VOK Katonda Pride Written Works (DNP)

[-Isabella-]

Mari sighed softly as she gazed out over the quiet village. Any other time this might've seemed peaceful, but today it was only quiet because everyone was inside, recovering from the battle. Many had been injured, though not as many died as they had feared. The knowledge of the healers, aided with the magic in the kingdom, helped stave off the worst outcomes, but only to a point.
It was the hearts of many that were heavy as they looked at the destruction, all their hard work gone.

Even the land itself seemed beaten down and sick. As Mari looked out over it all she could see trees and bushes mowed down, no doubt crushed under the titan's mighty feet. The green seemed to have been siphoned right out of the forest, leaving everything a sickly gray-green color. The battle had left it's mark everywhere, on everything, and as Mari stood there she couldn't help but replay parts of it in her mind, again and again as she remembered how it had all played out.

The sorceress had fled and they had failed to find her so had set about trying to decide what to do if the titan showed up. To their surprise though, it was the sorceress who came to their kingdom first, demanding sanctuary. The titan was hot on her tail she said, ready to destroy her for what she had done. We denied her the sanctuary she sought and she disappeared. We searched for her for two days to be sure she was gone and found no trace. But then the titan came.


Mari felt tears stinging her eyes as she remembered when the titan had reached their border. His rage was strong, and the destruction he wrought...Trees had been mowed down, the titan's magic casting a shadow and a blight over the beautiful woods.
They had tried to hold him back, keep him from the outer villages and homes. But the sorceress tricked us. She had used her spells to hide herself, to shield herself from us and had fled right into the heart of the kingdom. The titan sensed her, and her presence drew him closer and closer to the more populated areas of the kingdom.

When the sorceress had to come out of hiding to escape the queen had tried to intercept her, to lead her away from the homes of her subjects, but she didn't succeed before a few of the outer dwellings had been destroyed. So many homes wrecked, so many injured as the titan charged after the sorceress who used every spell she could think of to evade him.

It had seemed hopeless at first. The queen couldn't lead the sorceress away, motivated by her own fear she refused to leave, knowing the titan would catch up to her. She didn't seem to care about the innocents that would be harmed because of her actions, or perhaps she was just too absorbed in her own fear for it to even occur to her that her actions might put others in harms way.

While the queen had tried to head off the sorceress Mari had tried to stop the titan, using any means she could, but he was so focused on the sorceress he didn't seem to pay attention to anything else that might be in his path. Mari had not wanted to hurt him, she believed him an innocent, but so many creatures fell as he rampaged through the kingdom.

Then two things had happened at once that changed the tide of the battle. First the queen's allies had arrived, led by a manticore. Mari had been surprised and curious, having never seen a manticore before. He was big, and powerful. She could feel the magic, the power coming off of him in waves as he swept in, his focus on the titan. His family and his fighters had been close behind, their magic strong enough to aid the queen in cornering the sorceress who was wreaking havoc in her blind attempts at escaping the titan.

Mari had left the titan with the manticore who seemed to have the matter handled, and as she charged the sorceress, intent to help the others, she began to change. She had felt the itching first as her head and shoulders began to itch then burn as horns and wings fought their way out of her skin. She had cried out, falling to the ground at the burning pain and the shock. Next came the fins coming out of her legs with barely a pinching sensation.

Even now as Mari studied her wings, her horns, and fins, she wasn't totally sure what had prompted the change. Shortly after these growths other colors began to stain her fur as well, the colors of a fiery sunset. With a shudder she remembered her own terror as she felt ground, burdened by the wings she didn't know how to use and feeling helpless before the titan and sorceress. When at last she had found her paws again she had managed to drive the sorceress closer and closer to the border with the help of the queen and the manticore, and where the sorceress went the titan followed. But there work didn't end there.

The titan and the sorceress had headed to other lands, so Mari had followed along with the queen, the manticore, and what fighters they could spare, to help anyone else who found themselves in the way of the two creatures.

She had seen other heroes, some she knew and some she didn't as the battle raged on. Thinking about them she felt a now familiar pang, would she see them again? Tamaya and Orei with those magnificent wings, perhaps Orei or Tamaya could teach her to fly? What about Bezalel, whom she had thought seemed nice, like someone she might be friends with...and Clay, for that was what she had come to call him, he had seemed nice, gentle even, and she had thought perhaps given his plainness he would understand how she sometimes felt about being plain herself, she had even thought perhaps they-well that didn't matter now, maybe he wouldn't even like her now that she had changed like she had. She had seen them all during the fighting in one place or another, and each hero had gone to help the mortal kingdom or individual they had attached themself to during their time here.

