Phoenix Fire || Fairy Tail [1]

𝐱𝐥. 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐨𝐧 {𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝}

𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙜: 𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙧𝙮 𝙗𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙩. 𝙨𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙚
❛ ... ❜

◊

"Hey... I just realised something..." Lucy trailed off, her hand resting on her chin. "Doesn't the child seem familiar?"

"Rose." Cylene confirmed. "I only just realised. They look the same- dark hair, the same skin tone, but the kid had brown eyes, and Rose's are red."

"Maybe something happened to change their colour? It isn't too farfetched..." Erza suggested. "Though if the lacrima is Rose's, I wonder why she just left it on the floor... she doesn't seem like the kind of person who would do that."

"Not to mention, I've never seen that lacrima before." Cylene gazed at the orb with sharp eyes, her expression strangely serious. "I doubt she wanted anyone to see this."

There were quiet murmurs of agreement.

Lucy interrupted them. "As curious as I am, it feels wrong to go through this stuff without her permission."

"It's true. Despite how she acts, it's obvious that she's hiding quite a lot from us. While I don't believe we should watch this, I also think that if we do we might be able to understand her better." Cylene's head drooped. "Even though we're so close, I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of her story."

Erza crossed her arms. "In that case, let's put it down to a vote. Who wants to watch?"

Everyone raised their hands/paws.

"I feel like this is wrong, but I want to help Rose-san, too," Wendy laced her fingers together, gazing at her lap. "We're her guildmates, so I want her to rely on us more."

Gray nodded. "She might be a bit frustrated, but she'll understand."

"She helped us during the fight with the dragons, so it's time for us to return the favour." Sting grinned.

"Then it's decided. We'll continue to watch the lacrima."

◊

Young Rose was curled up in the corner of what appeared to be a massive nest, woven together with feathery down and various 'nest-worthy' materials. The nest itself was perched on a mountaintop but had been carefully placed in such a manner that it was not exposed to the elements.

Due to the phoenix being the same size as a dragon, the nest was massive- carefully padded and woven together with feathery down inside a bowl-like hollow in the ground.

Rose looked worse for the wear- her dress was torn and dirty, her hair knotted, and her face smudged with grime and dust. There was a shadow which fell over the girl, who immediately shrunk away from the approaching figure- the phoenix.

The massive phoenix held what appeared to be an entire bush of berries in her beak, which she carefully set down on the floor of the nest a little away from the child. Rose snuck a glance at the bush, before curling back up in her corner of the nest.

The creature seemed distressed by the girl's unwillingness to eat, or even communicate.

It had been days since she had taken her from the ruined village, and the lack of nutrition together with her refusal to rest properly would have an awful effect on her health.

The phoenix made a movement which seemed oddly like a sigh, and began to shuffle about the nest. The massive creature's wings were neatly folded in, the brilliant golden-red plumage set alight by the sun's rays.

A small pit had been positioned at the centre of the nest, with a stack of branches, leaves and wood neatly piled in it. With a breath, the phoenix had set the wood on fire.

A warm glow danced across the floor of the nest as the flames caught onto the wood.

Rose watched the phoenix's movements carefully, as if she expected the creature to attack her at any moment. She seemed to have gotten over her parent's death after days upon days of sulking, but now she wasn't sure what to do.

The child doubted she would be able to escape, considering that the phoenix always had an eye on her. Besides, where would she go? Her parents were dead, and her village had been razed to the ground.

The girl sat up, rubbing her swollen eyes tiredly. Her face was blotchy after days of crying, with dirt and grime smeared across it in an unpleasant manner.

The phoenix had noticed her movement but made no move to discourage her. Instead, the being spread her wings and took to the air- leaving the girl behind. The phoenix rose sharply through the skies, before disappearing into the clouds.

Rose stared at the phoenix with eyes that were filled with awe, before returning her gaze to the fire pit at the centre of the nest. Uncertainly, she shuffled closer, her eyes fluttering shut as she enjoyed the warmth of the fire.

After a few minutes of sitting beside the fire, the girl's stomach began to snarl angrily. Rose clutched at her stomach in pain, her eyes lingering on the bush of berries which the phoenix had left behind.

Rose got up from her seat on the floor and paced across the nest to the bush. Now that the child looked closer, she realised that the berries were actually mulberries.

She reached out and plucked one of the berries, cautiously taking a small bite. Her face lit up as she realised that the berries were in perfect condition (besides a few bruises), and unrestrainedly began to stuff her face.

The bush was covered in clusters of the berries, which she ate happily. After about half an hour of stuffing her face, the child was satisfied.

Rose wiped her face of the berry juice, her eyes falling on a small dip in the stone wall beside the nest, which was filled with rainwater.

Seizing the chance whilst she had it, the girl ripped the edge of her dress away and used it as a make-shift towel- soaking it with water and cleaning the grime which coated her skin away with it.

Feeling a bit cleaner, she began to untangle her hair- pulling twigs and leaves away from it and attempting to pull the knots apart with her fingers. Eventually, she was finished and began to pour water on her hair by using her hands as a cup.

Although it wasn't very effective, it was enough to get the job done. Most of the dirt in her hair had been washed away, and after shefinished she had sat down by the fire and begun to dry her hair out.

Her gaze travelled to the sky when a massive shadow fell over her.

The phoenix had returned.