Old Scars and New

The good thing about being so lightweight was that Ikigai had quite a bit of stamina. The woman’s long legs carried her far and fast, though she tried to make sure that Deimos could keep up. The man had surprised her by actually being up and ready to go when she passed his den. It was a pleasant surprise. Willa stayed behind, but Tanuki accompanied them as they made their way south, cutting through this land and that. When they entered the Wraiths Woods, they were forced to slow due to the terrain and, honestly, it was a much needed break.

The pair picked their way through the winding forest side by side in comfortable silence for a while, then Deimos began to speak. Ikigai turned her head to look at him as he did so, snake-slit eyes fixed in his marble features. The man spoke of the number of wolves that he’d like to confront and Iki chuckled softly. “I’m not usually so confrontational,” she admitted, bringing her gaze back to the path, “But he needs to know that he will never be welcome in my life again. Nor the lives of the rest of the family that he abandoned.” Of course, she couldn’t control what her siblings did, but she hoped that they had enough sense to band together with the mother that didn’t abandon them.

Deimos asked what she thought Hattori’s reaction might be and the black marked fae shook her head. “I don’t know if he’ll even care. How cold do you have to be to abandon your wife and litter of children that you swore to protect?” Again she shook her head. “This is for me more than it is for him. I need him to know, then I can wash my paws of him.” Closure was a beautiful thing and Ikigai definitely needed it. The less baggage she took into her new life, the better. Mercuric eyes flashed towards the purple man again. “Thank you, by the way, for coming with me. I appreciate the accompaniment and the support.”

"Ikigai"