Soul Eater is the property of Atsushi Okubo. "The Twilight of Earth" belongs to G.W. Russel

...

For pretty much ever, I had always assumed Crona was a female. Her name seemed to be the feminine ending of Chronus, the ancient Greek god. Still, I acknowledge Crona is an ambiguously sexed character (and after reading the later chapters on the moon, I am beginning to revise my opinion) and for this fic, I'm making it(he?) a she.

...

Slight yet extremely important revisions! That's why this is a repost.


Ch 2 A Home Without


The 8th-9th Day of Sleep Moon, Late Winter

4012 years after the demon's defeat

We shiver in the falling dew,

And seek a shelter from the storm:

When man these elder brothers knew

He found the mother nature warm,

A hearth fire blazing through it all,

A home without a circling wall.

-From "The Twilight of Earth," G.W. Russell

...

The first thing I noticed upon awaking was that someone was humming. It was soothing, in a pleasant and tuneless sort of way. It made me remember my mother, who had died just a few years ago. She and I couldn't carry a tune to save our lives, yet that didn't stop her from quietly trying every night while making dinner...

VillagedestroyedtakencaptiveSoul-!

It all came back to me in a rush, and in my panic I would have thrown myself off the bed had a pair of deceptively strong arms not caught me.

"You are finally awake! Good morning, Maka. Ahh – I hope you are not offended that I used your name! But the women of your clan told me and I'd rather say your name than give you a different one or call you Wind Woman and you've been sleeping for a long time now and..." The woman continued to chatter on as she tucked me back into bed, and checked my forehead with a practiced hand. When she took a step back (and finally a breath as well) I realized she was stunningly beautiful. My nurse was tall and shapely with silky black hair that tumbled down her back, and big dark eyes that held an uncommon sweetness of expression. It made me catch my breath, thinking I was somehow in the presence of an angel. Yet then she began to look nervous, and I realized she was no doubt waiting for a response to one of her (many) questions.

"It's fine to call me Maka. It's probably better to leave out my clan, for now. I'm sorry I caused you so much distress...thank you so much for taking care of me." She smiled brightly, waving her hands to offset my thanks. "What is your name?" Just as I asked, my eyes focused on a tribal tattoo on her upper left bicep. "Are you of the Lynx Clan?"

Her eyes brightened with surprise and delight. "Yes! I am Tsubaki of the Lynx Clan...but how do you speak our language?"

A long time ago, after the demons had been sealed away, it had been decided that all clans should be able to communicate in dangerous times. Therefore all clans still spoke the common tongue (used nowadays for trading and festivals), although most clans primarily used their own language. That our clan did not have a private tongue was a rarity that I had always felt unfair, and had influenced me to learn as many languages as possible. "My mother, Kami was of your people. She and my father met at a festival, and my father learned the language to woo her. Then they spoke it to me. I apologize for my mistakes, I've only spoken it with my parents-"

"No! You speak it very well, for someone not of the Lynx clan. Better than some born there, really-" Tsubaki's girlish glee was cut short as she clearly remembered something painful. "But that is another matter. How are you feeling? I was told you may feel weak, among...other things."

Other things? I would never see my home again, and almost everyone that I knew and loved was dead. I was weak from hunger and thirst, and completely filthy as well. Worse than this was my guilt at having survived, and of joining with the enemy in some unknown ritual. Judging by her kindness this was entirely possible, but I had a feeling it was more to do with this strange fullness I felt, as if I now had an extra limb, or a new internal organ, or a much larger spirit...

Yet all that could wait. I decided to start with the most pressing need. "A little thirsty. And very hungry. And dirty, I suppose."

Tsubaki was nothing if not quick and competent. Within moments I was drinking cool water from a crafted mug, and quieting my hunger with slabs of bread, cheese, and smoked meat. She had also prepared a broth, which I took advantage of by dunking the hard bread in. Then, my hunger abated, I finally felt up to asking some questions. "Where are we? Are you a captive as well?" I couldn't help but shiver when the blanket slipped off my shoulders.

Tsubaki sat on the floor across from me, arms wrapped around her knees as she watched me eat. She smiled faintly at my second question. "We are in the far north, near the eternal boundary. The Wolf Clan territory, if that helps. And if you think it's cold now...well, just be thankful you missed the worst of the winter." She poked at my bowl of broth, wordlessly telling me to finish it. I took another sip and waited for her to continue. "As for me, I am less a captive and more of a...tithe. Yet that's not quite right either. It was more that I was chosen to aid the Wolf Clan."

Something was not quite right, but the pained expression on Tsubaki's face forbade me from going any further. Perhaps she had been betrayed by her clan, and thus felt sensitive? It was entirely possible, and as I didn't want to hurt the woman I was already beginning to think of as my friend – and there was something in the brightness of her eyes and smile that made me think she felt the same – so I left her story alone for the moment. "Aid them with what? Was it what Soul was talking about, with the demons? But they are locked away, and can never return..." I trailed off when a new expression crossed her face – a mix of curiosity and barely contained excitement. "Tsubaki?"

"Is it true that you will wield the Deathbringer? That he chose you?"

