I do not own any K Project characters! I apologize if they are kind of OOC-ish.
I own my own OCs!
LYRIA: THE NEW KING
#1 - slowly mending (tivondra pov)
It was just another morning for Tivondra. Birds chirped, horses nickered, and the exciting squeals of young children filled the air. It gave nearly everyone a peaceful glow. However, Saki refused to let that glow pull the wool over her eyes.
Nearly a month had passed since her mentor's death. It was annoying to see all her clansmen acting as Kitaku hadn't died. Oh how they acted like she was their late leader.
She wasn't. She doubted herself and who wanted to be lead by a king who doubted herself? Clenching a small cup between her girly fingers, Saki slammed the object hard against the surface of the counter.
Hot tea splashed over the brim, coating the white top in a dull brown color and making a small burn appear on the queen's hand. Immediately, a growl escaped the pretty femme's lips and she yanked her hand away.
"Hot, hot hot" Saki squealed quickly, blowing gently on her burning hand. Unbeknownst to her, Makiko had managed to walk into the kitchen before the incident. Being an expert in healing, the third-in-command made her way over.
She took hold of Saki's hand, pulling it from the queen's lips. Saki gasped slightly in shock but began to relax and slowly Makiko began to release a slow, pulsing orange aura. It covered the commander's hand and slowly began to wind around Saki's own damaged fingers. In a moment, the small burns began to fade and satisfied, Makiko pulled her hand away, the aura vanishing.
"Thanks, Makiko-chan" Saki muttered quickly, pulling her hand to her chest, not bothering to meet the older women's brown gaze. Nonetheless, the queen could feel her commander's smirk.
"Don't worry about it, Saki. I know you wouldn't intentionally harm yourself" Makiko responded, her gaze moving away from her friend back to the cup. Continuing on, Makiko picked up the cup previously in Saki's hand and began to clean. She threw the tea into the sink and began to wipe down the spilled contents on the counter "Which leads me to my next question, what has you so worked up? It's not still Kishi, is it?"
Saki, who had began to massage her hand, froze and looked up. Why did she had to be the one to bring up her? Narrowing her eyes, she frowned "What do you think?" she questioned with annoyance, slidding into a barstool beside the counter "It's only been a month and everyone is already acting like Kishi has been dead for years"
"Let it go, Saki. Kishi is at rest and she sure as hell wouldn't want you pondering on the past" Makiko responded, rising the cloth of wet tea and turning back to continue wiping down the counter to free it of any unseen foods.
"I know but - ugh! It's hard. She was my mother, mentor, and king at the same time.
Makiko sighed, "She was everyone's mother, Saki-san." the change of honorific seemed to catch Saki's attention as she quickly folded her hands in her lap and looked at the 3rd commander curiously "I mean, come on. Takako even followed her around"
Saki chuckled, brushing back a piece of curly, brown hair behind her ear "Takako always follows someone around."
"True but there was a reason he followed her. Kishi had a way with her clansmen: kids, teenagers, adults, even elders. She made them feel safe and respected. She taught them to be aggressive when needed yet passionate. She taught to forgive for yourself not for the other person" Makiko continued, wringing out the excess water from the cloth before tossing it into the sink. Pulling her brown and blond-striped hair into a ponytail, the commander began to tie it "And to focus on the present."
Saki sighed, closing her hazel eyes, forcing back tears. Kitaku's familiar words rang vividly through her skull:
Snow covered Tivondra's grounds for the day. Winter had finally come and a young, 15-year-old Saki Shirai was eager to roll around. And she did so with pleasure! Squeals of excitement ruffled through the young member's throat as she rolled around the pure, white snow. Watching on was Kishi, a hand covering her mouth while little giggles escaped her pink lips.
Standing up, Saki pulled her leather coat closer to her chest, turning back to her queen "Mom! Come play!"
Just then, the large gates that blocked the mansion from the outdoors opened. Both adult and teenager looked up, eyes zooming onto 8 large equine figures "Ah, looks like the brigade is back" Saki heard her queen speak from the porch. She barely looked back before Saki was chasing after the taller women.
After a moment and out of pure frustration, Saki stopped and spun around. Slowly, her arms grew and her body became stiff as she slowly formed into a steady yearling. With a wide grin, the young equine raced after. By the time she reached Kishi, the queen was already beginning to become surrounded by her clansmen on horseback. While her mentor's voice rang in her leaf-shaped ears, Saki's attention was focused elsewhere.
Her brown eyes would linger to each of the horses. Each wore different type saddles and bridles. Those who were normal held a small brand on their flank while actual shapeshifters had a unique dragon tattoo on their shoulder. Muscles rippled and sweat coated their short fur. Foam began to form along some of her clansmens' mouths and some tossed their heads back as they communicated with their fellow equines. The interaction made Saki proud to wear such a mark on her own body.
A loud click of a tongue made Saki snap from her trance. Hooves pawed at the ground in response and in a flash, the brigade of upbeat and dangerous-looking horses raced away from the black gates in a flurry of racing hooves. Some slowed down to trots in the distance while others continued on for the day's in and a cool shower in the stables. Turning around, Saki was faced with Kishi once more. With a warm smile, Kishi stooped down to slowly pull her closer
"What was that?" Saki questioned, tilting her head in curiosity. Kishi only smiled.
