#nakhti

“I'll be as bright as rain soon, Tia,” he teased, his shoulders rising. 

“Ah, Zhen.” He recognized that tone, his shoulders slumping. He wasn't fooling her. “Weren't your friends here to visit you? To check in on?” She was nearly awestruck when Reshi graced her doorstep. She had only swept mere moments before. “Surely everything was tidy… I can't picture a goddess like her in this place” she muttered. 

His thoughts going back to the Tower he first met Reshi in, he shrugged. It was better than a crumbling building for sure. “I'm sure nothing was out of place” he  assured her. He wasn't expecting much of anyone to turn up. Least of all, Kyurem. He didn't know what to make out of the dragon, only that his choice of friends was questionable. His eyes slid to Caelus, who quietly sat by the table. He may have appeared calm but beneath the surface he was bristling. 

The dragon wasn't as composed as he previously believed. The intricacies of dragon engagement flew over his head, as far as he knew some type of line was crossed, leaving Caelus less than pleased. 

Zhen scratched the back of his neck, strifling a groan. More to learn. 

“They are kind ones, especially the older gentleman.” A claw pressed close to his cheek, soft scales against his skin. It was comforting. “The little ones are enjoying the treats he gave us.” 

Zhen inclined his head. He wasn't sure what to say. Maybe Kyurem wasn't so bad after all. “How are they doing?”

“They are doing fine.” She frowned a little. “I am a bit concerned though. Little Arashi wanted to come in to check on you. It took a bit of effort to make sure he didn't disturb you all. I'm sure you were discussing something important.”

“Quite,” Came Caelus’ rumbling voice. “I will share this with you later but can you excuse us for a brief moment?”

The politeness in his tone set Zhen on the edge. It was rigid enough that even Naktia did a brief pause before nodding her head and leaving them on her own. Ah how he wished she hadn't done that. 

Zhen swallowed, steeling himself for the rebukes to come. 

“Sit across from me, Zhen.” The tone was gone, in its place a note of fatigue. 

Brows furrowing, he did as he told, “If you're going to give me sh-”

“How long have you known?” 

Zhen averted his eyes. A few days wouldn't be far off. It was more like years. Decades even. Seeing the grave only confirmed the dreams and visions to be true. “For a while now,” he said. 

“It explains what is occurring with you. Has it crossed your mind that I should have been made aware you were a human?”

Zhen made a face. “That shouldn't be a big issue.”

Caelus gave him a sharp look. “It is because you reject it.”

“I sure as hell accept my responsibilities as Ho-oh-” 

“When I look at you, I do not see a Ho-oh. I see a human crumbling beneath a horrible facade. I do not blame you. You were crudely thrown in this body with no guidance, no direction. You cannot connect with the very essence you are because you never were! There is a disconnect and you still reject it! Your prior circumstances does nothing but discourage you further!” 

Caelus growled under breath. “How I wish I could grind your predecessor to dust.” 

Zhen bit his tongue. Every bit of it was true. There was a reason he adopted this form more and more. Shirked so much at looking at himself whenever he was his true form. 

"Do you wish to be my equal?”

Caelus was leagues ahead of him; he was a mere breeze while Caelus was a fierce gale, bending all before him. 

"No.” Zhen's gaze was unwavering, fire burning within. "I wish to be my own man. One who can stand on my two feet without my foundation crumbling beneath me. Being an equal to you is something I will never be or even want to." Zhen scoffed. "If you think I will bow to you, you have another thing coming."

A feral grin from Caelus. “That is the answer I want to hear. But do you still accept the responsibilities of Ho-oh and what that entails?”

What was Ho-oh? An answer he always sought. 

A healer? 

A powerful entity? 

A guide?

…He was many of those except powerful. He healed but not in the same way he knew Ho-oh was known for. His flames were unstable, wild, destructive. Not befitting. 

But fire was like this. Untamed. Who was to say a Ho-oh's nature wasn't like this? 

“What am I doing?” A lost question from Zhen.

“What do you want to do?” 

Zhen ran his hands through his hair. “My best, dammit.”

“Then you are doing enough.”

Nakhti having an existential crisis, because a certain lawyer wears suits that are overly tailored.

These two are from our City and the Beast novel at sharadrass.com

Happy Pride 2021!!

click for the full list of characters and details

This is also Nakhti btw. Just from Book 2. Yes, there’s also going to be Book 2 :P The man who was already dead inside is even more dead inside (that applies to a few people XD).

You can read our City and the Beast novel for free at sharadrass.com!

If you enjoy it, please leave us a comment and tell friends about it! <3

The book updates on Fridays.

Story blog here @cityandthebeast (send us asks and we’ll try to reply with art) c:

Reblogs on all City and the Beast posts are super appreciated!

