Chapter 7 - Lumi I’m suddenly falling, down, down, down, until I hit the ground. Thankfully, as always, it’s covered in snow. I’m in a ravine, lying on a cliff. I step forward, and find myself falling again. On instinct, my wings shoot out and I flap back to the ledge. There’s a cave, and Ember is sitting outside of it. I open my mouth to give her a big telling off, but she shushes me. “Come here.” She whispers and slowly walks into the cave. I follow her warily. Inside, a Phoenix with deep blue feathers is curled up on a nest made of slimy grass looking things. In a separate nest, a Phoenix with deep green and brown feathers is snoring slightly. A blush creeps up my face as I notice that he’s kind of cute. Ember has an evil glint in her eyes. “Let’s wake them up.” She says, and pokes the green and brown one. “Hey, don’t do that!” I protest. The phoenix wakes up with a jolt. “Aah! Help! I’m on fire!!!” He yells, probably seeing Ember’s natural fiery frame. I giggle. “Hi!” I say with a wave. “I’m Lumi, and this is my sister, Ember!” He stares at Ember’s bright red feathers. Then his gaze turns to me. “Are you… a Snow Feather?” He asks me in disbelief “Well duh, Sherlock,” I say. “We’re not extinct!” Ember rolls her eyes. “Who’s that?” She asks, nodding to the blue phoenix. “Who? Oh, that’s Kai.” The green and brown one says. The blue phoenix is awake, and he’s studying Ember cautiously. It’s my turn to roll my eyes. The green and brown one reaches out and pokes Ember. “Woah.” He says. “You're hot!” I stifle a giggle. Ember covers her face with her wings. The green and brown one realizes what he said and flushes. “She’s a Flame Feather, dummy! They all have natural heat!” I say, still giggling. “Who are you?” Ember asks bluntly. “I’m Rowan, and this is Kai,” Rowan says. I stare at Rowan. He flushes again. “I… already said that… didn’t I?” I laugh. Kai is still staring at Ember, and she sends a burst of fire in his face. I shake my head. Ember can be so petty sometimes.
CONT.: “Well, how are you here?” I ask Rowan. “This is Snow Feather territory, you should freeze!” “How is never as important as why,” Ember and Kai mumble in unison, then stare at each other. Kai clears his throat. “I uh… read that in a book someplace.” Ember studies Kai carefully, as if she’s reappraising him. Well, well, well, this is going to be so much fun!! I think to myself excitedly. Rowan looks at the two, then back at me. “It’s a long story.” He replies, and shuffles around a bit, almost like he’s embarrassed. “Tell us.” Ember pokes his chest. “Okay, okay! Jeez,” Rowan backs out of Ember’s range, then looks at me like, is she always like this? I shrug in reply. “Well, it all started when I went for a drink by the Emerald River. I…” He trails off. “Keep going,” Ember says. “I fell into the river when I slipped on a patch of mud. I… can’t exactly swim, so I drifted along the current, hanging onto a log so I wouldn’t drown. When the river reached the sea, the branch was torn away from me. I was drowning, and the last thing I saw was a flash of blue.” “He would’ve died if I didn’t save him!!!” Kai interrupts. “He was really hard to rescue- he had seaweed and all sorts of stuff all over his body. I pulled him onto land. I saw a huge mountain, and Rowan woke up a few minutes later. We flew up the mountain, and stopped here for the night! And now, we’re here, explaining our story to you!” He finishes, almost accusingly, and takes a deep breath. It kind of reminds me of Ember. “Wow.” I say. “Yeah, that about sums it up.” Rowan replies. I suddenly have an idea, and I pull Ember aside. “Ember, these phoenixes could be the ones from the prophecy!” I whisper excitedly. “It’s not real,” Ember denies it after a second. But I catch her moment of hesitation. I mean what are the chances that an Earth Feather and a Sea Feather are here, in our mountains, and probably about the same age as us? Very low. It’s like the fates brought us here together to fulfill the prophecy! I walk back over to Kai and Rowan, leaving Ember standing in the entrance. “Hey, are you guys different from your tribes?” I ask. Both stare at me. “What do you mean?” Rowan says. “Do you have, like, powers that no one in your tribe except you has?” I rephrase. Kai opens his mouth as if to say something, but then closes it. “Nope,” he says. I tilt my head sideways. “Okkkayyyy,” I draw out the word. “Rowan, what about you?” I turn my gaze towards him. He says something, but I don’t catch it. Whoa, I think. His eyes look like warm chocolate. Ember flicks her wing in front of my face. “Yoo-hoo, daydreamer,” She says teasingly. I feel my face heat up, which is pretty stupid, since I’m a Snow Feather, and I look down. “Well, it’s a little hard to explain, but I can kinda sorta talk to plants?” Rowan says weakly. “What do you mean?” Ember inquires. “Trees… talk to me, and I can kinda answer back? I can’t make them grow, I can’t change what they are, the only thing I can do is talk to them. It’s a stupid ability.” He finishes hurriedly. I’m impressed. “That’s not stupid, I think it’s really cool!” I tell him. “It’s a great ability.” Rowan blushes. I notice he does that a lot. Especially when I’m talking to him. The thought makes me flush a deep blue, so I look in a different direction. Then I notice Kai is yawning, and suddenly I’m really tired. Ember’s eyelids are drooping, and Rowan’s head is resting on his wings. “I’m tired.” I say, and curl up on the floor. Ember hangs back, but curls up next to me, near the wall. “Goodnight.” I say sleepily, and I hear murmured responses from the others. I fall asleep, and my dreams are filled with happy memories of Ember and I, flying, without a care in the world.
