Well here's my entry for the fire contest. I kinda rushed some bits cause I should really be doing my tech coursework right now =P but I really wanted to finish it, so I will probably edit it some more at a later point.

Crit and comments welcome =]

Child Of The Flame

"Jase!" I screamed between splutters as the thick, pungent smoke slowly smothered my breath. "Where are-."

I coughed and wheezed as the flames danced around me menacingly. Their vibrant colours burned through my eyes, crackling and hissing with the crazed lust to destroy. Already the blazing fire had begun to eat away at the nearby trees, their leaves rustling in horror. If only that would satisfy their hunger, I thought bitterly. The all-consuming fear of my inevitable fate sent sparks of fright racing through my heart. I was about to die.

My vision swam blurrily with the searing heat as I tried in desperation to look beyond the wall of raging flames that swirled and spat more and more of the deathly smoke. And then I saw him, a hazy figure waving his arms about in desperation. Jase.

He had been my best friend since primary school, the one who would always stand by me through thick and thin. I suppose it was ironic that I only realised my true feelings for him in that moment, separated as we were by the wall of fire, which formed a barrier between life and death. And it was I who stood on the side of death.

He seemed to be shouting something, but his voice was nothing more than a dim echo at the far corners of my mind. My senses swiftly drained away as I melted into a cold darkness.

***

I woke among crumbling ashes, scattered feebly across the blackened forest.

"Am I dead?" I whispered faintly, looking up into the night sky. The indigo velvet was brushed with the twinkling gems of light. I shuddered at the sound of my voice; it rang with a haunting melody, sending shivers racing through me.

A dim light caught my eye, and I looked down to see a small spark quivering amongst the ashes. A shrill gasp echoed deep within me as I lowered my body to draw myself closer to the twinge of light. Why do I feel so… drawn to it? I wondered. With strange, yet natural instinct, I reached forward my hand and pressed it down against the dwindling flicker of orange. At the back of my mind, I noticed that my hands were as black as the charcoal trees surrounding me.

Within moments, fire burst from beneath my hands, crackling and burning in all its glory. As the light of the flames burned brightly in my eyes, a swift realisation dawned on me.

The fire flickered and coiled its blazing flames like starving hands around my arm. And then it spoke in a kind of tune, whispering through the rising smoke - to my very soul.

Be grateful, human child. For we, the spirits of fire, took pity on you. We consumed your body, but not your soul, for in death we listened to its yearning wish. Love is quite like our hunger to destroy, the eternal longing to claim something as your own, forever. That is why we understand, and so have given your soul a new strength. Go now, Child of the Flame, to the human you wish to be with. With a simple touch, he will die, and you shall both be free, together forever.

With its final word, the flames swiftly burned away into the cold ashes.

"Jase," I whispered, the might of the fire now burning a new strength throughout my body. In the darkness, I stood myself up and raised my hands out wide. In an instant, the charred remains of my body burst into flame, sending a shock of warmth firing through my soul. Then, raising my head to the midnight skies, I bent my knees and flew into the air above, just as huge, flaming wings burst from my shoulders. Within moments, the searing fire moulded my body into the streamlined, weightless shape of a bird.

With ease I managed to stretch my wings up and down as I flew through the night like a fire in the sky. The warm, crackling heat, which emanated from my body, caressed my soul with rising strength.

Surveying the rows of houses down below, I fixed my gaze on one. With speedy elegance I steadied my wings and plunged downwards, the breeze brushing wisps of fire into the night.

I’m nearly there, Jase. We’ll be together soon enough. In my joy, the flames grew brighter.

Reaching the house, I hovered gently in the air, and tapped my beak against the window. I watched, with shock, as the glass quickly melted to form a large, gaping hole.

My heart burned as I saw he was lying asleep in bed, his face turned toward me.

"Jase!" I called, peering my head through the hole in the glass. Light from my vibrant flames washed the room with brightness.

Quickly woken from his sleep, he squinted, trying to adjust his eyes to the sudden light.

"It’s me!" I called, happiness emanating through the flames, "It’s Andrea!" I burst through the glass, which swiftly melted away, and hovered steadily in the air, little more than a metre away from his face.

With a simple touch, he will die, and you shall both be free, together forever. The words of the fire echoed through my soul.

"Dre…?" he whispered tiredly, still adjusting his eyes to the brightness of the flames. "I- is that…" Suddenly he opened them, and gasped with shock.

It was in the moment that our eyes clashed, and I saw my flames reflected in his emerald green eyes, that I realised.

How could I let him die? How could I be so selfish as to steal away his life just so that he can be beside me? True love is nothing like a fire’s hunger; theirs is a warped kind of love.

"Goodbye, Jase," I whispered softly, as my flames began to slowly fade.

"W-wait! Andrea, wait!" he called, reaching his hands forward. I quickly pulled myself backwards and flew through the gaping hole, which replaced the window.

He rushed to the window ledge, his chestnut tinted hair blowing around messily in the breeze, "Andrea!"

"I just wanted to say goodbye. Please do not be sad for me," as I spoke, tears trickled across his cheeks. "Stay happy, live your life, and that will make me happy."

"Goodbye Andrea. I... love you," he whispered, with a sad smile.

"Thank you," I replied, as my flames had almost completely faded away. "Perhaps we will meet again one day, in eternity."