A/N: A not-at-all angsty (gasp!) ficlet staring Zari Tomaz and Amaya Jiwe from Legends of Tomorrow!
First time writing Amaya, so apologies in advance if I did something wrong. I wish I could find the OTP prompt concept that spurred me to write this, but I think it’s a bit familiar?? IDK, but it reminded me of them.^^
Word Count: 793
TW: None, I think?
***
Rush of streams clattered off a large leaf of a banana tree, knocking a few batches on a land of grass. The sun began sinking beyond the blush-tinted horizon, signally an emerging of nighttime as a flock of birds soared with their wings moving fast.
Someone hopped over a flat, huge rock, scanning the area with binoculars.
"Urgh, Sara should have known better than," Zari grumbled, tapping a dim flashlight, "to tell us to wait in here."
It's battery had ran out a few hours ago, leaving Zari and Amaya without any light to navigate through this entire place. An anachronism had been located in this tropical rain-forest. The wooly-mammoth could cause trouble if it didn't get back to it's original timeline.
What sucked was when Sara had suggested the team to split up to check if they might run into it. So far, both of them didn't.
Amaya lifted her head, standing in a tip-toe position.
"Maybe the others will find us," Amaya replied mildly. "They can't be too far."
Zari huffed a sigh. "Seriously, it's getting darker, and soon we'll be stuck in this rain-forest in the next twelve or eleven hours. C'mon, where could they be?"
"They might already have found the anachronism."
"Right. Because it's so easy to catch a huge extinct animal."
Amaya chuckled, putting her binoculars down. She stepped towards her, reaching for her shoulders with her arms. Zari's eyes grew wide and she forced herself to stay still.
"Zari," Amaya said with a gentle tone, lowering her arms slowly. "Take a deep breath."
"Yeah. Like it's gonna make me less pissed off."
Amaya pulled a face that exposed her disapproval. Or disappointment.
Fine, she thought, letting a shaky breath out. Amaya nodded then turned her head as she observed their surroundings. Her chest felt less strained than it had been a moment ago.
Huh. It actually sorta helped her.
Amaya pointed at another side, where long vines swayed across trees.
"Let's go and take this route."
Stuffy air lingered with sounds of birds calling, snakes hissing, and some other noises here and there. It mingled together in a cacophony.
Zari shuddered at a prospect of being a prey. Nope, no way.
Amaya and Zari kept a level pace, going through a clamp of Cahoon trees. She pushed vines aside, finding other plants and lagoons ahead. It slightly blocked out light from the setting sun, shading them from heat.
Panting, Zari wiped perspiration from her forehead.
They slowed down their steps while the ground got crumblier. Pieces of rough vines briefly smacked her face and she swatted them off, scowling. Amaya, on the other hand, avoided them upon passing by without a fuss.
A howl echoed across the trees and Amaya snapped her head upwards.
"It's getting darker." Amaya's voice filtered with concern. "How are we going to find the team?"
Zari took a step back, stomping her sneakers. "Hold on, I got this."
"What are you doing?"
She didn't stop threading her shoes heavily until they emitted a green glow, providing a miniature source of light for both of them. Zari spread her arms in a ta-da gesture, compressing her lips.
"Just winging it."
Amaya laughed with a fond lilt, slowly shaking her head. Her eyes landed on her shoes.
"Oh, Zari. Why are you like this?"
"I look like a complete doofus, don't I?" she asked, muttering under her breath. "To be fair, my flashlight was battery operated."
"No, you don't. You look. . . adorable to me."
Amaya leaned closer, wrapping a hand around her wrist. "Don't worry. If a predator tries to approach us, I'll hold it off."
Zari's lips quirked into a wry smile. A strange suggestion to defend her.
"That's really sweet except I don't want you to wrestle a wolf or anything."
Amaya chuckled, pressing a hand over her stomach.
"You should have seen me handle a dinosaur."
"Yeah, I think I've heard all about that."
When their gazes locked together, the rate of her breathing picked up. Like this, Amaya appeared to be in her element in nature. She had been effortless while navigating through this place.
Yeah. She believed in her complete ability to defend them from any harm.
Zari's heart quivered as Amaya brushed a finger over her wrist, melting out irritation simmering on her blood. Her presence alone weirdly kept her safe, even if there was a chance of them catching danger.
She stifled a sigh, bowing her head.
"Well, let's figure out to find a way back," Amaya said, offering an arm. Her eyes radiated with certainty.
"Sure," Zari replied, dropping her hand to link their arms together.
They stayed together side by side amidst the wilderness of this rainforest, keeping an eye out for potential danger.
