Elementals

Chapter 7-The Blazing Trials: Part 1-The Warden of Fire

"Down here."

I turned my head to the large rock, then to the bird that was sitting on it. I raised an eyebrow at it, skeptical that a bird just spoke to me.

"What's with the face?"

"Okay, who said that?" I said, looking around again.

"Me, the bird." It chirped. I stared at it blankly.

"Have I gone crazy, or am I just hearing things? Or did I somehow hit my head?" I ask myself.

"Neither. Or, maybe you have gone crazy. I mean, you did bolt like a lightning elemental ten minutes ago when that thing started up. It was actually kinda funny." The bird chirped. I stared at it again.

"So, you can talk?"

"No, I can't. Well, I can, but not the same language you humans speak. But you can understand me so-"

"Okay, talking animals, in a magical world where I have fire powers. I must've fallen asleep again, haven't I? I must be in a dream. Someone pinch me please." I muttered historically. Suddenly I felt a sharp sudden pecking on my head.

"Oww!" I cried.

"Hmm, I guess it's not a dream." The bird chirped on top of my head.

"Yeah, you're right. It's not... so then I really can understand you." I said in realisation. The bird tweeted happily. "But, how?"

"I, actually dont know. Fire elementals don't normally have the ability to talk to animals, only earth and Nature elementals can do that. But Just about anything is possible in this realm." The bird fluttered off my head and onto the rock.

"Wait, if I can understand you then can you tell me the way out of this forest?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure." It held out its wing to my right. "Just go straight that way and you should make it out of here with no trouble."

"Thank you so much." I smiled.

"No problem. Good luck you strange red-head elemental." The bird tweeted.

"See you around you pesky little bird." I smirked. The bird then fluttered its wings and flew off into the trees. I chuckled to myself, forgetting that things in this realm are very different from my own. I took in a deep breath, exhaled and looked to my right. But not even a second later, I let out a startled cry and jumped back, sliding a foot or two across the ground, as a ball of fire flew inches past my face and exploding next to a tree. I turned my head, horrified at the glowing red eyes facing me and the outstretched hand aimed at the rock.

"Uh oh."

Without a second thought, I bolted. I ran as fast as I did when I first got put into this forest, weaving through the forest with ease. Dodging trees, flipping over logs, leaping over and onto boulders, I continued to run. I decided to take a small rest, but as I stopped for a brief moment to look back the way I came, a ball of fire flew right past my face, and those beedy glowing red eyes caught mine again. I blinked, then turned my head and ran again. Another fireball flew past my arm, which I managed to dodge last second. I looked back and saw another one flying right at me and ducked into a roll before getting up on my feet, and dashing again. I didn't bother looking back as more and more balls of fire sped past me, missing me by an inch every time.

'Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.' I repeatedly said to myself in my head. As I dove past another fireball, I spotted a bit of dark red and silver surrounded by blankness far through the trees, about a hundred or so feet from me. Despite the colour being so far, I instantly knew what it was.