huesofthewind:

Wind was to his feet in seconds when he noticed the black sand dancing around Jack’s head, ears back as it slowly but surely turned into a nightmare. Whinnying, Wind pawed the earth under his hooves and challenged the nightmare, charging it and eventually forcing it away.

Exhausted, he laid back down beside Jack, head drooped next to his with his eyes closed. When Jack finally did wake up, he nosed his cheek “I’m fine, just tired. Are you okay? I didn’t mean to throw you again…”

Jack, still half-awake, blinked his eyes a few more times before finally coming to his senses. He gave Wind’s cheek a gentle stroke and then sighed, looking up at the sky, still on his back.

“Yeah, but I had the worst nightmare.” Almost immediately he dismissed the thought. He stared out in space and tried to distract himself. “You don’t have to apologize, Wind. If anything, I should be thanking you. For getting us out of there. I’d be a goner without you,” he said, stretching his arms out.

huesofthewind:

The horse didn’t even respond to being dragged, even for his size, he wasn’t as heavy as most would think. Several hours past and Wind became responsive, eyes opening and looking around, gold eyes resting on Jack and letting out a quiet whinny. “Sorry… I crashed.” He breathed out, sounding absolutely exhausted…

Though the burns were treated now, the pain would linger for some time. Part of Fire’s curse, no doubt…

Lying there unconscious, Jack was having dreams, which were more like nightmares. About the last breathing moment he had. Drowning in the very lake he was laid down beside. Dying. Waking up as a spirit and learning that no one could see him. Meeting Wind and becoming his friend. Spending the next three hundred years lonely–Wind wasn’t there all the time, anyway.

It seemed to go on forever, like it was even longer than the actual amount of years he’d spent roaming the Earth. If only his friend Sandy was there to ease this nightmare of his; that would make things a lot better. After what seemed like an eternity, he slightly regained consciousness and opened his eyes enough to see that Wind was still there. “Hey,” he said, trying to get up. “You okay?”

huesofthewind:

Fire gave a shriek in retaliation to the ice turning to water to block his attack, looking to the sea as if looking for something. If he was thinking Water had lent Jack some of her power, that might be the case, but alas the mermaid was nowhere to be seen.

With Jack on his back now, Wind took off as quickly as possible into the clouds far ahead, out of Fire’s reach. Before they knew it, they were back on Jack’s Lake, but Wind overshot the distance and crashed into the snowbanks around it. He was disoriented and in pain, wings burnt and bleeding in some areas. He was unconscious as soon as he hit the ground.

When they reached the lake and landed on the ground, Jack lay there for a while, his adrenaline rush gone. He felt dizzy and his senses began to blur, but then he realized that he didn’t even have the right to feel tired; it was Wind who did most of the work. Shocked to see him unconscious, he took notice of his burns, and covered his mouth to prevent himself from letting out a cry of devastation. 

He tried to carry his friend to bring him closer to the lake, but he himself felt exhausted and so had no other choice but to drag him–as carefully as he could–over to it. He broke the ice covering the surface, but he didn’t really know how to treat Wind’s burns. After minutes of sitting there not knowing what to do, he remembered his recently developed power. He held out his hand to see if he was still capable of controlling water, and he learned that he was indeed. He was able to heal most of Wind’s burns, and after doing so, fell on his back on the snow, unconscious like his friend.

huesofthewind:

Wind’s wings had already caught flame when Jack tried to cool them off, but the air elemental acted as if this didn’t hurt him at all. flying only fanned the flames, but he would be vulnerable if he stood on the raft. He’d sink it and be unable to fly them out of there. “Jack, we can’t fight him.” He coughed, tugging on Jack’s hood, trying to urge him onto his back.

“We need to go. Now. Before he attacks-“

Too late, the phoenix was above them now, wings spread wide as it’s beak opened and flames shot out towards them. Fire never really was good at making friends, considering he barbecued everything he touched.

