Thorne surveyed the grassland for prey. He had been using the open terrain as a personal training ground for the past month. He had fought various beasts; some were similar to earthling animals, while others were entirely unique to this world.

‘I should go for another flying beast today.’ Thorne planned.

The flying beasts were always complex to fight, but they also were incredibly useful in training Thorne’s accuracy and range in external attacks with his energy.

Thorne scouted the area. The sun was just coming up, thus many of the beasts were either asleep or hiding, but there were always some that remained out.

‘There.’ Thorne smiled, but upon further investigation, his grin dimmed slightly, ‘Should I fight it? It’s so…wonderous.’

The being in question was a mystical blue bird that flew low above the calm grasslands. The bird's body was slender and graceful, with a majestic stance that exuded a sense of regality. Like two gleaming sapphires, its eyes held profound wisdom and mystery.

The bird's wings were its most captivating feature, drawing immediate attention with their striking and contrasting appearance. Each wing was a remarkable blend of fluffy and fiery elements, resembling a harmonious fusion of delicate downy feathers and flickering flames. The fluffy plumage, soft and voluminous, provided a gentle texture that brought a sense of warmth and comfort to its overall appearance.

The fiery aspects of the wings manifested as flickering trails of vibrant azure flames. These flames danced along the edges of the feathers, casting a soft glow that contrasted beautifully against the bird's cool blue feathers. The flames appeared to be in constant motion, as if animated by otherworldly energy, radiating a faint warmth and emitting a soft, golden light.

It flew mesmerizingly, its soft wings and blue flames shimmering vibrantly in the dawn sunlight.

Thorne shook his head in disappointment. He had found no other prey to hunt, ‘This is nature. Beasts die.’

With a resolved mind, Thorne marched toward the low-flying bird.

The bird saw his approaching figure but did not bother to fly away. Its aged eyes stared mellowly at Thorne as if it knew why he was there.

Thorne could not manage to maintain eye contact and looked guiltily at his feet, but he remained resolved.

I’m sorry, but I will not turn back.’

The beast seemed to recognize his commitment and bellowed a low, melodic tune. It was a song of sorrow and disappointment; disappointment in Thorne, but also in itself.

Thorne looked curiously at the beast, ‘It must have lived a tumultuous life.’

Thorne reached the area of the bird, looked up at it, and spoke, “I do not challenge you in malice but for progression. I do hope you will battle me to your full capability.”

The bird looked at Thorne with sadness; it seemed not to wish to fight.

‘Shit, who am I kidding? It can’t understand me.’

Thorne continued his march until he was almost directly under the flying beats. He withdrew his sabers with resolute solemness. Never had a beast been so earnest in its desire not to battle.

As Thorne was preparing his first attack, he noticed something on the ground; something was shining in the sunlight. Thorne looked down, and his eyes widened in shock upon his discovery!

‘An egg.’

Like its mother, the egg was sky blue and the size of a human skull. There were some cracks on it, and it seemed as if it was just about ready to open.

Thorne reached down, intending to inspect it more clearly.

‘That’s magnifi-’

“SKREEE!”

The calm and mellow expression that had once been plastered over the bird’s face disappeared. It was replaced by unrestrained motherly fury!

Thorne looked at the egg in realization, ‘So that’s why you didn’t want to fight me.’

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

‘Well, now I suppose we have to fight.’

The bird came crashing down at him, trying to grab the egg and kill Thorne in one fell swoop.

It spat twirling lines of radiant blue fire from its mouth directly at Thorne’s exposed head.

In response, Thorne quickly held up his swords and used the sword-shield technique he had first created to combat the bear. Now, it was a staple of his arsenal and was his most common defensive technique.

The fire absorbed into the amber shield harmlessly, and Thorne quickly dissipated the shield so he could use his swords offensively.

He swung his right sword in an upward diagonal arc. The frenzied red energy extended slightly, reaching desperately for the flying bird!

Twirling in the air, the bird deftly avoided the strike and continued its nosedive for its egg.

Thorne puffed out a small sigh upon witnessing the bird’s actions; in most cases, he would be happy, but this kill did not feel fair or honorable. The beast flew downward right into Thorne’s trap. With quick motions, he positioned his blades to parallel each other in a completely horizontal position. He then pushed the red energy to the tip of the blade, and with a push, he fired!