Character Intros: Meet Nakhti!

If you ever wondered why Sam no longer lives with his parents, don’t ask Nakhti about it. Those two have been more than friends once. After years of silence, Nakhti suddenly replied to one of Sam’s letters and showed up in New Coalport overnight, proceeding to start the Pharaohs MC. Nobody is quite sure why exactly this man decided to abandon his education and career in finance for work in a junkyard, or what kind of dark thoughts course behind the frown when he forgets to smirk, but they are glad to have him here.

Nakhti cares for his friends and makes a great leader for their band of misfits. He is known for problem-solving so effective that it raises questions, which are perhaps better left unanswered. Nakhti and Yen have been an item for a while. Whichever of each other’s secrets they accidentally discover, their arrangement is simple – never tell Samut.

You can read our City and the Beast novel for free at sharadrass.com!

If you enjoy it, please leave us a comment and tell friends about it! <3

The book updates on Fridays.

You can send us asks and we’ll try to reply with some art! c:

Reblogs on all City and the Beast posts are super appreciated!

Story and characters © @luffik & @zlukaka!

Caelus’ eyes became slitted again, the scales stark against his skin. A stilled silence had Nakhti shifting on her feet, placing herself between the Pokémon and the man growing much like the great serpent mere days ago. “I have never seen a creature like you.” 

The energy that hummed off this Pokémon was familiar yet not. Wrong. It felt similar to the note of discordance within the region but altered on a worser scale.

Human.

A wisp of gold as his lips parted to hiss. Scales began to ripple and shimmer against his skin, the human vessel scantily containing the anger roiling beneath. What slipped out was the slip of the tongue, Caelus speaking in olds tongue.

“!!#**?!”

Nakhti hissed out a pained breath, gritting her teeth. The word had no meaning to her and others around him, only his voice was a guttural growl that hurt the ear. 

With a scowl, Caelus leaned forward, both elbows on his thighs. “I appreciate your need for assistance, child but I do not need any aiding in healing my wound.” His voice deep, still containing lingering notes of the growl. Despite his words, Caelus flinched. The movement agitated the wound in his abdomen, the scent of rust wafting in the air. 

But he regarded the Mewtwo with a guarded eye, a hand crept to cover the injury to stem the flow. 

“I find the confines of your dwelling to be suffocating so please excuse me for seeking refuge outdoors.”

“You should be resting. That wound hasn't healed yet.” 

A single piercing yellow eye gauged her, turning reptilian, a long, slitted black pupil replacing the roundness of his human eye; erasing any normalcy in a flash. A moment of stillness then a touch of scales by his lips as they curved as he spoke with a voice so gritty and deep it grained against the ear, “You reprimand me as you would a hatchling but your lack of fear amuses me.” 

The cock of the head, the striking eye containing no aggression, “Leads me to believe you have experience with our kind,” he continued, his gritty voice curious. He appreciated backbone, the Kangaskhan showed no backing down in her stance, her steady gaze never straying. 

“Stubborn, rude, the lot of you,” Nakhti huffed. “You all believe you are invincible until you run to the ground.”

The man smiled, shimmering scales reflecting in the moonlight as his eyes strayed. “This is a feeling I miss. The sensation of being mothered,” ignoring her questioning look, he said, “I presume this to be a sanctuary for the hatchlings?” So young were the present beasts of nature he had laid eye on. 

He could see the promise in the Landorus, that she would be a fine leader in the future if not for her mischief. It would make her clever but prone to mistakes yet the Tornadus would guide her back to the path, the dragon sure. 

Then he stared at her. “Where is the third?” A trio incomplete was bound to fail. 

Nakhti spoke, “Missing. When I found them, there was no third,” her voice hushed. 

“And the Ho-oh then?”

A silence permeated between the both of them. The man sighed. “I see. I can hear it.” The discordant in the region, subtle ring in his ears. A ripple scales beneath the skin as he shuffled in place, a hand pressing to the tender wound on his abdomen.

“May I ask what harmed you, Emperor?” He could see her gentleness, the need to help in her eyes but with a single look, it kept her from pressing. It wouldn’t for long.

“Caelus,” he corrected. “I have not used that title in eons and I would not ask of it now. Do wait for the answer,” his dragon-like eye shifted, noticing a movement in the night. “We are not alone.”

It's all your fault, a vicious part of him began to whisper in the still silence. She’ll be disappointed in you. Ashamed like the rest of them. That ugly voice taunted him until he painfully squeezed his eyes shut, desperately wanting away. 

Yes. He blamed himself for-

“Zhen.” Her voice was a line at sea. He desperately reached and grabbed ahold, freeing himself from the torment of his inner thoughts.

His eyes flickered upward briefly. He couldn't meet her eyes. How could he? He could see her claws hesitating on the table before he looked away. 

