Yuuka's Story
Yuuka's parents were two childhood sweethearts who grew up together, and their friendship blossomed into a beautiful and pure love. The two ran a small animal clinic with Yuuka's maternal grandfather, constantly caring for the various fauna that would come inside for healing. The two desperately grew in desire for a child, though their efforts didn't succeed for many many years. Even with such a strong love for each other, this began to tear at their feelings. Eventually, after years upon years of trying, they conceived. The stress of knowing she would be a mother, combined with her constant worries of carrying the egg to term wore down heavily on Yuuka's mother, and she became very ill after the egg was brought into the world. Despite her husband's insistence that she rest, she continued to care for both the animals and her child that had yet to see the world, making herself even more ill in the process. Eventually, her body had enough, and she passed away, just a few days away from Yuuka emerging.
It was her father who cared for Yuuka most of her first weeks, though the grief of losing his wife also took a toll on him. He did his best to care for his daughter, though little by little he began to eat much less, and spent more time locked in his quarters than with his remaining family. It didn't take long for his suffering to end.
In the end, Yuuka's dear grandfather was the one to raise her, teaching her about the importance of self and others. He did not want to lose another of his family, and spoke often of her mother and father, so that they would be fondly remembered by her.
Yuuka grew up in a household of many animals, though rarely came up to the shop front. Voices called to her to stay deeper in the household, voices that were so warm and caring and oddly familiar. If she had chosen to speak of it, perhaps it would be sooner realized that she was hearing the spirits of her dead parents, at least to a more trained eye. But Yuuka continued to keep her silence, believing it to be guidance from some higher form. Perhaps the goddess that protected the lands also wished that she be kept united with her parent's souls? Yuuka certainly thought so.
However, as she aged, the calling became more clear, and one fateful night, her dear grandfather caught her speaking to the air, to nothing.
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