guardian of the storm | ✓

Epilogue ~ Look Ahead

~Epilouge~

"What was it like being dead?"

Winter paused to consider Sairen's question, "Very similar to being alive, but with this detached feeling, as if you're missing an anchor to hold you down."

It had been three hours since Ja'far had rounded up Emiko, Daiki, Sairen, and Eien, bringing them to his house with an explanation. Upon seeing the breathing, living Winter, a lot of tears, accusations, forgiveness, and questions flew throughout the room. It had taken a while for things to calm down and now they'd moved on from the question of how she was alive, to how it was being in Heaven.

Winter looked the five people in front of her, her gaze lingering on her twin for a moment longer. Eien... who no longer looked like the Eien she knew. His skin had lost most of its color, his vibrant eyes a bit duller, and his shirt hung off his bony shoulders.

Her throat tightened.

"How are we going to explain this to the public?" Emiko's words brought Winter back to the present. "We worked closely with you for months, hell even years, but to a lot of the people living here you were just their war leader. Plenty of people will protest, and there will be some who think you're lying or come up with other problems."

"A coma."

Winter's head snapped towards her twin, the first words she'd heard from him echoing in her mind.

"Care to elaborate?"

"It's common knowledge that the Ookami had a few secretive jutsu that were only passed down through clan members, so the public will assume that's how we kept her alive. We'll say that we didn't tell anyone because we weren't sure she was going to make it, and things were looking dimmer and dimmer as time went on, until she suddenly woke up. Add in some random medical facts and such, and we have a cover story."

Emiko hummed in thought before nodding, "I'll do some embellishing and that can work, we'll just all have to make sure to say the same story to make it more solid."

Everyone nodded in agreement and the conversation lulled into a comfortable silence, broken only by the lightest pitter-patter of raindrops as they hit the rooftop. Even though the war had been over for six months, they were all still healing from its effects, and having a peaceful moment was something they all cherished.

"Now that you're back..." Winter glances over at Sairen who spoke up hesitantly, "are we finally going to chose an Augur?"

"Wait, you guys haven't chosen an Augur?" Winter blinked, confused.

"We never chose one," Emiko said softly, "because we all assumed that when we returned from the war you would take that mantle. And when we returned, and you weren't here, it didn't seem right to make the decision right away. We've discussed it a few times, I asked both Eien and Ja'far to consider it, but we've never reached a conclusion."

Winter looked at Eien once more, meeting his gaze and raising her eyebrow to convey a silent question why didn't you accept?

He subtly shook his head, because it's yours.

Winter stood up, stretching slightly, "I think I'm going to take a walk through the woods, sort through all this information."

"And decide if you're going to take the position?"

Winter shrugged at Daiki's question, "Among other things." She walked past Eien and gently bumped his shoulder with hers, "Come with me?"

He nodded, and the two walked out the door, disappearing into the moonlit woods.