Would they ever see each other after this? Would they want to or would it only remind them of the struggles they had faced? For that matter would this pride even want her to stay? As Mari looked at the destruction wrought by the battle she had her doubts. Wouldn't she only be a physical reminder of their pain? And part of her wanted to follow the manticore to his home where the queen said magic and unique creatures thrived, now that she had changed might it be a good place for her?

Her recollections and thoughts were brought to a halt as someone landed on the ground not far behind her. She didn't need to look to know it was the queen whose presence she felt.

"You did well, Mari, we must thank you," the queen said as she came to stand beside the lioness.

"I didn't stop it though," Maristela said quietly, her guilt lacing her tone.

"None of us could completely stop it." For a moment a shadow dimmed even the queen's gaze. "It is my job to protect this kingdom Mari, and I could not stop all of this destruction."

"But you tried, and I'm the hero, it's what I was meant to do."

"You did your best, and you helped us save most of the kingdom from this destruction, don't you think that is worth something?"

Mari ducked her head a little, that voice in her mind nagging at her. It wasn't enough, it was never enough. She wasn't a good enough hero, she never had been.

"Mari," the queen said, her tone unusually soft in a way that surprised Mari and made her look up to meet the queen's gaze. The grief she saw there surprised her. "These are my subjects, my family, and this is my kingdom. Since my reign began I have failed them again, and again. Disaster seems to strike any time I so much as blink. And yet they still forgive me, still follow me despite my failures."

Mari listened quietly, finding it hard to picture the stoic, strong-willed queen as a failure. Since coming here she had looked up to the queen in a way, admiring her strength and calm in the face of all this chaos. But now to hear the queen say she felt the same as Mari did, a failure, never enough... "You are not a failure," Mari said quietly. "And I suppose neither am I. But maybe we will never be able to believe them when they tell us that what we do is enough, that...that we are enough."

The queen nodded slightly, and though she had no sentimental words or smile to share, Mari could see the subtle gentleness in her gaze, and even something like approval lingering in those rosy depths. "What will you do now?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Mari told her. "What does a hero ever do when their job is done? I don't feel like I can just settle down, but I don't feel ready to face another monster again either. And these wings." She tried to give them a little flap. "I don't know how to use them yet, I don't even know if I am done changing."

"If you choose to stay, I could teach you to use them," the queen told her, giving her own wings a little shake. "They are not so hard to get used to, once you try."

"Thank you. I just...I don't know if I can stay here. What if all I ever am to your subjects is a reminder of this terrible time? Or what if they forever see me as a hero? I am glad they are grateful, but I don't want to be noticed every time I walk down a street, or forever asked how I did it. I just want...I want..." Mari trailed off, finding she had nothing to say. She didn't know what exactly it was she did want, not yet.

"What about Chaimek, do you want to go with him?" The queen was perceptive, Mari realized, she must have already seen how the manticore fascinated the hero.

"I had considered it, if he would have me," Mari admitted. "Perhaps a place of magic and unique creatures is exactly where I belong but, part of me also wants to find the other heroes. I liked some of them, might have even considered them...friends. How can we share something like this and then just walk away and never see each other again?"

"They may be just as unsure as you of what they want, or where they should go. Some of them may very well want to forget all the trouble or even horrors they witnessed. It would be a reason to leave connections forged during this battle behind, to start anew. For some."

Mari sighed softly. "I wish I could just...know what to do."

"Have you asked the leaders, of the sky and sea cities? Perhaps they might have a suggestion."

"I did speak to them, when we followed the titan and the sorceress out of the kingdom, after the battle. But, nothing they said really helped. I mean, it was nice, they were kind and we had some good goodbyes. But they didn't offer me any real direction or help me figure out what to do."

"Well, perhaps they thought it was time for you to be in control. I know they didn't force you to be the hero that was needed, but there is a certain pressure that comes with it just the same, now you can be free of that pressure to explore other options and experience new things."

"I suppose so. But I think, part of me will always feel like I do need to be the hero, life if I'm not I'm being a coward, or not being true to myself."

"I suppose I can understand that to some degree," she conceded. "I just hope you don't lose yourself trying to be the hero you think you must be, I wouldn't want you to forget that no matter what happens you are more than just the title and your heroic deeds."

Mari smiled a little at that. "Thank you. That was a hard thing even during this battle, to separate myself as an individual from the hero everyone expected me to be. Perhaps, well perhaps I'll travel for a while, see what the world has to offer before I choose just one place or one thing to be."

"I think that is wise, and remember you'll always have a place here, if you choose to return."

"Thank you," Mari said, feeling genuinely grateful to the queen for offering her a safe place to return to. The idea of exploring a world she barely knew was daunting to say the least, but it might be just a little easier, knowing she did have a place to return to if she needed it. "Perhaps I'll see if some of my fellow heroes want to come along," she mused. "I think I was so afraid of rejection, of them not liking me for my...plainness and lack of talents, that I didn't try as hard as I could have to form any connections with them. But I would like to, if I can."

