Ag- Hello there! I know! I'm bad! But it's up now. That should be good enough. I'll try to update pt 2 next month, just don't be mad at me!
Phoenix
The giant bird looked down upon the people he once protected. The fiery feathers ruffled for a moment as he stood on the grass hill. The firebird closed his eyes before he spoke.
"You wish me gone? After the centuries I spent protecting you and your ancestors?"
"You are a beast like the others," said a man. "You say you will protect us but you may turn on us."
"Yes, I am a beast creature but I have sworn to protect you. But," sighed the phoenix, "I will honor your wishes." The bird opened his wings. "I will end my life but I will be reborn as one of you. And when you're in need of my help I will rise again."
The phoenix was engulfed in flames, burning it's self alive. When the fire left, the ground where the bird had stood was burnt, but it's body gone. Out of respect for the creature, the people built a tower over the death sight. Engraved on the wall was the tale of the phoenix. Hidden in the back of the tower these words burnt into the wall:
A boy of mortal and of beast
Heart of gold and eyes of the sea
Sunlight forever glows upon his head
A boy of mortal and of beast
Find him when in need
Fire runs through his veins
A boy of mortal and of beast
What he is, he does not know
Guard him well, chosen ones
Solitary dragon,
Silent elf,
Mischievous imp,
Emotionless mercenary
A boy of mortal you must guard
'Till mortal beast he becomes
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Quatre walked through the forest to his home, the sun shining on his golden head. His lessons with Dr. H were over for the day. Dr. H taught him in self-defense, academics, and magic. Quatre didn't really care for fighting but he had to learn it. Dr. H said that he had unusual magic abilities. One of his talents was the ability to read emotions. From the time he was young he was able to read emotions. It was so out of control that he was in pain when surrounded by crowds of people. Next came his ability to heal faster than normal. With Dr. H, Quatre was able to discover that he had a healing ability. Now he understood what happened every time he touched a wounded creature. Because of his inexperience with his power, it drained him to heal so he would fall unconscious, the animal running off.
A wolf jumped on him, causing him to fall onto his back.
Well, not all the animals he healed ran off. Fang had stayed by his side until he awoke. Even then the gray wolf did not leave. He became loyal to Quatre.
The blonde laughed as Fang's pink tongue ran across his face. "Fang, stop it." After one final lick the wolf complied. Quatre scratched Fang's head. "Let's get back before Father and Irena send Rashid to look for me."
Irena was Quatre's older sister that just loved to baby him. Rashid was a loyal servant and guard. He had been with the family for as long as Quatre could remember. He seemed to act as the boy's babysitter though.
Quatre stood and began his trek home again with Fang. Suddenly he became dizzy. His body felt as if it was on fire. These strange spells had been happening since he was a baby. But, for some reason, they were coming faster than normal and of late. Quatre fell on his hands and knees. Fang whimpered besides him.
Everything seemed to fold into darkness, the shadows watched as he suffered.
Quatre's arms collapsed, unable to hold his weight any longer. Aquamarine eyes slowly slid shut as sleep overtook him.
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Heero Yuy walked over to a tree. Cobalt blue eyes spotted a slender boy sitting on a branch. "Trowa," he called in his emotionless voice, "do you sense anything?"
An emerald eye looked at Heero, the other hidden a bang of brown hair. "Yes. There's a large magical serge up ahead."
"He's awakening then," stated Heero. Trowa merely nodded in response.
He jumped down from the tree. "Duo's coming. Wufei's not far behind."
Heero grunted in response. In moments of the elf's statement, a boy with long chestnut brown hair tied in a braid came running though the bush. He was followed by an Asian boy, black hair tied in a small ponytail, swinging a kanata.
"Come back here, Maxwell!" shouted the Asian.
"No way Wu-man!" said Duo as he ducked behind Heero, his impish tail wagging.
"Don't call me that! My name is Wufei!"
"Wufei, put your sword away. We need him to complete our mission," Heero said in a dead, commanding voice.
Grumbling, Wufei complied. Duo jumped from behind the mercenary and stuck his tongue at the dragon hybrid.
"You can kill him after our mission and I'll help." Heero turn and walked toward Trowa. "You can bruise him for the time being. But right now, we're going to find the chosen."