By the gods, did everyone know what that was except for me? Or was this some madness peculiar to the Wolf Clan? "I am not sure. He asked me to, but I do not know what it is. Could you tell me? Does it mean I am his keeper?" That made no sense, but it was the best I could think of. Perhaps I had some kind of effect on his magic? Perhaps I would act as a conduit for his druid lore?

Tsubaki shook her head slowly, frowning thoughtfully. "A little, but it's probably not what you think. It means he wants you to fight beside him. Have you seen – but perhaps you don't know... have you ever seen him fight?"

Wordlessly I nodded, not sure whether I should admit to fighting him myself. After resting and finding a small measure of calm after the last few doomed days, it seemed even more incredible that I had not only fought Soul, but killed three men.

"Some warriors...they have abilities. Harvar can conduct lightning, and Kilik can create that and fire. The Deathbringer-"

"His limbs become blades. Yes. I have...I have seen that."

She nodded. "Yes, but it's not just his limbs. If someone were to wield him, he could fully become a scythe, and become much, much more powerful." I couldn't help looking skeptical. The thought of a grown man becoming a scythe was ridiculous...but so was the thought of an arm becoming a blade, or a man conducting lightning... "I know it sounds strange. But it happens with others – Harvar becomes a spear, and Jacqueline becomes a lantern, although that is rare as Kim almost never fights -"

"Did I hear my name? Oh, Tsubaki. And the new one. Death's Mistress, right?" The newcomer had ducked underneath the door flap and frowned as she straightened and looked down at me. "She doesn't look very dangerous..."

"Well neither do you. And Death's Mistress is a terrible nickname. We've only just met." It was out of my mouth before I could realize the ramifications of my ill-timed flippancy – what if this was an important woman? The Lady of the clan?

"And you think you will live long enough to earn a new one?" She tilted her head as she considered me, and I stuck up my chin. If I wasn't afraid of the Deathbringer, I wouldn't be afraid of her. Besides, she was about my age, and while she was attractive, I doubted the wife of the chieftain would have hair as short and ill-kept as hers. In every clan save the Snake Clan, short hair on women was a sign of servitude.

...Now that I noticed it, perhaps this woman was of the Snake Clan. Her large, slanted green eyes and long thin limbs were points in that favor. If so, it was no wonder she was vitriolic. Snakes were notoriously loyal unto themselves as they were largely reviled by the other clans. It would have been a terrible thing to be a captive here, especially if she was the only one of her kind.

"Kim, she's only just regained consciousness. Let her get her bearings before you start in on her, otherwise she'll think-"

"You – Snake Clan? Capture? Exile?" I only knew a little of their tongue. Crona, the wisewoman in the forest had taught me, but it was a notoriously difficult language to learn. It was highly sibilant and when spoken very fast sounded exactly like an angry snake. While I personally found it a distasteful language, the concepts Crona had told me of their culture and language were fascinating. Hopefully it would help me now.

Kim's body froze but her head cocked in my direction, as if she were trying to deny the effect my words had on her. I wondered if I hadn't pronounced them well enough, but after a moment she responded. "Captive. Why? How-" She continued, but her pronunciation was very different than Crona's, who had been exiled long ago in her youth. I decided to ignore what I didn't know. I wanted to impress this woman, even though she had been unkind with me. One battle at a time, as my father had taught me.

"Sorry, bad speak. Littlest understanding. If you capture be, why no run? Es- es- escaper? Home."

I didn't understand any of Kim's response. People feared members of the Snake Clan for witches, and if any had heard Kim's explosive reply it might be understandable – even Tsubaki's eyes grew wide at Kim's hissing and shrieking.

Before she calmed herself Tsubaki turned to me and murmured, "Whatever you just said to her, please don't say it again. Kim is usually very kind, but-"

"They are all dead. I am the only one they spared. I am the last. You know a little of our language, so maybe you understand what that means. Maybe you understand my rage." It was not just rage, I could see that now. Despair and fear was written in her stance, loneliness must haunt her every step. Members of the Snake Clan were never meant to be alone – Crona had told me as such. In little ways, I could see what living a lifetime of solitude had done to her. It must be 100 times worse for a young woman who had lost even more than I and Crona had. Perhaps I could give her something in return.

"I know this might not mean much, but you're not quite the last. There is an exile in the forest – I know exiles are taboo, but it is the truth. She did not join another clan, but lives in solitude. She's why I can speak a little, and know a bit of your customs."

Kim's eyes widened, and although exiles were a burden for any clan, this news meant something to her. "What – what is her name?"

"She goes by Crona, but that wasn't her Clan name. I don't know her old name."

"Kronusss." Kim hissed and mumbled to herself, as if tasting the name on her tongue. After a long moment she stopped and shook her head. She exhaled roughly, and before I knew it she had stepped close to me and her cheek was against mine. Her tongue flicked out against my ear, but she pulled away before I could worry about having to do the same. She snorted at the look of confusion on my face.

