Fireflies and Moonlight {open}

[由 Yuna 奈]

The moon shone down upon a clearing that held almost nothing of interest to humans. The clearing was small, and consisted almost entirely of a small pond surrounded by flowers. No, humans didn't care about things like this...well, not any humans that the guardian of the forest had ever seen anyway.

As the moon shone onto the flowers a twinkle of lights appeared above them, before they slowly bloomed. A smile appeared on the face of a green haired woman who watched silently from the branch of a tall sycamore tree. She leaned against the trunk, her legs dangling over the branch. Her long white dress was made of thin material, almost to the point of being translucent. As she watched fireflies began to fly around the pond, some occasionally dipping down so that they touched the water.

"So beautiful..." the woman, Laurel, whispered. This was her favorite time of day, when everything was at peace and there was nothing to disturb the balance of nature.

But sadly, the peace was to be interrupted on this evening... a rogue boar demon crashed through the trees to her left, barging into the clearing and trampling the flowers as it went to get a drink. Laurel's eyes widened, and she froze as it's head snapped up and it began to sniff the air. The Nature Guardian shivered as it took a few steps toward the tree that she was in, sniffing the air again.

Laurel was no fighter, and if it found her she was in trouble... she could make herself invisible and escape, but.... Her eyes flicked to the flowers that were being destroyed and her heart clenched. She couldn't just leave.... but what could she do? Just then the boar lunged at the tree. She felt herself falling, but could do nothing. She managed to make a turn in the air so she landed a few feet away from the demon, but when she tried to stand, she felt a jolt of pain.

As the demon charged toward her she let out a cry, clenching her eyes closed as she prepared for the impact.

[Kye]

A beautiful cry rang out through the night.

In a flash of fire a large Phoenix appeared out of the heavens. His crimson and gold wings shone with an incandescent light. With another cry he swooped down towards the pair below on the ground. He latched his huge talons around the boar demon, a second before it would have gored the lady, and with a mighty flap of his wings he bore it into the sky.

A brief flash of fire and the demon was no more.

The mysterious bird of fire then turned and flew back down to the moonlit meadow. It alighted on the branch of the tree above the fallen lady, staring down at her with it's deep amber eyes. A little blood was embedded in it's heat-lit feathers and it calmly began to preen itself.

"You are safe now." A deep, ancient voice sounded out

[由 Yuna 奈]

When the blow never came Laurel opened her eyes and watched in shock as a phoenix appeared, killing the boar. How.... had it known? And now it was speaking? She knew that such creatures existed of course, but she had never seen one before in her life. She had heard a legend that seeing a phoenix was good luck, but... was it really? Under these circumstances the woman wasn't really sure if that could possibly be true. Well, technically she had seen the boar first, so... maybe a phoenix was good luck.

"I... thank you," she responded, not at all bothered by speaking to an animal, something that she had done so many times over the years. "If you hadn't come along I would be...." She shuddered as her eyes landed on the blood on the wings of the phoenix. She would be just like the boar was now... Biting her lip she tried to stand, but once again was overcome with a jolt of pain.

Looking down at her ankle she frowned. She must have hurt it when she fell... How was she supposed to do her job with this? There was no way she would be able to guard the forest if she was hurt. It wasn't as though she could heal herself... she didn't possess that kind of power. Not wanting to worry the magnificent creature that had saved her she looked back up at it and smiled faintly. "If... you don't mind my asking... what are you doing here? I've never seen a phoenix in this forest before..."

[Kye]

The Phoenix finished cleaning himself, the blood turning to ash on his heated tongue. Then he turned his full attention to the Lady below.

"I have been in this world for some time now. There is much evil afoot and i am one of many who patrol the Heavens to purge the land of it. It was fortunate that I decided to look a bit farther then usual in my rounds this morning. I fear that boar would have killed you.....and it is not i my ability to return a soul from death."

He looked over her form, his penetrating eyes sweeping to and fro before locking on her legs. His beak frowned and he hopped off the tree and fluttered down until he next to her.

