A mile from his cottage was a den of wolves that Phoenix would observe from a tree. His favorite was a mama wolf that had recently given birth to a litter of cubs. He would sometimes bring his lunch, and that's where he got the names for the five baby wolves. He named them Cheese, Loaf, Berry, Dairy, and Shroom.

  Last week, when he finished his sandwich, he could hear heavy footsteps and the clicking of shotguns. He hid up high and watched as men rallied around the wolves. It took only six minutes for most of the barking to be replaced with whimpering. Phoenix tried to stay back and keep quiet, but the blasts and the yelling became too much. He jumped down. He heard only three sets of footsteps. Three men.

  Phoenix formed a pair of ice blades around his hands and sliced the first poacher's gun into thirds before taking it away. He jumped up and smacked it across the man's head. He heard the cocking of two more shotguns, the one on Phoenix's left was closer. He froze the ground around him, causing the second man to slip and allowing him to evade the third man's bullet. Phoenix froze the second to the ground, and when the third tried to reload, the boy finished him off with a fireball to the chest.

  Phoenix crouched over to the second man and observed his jacket up close. There was a symbol on the shoulder, a golden meteor.

  "Aurum Bandits," he said. "Hmph, I guess they're making their way over here."

  "Wh-wh-who are you!?" asked the man, teeth chattering.

  Phoenix pointed a finger up to the man's forehead. "Where were you gonna take these animals?"

  "I'm nnnnot t-t-t-telling you–!"

  "You saw me shoot a fireball out of my hand. I held back to knock your friend out, but the result of shooting point-blank isn't pretty."

  The man felt his body heat up as his sweat made his skin stick even more to the ice. "C-C-Carifa Desert! They're over in the Carifa Desert!"

  "Great. Now was that so hard?"

  "Are you gonna let me go?"

  Phoenix stood up and walked away, "I'll let the wolves decide. I got a letter to write."

  Phoenix never went back to the wolf den after that day, instead, he waited for a response to his letter. When the package finally arrived, he brought the parcel inside, the faint scent stinging his nose. Inside the box was a plain yellow pouch, a dim glow emerging from the seams.

  The boy took a deep breath and sprinkled the purple powder on himself. A violet fog surrounded him, and a flash of light engulfed him before he could process what was happening.

  Carifa Desert.

  The sun and sand hit his eyes like pins and needles. The land was a sea of gold sand and brown grasses. In the distance, he could hear gazelles galloping. Phoenix slowly turned his head, but nothing else filled his ears.

  "Okay, gazelles coming from that direction, then I assume the big animals are over... here!" He pointed the opposite way.

  Phoenix kept walking in the same direction until he kicked a rusted snare. He squinted, there were many scattered among the grass. Empty shotgun shells and puddles of blood filled the rest of the space.

  "Yep, I'm going the right way."

  Continuing from that same trail, Phoenix eventually found himself in front of an old warehouse. He crept around its walls, stopping at an open door. He slipped inside, and to his luck, the light was dim.

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  A group of men gathered around a battered old table, a map, and a large crate with a golden meteor symbol on the lid. A lot of the crates looked like that, and the men held those symbols on their jackets.

  "Let us see ze bounty." asked one of the poachers.

  "Ivory and rhino horns," replied the second, prying open a wooden crate. "Zey veren't an easy catch, ze elephants were...stubborn!"

  "Ze rhinos veren't any easier!" chimed in a third. "Ve lost Otto because of zose zings!"

  "It is own fault, he vas an idiot and he died one," the second man scoffed, shaking his head as he rifled through the contents of the crate. "Lucky for us, animals are just as stupid. After your first kill, you're ready for ze next ten dozen."

  "Ve better get a good price for zis." said the third. "Zose lions vere hard to capture, especially since zey vere vanted alive."

  "Ve'll be paid," assured the first. "After zat, zey'll eat zem, stuff zem, breed zem. Vhat does it matter to us?"