"Someday you will introduce me to this Crona of yours. Until then, you will just have to be my clan-sister. We will take care of each other, yes?" I glanced over at Tsubaki who was watching us with wide-eyed fascination. Here was another of the Snake Clans characteristics – the penchant to change their mood quickly and completely, often disconcerting others. Kim grinned slyly before proceeding to "initiate" Tsubaki in the same manner. I laughed when Tsubaki squeaked and blushed, and Kim did as well.

"You too, Shadow. I have been angry for too long, and having sisters again might remind me of what I still have..."

Tsubaki looked as if she were about to say something, but stopped when Kim turned back to me with a mock-scowl on her face. "You taste terrible. We must clean you. Does she require healing, Tsubaki?"

"No. Just cleaning – Kim! Why are you undressing when it is Maka that needs cleaning?"

"We are sisters, yes? We will save bathwater this way."

Their antics and company made the rest of that day bearable. I would feel guilty later, but for just a moment – surrounded by people I could tentatively call friends - my heart was shamefully light.

The next day, after sleeping for another 12 hours and eating enough to feed a small family, Tsubaki decided I was well enough to learn my way around the village. It only took about 20 minutes to make the rounds, and it was easy enough to remember where everything was – the storage huts, the communal building where everyone ate and cooked, the training grounds, the family quarters, the ritual altar. I remembered something odd as we passed the healer's tent, where Kim was currently "training" with the camp healer, Nygus – Kim was an adept in healing magic, which is why she alone had been spared from the Snake Clan. From what she had explained it had something to do with the reformation of damaged limbs or organs, although she was currently learning how to speed up the healing process. It was also why she did not often go into battle, although she had "resonated" with a woman named Jacqueline, the woman who had set so much of my village aflame.

"Tsubaki? Why did Kim call me Death's Mistress?"

My question clearly took her by surprise. "Oh. Well. It's just a silly nickname, Maka. There's no need to take it so seriously! Why, it's practically a way of welcoming you to the village! This way, I bet you will make many friends!"

I couldn't help but smile at Tsubaki's good-natured optimism. She was so sweet and earnest in all that she did that it was impossible not to love her, even when I had only known her for barely over a day. "I doubt that is true, but thank you for trying. It has to do with So- the Deathbringer, doesn't it? Because I am his...wielder?" It was still difficult for me to talk about this. I knew it was true – I had agreed to fight with him, and had even seen his soul – but it was still difficult to wrap my mind around the concept that man could become weapon – and that another person could wield him. It was partially for this reason that we were headed back to the training grounds, on the off chance I could watch this miracle myself.

Although I didn't say anything to Tsubaki, I also wanted to see Soul again. Just to make sure it was all real...and to allay this pervasive longing to connect with him again. Instinctually I knew he was the cause of this throbbing pull that was both internal and foreign. What else could it be?

"Well...perhaps that as something to do with it. Everyone knows him, and most are afraid of him. But you are not terrifying at all, and I'm sure many people will like you!"

Tsubaki seemed very determined to set my mind at ease in terms of my likability. I wondered if this was something she herself was dealing with. After all, no one seemed very friendly besides Kim...who had taken a certain amount of effort to warm up. I had assumed that others in the village would be the same way, but many treated Tsubaki as if she was something unnatural. At the time I had thought it was a matter of captive/native relations, but now I began to wonder.

"I doubt it, Tsubaki. I didn't get along well with the women of my village. Actually Black was my only friend, and no one really liked him either, now that I think about it..." Black. I hadn't thought about him all today, and if I let myself go now, I might break down and weep. I satisfied myself with a quick prayer to the winds that they would guide his path, and keep him far from the dangers I faced.

Tsubaki looked genuinely surprised. "That doesn't make sense. I mean, you won over Kim and she hates almost everyone! And the Deathbringer! He wouldn't... let you wield him if he disliked you..."

Thinking of Soul was somehow worse than thinking of Black. At least I knew who and what Black was...and what I was to him. "Perhaps those are who I befriend – those who are difficult. And you. Actually, I'm more surprised that more people don't like you. You've been nothing but kind and amiable since I've arrived, yet only Kim looks you in the eye. Is it because you aren't a native of the Wolf Clan? Or is it because you are more beautiful than they?"

She blushed bright red and tried to hide her face with her hands. When that didn't work, she squatted down so that she could attempt to hide behind the wooden railing fencing in the sparring grounds. I looked down at her in amazement. Was she really so modest? How could she be, when she looked like a goddess incarnate? Feeling incredibly silly, I knelt down next to her.

"Tsubaki? Are you all right? I'm sorry if I embarrassed you..." See, this was why I never had any woman friends! Black would never have gotten embarrassed over something I said – he simply would have laughed it off, or jokingly proclaimed it as eternal truth, or done any number or understandable, boyish things. I was about to apologize again when finally Tsubaki spoke.

"Do you really think that? That I am kind and amiable? And...and that I am your friend?"

I blinked. Being friends with Black had also not prepared me for the sheer (adorable) absurdity of female friends, either. "Well yes, of course. Because you are – kind, and amiable, and my friend." Was that not the correct way of doing this? "Am I your friend as well?"

