Kurroa lay still in the evening light, her body aching and her heart heavy with the pain of such a simple word. Cripple. That was what she was now. Broken. Useless. Everything in her rebelled against the idea, but the throbbing pain in her face reminded her of how fragile she really was. Somehow, somehow she would continue to do her duty. But what could she do? Up in these perilous mountains, not being able to see meant a long fall to a crunching death. Or spattering. Unpleasentness either way.
She growled low in her throat, the only voice she would permit her pain and frustration to have, and only because no one was listening. She had to find a way. She was not beaten yet. She would shine still, no matter how dark the darkness became.
The sun setting beyond the mountains was truely beautiful, painting their world in dazzling color as it slipped into shadows. It was still pleanty bright enough to see up here, on the peaks, but down in the flatlands below he knew that they would be settling down in the darkness. Here, they lived in the embrace of the sky and all it's light. It was to here he would always, always return. But upon this return, he found some rather upsetting news. An accident. And Kurroa...Kurroa...blinded?
Aheero didn't know what to expect as he came around to the den that the other had claimed upon her coming of age. All he knew was that he couldn't imagine the Dame who'd been like a sister to him all his life laying maimed and crippled on the ground. His ears pricked forward at the sound of a growl, and while he hesitated just a moment to be sure, he doubted it was aimed at him.
"Guess who's back!" he greeted his old friend cheerfully, his soft green eyes drawn to hers. The left eye...there were deep painful clawmarks across that side of her face... but her right eye seemed as sharp and clear as ever. So her being blind was exagerated. Thank the spirits!
Kurroa blinked, and then winced when her now useless eye pained her following the other one. Stupid, stupid thing to have done. Now she was broken. Now she would be considered useless. She did not wish for Aheero to see her like this, did not want the same pity to be written across his features as it had been on everyone everyone else.
"What do you want?" she snapped, perhaps a bit more acidic than necessary. But she did not want pity. She wanted to fight! To run and jump and patrol and see! No, pity would not help her now. It would only rub more deeply her wounds with salt.
"Why, to see you of course!" the dog grinned, though his ears had laid back at her snap. Maybe she didn't want company? But...she needed it. He knew her, knew her better than most ever could by now. He'd seen her laid bloody and vulnerable on the rocks, watched her struggle and fight to be regarded with the casual approval of those who thought such gifts could only come naturally. No. She was not in need of lonliness. Kurroa had that in plenty.
"Come on, didn't you miss me even a little?" Aheero asked, loping forward to drop into an exagerated play-bow before her, his striped tail wagging cheerily. She didn't need him to ooh and ohh about her eye, from the way it had been exagerated she'd have had quite enough of that already.
Kurroa eyed her friend warily. Was he the blind one? How could he not see this horrible marks all over her face? How could he not see that her eye had been ripped out of the socket and lost spirits knew where? It was painfully obvious to everyone else, which was humiliatingly apparent to her in turn. But Aheero...not a single comment. Well, she sighed to herself, he had always been a strange one.
"Perhaps a little," she said finally, watching him to see if he would give any indication of her new disfigurment.
"Well, a little is better than not at all I guess..." Aheero sighed, faking a look of utter dejection. He slumped to his belly, ears drooping and tail flopping limply to the ground as he stared at the dark female with soulful eyes. "But 'perhaps' isn't good enough at all..." He was only teasing. She knew it too, or she ought to by now. But it was a bit tricky not to act any differently, not with seeing how much pain his friend must surely be in. It hurt to know she was hurting. But it would be worse to know he'd caused her more pain and grief. She certainly didn't need any more of that right now. Not with the way rumors already flew.
Kurroa sighed, rolling her eyes and wincing again as the small motion caused pain. He was such a fool, it was a wonder he was a Ranger and not a Jester. All thanks to her influence, she supposed. He might have made a decent knight had he proper breeding but what could she do? Just her best to teach him how to fight and how to talk like he knew what he was doing. How to act with dignity. Not that he ever did, but she knew he knew how at least. That was something.
"Alright. I did miss you. I'm glad you've returned," she huffed, "Better?" How had he not said anything about her eye?
