Your Shadow Is My Light

Chapter 3 - I want there to be an us

Normal text
Thinking
Onomatopoeia

Ahri's POV
"AHHH!"

I jolted awake with a gasp, lungs dragging in air like I had been drowning. Oxygen rushed through me, reinvigorating a soul that still felt torn apart. Tears streamed down my face as I struggled to breathe. The memory of my head being severed remained painfully vivid — flesh tearing, bone splintering, the sickening finality of it all.

But the worst part wasn't the pain.

It was the emptiness.

The hollow grief of being left alone, surrounded by enemies.

The regret of never meeting Rae before those bastards ruined her beyond repair.

The foolish, desperate wish to turn back time and change everything.

My body trembled violently as I panted. A persistent buzzing filled my ears while I stared at the familiar—yet strangely unfamiliar—ceiling.

My ears shot up, fur bristling. Forcing down the rising confusion, I rolled onto my belly and fixed my gaze on the entrance just as the door burst open.

A woman I thought I would never see again stood there.

M-Mama?

Her maroon hair fluttered gently as she stepped forward, those serene blue eyes filled with worry.

...It had been so long.

So, so long since I had last seen that look.

Fresh tears spilled over.

Is this the afterlife? Is that why I can see Mama again?

Seeing me bawl like a broken fountain, she rushed over. I scrambled towards her, desperate to bury myself in her arms—only to freeze.

My arms were gone.

In their place were small, white paws. Stubby pink pads where fingers should have been.

Wha—

Warm arms wrapped around me before I could react, lifting me effortlessly.

Only then did I realise how tall her human form truly was.

She held me close—tightly, warmly—and in that instant every doubt vanished.

This was Mama.

Because no illusion could ever replicate her hugs.

They had a warmth that was hers alone.

"What's wrong, baby? Is anywhere uncomfortable?" she asked softly.

My ears flattened as I buried my face into her chest and sobbed harder.

The tears wouldn't stop.

Memories surged—flames devouring our home, my parents' screams as they were butchered, their tails ripped free by greedy hands. The gleam of hunger in those monsters' eyes as they tore through flesh.

Even now, the recollection made me shudder.

Mama gently stroked my head.

"Breathe, my dear."

I whimpered in response.

She nipped my ear affectionately.

"It's okay. Just a nightmare."

Her warmth wrapped around me as she rocked us, hands soothing the chaos inside my chest. I nuzzled closer, breathing in the familiar floral scent that had comforted me since childhood.