"You are injured, though i'm not sure how. I was sure the demon boar never touched you. Though this is something i can help with."

He stretched one shimmering wing out over her injured leg. He gave it a soft shake and a fine, gold powder fell from his wing and onto her wound. He continued doing such for a few seconds, until his wing began to lose some of it's luster, and he then stopped

"That should take away your pain and heal you before long. Though, my supply of Sacred Ash is limited so i don't use it too often. All Phoeni are born with it and I am the last of my race."

[由 Yuna 奈]

Laurel didn't completely understand what he was talking about, but whatever he did to her ankle definitely worked. She lightly squeezed it, felt no pain, and stood, shifting from foot to foot to make sure it really was fine. She was pleasantly surprised to find that it seemed to be as good as normal.

However, this is also when his words seemed to take meaning to her. A worried expression swept over her face as she stared at him. "Are... you going to be alright? You used a lot of that dust on my injury..."

She nibbled on her lower lip, a nervous habit she had developed at some point. She wasn't entirely sure why she was nervous. There really wasn't a need to be. And yet... she still was, despite what she told herself. Closing her eyes she bowed deeply. "I really am sorry for all the trouble I have caused you." Here she laughed, although it was entirely humorless. "Gods, I'm a guardian, but I can't even keep protect myself, let alone the forest."

[Kye]

He raised an eyebrow. Was she serious?

"I? I will be fine. I've live a long existence as it is and my Ash will last me a long time to come i am sure. It does replenish slightly when i am revived. Something's that's happened more then once in my era."

'A Guardian, eh?' He thought to himself. Since she said she was protecting the forest he would assume she was a Nature Guardian of some sort. Maybe Ground or Grass or even Bug type. But...no, that only applied to the Elemental Guardian Angels. He was sure she wasn't one of those. There had never been mention of any other Guardians on duty in this time. So...she was a different type.

What exactly was this place, for that matter? He'd never seen anything like it. The moonlight casting it's glow on the still lake. The freflies dancing upon the water's surface. The trees everywhere. This place seemed ancient....timeless....beautiful.

"Even the greatest of warriors will sometimes need help." He assured her. "May I ask how long you've been here?"

[由 Yuna 奈]

"How....long?"

Kneeling, Laurel touched a finger to one of the flowers that had been crushed by the stampeding boar. A few seconds later it sprang back up, looking as beautiful as it ever had. A smile came to her and she sighed. Yes, how long indeed? She no longer knew how long she had been in this world... after the first hundred years or so she had just stopped counting. When you live for an eternity age means nothing, and she had been protecting nature since her birth.

"I'm not sure," she admitted, feeling foolish. Touching another flower, she revived it as well, before picking it and holding it up to sniff. Burying her nose in the soft petals she breathed their wonderful aroma deeply. "At least... at least a few thousand years, I believe... I have lost count of how many years have gone by..."

[Kye]

He frowned. To have lived so long to forget how much time passed....and to do it alone. He could scarcely imagine such suffering.

"Several thousand years....and yet...the forest yo so guard is still in such wonderful shape. I feel you must have done quite an admirable job for it to be such beautifully preserved after all this time."

He gave off a mournful cry for many lost years. He himself had been alone for so very long. Even though he had several close friends now...as the last of his race he was still so alone in the world. But, maybe......in another time...another galaxy perhaps.

"I am Nix." he said with a smile, bowing deeply to her in kind. "Nix Firan."

[由 Yuna 奈]

Laurel felt herself jump a little when he let out a cry. She had definitely not been expecting one, and he had surprised her. She lowered the flower in her hands and stood, letting her power wash over the rest of the flowers, letting them all once again return to life. This was the only reason why the forest still looked as beautiful as it did... she was able to return anything that was killed to life, making the forest look the same as it did for thousands of years.

