Prompt 7 ─ Happiness [END PAGE 6]

[Stormowalf]

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Iacio
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Iacio looked down sheepishly at his paws, his voice reduced to a tender whisper as he gently offered the kalon an answer to her sudden question, "Yes. I do not regret it."
A long moment of silence passed between them before he picked up his story again,
"It is a difficult story to tell, the one of me and the one I gave up my happiness for." The dark green kalon began kicking up small bits of dirt as he continued to tell his story in a hushed whisper, "I lived comfortably as a fairly well-off merchant's son once. I never had to do any heavy lifting whether it be farm work or going out hunting for stray spirits or feral ghouls... That ended up changing when I met him."

"He came to my town to exterminate some small spirits that had been bothering our villagers. When he finished the task he had come for, he offered to take me along with his travels before he left.
I had connections to many people in many different places and my familiarity with the geography of most of the world (due to my father's schooling, he deemed geography a major part of my upbringing as a future merchant as he needed to teach me the best trading routes, the quickest paths to transport cargo...) this meant that I was a very valuable travelling partner to have around. I immediately accepted his request, completely ignoring the fact that I couldn't stand going on long trips without having a proper home to return to."
"It was a small price to pay really, my happiness wasn't nearly as important as seeing his face light up each time he'd travel somewhere new and get to see exotic sights that you would never see in the big citadels. I loved him, and I knew that he loved me too." Iacio sighed as he set his gaze onto the night sky, his eyes darted around as if trying to find something or someone among them,
"I would give him my happiness tenfold if he asked me to. It is a small price to pay just to even be able to be with him."
[center][365]

[SilentMelody]

Nalani blinked in surprise at the question and thought about it.

"I once stayed in a town just for someone that I was starting to like," she started, reminiscing when she had met her partner and laughed lightly about it. "I was a musician - I still am - and I was in a small town for about a week or two. The first week was to play at a cafe, and the second week was to play at a gem show."

"It's kind of a silly story for such a serious question. Apollo was watching me in the cafe, and I was so struck by them that I followed them to a gem shop during my intermission," Lani giggled again and shook her head.

She sighed softly and batted her eyes, continuing with her story, "I'm not much of a talker, so I listened to Apollo ramble about the different gems. Then they called me pretty when comparing me to one of the gems! I was so flattered that I took them back to the cafe and made them a special seat so I could see them better while singing."

"Now, I know my story must seem happy. But I was miserable in that town!" Nalani laughed, and it brought tears of joy to her eyes. "Either way, I stayed just because I was suddenly attracted to Apollo, and I wasn't even expecting to find love. I was just trying to get a start on my music career. Yet I pushed all of that aside for a minute and started working the simple gigs again at the cafe for a month. A whole month!"

She wiped her eyes, and her laughter faded. Lani's face turned serious, but she had a wistful smile and her cheeks were rosy. "I guess, in a way, I traded away my happiness for something that will last a lifetime," she mused.

"Happiness has returned to me, and it'll stay for eternity."

[shishou]

"at least he shared it with me..." | eloise and eli

[Kyar]

A cold look comes over Esme’s face. She doesn’t seem to want to answer.

“Everything I do is for the benefit of the forest.”

The forest. The land she’s sought to protect from the influence, the destruction of mankind. The forest, the very essence of her being. The creatures she’s created, all tied to the plant life that abounds there, the vivid life at her fingertips.

But she remembers a girl.

“There was once,” she begins again, her voice softer. “One who was lost,” she explains, “is taken by the forest. Their life energy becomes a part of it. Together we are all one.”

“But there was one who I did not take.”

Her eyes go misty at the memory.

“I found her, abandoned by the family she loved so dear, pinned beneath a slough of earth that had come down upon her as she tried to escape. She called for her brother, but he looked back, and ran on.

“I found her, alone. She was so hardened, so angry. And so helpless and small. I saw myself in her. I couldn’t resist. I brought her home.”

A small smile creeps over her face. “Idellia learned so quickly. She became one with the forest in a way I never thought possible. I gave her legs to stand on, and she gave me new vision. By my side, she and I sustained the forest. And together, we brought the one who betrayed her.”

