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A Shepherd's crook.
It was a tool used to lead sheep back into the herd, away from danger; their support group… their family.
Mahiru had a similar group around him: Kuro, who made sure that he never had to eat another meal alone; his friends from school and the eves… well at least it felt like a makeshift family when his uncle wasn’t home.
January………
Mahiru groaned, rolling over onto his side. His school uniform had been covered in mud and grass stains. As he slowly came to consciousness a faint ringing became apparent in his ears and persisted. He rolled again over looking for any sign of that black cat, or, if he was lucky, the blue coat.
A set of footsteps came thundering towards him. Shortly after, a white cloak filled his vision, followed by a face. He squinted in the light as a head of blonde hovered over him.
“Tetsu?…” he slurred rubbing his eyes. He looked down at his hand to find blood soaking his fingers. The face looked concerned. Its mouth was moving but Mahiru struggled to make out words. He whined as the pain in his side increased, why weren’t they doing anything!?! It HURT.
“Mikuni?…” he whined like a kid who had fallen off the playground. Only this wasn’t the playground… Instead of falling down onto soft dirt, he had fallen or to stone cold concrete. Instead of simply having a scraped knee for an injury, he has an open and bleeding stab wound.. The face contorted, a rapid movement was made just out of his sight; pressure was suddenly on the very openly gushing wound and before long his world was consumed with black.
——————-
Ash looked down at the brunette asleep on the makeshift bed. The doctors said he was going to need to sleep for quite a bit in order to feel any better. He was also told to repeat the following routine to ensure that he would heal without any complications or problems: mix the tonic, unwrap soaked bandages, apply tonic, rewrap, leave to rest, and repeat when he returns from the fields.
He looked down to the pile of logs he had in his hand. The fire cracked in the corner of the small stone cottage. He moved the bundle of logs over to the flickering flame working to grow the dying warmth in the room.
February……
Mahiru blinked back at the sudden change in light…or lack thereof… he looked around his hazy vision. The surface beneath him was soft…ish. The sound of a fire crackling in the corner became apparent to him. A fireplace…so was he at Misono’s? But that doesn’t explain why the bed was kinda… uncomfortable. The inn doesn’t have a fireplace, it was more of a space heater… his uncle’s apartment had no fireplace but central heat… he turned onto his side to sit up. A paw found its way into his mouth; which in turn was quickly removed. A familiar voice laughed.
His eyes shot open while moving to sit up, much to his disappointment he was met with a face not of Kuro. The blonde held tightly onto the purring black cat, who shed so profusely, black fur practically covered the white fabric draped over his shoulders, and a mop of blonde hair haphazardly shoved out of his eyes. Those cyan eyes that held so much LIFE, stared right back at him. The “Not Kuro” shifted faintly on the surface.
The Not Kuro smiled, relaxing his hold on the squirming cat allowing it to be free. The cat curled up in Mahiru’s lap purring as it fell asleep.
“I was starting to get worried when you didn’t wake up for the last month… thought you died there for a few weeks…” he forced a smile to continue, a slight downturn at the comment couldn’t be hidden though.
Mahiru blinked blankly. “Where… am I?”
March……
Mahiru found himself struggling to carry the bag of extra wheat seed. He was strong physically, yes, but he wasn’t sure that this was actually chicken feed being stored in the bag. It had to be stones. Ash chuckled, opening one of the bags of feed. Mahiru stumbled back, his grip failing him on the bag causing it to drop.
“Are you okay?” Ash stifled out through a laugh.
He moved over to the bag, picking it up with ease.
Mahiru gawked at the ease of which Ash had picked up the bag, throwing it over his shoulder like it was filled with feathers. Mahiru grumbled while pouting.
“Well, you clearly never worked on the fields before.” Ash smirked down at the male below him.
It had become a game among the other members of the village, trying to figure out who he was before.
Ash couldn’t care less where Mahiru had come from, he was here now and he wasn’t so lonely anymore.
May……
Mahiru had slowly begun to settle into a routine with Ash over the past two months. They would get up before the sun rose, which wasn't that different from his routine at home. He would put on his cloak, pants, socks, and boots. He pulled the hood up and over his head. The sun beamed down onto the stone floors warming them up. The people in the village had come to the conclusion that Mahiru most likely had lost his memory of who he was, but the town was more than happy to let him stay until he remembered who he was. Ash wasn’t ready for him to go… wasn’t ready for his friend to remember who he was. Ash picked up his bag looking at Mahiru, who was beginning to wake up.
“You’re waking up later than usual. Are you feeling alright?”
Mahiru shook the fog from his head.
“I’m awake, I’m awake.”
