Anima Drabbles, 100 word challenge.

#1: Abandoned

It's so cold. No matter how tight I hug myself I'm still cold. They abandoned me. I shouldn't be surprised. That's how people are. They use you and than they toss you aside. It's how life is. From the beginning and now to the end. My vision's starting to get dark. I can't stay awake much longer. I'm too numb to feel the cold now. To numb to feel anything. My minds starting to play tricks on me. I can almost see them, and I'm with them again. Like I wasn't abandoned at all. Can't stay awake anymore. Goodnight. Goodbye.

#2: Baby

Cooro smiled and looked down at the egg he'd found. The mother was dead. He held it close, warping his wings around it as Senri hugged him closer. The egg shook slightly, making Cooro jump. A small crack appeared, than another. Before long a small baby raven was looking up at Cooro, cheeping ever so softly. "So, Mr. Mommy. What are you going to feed it?" Husky asked, looking down at the baby.

"Applesauce, what else?" Cooro said, standing up and walking over to the apple tree he'd found the egg in. "And some honey to." The baby just cheeped.

#3: Circus

Husky hated the circus. It was no wonder with what he'd gone through. So what he was doing in a circus, being tugged around like a rag doll by Nana, was anyone's guess. Cooro and Senri watched from the caramel apple stand as Husky let Nana drag him to the Ferris wheel. Cooro chuckled softly, leaning against Senri happily. Husky looked down from the wheel, smiling softly at the lights as Nana hugged his arm. Maybe the circus wasn't so bad after all. Cooro would have agreed, except Senri had already convinced him into a small, hidden place to cuddle.

#4: Dawn

Senri looked around at his friends, a moment's confusion passing when he spotted Cooro hanging across a tree limb. He smiled and climbed up beside the raven, carefully taking him down to the campsite. Cooro opened his eye blearily, hugging Senri around the neck and burring his face in the bear's chest. "Good morning." He mumbled, looking up to see Senri's loving gaze directed at him. Senri smiled and hugged Cooro tightly as they sat watching the sunrise together. They knew they had to go back to just friends soon, but at dawn they were free to be in love.

#5: Elder

Cooro knew it was wrong. Senri was four years his elder. That was just to long. Senri knew it was wrong. Cooro was to young, not even a teenager. So they both kept quiet, never knowing how the other felt. It was late one night that Cooro couldn't keep quiet anymore. "Senri? Do you love anyone?" He asked timidly after Husky and Nana were asleep. Senri nodded, blushing. "Oh, they're really lucky than. If I were just a little older, maybe I could be lucky." Senri looked at Cooro for a few seconds, than pulled him into a gentle kiss.

#6: Feminine

Husky hated how many people mistook him for a girl. So he was a little feminine. So what. He was still a boy. Nana could see how much it upset him and decided to try something. She snuck up behind him one night and hugged him tightly, as tightly as he could. "I know you're a boy, Husky, because I'm sure straight." She whispered. Husky was shocked at first, than slowly turned around and kissed her. Husky didn't mind the mistakes so much anymore. The person who mattered most in his life knew, and that was plenty enough for him.

#7: Gang

Birds were a flock. Fish were a school. Bats were a cloud. Bears were a sleuth. So, what were they. A crow, a fish, a bat, and a bear traveling together. Not quite a flock or a school or a cloud or a sleuth. Not a gaggle, a pack, a pride, or a herd. Husky couldn't help but think about this. What did one call such a mixed up group of outcasts. He got his answer, surprisingly, from Cooro one morning. "Come on, gang. Up and at 'em. It's a brand new day." So, Husky pondered, they were a gang.

#8: Haven

They had found it at last. Cooro often took flight for no real reason without fear of being attacked. Husky braved the crystal clear waters no man had found before. Senri was raising some honey bees breed to have no stingers. Nana even had her own little house to make all the bread the gang could eat. They had stumbled across it by chance, and now it was theirs. A wasteland at first, sold cheap, and now a perfect haven for any and all Anima who need a place to call home, though most only stayed for a few nights.

