Summary: After being accidentally teleported away from the palace by Ryuuki, Kouyuu gets captured while in his bird form and offered for sale as a pet.

Characters: Shuurei, Ryuuki, Shuuei, Kouyuu

Author's Notes: Written for the January 2011 prompt, Gods, at the saiun_challenge LJ community. This is a sequel to The Legend of Dhalashar so I recommend reading that story first since it contains a lot of background for this AU. This AU is a crossover with the manga Genju no Seiza but knowledge of that series isn't necessary to understand the stories. In this AU, Ryuuki is the reincarnated ruler of the tiny desert kingdom of Dhalashar and Shuuei (a dragon) and Kouyuu (a phoenix) are two of the animal gods who serve him. Kouyuu and Shuuei can take on either animal forms or human forms with some animal-like characteristics; Kouyuu keeps his colorful wings in human form while Shuuei has claws, pointy ears, and snake-like eyes.

Warnings: Very AU with magical powers and animal transformations. This wasn't particularly meant to be Shuuei/Kouyuu but I guess you could interpret it that way if you want.

…

It was time for morning lessons and Shuurei was almost to the palace library when she heard a yell from Kouyuu, a yelp from Ryuuki, and a crash. Upon entering, she was greeted by the sight of the young ruler cowering slightly behind a desk carved with dragons. A heavy scroll slowly rolled across the desk's surface and a pair of finches—one white and one pied—perched on the back of the empty chair across from Ryuuki. The birds, who favored Kouyuu and often came to visit him, both directed reproachful looks at the king. Kouyuu was nowhere in sight and Shuuei was standing next to a set of shelves laden with scrolls, holding a clawed hand to his face with a sigh.

Seeing the new arrival, Ryuuki forgot about the birds and hurried to her side, almost tripping over his purple draperies in the process. "Shuurei!" He smiled as if he hadn't seen her for days although in reality, it had been scarcely an hour.

"Ryuuki, is everything okay?" Shuurei looked around uncertainly. 'Where is Lord Kouyuu? I thought I heard his voice."

Shuuei gestured towards the chair with the birds. "He was here but the king teleported him away again."

"Again? This has happened before?" According to the guardian beasts, Ryuuki had trouble controlling his magical powers but this was the first time Shuurei actually encountered an instance. It had only been a week since she arrived in Dhalashar and was she was still slowly getting used to her new role as the Holy King's Priestess.

The dragon walked over to the two as he explained. "It used to happen a few times a week; nearly all of us have been teleported away at some point but Kouyuu is usually the target. Sometimes, just across the room. Other times, to a foreign kingdom." He turned a palm upwards and conjured a crystal ball. "This has been the first time since you arrived. You've had a calming effect on His Holiness's powers and we were hoping those days were over."

"I didn't mean to do it! I thought he was going to hit me with that scroll!" Ryuuki protested lamely as the finches flew over and gave his bare arms a few pecks before choosing a new perch atop a bookcase. "Ow!"

Shuuei gently admonished him as the birds made noises of agreement. "That's exactly the problem: you never mean to. You must learn to not let your powers go off like that, Your Holiness. It's dangerous because we never know where you'll send us, especially for Kouyuu with his poor sense of direction." Concentrating on the missing guardian beast, he gazed into the crystal in his hand.

Shuurei had never seen the dragon use these powers before and watched in fascination as an image of the lost tutor came into focus; he appeared to be ranting to himself in an alleyway. "You're able to locate people like this? Can you tell where Lord Kouyuu is?"

"Only if that person is willing to be found." The dragon scrutinized the background, looking for clues. "I believe he's in the capital city of a neighboring kingdom. It'll take me a couple of hours to find him and come back." The orb vanished and he bowed to Shuurei and Ryuuki before leaving. "Priestess, please stay with His Holiness and help him study the scroll on the desk until we return."

…

Kouyuu fumed behind the lacquered wooden bars of his prison. This is all that stupid king's fault! When I get back to the palace, I'll assign him so much work that he'll have nightmares about being buried in books! He had changed to his animal form to fly back to the palace. But before he could even find his way out of this confusing city, some human had thrown a sack over him and carried him off to the town's bustling marketplace where goods ranging from the mundane to the exotic were being traded. Apparently, he qualified as the latter since he was now in a bird merchant's largest and most elaborately carved cage, being offered for sale as a pet!

The bird god pecked indignantly at the cage door, trying to undo the latch with his beak but the vendor noticed and shooed him back, lashing the door securely shut with a bit of string and several knots. Kouyuu flapped his wings in agitation at this possible escape route being blocked. Although it might have been tempting to summon a flock of birds to attack the merchant, it wouldn't get him out of the cage and he didn't actually want to hurt the human; after all, he had lived for years believing he was a normal human himself and knew they only saw him as a brightly colored pheasant with extra-long tail feathers.

"Ooh, what a pretty bird!" A giggling girl leaned close to the cage but jumped back when Kouyuu squawked at her. Similar exchanges continued for some time since there seemed to be a constant stream of people passing by the display of birds, most of them female.

Kouyuu was not pleased with the attention. I can't just sit here and be gawked at by stupid women all day! I have to get back to the palace! He watched as a girl bought a small bird and left the vendor's stall, happily cooing to it.

