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The Dragon’s Valley had only one rule – always think of saving your own self first. This rule was, after all, selfish and cruel – it was no wonder that the second name of the Dragon’s Valley was ‘the Land of Heartless’.
Perhaps, a few decades ago Fire Spirit would have grinned at that name, and his grimace would have been full of pride. Heartless. Indeed, it was a suitable title for the fire god – knowing nothing else but his own feelings, he always acted for the benefit of his existence which, to be honest, had always been rather pointless.
What had he never done in the Dragon’s Valley? Making blood-sworn deals, feasting on innocent yet delicious cave lizards, fighting with young dragons for a damn spot to nap – Fire Spirit could continue for eons. The main point was that the god’s own boredom and selfishness started to eat him from the inside, leaving a hole, mysterious and ever-growing, in his chest. The lack of a missing puzzle piece in his life bothered Fire Spirit greatly, dragging him slowly into a pit of eternal depression and self-hatred.
Opening his heart to any living soul would be… Embarrassing. That was why Fire Spirit wished to hide from the rest of the world forever.
To spend his careless eternity in the company of the Red Dragon who he loved annoying so much, among travelling knights who he loved tricking, sounded like a great life to live – yet the Universe had other plans for him.
His life knew no worries and troubles for quite a while – decades, centuries, millenniums, even. The fire god grew older and older, gaining power but not growing any wits. To this day Fire Spirit still wonders how he managed to escape all his ‘godly’ responsibilities for so long. And when luck turned its back on him, the weight of the heaven’s order crushed him as if he was a bug.
Standing in the middle of a throne hall decorated with marble columns and ever-green trees and filled with golden rays of the sun – a middle of a lovely nowhere – Fire Spirit wished for the Red Dragon to had never found him in lava. Everything around him seemed gigantic yet the fire god didn’t fear this place at all. In fact, it somehow had a soothing effect on his mind, and the idea of staying here for a while, just as a guest, of course, appealed to him. He simply didn’t want to… Be here, facing these gods in front of him.
The tallest of them spoke, shattering Fire Spirit’s assumptions of them being a woman, and told the fire god that his arrival had been awaited for long. In fact, it turned out that the gods had known about Fire Spirit since his rebirth – they wished not to disturb him until he was fully adapted to the godhood. Fools, Fire Spirit thought of them, the godhood was a burden, but remained silent. The said god introduced himself as Millennial Tree, and he also wished for Fire Spirit to get familiar with the other ones – a lady in all blues with hair like a flowing river, a mistress of moon, dressed in gold, a goddess of frost, pale and steady, and a woman in whose veins glowed the brightest lightnings. Meeting them for the first time was an unusual experience for Fire Spirit, as all of them depicted natures different from the boiling lands of the Dragon’s Valley.
All the gods acted nicely towards Fire Spirit – at least they pretended to tolerate him professionally – and the fire god took it as a good sign. Therefore, he let himself go on asking them whatever bothered his uneasy soul. Suddenly, Millennial Tree raised an arm, asking Fire Spirit to stop attacking them with all these questions, and said his new companion would give the fire god the answers he wanted.
…What companion, exactly? Because none of the goddesses approached him.
A light breeze moved the ends of his cape.
Instinctively, Fire Spirit turned around out of a slight fear. He looked at the one who appeared behind him like a ghost without a sound, and couldn’t bring himself to speak. His first impression was that the green colour was the man’s favourite one – the fire god found this obsession of his quite funny. His hair, eyes, skin and clothes – everything about him reminded Fire Spirit of the green scales on the Red Dragon’s tail. And this emerald… Obviously, Fire Spirit stared, that was why the man had to bring him back to reality, therefore he spoke to him. Introducing himself as Wind Archer, the wind god bowed slightly and returned Fire Spirit a gaze – the fire god saw pure distrust in these eyes.
Ah, that’s how it was, Fire Spirit thought. The wind god was quite a two-faced creature. Showing no interest in return the polite gesture, the fire god grinned at the man in front of him and laughed hysterically. Messing with the wind god would become the greatest pleasure for him!
…As it turned out, Wind Archer was truly a two-faced creature. While the wind god acted politely and calmly when the other gods were watching, he became an absolute menace to Fire Spirit’s life when they were alone. Since the task to teach Fire Spirit all the ways of the guardians seemed to be displeasing to Wind Archer – the wind god made sure to show his annoyance with every fibre of his body – Wind Archer was strict, rude and extra incredulous towards the god in whose veins boiled such a wild force as fire.
At the other hand, hot-headed Fire Spirit could not bear Wind Archer's never-ending seriousness and coldness. It seemed to the fire god that being such a lame god, who knew nothing but his duties, was impossible, yet the living embodiment of it taught him how to control his inner fire. Of course, Fire Spirit knew how to control his damn power! The fire god's anger would grow bigger, and his temper would get shorter with each lesson Wind Archer tried to teach him. Millennial Tree had picked a shitty teacher for him, the fire god thought and laughed to himself.
The tension between the two gods seemed to spread with a speed of a lightning, poisoning their minds and making their already-shaky relationships even worse. It was obvious – the last string was left to get cut until they rip each other's throats out. The fate of their ‘alliance’ had already been predicted by Fire Spirit – how surprised he was when his assumptions were proven wrong.
One day, Wind Archer forced Fire Spirit to get up from his temporary bed in one of the temples of the Millennial City. However, not following the usual schedule according to which Wind Archer would teach Fire Spirit history and moral lessons, the wind god led the other one deeper into the forest. There hid the ancient ruins – Fire Spirit had no idea how old they were, but he was sure his mortal parents’ grandparents weren’t even planned at the time these ruins appeared. Then, Wind Archer gave away a simple order – move the ancient columns from one part of the field to the opposite one.
“Want to train my strength, huh?”, Fire Spirit smirked, taking his cape off.
“It would do more profit than trying to fill your brain with any knowledge, anyways”, Wind Archer snapped and climbed on top of the highest column quickly to reside there. “And remember, using your power is strictly prohibited”.
It was clear that the wind god wished to say no more. Therefore, Fire Spirit had been left alone with a field full of large fractions of what used to be a part of the glorious city.
What a task, Fire Spirit thought yet got to work, nevertheless. “There is nothing impossible for the great Fire Spirit!”, he claimed.
As it turned out, moving these old stones was harder than it seemed at first. Of course, Fire Spirit thought of himself as a physically strong man, however, every training which he had done in the Dragon's Valley didn't matter at all, because Wind Archer’s methods made Fire Spirit sweat. And these damn ruins were just the beginning – dead trees, large boulders, fallen statues – all ended up being pushed, dragged and thrown by Fire Spirit through sufferings and groans. The fire god found it funny how Wind Archer never let him train alone – hiding somewhere in the shadows or tree canopies, the wind god always watched him silently. Fire Spirit hoped that Wind Archer enjoyed these weight-lifting performances.
Of course, Fire Spirit doubted the wind god’s methods at first. Yet the result didn't leave him waiting for long – Fire Spirit's body gained a shape mortals would describe as the absolute perfection. A great amount of strength was boiling under his skin, making its orange hues even brighter and hotter; the god's muscles were trained to be a deadly force. There was no match in strength to Fire Spirit since then – and Wind Archer, even if he didn’t show it, was very proud of his work.