She closed her eyes. She could see the rose bush, waving gently in the wind. Once a young man who abandoned his only sister. Now, a part of her. A part of them.

“I risked everything letting her in. But never have I regretted it. The power she holds now could destroy me. But I know that she would never. Her heart is for the forest. And she has mine.”


(312)

[Foxglove.]

Linked for size

Featuring Sebby And his brother Speck

Proof I can use Speck

[stan.]

Her head tilted to a side, an involuntary reaction from her confusion. Charity's blue eyes bore onto Bao-Bao, and she knew she the words should've sparked some sort of emotional response in her heart, but it never came.

"Given up my happiness for someone else?" She repeated the question, mostly muttering it to herself.

When she was young, much younger, Charity remembered meeting a strange guy. It was not a not a fateful meeting at all. A witch had introduced them to each other, a witch that told her that the man was a demon that could protect her from a supernatural curse cast on her from another kingdom.

The man, Wari, was the strangest person she had ever met. He spoke of feeling no emotions, and longing to understand humanity one day. Back then, she remembered feeling intrigued and rather sad at his words, no matter how much Wari told her he never felt sadness about it. It was just how things were.

On the back of her head, she knew it was a ploy to get her to make a demonic deal with him. Probably to draw pity out of her and use it against her. But she never shook off the feeling that he was being honest.

Telling the truth to make her, an emotional mortal, play into his trap. Completely willingly.

And she realized it worked too well, as she had little to no hesitation when Wari asked for her heart. Her heart still refused to hesitate when he elaborated further, telling her than he taking her heart would make her change. She convinced herself that Wari, despite being a demon, deserved a chance to feel. Her eyes would swell up with tears thinking about being unable to feel happiness, sadness or anger for an eternal life. Sooner or later, her life would be over, but Wari's would continue for centuries. And imagining centuries of feeling nothing made her heart twist into knots.

At that point, Charity was too far gone into her feelings, and the sooner her emotions were gone, the sooner her heart would stop speeding up every time she saw Wari.

So, he took it. It wasn't like he could feel hesitation either, he supposedly couldn't feel anything until he took her heart. She shuddered thinking of how fast it went, how her emotions stopped and reading everyone around her became hard and harder as years passed.

Her empathy wasn't working anymore, and she couldn't understand the way Wari's face fell when he had been grinning at her since he took her ability to feel. She knew she should feel happy that he got what he wanted, and she knew he had to be happy, but she just couldn't see it.

And she couldn't see the regret in Wari's eyes as it dawned on him that Charity wouldn't smile around him anymore.

"I believe so."

[482/850]

[~Levi~]

𝔖𝔦𝔫𝔠𝔢 ℑ 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔤, ℑ'𝔳𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔱𝔬𝔩𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 ℑ 𝔥𝔬𝔩𝔡 𝔞 𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔭𝔬𝔫𝔰𝔦𝔟𝔦𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔶 𝔱𝔬 𝔪𝔶 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔱𝔯𝔶, 𝔱𝔬 𝔪𝔶 𝔭𝔢𝔬𝔭𝔩𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔬𝔬 𝔞𝔩𝔴𝔞𝔶𝔰 𝔭𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪 𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔰𝔱. ℑ𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔪𝔶 𝔪𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔥𝔬 𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔰𝔱 𝔱𝔬𝔩𝔡 𝔪𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 ℑ 𝔡𝔦𝔡𝔫'𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔱𝔬 𝔴𝔢𝔞𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔱𝔲𝔣𝔣𝔶 𝔡𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔤𝔬 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔞𝔩𝔨 𝔱𝔬 𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔰𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔬𝔩𝔡 𝔪𝔢 ℑ 𝔥𝔞𝔡 𝔱𝔬 - 𝔦𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔪𝔶 𝔡𝔲𝔱𝔶. 𝔄𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔬 ℑ 𝔡𝔦𝔡. 𝔄𝔫𝔡 ℑ 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢.

