and i come a l i v e somehow

jago ↧ phoenix ↧ fire bird " no matter how many times we burst into flames, we can always rise from the ashes. until the day the fire no longer burns within us. "

[xrebornfromxashes-blog]

Have you ever regretted kissing someone?

“When you’ve lived as many lifetimes as I have, the regrets tend to pile up—especially when you drunkenly mistake someone for another and plant one on them. But in my defense, I was in a dark, dark place, alcohol my only means of coping.”

[jacksbite]

@xrebornfromxashes​

It was frigid. Again. Wasn’t the desert supposed to be hot? Hah. Newsflash, it got cold, at least at night. If it wasn’t for the emergency need of blue paint (he’d entirely run out) he wouldn’t have left the house. With the wind nipping cheeks red and the tailored jacket not quite big enough to properly huddle in, Jack picked up the pace, weaving in and out of the throng of slowly wandering tourists – clearly inebriated enough to take the cold – heading towards the monorail. Maybe he’d find some warmth there. The fact that it was improbable (lately he was cold even when he should have been hot) didn’t stop his progress towards the train station, nor did it stop him from purchasing a ticket or taking shelter on the platform by a large animated advert (selling some tooth whitening nonsense) as he waited. Fingers drumming impatiently across cold denim, Jack let out a breath of relief when the monorail arrived, darting towards the opening doors with a new yorkers attitude of just pushing his way through without concern– at least until heat flared up his arm.  

The shock of the unusual burn (not at all unpleasant) startled a jump, he jerked around, the wintery blue of steely eyes seeking the source of the first warm thing he’d felt all day. “You’re hot,” he croaked, surprised and taking a full second to realize the unintended implication, true or not. “To the touch,” he stammered quickly, blinking. The flush perhaps all too telling.

[xrebornfromxashes-blog]

Feeling sluggish, beads of sweat dotting his upper lip, Jago threw himself down onto one of the few partially unoccupied benches facing the monorail tracks and fought back a sigh of relief. Since relocating to Las Vegas, he’d encountered death twice—first, a mugging on Jones Boulevard; a wrong place, wrong time kind of deal; and lastly, a hit-and-run; that one he’d earned—leaving him with the uncomfortable feeling of uncertainty. He’d never given death much thought before now, dismissing it as a necessary evil; to be reborn, one must first die. But how was he expected to die —willingly, without hesitation or concern—now that he didn’t even know how many lives he had left to claim? If he took that gamble, the probability of loss would be astronomically high. Was it really worth it? That would be a big, fat no. Sitting there in drearisome silence for what felt like an eternity, Jago pushed awkwardly to his feet as soon as he caught the telltale sign of the monorail’s arrival—damn thing could be heard from a mile away. 

    But so did everyone else.

             In fact, their reaction to its arrival could be likened to a standing ovation.

Tempted to hang back and let the fools scuffle over the best seat, it wasn’t long before impatience took root, and with squared shoulders and a set jaw, Jago hustled toward the opening doors, weaving through the crowd as he quickly and steadily worked his way to the front line. 

     It simply didn’t pay to dawdle, not when one’s own comfort was on the line.

Just as he crossed the threshold, however, cold briefly collided with hot—and, his skin breaking out in a shiver of goosebumps, he jolted at the touch, surprise momentarily halting all movement. 

             His own body temperature had a tendency to run a little on the high side, so—naturally—that brief nip took him by surprise. 

                 A problem easily remedied if given time. 

Ignoring the disgruntled frowns tossed his way by those forced to veer around him, a chuckle slipped out before Jago had even realized it, amusement overshadowing surprise. “I get that a lot.” Accidental touches often earned him looks of astonishment and curiosity. “You, on the other hand ... ” His voice trailed off as he got his first real good look at the man. 

    Looker was an understatement—how about pulchritudinous?

Only if he could pronounce it ... maybe.

“You could benefit from a hot water bottle in your life.” He could maybe even melt the icicles dangling from those poor eyelashes. Now there was some food for thought.

[vixlentdellghts-a-deactivated20]

For all the colors and flashing lights in the city, they felt empty and cold. She chuckled quietly to herself. That was probably one of a thousand similar thoughts by a thousand not so similar people. Still, varying shades of green, brown, and gray felt… fuller than the saturation that touched every aspect of this city. She sighed, pausing to watch the fountain she was passing by. It was that time when it was either very late or early morning, depending on when you got up or the type of night you were having. She always preferred early morning, breathing in those first streaks of light that emitted from her at her creation. She heard someone else pause, turning to look at them. “I think this city will find any way to trap anyone here.” She nodded towards the dancing water. “Even I got caught.”