"Cool!" Duo bounded over, seeming to forget the threat on his life for all his pranks. Wufei followed, envisioning himself in his dragon form squashing the troublesome imp.
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Quatre opened his eyes. He felt like he was burning up. His back ached, feeling as if something was fighting its way out. He vaguely heard Fang whimper beside him. He was in so much pain. This never happened before, he thought. He felt like he was bathed in flames. Sweat trickled down his face.
"Fang," Quatre panted, "go get...help." Fang licked his master's hand before using all the strength in him to run and get help.
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Rashid walked along the dirt path that his young master would be on. He heard barking and instantly knew it was Fang. The wolf ran up to the large man and barked at him before running back the way he came. Rashid followed, fearing for his young charge.
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Quatre's back arched as he let out a painful cry. From his back sprouted fiery read wings. The wings unfurled, sprinkling the boy's blood like rain. The blonde collapsed once again, physically drained. But before his eyes closed, he watched as flaming feathered wings fell on top of his small form.
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"It's done," said Heero at the sound of the scream.
"That must've hurt," winced Duo. "Glad I'm not the chosen."
"The world is glad," muttered Wufei.
"We better go. Someone else may have heard him," Trowa said. The group ran toward the direction came from, hoping to get there before someone unwanted did."
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Rashid ran harder then he thought he could when he heard the scream. He knew it was Quatre. And he was in pain. He hoped that he wasn't too late.
When Rashid had a clear view of something that was lying on the path, he stopped. Fang ran forward to the form. A pair of red-orange wings lay across Quatre's prone form. Hazel eyes noticed spots of blood on the grass. Rashid gasped and ran to the boy.
Rashid knelt down and gently touched Quatre's back. Wet blood covered pale skin, small shreds of cloth stuck to the boy's back. The giant took a cloth from his pocket and carefully rubbed away some blood, grateful when he saw that the boy's healing ability had worked.
Rashid lifted Quatre so his head would lie on his chest. "Quatre, wake up. Quatre." He shook the boy lightly. The usually calm and composed man was confused and worried. He didn't know what to do. Should he bring the boy home or to Professor H? Before he could make a decision, four beings stepped from the trees.
The first had an air of authority. Unruly brown hair barely hid cobalt blue eyes. By the way of dress, Rashid figured he was a mercenary in his loose green shirt and dark blue pants. Black boots were slightly caked with mud. A sword hung at the boy's side in a red sheath.
To this boy's right stood an imp, dark tail scribbling in the dirt. The imp's pointed ears were barely hidden by a long braid of chestnut hair. Dressed in baggy black clothes and black boots. Violet eyes looked at the scene with sadness and understanding swirling in their depths.
The tallest of the group was an elf, his pointed ears obvious evidence. A bang of brown hair covered one emerald eye. The elf wore a thin green sweater and brown pants. A quiver of arrows was thrown over his shoulder, the bow in his hand.
The last was a foreigner. Black hair was tied in a small tight ponytail. He wore a white sleeveless silk shirt and pants, a deep blue sash was tied around his waist. Wooden sandals cover his feet. Dark onyx eyes studied Rashid as he studied him.
They all looked to be around 16 or 17, the same age as his little master. Unconsciously, Rashid clutched Quatre closer to him. He would not let these boys harm his young master.
It was the braided imp that spoke first.
"Looks like we found him," he said to his companions. The foreigner rolled his eyes at the imp for stating the obvious.
Rashid blinked. "You've been looking for Quatre?"
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The first thing Quatre was aware of was pain. His back ached. The next thing he noticed was that he was in a bed covered by a strange soft feeling blanket. The blanket strangely reminded him of feathers. Feathers?! Quatre opened his eyes and sat up, unknowingly unfurling the large fire red wings that had covered him moments before. He remembered! Was all that pain...for real? And the wings...the wings! Quatre gazed over his shoulder to see bright red and orange feathers mixed with yellow. He was afraid, yet curious. He reached out a hand to touch the feathers. Were there wings really his? But how?
