𝐄𝐏𝐇𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐇 | 儚き願い

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[𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝟑] - 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐈𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞

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❝𝑭𝒖𝒍𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕❞

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"𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑾𝑨𝑵𝑻 𝑯𝑬𝑳𝑷 𝑪𝑶𝑳𝑳𝑬𝑪𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑭𝑶𝑶𝑫?" She asked, shuffling around in the cave before exiting. "Couldn't you ask one of your friends?"

"They're a bit busy with their own things," he replied, leading the Eagle out of his home and into the vast forest. "I would ask the Cat but he's preoccupied with something."

The Eagle hums, her claws sinking into the floor as she continued walking with the smaller animal. She had to slow down her speed considerably due to his tiny size. She glanced down at him, his tiny paws leaving imprints on the ground that was much more petite than her tracks.

She wonders if this type of friendship was going to become normal in the world of animals. It would be unlikely for them to remain friends, she thought. The chances of him being eaten by her own instincts were too much of a risk. An Eagle and a Rat sounded like such a strange pair that it would cause other animals to turn their heads towards them in shock, the idea being out of reach for their own minds to understand. She wanted to leave him behind, to keep him as far away from her as possible, and yet the itching in her heart keeps her wings locked.

She found him to be quite strange.

No matter how hard she tries to shake off those thoughts, she couldn't help but find herself at the mercy of his kindness. He would offer her food when she grew tired, his head constantly tilting itself over his shoulder to look back at her with a smile. She didn't understand why he did those things, but it felt like a new habit that he began to pick up as she grew closer to his side.

There were small moments in his cave that she wanted to keep beside her, the smiles and laughter they shared couldn't be matched by anyone else she had previously spoken to. It was almost as if what they felt was genuine. . . but what was it genuine of?

She knew that deep down this friendship that they shared might break apart.

She knew. . . she was terrified of such events happening that she kept herself awake at night, her beady eyes staring out to the raining forest to see the leaves rustle and the other birds chirp. She didn't want to be invested in what she had with the Rat, she already knew and predicted that these small, fickle moments would be interrupted by something much more slippery and destructive.

The Rat stopped in his tracks, pointing to a berry bush that was to her side. His smile grew wider as he ran towards it, "There it is!" He called out, his miniature hands grabbing onto the much larger fruit as she came towards him.

"I always come here with the Cat because he likes to eat these," he comments, holding it up to his mouth to get a snack, "I find them a bit too sour for my liking but they are sweet enough for you to continue eating."

"He talks about his other friend a lot too. Something about a human living in the forest? I didn't really believe him at first since this forest is quite dense, but he always tells me the amazing stories that the human tells him," he adds, "He's an old man but he's described as somewhat youthful and lonesome."

The Eagle hums, "You talk about your friend quite a lot. What is he like? Have you known each other for a long time?"

The grey-haired animal looked up at her, his cheeks covered in the berry's juices, "We met quite a long time ago, maybe about a year now? I can't really keep track of time very well but it was certainly a while. I believe we crossed paths before as he was hunting."

"I was quite lucky to know that he was a friendly animal rather than one who would eat me," he laughs, wiping away at the liquid with his hands, "In a way, the two of you are somewhat similar."

"Similar?"

"That's right," he smiles, causing the Eagle's heart to squeeze and tense up, "No matter how much you deny it or find yourself distancing yourself, a part of you still resides with me somewhere."

He looks down at the berry, his eyes growing wider as he felt small beads of tears at the corners of his eyes, "It makes my life feel much more fulfilling with friends in it."

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❝𝑨𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒑, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒊𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒆𝒔.❞

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