Chandra looked unsure. “Are you certain that… thing… is safe to ride?” She tilted her head a little, crossing her arms over her chest. “It doesn’t look like it can hold all three of us.”
“Oh sure, it’s totally safe. I’ve only been shaken off three times.” Raffí grinned and patted the bird’s wing. “What, you think I’d let my customers hurt themselves on the daily?”
Jay put an arm around Chandra and smirked. “Are you telling me that you’re going to pass up a chance to ride on a phoenix, a mythical bird of fire, because it’s, quote unquote, not safe?” He snickered and booped her nose.
“Oh, fine.” Chandra put a paw to her temple and let out a heavy sigh. “But I’ve got a bad feeling about this…”
“Woohoo!!” Jay jumped up and clambered aboard, sitting right behind Raffí. “Come on, hurry up! Let’s do this thing!” He punched the air, grinning widely. Chandra followed reluctantly, finding a seat right in front of the phoenix’s wings and wrapping her arms around Jay’s waist.
The great bird took off, its wingspan only just small enough to fit in the caverns. They soared over the cave floor, its surface pocked with little lava pools. As they went deeper underground, the chambers grew larger, and soon the phoenix was able to fly a little more freely. The little pools soon became great lakes, and those in turn became a vast lava ocean beneath them. Only a few small, rocky islands remained for solid ground.
Chandra was, of course, only growing more anxious as the land disappeared. “Um… What if this thing gets tired? Are we going to be able to land?” She gripped Jay a little more tightly.
“Hey now, take it easy! I gotta be able to breathe, you know!” Jay looked back at Chandra, his eyebrows raised. “You worry too much. Come on, we’re doing perfectly fine! Just relax, enjoy the scenery.” He reached back and gave her a soft pat on the head.
The next room ended in a split. There were two paths, each wide enough for the phoenix to go through. The left path glowed brightly, while the right was much dimmer.
“Alright ladies and gents, this bird can’t hover so you’re gonna have to choose quickly! Right or left?” Raffí looked back at the two of them, a gleam in his eye.
Chandra immediately piped up. “Let’s take the left, please!” She looked a bit frazzled; the stress was clearly starting to get to her.
Jay shook his head. “No, we should take the right path.”
“Why on earth would you want to take the dark path in a cave?! Don’t you know that just leads to disaster?” She looked at Jay incredulously.
“The lava is what’s lighting up the cave. If we go down the darker path, there could be a place to land. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Tick tock!” Raffí called back to them. The end of the room was coming up fast.
Chandra bit her lip, feeling nervous about either choice. “Okay, okay! Take the right!” She closed her eyes, praying to anything that could hear her for their safety.
“Right it is!” Raffí clicked his tongue a couple times and the phoenix entered the darker tunnel. They were still able to see with the lava below, but as they went deeper they could see then end of the sea of molten rock. Raffí had the phoenix descend, and soon they were resting safely on the dark stone.
“See? What’d I tell ya?” Jay looked at Chandra, who was still clinging to him for dear life. “Chandra? Hey! We’ve landed!” He shook her a bit.
Chandra looked up shyly. “O-oh… we’re on the ground now?” She let go of Jay and carefully climbed off the phoenix. “Thank goodness.” She let out a heavy sigh of relief and looked around.
The room they had entered was made of stone, although it was still dimly lit by the rivulets of lava that ran down the walls. The ground was cracked and uneven due to the tectonic movements that caused such large amounts of volcanic activity, and more lava could be seen underneath. Raffí stayed with the phoenix as Jay and Chandra took some time to wander. The two headed towards a towering rock formation that was miraculously still standing despite the chaos around them.
Jay began to climb the tower, jumping from precarious ledge to precarious ledge. “Hey! I think I see something higher up!”
“Oh, do be careful…” Chandra took a deep breath and followed him, taking her time as she ascended.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine!” Jay climbed up a few more feet, then paused at a bigger platform. “Come on! There’s something you should see.”
Chandra took the last few steps, accepting Jay’s paw to help her up. After she clambered up, she looked around to find what he wanted to show her. “Oh… what’s that?”
Jay grinned and gestured for her to come closer. “I think it’s a diamond or something. You know, cuz that’s what happens when you add extreme heat and pressure to carbon. Volcanoes are one of the only places that has meets the criteria.” The crystals shone in the lavalight; although they were only raw stones and not quite cut for their famous sparkle, they still held a sort of unique beauty. “See? Aren’t you glad we came out here now?”
Chandra smiled a little and gave Jay a peck on the cheek. “I suppose it was worth it after all.”
Her partner turned beet red and gave a shy grin. “I’m inclined to agree.”
(940 words)
by Paints » Thu Jul 06, 2017 9:52 am 
hello I am tiny and you can’t read me! 