"Quatre! Thank goodness you're alright!" Quatre received a fierce hug from his older sister Irena. Quatre felt as if he wouldn't be able to breathe any minute now. Irena released his before that time came. Her delicate hand made its way to stoke the wing. Quatre's eyes winded when he found he could feel her hand on the wing.
"Quatre, I've always known you were special but...this is something I never thought would happen even in my wildest dreams." Irena clutched her brother once again, burying her face in his soft golden hair.
Quatre was confused. He sensed a great sadness in his sister. Gently, he pushed her away so he could speak. "Irena, just what is bothering you? You're too upset for it to be just the wings."
Irena smiled. "My smart baby brother. Sometimes I wish you weren't empathic. At least then I could keep some secrets from you. I'll go get you some food."
"But-" Irena closed the door. Quatre sighed. He stood from his bed and made his way over to the full-length mirror that stood in the corner. He looked strange with the brightly colored wings attached to his back. They made his look paler than normal. Quatre stretched his wings out. He looked so small as he stared at his reflection. Didn't birds always seem bigger when they puffed out their feathers and stretched out their wings? He wrapped his wings around his small frame. The feathers were soft and tickled his skin.
"Hello there bird boy!" Quatre whirled around to find an imp with a long chestnut braid. The imp walked in, followed by Rashid and three other boys, one an elf.
Rashid spoke to his charge. "Quatre, please sit down." Quatre did as he was told. He sensed that something was bothering his long time guardian. It was the same feeling he felt from Irena. "These boys have something to tell you."
"Hey there. You're Quatre, ne? Mind if I call you Kat? Anyway, my name is Duo Maxwell. As you can see, I'm an imp. Heero Yuy here is an anti-social merc. He's human. Trowa Barton is the elf. He's quieter than Heero but not as anti-social. This is Wufei Chang. I call him Wu-man. He's from the dragon clan." The imp, Duo, seemed to be filled with energy, his tail wagging as he spoke. All Quatre could do was blink and try to shield against the emotions this boy emitted. How could anyone have so much energy?
The mercenary, Heero, stepped forward. "Many centuries ago, Beasts protected the human race. For reasons unknown, all but one Beast betrayed mankind. It was a Phoenix." Here, Heero paused and pierced Quatre with a cold Persian blue gaze. The blonde gulped. Somehow he knew that the Phoenix was tied not only to the wings, but to the burning pain he felt all his life. "But the people protected by the Phoenix were afraid. Even though the firebird retold his pledge of loyalty many times, the people wouldn't listen.
Wufei took up the story from there. "Realizing there was no way to convince his people, the Phoenix decided to show his loyalty the only way he could think of. The Phoenix killed itself in its own flames.
"In a show of respect for the Beast's sacrifice, the people built a shrine over the sight where the great bird died. But one thing is a part of the structure that the builders did not intend. A prophecy."
Trowa stared at the small boy and recited;
"A boy of mortal and of beast
Heart of gold and eyes of the sea
Sunlight forever glows upon his head
A boy of mortal and of beast
Find him when in need
Fire runs through his veins
A boy of mortal and of beast
What he is, he does not know
Guard him well, chosen ones
Solitary dragon,
Silent elf,
Mischievous imp,
Emotionless mercenary
A boy of mortal you must guard
'Till mortal beast he becomes"
Quatre blinked, absorbing the information. "You think I'm the human form of the Phoenix?"
"We know you are," said Duo. "Exhibit A- the wings. Exhibit B- the golden hair. Exhibit C--"
"This is ridiculous!" came a shout outside the room. Irena's quiet voice could be heard outside the room. Quatre winced. Irena must have told their father of the situation and he didn't seem to be taking it well.
Mr. Winner barged into the room. Quatre jumped a bit but still stayed seated. Duo, on the other hand, jumped a good two feet. His companions stayed silent.
Mr. Winner's blonde hair was darker than Quatre's fair locks. A mustache did nothing to hide the scowl on his face. The man was well dresses in a clean white shirt and brown pants. Angry ice blue eyes landed on his son.
Quatre had his head down, avoiding the piercing gaze. He knew his father wasn't angry with him, but the anger rolling off him was too much. He knew his father's gaze was now on the wings. The wings that -according to the four boys- belonged to the Phoenix.
So, how was that? This is my first GW fic. I hope it's okay.