Intertwined

Ikranay

His mind was in a pit, trying to crawl its way back to the light but just slipping further down with each step he gained. It kind of felt like someone was trying to gain entry by banging relentlessly on his skull yet he just ignored the knocking. It was so easy to just forget his surrounding and wallow in self-pity. He doesnt even know what sent him to this state but he felt safe here, like nothing could hurt him. He felt a vague sense of déjà vu, like this happened a lot when he was young. Maybe he had a bad past, maybe he just hated the world. Right now though he felt relaxed, but he was in the in between. There was light on one side and darkness on the other, both equally unattractive. He knew he couldnt stay in the gray forever though so he took the least threatening root and started really fighting to get back to the surface. He jabbed his hands into the black, gooey wall and started to hall himself out. The light was blinding, burning his eyes and giving him a headache. Finally, at last, he got through his mental barriers that were trapping him in his own mind.

He really did need to stop receding into his mind or else one of these days he wouldnt be able to get out. Finally he was out though and now had to face his guilt that was staring him down currently. It was just a babe, didnt even look like it could fly on its own yet, let alone fend for itself. He knew that what he did was just out of survival, that everything dies someday but he didnt like the thought of recklessly killing another with no other reason except just to kill. He would kill to defend, to survive, to protect, to eat, etc. But there was no reason this time, and that, that was killing him on the inside. I was doing it to protect myself, I couldnt fly away fast enough and she wouldnt stop. He thought to himself, and then he couldnt stop the onslaught of thoughts that came next, tearing down everything. But you saw the young, you knew going for her that she was protecting her child. You knew this and you went for a kill shot, you tore into her and wouldnt let go because you have no control.

He realized that fighting with himself was not going to solve anything and the young ikranay was still standing by his mother, his whole body tensed and ready for an attack. The mother was dead, and that was all on him, but he could help the child. There was so many flaws with this plan, he was practically a newborn in this world. Sure, he knew what stuff was but he didnt know how to hunt, how to navigate, how to survive in this world without injuring himself. He couldnt even walk a mile without almost being beat to death by branches and roots for eywas sake. This was something he had to do though, he would figure it out and if it came down to it he would brave his apparent irrational fear of the other Navi and ask for help. Of course, that was a last resort and he prayed that that would never happen. Now, it was time to convince the young ikranay that he was going to help and not kill him. Shit, this was not going to go over well at all. He was determined though, he just had to establish dominance and then show he was nice? Maybe that would work. It actually had to, because that was the only plan he had currently.

He slowly took his first step forward and watched as the ikranay tensed up further, his head starting to dip low to the forest floor. His next couple of steps he kept constant eye contact, never breaking his pace but not slowing down. He was steady on his feet, his body slightly crouched and arms spread to his side, finger splayed. His body language was none threatening but he would be ready to fight at a moments notice. When he was but ten feet from the ikranay and his mother he stopped. The young was growling softly, teeth bared and snarling, slightly bigger than he remembered. He slowly bent forward a little further, almost in a crouch now and realized that he was still in his human form. His hair was hanging all around him, body bare and skin vulnerable. He had no weapons and didnt know his surrounding enough to use them to his advantage. Well, this was going to go stupidly splendid. He couldnt do anything about it at this point so he just maintained eye contact and started stalking forward once again. And with two more steps the young ikranay snapped and rushed forward.