As thus, the two gods started to tolerate each other’s presence. Even though they never shared many words – Fire Spirit tried to force Wind Archer to say more than a single insult per days but all in vain – they started to grow mutual respect towards each other’s boundaries.
After all, it was more than nothing, and Fire Spirit was fine with it.
____________________________
Since teaching Fire Spirit anything other than intellectual lessons had shown more effectiveness, it seemed that Wind Archer had finally found a proper way to deal with the fire god.
That was why at every dawn he met during his stay in the Millennial Tree’s domain, he wondered what activity Wind Archer would prepare for him today. Even though most of the tasks were quite similar – repeating the trainings would master his skills, as Wind Archer said – Fire Spirit started to find pleasure in doing all of them. The fire god had to admit – Wind Archer managed to bring meaning into his life… Somehow. Now, there was a reason for Fire Spirit to get up, to breathe, to train for his title – and he loved it.
He loved sensing life within his own heart. The hole in his chest began to heal.
Having awoken at the crack of dawn, Fire Spirit lay in his bed, playing with fire. He tossed a small flicker of flame between his fingers, making it jump and dance in the air like a newborn dragon. If Fire Spirit had to be honest, he missed using his powers greatly – it would be a shame to set such a nice forest on fire, but the force within him made his whole body itch. Perhaps Fire Spirit started going insane living here, surrounded by the rustle of leaves and birds’ whistle, yet he knew he had to let off steam and set few things – or even creatures – on fire before he lost his mind.
Maybe Wind Archer had a reason not to trust him, after all.
However, Fire Spirit couldn't care less at this very moment. Waiting for his mentor's – this word made his face cringe – arrival, he got up from his bed and put on his boots as going out without them would have caused many troubles in the forest. Then he searched for his gloves that were meant to restrain the flames from escaping his clumsy hands – Wind Archer wished for Fire Spirit to wear them every day, too. Having found them under a weird-looking wooden chair, he lowered down to the floor and stretched his left arm further to grab them.
Suddenly, a loud cough – an obviously staged one – swung through the room, making Fire Spirit flinch and hit the chair with the top of his head.
“God dammit! Couldn't you come up with a better way to show up?!”, Fire Spirit shouted, looking at Wind Archer with both anger and pain mixed in his eyes.
“Would saying ‘Good morning’ make you react differently?”, the wind god asked rhetorically. Fire Spirit had to admit, there was a valid point in his words – yet the fire god felt so embarrassed that he wanted to push further and argue; he felt desperate to show his short-tempered nature in all its colours – but Wind Archer managed to cut him off.
“Come on, we have a lot to do”, was what the wind god said before leaving the bedroom quickly.
Having grabbed his gloves, Fire Spirit stared at them for a while before putting them on. No matter how much he hated wearing these gloves, no matter how bad he wanted to throw them to the wind god’s face when the man annoyed him the most, it was his duty. Of course, the fire god didn’t want to please Wind Archer’s wishes at all, yet even his narrow mind understood the consequences of his possible misbehaviour – he knew how dangerous his flames were to the forest.
Was he a reckless man? Definitely. But he was not a traitor to those who had put their trust in him. And even to those who had to tolerate him every single day as a part of their own duties.
He wasn’t a traitor. Not a bad man.
…
…
…
“Take them off”.
Did Fire Spirit hear Wind Archer correctly?
“Take your gloves off, Fire Spirit”.
Why so suddenly? Wasn’t Wind Archer the one who had initiated the fire god to wear these gloves constantly in the first place? Weren’t these gloves meant to prevent him from setting all ablaze – after all, they were standing in the middle of the forest, the one Wind Archer loved so much and protected so hard! And now he dared to demand the fire god to get rid of these damn gloves?
Fire Spirit’s face was contorted with confusion. The wind god was waiting patiently, blinking rarely and maintaining an eye contact with him.
Thinking of Wind Archer as of a crazy man, Fire Spirit looked at his gloved hands again and then gave the wind god a quick gaze again. If anything happened to the forest, Wind Archer would be the one to be blamed, Fire Spirit thought, pulling his gloves off his hands slowly and throwing them to the grass near his feet. “Will this do?”.
“Yes”.
“You must really trust me, huh?”.
“This is a serious matter, Fire Spirit”.
“Well… I’m all ears!”, Fire Spirit exclaimed as he rubbed his palms together and stretched his arms in excitement. Suddenly, he showed his teeth in a grin which wasn’t friendly at all, and his tone sounded rather embittered. “Show me what I have to burn down to ashes today, dear forest guardian, because I don’t understand your damn jokes!”.
“Fire Spirit–…”.
“Do you think I’m this stupid? It is you who always prohibits me from using my powers and scolds me every time I mess up, and now you expect me to be your loyal pup, huh?!”, the fire god’s anger started to boil within him, corrupting his heart and blurring his vision. His mind was filled with so many questions – what were these games for, what did the wind god want from him, what were his goals? All these trainings, all the time they spend in this cursed place – almost three months of pointless work – all seemed to be a complete waste of time, all seemed to be just a shitty trick. Fire Spirit couldn’t stand it anymore – not when he woke up every morning in a place which wasn’t his home, not when he was forced to serve the duties which he knew nothing about, not when he was treated as if he was a threat not to the forest but to the whole Earthbread!
“Am I so scary to you?! Do you fear me, guardian? Do you fear that I will burn everything which is dear to you?!”, a loud laughter, a hysterical one, escaped his lungs. His head was about to split in two halves, yet Fire Spirit couldn’t bring himself to stop snapping at Wind Archer. “I’m fucking tired of your constant nagging, if you even care to know! And whatever you’re trying to teach me will never work because–…”.
“Because you were born bullheaded!”, Wind Archer interrupted, snarling. “Now shut up and listen to me, as I am the one responsible for your life!”.
The two gods were standing forehead-to-forehead, breathing heavily; stress and irritation consumed them both. One more word, one more string to get cut – and they were ready to kill each other on the spot again. To think that their relationships had started getting better quite recently…
Fire Spirit was the first to break the silence. He smirked deviously and frowned before whispering with a hint of mockery in his voice, “What is it, petal?”.
The wind god remained strong and firm, returning Fire Spirit a gaze much scarier. “When you think of me as an equal, as the one who wants to help you, I shall teach you how to be a true god. But if you continue to think of me so disgracefully… Your heart shall be buried under these lands this very day”.
Fire Spirit’s eye twitched. He had never expected the wind god to sound so threatening and convincing at the same time. The fire god was confident – yet he knew that even his wild force was nothing compared to the wind god’s wits and experience. Fire Spirit hated it, but he had to accept his defeat – or else he would never return home.
Stepping back, Fire Spirit tilted his head a little to hide his face from Wind Archer’s gaze. Judging by the little hum which escaped the wind god’s chest, he was more than pleased with such an outcome. However, when the tension between them started to fade away, the wind god seemed to be getting more and more awkward to tie the words together.
At first, he started with drawing Fire Spirit’s attention by calling out his name. Having received a positive reaction, the wind god continued, “You should understand that I have never meant any harm to you. It is my duty to–…”.
“Is there anything that isn’t your duty?”, Fire Spirit chuckled slightly.
“Shush! Anyways…”, Wind Archer shook his head a little. “I must teach you the ways of the guardians. I am obliged to lead you through this uneasy task until the end”.
