"He is dead, K'nahli"
The nuhns declaration was both solid and blunt, though entirely necessary. Regardless of whether it had been his intention or not, the result of his spoken words, powerful and direct as they were, was instantaneous, crashing into her with the pulverizing force of a freight train and rattling her naivety violently to the core.
His embrace upon her served as the sharpened chisel and his words the striking hammer as the chains that had bound her shattered fiercely in that moment, freeing K'nahli from the plaguing shackles of denial and releasing her into the cold, dark embrace of reality. The mere mention of the one word she had dreaded the thought of hearing had triggered an immediate response within the girl. An inexplicable feeling of immense pressure slammed into her stomach, forcing a pained gasp past her quivering lips as her world came crumbling down around her. Tragic eyes, wide as saucers refused to release themselves from the image of the man she had come to love and respect like no other as he slowly began to lose the false, pristine appearance her mind had insisted upon creating only moments ago. The protective, celestial light that had caressed his entirety was fading while familiar wounds began reappearing across his exposed flesh, destroying him. Piece by piece.
"No, no... please let me help him!!!" the girl cried out in anguish. Her arms reached out for K'yhaega desperately, yearning for even the slightest brush of skin as though such a trivial thing would breathe life back into him once more and save him from the wounds he was slowly accumulating before her eyes.
"Y-Y-You can't do this.... you can't.."
His body came to be consumed by an unworldly flame, licking at his flesh, it burned him throughout, torturing his soft and motionless form and returning the wounds he had earned from the hellish massacre at cartenau, wounds K'nahli had refused to even acknowledge. The flame engulfed him whole, slowly returning him back to the wretched, disfigurement that the girl had first beheld when she entered the tent, the body of a mysterious tia whom she 'knew' was anyone but her mentor. The brutish image tormented the girl as she strained against her father's arms desperately, screaming out his name in torturous anguish while her heart heaved and ripped inside, feeling no less than were it being torn apart by a pack of ravenous wolves.
"Our promise, K'yhaega... don't you remember it? You said you would come back.. y-you said..."
The girl, finally overcome by the tempest of emotion clawing at and defiling her mind, collapsed into her father's arms as he slowly hunkered down to lift her.
"You promised..... you can't.... don't break it, please... don't"
For the very little awareness K'nahli held toward her father in that moment, his motion at the very least seemed uninhibited. He moved slowly and calmly, resisting her weak struggle rather easily despite his condition. Tender, cradling arms carefully raised her up to his chest, as he moved to carry her away from the detestable scene that was the inspiration for her unfaltering trauma. The moisture from his bloodied arms did not hinder the warmth of his body as they held against his daughter's frail form with enough delicacy to offer her as much emotional comfort as he possibly could, but with enough strength to prevent her from slipping free and indulging in her delusionary state.
"What are you going to do with him, father? Tell me!" her attention snapped toward him as he slowly carried her outside. The tent flaps fell back in place all too hastily, as if cruelly intending to deny her any further watch upon her beloved mentor. Her cheeks, still sensitive from the light burns she had sustained, had grown soft from her tears as they tirelessly pumped free from her eyes like an endless torrent and soaked her skin thoroughly.
"Answer me! What are you going to do?!" she pleaded with the nuhn desperately in vain, her hysteria growing more wild as his lack of response only brought her closer to the answer, another answer she so badly wanted to deny. K'nahli pressed her face into her father's chest tightly, seeking comfort and hope from the soft rhythm of his beating heart. A number of soft, muffled sobs stemmed out from her throat and echoed through her father in the form of soft, indecipherable murmurs as another crushing wave of sorrow crashed down over her.
"Please.... please don't put him in the ground..." her voice had become so, very, soft and fragile now as she spoke. The words were barely audible, though just enough that K'yohko could still understand in spite of her pitiful, clouding whimpers.
"I won't...... I won't ever see him again if you do.."
She continued to weep softly for a short moment before a very, light inhale indicated yet another attempt at self control as she slowly released herself from the burrowing pressure she had placed upon her father and brought herself to meet eyes with him. Her watery stare shimmered tragically against the faint, saffron glow emanating from a nearby campfire. Her tortured eyes only echoed the grief she was enduring as they pierced fearfully into his for a brief moment while she nervously waited for her convulsing body to relent and give her the chance to speak, unhindered by neither sobs nor tremors.
