song of the forest [current version]

❝prologue❞

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♫six months earlier♫

The girl was long carried off. In the last glimpse Asiza had gotten of her, she'd been barely conscious and choking on her own blood. Terriers weren't gentle creatures. If they were given orders, they would find the most violent way to carry those orders out.

Asiza had shown up too late. The girl's death would be their fault, no matter what logic could be used to justify Asiza's actions. The Misura stood behind Asiza, a grim but satisfied look on his face.

Sick colors blistered Asiza's skin, hard scarlet rage bubbling beneath their skin. The colors hung heavy in the air: sickly lavender shades and sticky, determined navy from the Misura muddled with the ruby, feral anger that lingered from the terrier beast. Blood the same color as the emotions in the air pooled on the floor, mixed with foamy saliva from the terrier. Asizia mustered a knot of emotion that had been building slowly over their years with the Misura, something they hadn't known they had until that moment, and shaped it into something at least partly coherent. They didn't know what happened after that, only that the Misura had left them stranded, forced to fix the mess they'd caused completely on their own.

Asiza faced the mirror on the wall, watching with detached interest as red hair sprouted from their scalp, their skin lightened ever so slightly and freckles blossomed on their cheeks. Their eyes flashed a vivid green to match the girl who had been dragged away by the terrier.

Asiza could fix this.

They spread their fingers on the pastel yellow bedroom wall, their skin emitting a weak glow as the bloodstains dissolved into the brightly painted surface, leaving only faint impressions that Asiza was sure only they could see.

Asiza could fix this.

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song of the forest
©rowan maybe 2023