#9: Isolated

He had been isolated most of his early life. Taken in by the sisters of the church orphanage and hidden away because of his wings. He hardly knew how to survive and followed instinct more than intellect. He grew to hate his isolation and sought to surround himself with friends. Thus started his quest for other Anima. He was thrilled when Husky agreed to travel with him. Than it was Senri who joined their growing family. At last Nana became his almost sister. He was so happy that day he almost cried. He knew he would never be isolated again.

#10: Job

It was a nice job. Not to hard but enough to keep his mind busy. That one was good, that one was bad. He was out in the field all day long, starting at dawn, stopping only for lunch, and working until it was to dark to see. When he lay down at last to sleep, his thoughts caught up with him. He dreamed of the blood that had soaked his skin, the terror that had killed his friends. His family. He rose early and went back to the orchard, working his tears away. Apples always were his favorite food.

#11: Keepsake

His book held every keepsake he had. The blooming flower, the feather black as night and soft as silk, and so much more. It held his mementos, his very memories within its pages. He cherished that book so much and would never and could never let it go. He often looked through it, just to remember. Of course, he didn't always need to take his book out to remember his crow or that he was the crow's. Cooro was sure to remind him every morning just how close they were with one of his soft and secret, ever feathery kisses.

#12: Lonely

He often got lonely. Silence was a lonely company to keep. He guarded the flowers, waiting for them to bloom. Waiting to know if he was home. That gang kept him busy, protecting his flowers and the people who grew them. Could they be his people? He was almost always lonely. Even when the girls brought him the food, he never felt like they were company. Than that strange boy came, the one with the night-hued wings. He made him feel so warm. He wasn't lonely when the boy was around. Could the boy be one of his lost people?

#13: Mark

Simple or complex. No matter what it looked like or where it lay, they were marked. The marks warned others away, but also invited them in. The marks were a part of what bound them together. Cooro like his mark, said it was pretty. It reminded him of his claws and that made him feel safe. Safe and warm. Senri didn't understand how his claws could make the youth feel warm, but he brought them out anyway, just for him. Anything to see his smile, and know they were united by their marks, on Cooro's shoulder and on his neck.

#14: Nightfall

Nightfall was always a peaceful time for the gang. They would set up camp and eat, than Husky and Nana would settle down close to the fire and close to each other. Cooro always preferred to sleep in the trees if he could, perhaps because he was a bird. Senri would always wait until he was sure Husky and Nana were sound asleep, than he would climb up next to Cooro and lean against the trunk of the tree, holding the crow close. Cooro would always smile and fall asleep in Senri's arms, trusting his tree climbing friend without fail.

#15: Oasis

It was so quiet, so peaceful, and so serene. Senri would hold him as close as possible as they settled down by the rocks. They would share a jar of honey and a few apples they'd managed to scavenge from the torn lands. They wound rest peacefully, undisturbed by nightmares for the first time in so long. They knew they would have to fight again, the battle of the birds and the beasts raged on, but for just that moment they could rest and be together, friends and maybe more. That cave, barren and forgotten, was their own little oasis.

#16: Pain

Blood dripped from his now useless and unfeeling arm. Senri looked down, shocked tears filling his eyes when he found the same blood staining his shaking claws. Cooro sat still, shivering, holding his limp left arm gingerly, staring up at Senri with fear and betrayal in his eyes. Tears streamed down his face as he fell back, the blood of his chest pooling around him. He could barely whisper, but managed one word as Senri walked away, tears flooding his own eyes as well as his beast comrades-in-arms congratulated him. "Why?" Than, Cooro slowly slipped into his warm, eternal sleep.

#17: Quiet

They were such stark and complete opposites, no one would suspect them as a couple. One was so noisy and active, the other mostly silent and calm. No one would see them as anything more than loose friends, but then, no one saw them alone. When Husky and Nana finally fell asleep, silent Senri would close in on the ever-hyper Cooro and trap him in a gentle but firm embrace. Cooro would look up, act surprised, and than cuddle up against Senri so quietly he was like another person. Senri always knew how to quiet Cooro when they were alone.

