"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened."
-Anatole Francis
The First Blue Dragon was an enigma to those of the village of the Blue Dragon. They had long since forgotten the stories, long since forgotten the nobility of its blood, as well as the great purpose for the powers. However, they had old stories. Old rules that still the elders looked upon when making their decisions.
It had been discovered within the first few generations. If a Blue Dragon had children of their own, those children would be far more likely to become Blue Dragons themselves. In fact, it was almost guaranteed. Why this was, was unclear to the council of elders. However it was assumed like hair color and height that some things were destined to be passed from father to son, and that somehow the ability for the Blue Dragon's curse to latch on to a child was one of those things. And so, because the village's greatest hope was the eradication of the Blue Dragon, the Blue Dragon was strictly forbidden from marrying and intimate contact of any sort.
There were also traits one had to be careful of, for parents with them were also more likely to give birth to the Dragons. It was unlucky to know a quiet woman, worrisome to love a man who was quick with a sword, but dangerous to marry someone with a knack for animals. It was just the way it was. Some people were just unlucky. They certainly weren't blamed when the child was born because they had little control over the curse which afflicted the whole village. Everyone knew and understood that all too well.
However, when they found one or both parents dead, they also didn't mourn.
And so every Blue Dragon would be born, live with their predecessor until their death, and then continue on alone until the next Blue Dragon was born. It was just the way of the rules, and it was the rules that kept them safe. But that did not keep Seiryuu from dreaming as he sneaked through the shadows to take his spot outside a cavern every night. He listened for mothers to whisper stories to their children of people in the sky who cried and made the heavens drip with tears, of a princess on the moon and her beloved woodcutter, a barren grandmother who with a love and a wish turned a peach into a boy that she could love as her own. He would closed his eyes and imagine older brothers, a scratchy blanket, the sweet taste of persimmons upon his lips, and the warm brush of a mother's kiss as the embers slowly dimmed until gentle darkness and sweet dreams took him.
But those were sweet figments, and sweet dreams never did come true.
It is said that time moves slowly, trickles like water down a narrow path leisurely, and in no absolutely no rush. However if one does not pay attention in the next moment that small path has become a canyon, cutting swaths across space and time.
And so the days Seiryuu spent suffered from a very similar phenomenon. They strung along, an endless routine that he constantly moved through as if walking through the dense fog that swept through the mountains. He practiced the sword and got stronger and faster with each day as he sharpened his skills. Seiryuu did what he could to protect the village by staying hidden and discouraging travel too close to the village by cutting down trees before pathways and things of the like, and he also practiced things that could keep the loneliness from his mind like sewing or star gazing. One year passed, and then another. Suddenly, before he had even realized it, he was sixteen. A tall boy who had grown into his features and into his loveliness. Those who caught glimpses past the mask as he walked by couldn't help but be in awe of his delicately sculpted face, those eyes so sad and soulful that pierced the heart in a way different then paralysis. Where the past generation had been rough, the current Lord Seiryuu was as pale and beautiful as the moon, but also they thought as cold and deadly as the night.
He was still alone, and became used to loneliness. That's not to say that the loneliness did not bother him, because it very much did. But Seiryuu only noticed his own loneliness when he realized that he had forgotten what his own voice sounded like, or when he sewed extra blankets and realized that there were too many for him and he had no one to give them to. Like the passage of time, if he ignored the ache, the loneliness soon faded away and he was left empty, which was certainly better than being sad or lonely. Seiryuu spent most of his time alone and away from the rest of the village except for when he was called before the council of elders and even then they did not have much to say to him beside curt greetings. This was because, unlike his predecessors, Seiryuu was not breaking any rules. Seiryuu did not see the need to break rules, because he had come to accept that the dark caves they lived in were for the protection of everyone. In fact, he had realized the world was better off with him within those caverns. Seiryuu knew it was his fate to be hated, because he was an unnatural creature, so spending those endless days doing the good that he could would at least make up for a fraction of his sins. He was not afraid of the villager's hatred, or of being alone.
