 

Things are so different though. Before... He knew this area. It was close to his home. He knew it. His father made sure he memoried every SINGLE map the cartographers has. That was why the one Roman had surprised him. It was new. The whole area had changed. He didn't understand it. This shouldn't have changed so much. The literal ground should not have changed. 

Virgil frowned as he whipped his hand out shooting a bramble dart up in the tree and watching a young firebird fall to the dirt, it's glow dying as it did. Virgil sighed as he walked over to see the bramble pierced through its heart. 

"Sorry, little one. I thought you were something else." Virgil smiled sadly as he took the dart out and tossing it away. His first thought was obviously to bury it but... Even a young firebird was big enough to feed a decent group. Virgil held his hand over it and watched as soft green vines wrapped it head to toe putting it in a leafy cocoon. "Well... I got food." Virgil rolled his eyes as he laughed at himself. "Accidentally. To bad, I can't just... magic a shelter." He could but not unless he wanted Roman to know about it all and he didn't. It was bad enough that all his staff thought he was a monster. He didn't want this guy to think that too. He didn't know how Roman would... "The fuck..." Virgil literally dropped everything he had into the grass as he stared at the raging fire before him. Roman smirked as he dusted his hands off.

"It worked." Virgil shot him this amazed and highly confused look as Roman just laughed. "What?"

"I may be... limited with my experiences but my father taught me well, Princey." Roman tensed with awkward tension as Virgil pointed loosely at the bomb fire before him. "There is NO way you could have done that with sticks."

"I got more wood." Virgil's eyes narrowed as Roman bit his lip. "What?"

"I'm not stupid, Roman. I wasn't gone that long." Roman frowned as his eyes darted about everything Virgil had before his eyes landed on the bundle. Roman quirked his brow catching Virgil's attention, who quickly grabbed it and brought it over. "I thought it was an... enemy." Roman's eyes narrowed as he took the bundle and started to open it as Virgil went back to retrieve the other stuff he got. "It wasn't."

"Holy shit..." Virgil frowned as Roman nearly dropped it. "It's a firebird. HOW DID YOU..."

"That's not important. We have some meat now." Roman nodded as he gulped feeling his excitement building. It was a firebird. Not only was it's meat really good but the materials... "Princey?"

"Oh, right sorry." Roman paused for a second before shooting Virgil an odd look. "Do you know how to..."

"You're kidding right?" Roman shook his head as Virgil groaned. "Fine. I'll do it. But then you better work that magic on our shelter." Roman froze up in shock as Virgil gestured for the bird. When he noticed Roman not moving he frowned. "Roman? The bird?"

"Sorry." Virgil rolled his eyes as he took the bird from Roman who still didn't move. He placed it on a rock and frowned as he cut the rest of the vines away. "Hey, Virgil... Do you think we can save the..."

"Their feathers are very finical Roman. So unless you can channel their magic, I don't think keeping them would do us any good." Roman paled as he quickly turned to work on the shelter. "The last time I saw someone try to... they turned our kitchen into a literal inferno. It took forever to get the fire out and..." And Virgil had been the one to do it in the end. Virgil fell silent as he started to defeather the thing. His brows were knit in conversation as he set them carefully in the dirt. 

"I know that... I was just... I was thinking..."

"For future campfires?" Virgil smirked as he tried to focus on the tail feathers. Those were always the most desired. They had such beautiful designs... then there was also the magic that permeated throughout the whole creature.

"Yeah... sure. That was why."