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Touya has always hated fire. The irony was not lost on him. As a fire god, humans feared him. He had set one too many villages ablaze on accident. Fire is temperamental. Even as a god, he has struggled to control it most his life. He, himself, was also temperamental. A trait he had developed from his father. He wondered if those born of fire were inherently bad. Touya lost count of how many times he had hurt himself and others. It was more than he cared to admit. Now, he lives in relative solitude. If he doesn't bother anyone then he can't hurt them. The last few centuries he's taken to idly watching the world around him, especially the birds flying free. Touya would never dare touch a bird. They were too fragile. So why did your red-tailed hawk insist on landing by him?
"I'll burn you," he warned on more than one occasion.
The hawk would cock its head to the side and stare at him with unnaturally golden eyes. It watched him and he watched it. Its nest was nearby, having made its home at the top of a very tall tree. The hawk would swoop down, snatching snatching field mice for lunch and Touya would watch. The sun's warmth settled on his skin, blanketing him in sleep. When he woke, the hawk was there, perched just above his head, watching him sleep.
"Like what you see?" He asked.
The hawk inclined its head as if in thought. It was sad to think his only friend was a wild bird.
"Should I name you?" Touya asked the hawk. Its life was fleeting and his was long. Naming the bird would only bring him sadness. "What about Keigo?"
The hawk trilled.
"Keigo it is," said Touya.
With nothing better to do with his eternal life, he continued to watch the bird daily. Sometimes Touya would talk to it as if it had any clue what he was saying. It made him feel a little less lonely and like he wasn't just speaking to himself. The hawk never shied away or attacked him. Maybe it sensed that he wasn't human but it still kept a health distance. That was for the best, lest Touya accidentally burn it. Birds weren't built to handle heat. It was a lazy, quiet life but Touya was content.
Touya hard grown too comfortable in his current environment. The other shoe always inevitably dropped and this time, it came in the form of a nightmare. He woke up to a blazing blue inferno around him and a bird pecking his head. Touya had started a fire in his sleep and Keigo had tried to wake up.
"What are you doing you dumb bird? I'm immortal! You aren't."
Touya sat up in a hurry and called the flames back to him but it was too late. The forest was scorched and the small bird of prey was injured. Keigo's wings were toasted and he struggled to breathe. His chest fluttered with each raspy breath.
"You idiot! Why would you risk your life to save me?" Asked Touya, scooping Keigo into his hands.
Keigo chirped. Shit. He couldn't let this one small creature die. Mortal lives were fleeting and Keigo was just a bird but Touya had to do something. He couldn't be the cause of yet another death. "Hang on birdy," he said.
Touya cut his hand and golden blood flowed from his veins. He let the ichor drip onto Keigo's body and carefully pried the bird's beak open. As blood dripped into Keigo's mouth, he swallowed. Golden eyes glowed in the evening light and his small, feathered body began to grow and expand. Gone was the small hawk that laid in Touya's lap. Now, a man with sharp, golden eyes and hair, and large red wings peered up at him.
"Keigo," breathed Touya.
The leaden weight that has crushed his chest finally lifted. Keigo reached up, touching Touya's hair. "You gave me a name but you've never told me yours."
Touya's eyes widened. "Oh. It's Touya."
"It's nice to meet you, Touya," said Keigo fondly.