THROUGH ETERNITY
CHAPTER 3 – DRANZER
Three days went by and Tala was still sleeping, not having woken up once, which turned out to be a blessing for him because phoenixes do not attack sleeping "preys". Had he woken up, the mythological creatures would surely have tried to go after him.
However, since he was only recovering, Tala would have to wake up sooner or later, and he did just that on the fourth day. Luckily there was only Dranzer there, the other phoenixes had gone out, probably to hunt... and the red phoenix would not dare to harm the hunter, on Kai's request, unless he tried something first. So, for now, Tala was safe, if he behaved, that is.
When he began to gather his surroundings again, the redhead slowly rose from his laying position on the warm ground to an upright one, holding his head as if it would fall off if he didn't. Then, remembering he had fainted for the first time when surrounded by flames, the hunter looked at his arms and chest, where he was sure he had been burned. Amazingly, there were only a few scratches there, which would clearly disappear in 2 or 3 days.
"I must have slept for more than a day... if it's this much cured." Tala deduced.
Looking around, he saw Dranzer watching him by the entrance; not blocking it, but very close to the opening of the cave; the same opening through which a naked boy was coming through at that very instant.
"Woke up... finally!"
"How many days did I sleep through?"
"Three."
"Always a forward answer. You're not very used to speaking, are you?"
No other sound came by the bluenette's voice, so Tala simply took what the boy offered him, a literally toasted rabbit as his first meal after so long.
When he finished, the redhead thanked the bluenette and, almost with a hint of sadness, said, "I think I'm OK already. I can leave right now if you want."
"It's not me you have to be worried about, it's the others. They are out for food at the moment, so I do think you'd do best to either leave now, so as not to be noticed by them, or stay a bit more and pretend to sleep each time they show up, that way you'd be safe."
"Wow, I think that's the most I've heard you say."
"Make up your mind."
"Argh! Talk about being objective! OK, I don't mind either, but I would rather stay here a bit longer; you've got me quite intrigued and I really wish to find out more about you and your... abilities. I promise I won't do anything!" Tala said, hastily raising his arms as he pronounced the last sentence, as if surrendering himself, in an attempt of peace.
"I'll take your word, but I warn you: one, and I mean ONE wrong move and I'll have Dranzer burn you to ashes or worse!"
"Just. OK, understood. I promise I won't try anything funny... Kai."
As the hunter pronounced the other's name, having finally remembered it, Kai, to the blue-eyed boy's amazement, actually smiled... a little and almost imperceptible, but it was a smile none-the-less... and Tala found himself smiling too, except his was much more noticeable.
"Make sure the others don't see you awake, or you'll have big problems... Tala."
"OK... and, Kai, thanks."
And with that, no other words were exchanged between them as they shared the meal, a green-eyed phoenix watching each closely with different interests.
Eleven days since the Russian had come to Japan passed, and Tala was no closer to solving the mystery that was Kai than he had been when they'd first met. All the young man had gathered was that the bluenette had a strange immunity to fire and heat, communicated directly with all the phoenixes; which were about ten, including Dranzer; and had no appreciation for clothing. This last detail the hunter concluded when offering the crimson-eyed boy four different sets of Tala's own clothes and the other had promptly refused them all.
Another thing that the crystal blue-eyed boy discovered, when spying on the phoenixes without being seen, was that each of them had an element. The cool thing on his forehead when he woke up in the cave for the first time, had been his own towel, which Kai had gotten from the redhead's backpack, moistened by the Water Phoenix, Draciel, and cooled by the Wind Phoenix, Dragoon. Drigger, the Earth Phoenix, had made the ground on which he had slept a bit less rough, also keeping it warm instead of hot, so the human would be a bit more comfortable. Needless to say, Kai had asked for all of it, otherwise the creatures would have undoubtedly not done a thing to help as Tala died there.
Every time Tala went out, Dranzer would follow him, even helping him escape from the other phoenixes' sights when he'd be careless. In a way, she had become a guardian for him too... a mute guardian, until she actually decided to speak to him, that is.