#18: Racism

His tears were silent, saved until after dark. Until he was left alone with his thoughts. He knew what the people said about him and the other Anima. He heard their cruel whispers, saw their glares and sneers, but he never let it show just how much it affected him. Partly because he didn't want his friends to know how much he hurt inside, and partly because he didn't want the people to know how much they affected him inside. So he saved his tears and cursed racism in silence with only the stars and the moon as his witnesses.

#19: Storm

They never worried to much, until tonight. There was a storm. Husky insisted that Cooro knew to take shelter when the lightning got bad, but Nana was still afraid and Senri was still restless. As soon as the sun shone through the black clouds Senri left. He found Cooro in a thorn bush, his garments torn, blood leaking from his many cuts. He seemed burnt and Senri knew, it had been the lightning that got him. He pulled Cooro out, and sighed with relief when the young crow opened his eyes and smiled. "Guess I stayed out to late, huh?"

#20: Thief

She was a thief. It wasn't something she was proud of, but when her friends needed her to, she would become that thief again. Only for them, never herself. She tried to steal an ax when Cooro needed a weapon. She had been caught, but she had still tried. She knew that Cooro was thankful if only for the effort. After she had joined the gang, she only stole one more thing for herself, and she didn't even realize it until she was accused. "I thought you weren't a thief anymore."

"I'm not."

"Than how did you get my heart."

#21: Understand

He was always so silent. Nana often wondered what he was thinking. Husky wondered why he wouldn't just tell them. Cooro was curious as well, even more so than the others. He finally asked Senri one night. "Why don't you talk?" Senri only smiled at first, than slowly started to chuckle.

"I don't like having to," he whispered, "but I want to make one thing clear."

"What's that?" Cooro asked, leaning forward curiously. Senri chuckled again, leaning forward as well.

"Guess." He whispered, closing the gap and planting a gently kiss on Cooro's lips. Cooro understood without needing any words.

#22: Vampire

"Hey, Nana. What kind of bat are you?" It was an innocent enough question. Cooro had asked Husky what kind of fish he was, and Senri what kind of bear, but it still made her nervous.

"I never really gave it any thought." She lied, feeling bad about it but not wanting to say. Cooro just smiled and shrugged, running over to Senri to get some of the bear's honey. Husky watched Nana carefully, and she knew that he had spotted her lie. "I don't want to talk about it." She muttered.

"Don't worry, not everyone hates vampires." He said.

#23: War

The war was going strong. The birds on one side, the beasts on the other, and the bats stuck in the middle. The fish had called neutrality on the claim that land wars wouldn't do them any good since they lived in water. One little gang stood alone in the war. A fish, a bat, a crow, and a bear, standing together against all odds. The crow and bear especially. They curled up together whenever possible, and just slept. The bear, a mighty warrior, protected his young friends. They were happy together. They knew they could outlast the war, together.

#24: Xenogeneic (coming from or derived from a different species)

The Anima phenomenon was amazing. A perfect union between man and beast, balancing the world on a needle point. The blessed few who became Anima were looked down on and feared, but still blessed. For they were the bridge between the man and the beast. Anima could change parts of their body, or their entire forms to match those of their bestial brethren. They often united, and they often hid, but they could never change what they were. They were the union, the universe's ultimate children, the avatars of peace and unity. They would never be forgotten. Never be lost.

#25: Yearning

It was more than just a desire to be with others of his own kind. He had a powerful yearning to find what he had never known before. He had never been with other Anima, so he did not know true kinship. This yearning tormented him day and night, a strong instinct telling him to go out and search, and when he at last found his brethren, he would at last feel complete. He still desires to find more, to find a place they can call home, but at least his yearning has been silenced by the bears gently embrace.

#26: Zoo

They kept them in cages like wild animals and treated them like mindless toys made purely for their sick and twisted amusement. Cooro, poor thing, had broken long ago. Husky and Nana stayed hidden whenever they could. Only Senri stayed strong. Only Senri remembered the open forests and pathways they had trod so many years ago. He reached through the bars silently, grasping Cooro's hand firmly and startling the poor crow. Cooro shifted his wings just enough to see Senri through a small crack. He didn't speak. He never did anymore, so Senri spoke for him. "Remember how to fly."