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I don't own anything!
Author's Note:
"This is how change happens. One gesture. One person. One moment at a time."
-Libba Bray (Sweet Far Thing)
Yuan was on watch when they appeared from the early morning mist. Ghostly pale figures with bright, intelligent eyes. He scrambled backwards, his hand landing on Mithos' arm. "Wake up!" he hissed urgently.
Mithos was on his knees in an instant, a half-formed spell circle beneath his feet. The rush of familiar mana woke Kratos and Martel.
"Whoa…" Mithos breathed, letting the spell fade away as he registered what he was looking at.
A herd of unicorns stood fifteen feet away. Their pale coats almost blended in with the moonlit mist. The one in front had a mane like seafoam, with flanks dappled a dove gray. Three weeks of searching for the unicorns, and the unicorns had found them.
"Um, hi," Martel said, still blinking away the edges of sleep.
"You trespass on our lands." The unicorn's voice was female, throaty and angry.
"We need to speak with you," Martel said, getting to her feet slowly and showing empty hands. "We mean no harm."
"So they all say."
"Who is 'they'?"
"Every other mortal who came looking for us, who hunted us."
"We don't want to hunt you," Mithos said. "All the legends speak of the healing properties of unicorn horn. My sister is very sick."
The mare snorted. "Everyone is sick and dying. The entire world is. My herd will sacrifice themselves for mortals no longer."
"Wait—sacrifice?" Kratos repeated. "Who said anything about sacrifices?"
"Our horns are our lives. We did our part to help. My herd is now all younglings. I have watched my herd be slaughtered for your spells, watched my family die because I could do nothing. Now I am strong enough to protect them."
Kratos didn't startle when Noishe landed behind him, but he did when the familiar beak nipped his ear.
The mare's head reared back, her nostrils twitching in what Yuan could only hope was confusion. "Why does a protozoan consort with mortals?"
"He's our friend," Yuan-and-Kratos said.
Noishe walked to the unicorns. He stood a bit taller than them, even counting the spiral horn. He pressed his forehead to the mare's nose.
Long moments passed before the mare pulled away from Noishe. "You dare accuse us of turning from our duty?"
One of the larger unicorns behind her stepped up. He was a handsome stallion, a purer white than the mare. "But Mother, he's right. We are the caretakers of the world, as protozoans are the protectors. We have been hiding—"
The mare wheeled her head to him, a sharp whinny silencing him. "We have been surviving."
"What does that make us?" the stallion demanded. "We survive as cowards? As traitors to our duty?"
Her eyes flashed. "You forget your place."
His head tilted up. "I am next in line to lead this herd. I know my place and it belongs with them. The people trying to influence change. The Lady Luna spoke to us about them, remember? About how they are good for the world."
"I won't allow Lady Luna's fondness for mortals bring about the death of my herd."
"We understand if you don't want to help us," Martel said, stepping forward. "You do what you have to to protect your family." She smiled a little. "We understand that better than most. We just needed to try."
The mare paused, her ears flicking forward as she studied Martel. "You're the sick one."
"Yes."
"Mother, I won't just let them walk away. They've shown us no ill will, and if Lady Luna vouched for them, then I will keep my faith in her." The stallion stepped closer to Martel, lowering his head carefully. "You seem like a good mortal. I hope this helps you. Truly. And I hope you succeed. I hope that, when I am reborn, the lunara blossoms are blooming across this forest again, and that the song of the linkite trees are soaring through the winds once more. I dream that the colts of my herd will be able to grow in a world where they do not have to fear being hunted, that they can grow up free."
Martel smiled at him. "That sounds like a good dream."
He nudged his snout in her hands. Martel's breath hitched as she felt the mana inside him, clean and warm, pulsing like a heartbeat. "A gift," he said. "Freely given."
The stallion's entire being glowed, a star bursting in the mist. When the light cleared and Martel blinked past the spots in her vision, the stallion was gone, and his spiral horn lay in her hands. She fell to her knees, suddenly weak at the thought of what had been done.
(She hadn't wanted this, for someone to sacrifice their life for her. It isn't right, but there's no way to reverse it, and a part inside her shrivels in relief because this might be the answer she'd been looking for)
Martel looked up at the mare, could feel her sorrow as cleanly as if it were hers. "I will honor this. I will live my life honoring what your son has done."
"It is the way of our kind. The magic does not work if the horn is taken. It must be a gift." The mare's eyes wouldn't leave the horn in Martel's hands. "He knew that. My son was always the idealistic sort. I don't agree with him; I don't think there's much hope for the world at this point. But I can hope all of you are right, and that the world does change for the better."
"We can make it change for the better," Mithos said. "It won't change by itself. Things happen because people make them happen. Your son's sacrifice won't be in vain."
The mare dipped her head. "You had best be right."
(When the unicorns leave, Martel still can't quite get off her knees. When Mithos comes to make sure she's alright, she yanks him into a hug, needing to make sure he's alright. He is her anchor as much as Yuan and Kratos are, and he hugs her back tightly without asking questions, his heartbeat pulsing in her ear)