A Stray Basking In The Sun

"And I remain for years in the forest over your bones, your ashes, motionless, far from hatred and anger, disarmed in your death, crossed by lianas, motionless in the rain, relentless sentinel of my murderous love." - Pablo Neruda, The Tiger

A Samurai AU exile story: Zenin Toji, disowned ronin of a blood-purist clan, and Fujiwara Seira, a runaway noblewoman who chose him over an arranged marriage, hide out in the mountains while their families' assassins hunt them down. Tender, blood-soaked, and quietly devotional - a story about two people who were never meant for softness finding it in each other anyway.