The sun sat high in the middle of the sky as a warm breeze rustled the leaves in the trees. A woman sat quietly by the basin's edge, her bare feet dangling limply in the water. The ripples bounced back and forth as they collided with each other and the smooth rocks that erupted from the water's surface. On the opposite side of the basin, a ruined temple sat entangled in vines and underbrush. Pieces of the once majestic statues that guarded it lay shattered and chipped, buried in the plants and submerged in the water. Tigers serenely sun-bathed or rested in the shelter of the temple's shadow, while the younger ones wrestled in the water.
Clara leaned back, her eyes closed, the sun warming her cheeks. Faint bird calls echoed throughout the jungle, the buzzing of dragonflies hummed softly. Out of all the places they had visited during the past month, none of them had been like this. Everything was peaceful, everything was - not quiet.
Shrill laughter and heavy, romping footsteps shattered the silence. Clara turned around to see her daughter break through the bamboo and the banana leaves followed by a scrawny black panther. Her bare feet were covered in mud, her shorts, tank top, and hair were adorned with small leaves and seeds, but in spite of it all, she was really laughing as she leaned up against the trunk of a giant banana tree. The panther, his muddy smears more apparent against his black coat, collapsed onto the ground by her feet, panting heavily.
"Do I even want to know?" Clara asked.
"Probably not." Arya muttered with a bright smile and the panther growled irritably in reply.
"A sore loser, I take it?"
"The worst!"
"That's because she's a lousy cheater!" The panther rebutted. Scrawny in size only due to his adolescence, Kamik sat up and glared at Arya.
"I would never do such a thing!" Arya retorted. "Just because you tripped over your own tail -"
"That someone tied around a branch! Honestly, where did -
"Kamik, that's enough." A cool voice interrupted as another dark jungle cat stepped out from the banana leaves.
"Bagheera, I was wondering when you'd come out of hiding." Clara murmured with a warm smile and the panther favored her a weak grin
"I'm never too far away, Kamik could tell you that much." The younger panther groaned causing Arya to laugh weakly. "But I actually have something to talk to you about," He continued and Clara's content transformed into curiosity, "Alone." She nodded in understanding and turned to face her daughter who automatically, yet reluctantly understood.
"I'll just - be in the clearing beyond the temple's gate..." The seventeen year old murmured quietly as she disappeared in the banana leaves once more. Kamik looked curiously towards Bagheera who nodded for him to follow after Arya.
"It's nothing to worry about." He reassured, and Kamik quickly ducked into the dense forest after Arya. Bagheera sighed wearily as he padded over to sit beside Clara at the water's edge.
"To be talking to me alone? Something serious has to be bothering -"
"Explain to me what this is." He interrupted as he lifted his paw to reveal a crumpled piece of purple paper. "I am well versed in the ways of men but never have I seen something as extraordinary as a meatless bird flying through the jungle. What aren't you telling me?" He demanded in his quiet, icy tone. Clara couldn't find any words to justify the piece of paper as she stared at it in disbelief. How did it find them here? She carefully took the crumpled bird from his paw and opened it to reveal exactly what she dreaded. A letter. A call to arms. The mother quickly crumpled the page within her own fist.
"It's a letter... for my daughter." She murmured quietly.
"Why on earth does a letter meant for your harmless daughter fly?" Bagheera demanded, his golden eyes narrowing.
"She's far from harmless and I know - I lied."
"After Mowgli we can't afford any more trouble from men. It only creates unrest with the animals."
"I know! I know!" Clara hissed. "I've only been trying to protect her, that has to be something you can understand." She murmured accusingly as her amber eyes fell to the crumpled letter within her hands. "We've been world hopping for the last month, never staying anywhere for more than a few days. I was training her, and finally getting to know her because the veil I had hidden myself behind for the last twelve years cut me off. I just - I wanted to keep her with me for as long as I could before I would lose her again."
"What do you mean again?" Bagheera asked hesitantly. Clara looked up into the panther's golden eyes. Their strength shadowed with fear.
"The worlds are in danger." She answered gravely. "And she's one of their only chances of survival..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A summons?" Bagheera demanded as he rose from his place by Clara's side. The two had been sitting at the base of a banana leaf tree. The panther began to pace along the water's edge. "You need to send her."
"You can't expect me to send her off without her consent!?" Clara choked as she stood up as well to stare down at the panther. The gain of height was hardly comforting though, she would be powerless against his strength. The panther's golden eyes looked up into the woman's face as he stopped pacing.
"I expect you to stop being a mother and to be the general you and I both know you once were." He stated coldly. "I will protect my cub with my life, but when his life insures the safety of others - I must know that I have to let him go." Clara hesitated and turned away, his eyes could find the truth, no matter how deeply hidden away it was.
"I gave that responsibility away years ago - for their sake..."
"That does not mean you have lost the ability to command." He quickly interrupted. She hesitated once more, there was no arguing with him. He'd always won and she hated him for it..
"I'm sending her to the slaughter - "
"You're sending her to do what is right. What she makes of your dismissal is entirely in her hands..."