[xrebornfromxashes-blog]

Pausing by one of the many fountains - much smaller than the infamous Fountains of Bellagio - scattered throughout Las Vegas, strategically placed in areas that were known to attract the attention of residents and tourists alike, Jago’s gaze was drawn to the transparent blue of the water, a darker shade since darkness had descended all those hours ago; a flash of copper and silver caught his eye every now and then, evidence of the wishes and desires so many were invested in. 

But at the sound of an unfamiliar, feminine voice - a soft intonation that he would have overlooked if not for the fact that he could sense that he was no longer alone - the phoenix lifted his dark gaze to the woman’s face - outlined by both shadows and artificial light - and shrugged; a nonchalant gesture. “It’s not the worst place to be trapped,” he muttered, thinking of the time caught between the throes of death and revival; a time filled with nothing but agonizing pain and mental turmoil. “Ah, but to get caught implies a certain level of imprisonment. Why stay if you have no desire to be here?”

[rebeccaxtorres]

Rebecca feigned ignorance, because for some reason she felt that it might not be the best idea to reveal herself. Even if it was obvious that this one wasn’t human. “Oh, of course. Who else would be to blame? Certainly not the animals?” She giggled slightly, shaking her head in such a way that he hair gently cascaded about.

She turned confused, tearful eyes to the other - who was obviously onto her act. Not that she would make it that easy on him, so she ignored the sentences that didn’t meet her purposes and answered only the last question. “They have her stabilized,” she said her voice trembling. “She’s only six and she was doing so well. But she’ll need emergency surgery and she’s probably going to need a transplant.”

[xrebornfromxashes-blog]

So she’d decided to stick by her story - of what? Of being completely harmless ... a human, in other words? Whatever her goal, whatever result she was searching subtly for, Jago refused to fall prey to her games; because she was clearly aiming for something. And with only a few lives left, he couldn’t exactly afford to take the plunge. “Certainly not,” he agreed with a slight nod, still trying to determine what this woman was and what she intended to do. She must have approached him for a reason, right?

“Sounds rough.” Another blase comment. Sure, it could be the truth, but there was something decidedly untrustworthy about this seemingly tearful woman standing next to him, trying her damndest to incite his sympathy. Was she waiting for him to offer her his shoulder to cry on? Too bad for her, she’d have to wait a long time before such a thing ever came to pass. Because frankly, he didn’t have a sympathetic bone in his body - unless it came to a certain someone. “Is that why you have blood stains on your scrubs?” 

[peterkavinsky]

mythology aesthetics  ➳ P H O E N I X —

From the ashes he has risen, and to the ashes he will return, only to be reborn. Phoenix immortal; Phoenix eternal; Phoenix undying. All powerful, and indescribable. Phoenix of the ember; Phoenix the firebird.

[movedto-brryallens]

A spark neglected makes a mighty fire — Robert Herrick

[rebeccaxtorres]

Rebecca could almost swear that she could hear the pulses of the people who were waiting at the stoplight around her but logically she knew that wasn’t possible. Perhaps before whatever those meddling humans had done but definitely not now. All the same, this stranger looked like he would taste absolutely delicious and she’d love to see the red of his blood spilled on the sidewalk. She felt her fangs elongate and she called them back without so much as a flinch. After all it wouldn’t do to give herself a way before she even tried to put on a performance.

She sighed, groaning slightly. “Certainly feels it. Honestly, I don’t understand why the lights need to be so long in this city.”

Her voice changed in her next words, gaining a more strained tone as she shook her head. “Yes, of course. I’m sorry that was rude, I’m just stressed … one my patients went into septic -” Her voice broke over with a rather convincing restrained sob, that seemed to catch in her throat as tears began welling up in her eyes. “But that’s not your problem,” she mumbled in way of a fake apology, wiping at her eyes before wiping her hands on her pants.

[xrebornfromxashes-blog]

There was something ... off about this woman, something he just couldn’t seem to put his finger on. And it had little to do with her speech patterns or her seemingly friendly demeanor. “Blame it on the humans,” Jago replied, only half-serious. With anyone else, he would have never alluded to the existence of non-humans, but his instincts were telling him this woman, this creature, couldn’t possibly be human. And his instincts were rarely wrong. 

