Misc Scribblings: Someone Dies in This One

If Dutch were to blame anyone for this situation, he'd blame the gods. He knew, for once, where he was; what he was doing; what he had done. He had fled to the mountains when the lucid moment hit him. The Rhakos had laid down quietly in the snow, mourning for those he had already killed or injured, and those yet to come, when he heard a voice. This voice was weak and quiet. He sighed, rising to his feet. He would investigate, and he would try to help for as long as his mind was stable. 

 

The Mad King approached the source of the cries, pausing for a moment when he saw a human. For a moment, his vision faded and he could almost imagine he was back in his home, seated comfortably with his darling rider, Songbird, once again. A gust of cold wind made him shiver, and the human didn't seem any better. He sighed again, this time with sorrow. 

 

"HeLlO," he greeted in his scratchy, terrifying mockery of the language humans spoke. The small person startled as they finally saw the massive Rhakos next to them. "MaY I SiT dOwN?" After a moment, the human nodded. 

 

"Who are you?" They murmured, shivering in the face of another gust of wind. Dutch curled his tail around them. 

 

"NoOnE iMpOrTaNt," he replied, just as softly. The human inhaled slowly. Dutch could hear the faint rattle of their lungs. They were injured, he noted, far too gone to be saved even if he had the speed of a hawk to carry them back to a doctor. The humans leg had been pinned by a boulder during a rockslide. Dutch lowered his beak to the rock, checking to see what the human wanted him to do. They nodded. 

 

With the tiniest bit of effort, the rock that had led to this traveler's impending death was removed. They were no better off for his effort. 

 

"WhErE aRe YoU fRoM?" He asked. The person coughed for a second before mustering the strength to reply. 

 

"Oh, just some rundown kingdom," they answered. "Some other kingdom waged war and ruined our home, so I fled. Then this rock, and you know the rest." Dutch nodded quietly. 

 

"LiKe Me," he offered. "SaMe StOrY, lOnG aGo." The traveler chuckled weakly. 

 

"Hey, can you bury me somewhere warm?" The question was quiet. "Somewhere quiet, and away from all these wars everywhere." 

 

"SuRe," Dutch answered. "I WiLl ReMeMbEr YoU, sPaRrOw." The traveler's face scrunched for a second. 

 

"Sparrow. I like it." they grinned up at him. "It's so cold."

 

Dutch covered them completely with the fan of his tail, giving his newfound Sparrow privacy as Galyx came to collect them. He would, in time, take them back to his nest, burying them next to the grave he had cobbled together in Songbird's memory. Long after that, he would stumble upon someone who was looking desperately for Sparrow, and he would show her their grave site before escorting her to the nearest town. Even farther down the line, he would add on to the small cemetery, promising each newcomer to remember them.

 

For now, however, he simply sat by the little human, waiting for Galyx to collect their soul and guide them out of this realm.