It was the nights that he feared.
He would remember. Again and again the images assaulted his mind, ripping through any sense of comfort the day light hours had given him and leave him breathless, skin crawling, out of his mind in fear and disgust.
It was always that battlefield. Always that cold rain that pounded against his skin and left him feeling numb, always those vivid screams and cries as he tore the outsider's hearts from their chests and watched them squirm in the mud like earthworms that he squashed with those dragon eyes. Seiryuu had heard their sobs, their begged moans for mercy but hadn't even thought of giving them that. Even as the blood vessels in their eyes popped and foam and bile spewed from their mouths and they died in the mud like animals Seiryuu wouldn't stop. He wouldn't want to stop.
Give me more.
"Stop it!" Seiryuu screamed as he tore at his ears, trying to make it go away but the invasive voice just continued to laugh on at his agony, at Seiryuu's expense, scraping along the insides of his ears like fingernails against the cavern walls.
Stop? But you are the one wanted this.
"You're wrong!" He sobbed, shaking his head desperately. "I never wanted any of this! All I wanted was to protect-"
Now, now. It's not good to lie.
"No!"
What do you mean no? It purred in his ears, soft like a summer breeze. You enjoyed yourself so much, and I enjoyed myself. This is what we are. You are a dragon, and dragons devour all in their way. Look, Seiryuu. Look at the claw mark of our power. Don't you see, Seiryuu? To live is to devour others.
"No! No, I won't let you devour anyone else! I'll never let you out ever again! I'll protect everyone from you!"
You? How cold. We are one and the same.
"I'm nothing like you! I'm not you! You are the Blue Dragon and I'm-"
He physically jerked out of his dream, but lay frozen and unable to move due to his absolute terror, the darkness crushing him and making it hard to breath. He waited a few moments for the ghost of paralysis to lift from his chest and when he finally regained ability over himself he was drenched in a cold sweat, with his stomach threatening to heave out anything he had eaten. He looked through the rocks and to the sky for comfort but found none, the world outside darker then night as clouds continued showering the mountainsides with frigid rain, hearing the dripping of rainwater as it slid through the cracks and splattered against the rock floors. The incessant noise droned on which caused those memories he feared the most to bubble up from his unwilling subconscious. Seiryuu could almost taste the mud, hear the thunder cracking, see the eyes of those he had murdered film over dull like…like his had as they expired in the mud and were left desecrated by his eyes.
Seiryuu hated it. Hated that person who had killed those people. Seiryuu hated him, Seiryuu-
Hated himself.
(Once upon a time, Seiryuu, there was a man and his wife who shared three cakes. On the third, they made a bet that whoever talked first loses his share of the cake. After this, they stopped talking. In no time, a thief forced his way into the house to rob valuable things. The couple saw that everything fell into the thief's hand without uttering a sound, due to the bet they had made previously. Seeing that they said nothing, the thief started to attack the wife in the presence of her husband who still would not utter a word. Then she shouted to her husband,
"How stupid you are! You wouldn't shout only because of a cake."
Clapping his hand in joy, the husband said, "Oh! My girl. I'll get the cake. I won't give you any of it."
Upon hearing the story, everyone nearby laughed at them.
You must remember this, Seiryuu. Humans are like that. They'll do whatever it takes to get what they want, and they'll let others get hurt. You can't be like them, because if you hurt people for what you want, the consequences will be dire. No matter what, you should never use your powers.)
"Please forgive me….please." Seiryuu whispered to that important person as he curled up onto his side as he knew dreamless sleep would evade him, hands clenched over the mask, over those monstrous eyes. "You taught me so much…and I tried to learn. But…but you didn't teach me how to live without you. How…? Tell me…Ao…"
The only response was the sound of water dripping endlessly on.
