Flames of Blue

I woke up with something looming over me, a huge silhouette with a giant snout and long teeth.

*Ya dun goofed, kid.*

‘Shut up brain, I know.’

The thing that I had been following earlier must have woken up when I left the cave. It seemed extremely organized, so I have no trouble imagining it waking up and immediately noticing that something was gone.

‘It must’ve seen me flying away… how did it knock me down though?’

I noticed promptly that one of its many spikes on its tail was gone, and a new one was growing in its place.

‘Typical, I should’ve known that it could launch those spikes. Wait. It knocked me out of the air with a razor sharp wooden spike, and the only pain I can feel is in my chest, lower back, and a slight ache where it hit. It must’ve bounced off when it hit, instead of impaling me.

It must’ve noticed I was awake, because it looked down at me, growled and inched its snout closer to my face. It was breathing heavily, and I couldn’t help but notice, but its breath actually smelled… minty. It kept inching closer until its rough nose barely bushed my beak.

“Ewerid, nestia gal marud?” It growled, promptly scaring the living shit out of me, as well as confusing me. I tried wiggling out if its grip, but it held tight, keeping a stout leg on my wing.

It rolled its eyes, saying, “Do you speak Ponish?”

“Wha, ye- yes I do, why..?” Great job, brain. Keeping a nice brave image sure is your thing, isn’t it.

*No, why do you ask?*

Shut up.

Anyway, the wooden dog-lobster raised its eyebrow as it heard me talk.

“You have a strange smell. Are you a phoenix?”

“Uh, yes, I am, but I know that I don’t look like one, but uh, yeah I am.” I blurted.

“Now, I agree that you don’t look like one, but why would a noble such as a phoenix, a pet of the gods, want to steal from such a humble creature as me? Much less when I am raising a child.” The thing rumbled.

“Well, uh, I can sort of explain, if you want me to, I mean, it would take a w-” I was cut off as the creature used its large front paw to cover my mouth… beak, I meant beak. It’ll take a while to get used to this body completely, I realized.

“I don’t like pointless babbling. I would say come with me, but seeing as you have no choice…” As he said it, the thing opened its mouth, a gaping maw filled with large, bent teeth. He reached down, and I started struggling.

‘Oh shit oh shit oh shit he’s gonna eat me… or not.’

I corrected my own thoughts as he gingerly placed his maw around my form, picking me up and carrying me back to his cave. I got a look at the sun, and it seemed about two o’clock. I stopped struggling, seeing as he wasn’t going to eat me yet, and I might as well act half reasonable. After a short walk, he dropped me off in the cave section with all the wood.

“Now, mister…”

‘Oh, he wants a name… umm… quickly…’

*How about your old name, Tom?*

‘No, that won’t do… think… how ‘bout Cedar? Always liked its smell.’

*It’ll work.*

After that, I realized that I had been thinking for at least three seconds.

“My bad, its Cedar. Sorry about that, I must’ve blanked out or someth-”

“Ha! GAHAHAHAHAHA… Heheh, Cedar… heheh, a tree stealing trees from a tree… heh, that’s a good one…” The thing laughed, causing me to realize the irony of the situation.

I cracked a smile, chuckling along with him. After a few more seconds, he stopped, as did I.

“Anyway, I might as well introduce myself too. The name’s Jornad. I’m a Woodland Henduraan, a guardian of the forest. My kind is rather peaceful, and we don’t harm others unless they give a reason. I don’t consider you stealing a couple pieces of my wood collection to be a reason to kill you, so I will let you explain yourself. Please, go ahead.”

‘Well, he sure is straightforward.’

“Well, I don’t know how to explain myself really… I just needed some wood, and saw you taking a plank back here, and followed you…”

“Strange, I should have smelled you…”

“I think I was downwind.” I deadpanned, causing Jornad to shrug.

“Okay then. Why do you need the wood anyhow?”

“I was, uh, going to build a raft…” I muttered, bringing a questioning look from the Henduraan.

“With four sticks and a string?”

“Yeah, actually. I don’t need much, and it has to be light. I just need to strap something to my back while I’m flying so I can drop it into the ocean if there are no clouds to sleep on. That way I can roost while floating.”

“Where are you flying anyhow?”

“North-west, do you know what’s up there?” I asked. This sent a chill up Jornad’s spine, and he leaned onto his side.

“Heh, you’re really going to go the eastern jungle?

“What? What do you mean jungle?” I implored. At this, Jornad sighed, closing his eyes.

“Listen up kiddo. Northwest of here is a jungle. It goes by plenty of names, but most call it the feline jungle, or the great southern rainforest. It’s called that because, obviously, there are cats there. I don’t mean the domestic and tiny ones they have in Equestria, either. There are large, diamond dog sized cats there. You won’t stand a chance. All of them know how to use tools, and plenty are very smart, there are even a couple with scholar level intelligence. I know this… because I was considered to be a pet for one of their village’s leaders, for over a century. They captured me from my forest home, and shoved me in a metal cage. Anyway, when the bastard finally died at one hundred ‘n ten, they dropped me and my mate on this godforsaken island, and stuck his body in a big ol’ piece of brick on the other side of the island. They expected me to guard it, but why would I? I have no reason to take care of that bastards’ corpse after the treatment he gave me…”

Piece of brick? On the other side of the island? So I WAS in a casket…

*blegh, nasty.*

‘Shut up brain, ya wuss.’