An unpleasant idea started to form in his mind and he tried to push it away but it was persistent; Shuuei was always telling him that he shouldn't dismiss women so quickly and it seemed just like the kind of idea that he would come up with. The merchant isn't going to let me get away but if some frivolous girl buys me, she'll likely be careless enough that I'll have the opportunity to escape... The phoenix groaned and reluctantly admitted to himself that it was probably a better alternative than just waiting to be rescued. That annoying dragon god always came looking for him after these incidents and had the tendency to remember embarrassing things. If Shuuei finds me like this, he'll be sure to laugh and tell everyone once we get back to the palace! At least, if he managed to escape on his own, he could pretend that the humiliation of trying to appeal to one of the women enough to be bought never happened.

Kouyuu supposed that singing would be the type of thing that silly women would like but he'd never had reason to try before as a phoenix. He opened his beak experimentally but what came out was a harsh squawk, which caused several passersby to stare. Embarrassed, he averted his eyes. If he had been in human form, his face would have been as red as his robes and it took him a few minutes before he got the nerve to try again. After a few choked noises, he managed to produce some more pleasant sounds as his bird instincts took over. He was too embarrassed to look but he could tell he was attracting a crowd from the chatter of feminine voices.

"What a beautiful song!"

"And its feathers are so bright!"

"It would be wonderful if I had such a pretty bird to sing me lullabies!"

"Ooh, I wish I could afford to take him home with me!"

Kouyuu choked mid-note when he heard a familiar masculine laugh. Gah! Why did he have to arrive now?

"Well, this bird certainly seems popular with the ladies. I must have him!" Shuuei spoke to the eager merchant for a few moments and handed over a heavy pouch of coins. He carried off the large cage, followed by envious looks from the ladies.

"He must be buying it for his lover. Lucky girl!"

As they left the marketplace, Shuuei chuckled and quietly teased the bird. "So, Kouyuu, I see that you're finally taking my advice about women. And so boldly, too! Wooing a whole group of female admirers at once! It's not so bad, is it?"

Kouyuu replied angrily, his words perfectly understandable to Shuuei but sounding like mere squawks to human ears. "It's not as if I actually wanted to have anything to do with those women! I just wanted a chance to escape!" They had reached a much quieter section of the town and the phoenix was growing impatient. "And aren't you going to let me out? I've been cooped up in this cage for nearly an hour!"

The dragon grinned. "Release you? Why would I want to do that when you get lost so easily and I just paid a hundred gold coins for you?" He winked at the bird. "As my new pet, I expect you to sing lullabies for me."

Kouyuu's feathers bristled. "I am not singing you to sleep! I am most certainly not your pet! And I do not get lost easily!" If he were in his human form and not locked in a cage, he would have thrown something at that infuriating man.

And so, the bantering continued until they left the city and Shuuei changed to his animal form to fly back to Dhalashar.

…

Shuuei peered into the palace library to find Shuurei and Ryuuki reading over the scroll together with the finches watching. "We're back." He entered, still carrying the birdcage, and crossed the room to place it on the desk.

Kouyuu's mood had not improved at all after spending the trip back to the palace in the cage, dangling from the dragon's claws. He glared darkly at Ryuuki.

"Eep!" Ryuuki cringed, both from Kouyuu's glare and a new bout of pecking from the finches after they saw the state the bird god was in.

Shuurei gasped. "Lord Kouyuu! Why are you in a cage?" Although he was in his animal form, she could easily picture a tiny version of an angry human Kouyuu sitting on the perch with arms crossed and wings flapping in distress.

"A human captured him and was selling him as a pet," explained Shuuei. "I had to pay a hundred gold coins to get him back."

"A hundred gold coins!" Shuurei looked aghast at this sum; it was more than most earned in a year! She stood up, turning to Ryuuki with her hands on her hips and a scolding tone. "Your Holiness, you should apologize immediately. Both to Lord Kouyuu for getting him into this situation with your carelessness and to Lord Shuuei for causing him to spend such an outrageous amount! Have you already forgotten your promise to learn how to use your powers properly and become a good ruler?"

Seeing Shuurei's displeasure, Ryuuki apologized zealously. "I'm sorry, Shuurei! I'm sorry, Kouyuu! I'm sorry, Shuuei! I promise I'll be a better student!"

As Shuurei continued to lecture Ryuuki on being more careful with his powers, Shuuei leaned close to the cage and severed the string binding the door with one of his sharp nails. "Sorry for not doing this sooner, Kouyuu. I thought the king needed to see the consequences of his actions." He undid the latch and opened the door.

Kouyuu flew out, glad to be free of his prison and returned to human form in a poof of smoke. He crossed his arms, still a bit irritated. "If that was your intention, you should have said so earlier instead of spewing nonsense."

"Nonsense? But, Kouyuu, I did rescue you," Shuuei reminded him, grinning. "I expect at least a few lullabies…"

"No." The scholar glared at him.

"Then, how about some love songs?" Shuuei asked with a wink.

"Absolutely not!" The phoenix grabbed the nearest scroll and hurled it at the dragon who just caught it and laughed.

...

Author's Notes: Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this story, reviews would be appreciated. This AU continues in The Purple Ribbon and Magical Mishaps. And I've started on some fanart for this AU; check my profile for details.