Broken Souls

Hartless

The rain crashes down around us, even penetrating the overhead cover provided by the closely knit branches. The damp air and the persistent droplets of rain beginning to dapple my fur make me feel claustrophobic, even cold, despite the moderate temperature, but all of it is overcome by a sense of overwhelming numbness.

"T-that's yours?"

Sky nods. Khrys draws closer to her side, wings spread out defensively and four stubby arms wrapped around her side with the same tender kindness his two human ones once held. He's even shorter than her now than he was before, but she looks so meek in the moment that she seems to curl in on herself like a leaf in the middle of winter, colorless and broken. She chokes on her own breath and his eyes, multifaceted, turn from my face and the glint of my predator teeth and refocus on her. She is a stained glass mural in his refracted mirrors, something made holy and beautiful. Even without pupils or any of the human gestures we'd subconsciously become accustomed to using to gauge emotion, I can feel their trust in a glorious outpour of emotion, harder than any rainstorm.

Lilly shoots me a quick glance, filled with longing and an unexpected regret.

As if in response, Sky collapses onto Khrys, one wing still curved slightly about the egg.

I take a step forwards and fall down onto my knees for eye level. They're taller than I remember, but there's still a noticeable size difference between us. It's enough to make me uneasy.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Mutiny." Sky whispers, the egg rocking as her wings do. They seem fragile as Khrys's, dew touched and shuddering.

Seeing our confusion, Khrys clarifies, "Not everyone was united as they seemed back in Kalos. The urge to return home pulled at all of us, sure, but we had planted roots and it seemed for a while as if some of us were just going to stay, no matter what that entailed. We... we made our decision because we knew if a third of the main team dropped out, things would have become complicated. We did it for her." He pauses, the resolve in his voice crumbling. "It was just harder than we had anticipated." He holds Sky tighter as her unsteady breath shakes her whole body. The egg shines a pale silver and almost muddied green in the distant light of the rainstorm.

"Your child is going to live." Lilly decrees. "All of this is going to be over within the next year and then we'll have an ending worth living in. I know it must have taken a lot of bravery to come back, but I promise that all hell will come down on anyone who threatens this family... and that includes our youngest member."
She looks to me as if asking for reassurance or back up, though I can't tell which. I don't have her way with words, at least not when I'm called upon directly, and right now I can't think of a thing to say that vocalizes how grateful I am to have them as teammates. I want to embrace them, but my claws are heavy on both my hands and they look so, so fragile.

Instead, I just nod. "Thank you," I say, trying not to let my voice crack at the end. "I don't know what we would do without you. Both of you."

Khrys forces a smile, one fang tilted upwards. Without the addition of eyebrows and with his antennae static, it looks forced and almost alien, but the gesture is there. "We just did what we know you would have done."

Lilly's tail gem glows a violent red. "W-we should get you back to the group."

I nod in agreement.

"Right then." Khrys picks up the egg, and Sky almost grabs for it back, but she strikes out with her wings instead of the small claws on top of her top wings or her feet. The confusion of limbs disorients her again, and I realize just how much they've given up to come here, child aside. Still, we make our way back to the tree with haste and are met by the other two members of what's come to be the 'core team'. Dill has his mouth out in the rain and is catching raindrops on his tongue while Toxis waits under the tree's shade, staring after him with an amused expression. As I help Sky and Khrys under the tree, I look around and begin mentally taking census to find an alarming amount of heads are nowhere to be seen.