- - - - -
"Arya..." Kamik murmured quietly as the two of them crawled out from the underbrush and into open jungle.
"I can't believed she'd be so - ugh - 'Let's be friends! - Don't worry, we'll keep each other safe!' - Safe my a**!" The raven-haired girl muttered irritably as she plopped herself angrily onto the ground. "Regardless of her stupid new attitude - I can't trust her farther than I can throw her!" She continued as she ripped several blades of grass out of the ground and threw then out of her hand to watch them float away on the breeze. The panther quietly padded over to her side, and laid down.
"If you are as important as the letter says... you really should accept the call. You have an opportunity to see much and help so many people... something I dream - "
"Your dreams give me nightmares." Arya interrupted curtly as she ripped more grass up and flung it into the breeze. "Murder is not an admirable talent..."
"So - saving worlds is something to be ashamed of?" Kamik asked bewilderedly as he sat himself up by the girl's side. She turned to look at him, his soft blue eyes penetrating her far deeper that she would have liked, and finally looked away to gaze at her fingers playing in the bare patch of dirt she had created. Her silence was deafening, and he could take no more of it. He rolled his eyes and stood up, sighing exasperatedly. "You really are something Arya..." He muttered angrily before beginning to stalk off into the underbrush. "I hope I run into you when you've figured out what the right thing to do is." He said coldly as he turned around to face her before disappearing into the depths of the jungle.
The conqueror turned over her shoulder to stare at the spot he had just vacated... was she really ... the one that was wrong?
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Arya quietly stepped out from the underbrush, grass silently crunching beneath her feet. Her mother was still sitting by the water’s edge. She breathed in deeply before continuing forward to stand above her mother, extending her hand. “Give me the letter.” The seventeen year old demanded.
Clara froze. That little, eavesdropping, teenaged – She sighed. She’d only been fooling herself to think that there was any way she could keep her daughter away from the letter; it was a part of the unavoidable story they were meant to be a part of. One that her own part had long since come to a close, at least it seemed that way. “How long have you known?” She asked quietly, her gaze still glued to the rippling water in front of her.
“Long enough.” Arya muttered irritably.
“And you know what it’s about I take it?” Her mother continued to ask.
“It was a bird, meaning it’s from a conqueror. There’s only one conqueror that would probably want to talk to me. It can only be about one thing.” Arya answered coolly as she sat down beside her mother at the water’s edge. “You had to have known this was coming…” She continued, her tone less threatening and accusing than before.
“Why do you think I’ve been dragging you to every world where I have animal contacts?” Clara asked quietly, a weak smile gracing her tired features accompanied by an uninspired laugh. “A part of being in this family is unfortunately dealing with – everything.”
“An inherited problem. I really should be blaming you for all of this – “
“Don’t even go there, you and I both know it all lies on your father! …” An awkward silence ensued between the two, what used to be a heated topic of debate was now a trigger for reverence. Arya’s eyes awkwardly fell to her hands, her fingers in a constant, slow, revolving motion to keep her distracted. Her mother’s gaze faltered as she hesitantly glanced at her apologetically. The topic for both of them would remain like this until it were finally put to rest… all of it.
“It’s alright…” Her daughter murmured quietly, breaking the silence. “He had a habit of finding trouble anyways.” A hesitant but warm smile appeared on her face as she looked up at her mother’s startled expression. Clara could only nod in bewilderment. “You on the other hand, well, trouble would just magically find you.”
“Oh, hush!” Her mother hissed as she rolled her eyes and laughed weakly. Another silence ensued between the two, the sounds of the jungle keeping the moment from growing too austere. “Arya,” Clara murmured after a few moments, “I’m not going to force you to do anything with this,” She continued as she opened her hand to reveal the crumpled bird sitting within it, “I only hope that you make the best decision for you, and when you’re ready for that matter. I wish I could say that I’ve given you the tools you need to do that but let’s face it, I’ve been an exemplary model of everything you wouldn’t want to be… and then some.” A tired grin appeared on her face as she stood up, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Maybe that in itself is a lesson; never let someone else take advantage of you dear, not even for an instant. Your will, your heart is your most valuable possession.” She extended her other arm around her opposite shoulder, dropping the bird into her hands. A small kiss on the forehead was what Clara perceived to serve as their goodbye for the next few months; Arya was going to answer the letter’s call, despite every disagreeable bone in her body, she was going to go back.
- - - - -
A bright light exploded by the water’s edge, and the girl sitting there was gone, a scrap of paper and the ripples on the water the only things left to remind us that she was there.
‘Mom,
I made my decision, and I really think it’s the only right one. I – We have to finish what we started… what you guys started. Stay normal. For Kingdom Heart’s sake – Stay. Normal. I’ll need at least something to be that way when I get back.
May a warm breeze push you forward
and the glowing horizon guide you home,
Arya
P.S. Tell Lorian to get his lazy a** here as soon as possible. I don’t miss him – but, well… Just tell him to hurry up!
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