"Yes!" he yipped, rolling on his back to wriggle like a pup. "I knew you missed me," he chuckled, batting playfully at her paws where she'd been laying as he righted himself once more. "Do you wanna go on a little hunting trip?" Aheero asked her, his plumed tail pounding eagerly against the earth. Her eye...everyone talked about how she was blind now. As if she could do nothing. But this was Kurroa. She would never be nothing. The sky might fall first. She was steadyfast as a rock and while she might take a tumble downhill now and again, perhaps get a chip knocked loose, she would always be the same stubborn and proud creature that had saved him from a lifetime of being the bullied runt. If she refused to give up on him, how could he ever give up on her?
Hunting? Kurroa just stared at him. Could he truly not know? It seemed impossible but... "Aheero," she started before pausing uncertainly, "I know you've been away but...I...I can't see," she finished in a barest of whispers. It shamed her greatly to admit, but it would only be foolishness if she insisted upon being able to do something she couldn't. She would only cause herself more hurt if she tried something like that. No, that was not the proper thing to do. She would find a way, but she wouldn't be reckless with it.
Aheero's ears laid back. She'd said it. She'd finally come out to say it. He'd...he'd hoped that...that... what? That she would be too strong? Too proud? Too noble to admit that she had a weakness? No, she wasn't that stupid. But she was stubborn and proud and he loved her for it, she was his hero and big sister and best friend. He couldn't let her down, no matter what.
"I know you lost an eye," he said, his tone softening, "But you're still a Dame. You're still the one who taught me how to grow up like I have. I don't think you're blind, I think you're just impaired, a little. And what do you always do to the obsticals that land in your way?" he prompted hopefully, his soft eyes never leaving her face. Please, don't let her spirit be as torn as her flesh...
Kurroa blinked again at his rather blunt responce. For someone who'd acted as though nothing was wrong, Aheero certainly wasn't sugar-coating anything, now was he? At first his words hurt, he seemed like he was going to cut her down or pity her, just as all the others had. It was odd that it, somehow, hurt much worse with the idea that it would be Aheero saying it. But that wasn't what he was saying. He was talking to her as though she'd only tripped and gotten her fur dirty. As if this weren't as big a deal as it truly was. She had lost an entire eye! How could he act as though this were just a small stumble that she needed to stand up after? For a moment, she bristled, anger and frustration seething through her.
And then it hit her. This was a stumble. It was just a big one, bigger than any she'd ever taken. But just like with each and every one, she would get back up. She would dig in her claws and bare her fangs and she would force herself back to her feet to keep climbing to the top. What did she always do to obsticals in her way? "I overpower them," she replied, "I out manuver them. I leave them behind me in the dust." A smile tugged at her maw as she spoke, it was only the truth after all. She would shine, and shine brightly, even if her light were one she herself would no longer be able to see.
Aheero laughed, his paws treading against the earth as he rose to his feet. "I knew you would," he said softly, resisting the urge to nuzzle her cheek or shoulder. If they had been blood siblings, perhaps he would have. But he had no desire for there to be any chance of misunderstandings. Even if no one was watching now, next time they might be and a habit was a dangerous thing to form. Especially one that might potentially tarnish her gleaming honor.
"So?" he asked, twisting as though to lead the way. "What are you waiting for? I'm hungry."
Kurroa just shook her head as her friend twined like a cat and danced a few steps away. And he said she was the stubborn one. The spirited one. Aheero...he had no idea. He said she had saved him, he looked up to her. It was like he didn't know how very breakable she truely was. Like he didn't know how close she wandered to the edge, how near her paws were to slipping. Aheero didn't know he always pulled her back, grounded her for all he was as flighty as the clouds, steadied her for all he was as slippery as the wind. He didn't know. Somehow, somehow he simply did not know. It was baffling.
"Alright, I'm coming," she growled, rising to her feet and very carefully following after him. Usually she woul brush past him to take the lead, as was her rank, but not today. Today, while her world had gone half-dark, today she would need a shoulder to lean on before she could properly shine. But she would shine. No matter how dark, she would!
