Spirit Animal Ficlets

Bit by bit, Piece by piece

Zelia looked at the bulit up body on the table. The boy looked as if he was sleep with skin of different races mixing and blending together. Hands of a oceanus boy, the arms of a euran boy, an Amayan girl's legs, a steriolan boy's body, a Zhongese girl's neck, and an artican girl's organs, a Niloan boy's head completed it.

She had worked so hard to make him, every part was from the best of children. It was not their fault she had done this, it was the greencloaks that drove her to this madness. Her son, her sweet boy, was killed during a mere little skirmish. They had brought him back to her, wrapped in a greencloak that was perfectly clean and not his.

She had sworn they would pay for his death. That was months ago and they had sent a medium sized team of greencloaks, two adults and six kids. She got her revenge. The adults were killed and burned but the children, they had a different fate.

She brushed the soft bangs out of her new son's face. He looked so peaceful. Zelia pressed the flask to his barely opened mouth "Good morning Ollie," she whispered.

His left hand twitched, eyes opened slowly as he took a breath in. He smiled at her "Good morning mama," he greeted, a soft melodious tone of a euran accent. She had pieced all the kids' and Her son's brains together giving his the intelligence of the Zhongese girl, the vocal patterns of the euran boy, the street knowledge of the Amayan girl, hunting skills of the artican plus her own son's fighting skills, and the steriolan provided plenty of emotional awareness.

Zelia helped Ollie off the table "Do you want help walking sweetie?" She asked him. Ollie nodded as he wobbled a little where he stood.

She lead him to a mirror, her rebuilt son looked at himself with curiosity "Who is that, mama?" He asked.

Zelia stroked his hair smiling at her son "What do you mean?" She asked.

Ollie pulled a hand from her grasp "Him!" He said, pointing to his reflection. Ollie pulled closer "The stranger is scary mama," he whispered.

Zelia hugged her son "That's you Ollie. You're not scary, you're perfect," she reassured him. Ollie stared at her for a moment, wide happy eyes. As if he had never been killed, never seen war, never felt pain, she silently swore he would never witness death or war ever again.

She gave him a kiss on the forehead "Well sweetie, why don't we go to your room? Mama has to clean up here," she said.

Ollie nodded "Okay mama," he said. She loved the way his eyes were many colors and how they sparkled. Zelia lead Ollie upstairs and to his dark bedroom.

He didn't need to see what she had left over from her perfect creation. Not her failures, not the broken Ollies.

A thought came to mind, Ollie would need a spirit animal just like all those kids and adults had. She smiled, glad to have forced the kids to give up their spirit animals be for death.