Fire Spirit left out a quiet laughter once again. Oh, the wind god seemed to move on so quickly and effortlessly – his calmness and steadiness somehow made Fire Spirit’s heart tremble with respect because the fire god was ought to learn to reach such a level of self-control for eternity. “Millennial Tree was very cruel to give you such a burden like me, don’t you think?”.
It took the wind god a whole minute of silence – either to come up with an answer to such a provocative question or to let Fire Spirit’s mind cool completely. “To gain respect of the other guardians, you should forget… Speaking of yourself so harshly. Low self-esteem doesn’t suit your hot nature”.
A compliment! Fire Spirit couldn’t believe his ears. Few minutes ago, they had been tearing each other with their eyes – and now they were talking to each other politely enough to call this conversation the most normal and full one which they had ever shared. Fantastic, the fire god thought, how entertaining it was to be around the wind god.
“What I am meaning to say is that… We should start working on your inner balance at first”.
His inner balance? Of course, there were many problems to solve regarding his soul, yet Fire Spirit hadn’t ever hoped to be offered actual help with it. Having got used to keeping his worries all to himself, the fire god found the concept of letting Wind Archer know any of them to be rather strange and intimate. Of course, both gods weren’t strangers, yet Fire Spirit couldn’t consider them as friends, too. And he didn’t want them to be ‘a mentor and a mentee’ as well. Then why did Wind Archer care to dig the pit of the fire god’s soul so deeply? Perhaps, the wind god hadn’t lied that his intentions were sincere.
Biting his tongue not to say anything stupid, Fire Spirit decided to ask, “How does one achieve it? The inner balance, I mean”.
Wind Archer’s face seemed to lighten up at once. It was a slight change but, to Fire Spirit, it was a good sign. To continue delivering his point, the wind god asked the other to sit down on the ground.
“I have been meaning to have this discussion with you for quite a long time. I thought that there wouldn’t be a proper chance today, too, yet luckily…”, Wind Archer began as he placed his bow by his side to rest. For some reason, Fire Spirit did the same with his staff.
“Tell me, Fire Spirit… Do you know that wind can cause harm as well?”.
“Why say that?”.
Wind Archer simply raised an eyebrow, demanding an answer. After a moment of hesitation, the fire god gave him a quick nod – of course, Fire Spirit, having stayed here for a long time, had heard many rumours featuring the wind god from local dwellers. Most of them were the legends about his achievements and heroism, yet some of them, which were touching upon times before Fire Spirit’s own existence, made him shiver – the story about ‘the raven that ruled the night skies’ was his personal favourite, but he would never admit that fact in front of Wind Archer.
“Before gaining my body, I used to be a free wind which whistled through tree canopies and sang with birds in unison. However, with the body came… New emotions and feelings I could not comprehend, therefore my powers, which used to be my whole existence once, were too… Overwhelming for me. There was a war in my heart that made me cause great destruction”, Wind Archer paused for a moment, trying to find proper words. Fire Spirit didn’t dare to interrupt him. “My master was there to help me achieve the balance of both purity and corruption in my heart. And I am here to help you, too”.
The fire god couldn’t bring himself to speak as he was still very confused. It was hard for him to imagine Wind Archer, the steady guardian he knew, being unable to control his own self – was it for Millennial Tree or the time and hard work, but the wind god, having gone through his own difficult path, seemed to have all the necessary words on the tip of his tongue, ready to be spoken aloud, for Fire Spirit to listen carefully.
“The main key to the balance in your soul is force and resistance”, Wind Archer picked up a small rock from the ground. Then, he asked Fire Spirit to stretch out his arm in front of him. After a short hesitation, Fire Spirit obeyed, and Wind Archer put the rock in the fire god’s palm. “As you see, the resistance of this rock is high, so it handles your force well. While holding the rock, you don’t have to control yourself”.
The rock was quickly removed from Fire Spirit’s hand – just to be suddenly changed with a tiny green leaf. Having no time to proceed anything, the fire god cringed at a sight of the leaf burning to ashes on his palm. “And the leaf… It had low resistance and couldn’t survive against your force”.
“So, you wanna tell me–…”, Fire Spirit asked as he started to assume the point which Wind Archer was trying to deliver.
“I want you to understand that all depends on you – whether something shall be destroyed or not. The resistance never changes, but your force… It does”, Wind Archer explained, looking Fire Spirit into the eyes. The wind god wanted to make sure that the other understood him well, that was why he took another leaf.
“We shall try again… Remember, it is in your power to keep it alive”.
Fire Spirit’s stretched arm was shaking non-controllably. What if he failed to keep his heat down for a little leaf to survive? What if he never learnt what self-control truly was? What if it was too much for him to take responsibility even for such a small being as a leaf?
Doubts were filling his heart – Fire Spirit could feel as it pounded in his chest, aching and pulsating. There was no hope for his success, a voice whispered in the corner of his mind. He could never learn the balance. Something, which had been forgotten by him long ago, cried in despair and its tears burnt Fire Spirit from inside, making him close his eyes and wait for another failure of his.
It was impossible for him to concentrate on his powers, as the fire inside him roared because of all the irritation and fear. All these words Wind Archer had said, all these attempts, all in vain…
Wind Archer…
The fire god couldn’t open his eyes, yet he tried to imagine as if it wasn’t a leaf to land on his palm, but rather Wind Archer’s arm. No matter how much the wind god annoyed him with his steadiness, no matter how desperately Fire Spirit wanted to escape his lessons and morals, he surely didn’t want to hurt the wind god.
Not to let Wind Archer get burnt, that was the goal to achieve. The reason to keep seeking the balance.
Silence. Fire Spirit felt as something light, almost weightless, landed on his palm. Bringing himself to open his eyes, he saw a green leaf which was resting in his hand. Unharmed, not even a burnt spot. The same emerald green. Still full of life.
He succeeded. Fire Spirit did it. He found the balance.
Suddenly, his chest started to ache once again – yet it didn’t bring the fire god any pain. Instead, something crucial seemed to have found its place in his heart, filling up a missing spot yet not filling up his heart completely. Fire Spirit adored this feeling – cherishing a single leaf in his hand, he felt that the force within him behaved calmly as if it sensed the fragile leaf as well.
No, the force within him wasn’t something separate from his own self. He was the force within him. He was the fire itself.
Lifting his head up, he saw as Wind Archer examined him carefully. The wind god’s expression was as steady as it had always been, yet something in his eyes seemed… Different. Fire Spirit couldn’t guess it, yet he liked the sight.
“You did it”, Wind Archer whispered softly. Fire Spirit could swear that his lips twitched into the tiniest, yet the sincerest smile the fire god had even witnessed.
“I did it… I did it!”, he responded, grinning from ear to ear.
… A seed of another feeling, unknown to him, had been planted into Fire Spirit’s heart.
_____________________________
One day, after a numberless training, Fire Spirit had to crawl over the ground – that was how exhausted he was. Breathing heavily, he hid his face in his bended arms and lay flat, playing dead. If Wind Archer pushed more, the fire god would be a dead man, for sure. Nevertheless, Fire Spirit was so tired that he couldn’t bring himself to care about anything around him, and it seemed that one more task would break him into tiny pieces of embers easily.
Wind Archer, who was walking behind him the whole time, approached the fire god’s resting body and chuckled. The sound made Fire Spirit lift his head up immediately. “What was that?”, he asked, and his voice sounded raspy yet still curious.