"I don't want to hate you.... please.. don't make me hate you"
Throughout the young miqo'te's life, her father's stony expression had been a source of her strength in her weaker moments. Though they hadn't shared a particularly special relationship, K'nahli had always held her father in high regard. In her young eyes, his power as a warrior and seldom-expressed, but everlasting, gentle nature had left him no less than a gleaming icon in her quietly-lived life; a person she could only aspire to be half as strong as when she came of age.
His steady gaze, perceived by many as something cold and uncaring spoke to her only of strength and composure. Before today, she hadn't ever seen it falter, not even once. It had always been an assurance that he was in control and that no matter what happened, he was there; resilient and proud... their silent protector.
Up until now, that gaze hadn't once failed to place her mind at ease, it had always offered her nothing but unfaltering confidence and a comforting sense of placid serenity.
Tonight, everything changed.
His defiance in that moment, his absolute determination to deny his first-born daughter what her heart yearned so desperately for, created a boiling sensation of savage hatred in her chest. It rose high up inside her, churning viciously as serenity was soon replaced with spite.. and confidence quickly replaced with a loss of faith.
Anger, however, was soon swallowed by devastating grief once more, quickly sending the frail girl into another fit of sobs. She threw herself back into his chest instinctively as both her body and mind desperately sought an end to the pain in her heart. Even in that moment where she could feel nothing but undying resent towards her own father, all she could do was embrace him even more tightly, forever seeking the comfort of his presence.
Swallowed whole by a vicious swell, raw emotion drowned out all sound to the young miqo'te as she clung despairingly on to her crumbling rock for dear life. Ceaseless sobs tore out of her throat to the point that even crying became intolerably painful. Her wails of anguish resonated throughout her body, carrying outward and drawing attention to physical aches that she hadn't even known existed. The black abyss of despair consumed her weak form, dragging her down deeper and deeper until the last of the light, her single ray of optimistic hope that had lingered for so long had finally begun to fade. On the other side, the fleeting silhouette of a familiar tia bounded further and further away.
A weak hand reached outward in a final, twisted attempt to deny the reality that had presented itself before her, but to no avail.
Everything went dark in that dying moment.
The young miqo'te, K'nahi Yohko, was lost forever.
The nuhns declaration was both solid and blunt, though entirely necessary. Regardless of whether it had been his intention or not, the result of his spoken words, powerful and direct as they were, was instantaneous, crashing into her with the pulverizing force of a freight train and rattling her naivety violently to the core.
His embrace upon her served as the sharpened chisel and his words the striking hammer as the chains that had bound her shattered fiercely in that moment, freeing K'nahli from the plaguing shackles of denial and releasing her into the cold, dark embrace of reality. The mere mention of the one word she had dreaded the thought of hearing had triggered an immediate response within the girl. An inexplicable feeling of immense pressure slammed into her stomach, forcing a pained gasp past her quivering lips as her world came crumbling down around her. Tragic eyes, wide as saucers refused to release themselves from the image of the man she had come to love and respect like no other as he slowly began to lose the false, pristine appearance her mind had insisted upon creating only moments ago. The protective, celestial light that had caressed his entirety was fading while familiar wounds began reappearing across his exposed flesh, destroying him. Piece by piece.
"No, no... please let me help him!!!" the girl cried out in anguish. Her arms reached out for K'yhaega desperately, yearning for even the slightest brush of skin as though such a trivial thing would breathe life back into him once more and save him from the wounds he was slowly accumulating before her eyes.
"Y-Y-You can't do this.... you can't.."
His body came to be consumed by an unworldly flame, licking at his flesh, it burned him throughout, torturing his soft and motionless form and returning the wounds he had earned from the hellish massacre at cartenau, wounds K'nahli had refused to even acknowledge. The flame engulfed him whole, slowly returning him back to the wretched, disfigurement that the girl had first beheld when she entered the tent, the body of a mysterious tia whom she 'knew' was anyone but her mentor. The brutish image tormented the girl as she strained against her father's arms desperately, screaming out his name in torturous anguish while her heart heaved and ripped inside, feeling no less than were it being torn apart by a pack of ravenous wolves.
"Our promise, K'yhaega... don't you remember it? You said you would come back.. y-you said..."
The girl, finally overcome by the tempest of emotion clawing at and defiling her mind, collapsed into her father's arms as he slowly hunkered down to lift her.
