Dark clouds had gathered, and with their appearance the rain that followed was no surprise. The dark clouds hugged the sky greedily, pushing the sun out of its dominant position and taking control of what was not originally theirs. They drummed mightily, these dark clouds, their thunderous roars giving birth to several streaks of lightning that flashed across the now carpeted sky. The winds ragged and howled, and the rain fell heavily. It fell with such recklessness that one would have thought that it sought to wrought vengeance on the earth below for being so far away from the sky were it usually slept peacefully.
Those who were walking the earth down below scampered to safety, for no one was foolish enough to go against the wrath of nature. The sky roared thunderously, and lightning flashed towards the earth, coming dangerously close to a few people who ran even more frantically upon escaping this near death encounter. Some of them tripped over themselves, whereas others slipped due to the greasy nature of the wet ground. Yet none of them complained. Rather they hastened their steps, trying to get to the closest shelter they could find. Unfortunately, they were no close to a city, and there was no town or village in sight. However, they were persistent in their search for shelter. They didn't need a house. Right now, a cave or even a large boulder they could take shelter under was very much welcome.
"What was that?" one of the women in the group asked and stopped running. Her eyes were glued to the sky which held nothing but the anger of the clouds and the rage of the winds.
"What?" another person stopped and asked as he struggled to keep his eyes opened under the constant torrents of wind that stung his poor eyes.
"Something just flashed past in the sky," the woman had a confused expression on her face as she spoke. She could have sworn that she saw a small red light flash right above her head. However, there was nothing in sight.
"Stop dawdling and hurry up. There is a cave in sight!" one of the people from the advancing group realised that two of their members were missing and screamed at the lagging members.
"Coming!" the man screamed and pulled the hand of the woman. "It must have been the lightning," he added and dragged her towards the advancing group before she could say anything else. The woman struggled to keep her eyes open whilst wondering about what she had seen. She was a Thrasher, so she didn't doubt her vision. She was certain that what she saw wasn't lightning. After all, how could lightning be red?
*Chirp*
Although the weather was hell for everyone who moved and breathed, there was a tiny little creature that didn't seem to mind it. In fact, it seemed to enjoy it. A small red light streaked past the sky with speed that was comparable to the several flashing bolts of lightning. The red light was a tiny bird with colorful red feathers. It chirped excitedly as it skipped past a few bolts of lightning that came its way like it was avoiding a turtle's charge. Such was its speed that even lightning was embarrassed. Like a naughty little toddler it avoided several bolts of lightning whilst basking in the rain. It kept moving through the dark clouds as if to mock them and to ask for a greater challenge. And they obliged. Like an angry lion further incensed by the taunting of a galloping deer, the dark clouds roared in rage, and the product of their fury were larger bolts. These bolts were thicker than a person's arm. Not only were these bolts larger and contained more sting, they were faster than the ones before.
*Chirp?*
The little red bird chirped in confusion as it struggled to avoid one of the large lightning bolts, seemingly trying to comprehend how it was possible for the new bolts to be so much faster.
*Boom*
*Chirp!*
A large bolt of lightning struck the struggling bird, and it chirped – in rage. Yes, rage. It didn't protest painfully, but angrily. Once the light had faded, the figure of the bird was revealed. Its red feathers were still as majestic as before, and it didn't look the slightest bit fazed by the onslaught. Its blue eyes were now red, and it screeched powerfully before releasing a bright red light from its body. Its target was the largest dark cloud in the region. Its eyes were firmly glued to that cloud, as though there was something there.
*Crack Crack*
Several red bolts of lightning were unleashed by the bird as the sky lit up in a cacophony of colors. Red and blue danced together as the providers of the lights went head to head.
