Chill in the Air
(This is Leshyae before having babies)
Wind ruffled the spiritual kage's sunset tinted fur. She turned her eyes towards the horizon. Dark clouds covered the sun, and the smell of winter carried through the air. Leshyae didn't mind the cold so much. Her fur was thick and warm; she could easily last a long winter herself. The problem was her charge. An orphaned human was curled against her side. It wasn't even winter yet, and the child was shivering. If they lived out the winter here, the child would die.
Leshyae was honor bound to protect the child. "Panin." She said softly. "Panin, you need to stay awake. We have to keep moving." Food was already scarce in the northern reaches of the woods. The berries and fruit trees had dropped their harvest, and what was left were the rotten fruits even squirrels wouldn't touch. Panin shifted against the demon's side.
"It's too cold." She whined, clutching the fur tighter.
"I know. I know it is. This is why we must keep moving." She nuzzled the child and urged her to stand. "Climb on my back, child." She was patient as the girl pulled her fur and ears so she could settle on the demon's back. The poor girl had already had dealt with so much. She'd lost her parents to the Red Kingdom. They and some other villagers had been keeping a kage hidden. In turn, the demon had been helping the village hunt. Bear, deer, whatever it killed would be brought back for the village to feast on. The kage never drew on the life of the humans who helped it. But when a patrol from the Red Kingdom came through, they caught the demon. As no one person claimed responsibility, the men had systematically gone through and killed villagers. Panin had left town to bring water from the stream. The poor child returned to find everyone had been slain.
Leshyea had found the child digging graves. Her hands were raw and bleeding trying to open the earth, but she was far too young, too small to give the people a proper burial. Leshyea's heart went out to the girl, though Panin had been terrified of the demon. Not that the child could be blamed. It was because of a demon she was alone. This was no life for a child, so Leshyea took her away from the village. They'd been traveling since.
It took months before the girl even spoke a word. But slowly, they had formed a bond, and through the summer months, had managed to live in the forest, away from people, away from the hunters. But the girl needed shelter. The cold would surely kill her.
"Where are we going?" Panin laid her head between Leshyea's ears, resting against the warm bodied demon. Where were they going? To a town? A town where Panin would surely be stoned for dealing with a demon? Where Leshyea would likely be destroyed? She hadn't thought about where they were going. They just had to go.
"Somewhere safe." She replied. "A sanctuary." In her days as a human, as a knight under the employ of the Red Kingdom, Leshyea had heard of Amlight, a church and sanctuary. Though she knew it now had fallen to ruin, she believed it would be safe. If nothing else, it would provide some form of shelter from the winter winds. They just had to get there.
However, getting there, they would have to skirt the boundaries of The North or risk running too close to the Red Kingdom. It would already be risky. The patrols seemed to have been doubled in recent weeks. Though with the approaching winter, the closer to The North they were, the less likely the duo would be hunted. Of course, Leshyea couldn't keep to close or Panin would freeze to death.
Even if they made it to the west coast of Dragon's Maw, there was still the Rainlands to navigate. Food was already scarce. When they reached the Rainlands, there would be nothing the girl could eat. Leshyea could at least siphon off life energies from the mushrooms and algae. Perhaps they could find a town... or Leshyea would hunt, though she hated hunting. She didn't want to hurt an animal.
Before the sun had set, Panin had fallen asleep. Leshyea would walk until the child was safe, even if it killed her.
Again.
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