In the Darkest of Nights, the Moonlight Dims

The weary travelers poured through the guard gates bearing sigils of foreign allegiances, well over three hundred strong. They were on horseback, carrying tattered banners, and bore blade of iron and steel.

Shunsui did not know any of these new guests, but he could surely understand why they have fled here. Theirs was the most fortified refuge still in existence, south of the wood. They were escaping something, and he had a good idea of what that something was.

A curiosity caught the corner of his eye.

There, at the front, he recognized him quite plainly. There was the blue-haired man at the head of the convoy, bearing himself a silvery white steed, and flanked by two guardsmen clad in steel plate. He continued to ride up, until the two met eyes. He dismounted from his horse with a grunt and eyed Shunsui carefully, and with a certain hesitation. "Kyouraku. In these darker times, even your bastard face is a welcomed one."

Maybe Shunsui could even say the same to him. Two years past since they fought together in that final fateful battle to dethrone the Usurper. Then, Grimmjow was more a feral beast than human. He had been clean shaven, with a hollows boney mask that shaped itself around his face in something liken of a jaguar's jaw. He was certainly powerful then, with all of the muscle of a beast too. Back then, he couldn't be trusted, or even depended upon in any great form.

Now times had changed, and it was clear to Shunsui that the conditions of late could remold and reshape even the hardiest of men. Gone now was the hollow encrusted bone mask on his face, leaving him but the shadow of a human, or as human as anyone were in this day. Shunsui had last seen this man on that final charge that led many good people into oblivion and straight to hell, and that's when the world's collapsed. He bore a beard of bluish color, coarse and rough that covered the expanse of his jaw now, probably to keep a low profile, hard may it be with a vicious mane like his own. Gone was the fire in his eye that he last saw when they were enemies turned ally out of direness and need, now replaced with a dull glint that unnerved even he.

Even so, here he stood before him, not just as a former ally, but as a guest, and so he bowed and spoke, "I humbly welcome you to our home, as such as it is."

Around them, others fell from their horses as well, unpacking crates and supplies from afar, and others sat idly awaiting order from their masters. One of the two guardsmen unsaddled himself from his armored sire, and extended out a hand in kind gesture. Shunsui took the man's hand in his and found the knight's grasp to be weak at best, to which he responded with a curious notion. "Oh?" He could smell out a women in any situation, a beautiful one at that.

She removed her steel-laden helmet, letting her wavy hair flow out in heady streams of green. She knelt before him in respect. "Nelliel Tu Odselschwanck."

Shunsui could remember her beauty in their final hours of the war as well. She slayed a great many Quincy that day, and she would be honored for it. Like her blue haired companion, gone was her mask and very mark of ever once being a hollow, as if she was ever one at all. She was milder mannered, and tempered in comparison to the lot of them. Grimmjow released her from her groveling.

"Are you the master of this frozen long hall?"

Shunsui snorted. "Frozen as it is, aye. I am the master of this humble ground. What brings you so far up North, may I ask?"

"So far down South." He corrected him to Shunsui's surprise. "We packed our bags, took all of our abled people, and made the journey across the wood. There was no other option."

Shunsui tipped his conical hat in respect. "What news hail from North of the wood? We have never been able to pass that retched place, and just yesterday did we send our last recon. They have yet to return."

"You will not want to pass that hell hole after you hear what I have to say."

"Bring all of your people inside, you are more than welcome to stay here," Shunsui said. "Lead your horses to the stable, and make yourselves at home. I will have the cooks prepare you a supper tonight."

"Your kindness is without warrant or restitution." Nel gave her thanks. "We will not forget this. We have lost many as it is, more than half of our people."

"The winter is hard here," Shunsui admitted. "But there is plenty for your people and more. Come, you have journeyed long, let me find you arrangements to your liking." He motioned for them to follow.

"Do not go north of the wood," Grimmjow told him as they walked along the patio. "There was once a time where everything was paradise. The warm summers of North were kind to us, and the growing season yielded us plenty. The fruits were of such a caliber that there was not a single persons starving or with hunger—grain, fruit, meats from the beasts, and milk from the cow, we had everything a man could ask for. The frozen wastes of the South where your people make their stay, paled in comparison to such majesty." Shunsui grimaced at such words, wondering of such a heaven. "And the beauty of the green fields!" he exclaimed, his eyes distant from reminisce. "And then they came. In large numbers, an otherworldly beast gathered from seemingly nowhere, maybe even they crawled from the dirt itself. They destroyed our crops, ravaged our towns, and brought smoke and fire to our homes. And now we come to you, my old friend¸ to warn you of the horror that is to come." The man spoke darkly.

