How the Coonyx came to be - short story
The breeze was pleasant and warm, blowing across the rocky terrain. Elixer and Ayasha walked upon this terrain, slowly and carefully as Ayasha stumbled and faltered every so often. Elixer would laugh, a short but cute laugh. Ayasha would scratch her head and giggle with Elixer, the two laughs meshing fairly well, considering the two of them were very two different creatures. Ayasha poked the feather in her hair to be sure it had not fallen out again before taking Elixer's paw in her own and intertwining their fingers. Elixer's smiled, such a cute sweet smile making the two of them blush and nudge into each other affectionately. Ayasha stopped, her ears pricking at the sound of something high pitched and screeching in the bushes on the top of the hill. She looked over to Elixer with a curious face and ventured forward. Elixer backed away "Aya, I don't want to go... I'll meet you back home ok?" she bounded down the rocks in the hurry. Elixer was always a bit skittish after everything that she had been through. Ayasha just nodded before continuing up the hill. Her paws gripping tightly to the hard rocks, some of them causing small abrasions upon her tender pawpads. She finally reached the top and collapsed onto the soft soil, panting and gasping softly.
The sun slowly slunk towards the horizon, becoming speared by the mountains below. Ayasha lifted her head and squinted against the light which was now directly in front of her. She looked to her left to a large blueberry bush, it rustled as the peeping and squalling became louder. She pushed some of the branches aside and gasped as a large red bird looked up at her. His down feathers were matted on his little wings where a large portion of his wing was torn away and bleeding. He looked up to her and chirped desperately. Ayasha's heart went out to this creature, though she didn't know what he was. She picked him in up in her paws and groaned at his sheer size. He was a large bird, larger than any she had ever held before. She carried him down to her little cottage and immediately began to dress his wound, which appeared to be a bullet wound. His squawking stopped as she finished up and washed her paws clean of his blood. His bright yellow eyes watching her intently for a while until he became sleepy. Ayasha pet his little head and said "I shall call you Lovile." He chirped happily at this before nuzzling into his own fluff and drifted off to sleep.
In the following weeks Ayasha watched his growth and was amazed. He now stood well over her, his little fluff replaced by beautiful strong red feathers. He had long slender legs, covered in thick tough skin, his body was slender and stork-like, his neck curved beautifully and his head was peaked with a beautiful orange mane. His beak curved downward but it was flexible, malleable for he could now speak English as fluently as Ayasha and Elixer could. The beak would even curve when he smiled. Ayasha absolutely loved his smile. When he spoke he spoke softly, sweetly as if speaking to royalty. When he walked he walked with his head held high, his strong feet gripping the world beneath him as he took long graceful steps. He loved the sunlight, he basked in it when it was at it's highest. But he was a sad bird. Unsure of what he was or where he came from. One day he approached Ayasha with curiosity of his past, she felt bad that she couldn't help him more so she went to town in hopes of finding some clues to what he was.
As she was walking through a book store someone noticed the red feather in her hair and inquired about it. After hearing her story they handed her a book in disbelief and walked away. In bold black letters sprawled out 'The Phoenix'. She brought the book home and read it carefully, also in disbelief. It described Lovile perfectly. Ayasha looked over at him after reading a few pages out loud, watching his expression change from confusion, to fright, to disbelief to understanding and then anger. "I remember... I was only a child when someone shot my mother down from the sky." a tear rolled down his cheek as he stood and walked outside. He was gone for several days before he came back, his feathers messy and matted with rain. He shrugged it off as if it was nothing as Elixer wiped him down with a small towel. "Aya's asleep but she'll be very relieved to see you. She was heart broken when you left. Are you staying?" she spoke softly, as not to wake Ayasha. Lovile nodded and sat, it was almost morning and he knew Ayasha's schedule by heart. It wouldn't take long for her to awaken and see him sitting there, guilt deep within his brilliant yellow eyes "She saved my life... I owe her mine," he mumbled softly "she is my hero, she is my angel... she is my mother."