“Nothing”, Wind Archer murmured and hurried to go on talking before Fire Spirit could say anything else. “You need to eat something before you pass out.”
The forest guardian was right, but the matter was that the fire god didn’t want to lift a finger tonight. He would rather die from hunger than move a muscle! Fire Spirit groaned, hiding his head in his arms again, and his voice sounded muffled, “Anything will do. Sticks, rocks… Whatever this place is rich in”.
The fire god couldn’t see it, but Wind Archer raised an eyebrow at his words. Disagreeing with such a monstrous diet, the wind god went further into the woods – and soon, he returned with a handful of something roundish covered with mud.
When Wind Archer sat beside Fire Spirit, who had been resting peacefully now, and lowered his body a little, he ordered him to get up. Receiving a very meaningful groan of refusal, Wind Archer sighed heavily. “Come on, get up. I need you to make a fire”. Shortly after, he left to the nearest creek.
The idea of spending the rest of the day lying on the soft grass appealed to Fire Spirit like a flame hypnotised a moth. The temptation of his inner laziness had taken over his mind almost completely – however, Fire Spirit knew not to make Wind Archer disappointed better than anybody in the world. That was why, bringing all the force left in his body, he got up, leaving a few nagging comments for no one to hear, to stand on his own two feet and, looking around in search of proper materials, he started to make a fire.
Needless to say, he was a professional in the art of arson, and by the time Wind Archer returned, a nice fire had been burning in the middle of a meadow.
“Thank you”, Wind Archer said quietly as he sat down in front of the fire.
“Sorry, didn’t hear you well”, Fire Spirit uttered pridefully as a wide grin spread over his face.
“I said I would punch you in the nose if you continued being such a child”, the wind god hissed, giving the other man a restraining look.
Unfortunately, Fire Spirit had to accept his defeat once again as he hadn’t much strength and will to continue messing with Wind Archer. Instead, he got curious and decided to ask about these strange rocks Wind Archer was drying with his scarf the whole time.
Luckily, Wind Archer seemed to relax a little by the genuine curiosity of the other man. “These are called yams. Or ‘sweet potatoes’, as some call them in other regions”, he explained. “Yams are full of healthy vitamins, and they are quite nutritious, too. It is what you require now.”
“I see…”, Fire Spirit murmured as he started to examine every move Wind Archer made. He watched carefully as the wind god picked up two long sticks from the ground, took out his pocketknife and got rid of all the uneven parts on the sticks, making them sharp and smooth. Then, he pierced some yams with both sticks – the silhouette reminded Fire Spirit of his own staff which was resting by his side.
“You need to keep it above the fire like this”, Wind Archer started to explain after he had given the stick to the fire god. He kept the potato above the fire, yet he didn’t keep it too low. “It mustn’t burn. The insides of yams must bake well before you can eat it.”
Fire Spirit followed Wind Archer’s instructions, mirroring his actions. The sweet potato which he was baking started to cover with crust after some time, and the smell was so mouth-watering. “I’m learning quite quick, huh!”
“You are”, Wind Archer confirmed in a kind tone as he took his own sweet potato out of the fire and sliced it with the knife. Looking closely at the inner part of the sweet potato, Wind Archer nodded in satisfaction and added, “You can take yours out, too”.
Being unable to resist the hunger anymore, Fire Spirit took the baked potato off the stick – his hands didn’t burn from holding a hot potato – and took the first bite.
Unbelievable.
It couldn’t be…
It was the most delicious, the most satisfying, the most divine food he had ever tried!
Fire Spirit dug into that baked potato as if he had been forcibly starved for decades. He munched with so much appetite, and it seemed like the fire god was about to cry from joy. It was no wonder he finished his piece very quickly and hurried to take a handful of raw yams to cook more. Being blinded by the taste of this edible treasure, he had almost missed something which, perhaps, was more important – Wind Archer genuinely laughed in front of him for the first time. Sitting here with a full mouth and hugging a bunch of sweet potatoes, Fire Spirit looked completely ridiculous, and it made the wind god burst into laughter, covering his own mouth with a hand not to spit the food out.
Being stunned, Fire Spirit listened carefully. He listened to Wind Archer’s laughter, which was chortle yet bell-like. And his smile… Fire Spirit couldn’t recall seeing such a wide smile on the man’s face. Every wrinkle on his face, the slight blush on his nose and cheeks – the fire god devoured that scenery, forgetting about the sweet potatoes in his hands, about the food in his mouth, about everything. He was so fascinated with the wind god, he…
“Fire Spirit? Are you alright?”, Wind Archer got the fire god out of his thoughts suddenly. The delightful look on his face disappeared, leaving a much more concerned one.
“Eh? Oh, yeah, ha-ha! Don’t worry, I’m fine!”, Fire Spirit hurried to reassure Wind Archer, shaking all the strange thoughts out of his head. The fire god had to admit – he already hated this puzzled, worrying look on Wind Archer’s face for some reason. To get rid of it, he had to tell a little white lie – Fire Spirit wasn’t quite fine. In fact, his heart ached and this damn hole in his chest stretched in a way which was unknown and very painful to him. Fire Spirit couldn’t figure out the feeling, yet he knew – he had to understand what it was until it consumed his heart wholly.
What was this feeling… And why did Fire Spirit yearned to bring more joy to Wind Archer’s life?
_______________________________
“Something is clearly wrong”, Wind Archer stated during their training. Fire Spirit was training his agility and reacting speed – of course, Wind Archer played as an enemy, shooting his vanishing arrows in the fire god’s direction. The problem was that Fire Spirit had been failing to succeed in this training drastically so far – he acted slow, he was absent-minded, and, in addition, he became completely stupid.
Despite the shame which was filling his mind, Fire Spirit couldn’t leave Wind Archer without an answer. However, he couldn’t come up with anything better than putting the blame on the moon phases.
Wind Archer’s unamused face said that he didn’t believe any of the man’s words.
“Quit lying. What is wrong, Fire Spirit?”, the wind god approached the other man who bent over the ground, keeping his palms on his knees and hiding his face.
Wind Archer demanded an explanation.
Yet Fire Spirit couldn’t tell him that the reason of his state was the wind god himself!
Unfortunately, after that day when they baked sweet potatoes together, Fire Spirit was unable to throw Wind Archer’s smile and laughter out of his mind. He tried everything to distract his own self – lifting weights, beating dead trees, even reading whatever books he had found in the temple! Nothing worked for him, and it led to many sleepless nights and many self-reflecting sessions. His existence, his moral, his choices – every aspect of his life had been questioned. In the end of each mind-digging journey, Fire Spirit always considered himself to be a psycho, or a loser, or even both. Of course, the fire god still hadn’t figured out why the sight of joyous Wind Archer had such an addicting effect of him, yet he was sure – the feeling which he suffered from was more than what he was able to comprehend now.
While Fire Spirit was trying to come up with a proper answer again – understanding quite well he would fail to tell a good lie – Wind Archer spoke much quieter and less demanding. “Is it because the trainings are too much for you? Please, speak from your heart, I will not scold you”.
Oh, Fire Spirit would love to speak from his heart – if only he understood what the hell was going on in it.
Having nothing to tell Wind Archer, the fire god remained silent and only nodded, hiding his face. He heard a quiet sigh from Wind Archer, yet he didn’t seem annoyed – instead, his tone was understanding and reassuring.