"I wish you the best of luck, with all of it," the queen said, her usually guarded expression lifting long enough for Mari to see and feel her sincerity.

"Thank you, your majesty." Mari dipped her own head slightly in acknowledgement, feeling a little lighter now that she had found a plan, a goal to reach toward.

~

Before leaving Mari helped the kingdom patch up the outer villages. It was a lot of work, reforming the different houses and clearing away the rubble. Even the very earth and plants around certain areas needed to be tended to, having been affected by some blight caused by the magic of either the titan or sorceress or both. But Mari enjoyed working side by side with the lions she had fought with, seeing their despair give way to hopefulness as they rebuilt their homes and their lives.

When at last she did decide to leave she was confident the kingdom would be okay. So she set out, hoping to find some of the other heroes, make some friends, perhaps even find a friend or two to travel with. And if the occasion did arise, Mari thought that one day she would be ready to be a hero again, protecting those who needed her help.

[-Isabella-]

Maristela felt her heartbeat race a little. She was standing in the middle of what had just been a battlefield, her fur dusty and her eyelids weighed down by lack of sleep the past few days. But it wasn't exhaustion, adrenaline, or fear, that made her heart race. No it was the sight of some other heroes nearing where she stood, specifically Clay.

It was Clay her eyes fell on first, he was...well a little the worse for wear. But that didn't matter. Maristela had felt drawn to him from the first time she saw him, he was plain you see, like her. Not fancy or decorative, just...well just him. Now she almost felt self-conscious again at the newly grown wings and horns that sprouted out around her head and shoulders, the fiery colors splashed against her fur. Now that she felt brave enough to talk to him, would he want to talk to her? Now she was not plain looking, like him, but also not as flashy as other heroes. Suddenly all of her nerves seemed to return at once and she felt herself losing the courage to actually speak.

But when he got close she made eye contact, briefly but still, now she would feel rude not saying anything so she said hello. "It's good to see you, that you're okay, I mean, okay...as you can be. Given the circumstances." Foolish lion stop babbling.

Clay blinked, seeming almost surprised she spoke to him, and she could tell nothing of what he might be thinking about her in his pale gaze. "Thank you," he finally said, his tone quiet but not annoyed. At least she didn't think he was annoyed.

"I, uh, I thought-" She was on the verge of asking if he might want to talk to her, maybe just get to know each other a little. Maybe be friends, she didn't have many of those. Then Melora strode by, her weapon clenched in her teeth. Clay's gaze followed the other hero for a moment and Maristela felt a strange stab of discomfort and...jealousy?

She didn't even realize that she herself had been staring until Melora turned to face her. "What are you looking at?" She asked, her tone somehow sharp even around the weapon she carried, but not necessarily unkind, at least Maristela didn't think so. While the other lioness intimidated her, she also couldn't help but admire her beauty and strength. Next to Melora she felt, well, rather insignificant really. Like a pale copy of something better.

"It's just your, uh, your wings," she blurted out. "They are lovely, I haven't quite figure mine out yet."

Melora stared at her for a solid minute or two then seemed satisfied, one corner of her mouth stretching into what might have been a smile. "Thank you, I know." With a flick of her tail she moved on, no doubt returning to wherever she came from, or had been headed Maristela thought.

She dared to glance back at Clay, but thought his attention was still on Melora. How awkward. She was about to speak again when another lion came onto the scene, accidentally hitting her with the end of his trident as he walked by.

"Oh I'm sorry," he said around the handle of the trident he carried. Carefully he put it down so the end rested on the ground, his one paw holding it upright and steady. "Are you alright miss?"

"Oh yes, I'm fine, thank you." Maristela smiled a little. He had friendly eyes she thought.

"I've got to remember this is for spearing fishes and bad guys with, not fellow heroes." The lion winked and Maristela got the impression he was trying to be funny and chuckled a little, glancing at Clay who watched them quietly.

"I'm Percy, and you are?"

"Maristela," she told him. "But my friends call me Mari." At least they will when I have some, she added to herself.

"Good to meet you Mari." He smiled. "And you are?" He had turned to greet Clay but the lion was already backing away, muttering what might've been an apology as he said something about someone called Pip.

Maristela felt her disappointment rush over her again as the pale lion walked away. Pip, he probably already had a good friend, or a partner. She sighed a little, so much for that. Why couldn't she ever manage to not make things awkward and just keep a conversation going when it was about something other than battle or learning?

"Hey, you okay there?" Percy asked her.

"I guess, I mean, yeah fine. I'm fine." She shrugged.It seemed whiny to say she wasn't fine, besides he didn't need to hear about her lack of social skills.

to her surprise the friendly lion didn't leave but instead tried to cheer her up with some jokes that had her laughing in no time. Maybe she could still make a friend after all.