The Abduction of Persephone ~ [Sephaku]
Haku could feel the magic pulling him back towards the now ramshackle cottage. It tugged on his conscious, Yubaba’s words heavy in his ears. But he ignored it—he’d set himself on this path and he was going to go through with it, confident that Hades would follow.
His heart was twisting with—what? Guilt? Perhaps.
Of course, he’d kidnapped before but none had been as torturous as that. It was usually simple: in and out. Knock the person unconscious, gather them up and deposit them for Yubaba to glean whatever magic she could from them before returning them to their homes. But, of course, her damn contract had to be signed by free will. The irony was blatantly clear to him. And it had made this so much more complicated.
Haku was mentally berating himself, his brain zipping back through the fight—trying to see if there had been any other way to get the boy to come. Then, he remembered his rage. His fear. His strength. The dragon let out a heavy breath.
The girl in his clutches was oddly quiet, though even she could probably feel the precarious grasp that he had on her. Really, she was quite heavy as well, made him fall forward slightly as he flew, tail swirling in the air behind him, trying to keep him steady. He’d never done this before, carried someone like this. Had never carried anyone at all, on his back or otherwise. He was strong enough to do so, obviously, but his bird-like talons were not steady enough to keep the girl in them for an extended period of time.
It was this reason, and no other, that Haku spotted a clearing and began to twirl his way down towards it. Right before he landed, he drew back, so his back feet clutched the ground first before coming down more gently in the front.
He kept his foot on the girl as she struggled. Sharp talons sunk into the damp earth near her head, possibly pulling some of her hair which was spread out around her in a dark halo. If it had been up before, it must’ve come undone. Her cheeks shown in the moonlight. His weight shifted off her chest as much as he could while still keeping her pinned down.
Snaking his head around, he bowed it, turning it to the side so that one eye could stare at her—their faces only about a foot or two apart. If you quit that struggling, I may let you up, child. His ancient voice, soft as running water, broke through her conscious.