"But is this a gift? Or a curse...." She raised her eyes to meet his and smiled sadly. "Sometimes I wonder..." Taking a step toward him her smile brightened. "I'm Laurel, and as you already know, I am the guardian of this forest."

[Kye]

Nix returned her smile.

"Laurel..... If I may say so, that is a beautiful name. It is an honor to meet you. I do believe you are the first Forest Guardian i have ever seen. Though......not necessarily the first Guardian."

He looked around again. A lot of the flowers and plants had been dead not too long ago. No doubt a side-effect of the recent demon attack. Though...now, they were bright and revitalized once more. This must be just one of Lady Laurels powers. No wonder the forest had stayed so preserved over all these eons.

"I know not rather this is a curse or gift. Perhaps it's both. Either way....its who you are. It makes you real. I like that about you."

[由 Yuna 奈]

The guardian woman felt herself blush when he complimented her name. She had always thought it a plain one, with absolutely nothing special about it whatsoever. It didn't even really matter to her what her name is, since she hardly ever even uses it. The animals that she spoke with never called her by it--they always called her something like 'two-legger', 'lady' or 'guardian'. But that had always been fine with her. Only a few of the animals she had known over the years had called her by her given name, and they were all long dead.

"Us forest guardians are not very special," she said softly. "We're everywhere. If I am the first one you have seen, than it is because the others were all in hiding." She smiled lightly. "That is something that most of us like to do."

She looked at him curiously for a moment, wondering what other sorts of guardians he had come across. She knew there were others of course, but she had never met one. She hadn't even met any other forest guardians... the only reason why she knew so much about them was because of what traveling animals had told her. Finally she smiled. "I thank you, Nix... your words are so kind."

[Kye]

"Kind, you say?" Nix asked. "i only speak the truth. Us Phoeni warriors are not known to lie nor to be harsh in our conversations."

Nix looked closely at Laurel. He thought for a second that he'd seen her blush. But, he must have just been seeing things. He surely wasn't that handsome in his Phoenix form. Thee were few mortal females that would fall for a bird, Mythic or otherwise.

Unless she was embarrassed about his comment on her name. Which would make some sense. She can't have had too many mortal visitors to this plane. He highly doubted that many animals would bother addressing her given name, let alone complimenting it.

"I see. Well you are special to me. I have met many people of power who do their given job to the best of their abilities. I've met very few who ever actually seemed to care. Who actually enjoyed what they were doing and took heed not to step on the feelings and emotions of those beneath them in status and strength. You strike me as one of those few. "

[由 Yuna 奈]

Was that really true? Did she care about this world? Yes she did, although not all of the time. At times she became far too upset with her own status to care about what she did. But most of the time she did care, more than anything. She wanted to see this world thrive in beauty, not in hate and destruction like it seemed to be doing.... humans and demons alike.... very few actually cared about what happened to the planet, as long as they themselves were happy.

"Yes, I do love this world.... but at times it is hard to, when there are always those trying to destroy the beauty in the world." She smiled and shrugged. "But if there weren't those who wish to destroy, there would also not be those who wish to build."

Her dark blue eyes surveyed Nix carefully as she spoke, her thoughts confused. There was something about him that she didn't understand.... he was an animal, but not an animal. A phoenix, but something else as well. Whatever it was, it intrigued her. "If you don't mind my asking... are you more than you appear?" She flushed, realizing how strange that must have sounded. Being used to talking only with animals that spoke very few words not in their own tongues really did make conversing with anyone more intelligent than them difficult.

"W-well, what I mean is... I have never seen anyone quite like you before... your appearance is that of a phoenix, but there is just something about you that is not at all animal." She hesitated, biting her lip. "Am I....wrong?" she asked uncertainly.

[Kye]

Nix nodded in agreement. Her words were sad.......but, very true.

"Indeed a lot of people are like that. For every person of pure-heart there seem to be at least two more of dark nature. They take out there anger and frustration on the world around them. but, even if they are all stopped....the pure ones left may lose their drive to advance. They may stop caring and , in turn, feel the void left by the vanquished darkness.

