ash settles.

@cateyne.

     spindly fingers were feather-light on her full cheek, satin and sun-kissed, he dared not disturb it. at her query a thumb rested just under her eye, rubbing lines along her skin, “looks like seawater.” low voice was quiet, almost a whisper and words as if he were stating the most obvious thing in the world.  

@cateyne.

      rubble clattered and crashed into the earth, shockwaves trembling underneath his feet. he did not stumble nor waver, shattered buildings the result of his senbonzakura, uneasy landscape crumbling from his reiatsu. he flicked a finger backwards, tossing blood from vibrant, deep-red fragments onto the wreckage of their battle. how deeply senbonzakura had drank this battle, once silver petals gorged and sated. in kind, he was not free from sanguine colourings, tears down his chest and arm evidence of the ferocity of his opponent. still, he stood tall, head held high as his enemy crumbled. it was then that he felt a pang in the air, his head snapped towards it. he could not see her but he could feel her.

     he pushed off his back foot, senbonzakura trailing behind him, cutting through the air faster than the eye could follow. it still wasn’t enough, he wasn’t fast enough. another pang, a waver in her reiatsu. he whispered his command, not a word audible to any but his zanpakuto. senbonzakura pulled tight then, losing its colour and concentrating in a singular sword and in his body, spiritual energies venting from between his shoulder blades. an agility unmatched and barely enough to stand between rangiku and what would be her guillotine. he glanced behind him, “on your feet.” 

               for how the world around her came crashing down, for how even towering buildings were reduced to nothing but ash and dust, it seemed as if it were all coming to an end. war was nothing new to them, something so painfully commonplace, as sad as that was to say. it was their normal, for it was what many of them had been bred and raised for, though others, like her, knew strife from their beginnings and fought because it was all they knew for a better life, a better tomorrow, a tomorrow that existed by a shred of hope, a fragile string. rangiku lied atop a pile of rubble, dirt and ash beginning to cake upon her sun - kissed skin. would this be her final resting place ? would this be where she drew her final breath ? her eyes roamed, sweeping across the bloodied, torn flesh of her torso. with each second that passed, her breathing grew weaker, more labored with the pain that it brought her to inhale.

      hands folded in his lap, pointed black nails stark against the blue-veined marble of the lower hand. of course, his veins did not work as they used to, they carried blood in a sense but with no beating heart to accompany them, they long since atrophied, more akin to plastic tubing underneath the surface. he would still bleed if cut, sangria-red molasses but still blood nonetheless. how easy it was for mortals to cling to the droplets, even she had held herself against his wrist now with the same passion that any creature of the night would have. but the elders, there existed nothing that could truly sustain them, nothing could quite sate the well of their thirst. wandering in undeath far too long, greater demands to the pay the price for their flesh. this was the truth of the matter, no vitality of their own, vacant husks held together by human sacrifice and a supernatural spirit. no scientific rhyme or reason, they existed entirely in the preternatural. he could not help but wonder why she insisting on staying by his side, knowing he was little more than some nondescript energy with a corpse for an overcoat. 

      perhaps he should not have written off biblical inclinations just due to his own disapproval of religion, after all, there had been a time where he would’ve thought the existence of kindred a distant fairytale. his own being went against the logic he held in his highest regard, rationale did not explain why he existed for an age unchanging. but it was the potency of his blood, he had summarised over the years, thickened and blackened through the collections of those rested on his tongue amplified with some essence of his own. “most are edible, the exception being the caitiff, they are nearly human in their biology. their blood would do as much for an elder as a rat would do for me,” which was to say, not at all, ventrue feeding habits and all. “i would bring a particular satisfaction imagine, being so close it may be very well cannibalistic, though, i have no intention of finding out. i won’t have my first meeting with my sire to be my last.”

     “whether or not they come from legend or pillars of the christian religion, i would not welcome their presence. perhaps it would not bring the end of all days as in revelations but there exists very little defense against creatures such as they. caine or abel, there are none from his time, any claim could be made with nothing to say otherwise. who is to say, in truth but i do find it unlikely.” 

               just as the humans did, others like her and kindred kind wished nothing more than to live in a world of peace, where it mattered not what their origins were, that they could live their lives quietly without fear of persecution for being unnatural, of another world. rangiku was, as witches were, more human - aligned than kindred were, and perhaps that was a blessing in itself, but there was once a time where others of her kind were hunted, burned at stakes and drowned in rivers for heresy on distant, western shores, though in modern days, it seemed to be more of a trend to don such a title as a moniker for coin. nevertheless, the truth to her existence could not be allowed to bubble beyond the river’s chatter, for it would unleash the floodgates to the entire realm of the supernatural and expose them all as they were. kindred faced enough threats from humans hunting them as it were. to think now, that on top of that, they live with a looming threat, ever distant as it may be, of the awakening of their elders who would seek a bloodbath in sating the ravenous hunger of their immortal slumber ?

               mulling over it now, quietly to herself, perhaps it did seem quite farfetched, but it was more of a thought that terrified her than one that shocked her into disbelief. chills ran down her spine and she shuddered in her seat, involuntarily shaking her head in the moment as the cold currents passed.    “    it’s . . . kind of sad, to think about it,    ”    rangiku mused. she took a breath afterward, stepping on the gas pedal to pick up speed, wanting nothing more than to be home so that she could crawl into her beloved’s arms.    “    there’s so much everyone must want to find out, but they can’t, huh ? if they ever were to come back, and i really hope that they won’t, you wouldn’t even be able to ask anything to confirm or deny all of the hearsay. that’s awful ! even when it comes down to any tomes the kindred might have, you can’t really put much faith in it when you don’t know where it really came from . . .    ”

               spiritual activity within this region burned at the touch simply being within its vicinity. it was molten lava, spreading slowly, but surely, across the lands with its corruption plaguing the earth and its innocents. it was unlike anything she had come across before, and for just a brief moment in time her confidence faltered as she questioned if this was something she was ill - equipped to handle on her own. she was quick to banish such ridiculous thoughts, however ---- she was a lieutenant of high caliber whose talents were in high demand. she ventured up the stone steps, taking note of the enormous tablet carved in scripture. her chinese was not so perfect, but she could understand well enough ---- how many rules did this place have?