The Goddess' Child Ch2 Death

Death

Night had fallen before Fawn had reached the forest's edge. The outside world seemed so much darker and the child was unfamilar with this part of the woods. On top of that, the ground was slippery from the rain. Despite her urgency, she decided to climb up a tree and wait for the suns to rise. It was still raining and her body trembled as a northern wind blew through the leaves. Ever since she had crossed the barrier, she had begun to feel things she had never known. Coldness, weariness, hunger, these things held no meaning for her within the time-barrier. Naturally, she wasn't even sure how to remedy them.

A strange gurgling sound came from her stomach. Fawn tried to silence it by wrapping her arms around her knees and pulling them close. No wonder the Morikos' were so afraid of this place. For a miserable place it was! Wiping away a cold sweat, Fawn comforted herself by thinking of her friends back home. Her sisters and brothers would probably be too busy with their celebrations of life, protection, and freedom to even notice her absense.

They would be joining hands, dancing around the trees, playing their instruments, as they sang about the beauty of spring, the trees, and the flowers. She hadn't even been away from them for a day, but already she missed seeing their vibrant colors dancing in time with the wind. Their laughter would echo throughout the forest as night slowly passed by unnoticed in the world outside.

Suddenly a loud booming sound, unlike any Fawn had ever, roared from above. It startled the child, causing the unfortunate girl to fall out of the tree, into the muddy ground below. Another roar sounded and the child instinctively threw threw her tiny arms over the back of head, cowering at the base of the tree.

Without realizing it, Fawn began to weep. She wept because she felt so miserable. She wept because The Great Protector was still waiting for her, but she was too scared and weak to help him. But more than anything, she wept because she was alone in a strange world.

Everything changes in the world outside. As the night passed, so did the rain and the thunder. Fawn awoken without realized she had been asleep. The suns had been up for hours. Though she knew she should get moving as quickly as possible, for some reason, her legs didn't seem to work. Several times the girl tried to stand up, but kept falling down, like a newborn lamb. Bruised, sore, and exhausted, she finally rested her back against the base of the tree. Her stomach was making more gurgles. This morning it felt even more strange. A tingling sensation surged from the pit of her belly and rose up throat into her mouth, causing her salivate.

The sound of rustling leaves came from above. A bird, about the size of a rabbit, flew out of the tree and landed on a low hanging branch, only a couple feet away from her. Although it was the closest she had even been to such a creature, Fawn was too weary to be scared. Birds weren't exactly strangers to the Moriko, though they were more fond of making friends with the trees, plants, and flowers, rather than animals. The only exception being The Great Protector of course, whom the Moriko considered an animal.

Fawn took an insterest in the creature though. Normally birds seemed like timid creatures to her. They hardly ever entered the time-barrier. It was the first new experiance she was able to enjoy, despite the constant complaints of her stomach.

Daringly, Fawn reached out the stroke her new companion, but this must have startled the creature, which instantly took flight. Stretching out upon the forest floor, Fawn closed her eyes, wondering if she'd ever see The Great Protector again.

Unsure of how much time had passed, Fawn stirred at the sound of bird's wings.

Her friend was back and it carried something in its beak. Rubbing the drowsiness from her eyes, the child focused her gaze until it identified a small, stiff creature, held firmly in the bird's beak. Docilely, the bird glided to the forest floor, lay the dead animal at the girl's feet, then hopped back to it's low branch, watching her with its big black eyes.

Fawn looked from the bird to the creature at her feet. A reddish-brown liquid was splattered around the animal's neck, running down its chest unto the ground below. The way the creature lay, it was completely unnatural. Gently the girl touched the animal's tiny head and stroked down its back, but it refused to open its eyes. It was already bound to an eternal sleep.

Fawn knew of death, though she had never seen it with her own eyes. As many things concerned only in the outside world, she had only heard about it in stories. Every living thing in the world must die at some point. Sin, the god of death, takes them to an eternal resting place. And though their body is left lifeless in the outside world, their spirit is able to sleep peacefully until the end of time.

Though she recognized death, she continued to stroke the lifeless creature. She couldn't help but feel sad, knowing that the poor beast would never again scamper across the forest floor, or seek shelter in a hollow tree. Despairingly she thought of The Great Protector, and prayed to the goddess that somehow, he was still alive. Of all the emotions she had experianced the past couple days, the loss of her dearest friend, was not one she was ready to bear.

Suddenly, the bird swooped down, landed, on the ground next to the fallen creature, clawing at it's corpse and pecking at it's belly.

"Stop, stop it!!" Fawn cried, startling the bird. Clumsily, she swiped a hand out, scaring the bird into flying away once more. Another feeling burned inside of her. Never before had she felt anger, let alone dislike, towards any living thing. As the bird flew off Fawn clenched her fists and called out as loud as her weakened voice would allow "I hate you!! You... wretched monster!!"

Finding a sudden burst of energy, she picked up the nearest object at hand, a small, but rather sharp rock and threw it at the bird. Though the creature had already launched itself into the sky, the rock nailed its target with stunning accuracy, the bird faltered in the air, schreeched with the pain, but managed to stay aflight and soar away.

After a few deep breaths and sighs, Fawn regained her composure, once more falling back against the tree's base. The suns were nearing their highest outlooks in the sky. She was confused, although she should have had plenty of rest to allow her to get going, her body was still to weak to move. All she could bring herself to do was sit there and reflect. Remembering her words and actions from her angered state, she was now ashamed that she had done such a thing.

Hatred was a term used by little Moriko children against objects. Fawn recalled some boys complaining about how much they 'hated baths'. Or certain Morikos 'hated' hearing certain songs or stories, usually because of a bad memory they brought to mind. Never could she recall a Moriko, or herself, using the term hatred towards someone else, and they certainly had never thrown rocks at one another, or any living thing for that matter.

The Moriko were taught to love all living creatures. Life was a gift from the goddess. It was something to be celebrated, not hated. But how could she ever bring herself to love a creature that took the lives of others. Fawn's head throbbed. Nothing made sense out here. Though the woods were as quiet and peaceful as ever, the child doubled over and covered her ears, as if trying to rid herself of echoes of the nasty things she had done and said.

Later, when the sun was beginning to sink once more beyond the trees, the familar sound of flapping wings returned. This time, the child was still asleep, too tired to even notice she wasn't alone. Not wishing to disturb her, the bird simply lay its burden at her feet once more, then flew off, this time to watch from afar, just in case the child decided to throw another tantrum.

When Fawn awoke, it was the middle of the night. She felt sick to her stomach and was aching and still drowsy all over. Though she still wanted to nothing but rest, she noticed the small package laying at her feet. It was a tiny basket made of some kind of woven bark-like material. Removing the lid she found some seeds, blueberries, and leafs from various plants. Half-asleep and without realizing it, Fawn's forgotten instincts took over and she began to eat the contents. Then she fell asleep once more.

When morning came, the child was still a bit on the weary side, but she finally felt strong enough to continue her journey. Finding the empty basket at her side, she picked it up and studied it, wondering who had put such a curious object there and what it had once held within.