"Bird Sis, can't we talk this over one more time?"
Zhang Xiao smacked his lips, savoring the lingering taste of the fruit he had just eaten, and kept trying:
"How about one on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, two on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and three on Sundays to celebrate?"
Azure Luan turned her head away, clearly refusing.
Zhang Xiao was about to say more when he suddenly felt warmth at his waist. Bewildered, he took a tail feather out of his bag. It was radiating waves of heat as though it were burning.
Sparks occasionally drifted off the feather. Wasn't this Fawkes's tail feather?
What happened?
Just then, fire flashed. With a piercing cry, Fawkes spread his wings and appeared before him.
For some reason, Zhang Xiao felt that Fawkes's cry just now had sounded... a little excited??
Azure Luan moved in front of Zhang Xiao as though facing a formidable enemy. Her crest flared, and even her tail feathers began to shimmer with a faint azure glow.
Her agate-like beak parted slightly, releasing a low, threatening cry.
Zhang Xiao hurriedly wrapped his arms around Azure Luan and explained:
"Bird Sis, this is Fawkes, the headmaster's phoenix. He's not an enemy."
A phoenix? Azure Luan tilted her head, then suddenly called to Fawkes several times. Fawkes answered with cries of his own.
But after only a brief exchange, Azure Luan haughtily turned away and settled on Zhang Xiao's shoulder, pretending to nap.
Fawkes looked like a defeated rooster. Even his fiery red feathers seemed to have lost some of their luster.
In an instant, Zhang Xiao imagined eighteen melodramatic scenarios, complete with voice acting.
Azure Luan: You're a phoenix? Then can you sing Phoenix Seeking Its Mate?
*Fawkes: What's Phoenix Seeking Its Mate? I can sing the Hogwarts school song!