*Roar*
A large serpent revealed itself from one of the clouds. It was a huge snake that was dozens of meters long. Its blue scales shimmered brightly as several lightning bolts adhered to them like glue. Its blue eyes stared at the small bird with anger, and the small horn on its head was pointed at the bird. In contrast to the large snake, the small bird which was only as big as a fist would have been easily overlooked if not for the bright red lightning bolts that gathered around it. It didn't look terrified after seeing the huge snake that it had drawn out. Rather, it was very excited, and it didn't hide its excitement. It screeched in delight, daring the snake to give it its best shot.
The huge snake roared angrily as the power of an apex powerhouse burst out of its body. Several lightning bolts were birthed from the clouds around them and were collected into its horn. A large bolt of lightning converged around its horn, and it fired the powerful attack towards the small bird!
*Scree*
The red bird screeched in delight and faced the attack head on, much to the confusion of the snake. 'How could the little bird be so stupid as to think it could fight nature?' it must have thought. However, soon fear filled its eyes as it watched the small bird open its tiny mouth and greedily suck in the powerful lightning. The small bird burped in satisfaction and then turned to the snake. It chirped disdainfully and almost looked like it had on a mocking smirk. It screeched powerfully and dashed towards the panicking snake who couldn't even see the creature because of its outstanding speed.
*Crack*
The eyes of the snake lost its color as the world returned to its prior calm. The raging winds ceased, and the dark clouds quickly faded. The storm wasn't one of nature, but something that was born from the snake! The little bird chirped one more as it stared at the falling body of the snake. There was a small but extremely deep hole on the large head of the snake, and this hole extended all the way through its enormously long body and out of its tail! This was the handiwork of the red bird, evidence of what its delicate looking beak could do if given the chance. The red bird flashed and arrived next to the snake, and opened its small beak to take a deep breath. Amazingly, the large snake was slowly sucked into that small mouth!
"I told you I saw something!" down below, the advancing group weren't advancing anymore. Each of them had fear in their eyes as they watched the small bird swallowing the large snake. They didn't see it before, but when the snake had left the comfort of the dark clouds, they had all seen it. After all, it was hard to miss something that large. And since the red bird remained still, they had noticed it as well. Yet the outcome they expected wasn't what they got. The seemingly delicate bird had easily dispatched the huge snake! Now that the storm was over, they could clearly make out the bright red bird without the wind rushing into their eyes. And all they felt was fear.
"Run!" it was unknown who made the suggestion, but from everyone's reaction, it could be seen that they were all thinking the same thing. They all dashed towards the distance, not caring about the direction they were taking. Some moved to the left, others to the right; some moved forwards, and some moved backwards. The goal was obvious: get away from this place before it's too late!
"Out of my way old man!" a frantic survivor screamed and pushed a frail looking old man onto the ground as he made his escape. No one noticed this, and even if they did they were too scared for their lives to come and offer their help. Soon the entire area was deserted, and only the old man was left. The red bird had finished its meal by now, and when it cast its slightly hazy gaze to the man, it chirped in confusion.
The old man had his head hung to the ground. But when he felt the gaze of the bird on him, he raised his head full of gray hair and stared back. He had an attractive face, and unlike what his head full of gray hair suggested, he didn't look that old. He looked like a middle aged scholar with those beautiful brown eyes and wrinkle-free face. Seeing the bird, he smiled.
*Chirp!*
The eyes of the bird were filled with fear as it released a chirp full of terror and began to shiver. This bird that had just killed a Lightning Snake was afraid of the old man!
"There's no need to panic. I won't do anything to you. I may have grudges with the Dragon Lord, but I wouldn't harm an endangered creature like yourself." The man smiled and picked a more comfortable position on the ground. His words didn't seem to bring any assurance to the bird, which kept hovering midair with fearful eyes.
"You can go," the man said, and as if it had been granted amnesty, the small red bird flashed and flew away with its superior speed.
The man smiled and looked at the direction in which the bird had fled. He parted his lips and released a small chuckle, "Who would have thought I would get to see a Red Lightning Phoenix in such a remote place."