"Remember what I told you about focus and death?"
Saki blinked in confusion but nodded.
"Tell me" Kishi pressed.
Saki took a breath. There was another blink before the young foal responded
"You can say you have forgiven and forgotten but inside you never do. Forgiveness and forgetfulness is for you - not the other person. But in death when a loved one has passed, forgiveness and forgetfulness is the only thing that will save you from a certain death"
Kishi nodded slowly, scratching gently behind the filly's ears "Saki.. there is something I need to tell you" she whispered gently. At the fall of her warm smile, Saki's hazel eyes widened and tears fell, melting the snow beneath her hooves.
"Forgiveness and forgetfulness is the only thing that will save you from a certain death-" Saki echoed Makiko's words, opening her eyes after previously reliving a memory. Saki remembered having to repeat her late leader's common phrase as hearing about the death of the Clan's second-in-command: Kioshi Kuro.
He had been a close friend of Saki's parents and somewhat of a godparent to Saki after she ran away from her past gang alliance. While he didn't raise her, he had been a shoulder to cry on and a person to protect her from all the evil bastards who attempted to harm her in any way. His death had been hard, no doubt. Even now, Saki continued to mourn. However, she often found peace when remembering Kishi's words.
Unfortunately, her words didn't work so well now that Kishi, herself, no longer walked the earth. Letting a tear slide down her cheek, Saki shook her head "She was always so poetic with her quotes" the 8th queen chuckled, lifting a finger to wipe away the rogue tear.
Makiko only leaned over "She was a wise women, no doubt." she purred gently, watching her queen in silence. After a moment, Makiko picked herself up, getting ready to leave "Oh! Yeah, that was what I came in here for - Saito needs you! He said there is a problem in the orca paddock and they needed you"
Saki groaned, unfolding her hands and slamming her head onto the counter "Kill me already"
Makiko chuckled, waving her hand as she disappeared out of the doorway "Get going before Saito rains hell on you!"
"Saki-chan! Glad you finally got here! What took so long?" Saito's childish voice was the first thing that greeted an already emotional Saki. After receiving Makiko's message, the queen had disappeared back up into the mansion upstairs. She had to put on her swimsuit then quickly covered up in her tight, black jeans and pink and navy sweater. Pulling her curly hair into a loose bun, Saki sighed "Let's just say I had to find my suit" she lied quickly, deciding not to explain her conservation with Makiko.
Saito didn't seem to buy it from the way his eyebrows frowned but after a brief staring contest, the 2nd commander shrugged, raking fingers through his fiery, red hair "Right then. Takako discovered this the other day when we were cleaning the bottom of the tank" Saito began to explain, pulling out his PDA and pulling up an image. With nibble fingers, he blew the image up onto a large screen that overlooked the orca tank that strongly resembled the SeaWorld whale pond.
Crouching down at the launchpad, Saki studied the green water before looking up, watching as Saito's slowly began to zoom in. There was a small crack covered in the murky water and by a large amount of seaweed. Saki removed her gaze, clicking her tongue in annoyance as she slowly began to remove her clothes while listening to Saito's speech.
"I believe it came in from the opening to the ocean we made last year" Saito was explaining, clicking a pen button on his PDA and encircling another part of the large, blown-up image with his thumb. Saito was always known for getting the most details. In the commanders' world, Saito was the one who dealt with keeping everything in the gang running smoothly. He was the mentor between the gangs who did the dumb things that would surely piss Saki off to the point of no return. He handled the events Tivondra was asked to host by the Gold King including the current orca tank cleaning going on. On top, he helped Takako - another known commander although he was less than so - lead the battle brigade.
For Makiko, she was the teacher of the gang. Being a student in college at the age of 22 and being so overwhelming active in the gang, it was a mystery how she earned such a rank. She was noted to be the most skilled and prominent orca in the gang alongside being the only one to hold peace aside from Takako's close friend, Chiyo Kenkyusha. Together, Makiko, Saito, and Saki kept the newly-formed ranks hold fast and together, they brought Tivondra to its old prime.
Tired of hearing her close friend's voice, Saki pulled her sweater off and tossed it into his face. Immediately, the redhead grabbed it, his PDA screen closing and allowing him to use both his hands to pull the material from his nose "Eh?" The splashing of a white and black fluke signaled Saki was already gone underneath the murky-green water, leaving Saito standing dumbfounded.
I promised myself I wouldn't focus on explaining what and who everyone was but I thought this was important to start off.
I also wanted to point out: next chapter will explain more about the relationship between Tivondra and Homra. No more spoilers for you though!
One more thing, if anyone is interested in editing chapters, feel free to pm me! I normally write these when i'm dead tired and spend little time revisioning. It's a bad habit as a writer but when i'm tired, my muse just flows!
Well, that's it! Please leave reviews on what you think of the story so far and what I can improve on! Always happy to hear some feedback!
Notes:
+ Tivondra is an OC gang lead by Saki Shirai. 2nd commander is Saito Hayata. 3rd commander is Makiko Ozu.
+ Tivondra possesses an orange aura and members receive a gene called the shapeshifter gene. It enables them to transform into three different species: a horse, an orca, and a human. Some members are actually non-human but that will be explained later on in the story.