Tsubaki's smile could have lit up all the long nights of winter at once. "Of course! As long as you don't mind-" Whatever she was about to say was cut off by the arrival of Kim, who carelessly wrapped an arm around each of us and pulled us up to our feet.

"Well now, sisters. Who are we watching, then? So eager for a man to warm our beds at night? Ahh, but Maka is already spoken for. Shadow?"

"Shadow?" I decided to ignore the rest. I was beginning to discover that Kim liked to make people uncomfortable by making playfully absurd statements. Tsubaki had agreed, and added something about it being something to hide behind, and that I would understand soon enough.

Kim climbed onto the second rung of the fence as she responded. "I mean Tsubaki, of course. If you are Death's Mistress, then she is the Shadow. You know, the southern assassin?" She must have caught the expression on Tsubaki's face for she continued. "Titles are honorable, sister. It is your power and your protection, here. If you were not the deadliest woman in the entirety of the Wolf Clan, do you think you would be untouched? You'd be like every other captive woman – married or taken by the men that captured them." She gazed at the men training, her eyes hard and flat. "Like me."

"KIM! LIGHT THAT SHINES FORTH THROUGH THE HEAVENS!"

With a strangled noise, Kim tumbled from the fence landing flat on her back. I gaped in amazement as a tall, thin man with hair twisted into two pillars on either side of his head came streaking across the training grounds towards us. As he ran, the spear he held in his right hand twisted and roiled, and a moment later an angry looking, dark-haired man was jogging after him. Oh. So that was how the transformation worked...

"Kim my darling you have come to watch me train! Oh the joy you give me! You are the best of women, and I must proclaim it to all I meet! My wife is the most wonderful-ooof!"

Kim had recovered from her shock and deliberately landed a punch on the shouting man's stomach. The man-who-had-previously-been-his-weapon caught him before he fell. Alarmed, I glanced over at Tsubaki but all she did was shake her head, half embarrassed and half amused.

"Oxford! What did I tell you about doing that?! Everyone will hear! Also it is not true."

"Does that mean I can sings hymns of your praise in private, dearest?" The man rasped, as he gazed at her with open adoration.

"Yes-no! No! No that is not what I meant!" Kim ground the palm of her fist into her forehead, and I was surprised to see her so flustered. I also wondered what part of his praise was untrue – that she was his wife, or that she was the best of women. "A-anyway, aren't you supposed to be training? You can't fight off the demons singing my praises. And when they cut you down, I won't heal you!"

Even I could tell that was an empty threat. Something about Oxford (her husband?) unnerved her...and I could see what Tsubaki had meant about hiding behind her absurd statements. Yet it didn't seem like he could have earned this dark hatred she had summoned only moments ago – he was practically wagging his tail like a puppy!

"Are the one who will wield the Deathbringer?" Oxford's weapon calmly ignored the marital mayhem and turned unblinkingly towards me. I nodded slowly wondering how everyone in this clan knew already. Had Soul told everyone? Briefly I thought back to what Kim had told Tsubaki about protection, and I decided to be brave and own this bewildering truth.

"I will wield Soul." When the intensity in his gaze did not change I decided I had enough. "Is this a problem?"

He shook his head and turned to leave. He was an odd one, and I wouldn't have even known his name had Tsubaki not spoke up.

"Harvar, would you have people think those of the Lynx Clan so impolite?"

Now that she mentioned it, there was something similar in their postures. When I glanced at his left bicep it was confirmed. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Harvar of the Lynx."

He nodded curtly, and then ran back to the training grounds. I saw Oxford glance at him out of the corner of his eye and I realized that for all his silliness, Oxford was still a Wolf Clan warrior, and as such a dangerous man. Tsubaki sidled up to me and shook her head.

"I'm sorry for Harvar. He's always been like that – usually he won't say a word to anyone. He's very loyal though, and a good man. He's just not very polite." Tsubaki trailed off and looked at me with a careful expression on her face. Clearly she was worried that Kim had outed her as an assassin. She needn't have worried - in this morally ambiguous time, where I found myself surrounded by the enemy and even enjoying their company, I was in no position to judge. Besides, kindness was kindness, and it just wasn't in me to disregard her nature. So I smiled and reached up to squeeze her upper arm, a gesture my mother had often done to me.

"You don't need to worry, Tsubaki. About Harvar or yourself. I just want to know what's really going on. Everyone keeps talking about the demons, and I'm more worried about that, to be honest."

Tsubaki nodded firmly and probably would have told me everything had Oxford not bounded over to me. He bowed deeply and unexpectedly grabbed my hands, pressing them firmly.

"Maka of the Wind! Tsubaki of the Lynx! I thank you for befriending my (beautiful and splendiferous) wife! Please be as sisters to her, and family to me. What is mine is yours." He drew in a deep breath, and Kim rolled her eyes behind him, tapping her foot angrily. She was the perfect picture of a nagging wife, and Tsubaki giggled. "Now then. I am Oxford of the Wolf. I wield Harvar, greatest of the lightning spears. Kim and I were married 4 months and 13 days ago. This means our anniversary is coming up, and of course you are invited to -"

"All right, all right, that's enough. I only said you could introduce yourself, Oxford."