  Lost in the conversation and their ridiculous accents, Phoenix's foot brushed against a poorly stacked crate. With a loud crash, it toppled over. The poachers whipped their heads towards the noise. Phoenix quickly ducked behind a large drum.

  "Who's zere?" asked the first poacher. No response. He raised two fingers and pointed in the direction of the crash.

  Phoenix climbed up a stack of crates, hiding behind them as the poachers continued to search. Carefully aiming his finger, he launched a fireball towards the poachers. He used the distraction to dash behind another stack of drums, out of sight. Phoenix looked at the lettering on the drum, OIL, and a lightbulb turned on. He pushed the drum over and flicked a spark between his fingers to make it explode. The poachers started shooting, but he was as agile as he was small. Phoenix came closer to fight back, and the poachers barely noticed he was there in all the smoke. If a gun was pointed at the boy, he used his flames to make the guns too hot to handle. The criminals fell back, and Phoenix ran deeper into the warehouse.

  As he turned the corner, his luck changed. A wall-to-wall zoo. Cages of animals he had only read about. There was a big grey one with a long trunk, an elephant. Big cats with a lot of spots, cheetahs. Horse-like animals with black and white stripes, Zebras. Without a moment of hesitation, he released the animals. They made one stop before reaching outside and charged at the poachers. The poachers had finally reached the better ammunition, but were quickly overpowered by the stampeding animals. Phoenix got out of the way, watching as the poachers were being trampled. He heard a lot of screams go silent.

  Phoenix came out exhausted, seeing squished poachers was not on his agenda today. Just as he pulled the yellow pouch from his pocket, a faint cry came from a small crate in the corner. He walked over, tapped it, and some noises came from it. He picked up a crowbar from one of the squished poachers, and he pried the crate open.

  They stared up at him with the most dazzling eyes he had ever seen. They barked and meowed, but did not attempt to pounce. The boy slowly tiptoed forward and reached out to them. To his surprise, the tiny animals nuzzled against him.

  "There we go," said Phoenix, now stroking their fur with both hands. "That's it."

  He scooped the cubs up and examined them to ensure they were not injured, and thankfully, they appeared unharmed.

  "Now you get to watch me blow this place up."

  When Phoenix walked out of the burning warehouse, he took some of the purple powder and sprinkled it on himself and the cubs.

  "Hold on tight," said Phoenix as he was whisked away. He landed in front of his cottage as the cubs whimpered with closed eyes. "I know, I know, it's bright. I can't get used to it either."

  Phoenix rubbed his eyes and looked at the cubs, their fur slightly matted from dried blood. The boy's clothes were not much better, as they were covered in animal hair and holes.

  "These were my favorite clothes," Phoenix complained. "We need a bath don't we?"

  Phoenix entered his cottage and returned with soap and a towel. The boy walked up to the river, letting the cubs loose as they followed him. The lion cub ran in circles around the shore, and the wolf pup ran to the river for a drink. Phoenix took off his tunic and examined the holes in the cloth.

  "Great," said Phoenix.

  He took off his undershirt and noticed a wet spot on it. Phoenix looked at his shoulder and saw that he had been grazed by a stray bullet.

  "I'm getting too used to being hurt," sighed Phoenix.

  The lion cub was already pawing at the water despite the strong current. Phoenix sat himself in the shallow part of the river as he placed the lion cub in his lap. He lathered the animal's fur in soap, and slowly poured water from his cupped hands to rinse it off. The wolf cub seemed to relax as it watched the lion cub melt in Phoenix's arms. The boy pulled the wolf close and repeated his process.

  Their fur looked shinier once they shook themselves dry. Phoenix cleaned himself and his wounds. Once finished, he dragged himself onto his favorite rock to dry in the sun. The cubs jumped up on him and made themselves comfortable on his stomach. Phoenix was too tired to move them, and the cubs had fallen asleep right as soon as they lay down.

  He looked to the lion cub, "I think I'll call you... Neko." He turned to the wolf pup, "And you're name will be... Koma."