- Username: vivika
Cat Name: ilías (aka ilya)
Gender: male
Rank: shield
Clan: azeryn
Age: nineteen moons
Prompt:
gold wheat quavers around him.
perfect, glinting needlepoints trembling with energy and shadows. in the dying light, they are spears, drenched scarlet from a raid gone wrong. before him, a form rises, eyes like fractured emeralds, stepping over the slain beast. a rebel. her lips twitch. “join us.”
tensing, his gaze drops to the feline beside him.
dez. his friend, his sword, his brother-in-arms. his fearless commander with eternal fight. but now, his friend rests, limbs splayed in a growing pool of copper. weary.
smile faint, dez grips his paw, gentle and firm all at once. “go, ilya.”
“come with me.” i can't do this alone. “we have time━”
“ilya.” his name on dez’s tongue is soft. tender. shattering. “i'll only slow you down. this is your only chance ━ take it." a light nudge. "fight back for both of us.”
“we made an oath, dez.” they were brothers. not by blood, but by oath. and he’s seen it all. seen the wild, golden tom at his best and his worst. seen him weep from nightmares after the raids. seen him laugh, warm and free, head thrown back. seen him move like a blade, cutting through beasts at the king’s command. “we swore to protect each other, even if forced by the king. you are my sword and i, your shield.”
and dez has seen him. guided him when the raids became too much. visited him when he recovered. saved his life, when it should have been the other way around. so, so many times.
his head bows. “i won’t leave you.”
“coward.” dez scowls, muzzle twisted in a snarl. “i know you. you’re not doing this for me… but for you.” he leans close, breath harsh. “you’re afraid.”
“i-”
shaking, dez rips the crescent pendant off his neck. it kills the illusions over him. scars materialize, snaking along his sides. some fresh, some old, others still healing. they wind around like ugly, coiled serpents. "how many more? how many more raids before you collapse? before those beasts kill you?"
"y-you have no right." the wheat against his back is a blade, twisting. "the king will punish you if i leave. and if i’m caught, we're both dead━"
"there it is." dez’s quiet rage simmers, eyes a blazing, blue flame. "you always play it safe. always the perfect little shield for that tyrant." his gaze burns, unflinching. "you hide behind duty and honor, but the truth is you're afraid. and they've trapped you with it."
he squeezes his eyes shut.
it was true. every single word. he was, is and would forever be a coward, following orders to save his life. both their lives.
right?
as a whistle shrieks, the waiting rebel doesn’t hesitate. she was no fool. to the symphony of pawsteps and flickering candlelight cresting the fields, she flees. leaving with his chance at freedom.
“please don’t hate me.” he sinks down beside dez, head slumped. “i-i couldn't.”
he averts his gaze, voice a fragile whisper. "i'm sorry."