“Nakhti. Don’t worry about me.” The words were automatic for him. Always so quick to put someone at ease. But his voice lacked his usual spirit. His tone was that of utter defeat.

“Child, be honest. You are flying away from us,” her voice a harsh whip, causing him to flinch. This was why he avoided her. Abilene and her kindness were nothing like a mother and her blunt honesty. She knew him too well, did Nahkti. His eyes remained firmly planted on the table, his shoulders knotting.

Was he? 

“And you chose to confide in no one? Dear.” He flinched. He was prepared to see him condemned in her eyes. But he would not look. Not now. 

A gentle touch, her paw cupping his cheek as she coaxed him to look up. He was reluctant, he held his ground, his hands balled up into tight fists on the table. 

“Look at me, Zhen.” 

He relented, listening to her beguiling tone. 

Her kind eyes contained worry, her claws gently pushed away the strands of hair that tumbled in front of his eyes as he sat there, frozen. 

“You deserve so much more than what has been done to you. They took from you and still, you provided without ever asking for more. You have such a kind heart, Zhen. One others will take advantage of.” 

A tender claw touched his chest, over the pulse that roared in his ears. “I know you have only just freed yourself but please try to release the cage surrounding your heart. Allow it to be free just as you are.” 

A moment of silence as Zhen looked at her claw. Then he spoke, his voice of a broken sob, “How can I ever be free of this? It hurts, Nakhti. It hurts.” He clutched onto her claw and held it close. 

“I tried for them, Nakhti. I tried so very hard for them,” he lamented. And time after time, they shunted him all the same.

“He glows bright yet he cannot heal.”

“What an incompetent god.”

“He wastes away in her nest. Our goddess borne from this?! Leave him there to rot. He deserves nothing.” 

Venomous whispers were like a deadly Seviper, plunging deep into his body. He would spill blood for them and he knew they wouldn't bat an eye in his direction as he lay there, bleeding out. 

Eyes filled with scorn and loathing. They were revolted by his existence. It was suffocating to remain a moment longer in the tower. 

But he stayed out of duty, out of necessity. 

He clenched his teeth, thrusting a hand through his hair. 

“I defended that damn tower and still yet they threw stones at me.” Anger flooded his voice, the gold in his eyes becoming intense. 

He would never forget. 

The look of shock on his face as he felt a blow, a sharp stone cutting deep above his eye. And the rage it invoked as he stared down the culprit clutching another stone for dear life. 

“See how he burns down her life’s work! All that we strived for!” Words from a frantic monk cowering before the Ho-oh as he stalked closer.

He was only trying to defend it from the likes of Zapdos and its lightning. And this fool had blamed him for the tower?!

“No. More.” He uttered in the space between them. He clutched at his head, at the wound that had long since healed as it throbbed in memory. “I did it, Nakhti,” he whispered, here and now. “I wanted to burn down that tower for what they had done to me. 

And I nearly did.” His gaze appeared haunted, scenes of the past replaying in his mind and he slumped in his seat. “Until he stopped me.” 

Kazuki, the Northern Wind. A torrent of water had stopped him in his tracks. The Suicune stared him down, unflinching and the winds had whipped around them, tearing into his wings. It was then he realized what had happened, fire and crumbling wood surrounding him. 

“So you see, Nahkti. I don't deserve your kindness.” He laughed, a hollow one. “Not after what I have done. Not anyone's.” 

“And that is where you are wrong.”

He found himself gathered in her arms. 

“My child. What they have done to you. They paid for it dearly. They only needed to show you kindness and all they have done was wound you. You lashed out, you showed remorse and you accepted blame. You will always remember what you have done but I know it was not done out of malice. You were so hurt, weren’t you?”

That was what broke him. Her unconditional love. 

She tipped his head back. She dabbed at the tears shining wet in his eyes. “Allow me to show you something, Zhen.” 

He was helpless to her, following her as she led the way. Her claw rested upon a sliding door, she whispered, “Look inside,” as she slid it open. 

He stepped inside to see the children sleeping beneath the kotatsu, Tora sprawled out, Arashi resting on his arms. 

In the center: a small shrine the children labored at completing. It nearly looked finished. 

“They have been working at it since you left for the gala. A god always has a shrine, no?” 

He wiped away at his eyes, lowering to his knees. 

Nakhti placed a gentle touch on his shoulder. “You are wanted, Zhen. You have those who care about you, myself included. Allow us in from time to time and we’ll welcome you with open arms.” 

She left him, alone with his shrine, with the children.

He laughed once more, shaking his head. “Wanted…” His voice was in disbelief. His fingers carefully touched the shrine. It was near flawless. Perfect even. It suited him. Modest, small.

His gaze flickered towards the children. “You guys… really must like me.”