“I see… It means that you can rest today. Maybe you can do so tomorrow, too, if you will not gain your strength back”, Wind Archer suggested, keeping a polite distance between them.
To receive such a generous indulgence from Wind Archer was truly a miracle. Fire Spirit made himself raise his head up to have a glimpse of Wind Archer’s expression and grinned joyously.
“Yet do not think that now you have more privilege”, Wind Archer added quietly at a sight of Fire Spirit’s victorious expression.
“How dare I?”, Fire Spirit laughed.
_______________________________
Both of them decided to rest near the forest outskirts, where trees and bushes met endless emerald fields. It was a picturesque place, indeed – inspiring to draw a nice landscape and luring enough to go and play in the flower fields. Luckily, Fire Spirit was neither an artist nor a forest fairy, so he preferred to lie in a tree shade and rest. While he didn’t want to go further and leave such a nice and warm spot, he also wanted to accompany Wind Archer in his quiet meditation among white flowers – the choice was so difficult to make!
The fire god groaned out of pure frustration and hit the ground with his head a few times loudly.
Of course, so much noise wouldn’t have passed unseen from the forest guardian. The wind god appeared near Fire Spirit as quickly as a spark, giving him a puzzled look. “Why don’t you sleep a little?”
“Don’t wanna…”, Fire Spirit mumbled and covered his face with both hands. The sun was hiding behind the horizon slowly, painting the fields in orange and pink hues – as the radiance of the sun faded, it was much easier to fall into the temptation of dreams, yet there wasn’t a hint of sleep in any of his eyes.
Hearing such a lazy answer, Wind Archer hummed and sat down on the grass near Fire Spirit. The wind god kept his knees close to his chest, hugging them – it seemed that he was reassuring his own self. When the fire god saw him like that, he realised – he had never asked Wind Archer what might have been troubling his soul during all the time they had been together. Perhaps, something made his heart ache, too. Maybe, Fire Spirit’s worries were nothing compared to Wind Archer’s.
Bringing himself to open his mouth, Fire Spirit asked carefully, “How are you, petal?”.
Wind Archer neither moved nor gave him a glance. Instead, he stared at the fading dusk, admiring its glory. The answer followed shortly after a short pause, “I… I am not used to talking about my feelings”.
“Oh! So, you asked me to spill my worries out to you – how many times, five hundred just today, if I’m not mistaken – but now you are the one who is ‘not used to talking about your feelings’? That’s not fair”.
“I mean it, dork”, Wind Archer hissed and lay down to the ground, crossing his arms on the chest. The last rays of the fading sun landed on his restless face, highlighting the wrinkles under his eyes. Fire Spirit wondered – how many sleepless nights did the wind god suffer from, too?
“Sorry”, the fire god apologised quickly. “I didn’t mean to hurt you-…”.
“I know you did not”, Wind Archer interrupted. “When I first met you, I thought that you were the meanest god alive… I even considered to abandon my mission to guide you when the relations between us were the worst”.
“Yeah, I remember these times”, Fire Spirit chuckled, looking up at the darkening sky.
A short pause occurred for a moment. Yet the fire god didn’t think that this silence was embarrassing – in fact, it filled his heart with comfort. He enjoyed listening to the soft rustle of tree leaves, and he loved sensing a cool breeze against his skin – the peacefulness of this place was undeniable.
The grass below the wind god rustled quietly as he shifted his position. “And… Do you know why I decided to change the way I train you?”, Wind Archer asked quietly, as if he feared to scare the delicate moment away.
“Why?”, Fire Spirit asked curiously, tilting his head to look in the wind god’s direction. As it turned out, Wind Archer had already been looking at him for a while, blinking softly and slowly.
“I did so because I did not want you to leave… Do not get me wrong, I love my home, my master, animals, yet sometimes it can get so…”.
“So lonely?”, Fire Spirit continued casually as if he had already known the answer in advance.
Wind Archer didn’t say anything, yet his eyes told Fire Spirit everything he had to know – the truth he had already realised. The two gods shared that damn feeling – loneliness – which consumed them whole, ate through their chests and left an aching void inside. Perhaps, lying there on the forest ground and watching the stars through the tree brunches, they weren’t so lonely anymore. Together, they were…
“Thank you, Fire. For listening to me…”, Wind Archer whispered with a sleepy voice.
The fire god thought that this moment – this fragile beginning of something special – was the perfect moment for him to finally open his soul to the wind god. Wind Archer trusted him hard enough to share the pain his own soul suffered from – what did Fire Spirit fear now? Suddenly, the once-healing void in his chest started to ache, and his heart started to race and pound loudly in his ears. Do it, coward!
Turning to his side, Fire Spirit was ready to tell Wind Archer everything, to scream, to finally open his soul to the man who would understand it all. Yet the fire god was met with a sight of a peaceful expression on Wind Archer’s face – Fire Spirit had been trying to make a move for so long that the wind god fell asleep. Now, that was hilarious! Hiding his face with his hands again, the fire god wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.
However, when he lifted his head to look at sleeping Wind Archer, the restless void in his chest stopped crying. There was only peace inside him now… Fire Spirit had finally embraced what had been bothering him for so long, what deprived him of sleep for so many nights, what had been draining his soul of all energy. Sensing as his flames started to burn hotter, he leaned forward, getting closer to Wind Archer. A passionate desire to protect the wind god from this world’s dangers made his heart pound even faster – his mind felt cotton and his vision blurred.
Unconsciously, his eyes moved around Wind Archer’s face, admiring his beauty – he found the hump on his nose to be very elegant, he liked how his wrinkles smoothed once he fell asleep, and his lips…
Leaning a little further, he felt drunk. The hidden desires were filling his head, leaving no room for common sense. It was so easy to fall into the wildest temptations and dreams, to show Wind Archer what he had been doing to the fire god this whole time…
What was he doing? Gaining his mind back, he looked down at Wind Archer and pulled away quickly. A sudden wave of soberness washed him over; he stared at the stars with fear in his eyes as he could no longer look at this landscape with the same feeling of peace – he closed his eyes instead and his soul cried in the way that burned him from inside.
Will he ever be loved as strongly and passionately as he managed to love? The fire god doubted that he deserved to be granted with such bliss. What was he, after all? Fire Spirit had built a strong shell around his heart which was meant to never break, yet it turned out that a gentle breeze was enough to crack it and reveal the tenderness of his soul. How weak of him…
Fire Spirit loved Wind Archer. Slowly and unconsciously, the fire god grew this strange feeling which, as he had figured eventually, was fiery like eternal flames and gentle like an ever-glowing ember at the same time. The two sides of the fire god’s nature which he had learnt to accept and keep in balance.
…This balance would be nothing without the guiding wind blowing by his side. Yet Fire Spirit feared that Wind Archer had no need of his yearning heart.
Fire got only stronger in the wind. But what did the wind need the fire for?
_________________________________
With the first rays of the morning sun reaching the lands, he was gone.
Fire Spirit was dashing through the woods, waking up the sleepy trees and disturbing the poor animals with his fire. He tried to be gentle – after all, he had to leave an impression of a good and responsible god in Wind Archer’s eyes.