He had been staring deep into the void as he spoke, these past few minutes. But, he turned to face her, with a small frown upon his beak, at her sudden question.

"Something....more? I suppose one could say that. Truthfully, all Phoeni are born with three abilities. Our first is to to change our size. We can be as large as an average-sized mortal, as I currently am, or we can be as small as a hummingbird, as well as anything between. This helps us to fly though the skies undetected by most.

Our second ability is to become a statue. We can do so at any size and still move a little without changing back. Our statue forms are hard to break. But, rather for defense, it helps us to remain hidden should we find ourselves cornered. There are very few who have ever expected a statue to be something more.

I think our third ability is what you would find the most interesting, Lady Laurel." Nix chuckled, his sharp beak curving into a smile. "It is our power to take the shape of a mortal. We can only take one shape, which is determined by our own souls at birth. These forms have always helped us to walk normally amongst other mortal beings, so as to learn their culture, befriend them, and in some cases even to marry them. I shall show you my form."

Nix's body was suddenly engulfed in a controlled, albeit large pillar of flames. The heat alone was almost enough to wilt the grass, but Nix controlled that as well. The fire vanished as suddenly as it had come a few seconds later. In the place where the bird has perched, a tall man now stood.

He was Caucasian in race and still male in gender. His long hair fluttered around his neck, as fiery-orange as the flames that made up his soul. His eyes shone with a deep amber that spoke of great age. His body was almost completely devoid of feathers. He had six feathers coming out of his back, almost like wings. They were so pale they were spirit-like, yet alive like fire. He also had a crown of feathers around the front and side of his head.

He was well-toned and also nearly nude. The only clothing he wore was a dark, mandarin loincloth, nearly as pale and see-through as the feathers on his back. It was neatly wrapped around his waist and came down to below his knees.

[由 Yuna 奈]

What in the Gods name was he speaking about? Changing sizes? Turning into a statue? All of the things that he explained made no sense whatsoever to her. They were foreign, and she doubted that she would ever really understand, no matter how much he tried to explain. Perhaps she really had been living in solitude for too long, and that was why she didn't understand what he was speaking of... or perhaps it was just something that so few had seen, that it would have been impossible for her to know of it either way.

She was more prone to believe the second, because she doubted that many mortals knew of the existence of Phoeni, let alone had even seen one. And the ones who had would probably not believe what they had seen. But that was jut how mortals were... if something was strange to them, or didn't make any sense to them, they would just dismiss it and pretend as though they had never seen it in the first place.

And then he explained the third part, where Phoeni could take the form of a mortal. At this her eyes widened. That wasn't really possible, was it? Mentally shaking her head she wondered where that thought had come from. Well, she knew where it had come from.... it was just that this was all so strange. She had never heard of such a thing being possible. But then, she had not heard of many things, so that did not mean that it was impossible.

When his body was engulfed in flame the first thought that came to her was that she needed to protect the forest from burning down. But then she realized that he was being careful to not destroy anything, and she sighed in relief. She did understand that fire was necessary in small amounts, but should it somehow get out of control, it could so easily burn down the entire forest. And even her power would not be able to revive it then. And that was why it made her nervous.

Realizing that the transformation had ended, Laurel blinked a few times to clear her vision, and immediately froze. She felt her mouth go dry and her face flush. For all intents and purposes, he was most certainly a mortal. And... a very attractive one at that, although... well, that part she couldn't be certain of, seeing as how she had really not seen all that many before.

Swallowing hard she took a step toward him, her eyes alight with curiosity. This was...remarkable. If she didn't already know better, and if he were wearing more clothing -- No Laurel, do not lower your eyes, do not lower your eyes -- she would be certain that he was indeed a human man.

"This is...amazing..." she murmured, staring at him in awe. "I did not know such a thing was possible." Stopping a few feet in front of him she hesitated. The urge to reach out and touch him was strong, but she managed to keep herself from doing so.