"But – but darling! You said I could tell them the most important things!"

If Kim were any more irritated, her short locks would stand on end and hiss like the snakes her clan was named for. Oxford clearly saw this as well as he stopped protesting, stooped low and kissed her hand. In the split-second shock that followed he took off across the training field. Sputtering, Kim took off after him, her patience at an end.

Tsubaki and I stood together and watched as Kim chased him up and down the training grounds, while other warriors had lined up and began yelling encouragement to both Ox and Kim.

"Are they really married?"

Tsubaki smiled. "Yes, amazingly. He protected her when the Wolf Clan raided the Snake Clan a few months back. He took her for a wife soon after, and although Kim complains about her life here, it would be far worse had Ox not married her. I think she knows it too – she just chafes at not being free, among other things." Her smile dimmed when a triumphant Kim finally caught up to Oxford and jumped on his back, bringing him down to the ground. "He was originally from the Lynx Clan, you know. He and Harvar were raised together as bond brothers. Ox was lost about 10 years ago. We thought he had died. Yet when the Lynx Clan was asked to hand over its greatest warriors...Ox came as part of the delegation crew."

I looked over at Oxford, laughing delightedly as Kim ineffectually pummeled him with her fists. "He seems like he's happy. Like he fits in." Not like the captives, I thought to myself. Not like his birth clan.

Tsubaki shrugged. "Apparently things are much better now that the old chief, Asura, is dead. Ox was here for a few years before Asura died and he's told Harvar and I some terrible things. Vajra is tough, but he's fair, anti-demon, and very pious. Everything he does is guided by prophecy – all the clans he raids for warriors, all the rituals he undergoes strengthen the boundaries."

Demons again. Why wouldn't anyone just tell me what was going on? Were the boundaries in danger of failing? It was also hard to hear Tsubaki be so calm about the man who had effectively wrecked my life. I hadn't seen him since my induction to the clan, and for that I was thankful. He was the man who had ordered the destruction of my clan, and for what? No warriors had been taken to fight against these "demons!" Only spoils of war - women, and young boys who in ten years could be warriors, but certainly not now. Was Vajra thinking that far ahead? Or was all this a lie to bolster the strength and power of the Wolf Clan?

Soul thought I was important, but only because I was his magical warrior. I was the one to wield him. Vajra had only been looking for my father, although I suspected he would have taken Black if they had been there. Not for the first time, I thought out the timing of it all – Black was a few months older than me yet still hadn't become a man, even at 17 seasons. That he entered the forest and began the ritual – with my father acting as a guide - only the night before the Wolves came was suspicious to me. If Vajra had come to our village expecting my father, shouldn't his men have been more careful in who they took? Hadn't they asked about a man named Albarn? No one else would have protected the lives of Black and my father-

Perhaps someone had told. Perhaps they had doubled back there, waiting to capture them. Perhaps that was where Soul was right now-

Then they would be dead. I knew Black and Albarn's skills, and even Soul was no match for them. There would be no fear in their hearts, like there was in the rest of the village. Their homes were destroyed, their daughter and friend taken, and that would be the end of those sent to capture them. I had to believe in them, and have faith that they would survive, and be smart enough to avoid the notice of the Wolf Clan. Hopefully they would go to Crona in the forest, with her gift of prophecy, she would know what to do-

"Tsubaki, have you seen my children?" The voice was dark, rich, and heavily accented. It was also quite gentle so I glanced over at the speaker without fear. Yet when I saw skin the color of night my heart stopped its rhythm in my chest – this was one of the warriors who had destroyed my home! The man who could summon fire and lightning from his fists! How could Tsubaki stand there so calmly and smile up at him as if he had done nothing wrong?

"They should be with Nygus, Kilik. Have you met- ahh. That can wait for another time. Fare well."

I was shaking. Whether with rage or fear I could not exactly determine, but if the dark one – Kilik – did not leave right now, I was sure I would do something foolish. I told myself to think rationally. His accent, his skin...he was not native to the Wolf Clan. He was just as Kim and Tsubaki and Harvar, and I should not hate him for what he had been forced to do. Yet he had been there. I had seen him destroy our crops and take our lives. How could I smile and extend my hand to someone that had done that? I needed time and distance to center myself, and thankfully Tsubaki had realized that.

"Maka? Are you all right?"

No. No, I was not all right. I felt as if I were going mad – befriending fellow captives was one thing, but to be faced with the warriors who had destroyed my home? I knew how Kim felt, bitter and lost and trapped without the power to change anything. It didn't matter that Tsubaki and Ox were kind people, who wanted to make this transition better for us. We were captives. Our homes were gone. How were we supposed to deal with that?

"Tsubaki, how long have you been here?"

She frowned as she considered. "They came to the Lynx clan almost two years ago. Harvar came immediately, but it took me another month to finish my training. Then I came."

Two years? She had survived this for two years? Then again, it was her choice...and there was a small sliver of hope in this for me. "And in two years, no man has tried to...claim you? Kim said your reputation was your protection..."

Tsubaki looked profoundly uncomfortable, but I had expected that. I had learned she was a very modest woman. "That is part of it. I am protected by other means as well."

