Fire stood at the peak, her eyes staring southward towards the unknown. Towards her destination. It seemed like there were entire worlds between where she was now and where she was to go. Towards the endpoint of the quest that had been thrust upon her. She paused for a moment to think over the undertaking ahead of her—to look at the long shadows being drawn over the landscape by the rising sun—before she looked back towards the summit of the peak where the firebird had been.
The creature had entrusted her with this egg. With its offspring. With a task that could so easily end in failure.
High stakes, indeed.
Fire had watched it for a long while after it offered forward its 'reward.' She had looked it straight un the eye, full of wariness and with a distinct lack of trust. What game had it been playing at? There had to be some sort of purpose to all of this, right? Who would just cast its offspring to a stranger and hope that the requirements for its survival were met?
But there she was, standing at the summit of a strange peak, speaking to a strange myth of a creature. Who was she to judge what was reasonable or not.
Fire turned away from the summit and looks back down the mountainside that she had scaled. The egg was warm against her chest, pulled close by fabric that had tied around her.
A past version of her would have scoffed at the idea of trekking across the lands to hatch the egg of a strange and majestic creature. It was a frivolous pursuit with no real practical purpose. Yet here she was, having already scaled mountains to obtain her charge. And here she was, staring out over lands she would have to traverse.
She was filled with a sense of… purpose? Of something, anyway. She didn't know if it was that sense of purpose or if it was the warm egg against her core, but something felt ignited within her. So she descended the mountain and headed south.
---
Days had passed. Fire moved with a sense of urgency, the necessity of her task and the warmth of her charge fueling her forward. The Bluestone Mountains were behind her. The she-wolf looked out over the shining waters of the River Run, listening for a moment of the peaceful lapping of the water at the river's shore.
"Mmmmh. Well that's not somethin' you see every day, huh?"
The voice came from a limb of a nearby low-laying tree. Fire narrowed her eyes, squinting upwards at the black and white face of the raccoon that peered down at her.
"Didn't know wolves laid eggs. Been around here a lot, and I haven't seen that sort of thing in…" His head tilted from one side to the other. An expression of mocked thoughtfulness crossed his face as he continued to watch her, amused. "well forever, I guess."
The raccoon skittered down the side of the tree and settled a close distance away. His orange eyes shone in the evening light. "So. Whatcha got there? It doesn't…" his voice trailed off as he got on his toes to get a better look. As Fire stepped away in an almost defensive motion and amused expression crossed his face. "Doesn't really look like any sort of egg I've seen."
The she-wolf brushed off the question. Fire looked out over the water, gauging its depth. "What's the shallowest path across the river?" she asked curtly, stepping her front paws into the water. It wasn't cold, but it was cooler than she had wanted. The shallowest path would allow for her to keep the egg out of the water…
As her mind thought of the different possibilities (maybe the raccoon could help her adjust the egg to a position where it wouldn't get wet?) Fire became suddenly aware of how much care she had invested into this endeavor. Into this creature whose existence was depending on her success. It made for an uncomfortable feeling that settled into the pit of her stomach. She didn't like others depending on her. She didn't like depending on others. And yet here she was, taking care of this egg and asking a local raccoon for directions.
A past version of herself would have turned up her nose.
Marrow squinted at her with interest, a sly smile crossing his face. What a strange situation. "Yeah," he relented after a few moments of simply watching the wolf and her egg-child. The raccoon pointed a little ways to the right where the tops of some rocks could be seen. "You can cross on the rocks there. Careful, though, the water inbetween them is a little deep. Wouldn't want your baby to get a bath, huh?"
Fire's nose curled at him and she sent the small creature a sharp look before turning in the indicated direction. Then, despite herself and despite the amount of sour pride that had built up within her over her lifetime, she gave a reluctant
"Thanks."
---
Her paws ached. Fire felt as though she had been walking for days on end. She hadn't eaten a proper meal since she left the Bluestone, having decided that to hunt would be to put too much risk on the egg, both in time and in effort.
She was tired. She was hungry. All for this thing that she had volunteered herself for. Had the phoenix known, she wondered, that by all rights Fire was not the sort of creature that would be willing to undergo this quest? That by all rights she was anything but the sort of wolf to give up time and effort for something as frivolous as this? That she was by no means someone who would become invested in the care of another?
That's what she had told herself, anyway. That's what she had told herself ever since leaving her pack. Ever since her love for those closest to her had led to her personal downfall. Never again, Fire had vowed, would she let her care for another lead her to heartbreak.
Fire reflected on all of this as she stood there, then, at the crest of the volcano. Its heat was blistering, but the feeling of it was almost welcome to the tired and aching numbness that her days of travel had brought. Her muscles screamed and cried. Her stomach groaned. Fire felt an unreasonable weakness, as if keeping this egg alive had drawn life directly out of her.
Her eyes stared down into the heat of the volcano. The egg had to be dropped in, but when was the right time?
She had spent days and nights, one after another, in constant contact with this egg. As she walked, it remained tied to her. She slept curled around it to protect it from the cold of the night. She felt not just obligated towards it, she felt an inexplicable connection to the thing.
Had the phoenix known? Had it known that she wasn't at all the right person for this quest yet, somehow, the endeavor itself would remind her that she could be the right person? That this creature of caring, of sacrifice in the name of love, still existed within her somewhere?
Fire stared into the heat. Her heartbeat in her ears as she looked down at the egg, now set between her paws. This thing. It had brought back something within her that she long since tried to bury.
The she-wolf let loose a long, controlled breath from her lungs. It had to be dropped in at the right time. And she had to trust herself to know when that time was. This egg. The phoenix. It was as if they had known something about her that she herself wasn't capable of facing. As though they had some sort of unspoken bond.
It was a bond that she had to trust, otherwise this all would have been for nothing. And with that trust, with the weight of all her travels on her shoulder, she stared into the heat one last time.
Her eyes closed, and she tipped the egg into the fires below.
(WC: 1404)
Pandorus Sphinx
