The Flame
Ivy barely drifted off to sleep, that night- her eyes near bloodshot in the morning.
"Mumble?…Hey, Mu-" She stopped herself from finishing that sentence as she remembered her situation, shedding a single tear as the realization came to light.
"Oh- Right." Ivy muttered in a sombre tone, before slapping herself round the face and stating, "NO! No, Ivy- Mumble wouldn't want you to act like this. You've gotta be strong. For Mumble." in a louder tone. She couldn't bother herself with her own emotions right now- Mumble was too important. She had to get to her.- By any means necessary.
Ivy climbed up a tree until she reached the ceiling that blocked her way to Mumble. Through it, she yelled,
"Mumble? I- I just want to check on you. See if you're alright- do you have any food up there? I can bring find a way to get you some food from down here!" she said, almost hesitantly, disgusted at the situation Thorn forced them into.
However, there was no response.
Ivy panicked. Did Mumble fall? Did she go off with the others- atleast she'd be safe if she did go with them- But did Mumble just leave? Did she decide Ivy wasn't worth it? Does she hate her now? Ivy grabbed at her face, jumping back down onto the forest floor and pacing, panicking profusely. Mumble could be in trouble. Mumble.- And she wouldn't be there to help her.
"Oh, I'm a horrible girlfriend!- Mumble please, I'm so, so, so, so sorry!" Ivy cried out as she paced, before she stopped suddenly-
She heard a groan, and then a yawn.
Mumble hadn't woken up until now. Wiping away her tears, Ivy climbed back up near to the ceiling.
"Hey,- Mumble? Y-you there?" Ivy asked, trying to speak in a happier voice, but remnants of her sadness still visible in her shaky tone.
"Mm." Mumble replied, nodding- before realizing Ivy couldn't see her, not anymore.
"Is that a yes or a no?" Ivy said jokingly, trying to quell her previous panic.
"…Yes." Mumble spoke, laying down on one of the tree's branches, outside the shack she built for herself. "Tired, though." Mumble continued.
Ivy sighed, relieved,
"Phew. Okay, good." Ivy said, hopping down back to the forest's surface.
"I'm…I'm gonna go look for a way to you. I'll be back here in a few hours atleast, promise. And I mean it this time- I'm not gonna let anyone stop me from getting to you. I, uhm…Love you. Bye." Ivy said, muttering the last part of her sentence, Mumble barely hearing it before Ivy walks off into the deeper parts of the jungle.
"Love you too, Ivy." Mumble whispered in reply, quiet enough so that only she could hear her sentence.- Ivy having walked off into the forest.
Thorn had banished Ivy to a secluded part of the forest- she knew that much- but despite it's small size in comparison to the rest of forest, it had quiet a large amount of room to explore.
However, this was not on Ivy's mind- Mumble's safety was, and so was how Mumble got to her. Ivy was banished to a part of the forest she had never seen before- Did Thorn send Mumble above it as a last act of kindness, for the friendship Ivy and Thorn was had- or was it coincidence, or perhaps fate that brought them together? Ivy pondered the question before something caught her eye-
A very shiny, very bright, flaming spark not too far away. She could see it through a thick wall of leaves and vines.- A being of pure fire, which was slowly burning away at the wall. Ivy ran towards them, dashing and yelling as she ran,
"Hey! Hey, wait! I need your he-" Ivy was cut off as the wall broke apart, herself barely dodging the pile of vines that almost fell on her. Then, the fire spirit stood infront of her, calm and without a single trace of fear. It was terrifyingly beautiful, and her form was nearly unable to be put into words- nearly. She was roughly in the shape of a cat, wearing regal garments- but she was entirely made of flame, sparks of fire jumping off of her wherever she treaded.
"Woah- uhm, Hi? I'm Ivy, and look, Thorn- she kinda banished me here, and I really need your help to get back with my girlfrie-" Ivy was cut off once again.
"I know who you are. I've seen you; I see through every campfire, every flame, every inferno. And I saw what Thorn did. She banished me, aswell. I know she did not tell you this- despite you being there with her at the time." The spirit then spoke, Ivy standing in awe.
"…Wow. That's- impressive. I- what are you? Who are you- why did Thorn banish you here?" Ivy asked standing a safe distance away from the spirit, trying not to catch on fire. The spirit noticed this, and replied,
"I don't bite, you know." In a joking tone, chuckling at her. Ivy then walked slightly forward, happily surprised as the sparks of flame avoided her.
"Thorn banished me because…she couldn't stand me." The spirit continued as her tone turned sad, once again-
"She banished me because she hated the flame. I'm an ancient fire elemental, you know. I came her from my dimension to stop the forest from overtaking yourself- but Thorn? What she thought of the flame?" Her tone shifted into anger.
"She despised it- the destruction it caused- She couldn't- No, she wouldn't accept it. She wouldn't let me hurt 'her' forest. She refused to see it as natural, and did not allow me to quell the ever-growing forest- and it has gotten only worse. There is too much here. It's imperfect. Unbalanced, tipped in the favour of the trees and plants. Of what she considers nature- and only what she considers nature. She refused to see me as a part of nature, so she banished me here- where the walls of vines are too thick for me to burn through. The one I broke through recently was weaker than the rest- It seems you and I have both been banished to where we can never escape. But you're clearly planning to do so- So, enlighten me. How will you?" The spirit finished her sentence, lessening her anger. She was clearly furious at Thorn- but atleast she could stay calm with Ivy, despite her previous association with Thorn.
Ivy stood in thought, and shock for a moment. If she was told this tale before, she wouldn't have been able to accept it- because passionate, sweet, Thorn could never do such a thing. Now? She could see it as complete truth.
"I…was hoping you could help me. You're a being of fire- there's leaves blocking my way to my girlfriend, Mumble- You've probably seen her before- and I thought that you could burn the leaves. If you burnt leaves, aswell, you could escape from here- go anywhere you want." Ivy then replied cautiously, the fire spirit smiling.
"That does sound like an improvement. Oh, and you can call me Firestorm. Fire spirit isn't exactly a name. However, I…I'm weakened." Firestorm admitted begrudgingly, turning her head away from Ivy.
"I don't have the same power I used to. I'm…unsure if I'm strong enough to destroy your barrier." Firestorm continued, nervous.
"So?- We don't know until we try! Please, please just give me a shot at this- I'm begging you. I need to see Mumble again!" Ivy desperately yelled.
Firestorm smiled weakly. "You really care about her, don't you?" She spoke, Ivy swiftly nodding in reply.
"Very well." Firestorm continued,
"If you're so determined to try, I may aswell atleast humor your attempts."
Ivy almost bounced up and down with joy. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Come, she's this way-" Ivy excitedly and happily exclaimed, going to grab Firestorm's hand before quickly moving her hand away-
"RIGHT! Made of fire. Got it!" Ivy continued, Firestorm chuckling before she follows Ivy back to where Mumble resided. She had finally found a way- or atleast a chance- of reaching Mumble.
Ivy felt hopeful, and she wasn't going to let go of that hope until she could see her girlfriend again.