Chapter Text
It was a lovely day. Fire Spirit was on his way to visit the forest in the Dessert Paradise, where his dear friend Wind Archer would definitely be waiting. Sure, the guy had a tendency to fire arrows at Fire Spirit whenever they saw each other, but that was just part for the course.
Looking down at the land he was flying over, he spotted a village with a grand market in the very middle. Cookies were roaming around, filling the air with so much chatter that it reached even the ears of the fire guardian. The stalls were filled with jellies and shiny trinkets that immediately caught Fire Spirit's eye. Maybe he could get Windy a small gift on the way, and avoid getting hit with an arrow!
Deciding that the plan was a great one, he plummeted down to the edge of the market, with only a small ring of fire forming around him as he hit the ground. A crater would have been much more fitting for the eternal flame, but it would definitely cause a commotion.
He wandered into the crowd, turning his flames down to avoid attracting needless attention — but kept them bright enough to still be dazzling, obviously. He looked from stall to stall, picking up various trinkets and whatsits, giving them a judgemental look and then discarding them, deeming them not good enough for Windy.
All of a sudden, one of the stalls caught his eye. It differed from the others — it wasn't shiny, colourful, eye-catching or exciting. It was just a small, weathered tent, with a small, hooded cookie sitting under it, behind a crooked table. The table had one sign hanging off it, which said: “Fate/Prophecies/Love advice - Come to meet your destiny”
Intrigued, he approached the table. He wasn't all that interested in love advice, after all, the eternal flame didn't love anyone, no sir. But his curiosity got the best of him.
‘Hello, traveller. I see you wish to know what path your life will grant you.’ The hooded cookie sounded to be a female, and spoke in a sharp, calm voice.
‘I was actually just looking for a gift for my friend… but I don't think there's anything here that would suit him.’
‘A gift, you say? That cookie must be a special one, then…’
Fire Spirit's flames spiked a bit higher.
‘He's okay, I guess.’
‘I believe I know just the thing you need. A perfect gift for a perfect cookie.’
‘You think you have a better gift idea than me? Well then, shoot! Try me!’ Fire Spirit leaned his elbow on the table, which swayed on uneven legs.
‘There is a waterfall nearby, which flows into a great lake. By that lake grow the most beautiful flowers the world has to offer, ones that sparkle like rainbow and take months to wither. A gift no cookie would refuse.’ The cookie placed one hand on top of the other, drilling her eyes into the desk.
‘Hmm…’ Fire Spirit twirled his staff in consideration. ‘He is a nature guy, that much is true… I think that'll be perfect for him! Which way to the waterfall, you say?’
‘Head North, and you will surely find it. The flowers grow plentiful on the side of the lake where the water is deepest.’
‘North, got it! Thanks, mysterious cookie!’
With that new prospect in mind, Fire Spirit took off, too excited to hear the cookie mumble under her breath:
‘Naive fool.’
Well, there was a waterfall, alright. And a lake. From above, he couldn't spot any flowers, so he carefully sauntered to the grass, finally landing at the edge of the lake where the water seemed to be the darkest.
There were many typical field flowers, ones that Wind Archer had shown him many times, accompanied by a boring lecture on the beauty of nature (which Fire Spirit didn't mind, as long as it was Windy talking). None of them seemed to sparkle like rainbow, at least at first glance. Maybe they only grow near the water?
He very, very carefully moved closer to the lake. He didn't like water. It may seem silly to some, but to the elemental of fire, even a spring shower was torture. And don't get him started on how awful he looked when soaked. Like a wet hamster.
Rainbow flowers, rainbow flowers… Where are the damn flowers?
Before he could definitively realise that the flowers were, in fact, not there, he felt a violent push, lost his balance and toppled face-first straight into the lake.
The surface boiled around him, sizzling as it touched his flaming skin and the Dragon Bead atop his staff. His flames were extinguished in an instant; and Witches, did it hurt. The freezing water felt like a thousand needles digging under his skin, seeping all energy out of him, dimming his flames into a measly spark…
Only then did he realise that, additionally, he couldn’t breathe underwater. His lungs were starting to burn, and without oxygen, any remaining sparks of fire died out inside him. He tried to keep a tight hold on his staff, but his vision was quickly clouding, he stopped thrashing his limbs and fell limp, as everything blurred into a dark hum…
Someone pulled him out of the water — it must’ve been so, because he suddenly felt unbearably cold. And he never felt cold, he was the flame, for Witches’ sake! Through the haze, he heard someone shouting, someone grabbing hold of him, something cold around his wrists… he tried to fight back, but he couldn’t muster any energy to do so. His vision had still not fully returned, and he couldn’t gather any firepower to shoot out. He felt utterly pathetic.