The rain had been coming down so hard for days that many in the village wondered if it would ever end. Seiryuu had started to become restless. He didn't like the cold and the rain, but he also disliked not being able to practice his swordsmanship outside. So, Seiryuu decided that the moment that the rain let up, even if it was a little, he would venture out to practice for as long as the weather would allow him to.
And so when the rain finally settled into a dreary drizzle, Seiryuu set out for the clearing in the woods where he always practiced. It was cold and wet, and he struggled to set down his things where they wouldn't become soaked, but still pleasant to stretch his legs and exercise as he moved from form to form in an effortlessly pattern that his body remembered from countless practices. The sword was a warm, familiar weight in his hand, its song as it cut through the air swift and sharp. The sword was a comfort, and a dutiful and loyal companion whose presence Seiryuu would always be grateful for, because it was through the sword that he felt the most connected with the person he had lost.
He had just finished his drills and had turned to his pack and noticed a small creature sitting up upon the rock by the tree he had rested his bag under. It was tiny and soaked and shivering in the rain, but Seiryuu looked at it and the creature looked back. Seiryuu stood there for a moment completely frozen, waiting for it to run away or hide, but instead it just continued to look on at him with huge eyes as if asking for something.
But what? What was it asking for?
Seiryuu looked around for something he could do, before settling on the huge leaf he saw resting on the ground. He picked it up, using it to shield the creature so he could get a better look at it and then see if it was injured, only to have the squirrel immediately take a bite out of it.
Hungry. It was hungry.
His thoughts started racing, and he quickly looked around, trying to gather as many acorns and nuts that he could from the ground, rubbing them upon his robes to clean them. Seiryuu slowly inched towards the squirrel, gingerly, gently-gently and slowly placing one of the acorns upon the rock. He waited again, thinking that the squirrel at any moment would sense danger from him. But to his surprise, the squirrel began to crack open the shell and eat. As soon as he finished, Seiryuu offered the rest of the nuts within his hands, and the squirrel immediately began to eat of them as well.
Seiryuu but sit down and join the creature, not caring about if he got wet.
"You should…save…some." Seiryuu told the squirrel that just looked into his eyes as if confused. Seiryuu was surprised at how light and soft his voice sounded then, unlike the usual rough, cracking hiss like branches trampled underfoot that usually rose from his throat when he spoke. That voice was quiet and warm like a summer breeze, and he found he liked the sound of it. "You never know…on another…rainy day you might not…have anyone to give you food."
The squirrel continued to eat and then squeaked once, the sound pleased and happy. Seiryuu could almost hear a voice, but oh! I'm hungry now! Why should I wait when I am hungry now?
"Well…there's a story I know… that explains. The person who…looked after me told it…to me. It's that… farmer discovers gold on his land… even though at first he thought it must be a very hard tree root. But when he uncovered it…he saw that it was beautiful shining gold. Since it was daytime he was afraid to try and take it with him. So he covered it up again and waited for nightfall.
The poor farmer returned in the middle of the night…Again he uncovered the golden treasure. He tried to lift it, but it was…heavy. He tied ropes around it and tried to drag it. But it was so huge he couldn't budge it an inch. He became frustrated…thinking he was lucky to find a treasure…and unlucky to not be able to take it with him. Then he sat down and…thought… He decided the only thing to do was to break the lump of gold into four smaller lumps. Then he could carry home one piece at a time.
He thought, "One lump I will use for ordinary day-to-day living. The second lump I will save for a rainy day. The third lump I will invest in my farming business. And I will gain merit with the fourth lump by giving it to the poor and needy and for other good works."
With a calm mind he divided the huge lump of gold into these four smaller lumps. Then it was easy to carry them home on four separate trips. Afterwards he lived happily... because he decided to break it up…to portion. So…you should portion too. And be…careful."
