Ballad of Kyanoko: The Necessity of Fighting

Prompt- Draw or write about your character taking shelter in the crystalline caverns the wyrm came from.

Word Count: 454

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“Are you okay?” the fox-wolf before Kyanoko flicked his eye to her after checking the status of the Lyrian wyrm. He was nearby when the wyrm went on his rampage, and Kyanoko had been in its path. If it wasn’t for the Winter-borne folf shoving the tanuki into a nearby cavern, she could have died. Kyanoko rested her hand over her heart, feeling it pound in her chest. She swallowed a gulp of the cold Lyrian air and nodded. 

“What’s your name?” the one-eyed folf asked after whistling a song against the mourning dirge of the mountains. 

“Kyanoko.” 

“William.” he gave his name, pulling back into the cavern and giving Kyanoko a once over. He looked like he frowned, but with the gruff features, that might have just been William’s face. “Not much of a fighter, are you?”

“That obvious?” 

“Just follow my lead. It looks confused; it’s thrashing about aimlessly. I think if we’re smart, we can get the drop on it.” William instructed, taking out a knife and using it to draw in the snow. “We’re here and the wyrm is hanging around here. If we attack when it passes b-”

“I don’t want to fight it.” Kyanoko interrupted.

“Why not?” William was definitely glowering at the tanuki now.

“I don’t like fighting!” Kyanoko defended herself. William whisked a finger to his lips at her raised volume. “I don’t like hurting things, I don’t like getting hurt.”

“People are getting hurt as we speak, Kyanoko.” The warrior snarled at her. “You need to fight. You need to hurt things sometimes to protect yourself and others. What did you do to defend yourself before?”

“I just ran away. We’re taught to turn to stone if someone tries to hurt us.”

“And what good is that doing you now?” Despite William’s volume not raising, it still hit Kyanoko like a shout.

“It… it never did anything for me.” She admitted, looking at the ground between them to avoid looking at the folf’s glaring eye. “I can’t turn to stone.”

“Then you will fight.”

“I don’t have a weapon.”

“You have magic, don’t you?” William argued, throwing a gesture and display of his own whistling sky element.

“I… I have fire.” Kyanoko clasped her hands to create the smoke she’d been training with. “I haven’t gone beyond manipulating the smoke or heating my hands. I can’t control the fire.”

“You will learn.” William snorted. Despite the harsher words and tone, there was a comfort in them. 

“But… I’m scared,” she admitted. It was the route of all of her issues in using her fire element. 

“Then you must be brave.” William’s tone had shifted as he placed a comforting, but firm hand on Kyanoko’s shoulder.