Going through the night was a torture for Fire Spirit – he had to guard the wind god whom he loved dearly, yet whom he planned to run away from if not forever, then at least for couple of centuries. Perhaps, things would get easier for both of them this way. Wind Archer would forget the fire god like a disturbing dream, and Fire Spirit would…
Nothing mattered now. His plan had already been in vain. Wind Archer was a god whom you never forgot.
After what seemed to be hours of an anxious race, Fire Spirit sensed the energy of his homeland, the Dragon’s Valley – at last, he was on the right way. The fire god yearned to return to the volcanic lands – he wanted to hide in the shelter of a tiny orb, a comforting form of his, and forget about all the worries and sorrows. Because it was easier to hide from the reality than to face it. Because he was a coward, after all.
A glimpse of light showed in the distance – the forest ended there. Fire Spirit had to push a little further to get his freedom back!
“Where do you think you are heading?”, a voice as sharp as an arrow made every muscle in the fire god’s body tense up. The voice, being quite yet demanding, was coming from one on the many morning shades – and it could not be mistaken for anything in this world.
The fire god knew he was in trouble; therefore, he didn’t dare to turn around and face the wind god. Was there even a point in trying to justify himself? Of course, Wind Archer would never let him slip away so easily – Fire Spirit thought that his plan was going to succeed, and it was his biggest mistake.
Leaving the shadows, Wind Archer approached Fire Spirit, stopping in a few inches behind him – silence, uncomfortable and suffocating, fell upon them.
“The Dragon’s Valley…”, the wind god murmured, having studied the direction of Fire Spirit’s path. “Are you going home?”.
Perhaps Fire Spirit had gone insane, yet he could swear on his life that there was sadness in the other’s voice.
“Well, huh! We both know I must return home one day anyways. And I thought that… ‘Hey, I’m strong now, I’m ready to leave and do whatever we, guardians, do’! So… Here we are”, Fire Spirit said, forcing a raspy chuckle out of his chest. This lie was acted out horribly – not to mention he had no desire to lie to Wind Archer in the first place.
The wind god behind him remained in silence for a while – then he made few careful steps to stand in front of Fire Spirit. This whole moment seemed like a celestial trial – the fire god knew there would be no mercy on his soul. That was why, in order to reduce Wind Archer’s suspicion, Fire Spirit decided to look him into the eyes – pretending that his behaviour was natural would be efficient, right?
At first, the fire god expected to see nothing but judgement in the other’s gaze – after all, Fire Spirit tried to escape his duties once again as his trainings remained unfinished. Wouldn’t Wind Archer be mad at his misbehaviour? Yes, a disapproving lecture and an angry gaze would be the least horrifying punishment Wind Archer could come up with for him, Fire Spirit thought.
However, the fire god was met with the same calm eyes he remembered from the previous night. There was no judgement and no anger – not even the slightest hint. The wind god’s stare remained wise and considerate – in fact, it was filled with softness Fire Spirit had never witnessed before. Had Wind Archer’s pupils always been so wide?
Having been mesmerised by the view, Fire Spirit didn’t grasp a moment when Wind Archer started speaking. The seriousness of the wind god’s face didn’t do him a favour, too, as no emotions could be read on it. Would it be polite if Fire Spirit asked him to repeat?
But Fire Spirit had no time to consider voicing this request.
Suddenly, Wind Archer pricked up his ears and turned his head in the direction of… Something. The flounce pulled Fire Spirit out of his dreams rudely – the fire god turned around to see what had disturbed the wind god’s peace.
“What was that?”, Fire Spirit asked out of curiosity. When he turned back to Wind Archer, he saw as the other’s eyes narrowed – his faithful bow was lying in his hands now.
“If you want to return home, it is the perfect time for you to do so”, the wind god hissed shortly, trying to keep his voice as quiet as possible – the softness in his eyes was no more. Then, he started to move deeper into the forest, chasing the threat that had been hiding there.
“Whoa! No way, man, Fire Spirit doesn’t leave without a fight!”, the fire god exclaimed desperately, holding on his staff tightly. Even though his heart had been corrupted with sadness and doubts few moments ago, they all seemed to vanish once a glimpse of a good battle sparkled in the distance.
It was the moment when Wind Archer had to stop. He didn’t turn around to look at Fire Spirit – perhaps, he didn’t need to do so to deliver his point because his voice sounded as clear as the day, “I can handle it alone. I have heard enough from you already”.
And he ran away, leaving Fire Spirit behind.
Wind Archer left, and his words made Fire Spirit’s heart cringe in pain.
The path was clear for him to escape the forest – there was no one to stop him from returning to the Dragon’s Valley now. He could bring his plan to an end and start living carelessly as he used to, as he had always wanted to. He was free.
…
The first rule of the Dragon’s Valley – always think of saving your own self first. A purely selfish rule which had raised him to be the person he was now. The person he was now… No, Fire Spirit though, he was not the same anymore. The forest – Wind Archer – had changed something in him for the better. His soul was no longer in distress, his mind was steady and clear – the fire god had finally realised his own purpose in this world, yet…
There was still a missing piece of puzzle that kept his soul from becoming whole. Fire Spirit was sure – this missing piece was in the woods now, chasing some unknown force, risking its life for the safety of its home.
Fire Spirit didn’t want to hesitate this time. Whatever the outcome was, he would finally open his soul.
The missing piece of his puzzle had the right to know the truth.
________________________________
By the time Fire Spirit rushed to the place where he sensed Wind Archer’s presence at, the battle had been going on for a while.
The fire god would lie if he said that the matter seemed easy to solve – an army of large and obese evil spirits were coming out of every corner of the forest. Of course, Wind Archer, a professional guardian he was, was coping with the battle quite well – however, even the best of warriors had their limits. Fire Spirit could see arrows, which were once missed shots, stuck in the trees and the ground here and there. This sight meant no good.
What made the situation worse was the fact that they were stuck in the middle of the forest – everything seemed to be so vulnerable before his fire force. He knew how to keep the balance – yet he had never practiced it in a fight.
Everything happened for the first time, Fire Spirit thought, and, as he noticed a smaller spirit sneaking up from behind to attack distracted Wind Archer, he cast a fireball which dissolved the spirit without any resistance. It was no surprise that the wind god sensed the sudden wave of heat behind him – he turned around to meet Fire Spirit’s wide grin and sly eyes.
“Missed me?”, Fire Spirit chuckled in his usual manner.
“Now I recognise you”, Wind Archer responded, returning him a small, sincere smile. However, they had no time to talk to each other, as another bunch of evil spirits roared in distance, and those who were here looked hungry for prey.
Dodging the rapid attacks of the spirits, Fire Spirit hurried to approach Wind Archer – both gods were now standing back-to-back, monitoring the on-going fight.
“Where the hell are they coming from?!”, Fire Spirit cursed out and blocked another spirit’s attack with his flames – if he was in the Dragon’s Valley, he wouldn’t hold back, and his powers would have been much more effective than they were now – yet even being limited in powers, he still managed to kill the corrupted spirits.
“I have no idea, but I believe that if we go further, we will find their nest. There cannot be so many spirits without a nest”, was Wind Archer’s suggestion – he hesitated for a moment before piercing two spirits with his arrows, and the two white doves flew high into the sky.
The fire god wondered what effect his own powers could have on the spirits if he trained more – according to his short and rushed observation, all of them vanished into nowhere, not turning into doves or any other kind of living creatures. Yet dead evil spirits were better than living ones, Fire Spirit thought and continued holding the line.
