"Kujaku" •RWBY•

一

Note: Recommended that you read this chapter with dark mode enabled for better immersion. You can turn it off for the next chapter.

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She was six years old when she first met him. Her town, Tancho village, laid east of the Forest of Hinoki. Their settlement was small with a river that created a divider between the fireflies and koi. The little girl loved to walk along the bank, feeding the fish bread crumbs and creating flower crowns with the dandelions. She was like any typical child who let their curiosity and determination override their sense of rationality.

At the moment, twilight was quickly approaching and the stream lit up a luminescent blue. The girl giggled, joyous at the pretty colours who helped guide her way. She wasn't supposed to be out this late, her mother was probably worried sick about her well-being. Then again, she is a child so why should she care?

Her gleeful cackles died when a soft gust of wind blew leaves in her direction. She covered her face with the sleeve of her sapphire kimono, shutting her lids when the air got in her eye. When the wind halted, all light had disappeared. The moon with its crumbled surface provided no glow for the girl to see. Her legs trembled, knees almost buckling under her and toes curling, catching blades of grass and damp soil. When did everything get so quiet and felt so dense?

The river no longer gleamed, the outline of the forest's trees seeming to grow and create a cage around her. What about the Grimm? She asked herself because that was a danger that followed the fear. If she was afraid, she would die which would leave her family devasted, and she hated seeing such despair. It's not like she could do anything though because it was so dark and so scary which left her so scared. Then that's when it happened - that's when they appeared.

Small, purple flames that held a menacing look - jagged tentacles with a wide, sharp fanged-like mouth. The books were riddled with tales of fiery fairies -- the ignis fatuus that tended to lead nighttime wayfarers astray. Truly one of the most perfect of timings because she wasn't knowledgeable of this fact (if only she had listened when her father read before bed). They were her last resort - her only resort as with every second the beowolves would surely be drawing nearer.

The little flame beckoned for the girl to come closer, unintelligible calls drawing from its pitch black mouth. With a hesitant step and fleeting breaths, the little girl jogged towards the wisps of smoke. It giggled, almost mockingly, and whooshed away when she drew near. She nearly crumbled to the ground in defeat before another showed, and then another and another until a path was paved for her.

She cried more when her object of survival continued to whisk away. This wasn't even about curiosity anymore, the will to live and the need to get home was all there was. Tears pricked the tips of her eyes, rolling down her rosy cheeks in clumps when, finally, they stopped. The last purple flame twirled, the excitement clearly being shown as it flailed its tentacles around. The girl almost laughed at the adorable display but her destination is what kept her, and the person who was in it.

In front of her was a circular clearing, the moon shining an opal glow upon a slanted rock. The atmosphere was almost crystal-like and green leaves danced in the wind. All was quiet and everything was still, even the sleeping male that laid on the gray slab. The most peculiar thing wasn't that he was letting off a green glow nor the fact he had a griffin's horns and was green himself. No no no, it was the fact he was exceptionally gorgeous with a lean chest, a pretty-boy face, and a snarl that painted his thin, green lips. As a young girl, of course, she'd find an attraction to the older man; her cheeks flushed a rosy hue and her eyes lit up in awe.

Hold up, don't just skim over that [major] detail! He was snarling at her, eyesockets narrowed and the shadow of his eyebrows was downturned, the upper part of his body being twisted her way. What made her gulp was the noticeable change in atmosphere - the sultry air became tense and almost unbearable. The fear she decided to swallow came back in a flurry of other emotions as bile rose in her esophagus.