welp, dropping this out into the universe of my personal story of my ocs. this one is the beginning of Kiki's life with her new family
the short story of angst for Kiki lol
my writing is not professional so don't expect much lol i usually write for myself or friends but eh. fuck it, i'll post it here
[ ghost pipe ]
/'Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.'/
Cold wind cuts through the trees. Branches swaying as they creak and groan. Chirping birds sing their music to one another to fill the air. Rays of sunshine cut through clouds to add some warmth to the cold land. Crunching snow is heard as a lone golden snub-nosed monkey travels.
Nova walks through the snow with purpose. Strapped to her back is her mighty bow. Carved by her own hands from a dawn redwood. A small hunting knife in it's sheathe on her right leg. In her hand is a worn axe, though sharpened to still be sharp as the day it was made. She is carrying a basket of chopped wood.
She has gone out into the forest to collect some firewood for one of the newly couples in her village.
/'When the blazing sun is gone,
When the nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.'/
Loud bird calls startle her, fur puffing out as she jumps. She clutches onto her axe, prepared to strike. Nova looks up towards the noise, glaring in annoyance at the three crows sitting low in a tree. She watches them chirp and caw at each other, having their own little conversation. A shiver runs down her spine as they peer down at her every few moments. Nova huffs, turning around to head further into the woods.
Time passes as the sun slowly dips further down in the sky. Strikes of the axe splitting wood filling the air as the sun lowered. Nova sighs quietly, content with all the wood she collected.
As a reward, she decides to grab herself a quick snack. She searches for a dead tree, as they are good hosts for lichens. Soon finding one, she pulls her knife out to cut off some lichen. She chews on her little snack. Cutting off a little more to store into a small pouch.
On her way back to the village, something odd catches her sight. Sticking out from foliage was a monkey leg. Covered in brown fur. Her eyes soften at the sight.
It wasn't uncommon to see a body out in the forest. In here, it was easy to get lost if you are not from the area. Many end up freezing to death. One should never enter these woods without a proper guide, or their existence shall be swallowed by the trees. Never to be seen again.
She walks over to where the body was. She blinks at the sight of the monkey. It was a mandrill, not a species that's seen in this area. Nova lifts her head and looks around. Unsure on how long this mandrill has been out here. Looking at how pale her face is and the glazed eyes, she's probably been out here for awhile. Nova bows her head, offering a silent prayer before walking away.
A small wheeze makes her stop in her steps.
She slowly turns her body to look at the corpse. Did she mishear? As the corpse stays still, as it was a frozen-- stiff and dead. Perhaps it was just the wind.
Before she could move away, another breathy wheeze could be heard. Nova scrunches her face, walking back over to the corpse with slow, careful steps. She crouches by the corpse. Reaching out to grasp at the stiff body, shifting her onto back. Nova stares down at the mandrill's face with a tense look. She lowers her head by the mandrill's mouth to see if she could hear any breathing.
None.
Nova lifts her head, pursing her lips. It's been a long night with her sick son, so she must've just been hearing stuff in her worry of his condition.
She examines the mandrill's body more closely. Brown fur with warm undertones of yellow and orange. The once bright red and blue markings are now dull from death. Her arms and legs are well defined, so she was a strong one. Chunky earrings in her ears. Many beaded bracelets on her wrists. A tattered shawl that may provide shade from the sun, but doesn't provide warmth from the cold.
Another small wheeze.
The shawl shifts on the corpse. Not from it suddenly breathing. Nor from the wind. Her eyes widen slightly as she hastily pulls the shawl apart. A gasp gets stuck in her throat as her throat closes up.
It's a mandrill infant. Tiny puffs of vapor leave her blue lips from the cold. Her fur is brown with golden facial markings on her snout and under her eyes. A short tail lays limp as the poor thing was curled up. The monkey infant shivers, curling up further into her mother's chest. Seeking warmth from the frozen corpse.
"Oh. Come here, little one. Come here," Nova coos gently at the infant.
Gently grabbing the infant's body to scoop her up. The infant scrunches her face in distress, clinging tightly to her mother's fur. Nova's brow furrows in worry.
"Hey, it's okay, little one. I promise," she shushes the infant in hopes she'll let go of her dead mother.
She is soon able to scoop up the infant. She was so cold. The infant squirms, clinging to Nova as she digs her tiny fingers into her fur. Nova's eyes soften at the gesture, holding her close with an arm before getting up, hurrying back home.
A fate worse than death had awaited this poor mandrill infant. Nova hopes the little one will survive the night, not knowing how long she’s been out in the freezing cold. She walks with purpose back to her village, her family.
The little one’s fate has been decided by Nova. She will take in this little one and raise her as her own. Aster deserves to have a little sibling. Almost like she sensed Nova’s resolve, the infant rubs her face against Nova’s chest. A huff of air leaving her weak lungs.
A soft but worn voice finishes their song. Their voice being carried by the winds. The monkey infant’s ears twitch at the voice in the winds that Nova cannot hear.
/'Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
Now I know what you are.'/