"By your wielder?" No one had come straight out and claimed that Tsubaki was a weapon, but I was willing to bet she was. Oddly enough I could feel it – I had assumed it was something unique to her and Harvar, but I could feel a similar energy in both Kim and Ox. There was something different between weapons and wielders, and the more I met the more I could distinguish it.

Perhaps I really was going mad, and this was all a feverish death-dream. How could this be real?

"How did you...? No, I do not have a wielder. But how did you know I was a weapon?"

"I don't know. I guess I could feel it." But that was more madness; how could I feel something intangible? Yet then it clicked: Soul. Deathbringer or druid, all this magical nonsense had begun with him. If he couldn't undo it, he could at least explain it. "I'm sorry, Tsubaki...I have to-"

"He's calling you, isn't he? And he said-" She sighed and pitched her voice much lower, "He said he would give you at least three days to adjust. This is too early. You look like you are about to bolt."

I took a deep breath and tried to calm my rampant thoughts. Although I had no idea who or what was supposed to be calling me, I did feel like running, or screaming, or doing something ridiculous. But that was why I needed Soul. If he was able to temper my depression and fear on the march to the village, he would be able to calm me, now. "No one is calling me, Tsubaki. At least, I don't think they are. I just need to talk to So-the Deathbringer. Do you know where he is?"

She frowned, and I could see she clearly did not want to tell me. So I tried again. "I promise you, I just need to talk to him. I'm just a little overwhelmed, and he makes things understandable." Tsubaki's eyebrows shot up, and I realized how unexpected it must be to hear such a thing said of the Deathbringer. After all, this was the man who had been the scourge of everything from childhood tales to the strongest clans. I wondered now at how that was possible. Soul was only a year or two older than I. How could he have built up a reputation like that in less than 20 years?

"...He trains at the back of the sparring grounds. Generally the warriors don't like to spar with him, and most don't even like to speak to him, so he should be relatively alone. If you want I could walk you there – just be careful, Maka."

Her motherlike concern touched my heart and I knew that whatever Tsubaki had done as an assassin of the Wolf Clan, I could not help but love her. "It's all right, sister. I will find him on my own. I just need a few moments to gather my thoughts. But thank you."

After a moment's hesitation she nodded then turned away, leaving me alone with my thoughts, and my drive to see Soul. Winds watch over me, and keep me from harm. I pray this man be a friend and not an enemy, for I am within his power.

Although I had been thinking of him all morning, seeing him again was a shock to my senses. He was alone, as Tsubaki had guessed he might be. Clearly he had been training long and hard enough to disregard the winter weather – he had stripped down to a thin shirt and belted leather pants, and from my perch 20 yards away I could see the shirt was practically translucent with his sweat. Watching him move it was obvious he was an agile warrior, relying more on his senses than strength, and I wondered how I could have lasted that long against him. Would he truly grow more powerful when -if- I wielded him?

This was just another question among the many I had for him, but I couldn't bring myself to interrupt quite yet. Now that I was here I felt better. There was something calming about watching him train...although that seemed counter-intuitive. It should have been disturbing - Soul was slicing with one arm, stabbing with the next, spinning, leaping, and moving so smoothly it all seemed to be a terrible dance. Yet there was a rhythm within it and if I let go of my own apprehensions, I could feel Soul. His breath, his movements, his inner calm – I could sense them all, and if I let them, they would influence me.

Carefully I pulled back, unaware if he could sense what I had just done. Apparently he could as his stopped moving the moment I did. And when his eyes met mine, I finally realized why I had been anxious to see him for the last two days, and why I felt so much calmer when I did. It had nothing to do with our nebulous, magical connection. It was an even more frightening paradox: with the Deathbringer – with Soul – I felt safe.

He approached me slowly, and I could read the same strange apprehension that he had felt when I was in his spirit. Now that we were in the real world, I could see what it truly was – he was afraid that I would reject him. After all, with his reputation both abroad and in his village, everyone else was afraid of him. Yet even if he couldn't read my confusing emotions, he at least knew I did not fear him. Hadn't I told him so back at my village?

"I thought...I thought you would like more time to adjust. To connect, if not...make friends. I told the Shadow to let you rest. Why did you come? I was so careful not to call you..." His eyes were both fierce and sad and while I knew I should be repelled by their unnatural color, their expression made me want to fix him, heal him, save him. I had seen his soul, and while it had proved his humanity, he was so close to breaking.

"I came because I wanted to see you. To talk to you – about the demons...and everything else. I need to know- otherwise I'll go mad. Please, Soul. I need this."

His white brows furrowed in confusion and consternation as I hopped over the fence that separated us. I did not expect him to take a step back from me, but he did. "You have lost so much, don't you need time to put it to rest? I wanted to give this much to you, before all peace is gone."

