70. I Can Do This

…

Hours flew by and the rain finally stopped. Dark clouds blanketed the sky, blocking the sun rays from reaching the ground. The sun was at its peak yet it was as if the sun had set.

However, Hiro did not know this. He remained in the cave with the egg in his embrace. His eyes were closed and he was immersed in sleep. So deep, he had not noticed the rain had stopped.

The egg in his embrace shook slightly and a crack appeared on it. Feeling the abnormality, Hiro opens his eyes. His gaze lands on the egg, and he watches as the crack spread like a chain reaction. Here he was smiling sincerely. His face beamed in anticipation.

A gap appeared at the top of the egg as the shell fell off. Hiro could see a beak through the gap. The egg bent away from Hiro and a bird emerged from it.

It was as big as a full grown fowl, with feathers as red as flame, and nine long tail feathers that made it resemble a peacock. Hiro watched it fly about graciously.

*Shriek*

It gave out a cry before landing beside Hiro. "You are cute," Hiro said and placed the empty egg on the ground. "Do birds hatch to become like this? Well, it isn't an animal but a beast. What did senior call it? A phoenix, right?"

*Shriek, Shriek*

It cried out twice pulling Hiro out of his thought. He stretched his hand toward it. To his surprise it received his hand. It closed its eyes and rubbed its head against Hiro's palm.

"I wonder if you are a male or a female… ouch!"

He found a wound on his little finger. And the perpetrator, who inflicted the wound was drinking his blood. Shocked, Hiro remained still and watched as his little finger ended up in between the beaks of the perpetrator.

"I guess the question on how to feed you is sorted out. But how much blood will I have to loose to feed you?"

Watching it suck on his finger, made Hiro smile. "I think you are a female. Who knows, I maybe wrong. Watching you eat is getting me hungrier."

Paying Hiro no attention, it continued to suck on his little finger. "Come to think about it chicks don't suck milk from their parents. Well, let's forget about that," Hiro turns to the cave entrance. "I need to get something to eat, but I can't leave you alone, can I?"

He looked back at the bird and sighed. "Definitely not, I can't leave you alone."

*Shriek*

The bird released his finger and cried out. Afterwards it flapped its wings and jumped into Hiro's arms. It rubbed its head against Hiro's abdomen, snuggling up on Hiro's lap before closing its eyes to sleep.

Hiro gently pats its head while smiling sheepishly. "Sleep tight," he said. His gaze moved to the cave entrance. "I should cultivate… Hmm? I'm at the third stage."

***

The sun rose up the next morning. The dark clouds were gone and the sun rays could finally greet the earth. And passing through the weak blockage of dried trees, the sun rays greeted the inside of the cave.

Hiro opens his eyes with a yawn escaping his mouth. "Huh?" he felt something weird on his body and turned to look. "What the…?"

His eyes blinked twice at the creature laying on his lap. It definitely wasn't the same creature that slept on his lap yesterday.

"I'm dreaming, right? Maybe I'm delusional now, seeing things that I shouldn't."

Hiro could only sigh and closed his eyes back. This wasn't the first time he was seeing things...

"I'm probably just too hungry."

So he thought if he closed his eyes and cultivate, things will go back to normal. Just like when he thought the egg could understand him.

However, he couldn't help but open his eyes. The little creature was moving on his lap, seeming to have woken up. It raised its body sluggishly and sat on his lap facing his abdomen. Its two little forelimbs rubbed its eyes while its long red color hair fluttered as it shook its little head.

After rubbing its eyes for a while, it looked up at Hiro, with crimson colored eyeballs. Its eyes blinked twice before its little mouth opened up and said.

"Dada!"

Its voice so sweet that Hiro felt he wanted to hear it again. However, his eyelids twitched repeatedly. The little creature was a little girl, that looked to be three or four years old.

"Dada," she called out again.

He touched her cheek and his eyes dilated. She definitely was real. He watched her grab onto his hand with her little hands and rubs her cheek on his palm.

"So warm," she muttered.

"She's no longer a bird and she can talk. Well, it's not the strangest thing… ouch!"