Another flash fiction Friday! I accidentally wrote a two-parter so the second one will be up tomorrow hopefully ^u^ (It’s written I just have to proofread it) I hope you enjoy this tiny story :D Feedback is appreciated!
Prompt: Into the wild
(I didn’t manage to use the phrase but it’s the basis of the story)
Words: 1011 (oops again! <.<;;)
She was beautiful. Cream fur mottled with smoke and cinnamon. Harvest moon eyes pierced into the brushes for whatever unfortunate creature met her short, scar-streaked, muzzle. She had a fondness for pigeon, but rats made the menu more frequently. The undergrowth whispered as she slipped through the shadows. Day and night had little meaning. That was a human thing. Now it was a vague memory of movement and stillness. Birds chittered warnings from the trees, daring one another to heckle her. It was a great game unless you lost. They teased her, used to the indifference of predators with no patience for their keep away game. They never expected her to spring, twisting to swipe one clean out of the air. It was dead before the others could flee, shrieking, in every direction.
Carrying her prize, she was wary not to let her guard down on her way home. She wasn’t the only hunter in her territory. A younger her would have been bursting with pride for the catch, having only had rattly plastic balls to sink her claws into. But it was nothing more than a matter of survival. It was fun, of course, to stalk and chase. Pining a writhing lizard to the dirt until it wriggled away – or she felt peckish. But there was little pride involved. If she couldn’t hunt, she would die. There was no little bowl filled with treats to turn her nose up at here.
Bones crunched between her molars, almost drowning out a tiny noise some ways in the distance. Almost. She pricked her ears, listening carefully. The metallic tang at her paws begged her attention, but she ignored it. There is was again. A pathetic little mewl. Someone was very lost and very scared. She drew her tongue over her whiskers, deliberating. Her bird was delicious. Exhaling slowly through her button nose, she drew herself up. This wouldn’t take a minute. Although a stocky little cat, she covered the distance with ease. Like she’d thought. A kitten. He bristled when he saw her. He’d probably never seen a wild animal in his life. He was not beautiful. A scrap of white with a red stripped tail, stolen from a squirrel, she was sure. One eggshell blue eye and one fleshy void swirled with skin and fur. Balancing on his three good legs, he hissed profanities at her. What a litter box mouth for such a young cat. Seeming unable to decide whether to rush her or flee, he skittered around putting on a grand bravado. One smack sent him tumbling over, cowering beneath her. Half-blind and barely weaned, he’d certainly die if she left him. There was no guarantee he’d live if she didn’t. It was difficult enough to care for herself, let alone him as well. She’d had her final litter many seasons ago, back when day and night still meant something. Even so, her heart urged her to ignore her mind. Decision made, she rasped her tongue over his head, smoothing down the fur once more. His ridiculous whistley purr was endearing in its own way. She’d make sure her last kitten survived.
He trotted after her as she led him back to her nest. A cat of two minds, he switched from telling her his stories to asking her own within breathes. He was Romeow, apparently, and was the gem of his litter. He had ribbons for his patterning and though he didn’t know what that meant, he was terribly excited about it. That was before he ventured onto the street. An untethered dog walk, the snap of teeth, and no more ribbons. His people had saved as much of him as they could scrape off the road. When the baby cried every time he looked at her, they tried a different brand of saving. These woods were a frequent dump site for gently used animals. He bounded beside her, tenacious existence glowing in his good eye. She supposed it was a good thing she looked a little past her prime. His pride would have been surely bruised if he’d known she was slowing down so he wouldn’t have to stumble over his twisted front leg to keep up.
In return for his story, she told her own. She was Rosa once. Like him, she had many ribbons pinned to her crate. Though she didn’t understand the words, when her people cooed softly to her, she knew she was loved. They asked little of her. She was to be beautiful and to raise beautiful children. Her life had been a dreamy haze of soft milky rooms and tiny pink paws. The other queens dreamed of escaping to the adventurous wilderness, but she was very happy. The first weak litter had worried glances from her people. The second had two survivors and fewer soft words. The last had none. The vet changed her. She wouldn’t have any more kittens. It was okay. She trusted her people to care for her. She could still perform one of her roles. Until one tom wouldn’t take no for an answer. A chunk out of his ear and a streaming line down her face. When they put her in a box, she didn’t cry. She’d learned to travel for them. When they set her on the grass with a handful of kibble, naturally she was frightened and tried to follow them to the car. When they left without her, she waited patiently where she was. It was a silly mistake they would be sure to realise. But they didn’t. Days and nights merged into nothing while she waited. She stopped waiting when another cat showed up. And another.