ℑ 𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔨 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔤𝔦𝔳𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔲𝔭 𝔪𝔶 𝔬𝔴𝔫 𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔦𝔱 𝔥𝔢𝔩𝔭𝔰 𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔪𝔞𝔨𝔢𝔰 𝔪𝔢 𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔶 - 𝔞𝔱 𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔱 𝔞 𝔟𝔦𝔱. 𝔄𝔫𝔡 ℑ 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔨 𝔦𝔱 𝔡𝔬𝔢𝔰, 𝔪𝔦𝔰𝔰𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔬𝔫 𝔰𝔩𝔢𝔢𝔭 𝔱𝔬 𝔪𝔞𝔨𝔢 𝔰𝔲𝔤𝔤𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔰 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔣𝔞𝔦𝔯𝔢𝔯 𝔯𝔲𝔩𝔢𝔰 𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔞𝔩𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔬 𝔞 𝔠𝔥𝔦𝔩𝔡 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 ℑ 𝔪𝔶𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔱𝔬 𝔧𝔲𝔰𝔱 𝔠𝔲𝔯𝔩 𝔲𝔭 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔠𝔯𝔶 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔰𝔲𝔯𝔢. 𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔞 𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔪𝔱𝔥 𝔱𝔬 𝔦𝔱. 𝔏𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔞 𝔠𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔩𝔢 𝔟𝔲𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔫𝔤 𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔭𝔦𝔱𝔢 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔨𝔢𝔡 𝔡𝔲𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔢𝔪𝔬𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔰.

𝔅𝔲𝔱 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 𝔦𝔱 𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔤𝔢𝔱𝔰 𝔱𝔬𝔬 𝔪𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔦𝔱𝔰 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔪𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 ℑ 𝔴𝔦𝔰𝔥 ℑ 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔥𝔞𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔯𝔬𝔴𝔫, 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 ℑ 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔯𝔲𝔫 𝔞𝔴𝔞𝔶 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔭𝔲𝔱 𝔪𝔶𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣 𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔰𝔱. 𝔗𝔬 𝔩𝔢𝔱 𝔪𝔶𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣, 𝔰𝔩𝔢𝔢𝔭 𝔦𝔫 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔟𝔯𝔲𝔰𝔥 𝔪𝔶 𝔥𝔞𝔦𝔯 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔤𝔢𝔱 𝔪𝔶𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔶 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔡𝔞𝔶 𝔦𝔪𝔪𝔢𝔡𝔦𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔩𝔶. 𝔗𝔬 𝔰𝔦𝔪𝔭𝔩𝔶 𝔩𝔞𝔶 𝔦𝔫 𝔟𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔡𝔬𝔷𝔢 𝔲𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔩 𝔦𝔱𝔰 𝔭𝔞𝔰𝔱 𝔞𝔫𝔶 𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔠𝔱𝔣𝔲𝔩 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔤𝔢𝔱 𝔲𝔭. 𝔗𝔬 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔤𝔢𝔱 𝔡𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔡 𝔦𝔫 𝔠𝔩𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔣𝔢𝔢𝔩 𝔰𝔴𝔢𝔩𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔣𝔣 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔦𝔪𝔭𝔩𝔶 𝔴𝔢𝔞𝔯 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔰𝔦𝔪𝔭𝔩𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 ℑ 𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔯𝔲𝔫 𝔞𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔡 𝔦𝔫. 𝔗𝔬 𝔤𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔪𝔶 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔱𝔬 𝔞𝔫𝔶 𝔴𝔥𝔬 ℑ 𝔠𝔥𝔬𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔦𝔫𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔞𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔨𝔢𝔢𝔭𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔦𝔱 𝔤𝔲𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔢𝔡 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔣𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔟𝔢𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔶𝔞𝔩 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔲𝔰𝔞𝔤𝔢 𝔦𝔫 𝔭𝔬𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔠𝔰.

𝔜𝔢𝔰, 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔡𝔞𝔶𝔰 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 ℑ’𝔪 𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣𝔦𝔰𝔥 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔩𝔬𝔫𝔤 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔣𝔯𝔢𝔢𝔡𝔬𝔪 - 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 ℑ’𝔳𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔢𝔱𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬𝔬 𝔣𝔞𝔯. 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔤𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔡𝔞𝔶𝔰 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔪𝔶 𝔬𝔴𝔫 𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔦𝔰 𝔞 𝔱𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔱 𝔱𝔬 𝔤𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔞𝔴𝔞𝔶 𝔱𝔬 𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯𝔰.

