Chapter Two - The First Companions

The world she met was, all in all, not very exciting.

It mostly consisted of tunnels and more caves, all connected by dimly glowing golden veins in the walls. From time to time, a cold wind would whistle through the empty caves, making her skin erupt into small bumps and fierce shivers ran down her back.

Every time it happened though, she drew the fire closer to her and filled herself with the burning sensation inside of her and the shivers and bumps vanished as if the cold couldn’t touch her anymore.

She wandered, from one cave to another, following the pulse of the walls and the instinct in her heart, even though it didn’t know where she should go either.

While she walked, she began to play with her hair, still amazed by the vividly red colour of the long strands and, from time to time, she touched her chest, behind which she felt a steady burning.

It was her heart or maybe her head that told her it was this burning that kept her alive, not the steady thumping of her heart or the continuous inflating of her lungs.

When her fingers travelled to that spot, she felt as if she could feel something glowing within her, the core of herself that was more important than anything else.

This too, was new to her per se, yet deeper, more automatic parts of her had known the feeling forever.

She continued onwards, led by a desire to know if there was something else to the world than rocky walls and golden veins.

An answer to that, though not in the form she wanted, came after quite a while of aimlessly walking.

It began with sounds, hits on the rocky floor that didn’t come from her feet making contact with the ground. Next came a sniffing, inhaling sound, breath that was not her own.

She immediately stopped in her tracks and listened.

Steps. Her mind put a word to the sound and it made her heart beat faster with anticipation.

It was something new and incredibly exciting as she made the fire around her glow brighter and waited for the source of the steps to come closer.

It did eventually, in the form of a small, four legged creature covered in muddy fur.

She stared at it curiously, feeling shaken and quite relieved that in the world there was something else but her that was able to move.

It had eyes, amber coloured like hers but they were tired and empty as they met with hers. There was a horn on his head, not unlike the two she had, and a pair of furry ears that perked up when it saw her.

She took its appearance in, studied it without the slightest hesitation, but soon noticed something far more interesting than the physical strangeness of the living being in front of her.

She could see...more than just the outside.

Inside the creature was a flame, in its chest next to its heart, not much different from where the burning in her own chest was located. And just like she burned inside, so did it and she could see...and feel it.

Her mouth formed a round shape as she stared at the creature, sensing so much with a single glance.

Its flame kept it alive, but it was dim. Whatever it was, it struggled to live and had an immense desire to do so. It was a savage creature, having slain his peers to survive, exploiting every chance that was given to him, all in order to continue thriving on this earth.

Looking at the small glow, she understood it all.

And in a weird way, she felt connected to it.

Despite the physical and mental disparities she was well aware of, what was the difference between her and it? There was none.

They both were nurtured by the fire of life in their chests and sensing what creature in front of her was, at its very core, made her feel sympathy for it.

So she neared it, slowing her steps when it began to growl and bare its teeth against her. She didn’t want the only living thing she encountered to be scared of her so she didn’t approach further and instead sat down on the floor, crossing her legs in a relaxed posture.

She stretched out her hand, slowly, and pushed the burning inside of her into her hand until it began to glow in a faint red light.

The creature stopped baring his teeth and instead looked at her hand curiously. After a while, she could sense it had made up its mind that she wouldn’t immediately harm it and stepped closer, slowly pushing its muzzle into her hand.

A smile lit up her face.

In that moment, she realized that she had felt a little...lonely...as she had walked through the tunnels all alone. Now, that feeling was gone.

She felt connected, felt the fire of another life burning under her hand and gently, she began to stroke its greyish, dirty fur.

It first eyed her suspiciously but after her burning seeped into it and their fires made the tiniest contact, it too understood her as she understood it. After that, it relaxed into her and stepped closer, putting its head on her shoulder as her hands made their way through the thick fur.

She could sense its exhaustion and tried, as much as possible, to give it part of her energy, to rekindle the flame in its chest. It didn’t work well, since its body rejected the energy it recognized as foreign, but she was quite satisfied to see it at least burn a little stronger than before.

After a while of letting it rest on her body, she slowly stood up and decided to continue her path of discovery. There was no other option for her, she did not know the world, did not know where the creature next to her came from or where it wanted to go. She also did not know how to make its flame burn brighter again, but if there was a way, she was certain she wouldn’t find it here.

So she sent her fire into his again, trying to somehow communicate her intentions to the only living being she knew besides herself.

She understood that it was alone as well, could sense the exclusion in his core and the small longing for companionship, and was only too happy to offer hers. She also understood that it was a solitary creature and was prepared to let it go if it so choose.

It seemed to receive her intentions and, as she rose, so did it, stepping close to her legs as its fur tickled her bare skin. She smiled at it and nodded.

Then, they continued their path, trying to find a way to somewhere.

In time, the creature’s flame grew a little stronger, as if her mere presence ẃas enough to give it whatever it lacked before. The girl felt relieved, knowing that she would lose her newfound companion once the flickering flame was reduced to nothing but ashes. She didn’t want that.

As they walked side by side, she kept her hand on its back, occasionally stroking through the coarse fur. Having nothing to do, she stole glances on its flame, reading what it was at its very core as time passed. She grew to understand it, further than the initial connection of being alive and the things she saw both amazed and saddened her.