Ayasha rolled over and groaned softly, her eyes flicking open and blinking a few times, she looked straight at Lovile. She stared for a moment, her eyes clouded and then suddenly she sprung up and grabbed him with tears streaming down her face. He took a deep breath, attempting to keep his tears at bay but he couldn't, they started flowing down his cheeks and onto her shoulder. "I missed you mom." he said between sobs. They stayed like that for a while, neither of them wanting to let go for even a moment. Elixer watched from a distance, unsure of what to do or say in such a situation, she cared for the both of them but she never had the words to say. She walked to the other room to tinker with the fireplace to leave them in peace. After a few minutes they joined her by the fireplace, their faces content yet thoughtful. Lovile stared into the flames, his eyes intense and concentrated. He knew what he was now, he found out in the worst possible way. He was a phoenix. A very rare breed. Thought to be a myth for years. He shook his head to clear his mind. "I'm sorry I left mom." he said to Ayasha, she didn't respond but she leaned into his side to comfort him. They fell asleep like that, Elixer covered them in a blanket and went off to bed.
A boom shook them all awake. Ayasha jumped up and looked around curiously, her ears pricking at the sounds of several people whooping and hollering. A feint off orange glow appeared on the horizon and as it rose up over the gentle slope Ayasha made out a large group of thieves, at least 2 dozen of them heading straight towards their little cabin. Ayasha looked over at Elixer, her face somber and stern "Put as much food and gold as you can into your sachet... now!!" she started grabbing food from the cupboards and stuffing it into her own little bag as she peeked over her shoulder at the ever present glow. Elixer was quick to get everything into her bag and awaited orders from Ayasha, who seemed to hesitate slightly as she reached for a hunk of gold. "C'mon, let's head south towards Furuan. We'll be safe there." Elixer said to Ayasha, her face lit by the glow outside. Ayasha merely nodded and headed towards the back door, swift and surefooted she pushed open the door, looking both ways before sprinting out and down the hill with Elixer and Lovile hot on her tail.
After a few feet Ayasha tripped on a branch and as she fell she let out a small scream. Lovile stopped, hearing the echo of the scream bounce up the hill where the thieves were already tearing through the small cabin. Lovile ran to Ayasha's side "go on, get to the city and tell them about the thieves! GO!!" he screamed to Elixer, she nodded and bounded down the hill. Ayasha shook and shivered "why didn't you go with Lovile?" she started sobbing into the dirt, overcome by fear and pain. Lovile was silent for a moment, letting her release the negative emotions before he lifted one large wing to wrap it around her to keep her warm. The thieves roared, almost in unison, then suddenly the smell of burning wood filled the air. They started the cabin on fire. They chanted and roared as smoke rose to the deep violet sky. A few of the thieves ventured on as the others danced and bantered around the cabin, their intentions unknown. They saw Lovile in the distance and grunted their delight as they ran down towards the large creature "give us your gold," they screamed, unknowing of what exactly they were running towards. Lovile raised his head and stared at them, stopping them in their tracks "w-what is that thing?!" the smaller of the two asked, almost afraid of this large elegant creature. The bigger thief just grinned, raising his knife "Stand beast, or be slain where you lay." Lovile stood as asked, then realized his mistake as Ayasha groaned. The thieves grinned "A lovely lady...." their smiles grew sinister.
The larger thief pointed his blade at Lovile "move away from the girl if you value your life." he tilted his head and stared at Ayasha as he brought the blade closer to Lovile. Lovile was so scared, he didn't want them to hurt her or himself so he backed away obediently, only to have the blade pressed against his throat. The smaller thief laughed and walked over to Ayasha "I'll go first then eh?" He said as he grabbed her by the hair, making her scream out in pain. He pulled her hair and forced her onto her back where he promptly pulled off his shorts, revealing his hard member. Lovile's eyes grew wide "No! Don't touch her!!" he screamed and spat at these men to no prevail. The blade upon his neck cutting in ever so slightly, causing his deep crimson blood to flow upon his feathers. The small thief moved to Lovile "if you don't shut up I'll kill her..." Lovile simply glared, unsure of what to say.
