Title: The Last Unicorn
Pairing: Kurogane/Fai, Syaoran/Sakura
Rating: PG-13
Notes: The Last Unicorn and Tsubasa don't belong to me.
It was late afternoon and the sun was high in the sky. Two men rode into the forest, they had been hunting since early morning.
"I don't like the feeling of these woods. Anything that lives in a unicorn's forest learn magic of their own" The older huntsmen said as he scanned the trees and undergrowth for game.
"Unicorns? Those are just fairy tales, this is just another forest, isn't it?" The teenage huntsman asked, his gaze following that of the older man.
"Then why don't the leaves fall or the snow? Why is it always spring here? I'm telling you that there is at least one unicorn left in the world, and as long as it's here we'll never be able to catch any game."
"Then let's turn around, h-hunt somewhere else." The bearded man nodded at the teen, both turned their horses and rode out of the green forest. Once to the edge the older huntsman turns back to the woods.
"Poor beast, this is no world for you. Stay in your forest green and friends well hidden, I wish you luck for you are the last!" The man hoped his words were heard.
'I am the last?' The unicorn asks himself in the shadows of the trees. "...What do men know? Just because they haven't seen any unicorns for awhile does not mean there are no more. We don't vanish.' He moves soundlessly underneath the trees, broken sunlight dances on a white coat, causing it to shimmer and glisten.
'...There have always been unicorns, we live forever, our magic sees to that. We are as old as the sky, as old as the moon. We can be hunted, killed, if we leave our homes, but we can never just vanish...am I truly the last?' He stops upon seeing a black and blue butterfly flying lazily through a nearby field, singing a cheery song.
"Hello, butterfly! Have you travelled far?" The unicorn was excited to see a new friend.
"Very, very far, how far would I travel-to be where you are?" The butterfly continued it's song. The butterfly flies over to the unicorn and hugs his horn.
"Be respectful, don't you know who I am?" He shook his head a little.
"You're old and grey and full of sleep, you're my everything." The butterfly said as she continued to cling.
"Butterfly, in your travels have you seen others like me?" The unicorn asked, feeling the soft flutter of black wings.
"Call me Yuuko, it's very rude not to ask someone's name." The butterfly still clings to the horn, swaggering.
"Say my name then."
"Your name is like a song that only stars sing. I would burst if I called you even once by your name!" Tinkling laughter escaped Yuuko.
"Yuuko, you truly are nothing but a silly butterfly. I should have known better then to ask, all butterflies know are songs and poetry and whatever else they hear." The unicorn's gaze turns sad.
"I hope you hear many more songs, but now I must go to see if anyone knows me, knows about others like me." Yuuko flutters around the unicorns head spouting poetry and songs.
Yuuko's voice turns serious, the sing song voice stops. The unicorn looks at the insect.
"Unicorn, a mythical animal resembling a horse with one horn, generally mistaken for a white mare. Only those who search and trust can see them for what they truly are."
"So you do know. Please, have you seen others?" Blue eyes lightened.
"They passed down roads long ago, the red bull running close behind them, covering their tracks."
"Red bull? What is it?"
"His eyes burn fiercely, and his horns are those of wild oxen. With them he pushes all towards the ends of the Earth." The butterfly begins to fly off, the unicorn chases after it.
"Wait, where can I find this bull? Where is he taking the unicorns?" He's too late, the butterfly flies away.
The unicorn turns, galloping towards the edge of his forest, all the animals of the woods watched him pass. He looked at them, he nodded briefly before turning and hurrying down a nearby road. 'Maybe they're all in hiding together, somewhere far away? What if they need my help. I must go and be back as soon as possible.'
It's been over a year since the unicorn left his forest and still no sign of the others. Moving slowly down a well worn road, he passes a farmer who is tending to his field.
"Well, hello there my dear! Just who do you belong to? Come here pretty boy, I'll clean you up and you'll be a pretty old stallion" The farmer took off his belt making it into a makeshift lasso.
'A horse? Is that what you see?'
"Easy good boy. I'll feed you and take you to the fair." He cooed at the white unicorn.
'A horse am I?' Evading the farmer's belt and runs down the road.
"Now there's a horse!" He looks on as the unicorn runs off into the distance.
'I forgot that men can't see unicorns. I'm happy, it means there may be unicorns yet, unknown and glad of it.'
He slept pleasantly by the road. A black caravan is coming up, bold red letter's against stretched canvas read 'Reed's Midnight Carnival'. The wagons come to a halt when the leader of the caravan spots the creature. An old man wearing dark robes steps down from the foremost wagon, he grins wickedly as he advances towards the slumbering unicorn.
"I thought I'd seen the last of them. You two, here!" Two teen boys jump from two other wagons. One is tall er than the other with dark hair and glasses. The other is slightly shorter with brown mussed hair.
"I don't think I'll tell him...he'll think it's just an old horse...some magician I hired." He scoffed.
"Why the hell did we stop, it's muddy." The taller of the two approached.
"What do you think it is Kyle?" Reed pointed at the unicorn.
"A dead horse?" The boy adjusted his glasses.
"Fool, what about you boy? What do you see with your sorcerer's sight?" He scowled at his son, the teen cringed and stepped back. The other boy walked up he stared with bi-colored eyes.
"I-I see a white stallion."
"I though as much, I want him for the carnival, the last cage is empty." Reed turns and walks back to his wagon.
"We need rope." Kyle says as he and the shorter teen move towards the sleeping unicorn.
"The rope that could hold that stallion has not been woven, you'll make do with iron bars."
"He's waking!" The shorter boy exclaimed. The unicorn had lited his head slightly, blurry blue eyes beginning to open.
"I'll cast him into a deep sleep." Reed summoned his magic, swirls of it surrounding and binding the unicorn before it dissipated and the stallion lowered his head in sleep again. The two teens look at Fei Wong as a glowing blue horn appears in his hand. The old wizard places the fake horn in front of the unicorn's true horn.
"Cage him, he'll sleep til sunrise." Reed's robes bellowed around him as he left. The two teens struggled to move the spell bound unicorn to the empty cage at the end of the caravan.