ORIGIN

Solitude had always suited Fate; or at least, that was what she'd so long thought. Now, she wasn't quite so sure. She remembered from the foggy days of her puppyhood, several faces- some kind and warm. Others, not so much. She'd also long since shed the face who'd greeted them. Looking back through her memories was like looking through the eyes of another being entirely.

And one of those faces in particular- Fate had never expected to see it again.

At least, not like this.

With hollow skull crushed by familiar spires of crystal sharp enough to draw blood, even now. only a few scraps of fur remained, clinging feebly to lonely bones. The eyes, once warm and kind, were empty except for more sharp points of dazzling colours and light.

Fate hadn't thought about this one for many cycles; had cared, but been too contented with solitude to seek her out. Fate would never have expected this... and yet, the way the spires of crystal had cracked away sections of the skull and pierced those empty sockets made Fate think that perhaps, there was no other way it could have gone. It was bound to happen from the very start- it was destiny, if you will.

A slow, sad smile quirked at the wolf's cheek as she admired the irony of it all.

The wolf slowly dropped her head, sniffing at the long-bleached bones and touching her nose to the sharp crystals, imagining the face which had long since decayed.

Her wet and twitching nose drew slowly over Destiny's bill and slowly down her bumpy spine. She nosed at the crumbled flippers, knowing that although changed, everything was here. This was her, alright.


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Heaving a deep sigh into her chest, Fate drew back her muzzle and sank downonto her belly, ignoring the cold and the wet that seeped into her fur. Her long forelimbs stretched out in front of her, she dropped the dice that she held in her jaws and continued to gaze at the skeleton she used to know.

The more that Fate gazed, the harder it became, and yet the tougher she found it to look away. She hated the thought that this death was unpreventable, although she didn't know why; Fate hadn't cared about another's company in so long. She hadn't sought anyone out for so long, and she hadn't wanted to until now. she almost came close to regretting it; but she was a forward thinker, and regret was ultimately pointless.

A grunt of frustration grew in her chest, but again the wolf found herself unable to look away. She pulled herself to her paws, her vision breaking apart into a shattered sheen of purple lights through her gem. Lights shone in rivulets through her fur and her smoky gem glittered through her vision. Fate froze- suddenly, she was looking down not on a skeleton but on a creature that was living... albeit barely. Breaths came in feeble gasps, her hide trembling with each labored breath. Her eyes were gone, pushed from their sockets by bloodied spires of crystal.

Fate could see only Destiny, but perhaps there may have been others there at the time, just outside of her vision's reach.

Even so, Destiny spoke as though she was half-mad, or as though she knew that Fate would be there listening one day.

Fate's ears pricked, hearing the voice as though through a screen of water. Hazy and muffled, the words just out of reach. But the tone behind it was just as Fate remembered, however strained and choked with sobs. Full of kindness and hope, but full of acceptance for the fate she was meeting. Slowly rising to her feet, and leaning in close, although not quite close enough to touch, Fate could see her cheeks were mottled with tears of blood, her sides scrawny and half-starved.

Fate bowed her head, finally having seen enough. Despite herself she found that the fur around her eyes had grown damp. When she raised her head, though, the purple light had faded and she was looking at the sad remains of a skeleton once more. Fate began to back away, her eyes stinging and the hairs along her neck stiff.

There was nothing that could be done now. Her life would go on as normal, as though none of this had happened. Why, then, did her throat feel so tight?

Without another glance back, Fate walked away, leaving Destiny to where she lay.

-exit Fate-

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