She had placed his index finger in her mouth and was sucking on it. "Whungry," she says with the hand in her mouth.

"Tell me first next time."

"Wok wdada."

"How come you can talk?"

She blinks at him and takes his hand out. "Am I not meant to be able to?"

"That… I don't know. Usually babies don't talk from birth."

She squints at him before taking his hand back into her mouth. A while later she took it out. "That was why you left me when I answered back?"

"I left you? You mean when you were…" Hiro looks at the egg shell beside him and then at her. "You are kidding, right?"

She shook her little head. Tears gathered in her eyes. "When dada left me I was scared." She shoved his finger into her mouth, bit it and sucked at it.

"Ouch, you have a strong bite."

"Wsorry."

"Anyway, I'm not your dada. I'm not your parent."

"Dada took care of me, so he is dada," she said after taking his hand out.

"No, I don't think that's how it works."

"Then how does it work?"

"Well… I don't know."

"So you are my dada."

He watched her take his hand into her mouth. He smiled at her and pat her head gently with his free hand. "Sure, what's your name?"

"Wawa whasn't wiven wme won."

"What?"

She takes his hand out and repeated. "Dada hasn't given me one."

"Oh, I'm to give you a name."

She nodded her little head while looking at him with sparkling eyes. He could tell by the look in her eyes, that she was excited.

"Hm? Let's call you Seraphina."

"Sera… phina, Seraphina. Thank you dada!" she exclaimed and placed his finger back in her mouth.

"Welcome."

He raised her body with one hand as he rose to his feet. "Alright, dada needs to get something to eat. You'll continue eating later," he says and pulls his finger from her mouth.

However, she didn't let go his finger. She bit down on it and continued sucking at it.

"Seraphina?"

She shook her head and kept sucking at it. "If I don't eat, I'll starve and if that happens, I won't be able to feed you."

She looked at him for a while before reluctantly letting go of his finger. "Sorry, dada's blood is sweet."

"Is that so? I'll let you have some later."

"Promise?"

"Yeah, now be good and listen to me."

"Okay."

Seraphina snuggles up in his hand. Hiro smiles at her before walking forward. Before he reached the cave entrance, he found several red particles fly past him from behind. They covered Seraphina's body and in no time turned to a red dress.

Hiro checked behind himself. The egg shell was gone and the cave was empty. "Strange things happens when it comes to Seraphina, noted," he muttered to himself.

Seraphina clung to his shirt, her head rested on his chest. Hiro made his way out of the cave, still smiling at her. "She's cute," he thought.

"Hmm, things haven't changed I guess. I better start looking for flame rocks. Which way is the river?"

He looked in all directions. However he was unable to determine it. "Seraphina, I will put you down for a bit, okay? I need to climb that tree and check on something."

"O-okay dada."

Hiro placed her down and climbed onto the tree. In no time, Hiro reached the top of the tree. He determined the shortest route to the river before climbing down.

"Alright, up you go." He spread his arms and carried her up. "Is something wrong?"

Seraphina had a weird expression on her face while looking at him. This caused him to enquire what was wrong.

"Dada, can't you fly?"

"Huh? Oh, no I can't," Hiro replied while he started walking.

"Why?"

"For now I don't have the ability to."

"You don't have wings?"

"Haha, no I don't. I'm not like you."

"You are not a phoenix?"

"No," Hiro brows furrowed. "How did you know you are a phoenix?"

"I just know I am."

"You just know?"

"Yes, what are you dada?" Seraphina said while pinching his cheek.

"I'm a human. What else do you just know?"

"Hmm… I… hmm… I don't know."

"Huh?"

"Oh, oh! I know I can do this."

Seraphina turns her head away from him, takes in a deep breath and exhales. Hiro's jaw dropped, his eyes twitched and his breath ceased. Seraphina was spitting out a huge amount of red flames from her little mouth. The flames burned the trees and quickly spread along the dried grasses. Burning anything and everything it came across as it ran.

However, the flames did not burn towards them even though they were surrounded by dried up grasses.

"What do you think, dada?"