𝔅𝔲𝔱 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰, ℑ’𝔪 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔯𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔬 𝔣𝔢𝔢𝔩, 𝔧𝔲𝔰𝔱 𝔞 𝔟𝔦𝔱 𝔢𝔪𝔭𝔱𝔶?

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[whim]

"No, I haven't."

The response was quick and instinctual even to Devin's surprise. Her brows furrowed slightly as she looked at the vibrant flower she had returned. Plump, colorful and alive.

"I've never had someone to give up my happiness for," she explained further, though a bit emotional about doing so. It was quite personal, but she always had trouble forming meaningful relationships with others. Perhaps it was from moving around so often when she was a kit, never having the same friends around to truly build a bond with. She had never found someone worthy of sacrificing so much, even if they didn't have any sort of connection towards her. It almost made her feel selfish and shameful... Perhaps she was. She hadn't given it much thought before.

Though it sounded nice despite the negative connotation, selflessly giving up your own happiness for someone else, someone you truly care about. Perhaps it was merely romanticized by cheesy movies and books, or perhaps it really was just natural. Devin wouldn't know, but she couldn't say she hadn't thought about it before.

Or perhaps being some sort of hero, some sort of savior to give her life up so a struggling stranger could have a better one. That's what everyone would like to achieve, isn't it?

"I do hope to find someone that I would be willing to do so, however... Is that odd?" She gave a cheeky chuckle, almost embarrassed by admitting the silly idea was something that she actually wanted. Who would ever want to give up their happiness, even if it was for another kalon? Surely she wasn't the only one. (273)

[Peppermint Mist]

Chad

“Have I ever sacrificed my happiness for someone else?” Chad shuffled uncomfortably, “I mean, I guess so,” he mumbled, clutching at his scar which stretched down his arm.

“I’m not supposed to say this, but since I’ve already failed at everything anyway I might as well, huh?” His voice is dry, but his eyes are filled with some sort of unspoken emotion.

“I’m a reaper, and I was supposed to lead a soul into their afterlife, the problem is I didn’t do things well and I managed to get myself caught up in a big accident, the soul ran away and now she’s lost.” He paused and gave himself a second to breathe, before pushing through the pain again.

“Usually if you lose a soul you’d get a slap on the wrist and sent off with an easier job, and someone else finds the lost soul, as by that point they wouldn’t have got too far, but the problem was that I was injured,” he gestures to his scar, “and that ruined my powers and made me lose track of the soul completely. Now that’s an action that is more deserving of severe punishment where I come from, and at this point I definitely didn’t want to go home and so I stayed on earth.”

“I’ve heard stories about reapers like me, they usually don’t bother trying to find the soul that they lost, they just pretend to be a living being and create a new life altogether, but I felt an overwhelming guilt, I wanted to get the soul back to where she belongs. I’ve dedicated my life to bringing her back.”

“I guess you could say that I gave up my life and my happiness to bringing this soul back, I definitely could be happy right now if I wanted to, all I’d have to do is forget about everything that happened in the past and create a new life, but I don’t think I deserve that.”

[**Snowwhisper**]

─────────────────────

Mira stared in confusion at the question. She didn't think anyone had ever asked her that. She thought for a moment before hesitantly, shaking her head.

"No, I haven't,"

Pausing again, she started off slowly, "I don't think I've ever had to, at least now that I know of. I've never had anyone to make that sacrifice. If one could call it that, I guess you wouldn't if you truly care for them." Giving her head a shake, she continued, "But I-I think I would if given the opportunity. I think I could do that. I mean, If you had asked a few years ago, or when I was growing up, I would have laughed in your face."

Grimacing, she gave a small laugh, "I wasn't what you would have called 'nice' back then, not that I'm particularly nice now but I was...I could be cruel back then. I wasn't always as patient or compassionate as I am now. I didn't understand others, I didn't care to either. I was so convinced I didn't need anyone, that all I did was use people for my own convenience and moved on before they knew what hit them. Now. Now I understand that I can't do that. I learned that I can't use people the way I see fit. I even have a friend now! I never did before. And I guess if it came down to it, I think I would give them the world if I could and they wanted it. If I'm willing to do that, then my happiness would small in comparison to theirs."
[266]

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