Chapter Text
The sun was high overhead, the insects screaming in the high grass, the sky an endless, shimmering blanket of blue. He’d been tracking the one locust, long as his forearm, through the tall blades of grass when it happens. A loud, resounding crack snaps across the sky, sounding like lightening yet there was not a cloud to be seen. The locust flies off at the noise and he lifts his head, chin barely clearing the tops of the swaying grass, looking out toward the paddies and lake, finding some kind of commotion closer toward the village. Scurrying off quickly in search of his mother, he keeps a wary eye skyward, in case it was one of those rare summer squalls that blow up out of nowhere and lash storm-laden fury upon them. Almost to the outer-most buildings the sound happens again, and this time he finds what it was.
A section of the sky ahead shimmers, lines appearing and wavering till they coalesce together, another thunderous crack reverberating across the land as they snap to anchor points and expand in the blink of an eye and the portal is formed in the center. A strange looking figure comes flying out, a series of shouts and cries being heard from the other ghouls converging on the portal. Skittering around the legs of his elders he finds that the figure was actually three: a tall ghoulette with two kits that she was quickly checking over, pushing to the waiting arms of two water ghouls before jumping back through the portal. It dissolves the instant the end of her tail is through, closing them off from the other side and whatever was going on. He gives a quiet, worried chirp as he watches his mother and a few of the other ghoulettes push their way forward to gather around the kits—aether ghouls, if he remembers correctly, kneeling down to gather them close. There’s a murmur of worried chatter going through the convened village though he couldn’t seem to make any sense of it, though they’re all cut off again as another portal opens, the same ghoulette being forced through it before it breaks apart and closes just as she’s on the other side again. She only had one kit clutched in her arms this time, and instead of the soft whimpering like the others this one wailed and screeched, thin limbs flailing against her hold.
The kit is maybe around his own age, six or perhaps seven years old, though unlike any of its fellow aether ghouls its hair was a mass of white curls that stood stark against their dark gray skin. Also unlike their peers, instead of the typical purple eyes theirs were a mix of gold, blue, and purple, the color bright and metallic, mesmerizing. He finds himself almost hypnotized by them, the world around fading out as he watches the color shimmer and pulse, not noticing till the last second how the one of the water ghoulettes comes running with a bucket of water. Shaking his head to clear it he watches the scene intently, trying to make sense of what was happening.
The aether ghoulette lays the white-haired kit on the ground, crooning gently and propping them up so their head rested on her knee. He notices, then, the jagged, wet gash down the middle of their chest, their shirt soaked in dark blood, the stark white of bone visible through the sundered flesh. She confers quietly with the water ghoulette, both pausing to croon softly to the crying, wounded kit, before the water ghoulette pulls a ball of water from the bucket and holds it gently between her palms. The aether ghoulette takes a few deep breaths before poising her hand in the air about he kit’s chest, nodding to her companion and a halo of purple fizzles into being around her outstretched limb. The water ghoulette brings the ball of water down, letting it softly splash down the wound and clear it of any debris, the water quickly turning black and rusty with blood. The kit howls in pain, back arcing as they thrash about, the water ghoulette swiftly reaching out to hold them still as the aether ghoulette begins her healing. The purple cloud concentrates around her hand as she touches outstretched fingers to the flesh around the wound, lips moving in a soundless chant. After a few tense moments tendrils of something dark and terrible writhe up from the wound, drawn up and out from their body by the aether into a squirming ball in the air. With a flick of her wrist the ball goes flying through the air to splatter on the sands, hissing and spitting before dissolving into the air. Whatever it was sent a shiver of fear down his spine.
With the black stuff removed the aether ghoulette weaves her element around the wounded kit, streaks of purple-tinged power knitting the torn flesh back together, mending broken bones and sealing the skin closed leaving only a light gray streak of a scar in its wake. The healing had taken much of the older ghoulette’s power, leaving her with blood dripping down from her nose and wavering in exhaustion. The assembled ghouls all begin bustling about, one of the older ghouls sending him to his mother to stay out of the way.
--
“It was angels,” the aether ghoulette says to the assembled water ghouls around the cushioned chair she had been settled in. “One moment the caravan is moving quietly along, next thing we know they’re diving us from the sky, halos burning our eyes and spooking the horses. I grabbed the nearest kits and opened a portal, I tried to get as many as I could without being found. I couldn’t risk them following me here…”
“You did best you could, child,” the elder water ghoul says, voice tinged with a deep sadness yet also a cold hardness. “We’ll send a pack of hunters with you once you’ve regained enough strength to go back. I pray to the deep that more of your kin were able to get away like you had…”
“Mama,” he asks quietly, tugging on his mother’s belt. “Mama, what are angels?” His mother gathers him close and settles back into the corner of the elder’s home, gently combing her claws through his black hair.
“Angels, sweetling, are God’s creatures, like we are Lucifer’s. They are our mortal enemies, and they wish to see us all burned to ash.” His mother’s voice was soft, making the harsh words lose their bite and horror.
“But why,” he asks, prompting for her to sigh heavily before rising from the bench they were settled on.
“I don’t know, dear one. Perhaps one day we can tell you, when you’re older. For now, let us go home and get you to sleep, and look after our new friend, hm?”
--
He wakes in the middle of the night to a quiet snuffling noise, slipping away from his pallet at the foot of his parent’s bed and tiptoeing into the other side of the house. The hearth was full of naught but embers, their faint glow a dim light to see by. The injured aether kit was swathed in a blanket, still unconscious yet shifting and whimpering softly in their sleep. They seemed cold as well, as if the one blanket not enough to ward off the evening chill that had settled in. He darts back to the bedroom and grasps his own blanket before returning to the aether kit. He drapes his blanket over them before slipping under both and snuggling close, curling gently around their back though he was smaller than they were. With a soft, quiet purr he shifts to get comfortable, winding his tail about their own and holds them loosely, feeling the tension ease from their muscles as they fall into the deeper stages of sleep, he himself following soon after.
--
He wakes to those eyes watching him, the colors bright and warm in the firelight. His parents must be up already, the scent of rice porridge simmering on the hearth having woken him up. He smiles and chirps quietly at the aether kit, and after a moment they give him a wan smile in return.
“I’m Ulan, what’s your name,” he asks, keeping his voice quiet. The other kit watches him silently for a few moments, before replying is a slightly hoarse voice.
“Lux.”
Ulan gives them a bright smile, purring and snuggling close, the two kits lulled back to sleep till his mother rouses them for breakfast.