Ethereal Flames

Test

Pini climbed up the hard, damp mountain slope for the fifteen trillionth time.

"Tute, can I stop now? It is almost my 50th birthday!" Pini grumbled, wrapping her tail around her legs.

"Hatching-day." Tute corrected. "And you were late!"

"As well as ahead of everyone else by around 15 years!"Pini pointed out, well, pointedly.

"I should have never taught you human traditions." Tute grumbled. "All right. You can stop for now. We have to get you ready for your first job, anyways."

Pini immediately cheered up and squee'd with glee.

"My first job? Where? Who am I catching?" Pini practically screeched.

"Calm down! Not for another few mili-lites." Tute almost strangled Pini. "And stop squealing so loudly. The others might hear you and call you out again as a goat."

That calmed Pini down almost immediately. Almost.

"Who am I catching?" Pini asked again, louder than before. (Pini is an ice-demon / drakon, and those species are tasked with capturing ghosts and returning them to their versions of hell and heaven depending on their religion.)

"Some irregular fire-type ghost with no pupils and darkish blue skin. They call him the steamer. Because he is both fire and water-looking, yea?" Tuts finally gave in. "They're doing it for you so that you'll maybe get your flame between your horns working. Your the only one who hasn't."

"Tell me the story again? Of how we got our flame-between-our-horns?" Pini whined, ignoring the last part of Tutes' speech.

Tutes sighed. "Once there was a brave dark red warrior whose name was Dele'ctor. (Del-ek-tore is how you pronounce it) He was second-in-command to the leader at the time, Grubtan. Dele'ctor was on a job when a fire-type ghost ambushed him. He fought the ghost for a few sunrises and sunsets until he had barely enough strength left. Then he decided he wanted no more. He stabbed the ghost with his horns and as it let out a bellowing flame of rage, a piece of it got caught between his horns, thus becoming the flame-between-the-horns." Tutes finished.

"Oi." A olive green female Drakon called from behind Tutes.

"It seems one by the name of 'Pini' has a job to do. Which one of you is Pini?"

"I am." Pini replied calmly, immediately straightening out.