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez had never been such a man as the one who spoke of eloquence, and in fondness of plenty. That was not a change that anyone could have predicted. No doubt it had a connection to what culminated from the changing of the world, from the melding of the three peoples, Spirit, Hollow, and Man. Admist all of this, he could not deny these people, and he worried even more for Ichigo and Rukia who had been sent out to seek civilization just nights before. In short time they reached their destination: a warm nook beyond the long hall's recesses. Shunsui turned to his privileged guests.

"We are honored to have you in our hall," He said with a deepened respect. The snow around them fell gently to the floor, a foreign thing to his new arrived friends. He could see them shivering in the cold, lest they ever admit such a weakness. He would fetch for them some warm leathers and cloth later, and see to it they are well fitted for the frozen times to come. "Your accommodations are well made out to you, I hope you find them befitting in your stay here."

He had his servant men tie their horses into the stable adjacent to their home, and led them into the finely crafted logged cabin. Nel and Grimmjow followed wordlessly, the former shivering from the permafrost's chill. It was otherworldly cold in the South, heavily contrasting the warm mild temperatures of the North, which was the most drastic of changes. Their footsteps thumped from contact with the wooded floor, and the two welcomed the warm heat of the heavily insulated cabin. The howling wind at the door's orifice ceased as Shunsui closed the door behind them, almost like sealing a tomb with rock. He lit an oil lamp that echoed through the room in quite a nice fashion. Their shadows danced across the walls revealing finely furnished ornaments and fashion within the cabin, clearly meant for a Lord or wealthy man. It was homely enough indeed, and equipped with soft furniture and even feathered beds upstairs.

Shunsui lifted the oil lantern in his guest's direction. "If you need any more light, I will fetch for some more candle and lantern."

"That would be good." Grimmjow said. "Nel has a penchant for reading and writing, not surprisingly."

Shunsui bowed his head silently and motioned for another servant.

"It's lovely." Nel said in remarkable wonder. "How did you build such places in this frozen world? It's like this place has been standing a thousand years."

"That's because it possibly has been standing a thousand years." Shunsui admitted. His eyes lingered on the hand carved decorations on the mantle of the fireplace. "Save for this place, and a number of other new crafts, we found this place abandoned and empty. A trick of fate, one might say."

"A stronghold empty and barren?" Grimmjow questioned. "A trick of fate, indeed." He took another lantern from the servant and lit it with a match. Neliel began to unfasten her armor, letting it fall to the floor with a thud. She wore finely knitted clothing underneath, something that a highborn would wear if there was such a thing in these times. "We had to craft and make everything from scratch, but with the combined efforts of the people and the resources laid before us, it was not an arduous task."

Shunsui gazed in mild wonder. "Mind my manners, Grimmjow, but where did you learn to speak of such eloquence without the aid of books and pen? You are a changed man, a man a shadow of his former self."

Grimmjow snorted. "I found myself a changed man after the cataclysm. I am who I am now, and that goes for any hollow who finally lost the chain of their mask which held them at bay. We can thank the new God for that at least, if we can thank him for anything at all."

"Is that so?" He set his lantern down on the desk next to him. "That is quite a wonder to behold, is it not? You are now a man of respect and honor, Grimmjow. I hereby offer you the services of the people of Winter's Rest, which is where you now reside. Make your people at home, enlist them in our forces, and have them serve you as they once did, for your lordship will be recognized here." He removed his conical hat to reveal his eyes truthfully. "I am no longer, the "Captain-Commander" of the Gotei 13, but a humble leader of the people. There is no more Gotei 13, and never will such a thing stand again." He put a hand on the shoulder of Grimmjow in a friendly gesture. "Let us make the best of what has been given to us."

He locked eyes in silence with the former enemy turned friend, and after a moment he reached out his hand for a shake, to which Shunsui returned. "Aye."

They had come together once before to fight a common enemy, and failed. As the world crashed down around them, they went their separate ways, but now they had been reunited in the same way, to face a common threat to them all. They were the first ones to make the trip through the wood and still live, that alone proved their worth. It was obviously clear what they sought was refuge and peace, and Shunsui would undoubtedly give it to them.