Romeow was satisfied with her story, the diluted version she gave him anyway. She led him home, invited him to feast on the remains of the bird and then curl up beside her. The first real companion in so long. A rattly purr warmed her old bones as she groomed her brave little kitten. She drifted off to sleep welcoming a life beyond survival once more.
The need to make a proper happy ending was driven by my unadulterated rage at irresponsible pet owners and the majority of the pedigree breeding system, so stay tuned for that ^u^
She continue her way with a heavy step, literally. Her antibody is decreasing and she start to have headache attack every five minutes. The dizziness will led her to vomiting and become languid. The bitterness of the herb Rune gave her seems tasteless as her tongue already death with it. When she wants to take the herb, her hand stop moving, feeling a sudden pain striking her muscle. The pain causing her to screaming until she can't see nothing but blank.
The girl lying there helpless on the weed grass, let the pain taking over because she can't beat it for now. Maybe she needs a good sleep for a minutes to get rid of the pain as she close her eyes slowly. The sun is ready to set, leaving the half part of the world to give the moon its time to shine, then again, how many days and nights has been passed lost in here? Would she die this easy when she finally have a goal for her journey?
The wind blowing mildly, following the rhythm of her heavy breath. The poison seems to attack her mind this time as she feel her body hovering in the empty air, flying without knowing how or where to go. She could feel the grass pointing on her back, makes her tickled as her body keep walking against gravity until she sensing something hard would crash her. The bare skin of her back finally hit a scaly thing, dry and quite sharp as her skin make a reaction in itchy, but soft. When she able to moving again, she peek a little to the side and find a haystack supporting her. The invisble wind coming crossing her like dancing along, it summon the hay to pill up behind and help her to sit up with twilight view as the scenery.
"No matter how many times you witnessing this phenomenome, how could you still stuned by its beauty."
She turn her head to the opposite side, finding a woman with black long hair until it touch the ground. No, its more like a root growing from her scalp.
Her eyes were like glancing at the girl's eyes. Her gaze is calm, like she was playing in the middle of a pine forest that had just been rained. Her face was smooth like a thin fabric she is wearing right now.
"Feeling better, child?"
The sound of a caring mother makes her eyes watering for missed the figure she adored so much. She must be the Mother.
"Yes." said the girl, smiling sweetly. She tried to change her sit position to watch the blue sky better which is about to darken.
"Did your wind bring me here?" asked the girl.
"The wind is nobody's, dear, so does another elements. Nature is the most beautiful gift to humans, but it cannot be owned.”
"But, you control the wind just then. I was unconscious and it brought me here.” Said the girl. The mother tilts her head up while thinking, seeing a round cloud passing slowly over their heads.
"Do you want me to make it rain?"
The girl nodded eagerly as no matter if they would get wet. The mother turned her hand into the air, making white clouds change the color to gray as if the drop would soon appear. But the rain does not come, so did the clouds that passed them, makes the girl confuse with the Mother waving at the cloud that flying away.
"I can't make rain fall when clouds don't have enough water volume, or simply, rain won't drop if it really doesn't want to happen."
The girl let her mouth open, another term she finally understand about her power towards nature.
“We are not controllers, we are bound more than that. It's like the other side of us who can calm down like the ocean, cheerful like the sun, or energetic like a volcano ready to explode. But when we are disturbed, we will work together to protect each other, because we are wild enough to expressing ourseleves.”
The sunlight getting brighter with a calming orange color, asking for their attention at the gods of light as if its want to say goodbye for today. A wide expanse of sky emits three colors scattering to each other which makes it more beautiful to enjoy, orange, white, and baby blue, like a giant prism.
"How do you feel?"
"It's never been this great after taking a poison." they both laughed. Not long after, a dot of light appeared flying near the girl. One dot brought three other dots, then eight, then dozens, then tens. Fireflies appears in the dark, run and run after each other. A strong night wind makes the weeds like waving, dancing along. The girl had never seen such a bright night sky with a sprinkling of stars, twinkling with each other, making an endless trail in space, so does the sands on pentagon glasses, shining brightly. The scenery she never expected to experiencing with the tears finally escape from that tired eyes.
"Iam home, right? Iam about to death with very blessing scenery in front of my very eyes, I don't mind dying then."
The mother stroking her hair gently, "Not yet. The story of the earth is still very long, we will meet again for sharing.”
She take something from his bag, an object that makes the Mother wondering.
"Is that fireworks?"
"Yes." She clenched her hands with unlit fireworks standing upright on the wire, her lips start to moving without a sounds, chanting the spell.
"What are you praying for?"
"For this moment to not stolen away if i managed to survive." Said the girl, smiling ear to ear on those purple lips.
