Meanwhile, back in the villages, Lily and Tadpole were meeting up with Orchid.  Valerie and Rex would've joined, but they were busy at their home.

"Weird random snow, huh?" Lily asked. "Wonder where it came from! It's not winter already, is it?"

"No, it's not, at least I don't think so." Orchid barked.  "Of course, it has been getting colder and colder for weeks now."

"Yeah. Hey, where's Fuego? Isn't he usually out here by now?" Tadpole said, looking around. There was no sign of the shy phoenix anywhere.

"Yeah, I think so. And it's clearly not because of the snow, because he doesn't mind snow that much. Probably a phoenix thing? I don't know. I mean, he IS hot. Like, to the touch, I mean... WELL YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING!"

"You don't have a crush on him, do you?" Lily smirked.

"What!  No!  We're just friends! Besides, he's older than me by, like, a million years!" Orchid protested.

"Nah, it's only two years."

"Still! I don't have a crush on him. I am worried about him, though..."

"Because you have a crush on hiiim...~"

"I DO NOT!"

The twins giggled at Orchid's annoyed protests and whines. She was rather immature, despite being 7.

"If you're so worried about him, why don't we just go visit him?" Tadpole asked.

"Could we?" Orchid barked, perking up.  The twins snickered.

"Why not?"

"Because he might not wanna see us..."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because he didn't come..."

Both twins hesitated. They hadn't thought about it that way. DID he not want to see them? Did he not like them anymore? That could be a reason. But it couldn't be that. Fuego was always so happy to play with them.

Maybe he was busy, like Rex and Valerie were. After all, his family was a family of warriors. Fighters. He could be training. No, that can't be it either. Kasai was always the one training him, and the three of them were told by their older siblings that she was on a mission with them. But what could it be?  They were running out of options.  It was really starting to trigger Lily and Tadpole's curiosity.

"Well we'll only find out if we go and ask him!" Lily said, getting impatient. "So c'mon!"

She started scampering towards Phoenix Village. "Wait for me, sis!" Tadpole called, eagerly following.

Orchid sighed. "If you say so." She ran behind the twins.

When they knocked on the door, Fiebre was the one to answer.  "¡Hola, chiquitos!"

Despite not understanding her very well, Lily waved. "Hello! Is Fuego okay? He didn't come..."

Fiebre's smile faded. She'd hate to disturb her son, but she didn't want to disappoint his friends either. She cleared her throat. "¡Fuego! Fuego, ¿estás despierto?"

"Sí, mamá..." Fuego's voice called, shortly followed by a short coughing fit. Orchid immediately whined.

"Tienes compañía. ¿Te sientes lo suficientemente bien para verlos?"

"Supongo. ¿Quién es?"

"Dos niñas y un niño pequeño."

Fuego immediately hesitated. "... s-sí."

Fiebre hesitantly led Orchid, Lily, and Tadpole into Fuego's room. Fuego was curled up in bed, shivering. He was sweating, and his face was red with fever.  Orchid whined.

Fiebre gave a quiet sigh. "Te dejaré en paz por un momento." she said quietly, walking out.

"What'd she say?" Lily asked, confused.

"...s-she said she'll leave us alone for a bit." Fuego muttered. "...what are you guys doing here?"

"Orchid-"

Lily wheezed as Orchid gave her a small punch, cutting her off.

"I-I mean we were worried about you..." she finished.

"Yeah!" Tadpole said, nodding. "We thought you didn't wanna see us...that's not true...right...?"

"No, no! ¡Yo quiero verte! I do want to see you! It's just... I'm not feeling well..." Fuego muttered, coughing again. "Lo siento...I'm sorry..."

Orchid whined.  "You should rest...sorry for disturbing you..."

"No, ¡está bien!  It's fine... I'm happy to see you."  Fuego forced a weak smile.

Orchid hugged him, whimpering at his warmth.  Sure, phoenixes naturally had high temperatures, but it felt like she was hugging an active volcano.  He wrapped his arms around her before pulling away, coughing more.

"...we'll leave you alone...bye, Fuego..."

"... adiós..." Fuego muttered weakly, starting to drift to sleep.

Orchid gave a final whine before leaving with Tadpole and Lily.