Shadow Of The Colossus- Taming The Beasts

Chapter 12-Kuromori

A couple of lizards waddled throughout the colosseum, squeaking and clumsily climbing around, either on each other or the walls. They were all rather social animals, despite the lands being desolate and large. The Colosseum was a place abundant with food, water, and sunlight, so lizards liked to roam free in it. A truly gorgeous place, filled with plant life, glistening, warm water, and different flowers of various shapes and sizes. Equally as gorgeous was the colossus who inhabited the area; Kuromori.

The setting sun illuminated the area as Kuromori hoisted herself up once she came to, panicking at first due to the memory of a strange human who brutally stabbed and shot her. She peered at her stomach, which was void of any danger, but not lacking pain. But, she was a determined beast, so with some trouble, she rolled onto her legs. Shaking her sore head once she got her bearings. 

Squish!

The reptile colossus lifted her leg up to see that she had accidentally rolled over one of the many lizards in her arena. It wasn't dead, but she did step on its tail. With a frightened squeak, she lifted her leg up and let the poor thing go. Suddenly, all of the lizards in the area flocked to her. Not in an aggressive way, quite the opposite actually. They all squeaked at her and jumped on her glowing green legs, eventually falling off them once she moved a bit. Kuromori hissed happily and leaned her head down to greet her squeaking "babies". While colossi were a species and had the ability to reproduce, they could only produce baby colossi, never actual animals. But Kuromori saw the lizards as her own anyways.

"Hey, little guys! Did ya miss me?"

Lizards flocked to her head, jumping on top of it with squeaks of glee. To them, she was their mother. And to be fair, she did hold the appearance of a giant gecko. Kuromori quickly forgot her pain as the lizards swarmed her with affection. Her eyes glowed a brilliant blue, matching the lizards' feet and bellies. 

Squawk!

Kuromori's head snapped upwards at the sudden noise, accidentally sending a lizard who was resting on it flying backward. But, the source of the noise wasn't something to be concerned with. Avion! Kuro chirped in delight at the sight of a friend she had thought to be lost...Wait, if he was dead before, and now he's alive, does that mean the other seven were to? Did someone manage to revive them? The questions in her head were interrupted when she heard footsteps of someone running down the stairs.

Human footsteps.

Immediately, Kuromori's eyes switched to a venomous orange, her back scales erupting in flames. A rather intimidating hiss escaped her throat, her gaping maw glowing with poison. Aiko's head popped up, right as she got a poisonous blast to the face. Avion panicked and squawked at Kuromori to get her to stop. Aiko had taken the hint and skittered up the stairs, coughing as she inhaled a small amount of the toxic gas that poured from the initial fireballs. Her tribal markings glowed harshly as her heart rate went ballistic, and she hid from the lizard colossus behind a wall. 

"Kuro, stop! She's a friend! That's not the wanderer!"

Kuromori halted and blasted her furious gaze towards Avion.

"How do we know she's not part of his posse? We cannot take any chances, not me, and not after last time!"

Kuromori prepared another attack, but Avion stood in front of her with his wings outstretched. He was very intimidated by Kuromori at this moment, but he stood his ground.

"Trust me on this! She helped us! She healed Valus' wounds, was brave enough to take arrows out of GAIUS' stomach and helped Hydrus recover! She's a friend, not a foe! Please, just...calm down!"

Kuromori halted her poison, but her back was still burning. 

"...Call her out. Let me see for myself."

Avion nodded, although his hesitance was apparent. He poked his head into the gaping holes of the Colosseum and called out at Aiko, who's markings have stopped glowing. She took the hint and hopped onto his back, staring at Kuromori the whole way down. Once on solid ground, Aiko slid off Avion's wing and approached the flaming beast.

"...H...Hello!" Akio squeaked, still intimidated. Almost immediately, Kuromori's eyes switched back to blue and the flames faded once she came to the realization that this was a child. How silly of her! A child couldn't harm her. She didn't even have a weapon! She leaned down to sniff the girl, much like a curious dog. Her lobster-like tail swung from side to side as she quickly warmed up to Aiko, giving her a gentle pat on the head with her paws. Aiko's head felt hot once Kuro touched it, but she assumed that was because of the energy she kept within her body. Although the warmth did give her a rather slap-to-the-face reminder that she needed to sleep. 

The sun was setting and the skies were turning a harsh purple and orange. It was clear Avion was tired too, so he just laid down on his side. His long tail curling around himself. Kuromori gazed at Aiko as she laid down as well, putting her glowing green legs underneath her like a cat.

"Can...Can I sleep here?"

Kuromori nodded, resting her head on the ground. Aiko peered around for a place to nap. The ground was rough and rocky, so that was a no. Kuromori might roll over her, so no. She was obviously confused, so Avion called her over with a soft chirp. He lifted his wing up as an offering, which Aiko took. She huddled against the bird's chest, feeling safe as he wrapped his free wing around her. It was like being in a living tent. Aiko's eyes felt heavy, and soon enough, she fell asleep clutching Avion's wing.