It was rather old, had seen a lot of the world, even though she could not see its memories, she could sense its experience and age. It also was a he, a male, different from her. In what way, other than the physical obviousness, she couldn’t say, but she was aware that he took it as a difference.

There was also something deep inside his flame that was not a feeling, not a concept she could sense but rather real words that were etched into his heart.

Ichakh. The syllables drifted through her head, so foreign to her that her head wasn’t able to translate it into a certain meaning.

It was...a name.

The concept was faint, vague and the only thing she could truly grasp of it was that she didn’t have one. When she raised her hand to feel her own flame, there was her own curiosity, her desire to stand up and venture, but deep down, there was no etching, no word to fit herself.

Seeing this emptiness made her feel a little desolate, saddened that she had nothing to call herself. But then again, she still was not sure whether any creature like her existed outside these caves, so it probably didn’t matter.

In time, they did meet other creatures, though quite a while after she had found Ichakh. They were similar to him, save for the fact that their flames were brighter, and they had more than one horn on their heads.

Ichakh began to growl and fletch his teeth as they approached and she looked curiously between them. Not quite understanding, she imitated the gesture, baring her lips to show her not so sharp teeth, but the growling sound that came from them wouldn’t quite escape her throat.

Instead, her throat vibrated and produced a low hum that shocked her most of all.

The other beings only looked at her queerly, their eyes flickering between her and her companion.

They continued to growl and she thought she heard sounds similar to the...names fall but not matter what she did she couldn’t reproduce them.

Frustrated, she gave up and resigned herself to trying out the melodic hums her own throat could create.

That was now very interesting and soon she found herself fitting tones and pitches together to formally a melody.

Before she could try more though, Ichakh and his peers seemed to have finished their dispute and all of them save for one turned around to leave.

The one who stayed was smaller, with golden fur and three horns on its head and when she looked at the bright flame she saw discord, a longing for harmony and loneliness.

She smiled and stretched out her hand that was once again glowing red. The other creature neared, its ears perked up in a curious manner as it sniffed at her palm.

As she got a closer look at the fire inside of it, she noticed similarities, a familiar concept of female that was mirrored in her own core. She also saw the potential to be great, to lead and to unite. She saw a friend. And never would she have thought to deny its request to be hers.

She had a name as well. Ecchaik. It was the same guttural sound the girl couldn’t reproduce, no matter how much she tried, there were only high and clear vibrations coming our of her mouth.

Eventually she gave up on trying it.

Together, they continued, strolling through the tunnels, now a group of three.

Another quite long period of time passed that way, with little growling conversation between her two companions and most of all a silence that was harmonious and quite calming, despite growing more and more dull in time.

She was about to believe that truly nothing existed beyond walls and veins, considering the time they spent wandering in it. But after a long time, something changed. The walls grew lighter, the golden veins dimmer and more sparse.

Something else but the fire swirling around her and the gold in the rocks was illuminating the caves and as soon as she noticed it, she grew excited.

And then, they finally found what they were looking for.

The outside.

When she realized it, she began to run, speeding up her feet without a single care for the stones digging into her soles. She didn’t care about the pain or the bloody footprints on the floor, or the breath that whizzed out of her lungs.

All she saw was light and she ran towards it, her eyes gleaming with joy and excitement.

And she wasn’t disappointed.

Oh boy, she wasn’t.

Outside. It was a concept she hardly understood, not even when she hastily stepped out of the arc that formed the entrance to the caves she woke up in.

What she did understand, was that it was there. And it was beautiful.

She stood up high, a rocky platform in front of her fell steeply down, forming a cliff that let her overlook whatever valley she was in. There were...trees down on its floor, looking incredibly small from up high. There were mountains encircling her, even higher than where she stood and above them...was the sky.

Her mouth fell open as she stared at it.

Endless. Vast. Never ending blue.

It reached up further and further, occasional white fluffs...clouds...specking it and amidst it all, a fire so hot and so big she could barely look at it.

Sun, her brain put a word to it but she couldn’t help but feel it lacking. She stared at it, not caring about the pain in her eyes and felt undescribable, soul filling awe.

She could sense it, so so far away, burning with the same flames she held inside of her. Sun, star, it felt as if a small one was locked inside of her and it called to the big fire she could see shining high in the sky.

A grin split on her face and she felt content, despite the calling and longing in her chest.

This was where she felt good. Where she belonged, under the sun and the sky, not caught in caves and darkness. There was a star within her and it needed to walk beneath its kind and she knew, if she had to go back inside it would cry and long for this view.

This was amazing.

The grin on her face grew wider and wider so much that it hurt but she couldn’t find it in her to care as she swirled and danced beneath the sun, balancing on the edge of the cliff. She wasn’t afraid of falling even though she knew it was high. She knew she wouldn’t be hurt.

Her eyes roamed over the valley, the mountains, the meadows, the world to her feet.

And suddenly she couldn’t hold herself anymore.

With a wild laugh and her red hair flaming behind her, she took one step back, then another.

And then she jumped.