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Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice
- Robert Frost
Pronounciation:
Khyre: Kai (as in Kite)-yer (like Fire with a K)
Linder: Lin-der
Serra: Sarah
Hestia: Hest-tia
Cu Sith: Q- sith
Chapter 2-
Cu Sith
Many years went by. The wings returned to their full array of beauty with time. The mockery that Khyre suffered because of them made him fool hardy. It had taken months to regrow the lost feathers, and it had not been a pleasant feat.
"You do realize that coming out here could get us tortured, right?" Smog rubbed his arms feverishly, shivering horribly, "GODS DAMN IT! IT'S ******** FREEZING HERE! YOU OWE ME BIG TIME KHYRE!"
"Whatever, Smoggy..." Khyre was balancing on a thin ice bridge, "This is the only place I can think of that I won't be caught."
"Yeah, and if I bring back a soggy dead body that conviently has frost bite, they'll have my skin!" Smogg looked around desperately.
"It's not all that bad, Smoggy," Khyre took three steps forward, arms extended for balance aid, "You just need to chill."
"I'M A ******** PHOENIX KHYRE! WE DON'T CHILL!"
"... Whatever." Khyre took another step.
"You're gonna get yourself killed, then I'm gonna be killed for being here for you, and my mom, she'll probably get killed for giving me li--- Yeah! Your mom! What will she--- never mind, you don't give a s**t about her. ... Wait! What will Ember think when she finds out you were out here?"
"She won't find out if you keep your face shut." he took three rushed steps forward and lept the large gap, grasping the other side and burning latch holds for himself so he wouldn't fall.
"There's no "Ember, save me!" for s**t like this, Khyre. You're outside of our lands, when you're supposed to be--"
"SMOGG! SHUT UP!"
"DON'T ******** TELL ME TO SHUT UP, KHYRE!"
Suddenly, the ice split in half, and rained down in an avalanche over Smogg's head, and with it, fell Khyre.
"OMPH!"
Khyre rubbed his head, laughing hysterically as he saw Smogg clamber out of the snow, turning darker due to the cold and wet. He rubbed his arms and shivered extremely, cursing loudly.
"You do know that shouting causes more of those things, right?" Khyre smiled mischieveously as he stood up, "They're called avalanches... learn to prevent them and you won't be standing there sopping wet and freezing your a** off."
"SHUT THE ******** UP!" Smogg shouted again, before he slipped on a patch of ice and fell down with a crack.
Khyre shook his head with a chuckle.
"What are you practicing for anyway?" he looked up from rubbing his bruised areas, "aren't you supposed to be practicing your fire summoning? Or better yet, flying?"
"Hey, don't give me a hard time," Khyre put a foot up on an icy ledge, "I'm getting a hang of the whole flying business. If he hadn't pulled out those feathers, then they wouldn't have grown back longer to give me more lift."
Smogg chuckled, "Yeah, and you can glide, what? 8 feet now? Oh... enemies beware. Khyre is gonna glide skip glide skip his way to your demise."
"You're ******** hilarious, do you know that?" Khyre stared at him though narrowed eyes.
"Aww... come on man," Smogg smiled, "you're pretty good... I mean, before everybody thought they should just leave you in the snow to die. But look at ya now! You're out here on your own free will! Nobody had to fling you!"
"... I'm ignoring you now." Khyre looked away and began scaling the ice wall, burning hand grips.
"You never answered my question."
"Have you ever heard of a Cu Sith?" Khyre called down.
"A Cu Sith? What's that?"
"It's a massive dog... about the size of a stag." Khyre reached up to grab another handhold, "it can survive in all sorts of natural environments. They come in multiple elements, so they can live in forests, ice, water, fire.... everything. Cu Siths roam at night and during the day. They never sleep. Their coats are impermiable by any temperature or weapon, and they live excrusiatingly long lives. Once, people used these as guardians."
"... What is this all about then?"
"Nobody's seen them."
"So?" Smogg looked at him hard, wearing a look of disdain, like he had just been fed a long list of crap.
"So, how could a creature with so many attributes like the ability to live in every environment, have impermiable hides, and live nearly forever, just simply disappear?"
"Cuz they never existed?" Smogg raised his eyebrow.
"Wrong!" Khyre sat up on the ridge, crouching low, "they are real. They were once alive...."
"And you know this how?"
Khyre smirked and stood up, "I'll show you."
He held out his hand, palm up, and drifted it over the ice, shaving away the front with a curtain of fire to show a clear window of what lay within.
A massive dog with white fur lay curled in a ball, suspended in the ice. It's eyes were closed, and it's nose was pressed against his foreleg, as if it was wiping a tear.
"A Cu Sith."
"******** me...." Smogg exclaimed, pressing a hand against the ice, "it's humongous..."
"And I'm gonna get it out."
"W-wait a minute now." Smogg stepped backwards, "You said this thing could survive everything. How do you know that it's dead?"
Khyre floated down next to him, "I know because I found it two months ago, and it hasn't moved an inch. It's not breathing, and it's in a solid brick of ice! There's no way that thing's alive. Now, I need that fur. Ya see it?"
"Why would you need the fur for?"
"Practice."
".... You lost me."
"I've been practicing my fire methods, but I've also discovered something else I can do. It's pretty cool actually."
"... don't tell me you can create ice... I can't handle my friend being half one of those things or something... please don't."
"You're wierd, Smoggy." Khyre patted him on the back, "No. Ice is for the Koritaka. Let them keep that pointless power. I've found something else that's cool."