Wait a sec…

A hundred and ten years ago?

“Jornad?”

“Yes?”

“No offense intended, but how old are you?”

“Two hundred and fourteen.”

“Oh…”

“Anyway, as I was saying, you wouldn’t stand a chance in the jungle. Those cats will eat any bird roosting within their territory. They rely on their sense of smell for finding food, so they can smell you anywhere you go. Not only that, but they’re deathly quiet. Silence and stealth is their specialty, so they can sneak up on you wherever you go.”

“Wait, can normal birds sit on clouds?” I blurted, making the Henduraan shrug.

“I don’t think so. They have no innate magic. Why?”

“I can, though. I’ve tried. I don’t think that the cats can reach me while I’m sitting on a piece of fluff half a mile in the sky.” I explained.

“True,” he said, his eyes thoughtful. “Maybe you’ll make it, I don’t know. Listen, if you wanted this wood so bad, you could’ve asked. The seeding season starts in four weeks, so the trees are going to be popping up in five. I have plenty of wood to last me and my son that long, and I’m probably going to have a surplus, anyway. Plus, balsa tastes like cow pie on a cracker, so I would gladly let it go. I would be kind of mad if you took some aspen, though. It tastes delicious.”

“Heh, okay. So, can… can I just go? I’m allowed to have the wood and string?” I asked.

“Sure, kiddo. Just, if you’re heading for the rainforest, make sure to stick to the clouds. Oh, and bring lunch. You don’t want to have to go down to the ground every time you need something to eat.”  As it finished talking, the hulking Henduraan got up, walked over to his (apparent) son, and plopped down.

“Just don’t let me catch you trying to steal again. Again, if you want something, just drop by and ask. G’night.” He finished off by grabbing a few twigs in his snout, chomping them down, and curling up.

“Thanks…” I whispered, as I got up, making my way to the front of the cave.

‘Thank… Celestia? I dunno, but thank whatever caused Jornad back there to not eat me. That was scary.’

*Hey, he let you have the stuff you need. Be thankful.*

‘Okay, okay. Just be quiet.’

I was at the front of the cave, and it seemed like it was around four o’clock. Seems like, despite it feeling much shorter, that whole ordeal took about two hours.

“Oh well, might as well head back.” I say to myself as I tie off the wood with the string. I tie the loose end of the string to my foot using my beak, and start flapping my wings.

Taking off, I could see that the ocean had gotten choppier than when I had left. Oh well, it’d probably calm down before I leave. Hopefully. If there are no clouds around and I have to sleep on my little raft thingy in a messy ocean, I’ll never get any sleep.

‘No use thinking about it, it’ll happen if it does, and it won’t if it won’t. Plus, the more you think, the more you’re baiting that asshole named Murphy to ruin your day.’

I reached my sleeping mat in less time than usual, it seems I’m getting better at flying. I’ll need it if I’m going to fly all that way. I pick up the compass, staring at the little notches under the glass dome.

I just sit there, doing nothing until a breeze blows past. It’s cold, unlike earlier on that cloud.

‘Better get a fire going while I still have light. I’ll use some bark from that tree.’

I flap over to the tree, grabbing a couple twigs, dead leaves, and broken bark that’s sitting on the ground. I look up, at the leaves. Even though the underside of the tree is dark, I can still see all of the leaves, a few bugs, and what looks to be an old birds’ nest. I can also see why Jornad said that the ‘seeding’ will take place in a month… every branch was lined with small, immature, green berries. After a month of maturing, they would drop to the ground, sprouting into smaller plants. What I don’t understand is why he said that the trees would be growing by the fifth week. Usually, large tree saplings take one and a half weeks to seed, root, and sprout up to at least an inch. Maybe things grow faster here? The grass sure is tall, and it looks like plain old grass. I have a feeling that if there was some sawgrass growing here, it would be taller than me. It must be increased growing rates, for lack of a better explanation.

I walked back to my mat, cutting down some of the grass to the left of it. I dropped the tinder in the newly cleared spot, and hunched down, using my surprisingly dexterous primary feathers to manipulate the wood. As I was arranging the sticks, I felt a chill down my back. Sure enough, a shadow passed over me soon after.

“A storm is coming…” I muttered to myself as I turned back to the wood. I finished, got up, and turned around to look up at the clouds.

‘Looks like they’ll just pass over. The storm might hit the other half of the island, but even then, just the edge. Now, how do I start the fire?’

…

…

…

*You’re a phoenix…*

‘Shut up brain, you’re mocking me.’

I turn around, looking at the sticks neatly arranged over the kindling.

“How the hell do I use fire…?”

*Try breathing in, and concentrating your energy on your breath as you breathe out*

‘This better work brain, there’s nothing worse than feeling embarrassed of yourself when there’s no-one else around.’

*Whatever, get on with it.*

I pushed my thoughts aside, taking in a deep breath, and closing my eyes.

‘Concentrate; think of your breath turning into flame…’

I exhale slowly, and open my eyes cautiously…

Just to see a blinding, orange-yellow light. It explodes, sending me flying…

‘Dammit, this is the second time this week.’