#tikki-centric

Tikki has been around from the very Beginning.

She is present for the creation of all living things, and always will be.

Many believe that, for those reasons, she knows Life better than any being. That to see it and feel it everywhere allows her to know it on a deeper, more meaningful level.

She could not disagree more.

She believes she will never truly be able to feel, to understand, to know LIfe in its truest form.

Life may fall into her domain as Kwami of Creation, of Good Luck, but Life is more than just its beginnings. More than Creation.

Her Bugs. Oh, her precious Bugs, they are eternal proof of that.

Beings that know of the miraculous agree with that sentiment, but for all the wrong reasons. It is believed that her Bugs, her children, will live long lives. They will live as long as their human lifespans will allow.

But that couldn’t be more wrong.

They live and breathe with everything they are, wherever they go. They are alive in every sense of the word. Until they aren’t.

The universe never seems to have space for so much life in one person.

And that is precisely why her Bugs will know Life better than she could ever hope to.

Because the beauty of life does not come from it’s length, but its contents. From the impact that you make.

It’s the knowledge that you only have so much time that pushes you to live. It is a wonderful and beautiful gift to be alive, but it is not meant to be permanent.

What better way to truly understand what it means to Live and be alive than to live and breathe at your fullest knowing full well that it could be taken from you any second. Life is precious, and its meaning comes from its promise of ending.

She’s there at every Beginning, but she’s there at every Ending.

Her bugs die in battle, more often than not. They give up their gift to preserve that same gift for many others.

Their Cats, their partners, perhaps meant to succeed where her Bugs didn’t, to have a long life, scoff at that intended fate. They know the beauty of Life because they stood by its side until it died in their arms.

And because they know it, they do not fear death. They lived and breathed with Life itself, and they know they lived just as deep.

They are Destruction, so why should they fear Death?

So blinded by their loss, they do not see they are often throwing away the very thing they always intended to protect.

And when its over, the universe is left reeling from not one, but two premature deaths. Two bright and beautiful stars put out before they were done burning.

Humans pull from that leftover fuel and immortalize the lives lost in the only way they know how.

Stories.

There’s a reason so many Cats and Bugs become the characters in legends and figureheads in history. Because humans can see that the story wasn’t over, and they draw out that life as best they can.

It’s not a replacement. Nothing can ever replace the pricelessness of a Life, no matter how small or short.

But it’s something, and it lets that Life live on a little longer and a little stronger than it would have otherwise.

It’s a cycle she’s forever confined to.

She goes from one human to another, on and on until Time ends, only for their time to end to be cut short, to be cut away from her.

The pain she shares with Plagg. A good life cut too short, too soon.

She’s never numbed herself to that pain, but she doesn’t want to. To do otherwise would be an insult to what they were and what they left behind.

Every time that box opens, every time she’s given a new wielder she throws herself into loving them. She doesn’t waste a moment in appreciating the gift that has been given to her. To them. She loves them with everything she is from the moment she meets them.

And she knows it will end in loss and indescribable grief, but it will be entirely worth it because each of her Bugs are incredible and unique.

And they are glorious.

So, Tikki, Kwami of Life, Creation, and Good Luck knows. She knows she will never truly live.

But she knows the beauty of Life, and she knows it well.

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Author’s Note: I hope this doesn't come across as me romanticizing death/martyrdom/dying young. Life is precious and that includes everyone reading this!

The reason this fic is so centered on lives cut short is, once again, my dog. As mentioned in the precious work of this series, he died (back in June). He was only four. We adopted him in February. I spent longer writing With Time than I did with him in my life, but he still made an impact, as I'm sure any pet owner can understand. It doesn't take much time to fall in love.

I hope you're all staying safe, and give your pets some love for me!