TGB: Coud - A Promise Kept

The warmth of Water Tribe around him felt distant, somehow. A thin layer of coldness had settled over the surface of his body, flowing with every movement and following wherever he went. This place had been home to him for as long as he could remember, fighting against the stigma his father's legacy had left on him and gaining the faith of his tribemates. Friends were around him, those who loved and cared about him. And he could feel their love, but it did not reach his heart. Lully's warmth had been taken from this place. The one cat he would always turn to was not there this time.

Nowhere in the tribelands could dispell the frost that had settled over him. The Pheasant Woods lacked the familiar scent of smelted metal that the smithing cave had left on Kintsu's fur, was absent of the robin-red fur of his sister, held no trace of his long-passed idol of a mother. Everything in this forest reminded him, but nothing remained of them. No matter how long he lay beneath this tree, Kintsu would not appear, the wind would not carry his scent ahead and alert the dozing Green-Water to his approach. The breeze coming down off of the Ember Hills would do nothing but remind him of the dirt that covered his sister's ashes. Every subtle rumble of the earth beneath his paws, as magma shifted and the volcano settled, made him wonder if his mother was trying to reach him from Eden.

He had rarely visited Air Tribe, but its tattoos only ever reminded him of Maika. Light Tribe's scent of herbs and milk did that more potently, and he could not venture too near for fear of the grief twisting his heart up so tightly it would burst. Emlyn, Kazik... too young.

Shadow Tribe's ache was dull in his heart, a brother that had left so long ago. This memory brought a sad smile to his features, for he'd never truly gotten tell Sanguis that he thought the other was pretty cool, had he? But a fresh experience, one with the Silver-Shadow, arose, and it was almost enough to reach his heart. A sliver of warmth whispered through his chest: the next ladnmark easily quelled it.

Earth Tribe. Always a place of pain for him-- but always a home. Iris. Fresh tears welled in his eyes, and a weight pulled down in his chest. Iris--

A name rose to his tongue but he spun away, shoulders shaking. We were supposed to go, Iris, Coud whispered up to her, squeezing his eyes shut. You... were waiting for me.

I'm so sorry.

Water Tribe didn't feel like home. Xander, Percy, Julian. Lully. The pain of loss was as fresh here as anywhere else. No place felt safe anymore, and he raised his eyes towards the sky, blinking past tears.

He couldn't do this anymore.

He couldn't be alone.

Hunching his shoulders, Coud dropped his face towards the ground, choking back sobs as tears fell to the grass between his paws. It isn't right, he thought mirthlessly to himself, a miserable smile drawing at his features. No one was here to say goodbye to. Kintsu should be-- Lully-- he'd wanted Nuri, Akarui, Maika, Emlyn, Kazik, mom... even dad. So many ghosts stood around him as he stared out towards the distance. No territories lay in front of him; no borders, no camps. No tribes.

The plains sloped gently towards the horizon. Raising one paw slowly, Coud looked down at the ground beneath him, before laying it down again, pressing hard.

A heavy sigh from the caldera to his left reached his ears, and he closed his eyes, tears pouring forward.

And he bit back the grief, swallowed one final sob, as he started walking.

A lightness came to his heart, like gravity was sparing him from the weight of grief and loss. Wings wrapped warmly around his chest, and the tears dried. Sniffling, Coud opened his eyes, never slowing in his pace. The tribes fell distantly behind him.

The soft green of his tattoo began to dim, fading slowly into gray.

Kyle.

And finally a smile found his features, tears brimming in his eyes as a sense of release finally found him.

I'm coming.