Seirei: Ages Old
She walks alone… quiet and un-noticed among the dark trees. Trees so different from those of her homeland… To this day she can still remember the smell of pink blossoms and how they filled the air for a single week, making everything seem possible and magical. How they felt as they scrunched up between her paws as she walked over them. These trees… she looked around at them with the thought, ‘they smell alive, but nowhere near as sweet as her home.’
It is then she realizes that she actually misses her home. Such a strange word, Home. It used to mean wherever He was, and then it had meant the forest she walked in now… and yet tonight, it seems alien, although she had lived there for over a century. Her memories were powerful tonight… She remembered the way her fur rippled as she pounced upon her first mouse and caught him… She remembers the way her father licked her head clean, covering her with his comforting scent. The way she tripped walking for the first time upon two feet instead of four paws…
But no memory shines as brightly or fills her somber mood with joy than thoughts of him. A man, one she had loved and lost. Perhaps unmemorable to most, his kindness towards her had always been a blessing and she still remembered the way his arms had felt as he picked her up and held her. She could still remember his smile…
Impulsively, she heads for the village nearby… It has been decades since she has intruded upon her subjects realm, but she feels as though tonight she needs them. As she comes closer to the village her paws seem to become lighter and she feels something inside her melt and be washed away. Seeing the village she calls but a moments power to herself and takes her human form
Little by comparison, the people of this land would call her a child by size alone, but her White hair shines brightly and her clear amber eyes show a wisdom far beyond that of a child. With an inhuman grace she seems to float as her clothing appears on her small form. A red and white kimono, done in the style of a priestess of her people settles on her frame and she hears a tinkling in her ear as a large bell appears on her headdress.
She steps out onto the road and turns towards the moon, begging her indulgence and silently asks that she be shown the correct path… Behind her she hears the neigh of a horse, the sound of wheels turning on gravel, and she slowly turns. She has nothing to fear in her land, even though the priests of this new deity would like to drive her from it. Still she draws in breath in surprise when she sees the man who drives the horse and cart.
Neither young nor old by the standards of his people, she sees a face so similar to that of her beloved that she almost cries out. However, she has controlled her emotions for so long, that she hides them almost instinctively. She composes her eyes, holding a sadness within them that she cannot quite banish and waits for the man to speak. She can tell by his expression that her sudden appearance and ghostly, ethereal beauty has startled him… She glances once more at the moon and almost feels a motherly hand pushing her towards the cart… Perhaps this traveler will take her home, she thinks as an inconsolable sadness wells up within her, and she listens, appearing cheerful, as he cautiously greets her and she begins framing her request for his aid in her mind… This will require work, but the plan that begins forming has benefits that far outweigh any negative aspects that may appear to counter her.
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