✦ kingdoms fall, kingdoms rise ✦

[Vivika]

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[Vivika]

➷

She was a wraith, cloaked in the embrace of shadows.

Orien turned his head, nodding once towards his fellow… friend. Under the thin sheen of moonlight, she was striking. Intimidating. But he knew this one. A soft grin split his muzzle, “If you’re trying to scare me, it’s not gonna work, Lija.”

A stony silence.

He tilted his head, undeterred. “Aww, Lija. Don't be like that. You know my answer already━”

“I’m aware.” Her cold, crisp voice cut through the night.

“How about a walk, then?” He nodded towards the molly as she flanked him. “The western border near the village? I hear━”

“...but I'd question, Orien, if you are making the right choice." Her voice was soft, but scraped like claws screeching across a rock. Vivid blue eyes turned to him, unflinching.

"Of course, I am." He met the steel of those dark eyes, managing a half-hearted smile. "Look, I don't want to join your little assassin crew and run around like a little bandit. I can work from the inside… bring about change from my position."

"Even if your voice has been silenced by the Impérial?"

"I…"

"I presume they were impeccably clear during the last altercation. You were not to interfere."

"I can help in other ways."

"Are you certain?"

Claws against claws, flashing in the alleys. The grip of claws against his fur, pinning him in place, and the metallic tang of blood pervading his nose. Their hissed threats, a warning lit with white flame: "Say nothing..."

A crow’s screech rattled through the trees, slicing through the fragile silence.

He lifted his head, meeting her gaze. "Yes. I'm certain."

[Vivika]

➷

They had taken away his right to speak. Barred him from ever taking up a leadership position… from stepping foot in a justice council or from filing a complaint, but he could help in other ways. He would.

Orien hunched his shoulders, nodding a silent good-bye to Lija. Their walk had ended… shortly after. That was the difference between the two of them. She was a revolutionary, he was a patriot. He was a guardian, one sworn to uphold the law and respect it.

While the Impérial guards controlled the strings, there were ways to circumnavigate it. Surely.
Squaring his shoulders, he rounded the back of one of the village homes.

Harsh voices wove through the night. Behind the alleys, the scene… unravelled. A duo banding around another smaller pale form in the center with shadows as their sword and shield.

Their conversation spilled like slick oil from a barrel.

[Vivika]

➷

"Sorceress." A pale white tom slunk from amidst the shadows, barring his teeth. The sliver of a lightning-like scar ran down the side of his eye. “You think the King wouldn’t find you? You know the law decreed about the use of… spells.”

"We know who you are, Amelie." A light shove from a slender, russet molly. "We know about your… activities. Answer us. Or are you deaf? No, wait━"

“She’s cursed.”

The form at the center flinched. A pale lilac female, curled up tighter around herself, a smattering of bruises along her side.

“Shall we?” The pale tom flicked a tail towards his companion. The flash of unsheathed claws glinted in the moonlight. “Should we rid the village of this scum━”

[Vivika]

➷

“Hey!”

He shouldn’t. He had no authority to, but he couldn’t leave her either. He knew this one, this innocent soul, who couldn’t speak. Mute, supposedly from birth. Stars, she was no sorceress. Just an innocent victim caught at the wrong place at the wrong time under suspicion from cynical souls.

And she couldn’t defend herself either.

He strode to the alley, standing paw-to-paw with the light-furred tom, eyeing the jagged scar emblazoned across his eye. Ares. Of course, this one would be here. “Hate to break it to you, but your intel’s false. Stars, she’s just an apprentice.”

Ares lifted his nose, a slow smirk quirking. “The intel’s fine, little guardian. Back off, this is within Impérial jurisdiction ━ from direct orders of the King himself.” Behind him, the russet female unsheathed her claws, circling close.

“A lie. You have no authority to deal with local matters.” Orien stepped forward. “Leave her.”

“Or what? You’ll take this to the judges? Oh wait.” The pale tom laughed. “Last I recalled, you have no right to go there. No one’s going to believe a word from you. Ever.”

Orien froze, stiffening. “I…”

His gaze wandered to the back of the alley, where the apprentice lay. Soft blue eyes fixated on him from the depths, tail curled tightly around herself. The fear frozen in those eyes, pleading. Hopeful.

It lit a flame in his chest.

Claws lingered close to the curve of his neck, a cold warning. Ares pressed his muzzle close, the whisper, biting. “Walk away, guardian. There’s nothing you can do.”

[Vivika]

➷

He’d tried.

Stars, he’d tried. The judges, the head guardian… the Impérial had their goons there to intercept anything he’d said. Their mockery rose like a plume of smoke, jarring, cacophonous to his ears.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

The village chief refused to even see him. His very presence was capable of evoking retaliation from the Impérial, and the chief had tossed his concerns aside. The ambassador? A fool easily bought off by bribes ━ the Impérial had him within their clutches.

It was a dead end.

His heart wrenched, a forlorn cry from the depths. That innocent soul… Stars, they'd kill her.

He'd take being mocked again… the villager's jeers, if that would change things, but it didn't. He couldn’t help her. His voice, his ability to speak out, had been snatched. Stolen. His failure meant her death. It meant injustice.

And he couldn’t live like this either.

[Vivika]

➷

His head lifted as he scanned the horizon, where dawn had started to break. The sky was alight, seething with flame. And there she was. Lija.

Slowly, he made his way over to the flat rock, where she perched, hesitantly settling down next to her.

“I… changed my mind.” His throat was tight. “I’ll join your group of bandits.”

He had a voice, but he couldn’t use it. Not where it mattered most. A voice to defend the weak, the young and the innocent. It was a part of him as intrinsic as the core of his being. He was a defender, a guardian. One who swore to aid those who couldn’t help themselves. To protect those in need.

And he’d been silenced. Barricaded. Dismissed.
Stars, he’d failed her.

But not anymore. He wouldn't live like this. Couldn’t. Not while injustice reigned like shadows of the night.

Not when he still had the chance to speak. And be heard.
Even if it meant turning his back on the law and joining the outlaws. The bandits.

Lija turned to him, providing a single nod. No questions, no snarky remarks, nothing. Just quiet acceptance. Her dark eyes softened a touch, before she lifted her chin and rose to her paws.

“They call themselves the Archangels.”

[Vivika]

[Vivika]

[Vivika]