The small thief grinned at Lovile's silence and moved back to Ayasha, who was trying to crawl down the hill "No you don't," he grabbed her by the ankle and dragged her, kicking and screaming, back to where she first was. He then grabbed her wrists and pulled a rope from his nap-sack, quickly tying her hands together "there, now you can't crawl away," he grinned and lifted her skirt then pulled her panties down in one swift motion before removing his own shorts and boxers "stand still now pretty lady, I don't want to hurt you." he pushed himself between her legs and pushed against her roughy. She sobbed out in pain at his motion and began pleading for him to stop and then suddenly the large thief screamed, his entire body suddenly engulfed in flames. The little thief looked over and gasped as he saw Lovile, his body glowing from within, fire streaming from his beak "let her go!!" he roared and spat fire at the thief. Immediately the thief leaped up, drawing a knife from his nap-sack he grabbed Ayasha by the hair and pulled her up to her feet, now holding the knife to her throat. Lovile quickly bounded towards them, the thief caught off guard by his speed pointed the knife to Ayasha's heart and quickly pushed the blade in.
Ayasha let out a scream, tears streaming down her cheeks as the knife pushed into her chest. Lovile grabbed the thief by the skull, pulling him away from her, she fell to her knees and cradled her chest; her paws covered in blood. The man shrieked and squirmed under Lovile's enormous talons, but Lovile held him still, the flames seeping onto the man's skin, burning him alive. The screaming stopped and Lovile dropped the lifeless corpse, quickly going to Ayasha's side. Her eyes clouded, her entire figure shaking and convulsing with shock before she collapsed onto the dirt, her eyes heavenward blinking a few times as she tried to speak. "L-lov.... Lovi-" she gasped and sobbed, her paws reached up to his elegant mane and grasped his feathers gently. Pulling his face closer to hers "I... l-love you." She said as her eyes slowly closed and as her paw flopped down onto the dirt she let out one last breath.
Lovile sobbed and shook next to her, his feathers matted down in blood and tears. Suddenly he shrieked and spread his wings wide, flames beginning to pulse out from the feathers "I am the Phoenix," he began to scream "and I will not let you die!" He raised his head looking high up into the starry sky. Chanting and sobbing softly as his heat grew and his fire became more fierce with each passing moment. One bright star shined too bright, turning red itself it floated down to Ayasha's body, lifting her off of the ground and holding her there. A ritual used only by true gods, this red star caressed every fabric of her being as Lovile burst into flames. Causing the both of them to burn down to nothing but ash. The red star buried deep within the flame glowed and suddenly a second star floated down. It molded and morphed into Lovile's form. It's wings re-forming. Lovile opened his eyes, confused at his star-like form. His wings and body now were nothing but light. He didn't have the energy to be re-born for all that energy now lie within the ashes.
He smiled "so it's true. I am a god." he said this as if he were dreaming but looking down upon the ashes his smile faded and his voice became stern "you saved my life so I will return the favor. I can not make you a full Phoenix but I can lend you my wings. Only until your earthly body can no longer be used and you are ready to join me in the afterlife. I grant you this gift, as a god... and your son. Be safe." his light-self collapsed into a little ball and soared off into the sky. After a few moments it pulsed up among the stars. The ashes smouldered and pulsed at the same pace. Suddenly in a brilliant burst of flames Ayasha's body began to re-form. And out from these flames she soared with her wings spread wide. She took flight into the sky, shrieking wildly as her wings flapped by instinct, her eyes clouded and confused as if awoken by a bad dream. She looked at her wings, realizing what had been dun, she flapped a few more times before she lost control and fell to the ground. She hit the grass with a loud thud, her body sore and abnormally warm to the touch. Her tail-tip and hair now pink, her chest-fur now adorned by soft pink down feathers. She blinked a few times, confused and afraid before her eyes became heavy. She curled her tail around herself and fold her wings in instinctively as she lay among the soft spring flowers. Her eyes glazed over and she mumbled "Lovile." then drifted off to sleep.