An image of Ox's unquenchable love for Kim flashed through my mind, but it was gone too quickly before I could establish the common theme. Was this how the Wolf men protected those important to them, by keeping them away from danger? Yet by pushing me away, it would only damage me further. "I understand what you tried to do...but if that was your goal, I will need more time than what we have. I have lost nearly everything. Please don't take away what little I have left." This time when I stepped closer to him he did not back away, yet he tilted his head down so his long bangs hid the expression on his face. "I need what you have, Soul. Purpose is what binds your being together...I saw that. I need that. Or I will break, the same as you." Feel unutterably silly, I extended my hand to him, hoping he would take it...and that the particular skill we had established when I had first allowed him into my mind worked both ways. "Show me, Soul. Please. You have shown me your spirit, now show me what we must fight. Show me why my home was destroyed, and I am your wielder. Show me."

And then, as he haltingly took my hands within his own, he did. One moment I was standing on the pounded dirt of the training ground, aware of the cold wind and the drying sweat that had coated his hands; the next found me hurtling through what could only be his memories, looking through a dark window at experiences that were not my own. In the first Soul was a boy of only 5 or 6.

The man dying in bed was my father, yet he had barely deigned to speak to me in life. By my side was my brother, Wes, who had raised me since my mother had died in childbirth. Next to my father was Vajra, his best friend. It was he who spoke.

"I swear to you, Evans. I will not let the demons overtake us. We have been given a great gift in your youngest son, and I will not let it go to waste. The folly of the Star Clan shall not go unopposed, not matter what Asura would counsel. I will not let the boundaries fall any further!"

Days and months and years flew by, like the flutter of a bird's wings. I was aware of hundreds of experiences but only a few filtered in: Vajra, his head in his hands, and the knowledge that Soul was in great pain; scrolls of prophecies stacked up in a herbalist's room; hours of Soul pushing his prepubescent body to the limit, and the elegies composed by the traveling bard as more and more of their warriors fell. Then came a memory of the demons themselves, from nearly ten years ago:

The ache in my limbs woke me, but upon waking I knew something was wrong. It took a moment for me to realize what it was: there was no noise from the animals of the forest, or the men in the camp, or even the crackle of fire. I had never known such a silence, and I knew it was wrong.

Yet there was no time to deliberate. The pain from the ritual was so great that I could barely hobble out my cot, let alone get to Asura and warn him. But Vajra was with him, and surely Vajra would know what was wrong – from the silence all around us, to the roaring in my head, the pounding in my blood-

Then the first scream tore through the night, and just as I reached the door of the hut I could smell the blood in the air. Yet this was wrong, everything was wrong, something inside me was wrong-

The shape before me was no natural creature of this world. It was twisted and opaque like the night, folding in on itself to form rows of jagged teeth at its midsection. The fear blocked the pain enough for me to change my arms into curved blades, although the action brought the demon's attention to me. Yet just as it lunged at me, the warrior Tezca deflected it by wielding his partner, Enrique. With a ferocious warcry to rival the demon's screams, he leapt into battle, and I realized that humans truly could fight against the demons, and I must help-

It was not the last time Soul was to see the demons. Image after image he presented me, all different yet clearly identifiable as abominations, not men. They had lost so many of the early warriors; Tezca, Enrique, Arthur, BJ, Marie, Azusa...the list was endless. Their loss, coupled with the advancing waves of demons who had managed to slip through the weakening boundaries had fueled the need for other special warriors, people who could transcend the limitations of human – those who had a touch of the spirits in their bloodline...

For those "special" warriors that could either become a weapon, or wield them were descendants of benevolent spirits that had stood with the humans during the demons wars over 4000 years ago. It was thanks to the good spirits that we had a chance of fighting back the original demon onslaught, and that the boundaries were erected. Although the knowledge of the special warriors was lost, it was re-discovered when the need was great, and due to Vajra's extensive learnings he was able to locate and identify those with spirit blood and bring them into his burgeoning army. Here we could find each other, learn to fight with each other, and hopefully stem the tide while he found a way to re-construct the falling boundaries...

By why not assimilate them peacefully? Why attack and massacre clans, when they possess resources necessary to us in this war? It was difficult to find my voice when I was so thoroughly enmeshed in Soul's inner world. When I wasn't being bombarded with his thoughts and experiences, the world around me began to form itself into a dark room, decorated in tones of red and black and lit by the embers of a dying fire. Somehow I understood that this was the locus of his spirit, and it was here that I finally found the wherewithal to voice my question.

Many we did. The Lynx Clan, the Bear Clan, the remnants of the Fire Clan...there are more we have arranged peaceful settlements with. As he spoke he materialized from the shadows of his dark room, and he was garbed in the robe of a bard. While it seemed an odd choice of attire, it somehow suited him. The Snake Clan sought to double cross us, and have long had dealings with the Wild Women who helped the Star Clan tear the boundary. Because of them the final battle is years sooner than we were prepared for.

And what of my clan? The Wind people are peaceful, and I know for certain that no contact was made with us before the attack. Shadows whispered against my skin, forming into a soft fabric that clung to me when I moved closer to him. His blood eyes caught the light and glowed like the embers in the fire, yet it was so cold in the room and even where I stood I could feel his warmth.