Both gods fought bravely, helping each other out in extreme cases – evil spirits, from small to large, went on appearing from thin air, making the task of finding their possible nest very hard to complete. The situation had become so dangerous that they had to use their strongest abilities which required many powers to perform – however, their efforts paid off eventually, because they managed to find the nest.
To say it was a nasty view would be an understatement. The nest itself was a rotten pit in the ground, covered with purple slime and black growth – and a red gem, resembling a heart, glowed inside it.
“If I manage to purify what is inside, it shall stop corrupted spirits from appearing, but I will require your help, Fire Spirit”, Wind Archer explained quickly before other spirits could find them.
“Do I have to distract them?”, Fire Spirit clarified.
A nod was all he received from the wind god. Fire Spirit didn’t need anything else. “Count on me, petal!”.
It was clear to Fire Spirit that Wind Archer knew what was right to do – therefore, the fire god willed to help him out, even if it meant endangering himself in the process. After all, Fire Spirit had no right to let the wind god down anymore.
“Hey, ya stinky spirits! Care to fight me?!”, the fire god shouted in excitement as soon as Wind Archer ran away to get closer to the corrupted nest. The spirits showed their teeth and growled, narrowing their yellow eyes at the noise – they noticed the brightness of Fire Spirit’s flames and started chasing him immediately. These horrible creatures snarled so loudly that it started ringing in the fire god’s ears – the pain got worse as his own flames grew bigger and stronger at the sight of danger. Help and protect Wind Archer no matter what, a voice in his head ordered, and, having dodged a spirit which had thrown itself at the fire god, Fire Spirit rushed around the field in his spirit form. His furious flames collided the spirits – however, he didn’t forget to keep an eye on Wind Archer who was dealing with the nest below the battle.
As Fire Spirit landed on the ground with a loud rumble, the thunder shook the spirits who were unlucky to wander the ground. Some of the spirits dissolved, and some were scared and retreated – yet the bravest ones were already rushing to the fire god. What a nice fight it was, Fire Spirit thought, returning to his usual form, and waved his staff, making the dragon’s bead glow menacingly – suddenly, fire poles escaped the ground and pierced the spirits, making them glow with white sparks and transform into something else, something magical. Fire Spirit watched in amusement as the corrupted spirits became almost translucent and started resembling phoenixes made of the brightest flames – did he just purify them?
“Ha-ha! Wind Archer, you won’t believe your eyes!”, Fire Spirit exclaimed, throwing his staff up and laughing. At this moment, his gaze landed on Wind Archer whose hands and clothes were covered with a substance as crimson as blood – the wind god was purifying the source of corruption not with his arrows but with his bare hands, and the radiance of the emerald on his forehead was blinding. It was obvious that the wind god struggled to handle so much corruption. Judging from all the arrows that were stuck in the nest, getting his hands dirty was his only option.
Unexpectedly, another large horned spirit jumped out of the forest – it didn’t notice Fire Spirit, but it did notice Wind Archer who was ruining its nest. The spirit was furious at the sight and rushed towards the wind god who was, unfortunately, too late to react – everything could have ended right here…
Not on Fire Spirit’s watch.
A meteor of fierce flames collided with the large spirit – Fire Spirit, who was now in his spirit form again, climbed on top of the corrupted creature and tore its flesh with his burning hands. Resisting the purification, the corrupted spirit dug its claws in the god’s left arm and shoulder, giving him ugly and bloody wounds. The fire god saw as his blood, as hot as magma, spilled and painted the spirit below him in orange and red hues. Of course, the divine blood hurt the creature, making it shriek in agony – it allowed Fire Spirit to pierce its flesh with his hands, diving deeper into it, and reach for its corrupted heart. Ripping it out of the blackened flesh, Fire Spirit sent the heart into flames – in the blink of an eye, the fire god was holding a pure phoenix spirit in his healthy hand. From now on, it knew no torment and no corruption.
Breathing heavily, Fire Spirit let the pure spirit fly away. A bright splash of light caught his attention, and the fire god turned around to witness Wind Archer who was standing above what used to be a horrible nest of corruption – it was purified now, and dove-like spirits were escaping this cruel cage to return to the skies. The view was breathtaking, as hundreds of white spirits were flying through the woods and in the skies, celebrating their freedom with songs.
To think that the corruption had been rooted in these lands so deeply was devastating… Yet the wind god, having no fear behind his eyes, left no stone unturned and got rid of the evil through pain and blood. To Fire Spirit, Wind Archer was a true guardian whom you could learn a lot from.
When Wind Archer turned around to face the fire god, Fire Spirit saw that he was covered with sweat and dirt, and his breath was uneven – he looked like a wild animal who had survived a deathly battle. Not without a helping hand, Fire Spirit chuckled to himself.
“You are hurt…”, Wind Archer whispered under his shaky breath. The wind god approached Fire Spirit quickly and touched his wounded skin softly. Unwillingly, the fire god flinched under the touch as it was the first time he felt Wind Archer’s skin against his own.
“Hey… Don’t worry ‘bout that. I’ll be fine in a day”, Fire Spirit muttered and moved his hand – only for the wound to spill out more blood.
Now it was pretty concerning. Fire Spirit didn’t know corruption could harm him so badly.
The wind god frowned and took off his scarf. Oh no.
“Wait, I’m fine, petal! There’s no need–…”.
Wind Archer only shushed him before he started bandaging the fire god’s arm with his scarf. He made sure to cover the wound on his shoulder, too, for it to stop bleeding as soon as it was possible. The length of the scarf was enough for Wind Archer to fixate Fire Spirit’s arm – no matter how hard the other resisted – in a bended position.
“It shall do until I can heal you”, the wind god stated, rubbing the back of his neck to ease his own exhaustion. Wind Archer looked up in the sky, and suddenly, a hint of blush showed on his ears and nose. It seemed that he struggled to find proper words to speak out…
Feeling anxious, Fire Spirit’s muscles tensed up and his heart started pounding in his chest, leaving no room for air in his lungs. He had something to say, too.
“I–…”, Fire Spirit started.
“You–…”, Wind Archer started, too.
They looked at each other with wide eyes. Both of them blushed and chuckled, understanding how awkward the situation was.
“You go first”, Fire Spirit said quickly and grinned, waiting patiently for Wind Archer to continue. Perhaps he was simply delaying his own words…
Nevertheless, Wind Archer didn’t notice anything strange in his behaviour. He couldn’t hold back a smile – Fire Spirit found this smile to be very dear to him.
“You saved me. I… I thank you for your bravery. Now I know that you are ready to be a guardian”, was what the wind god said. Brushing his knuckles against the fabric of his scarf on Fire Spirit’s arm, Wind Archer narrowed his eyes, and a single drop of tear rolled down his cheek. “I was not worthy of your pain…”.
These words made Fire Spirit’s heart shrink. It hurt the fire god deeply to hear such a nonsense – Wind Archer was worth dying for! How could Fire Spirit reassure him? How could he make these damn words finally escape him if his jaws continued to clench because of fear every time?
If he received denial, his heart would be shattered. Yet if he continued to be a coward, Wind Archer would be in the dark forever. He could not betray the wind god again – Fire Spirit’s pain was only for him to deal with.
