Very quick sketches for the Firebird AU...yes I'm returning to it.
I guess these would be like alternative forms, sometimes he would be more bird like sometimes more human? Like a shapeshifter. Maybe Howl-like. I'm still thinking over the design...
~1275 words. Sora/Kairi. Sneak peek from a multichapter story based on the firebird legends and stories of Slavic folklore and mythology (the full story will also include other pairings). For SoKai Week 2025.
Summary: Sora meets a mysterious woman in the realm of Xehanort the Deathless while seeking the legendary firebird who can grant any wish.
🐦🔥 🌳 ☀️
When at last Sora awoke, it was night, and he was still in the dark, shadowy woods of Xehanort the Deathless’s realm. His brother was nowhere to be seen. But there was something, or should I say someone, he hadn't quite expected. For peering into his face was the strangest but most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
The following description is more for the benefit of the reader than a reflection of his actual thoughts, as those could more or less be summed up as: “Wow, she's beautiful.”
The woman's hair was fiery red and braided in an elaborate updo, and she wore a headdress made of gold, colorful gemstones, and exuberant vermilion feathers. Her eyes were like sapphires or maybe amethysts—they were mesmerizing, and Sora couldn't decide if they were blue or violet. She wore strange makeup: her face was painted white, her eyes were heavily shadowed, her lashes were dark, her lips were crimson, and she had inverted red triangles painted on her cheeks.
In the olden days such triangles were rich with meaning that would take entirely too long to explain and trace the history of here. The reader may be content to learn that for the young woman’s clan (of which she was only one of two surviving members), an inverted triangle symbolized the lifegiving powers associated with the divine and were worn by the women in her family to honor and acknowledge their sacred role in bringing life to the land.
She was like nothing Sora had ever seen, and his lips parted and his eyes went wide with wonder.
“I was starting to wonder if you’d ever wake up,” she said, her voice low, rich, and husky, her tone containing a note of affectionate amusement. “You've been asleep for hours.”
He hurriedly sat up and twisted around so he could get a better look at her. Once again I must note that the following description is more for the benefit of the reader, as his thoughts were once again more or less, “Wow, she's beautiful.”
The necklaces adorning her neck were also made of gold and beautiful gemstones, and they featured sun motifs and strange symbols he didn't recognize. Symbols from a bygone, earlier age, when magic was known throughout the lands and not just limited to a select few. The armlets and bracelets adorning her arms also matched the necklaces, and each one of them would've been worth more than the earnings from his family's farm and fishing operation for an entire year.
And her dress! It was made entirely of feathers, silk, and painstaking, elaborate beadwork. The dress was low cut, and the feathers at her bust swept outward and upwards. The bodice was decorated with beads and gold filigree, a beautiful layer of vermilion feathers formed the outer layer of her skirt, and the inner layer was the finest red silk embroidered with dazzling plumage-like patterns he had ever seen. Her fitted silk pants underneath were orange and reached to her calves, and she wore anklets and dainty silk slippers on her feet.
The overall effect was that of a strange, mesmerizing, utterly alluring crimson bird. If he didn't know better, he would've thought this was the firebird he had sought, only in human form. The firebird whose feathers he desperately needed for his wish to come true. But no, she couldn't possibly be the firebird, he told himself. Birds couldn't be women and women couldn't be birds. To think otherwise would turn his entire world upside down.
He realized he was still gawking at her, and his face went from red to bright red. “I apologize for staring, Your Majesty, but you're the most beautiful woman I've ever met.”
Surely she was royalty. He could come to no other conclusion. She was just that radiant and elegant and otherworldly beautiful, and the wood seemed to come alive with spring in her presence. Pockets of moonlight danced around them, and a breeze whistled through the trees. The springs nearby bubbled and flowed, and if you listened hard enough, you could almost hear the flowers singing.
Her lips twitched into an amused smile. For indeed she was amused by the awestruck, smitten young man at her feet who was endearingly awkward in her presence and refreshingly honest. He smiled in return, a goofy, lovesick smile that just endeared him to her further.
She thought he was quite handsome, too. Beautiful blue eyes, rich brown hair, a fit and toned physique, and that lovely smile. It really made a huge difference and took him from good-looking to the most handsome man she had ever met. She wondered how he had stumbled into her realm. By fate or by chance? So few people dared to come here anymore now that the Heartless infestation had gotten so bad.
“What is your name, traveler?” she asked.
“Sora,” he said, scrambling to his feet so he could bow properly. Now it was the young woman’s turn to be shocked. For she had heard that name before in prophecies, prophecies she had clung to in moments of despair, when she hardly dared to hope anymore.
“Do you have a brother?” she asked, completely forgetting to tell him her name. You cannot blame her. Desperate, hopeful thoughts were racing through her mind. Was her cruel torment over at long last? Was the enchantment that had imprisoned her and her sister finally about to end?
"Why, do you know where he is?” Sora asked, worry written all over his features. “We were searching for the firebirds that are supposed to live here. He and I got separated, and I—”
“I'm sorry, I don't. But I'll help you find him, I promise.” She rested her hands over her heart. “My name is Kairi, and my sister and I are the rightful rulers of this land. Xehanort the Deathless murdered our parents and cast an enchantment on us when we were just children, and we've been his prisoners ever since. We can only use a fraction of our full powers, and until we each eat a legendary golden apple, we won't ever be strong enough to break his curse on us. And until we break the curse on us, we can't break the curse on our land.” She sighed deeply. “The trouble is, the golden apples grow outside our borders, and we are cursed to remain here until our curse is lifted.”
Sora thought about this information carefully, crossing his arms and tapping his fingers the way he always did when he was deep in thought. “Well, maybe my brother and I could help you find those apples. If you help me find him, I think we could get you what you need. But the whole reason we came here is to find the firebirds. We need one of their feathers to make our wishes come true. Our mother is really, really sick, and if we take too long, she might die.”
“Your mother won't die,” Kairi said with a confidence Sora didn't understand. “Help my sister and I, help us save our kingdom, and we’ll give you all the feathers you need.”
Sora tilted his head in an adorably confused fashion because it hadn't quite clicked yet. Then his eyes went wide. I would like to note that sometimes it's best to trust your first instincts instead of talking yourself out of them, no matter how wild they might seem. Sora was figuring this out the hard way, but he was indeed figuring it out.
“Wait, are you saying that you and your sister are—”
She smiled and nodded. "Yes. We are the firebirds you seek.”
A/N: I based Kairi’s outfit on the costume designs from the ballet set to Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite and her makeup from the original production of Rite of Spring.
I’ve been working on this story on and off for quite some time now. Not sure yet when I’ll start posting the whole story, as it isn’t finished yet, but I wanted to share an excerpt. A big thank you to @scoobysnack1107 and @angel-with-a-pipette for helping me come up with the original concept back in 2021 🙏