His throat was sore from speaking so much, and he was pleased that he was able to tell a story, even if he hadn't been anywhere as good as Ao. Ao's voice when he told stories was deep and soothing, and had curled around him like stepping into a stream on a warm day and had made all hurts go away. Seiryuu wasn't a born storyteller, but he was happy. Obviously Seiryuu hadn't expected any kind of response as he stood up to pick up his bag, he turned to leave and took a few steps, only to realize the squirrel was following after him. Seiryuu frowned and looked at the squirrel which just stared back at him with wide, dark eyes.
He turned back and settled on the ground once more. Seiryuu looked at the creature as he tried to shoo it with a movement of his hands. For a few moments the squirrel did not move before giving a squeak. The squirrel then just cocked its head to the side, before hoping away back into the underbrush and then up the maple tree.
Over the next few weeks when the rain let up, Seiryuu made his way to the clearing and always either found the squirrel upon the rock or watched as it scurried from the handsome maple tree it lived in. Seiryuu continued on with his swordsmanship training, waiting for it to leave as he swung the blade through the air. Waiting for it to sense danger. However the squirrel just continued to sit upon the rock as it chewed on acorns until Seiryuu was done and when Seiryuu brought his lunch with him, he would timidly share a few pieces with the creature before it scurried back up the tree and Seiryuu left for the caverns he knew as home. It became a familiar routine as the weeks carried on, until one day when Seiryuu, instead of leaving immediately leaving like the first few times, sat by the rock and looked at the squirrel curiously as it scurried up the tree before returning to its spot with a mouthful of acorns.
"Do you…live here?" Seiryuu asked the squirrel as he looked up at the beautiful maple tree. "It must…be nice. Being able to…live outside…"
Instead of hopping away like before, to his surprise the squirrel instead nuzzled against his hand. Seiryuu tried to resist his natural urge to jerk away, only to turn his hand so slowly until it was palm-up and then have. The squirrel settle into his cupped hands, soft and warm and alive. Seiryuu felt an odd lump form in his throat, and he squinted his eyes to keep them from stinging with tears.
"I'm sorry…if my hands are…cold." He murmured awkwardly because he didn't know what else to say, but instead the squirrel just nuzzled against his fingers making his whole body twitch and the squirrel to look up at him. "No one…really comes up to me…so I'm not used to it…"
The squirrel just continued to look on at him, obviously unafraid, and Seiryuu couldn't help but feel his heart squeeze in his chest.
"You know…I…I used to have someone…who looked out for me…he would eat with me too. He was a…very precious person…to me." Seiryuu told the creature, gently stroking it under its chin, relishing the softness of its fur. "You remind me…of him."
Suddenly a cold wind cut through the air, chilling Shin-ah to the bone and making him look up. The clouds were gathering in the east, black clouds that carried winds and thick rain. It was the sort of storm that caused the tree branches to ache and the sky to wail. A terrible storm, just like that day long since passed. He looked back down and noticed the squirrel looking up at him as if concerned. His stomach tightened and the pit of dread inside him only deepened when he thought of this tiny creature clinging onto the branches of a maple tree rocked by storm.
Seiryuu realized then that he couldn't leave it be.
"Would you…come back with me for tonight?" He asked nervously, "I…I live in the mountains. It'll protect you from the storm…at least."
The squirrel seemed, somehow, to understand. And most importantly it didn't fight him as he gently tucked the squirrel in his shirt to protect it from the rain which was just beginning to fall again at a rougher pace. He ran swiftly through the forest, faster than ever before as he made it up the path and back into the cave as thunder began to roll through the valleys and the dark clouds, swelled with rain, began to weep. He wind began to howl, as the villagers all murmured of another terrible storm that was beginning as they retreated back to their own rooms within the cave.
Seiryuu himself was making different sorts of arrangements.
