Fire and Ice

Spring was slowly starting to arrive, plants starting to uncurl from the cold and ice and reveal the returning green. Even so, snow still littered the ground in clumps, the last stubborn bit of winter clinging on. Food was still scarce even as the sky and ground warmed. A lone rabbit scurried out of its hidden and sheltered burrow, scenting the air cautiously as it scanned the ground around it for any predators. The day was still young, and the sky was still dark with only the approaching sunrise to light it up. And that dark sky streaked with red and orange hid a carnivore.

A silent blur of black and orange dove from the sky, and a sharp beak was clamped around the back of the rabbit before it could even squeak. Within a second, it was gone, a quick movement of the beak taking it down with little fuss.

Ignis raised his head into the air, flicking a bit of blood off of his beak. His wings flapped as he fastened his claws into the rabbit, but it was too heavy for him to lift. Letting out a whistly sigh, he resigned himself to feasting on the ground instead. Wistfully, he wished he had brought some fire on hand- food always tasted better when it had a toasty aftertaste and fell apart in his beak.

Suddenly loud footsteps rang out, shaking the ground as Ignis squawked in surprise. He turned his head as the other carnivores came into view. A pair of young albertosaurus, both of them a mix of shades of brown and white that helped them blend into the snowy environment. Glory was the larger of the two, a feathers and darker shades of brown and grey covering her. A smirk covered her toothy face, yellow eyes bold. Boreal trailed a bit behind, faded brown markings and jagged spikes making him resemble a dead tree. Both of them were covered in rosettes, the dark markings acting as fake eyes and adding to their intimidation factor. Both of them were thin and clearly worn by the winter, even with the advantage they had.

Growling lowly, Boreal was the one to reach forward first, stretching his neck out in an attempt to clamp his teeth around the rabbit. Clacking his beak angrily Ignis hissed, feathers and wings ruffling out in an intimidation display as he puffed up to almost double his size. To add to the factor he spread his wings, making him seem much larger. That combined with his bright markings was enough to scare most threats away.

Unfortunately, all that did was cause Glory and Boreal to mockingly growl, amused by the display from something so much smaller than them. With a snap Boreal thrust his head forward, grabbing hold of the rabbit and dragging it into the air. Ignis shrieked as he was thrown into the air, barely managing to take flight and dodge out of the way of Glory’s teeth- it seemed she wanted her own meal. 

Hissing furiously Ignis flapped into the air, attempting to swoop in and grab and yank at the feathers of the female in a furious display of rage. However, Boreal raised his head into the air to support his partner, and two angry mouths were enough to drive him away. Clacking his beak at them, Ignis took to the air. A plan was already forming in his mind. While he may lack claws and fangs and size, he had a way to get even- a way that could slay even the biggest of creatures. Letting out a dark chuckle, he headed towards the burnt part of land he never went too far from. They wouldn’t know what hit them.

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Glory and Boreal curled up together as the night came again, the male nuzzling into his companions soft feathers in order to keep him warm. Glory coo’d back, gently nipping at his sharp crest as they huddled together in the den of dead trees that had managed to pile together. It was rare that they managed to find any food, but today they had a run of luck- the rabbit caught by that bright tapejara had given Boreal enough energy to be able to catch a young deer, resulting in them both going to bed with full stomachs for the first time in weeks.

It was then that Boreal raised his head, startled, as something hit the floor in front of them. A small stick had hit the ground with them, half of it blackned like it had been recently burnt. Glory curled her lips in disgust at the smell, shaking her head with a huff.

Another tinking sound was heard, a bit louder, but no obvious source emerged. Boreal tilted his head, sharing a confused glance with Glory. The two waited, not moving as the sound continued. Their carnivore instincts told them to stay still, to not move and to wait to observe just what was making the sound before acting.

An acrid smell began to fill the den, the two carnivores hissing and shaking their heads. A sudden feeling of heat made Glory suddenly haul herself up, her instincts screaming at her to run, to flee, to escape. Boreal followed as the two scrambled out of the den, feeling the heat scorch and hearing the sounds of the hissing and popping. Bright licks of something orange and bright began to consume their den, sparks flying and landing upon their hides. Already smoke was swirling, blocking their vision and making it harder to escape as they shoved and pushed through the burning shelter that had turned into a cage as it slowly collapsed.

The two albertosaurus rolled around in the snow as soon as they made it onto the white ground, small burns all over their scales. Boreal turned his head towards the den, watching in silent horror as the flames consumed the den, hungry flames reaching out as they devoured the wood and began to reach out for other nearby fuel. The wood around them in the forest was dry and easily flammable, but thankfully just out of reach of the flame. The duo huddled together for a moment, panting from a mix of terror and relief as they watched the flames. What could have caused this fire, out of nowhere?

A piercing shriek caught their attention, and the two looked up to see something fly out of the smoke, something bright glowing in their talons. Ignis hovered in the sky above the den, smoke fanned away by his wings with every beat. In his beak he clutched a large branch, one end lit up in flames. It had been a difficult task to fly to the lava, light a branch on fire, and repeatedly swap the flame onto a new branch whenever his ran low. But he had done it- already sniffing out their den beforehand, and returning once night had fallen. Once Ignis arrived, he had carefully lit smaller branches up with his torch before dropping them onto the den. Eventually, they took. But he wasn’t done yet. 

Boreal and Glory backed up in fear as Ignis grinned a manic grin (not helped by the torch in his mouth), the sound of twigs snapping under their feet adding more cracking sounds to the environment. 

This was what Ignis had been waiting for- he dove, wings expanding last second to stop his descent as the albertosaurus lunged forward, snarls on their face as the fast movement triggered their carnivorous instincts. And that was what Ignis was waiting for. 

With the way clear, Ignis was able to drop his torch right onto the ground right between their feet- and right in the middle of the crushed sticks. As the fire quickly caught on the kindling and Boreal and Glory roared in pain and fear, Ignis climbed back into the air with a triumphant screech. The two albertosaurus quickly turned tail, fleeing as fast as they could as the fire spread behind them- even the puddles of snow could not stop the fire's path through the forest as it fed on more and more dry kindling and sent more and more smoke into the sky.

Ignis hovered in the air, casting a scornful gaze on the two fleeing predators. They may have been able to bully him, to overwhelm him physically… but fire was the true apex of the land. Nothing could beat it, nothing could control it- except Ignis. And that made him the top predator, huh? Even as he basked in the heat of his victory and as the forest blazed below, Ignis couldnt help but plan better ways to use his flame…