Embers of Fall

The Fallen

Oh, please no.

Navati could hear screams rise upon the wind and every minute felt like an hour. One of the Kende men knew a shortcut and lead the way, but by the time they saw their tribe in the distance, everything had been covered by fire.

Soot and ash swirled on the early evening breeze as wild flames roared and cackled engulfing the tents as arrows lay scattered amongst bits of glass and the smell of burning whiskey. Had it been the blue-eyes? But the arrows and their black paint and blue feathered ends were the signatures of the Setoc tribe.

She dismounted in horror as her mare fled at the sight of the flames, but Navati ran towards them, shouting for her father. "Eyaki!" She cried out, throat and lungs burning as they filled with smoke. The other men called out for their wives and children.

The smell of burnt flesh and the cries of those injured and mourning made her heart shatter. Tears fell from her eyes as she sobbed, wanting her father as if she were a young child again and she ran for what was left of his tent. Her hands reached for the cover and she tried to crawl inside, but the fire had licked at her palms and the heat and smoke clouded her vision. "Father!" She cried again, wailing as she couldn't find him and kneeled before his crumbling tent.

Her hands though they burned were driven through her hair and she squeezed her eyes shut, screaming in both anger and pain. He was all she had left and now he was gone. If they hadn't gone hunting, or if she had stayed then she would've or could've saved him.

Why didn't she listen to him and stay?

She wracked her mind and felt guilt and sorrow consume her like the flames that destroyed everything they had worked so hard to build. Their homes were crumbling right in front of their eyes and their families were gone... Forever.

Crawling now, she tried to search desperately for great grandmother but found her still hunched over within her burning tent. Arrows stuck out from the side of her back and tears had lay ashen upon her face. This affirmed that it had been the Setoc's doing. Those bright blue feathers protruded from the ends of the arrows.

Her heart burned and seethed, but her mind was left in a state of shock, Navati tried to wake her, begging her to leave the tent as if not registering that she was dead. She persisted, despite the hands that reached in to pull her out and she screamed wildly when they didn't let her go.

Her eyes were bright and angry, reflecting the flames, and her teeth bared. She writhed and fought, willing to burn there with her people, but she was dragged free from the burning tent, covered in sweat and blood and fell to the ground in a fit of heart breaking wails and ear piercing screams.

Her tears ran hot against her ashen skin and her hands were clenched into fists so hard that her nails had broke past the skin of her burnt palms. Devastation settled deep into her bones and rippled through her in harsh currents.

Everything she had known and loved had been taken and lost.

The hands that pulled her free from the burning tent now moved and lifted her from the spot on the ground and she cried as she was carried away. "No, no! Eyaki!" She cried for her father and Lakosha, hitting the back of the person who held her.

Around her, people burned and children wailed on their knees next to their dead parents. Chaos erupted and went on through the night. Never stopping, never ceasing even upon hearing their mournful cries and screams, their cacophony of death and loss haunting the plains.

The person held her too tightly and ran without stopping. She wished she had died with them or died protecting them, but to watch and hear them helplessly burn?

A sharp pain seared through her and she fought against the person who held her, striking them repeatedly, but she could barely see or smell anything as smoke had clouded her throat and nose and her eyes burned from ash and blood.

Her cries only ceased for a second when she was set down and hands splashed water over her eyes and face. The cold water hit her and snapped her free from her trance. Her eyes were quick to open as she gasped for air, feeling the cold bite into her skin, then she cried again. Her tears rolling free.

"They're gone, they're all gone. Everything's gone," She sobbed, her heart breaking all over again.

But hands cupped her face, cold and wet against her skin, before a warm mouth crushed hers. The kiss was not sweet, but violent and rough, bruising her mouth as she was forced into a tight embrace. Longing and denial radiated from the person as if they were ensuring she was real and alive. That she could be felt and would not disappear.

The person held her and kissed her softer this time, quieting her and then pulled away to rest their forehead against hers. Still crying, she opened her eyes to map out familiar features and saw the tears that fell from their closed eyes. The dark-haired man kept his eyes shut, pained by what had happened, and kept her close. His embrace crushed her, but her heart ached as she saw the pain that resembled her own and cried again.

"Kotve," She sobbed and grasped his face, her eyes burning from her hot tears, not believing it was him, and she couldn't find the words to say as her heart broke.

Had this all been a nightmare? Had he come for her?

Then she was angry and spiteful and desperate.

She shoved against him, her wail a mix between a cry and a shout of pain. "How could you leave?!"

She pushed away from him, coming to her senses, and scrambled back away, putting distance between them. "How could you-.."

Her voice faltered as she shook violently.

"Where were you? Where were you?!" She screamed, her throat aching and raw. She glared at him, eyes burning and murderous, though she had missed him more than she thought she would and was devastated that he hadn't returned for weeks and he had left her and their tribe to fend for themselves.

"You were supposed," She struggled to process his reappearance and found it hard to breathe and tried again, as her body shuddered and her heart hammered in her chest, "You were supposed to..to be there." Her eyes squeezed shut and she could no longer find the strength to stand and collapsed to her knees, still trembling.

But would his presence really change what had happened? It was as if he took his fortune with him when he had left. Were they destined for darkness without him?

Why did this happen and why did he leave them?

"Shehea. I'm sorry," He could only whisper, dropping to his knees in front of her and wrapped his arms around her. He buried his face in her hair and held her as she wept. He struggled to keep his own cries at bay and tried his best to soothe her. His own father had been struck down, left to burn outside of his tent. He had returned, unexpectedly seeing the raging fire that consumed his and her tribe and forced himself to hold it together.

He could not save his father or hers and change what had already been done. But when he had seen her and heard her cries as she tried to burn with those she loved, he could only feel relief that she had not died. That he could at least save her.

As much as he hated to admit it, they were attached by fate. He made a promise to her father that he would protect her and if she did carry his child, the loss would be unforgivable. He would have endlessly hunted those who killed them. He could not make sense of the new swarm of emotion and drive that embedded itself into his veins, but he did not have to. He would do what he was meant to.

When she had cried until she was numb, they worked to help those who were still alive, but  could do little as their world already burned down in front of them.

Only ash remained.

The rain had came too late and extinguished the remaining flames, leaving their land in darkness and its cold drops could do little to comfort them and their people. It was a devastating loss that ripped through their entire tribe, exterminating most, and it would take years to recover from it.

By dawn, Navati's heart burned with the need for revenge, while Kotve's burned with the desire to protect her and what was left of their tribe.

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