"squig-squig-squiggle, squig squig squig"

"Doo do da doo da do da" I pretend to sing in harmony with the birds above.

Fire to Fire: Time until rebirth: 0 hours. 10 minutes, 21 seconds

It's starting to get a little bit dark now, the sky has turned to a milky orange with a tinge of purple. In about an hour or so I imagine it would become true night. I must say, it's unimaginably boring to wait for the squigglies in my head to reach 0, it honestly takes forever and I'm unable to do anything other than think.

I've been sitting here for ages, observing the forest as it goes about it's lazy afternoon. Blankets are scurrying back and forth, birds are chirping up a storm, a few other 'slimy' things have wandered by my pile of ashes too. There was this one weird thing! It had no arms or legs, just a head attached to a long tail, very strange, how does it even walk!?

Anyways, I've been lucky that nothing has fiddled with my ashes, I kind of get the feeling that when my ashes are tampered with, I disappear along with them. It's not painful, just.. fading. Speaking of fading, the night wind is a very real concern, I should try not to die in windy places in the future, good thing I'm about to be revived before it becomes a real issue!

Fire to Fire: Time until rebirth: 0 hours, 4 minutes, 46 seconds

Ohh, and I just remembered, I was supposed to be heading to the huge lake with the big blue tree! That was before I was attacked, now I have absolutely no idea where to go! Why does this always happen to me? If only I could fly properly, I must practice when I'm back to my former bird glory!

Fire to Fire: Time until rebirth: 0 hours, 0 minutes, 20 seconds

Here we go again! I can't wait!

The cold dusk air around me suddenly drops to a standstill and a soft heat spreads from my nearby ashes. Another wind comes forth, a wind without touch, it sweeps up my ashes in a lazy whirlwind. The heat increases in intensity and the whirlwind spins faster as the collected dust forms into an incandescent ball that levitates off the forest floor.

I love this feeling!

I can feel my body reforming inside the ball, first my head, then my body, followed by my wings and feet. The heat of the fire ball boils my blood and pumps my heart with an ancient magical fury!

Fire to Fire: Rebirth complete. -40% Health, due to absence of ashes

I let out a sky-piercing caw as the ball melts to nothing and I'm released from the incubation. My feathers are burning with a pure white incandescence that quickly returns to my natural bright red. The whole process from ashes to bird takes about 10 seconds.

"Ohhhhhh yeeeeahh" I say with my freshly made mouth.

"Being a pile of ashes really give you an appreciation for not being a pile of ashes!" I say as I flex my claws and wings.

Ok, stretches done, time to get going again.

First let see if I can snack on the grey ambush-er, I haven't eaten in ages! Hopefully it's still around, after all, it has been a long time, something may have stolen it.

I walk forward and brush aside a few of the bushes where the grey thing fell to the ground. I'm met with what's left of the grey assassin. Something has taken away the body and left behind a patch of it's seared pelt in a bed of dried blood. Such a shame, but expected, maybe I can still eat the burnt stuff?

I pick of the patch of burnt skin in my beak and give it a hearty shake to dislodge any dirt and insects, then I pinch off a bit and swallow. Hmmm, not the best, the burnt bits aren't very nice.

I think when compared to insects and those other nasties everything would taste good. I eat the rest of the burnt flesh with any complaints while thinking about what to do next. I have no idea which way to go, I'm still very hungry and I'm sleepy too, I wasn't able to catch any shut-eye while in ash form.

Such a predicament.

I guess I might as well find somewhere to sleep, I doubt I'd find anything to eat during the night, most likely it will be the other way around! The question is, where can I sleep?

In a hollowed out tree? Dig a hole three blocks down and put a block above me? Inside a bush?

Normally birds have a nest right! Up in a tree! Ok, I've decided, it's tree time.

+ 1 Intelligence

I guess it doesn't really matter what tree I go up, well, the higher up I go the safer I'll be from predators on the forest floor, but I CAN'T FLY. Why, oh why, the source of my woes is always my flightless wings.

No use complaining! One day, I will be free as a bird, as light as a feather, as narrow as a sparrow. This is all just a test, to toughen me up! Yup! I will survive this!

I approach the closest tree and go for the classic 'brute force' tactic. I hug the tree with my wings and scramble my talons up the bark, which works on the angled parts of the trunk, not the vertical parts. So I really can't get up to the branches where it's safe and where I can rest. I need a different strategy!

I shuffle my body up the angled base of the tree again, right up until I reach the vertical trunk. So far, the approach is the same, but here is when my genius comes to play, my nefarious and ingenious plan that is bound to succeed!!!!!!

I push my right foot's talons into the bark and secure a nice foot hold, my talons are actually quite long and my strong feet can hold my entire weight if I let go with my wings, which is exactly what my plan is.

I release my tree climbing hug from the tree and immediately flap with all my might!

I can't fly up the trunk, at best, I can maintain my position by flapping and griping with my foot. All according to plan. I take my left foot and sink my talons in above my right while flapping like a mad-woman.

+ 1 Strength

It's slow and excruciating to my low reserves of stamina, but I'm covering the distance!

My wings are crying from exertion and my feet are killing from being constantly squeezed. still, I don't give up. This is my only chance, there's no way I can start again from scratch! I'll die!

I push back the pain by clenching my beak and closing my eyes tightly. I can do it, one foot after the other, keep on walking! How much time has passed? I have no clue. I know that I must make it as I high as possible! Left, right, left right, left right...

I push my limits over and over and an instant my wings cease to flap and I'm now hanging upside down with only my feet to support me. My wings are hanging over my head, just dead weight at this point, my feet aren't too far behind. Oh gosh, how far have I made it? Please tell me I'm in the branches now.

Oh nice, I am!

I'm actually about 80% of the way to the highest branches! Flying is totally overrated!

Alright, no time to waste, I scout the branches below for a safe spot to fall on and find a nice thick branch.

"OK!"

"Sleep time" I say as I pull my talons free from the bark.

I plummet down from above and land flat on my face on an abnormally thick branch.