✦ kingdoms fall, kingdoms rise ✦

[Vivika]

stars #1462 ↯ round four entry ↯ credit

[Vivika]

He was ready.

His jaws parted, ready to breathe those words into existence. Ready to declare what he was looking for. And claim it as his. He’d played this game long enough, allowing that silly Sphynx to send him across treacherous creeks and to break his skull open trying to crack riddles with no answers. Wealth, riches, treasure. That was it, that was what he was looking for. Wasn’t it?

“I…”

Words failed him, fizzling like flames drenched in water.

He blinked, stance faltering. His claws dug into the firm rock he stood upon, grasping it as he forced a breath in.
Problem was… he’d never been a liar.

Treasure was never on top of his list. But then what?
What possessed him to go slinking around with that Sphynx?

His bones ached, muscles weary, eyelids heavy. A new weariness settled in, seeping into every sinew and fibre of his being.

The answer was there. So close and so far. A breath’s span away and a million miles away.

Himself. Was that it?
He was searching for himself.

But he’d never lost himself. All those problems, the crow’s final call, the rushing rapids, mounting a high rock to face the silhouette… they was all him. He knew how to solve them, knew how he would, knew the steps he’d take. They weren’t unfamiliar. They were… familiar.

Too familiar.

He lowered his gaze, a frown creeping onto his forehead. His heart thudded in his chest. He was so high up. Too high. The ground blurred, swarming━

[Vivika]

He was falling.

Ivory claws kissed the small of his back, sending him over the edge, plunging into the darkness below. His scream caught in his throat. If he fell, would he be caught? Cushioned by the Stars and soothed by their gentle chorus?

No. Only to the chorus of mockery. Betrayal.
A symphony of jeers and taunts for the little black kit, who would never inherit the throne.


[...]

Crimson pooled around his head, a crown of red rubies and roses. Everything hurt. Ached. His head was swimming. How long had it been? Time was a darkening pool of eternity, murky and slipping out from his paws.

His vision blurred, colors and shapes swimming into each other, overlapping. A winged creature touched down nearby, dark beady eyes staring daggers into him. A crow.

It screeched, a terrible shriek, over and over.
Its talons were coated with blood. Innocent blood spilled by the claws of traitors. A screech for justice. For help.

And it saved his life.


[...]

Help would never come.

Whether by sheer strength, force of will or the favor of the Stars, he dragged himself up. Away from the deafening screech of the crow and to the gentle rush of water. A river. And there… he regained his strength, reading the currents, the eddies and the waves.

When the crow’s final screech drained from his ears, he forced himself to his paws. It was time to move. To leave and never look back.

But those jeers and taunts, those barbed threats and the kiss of those claws from closest friends, never left him. They put a pin to his peace, leaving a numbness never to be shaken, a loathing that never left.

[Vivika]

His gaze lifted, tearing itself from the ground.

Vengeance. That was what he sought after. To find those cats with the audacity for such betrayal, who abandoned him, casting him into the depths.

But yet another lie.

He was unravelling. Crumbling.
Why couldn't he admit it?

Looking into that tom’s gentle gaze, lit with gentle amusement, and the two birds in simple harmony with each other… there was peace. A tranquility that transcended all. There was… understanding. Empathy.

And above all, peace.

Something he’d lost so long ago. For too long.
And he wanted it back.

Holding his head high, he leaped down from the rock, striding to meet the russet tom. His jaws opened, but he… hesitated. Hesitated to breathe those words he’d kept secret for so long. To let go of the walls he’d surrounded himself with. To let the loathing just... drain. But was it what he wanted?

Yes.

But to do that… he couldn’t be looking for treasure, nor himself, nor vengeance. He had to let go of what he couldn't control and seize what he could to create his own peace. To pull the pin wedged in it for too long.

And maybe… maybe this cat with his two bird friends would be able to help him.

His voice was a mere croak, a bare whisper.

“Forgiveness. I’m… looking for forgiveness.” He managed the slightest tip of his chin up. “And I’m hoping you can teach me.”

[Vivika]

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