Solemnity

Life was going swell. Swell wasn't a typical word one would claim to use, but Tenshi felt it fitting. She was... happy. Almost perfectly happy. With the hope of pups on the horizon, she looked forward to the future. A future that she had not seen coming. From a harrowing past, a life lost, she had not seen herself making it to her seventh year. What kind of shit was that? The past was the past though and as much as Tenshi's heart begged to cling on to those last shreds of her passed family, she refused. No longer would she dwell on those feelings of grief. Vidarr gave her everything she needed to move on and be happy. Something they would have wanted.

Her mind wanders with her paws. Snow was soon changing to slush minus the random hail storms as of late. Her brow furrowed as she made her way down the slopes of the mountain toward the crypt. When the skies opened to unleash the sheets of frozen balls of pain, she sent her egret, Aino, back up to the maw to inform Vidarr she would probably be later than expected. The goal today would be to start cleaning out the crypt. Making each room livable in a sense so she could start storing supplies and transferring items down there for those who wished to stay there instead of up on the peak.

Through the drum of the hail, Tenshi heard not a single sound of what happened within the confines of the crypt. Trudging through slush and mud, she continued on her path toward the looming shadow of stone built into the ground. Shielding herself from the pelting hail by lowering her head, she picked up the pace until her paws touched the top of the stairs that led down. A sudden rush of musk and copper flooded her nose. Every hair on her body stood on end as she scented out what it was that she was smelling. Taking a few steps down, closer to the opening of the crypt, her brain finally made the connection.

Bear. Wolves.

It is then that her egret, Aino, is returning, but Tenshi is soon to send him back. "Aino, Vidarr, now," the words rip from her in an anxious growl as she clatters down the stone steps. Her paws barely make a sound as her legs fully extend into a run. On either side of her, her snow leopards keep pace as they rush with her to help. Using her nose to lead her to the scene, she doesn't stop. Barely registering what had happened, Tenshi launched herself at the bear. Front paws grab the bear around the shoulders and her teeth dig into the back of the bear's neck. Shaking harder than she had ever shaken her head before, she swiftly disconnects the spinal column from the back of the bear's skull. The beast has no time to react before it stumbles away from its victims and crashes into the stone wall.

As the bear slides down into a bleeding heap of fur and mess, Tenshi stands, breathless, panting, turning to face the horrendous scene of tragedy. Instantly, her breath is taken away again as she sees what happened. A mother was ripped open and bleeding as her two pups lay lifeless beside her, torn to shreds by the bear. Her heart sinks. Tears prickle at her eyes as she clenches her teeth. Every muscle in her body tenses as her mind stalls. It is... almost identical to her past. How those innocent pups lay in a mangled mess of skin, fur, and blood. Trembling where she stands, Tenshi wants to crumple herself. If she had been there moments earlier, she could have saved all of their lives.

In those seconds as Tenshi is frozen with grief, Fuji moves forward to check on the small obsidian and gold woman. There, the snow leopard feels a pulse and hears a shallow but gurgling breath. "Tenshi," Fuji calls, but Tenshi doesn't move. She wants to turn to the bear bring him back to life and kill him all over again. And then do it several times over until the fury that builds in her dissipates. Her face hurts from how hard she is clenching her teeth together. Her vision is blurry from the tears that she fights back. Both ears are pressed flat against her skull to the point that all sound is muffled. It isn't until Kita, her other snow leopard, slowly moves over to her and places his paws against her shoulder.

"Tenshi, the mother lives."

She's alive? Her breath catches in her throat as she snaps from the flashbacks that reel through her mind. "Fuji, Kita, ta-take care of the-the pups," Tenshi's voice is hoarse as she switches into her caregiver role. Moving forward toward the mother, she assesses first with her bleary eyes the extent of her wounds. The gaping wound on the woman's shoulder still ebbed with blood. That would have to be addressed sooner than later. "I will make sure that bear's head rests atop their graves," she whispers tenderly as she moves to sit beside the woman. Pulling the pack of supplies from her shoulder, Tenshi opens it to take out a satchel of herbs, bandages, and other items. Her first priority was to stop the bleeding.

Since the shoulder wound was so large, chewing the herbs would take too long. Instead, she asks Fuji for the water pouch attached to her back. Once it is in her paws, she pours some into the bag of herbs. Kneading the bag until the herbs are mushed all together, she pulls some out and looks at the woman. "This will sting, but it will help," her voice is gentle and worrisome, but also strong in only a way a mother could sound. Then she presses the mixture of yarrow and turmeric onto the wound. While leaving one paw on the wound, Tenshi grabs a length of bandage and presses it over the salve. As she holds pressure against the woman, she allows her body to slide to the floor and rests her head upon the cold stone beside the woman's face.

"Odin, låt henne leva," Tenshi whispers as she finally allows the tears to fall and her eyes to close. Only time would tell now if the woman would make it.

word count: 1067