#soten

And that wasn’t even the worst part. The worst part had been the food. Neither brother could keep a cook and neither could cook. Mother never bothered teaching them. That was lucky though. In some ways. When her brothers died, Soten had known how to fend for herself in the food department. Through trial and error she’d learned what was safe to eat and what wasn’t.

And thankfully, for all the attempts to make her otherwise, she was and had always been…odd. Not at all like the rest of her family. Instead of finding joy in torture and cruelty, she was devastatingly normal, horrifyingly kind and much more interested in drawing pictures than blood.

A child born of thunder who had no interest in growing in strength? Who showed visibly discomfort in bloodshed? The audacity. The unmitigated gall. If it wasn’t for the fact that she would be of use when she became a woman, she would’ve been burned to ash. But the bloodline needed to continue and so she had been spared until she would no longer be useful.

Not that she knew of her brothers’ plans for her and thankfully, she never would. When her evil brothers died, she still believed that they cared for her. That what they’d shown her was love. Family was supposed to mean something after all. So when her brothers did get themselves killed, she decided that it was up to her as the last of their kind….

The very last…

To avenge them. Or something. The battle against the person who slayed them had been hard fought (albeit non-lethal) but ultimately it ended in a draw. For a moment, however stupidly, she believed she had made friends out of the whole misadventure. The strangely dressed woman had been kind and given her a gift. The half-breed - for all his gruffness - had been amiable. And, of course, Shippo - a demon of her age and of equal skill. Shippo was in a league of his own. She had truly and honestly expected those friends to come back and visit eventually.

She’d been wrong. Naive. Time went on and that day never came. No one came back to visit. No letters or messages were ever received. She’d been so insignificant that she probably wasn’t even a memory much less a thought. She’d been forgotten. So it was that her sixteenth birthday came and went with her by and large alone with only her familiar by her side as always. It was a lonely affair. Hardly worth mentioning but there had been berries…

That was nice.

“Would it be alright if I left for a few days? I wish to visit my cousin,” Koryu asked nervously. A tall slender woman with hair down past her waist elegantly glanced over her shoulder and smiled a smile that didn’t quite touch her eyes.

“Since when do you ask my permission?” Soten laughed softly as she folded her arms across her chest, “Usually you just go wherever.”

“I do not,” the dragon huffed indignantly, “I always…”

“You have my permission to leave,” Soten interrupted dismissively as she turned back around and slouched up against the wooden frame, “For as long as you want.”

Reading between the lines, the dragon shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat. With age had come a more human-like form. Long, sleek brown hair tied back in a high ponytail. Crimson scales framing his pale face - trailing down his neck and following the slender curves of his body. Light chocolate eyes and, of course, a pair of fangs which peeked over his bottom lip. When needed though, his true form had not altered very much and still looked very...babyish.  Something he sincerely hoped would change one day into something much more intimidating but the chances of that weren’t high.

“I will come back,” he offered wearily, “You know I will.”

“Don’t rush on account of me. Spend time with your…your family. Enjoy it,” Soten hummed with an attempt at playfulness as she raised her hand and waved him away, “Have fun.”

Sighing heavily, the teenage dragon almost, almost invited his mistress along before thinking better of it. What he’d had planned was risky and honestly might not pan out.

Still, he was willing to give it a try. For her. In so many ways, he was grateful he’d been paired with the little thunder girl. Their families had been bonded since the beginning of time itself but just like Soten, he was the last of his kind. His older siblings and every other member of his family had been slaughtered by her brothers for sport. He would have been too if Soten hadn’t been so fond of him. Those evil bastards might’ve been cruel - unnecessarily so - but they did grant her that small mercy. They allowed her to keep and save her one true friend. The only other gift they ever bestowed upon her was dying. God knows what they would have done to her when she came of age.

Soten deserved some happiness. A gift. To be shown some mercy and the chance to see life for its possibilities. She deserved to smile…

“I will be back within the fortnight,” Koryu promised as he bowed low and in response to this formality, Soten let out the sigh to end all sighs.

“What is with you lately? Since when do you bow or…or talk like this? Is it because you feel sorry for me or am I suddenly someone different just because I had a birthday?” the little thunder demoness hissed as she turned to face him with hurt written all over her face, “Never mind. Don’t answer that. Just go.”

Nodding once, Koryu bowed again but he did stick his tongue out to appease her. True, he’d been a little more formal lately but that was more to get into the practice. After all, he expected visitors and while Soten believed her title was worthless, he wanted to make sure he set the standard for behavior. Not that he believed the visitor would follow that standard or that Soten would ever feel comfortable with being treated like a true lady but it was the principle of the thing.

That and he hoped that...that even though they came from different stations in life that maybe one day...but that was a stupid dream. Sure, now that he was older he could shift forms to something more...appealing but it didn’t change the fact that he was a familiar and that his true form was, well, very lame. Still...maybe if he proved to her that...that he could act like someone befitting of her station. If he made an effort to...

It didn’t matter. What he had planned wasn’t about him. It was about her and her happiness.

As he left, Soten let out a shuddering sigh and absently played with a few tendrils of ebony hair. If there was one thing about being alone that always bothered her, it was the quiet and emptiness of the fortress. Sure, she could’ve gotten servants or slaves or something but…

What would be the point? She made it this far on her own. Well, okay, with some help but she didn’t need anyone. She could cook, clean and defend her land when needed. It was fine. More than fine actually. It was how it had been and always would be.

Her eyes flicked over to the small box where she’d kept those drawings from so long ago and frowned almost imperceptibly with a lingering ache in her chest. 

It was fine. This was fine.

A few weeks later and a fortnight came and went. All without so much as a hint that Koryu was planning to return. It seemed stupid, so stupid, but for whatever reason, she’d actually teared up a bit over it. Of course, she’d immediately squared her shoulders and gotten over this final abandonment. There was no reason to feel sorry for herself. Despite her outward proclamations and even what she told herself, it did storm for a week. A physical manifestation of how she was weeping inside.

And then a knock on the door.

Two friendly faces that she honestly never expected to see again.