Jack held out an arm, forming an ice shield of some sort as an attempt to try and protect the two of them one last time. He figured it would just melt under the flames but it was still worth a try. But right before the fire elemental’s flames hit them, Jack’s ice shield transformed into a water shield, putting out the Phoenix’s flames instantly. He didn’t know how it happened, but he decided that he shouldn’t waste any more time and hopped on Wind when he found the chance.

huesofthewind:

Looking back, Wind’s horn glowed and sparkled. The raft was done for now, he knew it wouldn’t last under this heat, and neither would Jack. flapping his wings, he shifted midair and neighed threateningly at the firebird  slowly drifting towards them in the ash and smoke. “Jack, jump on my back. Thank you for holding out this long, but we’r e going to have to run afterall…” He breathed, trying to use his wings to beat back the polluted air choking Jack.

“Ignoring me? How cute.” The Phoenix laughed darkly, embers starting to rain down on them, burning Wind’s hair and feathers.

He fell on his back helplessly, trying to fight his way through all the smoke. When he saw that Wind was hurt, a surge of energy went through him. “Stop, you’re hurting him!” He rushed over to his friend’s aid, trying to cool off the parts where he was burnt. "Why are you doing this?“ He stood up to the Phoenix. Doing that probably wasn’t such a good idea, but no one can hurt a friend of his and get away with it. He held his staff in front of him defensively, protecting Wind as he did the same for Jack just moments ago.

huesofthewind:

Wings began to flap, slowly propelling them forward at first before picking up a decent sailing speed. Though they were making progress, they weren’t out of the woods yet, so to speek. The island’s volcano, Fire’s home, began to smoke.

“Leaving so soon, Wind? Without introducing me to your friend?” A voice echo’d through the stifling hot air. The Volcano erupted, or so it seemed… The Firebird had emerged…

As frightened as Jack was of the fire elemental, he tried his best to be brave for both of them. He doubled the amount of ice he was layering on their raft to keep it from melting. “Keep going, Wind,” he said, afraid that soon his abilities would reach their limit and he wouldn’t be able to support the ice. He coughed, having trouble breathing as the smoke began to engulf them.

huesofthewind:

Taking a deep breath, Wind’s horn began to glow, golden wings sprouting from his back and spreading wide as he stepped onto the raft. Looking back towards the island, wind waited for Jack to get on as well. “He doesn’t know we’re here yet, I think we have a good headstart…”

He boarded the raft soon after Wind did, but as soon as he was on it, he knelt down and kept pressed his palm on the ice, feeling it melt at the temperature. “Good. Though I have to keep holding on like this for a while, at least until we get away from the island,” he said, his hand placed firmly on their ride, replacing the ice that melted as quickly as he can.

huesofthewind:

“This is where things get a little complicated…” Wind uttered once they were on the beach, looking across the sea to the mainland. That would be a long swim… “Can you make a raft out of ice? I can use my wings to sail us across the water. I can’t fly unless I run, I don’t want Fire to notice us.”

Jack got sort of stumped there. With a temperature as high as this, it would definitely be hard for him to keep the ice solid and intact. But Wind has been doing his best to be brave for them, and he knew he had to be brave too. He pointed at the water with his staff and began to draw a raft wide and thick enough to carry them. He made its foundation as strong as he could, strengthening it, and when he finished, he made way for his friend to get on board before him. 

huesofthewind:

Crawling out carefully, he noticed even Gaia had fled the area. “This way, quietly, and whatever you do, don’t run. Never run from anything immortal, it attracts their attention.” He whispered, trying to be brave for Jack as he took his hand, leading him towards the beach.

“Okay.” He nodded, trying his best to be alert on what was happening around them. He followed Wind until they got to the beach, quick but careful at the same time. Looking behind him, he saw how deserted the place got, and couldn’t help but feel sad about it, considering how peaceful and pleasant the mood was before the fire element arrived.

huesofthewind:

“He isn’t my friend, not after he started abusing his power and mine-” A loud shriek of a bird pierced the silence, causing Wind to jump. He wanted to run, run as fast as he could to get away, his fear starting to overpower his thoughts.

“W-we should go, before he notices us.” He whispered, tapping the roots with his horn to separate them, looking out fearfully.

At the bird’s shriek, Jack covered his ears as an immediate reaction. Wind was right, it was dangerous for them to stay and they really had to go. “Okay, I’ll be right behind you,” he said, waiting for Wind to lead the way. He wasn’t all too familiar with the place.