Tala had been quite startled when he heard her voice in words he could understand. It was melodious, soothing and calm, but even so, it scared the stuffing out of him and he had nearly fallen off one of the many cliffs on the volcano landscape. At the time, Tala had been leaning in to spy on Kai; who was down by a sort of lava river that spread in one of the rock valleys the volcanoes formed, doing who knows what; trying to understand the 'mystery', when she had suddenly decided to speak to him, almost causing the hunter a heart attack.
"You're really curious about Kai, aren't you, human?" Had been her first words to him.
Tala, after recovering from the shock, decided to retort with a witty remark. "Obviously. How many human beings do you see that can be set on fire and will come out of it without a single burn on such an equally unique clear skin? How many human beings can actually live AND communicate with phoenixes? Have you any idea how rare it is for any of us just to catch a glimpse of one of your kind?"
At that, Dranzer gave a weak chuckle. "You still don't get it, human?" She asked, an amused tone in her beautiful voice.
"Get what? And stop calling me 'human', Dranzer! My name is Tala and you know that! Why don't you call Kai 'human' too?"
And the majestic Fire Phoenix seemed to laugh even more. When she finally came to a stop, though, her answer was a shock to the redhead. "Kai... human? I suppose from your point of view, that could be so. However, Tala, he is no more a human than you are a phoenix."
"Wha... what do you mean by that? If he's not a human, then what could he be?"
"Kai? Isn't it obvious? If you don't know, I won't be the one to tell you, it'll only put you in trouble... and, worse of all, Kai too." She replied, her voice now holding a hint of sadness in it.
"I'll be in even worse trouble if I don't bring Voltaire-sama his phoenix soon..." Tala thought to himself, knowing Dranzer wouldn't let him live another second if she knew he had that in his mind. "And he said he wanted the most special one. Which one would that be... and how to take it without being killed in the process?"
A small rumbling sound was heard and they looked to see Kai coming out of the lava, having just slipped and fell in. As if coming out of a normal river, he climbed up to the banks, shaking his head to let the lava off his hair as if it were water... and neither body nor hair was burned either.
Tala remained watching as Dranzer flew down to check her protected, brushing her wings on him as if to dust the lava off the boy, like a mother would do with her son... and she wasn't burned either.
A pleasurable sound filled the valley... Kai's laughing. The bluenette was actually laughing so adorably, his guardian tickling him with her feathers, that the hunter caught himself smiling at the scene.
And it was at that moment, at the very instant when Kai laughed, for the first time since Tala could recall, that the hunter was finally able to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
The smile disappeared from his lips... Voltaire's words replaying in his memory.
"The most special one of those extraordinary creatures..."
The redhead's knees started wobbling until it could hold him up no more... and his full weight fell on them, his hands automatically coming forward to steady himself.
"Voltaire-sama... I think... I've found... what you were asking me for. The most special one, the most special phoenix... I think... I've found it."
And a few tears escaped the crystal blue eyes, finding their way to the cold stone ground, leaving a soft mark on it... until it dried away... and was replaced with a few more.
END of CHAPTER 3 – DRANZER
--'''' A.N.: Yeah, I know, DRAMA! Sorry, I just can't help it, it's the way I write, it's the way I like things to be in books, movies, mangas and anime... I just can't help it!
Go2Hell!: And you said you'd be an angst writer if you ever got around to doing fanfiction!
Hey, it's not my fault! We don't know until we try! And, there! I've done it and that's how it turned out... pure drama! It's starting to annoy me!
Go2Hell! --'
Ne, does anyone still not get what Kai is? E-mail me if you don't, I'll tell you, because at this point, there's no problem revealing if you still haven't figured it out! Although I'm quite sure there's a specific detail you'll still have to wait a bit more to find out!
Kai õ' Which?
Not telling! D
Kai/Syaoran/Loki/Kouichi ¬¬'''''
:) Syaoran-Lover signing out!