Red energy shot from the blades like a laser. It flew in a perfect straight line, the red energy searching for life to snuff out. The turbulent beams of energy greedily struck their opponent and shot straight through the head of the radiant blue bird.

Boom!

The head exploded into blood, and blue pieces of flesh spattered all over Thorne’s robes. He looked sadly down at the pieces of flesh and then at what remained of the once mystical bird.

The torso was red and scarred due to the destructive energy. Surprisingly, the wings remained intact. The radiant flames still shone brightly in the sunlight, a monument to the grand blue bird.

Thorne looked at the remains with melancholic dejection. He bowed to the beast, “Thank you for being a worthy opponent.”

‘I have already been dishonorable today; while it may not mean much, I should bury the beast.’

Thorne spent the next few minutes shoveling on his knees with his bare hands. The dirt and stone underneath the grassland cut into his hands, causing cuts and pain, but Thorne ignored it all.

After some time, the makeshift grave was complete, and Thorne carefully placed the torso and wings into the hole.

Not bearing to look at the consequence of his deeds any longer, Thorne turned around and started to walk away from the flaming battlefield but suddenly heard a quiet noise.

“Eeek.”

A law squawking sounded from behind him. Thorne turned and gasped, ‘The egg!’

He slowly walked over to the source of the sound and couldn’t help but look In shame at the previous resident of the egg.

It was a tiny blue bird, just like its dead mother. The tiny bird was no larger than Thorne’s fist. Its wings were adorned with tiny blue flames, and its blue eyes blinked rapidly, not used to the bright sunlight.

He bent down slightly and held out his arm to the baby bird. With slow, stuttering steps, the baby staggered to Thorne and sniffed his arm.

“Scree.” It squawked happily.

Thorne sighed and looked at its dead mother’s grave, ‘I guess this is karma after all.’

Thorne quickly retrieved some meat and water from his spatial storage and set it in front of the tiny bird. It looked up at Thorne and blinked rapidly, this time seemingly in appreciation.

‘I hope this bird doesn’t need more than meat and water.’

Luckily, the baby seemed quite content with its options and tore into the meat fiercely. Its fangs were already fully formed and were as sharp as knives.

Thorne whistled lowly, ‘Wow, it’s good it didn’t try to bite me.

The baby bird then bent down next to the makeshift wooden water bowl and drank rapidly by placing its whole head in the bowl.

In only a couple of minutes, the food and drink Thorne had prepared were ruthlessly consumed. The baby bird innocently cocked its head up toward Thorne expectantly.

“Tsk, you want more, you greedy bird?” Thorne muttered as he withdrew more meat and water.

The bird squealed in delight and again began tearing into the slabs of meat.

Thorne’s shock continued growing as the bird continued eating. It had fully consumed at least three times its mass in dinosaur meat and seemed to be in no mood to stop.

After finishing the second slab of meat, it again looked at Thorne with puppy eyes and whimpered.

“No,” Thorne said flatly.

The bird seemed to understand the refusal and continued begging vehemently.

Thorne stood up with his arms crossed and looked at the bird until it stopped. He picked the bird up with a caring hand and placed it on his shoulders.

The talons dug into his skin, drawing a small amount of blood, but Thorne didn’t care. Pain like that was nothing, after all.

The newfound pair began their journey back to the forest with the baby bird snuggling into his warm body.

‘I killed your mother, so I guess I have to be a mother now.’ Thorne sighed.

Thorne looked up into the sky and noticed that the sun was already setting.

‘Wow, I’ve been here for a while.’ Thorne thought he had hoped to get a lot of training done today, but it seemed that training was fated not to happen.

‘Well, instead of training, I got a companion. Fair trade, I guess.’

Thorne looked at the bird, who was sleeping soundly, snuggled into his neck.

‘Also, what should I name this glutton.’ Thorne mused.

He thought this over for a while but couldn’t find a name that fit the tiny bird.

‘Tsk, what’s a good name?’

Thorne looked back over at the baby bird. It was now awake and blinked rapidly at Thorne affectionately, and maybe for food.

Its blue body shone in the glowing dusk light, and Thorne couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the bird, just as he was by its mother.

‘Truly a wonderous species.’ Thorne thought as he examined his new pet, ‘It’s like a blue phoenix, but even more mystical.’

‘Wait, blue phoenix…blue.’ Thorne smiled widely in mirth at his idea.

He looked at the baby bird with a broad smile and pointed at it, “How about your name is…Bluey!”