Normally he did not bother with torches or lights because he had perfect night vision, but realizing his new companion would have nothing of the sort, he quickly took two of the torches and lit them along the path in order to hang and light the darkness of his normally lightless room. As soon as that was complete, he carefully took the creature from his robes and placed him upon the straw mat and the mass of blankets he had sewed. The squirrel squeaked in appreciation, before running around the room once to take in its new surroundings, and then coming back and settling on the blankets as Seiryuu began to get his dinner together.
The rainy season was a difficult season to gather food, so Seiryuu's rations always dwindled. But Seiryuu always was able to find something with his eyes to supplement what he was given and was an adequate hunter when he was able to go outside. So that night he had made for himself rice and daikon and rabbit, a crude sort of meal but he was able to share the radish with his new friend, and he swore every bite burst in his mouth with flavor, where before he wouldn't have tasted a thing.
That night, as the wind howled and the rains battered the cave, and the little squirrel had lay on the fur with him and still slept as he touched it with his fingertips oh, so carefully. This creature was a precious thing, Seiryuu thought.
And because it was precious, Seiryuu resolved to let it go. And that night he dreamed of a faraway past.
(Seiryuu, he whispered one night when his fits had eased, he had called Seiryuu over, his eyes dull. I want to…tell you a story. It's a story about a king. Once upon a time, there was a king with all riches in the world, but his greatest treasure lived within the garden. He had a tree… a tremendously gigantic and beautiful tree. In the spring once the flower petals had blossomed and fell, a fruit was brought forth. An excellent fruit with fragrance and sweetness that couldn't be matched by anything else in the kingdom. One day the king told asked a guest if he would like some of these fruits, to which the guest replied, "I wish to have some, but how can I get them, the tree is too tall and large."
He stopped for a moment to catch his breath and Seiryuu waited patiently for the story to begin again.
So the foolish king then ordered to have the tree hacked down to get the fruit. And so all their efforts were made in vain. The foolish king desperately tried to revive the tree, but it had withered and died.
Humans are like the king, Seiryuu. They are stupid people who hurt us, despite what we give them. And we are like that tree. We give fruit, but no one will be able to taste the works of our labor. The fate of the Blue Dragon is to simply wither and die away. There is no point to our suffering. What is the purpose of a tree whose fruits no one will ever taste? What is the reason for their being a Blue Dragon? Why...why do we have to...?
He was upset and angry, but Seiryuu couldn't say a thing. And so Seiryuu simply burrowed next to him in the blankets, and wished he knew what to say. Instead of pushing him away, Ao held him close, and Seiryuu fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.)
The beautiful maple tree that Seiryuu had so admired had been shattered and cracked by lightning, its beautiful branches crashed onto the ground, its innards scorched and split open to the sky. Seiryuu resisted the urge to shudder at the fact that if he hadn't taken the squirrel back with him, more than likely it would have been in the tree as well.
The creature though, didn't seem too sad. It appeared to inspect the tree before hopping through the grasses and squeaking at him. When he reached his hand down, the squirrel scurried up his arm and rested upon his shoulders.
"You…shouldn't wish to come…back with me." Seiryuu told it, "I live in the cellars…I have to sneak out to come outside. You won't…be able to…live in the open air and the sunlight any longer. I'll…try to find you a new tree…until then…you can stay with me…but only…until then…"
The creature nuzzled against him and Seiryuu stroked its head as he walked back towards home. He realized then that he had never given the creature a name and quickly decided on the only name that seemed right as the forest fell behind them and the clouds scattered from a blue sky.
"…Ao."
FEELS FEELS FEELS
Ao is literally one of the best characters in Akayona. She always makes every scene a delight to watch with her antics.
In case you guys were wondering, the meeting of Seiryuu and Ao with the leaf has a basis in one of the extra chapters by Kusanagi-sensei.
You guys are all awesome and I love you. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and know that while the past two chapters have most been dealing with the inter-area between canon, next time we will be getting back into canon area. Please leave a fav/alert/review to let me know you care! ~OMGitsgreen
