Eywa'itan

2 | Neyn'inan

[A/n]: This is one of the early designs I had for him.

He was dreaming of the days he'd spent alone. Those days started the moment he and his mom fled the monsters into the forest, the moment he received great pain and his eyes stopped working right.

It took many days for the pain to be manageable. His Sa'nu forwent any care for herself to tend to him. Struggling, she did her best to treat his wounds, and after several more days, the worst of what had happened to him was over.

Miraculously, he had survived.

But his eyes had not been spared. He could not see his Sa'nu anymore. "Sa'nu...? Sa'nu...!"

"Shhh, my little one..." There were no songs anymore, there was no anything. Only them in the silence. He could not see her, but he could feel her. Her weakening heartbeat and straining voice, the almost rotting smell that emanated from her festering wounds. But even so, she wiped his tears and said nothing about her injuries.

"Sa'nu?" He asked, reaching for her. He couldn't see the heartbreak in her eyes as she watched him.

"Sa'nu will be with you, my baby. Together with Great Mother, I will watch over you." He felt her hand cup his small face, and she shifted so that her forehead connected with his own. "Follow Great Mother, follow her heartbeat. She will protect you now."

"Okay, Sa'nu." His battle with his pain and injuries left him without energy. He yawned, expressing his fatigue. The ordeal had taken everything out of him, but he didn't want to sleep.

"It's okay." He could just barely hear the hiccup in her voice, growing softer by the minute. "Rest. You will be safe here."

And he did. He was a good boy, and always listened to Sa'nu. He felt his mom wrap him in something, climbing into one of the taller trees and gently securing him in a small nook. She and he would climb trees often, and it was one of his most mischievous skills.

"I will always love you."

But when he came to again, Sa'nu wasn't there. He called endlessly for her, gaining no reply. He couldn't see her body just a few trees away, still and cold.

This place wasn't safe. Though the worst of it was over, he was hurting. He was hungry. He was scared. "Sa'nu...?" But still, no reply. He didn't understand it.

How would a two-year-old understand?

So he slowly came down from his tree. It was scary without his mom with him, but he was brave. He was great at tree climbing, and eventually found his way down to the soft grass. Why was it silent? Were they sleeping somewhere? If so, then he needed to follow his nose. His eyes still hurt too much to open, so he could rely on that.

He followed her scent, finding her quickly. The beat in her chest was still, and her breath was silent. He tried to shake her, they couldn't sleep here. It wasn't safe. This wasn't home. But nothing, they didn't budge an inch.

He did not want to leave her, but he could not stay. Sa'nu always said to trust his heart and be safe. He could feel that this wasn't safe, so why weren't they moving? When he tried to open his eyes to see, everything hurt again. Everything was a searing white, too bright and painful for him to see.

He stayed by Sa'nu for many days and nights, climbing his tree when he got tired and finding his little nook to hide in. His sleeping habits slowly shifted as days became weeks, becoming nocturnal since daylight hurt his healing eyes.

He did not try to wake Sa'nu again, and after a very long while, her body disappeared. He didn't know where it went, but he could smell that it was gone, and many animals had been by.