Before he knew it, he (along with his staff) was pushed into a dark space, with the door slamming shut behind him. He was so damn cold… he tried to wrap his arms around him, but he felt handcuffs keeping his arms behind his back. If only he could gather enough strength to light even a candle’s flame, but no… He realised he was laying on the ground, and the space he was in was moving. He was regaining his senses, slowly but surely. That didn’t help in anything, since his power was still gone, as he was still drenched and weakened. It only allowed him to overthink everything.
What a silly excuse for a guardian he was. Fell for the most obvious lie, and also into a lake. And then got captured like he was some common cookie, not the eternal flame. He felt so stupid, useless… that’s all he was. Useless. What was he without his flame, without his power? Just an unobservant cookie that never took anything seriously, and now he was going to rot in this… whatever it was, a carriage? Must’ve been. Witches damn it.
Minutes passed. He should be regaining his power now… should be. He tried lighting a fire — nothing. It was as if his power was not replenishing in the slightest. He tried not to panic, and stepped over his bound hands to have them in the front; maybe that way he would be more comfortable. That’s when the handcuffs around his wrists caught his attention. Even in the pitch black box he was in, the etchings in the metal glowed a faint red. Symbols in some strange language that he could not read, and didn’t need to in order to understand what they were for. His power had been drained by water, and now it couldn’t replenish itself, due to the strange enchantment in the handcuffs.
He was completely and utterly fucked.
‘Is something the matter? Your tea is growing cold.’
Wind Archer’s eyes snapped open. Indeed, the cup of tea he held in his hands was much cooler than it was just a moment ago — although it probably hadn’t been a moment. For how long had he zoned out? Millennial Tree Cookie gazed into him with a concerned look in his eyes.
‘I felt something… strange. It’s probably nothing.’ He brushed off the feeling in the back of his head, and took a sip of the tea. It was too cold for his liking. Whenever that happened around Fire Spirit, the overexcited flame would simply hold the cup for a while, and the tea was close to boiling from just his touch. Speaking of Fire Spirit, where was he…?
‘You said you could feel Fire Spirit approaching the forest, is that right?’
Millennial Tree nodded, his all-seeing eyes drifting upwards, looking somewhere beyond the visible layer of reality. After a moment, he frowned.
‘Strange…’
Wind Archer felt his heart freeze, though he tried to steady himself.
‘What is it?’
‘I cannot feel his energy. It’s faint… very faint. More than it should be.’
Despite his attempts to remain indifferent, Wind Archer’s heart sank into his stomach, and his mouth went dry — although he was no longer in the mood for drinking tea.
‘Perhaps he’s simply resting within his Orb. You can never predict what that flame will do.’ Millenial Tree’s smile seemed slightly forced.
‘You’re probably right,’ Wind Archer sighed. ‘Worrying over nothing. It’s probably best if I go on patrol now…’ to distract myself, he finished in his thoughts. To stop thinking.
I didn’t work. Not that day, not the next. No matter what Wind Archer did, he could never tear his mind off Fire Spirit’s whereabouts. After three days, he grew completely restless. The fire elemental would visit his forest every couple of days, so why the long break all of a sudden? His energy was nowhere to be seen, and he himself was not showing up… so what had happened?
He grunted in frustration, having missed his target by five inches. His grip on his bow was tight, and he ran his hand down his face. Focus, he thought. He is fine. You do not care about him. He’s probably out doing something reckless again.
‘Oh, for Witches’ sake,’ he hissed. Dismissing the idea hadn’t worked. Distracting himself also. He couldn’t focus, he couldn’t eat, and he was bloody exhausted. How was he supposed to guard the forest in this state?
That left him one option: go look for Fire Spirit on his own, make sure he was okay, and then return to his duties. And if the flame would turn out to be perfectly fine, Wind Archer was going to strangle himself with his own bow.