Even when her eyes took on a glossy appearance, an indication of impending tears, he knew they weren’t real - that she was simply acting. A fine performance, it was. “Oh, you’re good,” he commended easily. He had to hand it to her. Humans wouldn’t stand a chance against that beautiful, tearful face. “But color me curious. You’ve got me hooked on your story ... So?” An arched eyebrow. “What happened to that patient?”

[rebeccaxtorres]

Rebecca looked down at her scrubs trying not groan, she had gotten blood on them during her morning feeding - maybe she could pass it off as an old stain. She stood on the corner, anxiously tapping her foot as she waited for the light to change but it seemed to be taking years. Taking a moment, she sighed and ran a hand over her face in annoyance. “Oh come on,” she grumbled - aggressively pressing the streetlight’s button as impatience seemed to build up in her system.

Her head turned to face someone that was standing nearby and her eyes racked their form, she was very much considering a second meal. She had the time before she was due at work after all and her first one hadn’t been very satisfying. Her tongue slipped out her mouth to run along her bottom lip. “Excuse me,” she said as she slid to stand next to the person, her eyes bright and a smile firm on her face.

“Do you know how long the light’s been red for? I hate to be a bother but I really do need to get to the hospital.” She glanced at her phone as if checking the time though she already knew the time.

[xrebornfromxashes-blog]

Standing with his hands in his pockets, dark eyes fixated on the light - it was glaringly red, an indication that one shouldn’t consider crossing if they hoped to maintain their good health - Jago blew out a soft breath of irritation as he mentally cursed the scientists for stripping him of his infinite lifespans and saddling him with ... was it ten now? Nine? Did it even matter? Nope. Maybe it was a good thing they had meddled - because if he’d been his old self, he would’ve already thrown caution to the wind and hightailed it across a clearly busy street, indifferent to the thought of dying. Why worry when he could just revive again and again ... and again? But those damn scientists had taken that indifference away from him, forcing upon him a new brand of fear, one he didn’t know how to properly handle most of the time - 

          - and he could despise them for that alone. Gods knew that was more than reason enough to despise anyone.

Before that mental tirade could completely take over his mind, however, someone chose - in that moment - to approach him, a relieving distraction from unnecessary thoughts. “Probably about as long as three human lifetimes.” So about 270 years? That sounded about right. “We all have places to be, lady.” He offered a nonchalant shrug in response, shooting a frown toward the offending piece of machinery and its inability to work in a timely fashion. “But I can’t really call you a bother now, can I? Since we’re pretty much in the same boat and all.”

[freebird-kama-blog]

“No, no, I think they were cousins,” Kama thought aloud, his dark eyes wide as he thought. “I don’t remember. Either way, that’s not weird for lions!”

[xrebornfromxashes-blog]

Jago couldn’t exactly refute his point - for in the wild, there was a singular male who pretty much mated with all the lionesses in his pride. But since this couldn’t be considered a debate until he put forth actual, debatable material ... 

“Ah - but it is when they romanticize it.” The Disney franchise was quite famous for doing so.

[freebird-kama-blog]

“I’m so hurt. How could you say such heinous things about The Lion King?”

[xrebornfromxashes-blog]

“Ay?” Jago arched one dark, sculpted eyebrow in question - and frowned. “I’m offended by your heinous accusation. The Lion King is, indeed, a classic - and a good one at that - but the story itself ... needs a little work. Besides which, weren’t Simba and Nala siblings?”

        Her finger circled the edge of her coffee cup, wide doe eyes glazed and staring blankly out of the window of the tiny store. It was the first moment of peace she’d had in a while - and she found it unsettling. She was almost used to being on edge, being angry and afraid for her life. But in this brief minute of time, she was unencumbered by the stresses that usually plagued her. Xola blinked rapidly, eyes coming back into focus as she raised her cup to take a sip. There was chatter around the shop, most of which - despite her best efforts - she could hear a little too explicitly. Hearing the scuffle of footsteps in her direction, the brunette tilted her head to train her gaze on the person approaching.  “You look lost.” She mused, brows raised in greeting.

[xrebornfromxashes-blog]

Lost? Not in the sense that he had little idea where he was or where he intended to go. But since he had a tendency to lose himself in his thoughts ... Well, her observation wasn’t too far off the mark. “What would you do if I said yes?” Jago couldn’t help but ask, curious as to why she’d felt the need to comment on his seeming state of disorientation. “Are you a tour guide, by chance?” A serious question, for it would go a long way toward explaining ... 

... much? 

         Some? 

   Nothing at all? 

Knowing him, his next question would consist of whether or not she knew preventative measures to take to escape death ... It’d be nice if she did.