DISCLAIMER: If you recognize it, I don't own it.
It was easy to take being human for granted. Then Joaquin saw it forced on someone else.
He hadn't trusted Tlaloc from the moment he'd first seen him, and the things Ixa had said when describing him had turned his apprehension to outright fear. When Quetzalcoatl had decided to imprison him in his own realm, the young man had breathed a sigh of relief. At least he can't hurt us anymore.
Then the request had come. "If Kisin has the right to judge his son, then I have the right to judge my daughter."
He was going to kill her, or worse. There was no doubt of that from the gleam in his eyes. And the plumed serpent would allow him to do it. It wasn't fair. "She didn't do anything wrong!"
She knew what was going to happen as well, judging by the look on her face when she was brought forward. Yet she held herself up and refused to apologize for what she had done, even though none dared to support her.
Would a human's word count? Probably not.He hadn't felt this powerless since the Day of the Dead, and he hated it.
Then Tlaloc had blown her up, or so it moment she was fine, and the next she was convulsing in agony and shattering like glass. Joaquin had nearly shattered with her at the sight. He vaguely remembered shouting and trying to run at the water god, only to stumble and be held up by his friends. Make him bring her back! he wanted to yell. He can do that, can't he? She couldn't be dead. She wasn't supposed to be dead…
And then the clay had moved.
His brain had shut down, unable to comprehend what he was seeing even when the transformation was done. Unable to believe that the helpless, frightened young woman now stumbling around on new legs wasthe same sharp-tongued girl who had saved his life. He held his breath as his feet unconsciously carried him towards her. "Ixa…?"
Ixa's eyes hovered between staring up at him and down at herself, as though realizing how similar they now were. Her expression softened. When she nodded, it was with quiet resignation. "Help…"
It felt wrong for her to hold herself up with him, the reason she'd landed in this mess. "I'm sorry."
"No. You mustn't be." Her voice was soft, and her light blue eyes shined as they stared into his.
Something swelled up in his chest, a feeling he couldn't quite place. Relief that she wasn't angry with him? Yeah, let's go with that. Whatever it was, it made Tlaloc's threats sound like the emptiest words in the world.
A few minutes later, when they found themselves alone on the bridge after Manolo and Maria ran off with their good news, he was strangely calm about it. Calmer than he should have been, at least. "Do you want to try walking?" he asked Ixa, gently setting her on her feet.
She wobbled and fell back against him, shivering. "Not yet. Is it…is it natural to feel this cold?"
I should get her inside somewhere. "We can fix that," he said, scooping her up in his arms.
Smiling weakly, she rested her head against his chest and let her eyes close.
He studied her face as he walked down the bridge with her. The face was still hers: its shape, its eyes, its nose, the way her small mouth curved up. Her hair fell around her shoulders in a soft curtain. Her breathing was steady, and the tears that had been dripping down her cheeks were gone.
Maybe her dad was right, he thought. Maybe part of her did want this.
But now what?