05-04-2022, 11:24 PM
in the end, the great beast falls in battle. through swathes of dirt and blood, jade scales gleam; their vivid colors stand out stark against filthy, blood-matted fur. he heaves with the exertion of one who has been fighting for their life for days on end, as he has been.
the war was long and arduous, and he had lost many a men to the enemy. now, their leader felled, he, too, stumbles and sinks down onto the ground.
this life has come to an end, he knows. this body can no longer sustain itself, exhausted and torn ragged as it is. but he had properly defended his kingdom, his people, and now, they are safe. now, he can rest.
at last, his reign is over. with one final, great roar, the golden guardian descends into the abyss.
then, he awakens. he exists.
he lives, at first, in the darkness. in the warmth of a mother, the sweet smell of milk surrounding him. all is silent, all is dark - and in this place, he finds contentment.
then, as all things must, he faces the world. with the opening of delicate eyelids, not unlike the blossoming of the soft petals of the cherry trees in spring, there comes light, and with the light comes life.
life thereon is different. calmer, really, than any he's known before - though he does not remember this before. he grows and learns and plays as all cubs do, though as they grow, he remains significantly smaller than his four littermates.
in his third month, there comes a fire. it burns through the trees of his home, bringing death and ash in its wake. it catches his two brothers (kogarashi, the firstborn, and kaizen, the thirdborn) in its grip, and takes their lives for its own. and it is so that four of them are left to flee to the mountains above - mother, and kin, and his two sisters. there is no time to mourn the things they lost to the flames. the wildfire catches quickly, and the blaze seems to follow close to their heels as they run from its heat.
they can outrun the fire, but the smoke - oh, how it pervades their lungs.
on the fifth day, kosame, the secondborn, collapses. komorebi, the fourthborn, sobs against her sister's side as mother digs a grave. kin watches on, a harsh feeling like thorny vines gripping at his heart. saline salt tickles at his bottom lids, but they do not fall. his chest aches with emotion and the remnants of smoke, his throat burns with the taste of ash and unshed tears, but still, he does not cry. he can't.
(in the end, he never cried. not once. as a leader, the guardian of thousands of people, he had to be strong. so even though he wanted to, even though he wanted to scream and shout and cry to the heavens above, he never did.)
they lay her body to rest beneath a covered sky with no moon.
at least, kin thinks, kosame got a burial. his brothers were not so lucky.
days pass, and things only get worse. komorebi falls, weak-limbed and exhausted. mother takes her by the scruff of her neck and carries her.
but the next day, mother coughs up blood. kin watches as the last of his family struggles to stay alive. his own lungs burn as if he'd swallowed the whole of the wildfire, but he is determined to stay strong. mother looks at him, eyes full of worry, and despite the ache in his legs, the cuts on his paws, he stands taller. the bones in his neck groan as he raises his head, but he ignores the discomfort.
(an innate skill born from over a thousand lifetimes filled with pain.)
he goes off to find water. comes back with a small leaf, origin unknown to him, filled with the barest bit of liquid. this he uses to ensure his family is properly hydrated, not taking a single sip himself until he's taken over a dozen trips back and forth with the little leaf. once mother refuses another drink, he stops, and once he's out of range of her watching eyes and listening ears, he flops down onto his side, panting.
they continue on that way, for weeks. they stay close to the little stream, slowly, but steadily making their way up the pass.
when he awakens on the first day of his fourth month, it is alone.
struggling to stand on torn, pained pawpads, he yowls out a cry for his mother, his sister. he turns in hopeless circles, jade gaze roving over rough mountain rocks in search for their familiar golden pelts.
he searches for three days. on the morn of the fourth, as the sun rises into the sky, he can search no longer, and collapses in a heap. he's reached a point in the pass where the rocks tower high above, like sharp fingers reaching to the sky above in prayer. his sides heave with heavy breaths, and when he coughs, it is raspy and wet. a particularly strong, hacking one has him spitting something up - he stares at it, that little glob of crimson red. he looks at it, and he thinks of mother, and komorebi. wonders if they're dead, like kosame and kogarashi and kaizen.
wonders, too, if he will die here.
(no, a part of him whispers. no, he will not fall here - he must rise, a phoenix from the ash, and take his place in this world. he must find his people, as he has done in every life before, and protect them. that is his duty. that is his purpose.)
as morning turns to afternoon, as the sun finds its spot high in the sky, kin finds the strength to move. just a little bit - just a twitch of his paws, a slight jolt of his head - something that would seem insignificant to anyone else. but to him, it is a sign of his own strength. it is a sign that he can do this. he can survive.
and so with one great push of will, his maw falls open, and he releases a small, near inaudible mewl. something so small, something so insubstantial.
and yet, the world will have him heard.
note: my first post with kin! i hope it suffices - this is for @Reiko but anyone else of shiroshika or friendly intentions if welcome to join!
the staff team luvs u