Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"I could try!" Katie offers happily, "Though...I'm not sure if Gaia would get angry at me for praying to a different god..."


"You haven't fed it yet, have you?" Stephanie asks.

"No, I'm just watching it. Looks weird." Abigail idly comments.

"Well, according to mother's notes, they don't eat meat like normal birds. They like fire-related foods, like sulfur and incense. They also appear to have connections to the sun, and live for a long time..." Stephanie says, reading.

"Ok, there is no way this bird is getting some of my incense. I need it for...calm time." Abigail says.

"Wait, were you just guessing what phoenixes ate earlier?" Abigail asks.

"...A little." Stephanie admits.

Abigail heads into her living room, grabbing a small piece of charcoal from her fireplace. She heads back in the kitchen and offers it to the phoenix, curious.

 

“I’ll ask her once I recover a bit more.”


It pecks at it, getting its beak lodged in the charcoal and scrambling around the sink trying to get it off.

 

Katie picks up one of her chairs and takes it over to Rineth, ice breaking from it as she does. She sits down next to Rineth's bed happily.

"So did they fix all your broken bones?" Katie asks.


Abigail pulls the charcoal off the phoenix's beak, putting it to one side.

"Can't I just...let this thing fly out into the wild and let nature take it's course?" Abigail asks.

"Newly hatched phoenixes don't have the ability to fly. Ones that have resurrected from a full life supposedly can though, since they don't truly die." Stephanie says, reading.

"Ughhhhhhh...I don't want to take care of this phoenix." Abigail moans.

"I'm surprised you wouldn't want a phoenix. They can be very helpful. Plus, they're just like you. They're attuned with fire and have an aversion to water." Stephanie says.

"Pets are dumb and stupid...like you." Abigail groans.

"Are you feeling alright, Abigail?" Stephanie asks, concerned.

"Well my morning got interrupted by this damn fiery chicken so no not really." Abigail says bluntly.

 

“I believe so.”


The phoenix spits an ember at Abigail, seeming to pick up on her distaste.

 

"Does that affect your dragon form too?" Katie asks, curious.


"What does spitting embers mean?" Abigail asks, picking up the ember after it bounces harmlessly off of her.

"I think that's just it trying to breathe fire." Stephanie says, flicking through pages over the phone.

"Hmph. What do I need to do to make this thing like me then?" Abigail asks.

"You're actually going to keep it as a pet?" Stephanie asks, hopeful.

"I'm going to give it some independence and that won't be easy if it hates me." Abigail says.

"Well...you could try feeding it." Stephanie says, turning a page.

Abigail sighs, leaving the kitchen. About a minute later, she returns with a cone of incense, offering it to the phoenix.

 

I use the elevators to explore different floors, getting a lay of the land.

 

“Yes, but I’d take up multiple surgery rooms.”


It spits an ember on the incense, scratching at it and picking at the dust.

 

"Must be a side effect or something."

 

They sort of look all the same, except for every tenth floor.

________________________________

“There are memory wiping spells, which I hope isn’t what happened.”

 

"Yeah, you are pretty big." Katie says, laughing at the concept of surgeons working on Rineth while in his dragon form.


The incense smokes a bit, releasing pleasant smells. The dust is very finite, coming apart in small chunks.

"I don't think it sees it as food." Abigail says.

"Hold on a moment." Stephanie says, before hanging up.

"Stephanie?" Abigail asks as her phone goes silent.

A couple of minutes later, there's a bright flash of light, and Stephanie appears near to Abigail.

"You said you couldn't get here, you whore." Abigail says, annoyed.

"I can't, this is just a projection of myself, but it lets me see what's happening." Stephanie says.

"So, what do I do with this thing." Abigail says, gesturing to the phoenix.

Stephanie gives the phoenix a close look.

 

"I wonder if it has something to do with you not... being alive.. you know?"

 

I check every tenth floor, starting with the tenth.

 

"Also these nurses aren't particularly adept with draconic operations. Guardian magic works fairly well with draconians, though."


The phoenix looks at Stephanie before spitting a piece of incense dust at Abigail.

The tenth seems to be blocked entirely and obscured with some sort of access level system, along with, unsurprisingly, every other tenth floor, which increments the required security access by one each time.

"I would hope not, else Fybus might start forgetting things too. That's sort of disappointing, if you forget everyone you once knew in the afterlife..."

 

"Guardian magic has been around a long time." Katie says happily.


"I don't think it likes you." Stephanie comments.

"You don't say." Abigail says condescendingly.

Stephanie compares the phoenix to drawings in her tome, trying to figure out it's breed.

 

"The closer ties to nature helps mend, even though your magic is far younger than ours. Speaking of healing magic... has Ihra spent much time in this reality?"


It doesn't seem to match any of them.

 

"Um...I don't know. I haven't seen her in a while." Katie admits, almost apologetically.


"That's strange. This is an entirely new breed of phoenix." Stephanie says.

"Guess it's not endangered then." Abigail shrugs.

"Or it's the beginning of a new evolution born out of the low numbers." Stephanie poses.

Stephanie flicks to a blank page in her tome, and begins to sketch the phoenix with a pencil.

 

"Next time you see her, could you ask her to let me know how she's been?"


The phoenix sits (mostly) still and looks towards Stephanie, a bit curious.

 

"Of course!" Katie says happily.


Stephanie sketches the phoenix, glancing up at it occasionally and sometimes shifting her position. Abigail just opens her fridge and downs a quarter-full bottle of orange juice.

"What should we name it?" Stephanie asks.

"I'm not naming it. That's how you get attached." Abigail says flatly, throwing her empty bottle in a recycling bin.

"How about Embers?" Stephanie suggests.

Abigail just rolls her eyes.

 

"We haven't seen much of her either, I suppose she's got her own demons to face."


The phoenix blinks in response, going back to picking at the incense.

 

"I hope she's doing ok." Katie says worriedly.


"Have you tried giving it some meat? Maybe this new species has a different diet." Stephanie says, writing down a few notes about the phoenix.

Abigail sighs, grabbing a slice of uncooked bacon out of her fridge and dangling it in front of the phoenix.