"... okayy...."
"Let me show you. It's easier to explain that way," Khyre then looked around, "But I'm gonna have to ask you to take a few steps back though. The debris may hurt you and then I'll have to hear you whine about it all day long... and we can't explain that you got shot in the eye with a spire of ice, now, can we?" He pushed Smogg back a bit.
Smogg walked away a few feet before turning to watch.
Khyre held out his hands and released a torrent of fire at the Cu Sith. The ice around it melted instantly, and soon, the ball of fur fell into a soggy slump from it's frozen bed.
Khyre smiled and walked forewards, placing a hand on the fur, rubbing it lightly, with his hand glowing from the heat.
"What are you doing? You'll burn it." Smog called.
Suddenly, Smogg stopped, as he saw the side of the beast suddenly jolt. His eyes widened, and suddenly, the gigantic canine roared to life, beginning with taking a deadly snap at Khyre.
Khyre dodged, and flipped backwards, away from it.
"'Bout time you woke up, dog!" he taunted, "I've been thawing you out for months now! Give me a good tussle, okay?"
The beast responded with a loud ear splitting howl, and a launch at Khyre's body. Khyre sidestepped the attack, dancing out of the canine's maw, dodging every bite and lunge the dog attempted. Finally, he pointed his finger, and a long molten chain formed in his hand. Gripping it tightly, he ran forward, feighting to the left, and then did a sommersault over the canine's back. He lashed the chain at the dog's throat in an attempt to swing the chain around it, but all he accomplished was brutally whipping the poor dog in the throat. He landed, side stepped, and tried again. This time, the dog got wise.
Before he could land again, the dog snapped his teeth and grasped one of his arms. Khyre cried out and whipped the dog across the muzzle, but the dog just bit down harder. He wriggled and beat at the maw, attempting to free himself, but the Cu Sith's jaws were considerably stronger. It gnashed at his flesh, and he cried out again.
Then, he smiled broadly, "I don't taste like chicken, you know..." he looked down at his bleeding arm, "Shouldn't have done that..."
The blood suddenly intensified in hue and began to sizzle. The dog yelped and released him onto the ice. More startled then hurt, the canine shook it's muzzle and pawed at it's face to relieve it of the heat.
Khyre took this opportunity to leap onto the beast's back. He twirled the chain over his head like a lasso, before throwing it down and across the Cu Sith's neck. Sautering the chain together with his fist, he pulled back hard on the chain, throwing his whole back into the feat.
The dog reared up on it's hind legs, and fell with a crash into the ice. Khyre rolled away, and smiled as the dog whimpered and lay in defeat.
"******** won!" Smog gasped, stumbling out from behind the drift he took shelter under, "You beat that giant mutt!"
Khyre put his hands on his hips, "I did, didn't I?"
"You scared the s**t out of me, but you bloody conquered the dumb mongrel!"
"Smoggy... don't insult it..."
"Did you hear that mutt? Khyre of the Fire beat your sorry a**!"
The dog suddenly made a loud grumble in it's chest, and Smogg's bravery melted as quick as the snow he touched.
"So, whatcha gonna do with it? Skin it like you said?"
"Nope," Khyre smiled, "I made that part up to surprise you. I knew it was alive."
"WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU DO THAT TO ME??!" Smog yelled.
"Because, it was fun to see your face like that!" Khyre smiled and laughed. He went over to the Cu Sith and scratched behind it's ears, "you can go be free now... I got what I wanted from you."
The dog padded the ice, and with what seemed like a brief nod, sprinted off into the ice maze.
Khyre smiled and smacked his hands together, "Is it me, or is it quite cold out here?"
"HA! YOU'RE TELLING THE GUY WHO CAN'T FEEL ANY OF HIS LOWER EXTREMITIES! AND I MEAN NO FEELING IN THE LOOOOOWWW EXTREMITIES KHYRE!"
Khyre laughed, paused, and turned around with a menacing smile, "You could always get warmed up the way I do..."
"... HA! LIKE THAT WOULD BE AN OPTION!"
"That's why I fought that thing, you know... I'm strong enough now to beat a Cu Sith. The guardian's children. I'm able to take care of myself now."
".... Oh, I get it. You think that since you can beat a defrosted canine you are a match for our lord... HA!"
"He will never touch my wings again." Khyre growled, "he was able to pin me to the ground and tease me with my own feathers, Smogg... but now I'll be able to say no."
".... you do know that you are an idiot... right? He's like... 2, 3.... I dunno... he's way older than you, has more experience, and let's face it... a little more in the muscle department than you do."
".... ******** off Smoggy."
"Just sayin'... I calls 'em as I see's 'em."
Khyre and Smogg reached their homes before nightfall. Smogg yawned loudly, and departed. Khyre sighed, looking at the setting sun. Phoenixes slept and rose with the sun... except him. He liked sunsets, and watching fire light up the night. Being the only golden glow... the beauty of gold on midnight blue velvet sky. He glanced at his dwelling door, before slipping back away from it.
He walked out a ways, the sand beneath his feet cool to the touch from the sky, yet felt so much hotter in comparison to his past scenery. He hugged his knees as he looked up at the celestial sky, and breathed in the cool air.
"You know, it's rather pointless, sneaking around," Khyre looked around shocked to find the source of the voice, "I mean, you're glowing..."
 Rozencard · Thu Dec 06, 2007 @ 10:23am · 1 Comments |
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