"You promised..... you can't.... don't break it, please... don't"
For the very little awareness K'nahli held toward her father in that moment, his motion at the very least seemed uninhibited. He moved slowly and calmly, resisting her weak struggle rather easily despite his condition. Tender, cradling arms carefully raised her up to his chest, as he moved to carry her away from the detestable scene that was the inspiration for her unfaltering trauma. The moisture from his bloodied arms did not hinder the warmth of his body as they held against his daughter's frail form with enough delicacy to offer her as much emotional comfort as he possibly could, but with enough strength to prevent her from slipping free and indulging in her delusionary state.
"What are you going to do with him, father? Tell me!" her attention snapped toward him as he slowly carried her outside. The tent flaps fell back in place all too hastily, as if cruelly intending to deny her any further watch upon her beloved mentor. Her cheeks, still sensitive from the light burns she had sustained, had grown soft from her tears as they tirelessly pumped free from her eyes like an endless torrent and soaked her skin thoroughly.
"Answer me! What are you going to do?!" she pleaded with the nuhn desperately in vain, her hysteria growing more wild as his lack of response only brought her closer to the answer, another answer she so badly wanted to deny. K'nahli pressed her face into her father's chest tightly, seeking comfort and hope from the soft rhythm of his beating heart. A number of soft, muffled sobs stemmed out from her throat and echoed through her father in the form of soft, indecipherable murmurs as another crushing wave of sorrow crashed down over her.
"Please.... please don't put him in the ground..." her voice had become so, very, soft and fragile now as she spoke. The words were barely audible, though just enough that K'yohko could still understand in spite of her pitiful, clouding whimpers.
"I won't...... I won't ever see him again if you do.."
She continued to weep softly for a short moment before a very, light inhale indicated yet another attempt at self control as she slowly released herself from the burrowing pressure she had placed upon her father and brought herself to meet eyes with him. Her watery stare shimmered tragically against the faint, saffron glow emanating from a nearby campfire. Her tortured eyes only echoed the grief she was enduring as they pierced fearfully into his for a brief moment while she nervously waited for her convulsing body to relent and give her the chance to speak, unhindered by neither sobs nor tremors.
"I don't want to hate you.... please.. don't make me hate you"
Throughout the young miqo'te's life, her father's stony expression had been a source of her strength in her weaker moments. Though they hadn't shared a particularly special relationship, K'nahli had always held her father in high regard. In her young eyes, his power as a warrior and seldom-expressed, but everlasting, gentle nature had left him no less than a gleaming icon in her quietly-lived life; a person she could only aspire to be half as strong as when she came of age.
His steady gaze, perceived by many as something cold and uncaring spoke to her only of strength and composure. Before today, she hadn't ever seen it falter, not even once. It had always been an assurance that he was in control and that no matter what happened, he was there; resilient and proud... their silent protector.
Up until now, that gaze hadn't once failed to place her mind at ease, it had always offered her nothing but unfaltering confidence and a comforting sense of placid serenity.
Tonight, everything changed.
His defiance in that moment, his absolute determination to deny his first-born daughter what her heart yearned so desperately for, created a boiling sensation of savage hatred in her chest. It rose high up inside her, churning viciously as serenity was soon replaced with spite.. and confidence quickly replaced with a loss of faith.
Anger, however, was soon swallowed by devastating grief once more, quickly sending the frail girl into another fit of sobs. She threw herself back into his chest instinctively as both her body and mind desperately sought an end to the pain in her heart. Even in that moment where she could feel nothing but undying resent towards her own father, all she could do was embrace him even more tightly, forever seeking the comfort of his presence.
Swallowed whole by a vicious swell, raw emotion drowned out all sound to the young miqo'te as she clung despairingly on to her crumbling rock for dear life. Ceaseless sobs tore out of her throat to the point that even crying became intolerably painful. Her wails of anguish resonated throughout her body, carrying outward and drawing attention to physical aches that she hadn't even known existed. The black abyss of despair consumed her weak form, dragging her down deeper and deeper until the last of the light, her single ray of optimistic hope that had lingered for so long had finally begun to fade. On the other side, the fleeting silhouette of a familiar tia bounded further and further away.
A weak hand reached outward in a final, twisted attempt to deny the reality that had presented itself before her, but to no avail.
Everything went dark in that dying moment.
The young miqo'te, K'nahi Yohko, was lost forever.
![[Image: ecec20e41f.png]](https://puu.sh/xvMxb/ecec20e41f.png)
Characters: Andre Winter (Hy'ur) / K'nahli Yohko (Miqo'te)
