The burns were bad. He was among the worst injured. It was surprising he had held on as long as he had... K'yhaega. He was a good man. It pained K'yohko now to clean his burned face as much as possible. He was nearly unrecognizable now. Or perhaps it was just because K'yohko was so tired. His vision had been blurry the last few days, but it was only getting worse with each hour he remained awake. Someone had to do this. Someone had to bury them all. He was the only person who hadn't yet fallen to pieces it seemed either.
K'yohko turned his head when he heard a small voice calling nervously for her father. He recognized her instantly as K'nahli. His face was worn and battered and dirty, but his eyes remained as still and stony as ever. Although he was sad and torn, he was for the most part, unchanged. K'nahli could see the tiredness and sadness in his eyes, but there was also a strength behind them. He had to be strong for everyone. It was something he had accepted.
"K'nahli..." he called back her name softly and stood. He stepped towards his daughter before kneeling in front of her and moving to take her hands. "Your mother didn't want you in here. Do you need me? Or are you looking for someone?" K'yohko knew whom she was looking for. He was not so disengaged from his family that he did not know what they were up to. He had watched K'yhaega teach K'nahli to hunt. He had watched them become close, sometimes too close for his own liking. But never had K'yhaega done anything to earn K'yohko's dislike or mistrust, and so he allowed it to happen. But now... he was sure that K'nahli was here to find K'yhaega. How could he tell her that the brutally maimed body in front of her was him? How could he tell that to his thirteen year old daughter?
K'yohko turned his head when he heard a small voice calling nervously for her father. He recognized her instantly as K'nahli. His face was worn and battered and dirty, but his eyes remained as still and stony as ever. Although he was sad and torn, he was for the most part, unchanged. K'nahli could see the tiredness and sadness in his eyes, but there was also a strength behind them. He had to be strong for everyone. It was something he had accepted.
"K'nahli..." he called back her name softly and stood. He stepped towards his daughter before kneeling in front of her and moving to take her hands. "Your mother didn't want you in here. Do you need me? Or are you looking for someone?" K'yohko knew whom she was looking for. He was not so disengaged from his family that he did not know what they were up to. He had watched K'yhaega teach K'nahli to hunt. He had watched them become close, sometimes too close for his own liking. But never had K'yhaega done anything to earn K'yohko's dislike or mistrust, and so he allowed it to happen. But now... he was sure that K'nahli was here to find K'yhaega. How could he tell her that the brutally maimed body in front of her was him? How could he tell that to his thirteen year old daughter?
![[Image: urVhoNf.png]](http://i.imgur.com/urVhoNf.png)