One week ago, Vajra made contact with your famed warrior, Albarn. He denied us aid, and refused to allow us entrance to the village. He-

The shadows cloaking me swirled violently as my eyes sparked with rage. That is a lie! No man came to our village! Albarn is my father and I knew all who came to him! Even if I had not learned of the meeting, my father would never deny such a threat outright. There were plenty of warriors in the village – Black in particular – who would have joined you without question. That is a lie, Soul. That is a lie. It wasn't until I finished speaking that I realized I had done something foolish – I had undermined Vajra's character. Soul was a loyal man, and I knew how much he respected Vajra. Yet I would not back down – everything he had said was untrue, and if he could see into my spirit, he would know that soon enough.

His eyes narrowed as he reflected on my outburst. Albarn is your father? And you are sure that he was not approached? He frowned at my angry nod. Then where was he when we attacked the village? Vajra did not ask further, but I am sure we did not bring him down. Why did he not protect you? Or your home?

I caught my breath. Here it was. Did I trust Soul enough to potentially betray my father and Black? But everyone in the village knew where he was, and the forest protected its own, especially when in the midst of certain rituals. He was in the forest with Black- with my friend. When our warriors become men they go into the forest to undergo certain rites...as Black's parents died many years ago, my father went with him as his guide. That is why neither of them were there to protect us. And it also proves my father was not contacted – even if he had decided not to assist your clan, he would not have left us unprotected so soon after denying a desperate cause. I stepped close to him, catching his hand before he could shield his face with it. I was beginning to learn how reclusive and careful Soul was, and how he would hide himself away at the slightest provocation. Yet I was in his spirit-room, and I could sense the disbelief and blossoming shame at being wrong, and attacking the innocent. I do not blame you, Soul. No matter what happened...you didn't know. It wasn't up to you-

No, but mine was the hand that struck. He pulled away from me and turned so that the light flickered against his face. It was I who killed innocents. If you are right – and I know that you believe you are – then this is the worst thing I have ever done. Even the massacre of the Snake Clan...they were doing wrong, and it was their lives or the safety of all who now live. But this? He caught my gaze and faltered, the words dying on his lips. He looked at me as if I held the right to reserve either salvation or damnation, and he was not an optimistic man. Yet before I could say anything, whether reassurance or condemnation, he spoke again.

This is the man that I am. Those are the choices I have made. Yet there is worse. I am...tainted in other ways, and there is a chance that it could spread to you. I know that I asked you -begged you- to wield me, but you didn't know...and still don't understand what I have become. I am the Deathbringer, and I am not truly human, anymore. And I don't want you to understand.

What are you saying? There was a coldness in my belly at his words and his sorrowful determination. Had not he bared his spirit to me? Finally I had my purpose – to bring down the demons – and although everything about him was different, it paradoxically felt like I was coming home. Yet now he was balking at every step of the way. Was it me? Had I failed some test? Or had he come to his senses and realized that a skinny, untrained maiden could not fight with him?

If your father is still alive, I can bring you to him. At the least I can bring you to the Lady of the Woods, and she will know where he is. I can spare you, at least. Then-

And how can you spare me from the demons, Soul? Will they not kill me all the faster without you by my side?

I am a demon! Don't you know all the stories? I am cursed, tainted; it is why Vajra can wield me against them so effectively-

I don't care! My yell cut threw the escalating exchange, and the silence that followed it was absolute. For once he had neglected to shield his face yet on it there were far too many emotions to fully comprehend. The fire in the hearth had grown, however, and the light was chasing away the shadows in the room. I don't care. I have seen you, Soul. I know what you are. And I am not afraid. I looked around me, and as I did the fire leaped even higher. And if it is your darkness that you fear, I will burn all your shadows down. Let me fight with you. Let me protect with you. I extended my forearm for him to clasp, as was tradition among the warriors. If he took it, then I would not let him falter again – word was bond.

They will fear you. And hate you. And perhaps even hurt you, Wind Warrior-

Maka. My name is Maka. And if you are with me, I will not be afraid. I managed to smile, and even though it was filled with the heaviness of the moment I could feel the shadows recess further. Was this all I had to do to fight his darkness, accept him? Or teach him how to accept himself... After all, I have promised to wield you – and I always keep my word.

The look he then gave me was searing and strange, and made my heart flutter like a small, trapped bird. Yet it lasted only a moment before he nodded slowly. Then I promise to fight with you. To live and die alongside you, to be guided by you, and to protect you from the dangers without and within. So I swear on my name, my blades, and my spirit. Then he clasped my forearm. For a moment I was too shocked to speak; the determination in his words fired my mind while the cadence of his voice touched my heart, and all I could was flush and stare like I had never seen a man before. But then my resolve shook away these strange feelings and my grip tightened in return.

I am yours to command, Maka. Do with me what you will.

...

Once upon a time, I had a mad crush on Stein. Yet that was before I discovered the appeal of sad/dark!Soul, who makes all my other manga crushes dust, in comparison. *Fans self. FANS EVERYONE*

I am beginning to realize my darker stories are not very well received, in comparison to my light hearted smexy adventures. Bah and gah, I say. I will just try harder to influence you into appreciating dark, stormy, angst-ridden love.

Appreciate!