Close Together Yet Far Apart (Firewind)

Chapter 6- Fallen Spirit...?

Surely enough, Fire Spirit came back.

Wind Archer was resting on a branch when he heard someone calling his name. It seemed to be coming from under the tree. He immediately knew who it was, and his mood was ruined instantly. He covered his ears, trying to ignore it.

"Wind Archer! HEY! WIND ARCHER!"

And he said that over and over again until Wind Archer had enough. He jumped down from the tree, clearly annoyed and pissed off.

"Can you please shut the FUCK up. And how on earthbread did you find me?"

"I just kinda walked into the forest aimlessly until I stumbled upon you."

"...unbelievable."

"Y'know, if you hid on a higher tree I wouldn't have found you."

"...ok. What do you want."

Fire Spirit shrugged. "I just wanted to hang out with you, I guess."

"No you don't, you just wanted to annoy me."

"...fair. But why do you hate me so much?"

"Simple. I want to kill you, but I can't; You are an annoying piece of shit, You're dangerous, You're probably narcissistic, and you made my home life a living hell because Millennial Tree can't stop trying TO MAKE US FRIENDS AGAINST MY WILL."

"Why don't you wanna be friends? I'm totally OK with that idea. I think you'd be a nice change, compared to my friends in the valley. You're just a bit...greener than they are."

"And I think you can keep dreaming, because you basically ruined my life."

"Ah, fair enough."

There was an awkward silence.

"So... whatcha up to?"

"Why should I tell you? How bout you tell ME first?"

"I already did! I'm just here to chat."

"...well I'm not on board with that idea. I WAS enjoying the peace and quiet until you showed up..."

"Sounds boring. What were you doing before?"

"Shooting fallen spirits like YOU. Since I can't kill you or get you out of my life I decided to take my anger on the fallen spirits of the forest."

"...is that what you do everyday?"

"Yeah. scared? I massacre entire groups of them at a time."

"That's not scary, just... concerning."

"You think so? It's my job. I have to get rid of them before they corrupt the forest and cause chaos. Their dark energy can spread, and take over. Then nothing can stop them."

"... so you kill them?"

"Not exactly. They're reincarnated into tiny bird-like spirits. The pure spirits won't have any memory of their life as a fallen spirit."

"Huh."

There was silence.

"You know... I've never said this to anyone, but I'm not sure if I'm actually a fallen spirit."

Wind Archer stared. "...what do you mean by that."

"Well, the earliest thing I can remember is waking up on the dragon's valley floor, with the red dragon staring down at me and laughing. I've seen the other fallen spirits, but they don't look like me at all. They're little balls of flame and I... well, I don't know what I am. A cookie, maybe? But again, I can be reborn with the bead."

He stared at the dragon's bead on his staff.

"I never knew what happened before that. But somehow, I know words and their meanings. There's one word that always haunts me... family. I somehow know what it's like to have one, but..."

Fire Spirit paused.

"Ah, sorry. I got a bit too comfortable there."

Wind Archer decided not to ask him further, but couldn't help but think about him when he finally left.

Who exactly is he...?

...

Millennial Tree used to tell him all about the dragons.

Majestic, mighty creatures that roamed the ancient earthbread. Millennial Tree had been there with them, watching them stroll through lands and terraform entire mountains to build their nests and raise their young.

He was even lucky enough to see some dragons hatch, since some dragons tend to abandon their nest once the eggs are laid.

He had seen the birth and death of many. But there were 5 dragons that stayed alive, even when the weather and landscapes shifted. One of these was the red dragon. Brutal, and always loved to pick fights. They even found Millennial Tree, but seemed to have no interest in fighting such a small being when there are so many other dragons to brawl. Overtime, Millennial Tree got more comfortable around the dragon, and even went into their nest as they were napping. The dragon allowed it, as long as Millennial Tree isn't stealing any of their food or taking from their hoard.

One day, he heard loud growls from the dragon, followed by what sounded like the dragon equivalent of gags.

He went inside, just as the dragon coughed out a rounded object. It was orange like ember with a shade of red, and Millennial Tree could feel the power radiating from it. The dragon, however, didn't even bother looking at it and just added the bead to their hoard. The day after that, the red dragon left, migrating deep into the dragon's valley, taking everything with it. Millennial Tree never saw them again.