"In my dreams, I see the demons," Grimmjow admitted. "A thousand of my people, slaughtered like common cattle or sheep. We weren't prepared for what came to us, as they came in the night, bringing death, and leaving destruction in their wake. We made the journey here at the last second, as we had no other choice."

There was nothing Shunsui could say to console him. After a small quiet, he spoke, "A couple of the beasts have strayed from the wood. They took one of our own last month. They are isolated incidents for sure, as something seems to be keeping them northward."

"They took our homes, our peace, our paradise, our people," Grimmjow spat angrily, with Nel sitting quietly behind them. "If what you say is true, then we shall find a new peace and paradise here with you, for as long as that may be."

"I have not forgotten what you two did in the war," Shunsui replied softly. "For that alone, there is nothing I can do to ever repay you." When he did not immediately answer back, he said. "Tell me more about these, 'beasts'."

Grimmjow shook his head. "They are a mindless, foul, and brutal creature. Their shrieks more foreign than anything you know, and they instill fear in the mightiest of people. If you had seen what they did, you would understand. They do not care if you are but a babe, or a woman, they slaughtered them all alike." He paused for a slight moment before continuing, choking up in his words. "Neliel and I… we bore a child….and..."

Shunsui could see the horrible grief in the warrior's eye, one that he had never seen before, or thought to see for that matter. He raised his hand for him to cease his story. "Please, you need not continue."

Grimmjow's mouth gave a horrid twist. "I will get my revenge," he spoke darkly. "Peace be with us, but until my last dying breath, I promise you, I will get my revenge. Against my own wishes, it means naught in the shame I bear, losing our first born son to a vile beast before he even lived two revolutions."

Shunsui could understand the man's shame and pain. Losing a child was worse than any dagger to the heart. It was something that pierced deeper than even the sharpest of blades, but there was one thing he didn't understand. "My friend." He treaded carefully. "You mean for revenge, against a mindless beast?"

The man sitting across the table caught him dead in the eye, his dull blue orbs twisting into something else. "I saw it." Every syllable lasted a lifetime, the very utterance of it causing the room to go dark. "It was different, not like the others. It took my child away, and it took the others away too, all babes. It was twisted, a black, shapeless mass of gore and filth, and it left its mark everywhere it went."

"Its mark?" Shunsui questioned, his interest undermining his own sense of sanity.

Grimmjow smiled darkly. "A story for another time, my old friend." He laughed not out of happiness, but out of trepidation. It rattled amongst the wooded walls of the cabin, his smile wicked and toothy. It unnerved Shunsui to say the least, but he knew better than to press on sensitive matters such as this.

"You must be very weary." Shunsui stood up. He bowed briefly before the beautiful Neliel, she already half asleep and curled up in the chair. "It's good to have you in our company. Get some rest, and we shall speak again with the morning's rise, unless you would rather enjoy some supper with us in the long hall. We will be serving meat of the hare with a porridge, and with some freshly fermented ale. That's a rare thing indeed here in the South."

Grimmjow had since returned to his normal self. He bowed slightly out of appreciation. "We thank you for everything, and I hope you can find room for what is left of our people."

"There is more than enough room here in Winter's Rest, I can more than assure you of that." Shunsui motioned for his servant to open the door. The wind's chill once more escaped through and into the house, biting at the inhabitants with fury and rage. "A storm is coming tonight, you two best get a fire started, and warm yourselves by it, lest you freeze in the night."

Neliel was now breathing evenly and softly as the sleep had taken her just a moments before. Grimmjow eyed her with an easy gaze and returned head to Shunsui. He nodded his respects and placed his conical hat again on his head.

"I take my leave."

As Shunsui exited through the cabin's door, he was immediately graced with the presence of Ayasegawa Yumichika, who was presently on guard duty. He was breathing heavily, as if he had just fled from something horrible.

For a moment, Shunsui was filled with a terrible foreboding. This was something he expected soon enough, after the late return of his two scouts and longtime friends the day before. He looked at Yumichika in the eye, and breathed deeply against the chill of the wind and snow.

"It's Ichigo, and Rukia." The watchmen finally breathed out in broken sentences. "Come quickly, My Lord."