Opening his lips slightly, he hesitated for some time. This movement caught Wind Archer’s attention, and now the wind god was in all ears for him – damn, it was his turn to speak up now, huh?
He could do it.
He could do it for Wind Archer.
“What I’m going to say can seem insane, and you have every right to stop talking to me for eternity, but… I just can’t hold it anymore…”, Fire Spirit said, lowering his head. His mind felt dizzy from all the stress, but he had to bring things to an end. “I love you. I love you, Wind Archer”.
His tongue felt numb. He did it. Finally, the world heard these words. Fire Spirit didn’t dare to look at Wind Archer, yet he had an opportunity to see the man’s hands instead. These hands, dirty and strong, made a slight movement – Wind Archer hugged himself and froze.
“Fire…”.
“Okay, I’m sorry to have ruined everything! Damn, I shouldn’t have, gosh!”, Fire Spirit started to freak out. His flames burned brighter and hotter, his heart pounded with a frantic rhythm. He was so unbelievably stupid! How could he–…
Wind Archer closed the other’s mouth with his hand to make Fire Spirit shut up.
“I thought… I thought we have already been a couple”.
…
What?
Was Fire Spirit hallucinating? Perhaps his ears had failed him. Perhaps…
They stared at each other in silence. What were they supposed to do now? The situation seemed to be so absurdly strange – how could they allow such a misunderstanding to happen in the first place? While one feared to talk about his love, the other considered both of them to be lovers. What the hell, Fire Spirit thought, and his face screamed with confusion – yet his mouth was still covered. Perhaps, it was for the better.
“We shared food, we stargazed together. You have almost kissed me…”, Wind Archer listed and nodded as he saw horror in Fire Spirit’s eyes. “I was not sleeping”, he confirmed casually.
Obviously, the fire god had every right to freak out now. This whole time he thought that their love was impossible, only for Wind Archer to talk about it with such an ease. Grabbing the wind god’s arm and removing it from his mouth, Fire Spirit wanted to defend himself from such a shame. Who could have thought that the wind god faked his sleep so naturally? Well, of course, the whole matter wasn’t about that night – yet there was so much for Fire Spirit to proceed that his head started pulsating because of pain. How, when, why, the fire god wanted to ask Wind Archer so many questions – he feared that an eternity wouldn’t be enough.
Luckily, Wind Archer took the initiative. He reached his hands towards Fire Spirit’s face and cupped it softly, forcing them to meet eyes. His soft gaze calmed the fire god as it had done many times before. Suddenly, Fire Spirit’s heart stopped pounding in his chest, and the silence in his mind allowed him to listen carefully and see clearly. Finally, the calmness of the forest became soothing, and the god before him felt like home.
The missing piece of his puzzle…
“Petal…”.
“See? You have been calling me this name lately, I thought only couples do this”, Wind Archer whispered softly as his face covered with blush.
“You’re the best, do you know that?”, Fire Spirit chuckled sincerely and placed his mobile hand on the wind god’s waist, pulling him closer and shortening the distance between them suddenly. This action made Wind Archer prick up his ears and roll his eyes in feigned annoyance – yet his face was burning with blush now.
It was amusing to Fire Spirit to learn how silly the wind god, who had always seemed so steady and serious, could act. There was no fear and hesitation in Fire Spirit now – his mind was in peace; therefore, he allowed himself to relax, showing his real attitude at once. Had Wind Archer mention the unsuccessful attempt of a kiss?
A stupid grin found its way to Fire Spirit’s face.
Wasn’t it the perfect time to finish what had been left incomplete?
The small distance between them seemed so fragile and intimate. Fire Spirit wanted to hold Wind Archer close forever and never let go – trying to remember every single detail about the wind god’s expression, Fire Spirit took his time before leaning in closer – Wind Archer didn’t move away, yet he tensed up visibly.
“Are you scared?”, Fire Spirit asked under his breath.
“I am never scared”, Wind Archer said confidently, maintaining the eye contact they had had for a while now.
Of course, the wise forest guardian had already understood what was going on in the fire god’s mind – he wasn’t scared of what could happen next.
“But… I am all dirty”, Wind Archer added awkwardly, looking down at his arms which were now resting on Fire Spirit’s shoulders.
Ha! If only Fire Spirit cared about it.
“Sometimes love can get dirty, I guess”, Fire Spirit grinned and, not giving Wind Archer any time to respond, pressed their lips together passionately.
The wind god flinched and looked flustered. However, as his body started to relax, he closed his eyes and let himself enjoy the very first kiss they shared. It was so pure and gentle – the innocence of the moment allowed both of them to let go of tension and forget the horrors they had experienced earlier.
In the end, it didn’t matter at all, because they had each other now.
They wished for that moment to last forever, but their bodies needed to breathe – they parted from each other for a short moment to catch their breaths only to meet in the second kiss, which was much more desperate and eager than the one before. Being exhausted, they were unable to stand on their feet properly, therefore they collapsed to the ground – but a slight pain from falling couldn’t make them stop.
The air between them was hot – an unspoken desire choked them. Sighs and huffs full of love escaped them when they parted again – gazing at each other lovingly, they couldn’t hold soft laughter back.
Fire Spirit, who was now lying flat on the ground, rubbed Wind Archer’s back with his healthy arm. The wind god was lying on top of the fire god comfortably – such a position made Wind Archer remove his hair behind his blushing ears.
“Fire Spirit… We must heal your arm”, the wind god reminded softly. His gaze never left Fire Spirit’s face – no matter how drunk his mind felt.
Of course, his arm, Fire Spirit reminded himself. The wind god cared about his health – this thought filled him with another wave of love to the god on top of him. Even though his wound ached, Fire Spirit couldn’t bring himself to disrupt the sweet moment. After all, what was this temporary pain in comparison with the gentleness and love they shared now?
“I don’t wanna let go of you…”, Fire Spirit admitted shyly.
A soft smile found its way to Wind Archer’s face. “I do not want neither… Yet I shall appreciate you to be healthy and strong to… To keep on going”.
This man was going to drive him crazy, Fire Spirit concluded and threw his head back, laughing out loud.
The fire god still couldn’t believe that everything that had happened to him was true. His love had been answered to – even if he found it out in the weirdest way possible – and his soul was at peace.
Heartless? This title wasn’t suitable for Fire Spirit. Today he learnt that his heart burnt like an eternal flame if it was filled with love.
Opening his soul was embarrassing? What a nonsense. Today Fire Spirit learnt that opening his soul was healing – it was only a matter of finding the right person who would listen to him and guide him towards happiness.
… Today Fire Spirit learnt a lot. Despite the thorn path he had to go through, he managed to find his true purpose in this world. However, it had never been about being useful – no matter how hard the fire god tried, he would never become the guardian this world, his homeland, deserved to have – after all, he had never wanted to be perfect.
Once he thought that the aching hole in his chest would be healed if he started treating his duties seriously and fitted into his divine role. It was no secret that Fire Spirit was ambitious and ready to dream big – yet the answer to his never-ending questions, the key to his balance, had been always hiding in shades, in leaves, in a cool breeze. The answer seemed to be so obvious, so simple at the first sight that the fire god had never taken it into consideration…
Fire Spirit was so naïve… However, he was happy now, and the fire god wished for nothing else. His soul had been lonely once. Accidentally, it found another lonely, aching soul, and together they formed a whole and solid union.
… Perhaps this coincidence had always been destined to happen.