The town had become a familiar sight to Mahiru. The smell of fresh bread surrounded the pathway, some of the sheep were roaming the fenced in pasture. A small group of the village elders had gathered in front of the chicken pen. Ash and Mahiru exchanged a worried look before making their way over to the group.
“What happened? Is everyone okay?”
“The chickens got loose again…” the elder sighed, mentally preparing for the search.
“Me and Mahiru can handle it.”
Mahiru nodded.
“Boys you don’t need too-“
Ash had cut off the Elder grinning from ear to ear. A hand on his chest proudly.
“Well I’m here aren’t I?”
“It’s simpler if we do it”
June……
Mahiru found himself looking down at the giant metal scissors in his hands. How the hell was he supposed to use these…. On a literal cloud of wool. He held his breath pushing up the wool preparing himself for the task mentally. Ash turned around, eyes practically bulging out of his head.
“Mahi? MAHI?!”
Mahiru turned around slightly relieved.
“You-“ Ash cut himself off before sighing. “You haven’t plucked the loose clumps off yet.. you're going to break the shears if you start it now.”
“Oh.” He bit his lip looking back at the LIVING animal in front of him. Ash moved over to sit on the ground next to him.
“Here, let me guide you on how to find the right clumps that you can pick off naturally.”
Ash hesitated before picking up Mahiru’s hand.
“The shears are not the strongest so it helps to cut down on what you're actually cutting.”
A few loose clumps fell onto the blanket below.
“It’s almost like you’ve never done this before.” Ash chuckled.
“Maybe you were a knight? But that wouldn’t make you for your lack of basic knowledge when it comes to horses or field work.”
The pair chuckled at a shared memory that both had promised to bury as if it never happened.
July……
Mahiru rolled over on the makeshift mattress, it was July… his birthday to be exact. It wasn’t like the thought hadn’t crossed his mind before, or had to be alone on the day before as well.. this time just felt different. He swung his feet over the edge of the bed.
“Good morning!” Ash hummed a plate already set on the table for him. Mahiru made his way over, pulling out the chair before starting to eat. Damn…if only I could get Kuro to cook. This is actually really good.
“What’s with the sad look?” Ash looked up from the wool he had begun threading.
“It’s nothing it’s not really-“
“No,no, no I insist-“
“It’s nothing I swear-“
“Nothing is ever that sad-“
“It’s okay! It's a me problem! A problem with myself-“
“Well I’m here to help-“
“Don’t worry about-“
“Well, I’m GOING too now-“
.
.
.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all.
August…..
Mahiru bent down, picking up one of the bags of grain. Ash eyed him from the side. Mahiru had definitely bulked up since he had first arrived. His muscles had become clearly defined. He had no trouble following along the normal routine by himself anymore…. Ash knew he clearly wasn’t human… but had come to terms with the fact: He was still his friend.
Ash stumbled over one of the bags that he had meant to pick up but instead started grasping at air just above the bag. Mahiru laughed at Ash’s flustered appearance.
“Having trouble?” Mahiru joked, an eyebrow raised in a teasing manner.
“No, no I can handle this.” Ash stuttered, actually gaining ahold of the bag this time now that his focus was on the item.
When did Mahiru get so strong?
November…..
Mahiru found it hard to walk in the new clothes he was given. The long cloak dragged behind him; and even despite the slit cut into the side, he struggled to use his hands.
He rested his hand on the fence post, a little ways ahead of him. Ash was chasing around a few baby sheep who seemed to refuse to stay near the rest of the herd. It was a little strange seeing the face of his friend(lover) looking….human.
Ash ran around continuing to fuss over the sheep, his energy and joy was infectious and seemingly bottomless.
The blonde stood up wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his white sleeve. A wide glowing smile spread across his face upon seeing the brunette.
“Come to finally help me now eh?” He chuckled bolting off after a loose cow while simultaneously keeping an eye on the spread out herd of sheep.
Mahiru made his way over the fence summoning his own shepherd’s croak. It was nice that most of the people here had just accepted him as a magician, brushing off his lead since it was useful to them after all. He walked to the edge of the forest nudging the straying sheep away from the woods, the Black Cat napping at the edge in a sunspot between the trees.
Ash glanced over at the brunette, a faint frown brushing his lips. He would have to get back to his own home sometime soon, right? He would eventually gain his memories of where he came from… then what… would he leave them behind? Ash looked down at his hands retying the rope around the fence post. He didn’t want Mahi to leave him alone yet…
…..December….
Ash looked down at the brunette, a light chuckle escaping him. This was the 11th time Mahiru had tripped over his own feet and this stupid cloak…. That Kuro had given him… he had grown to unfortunately accept that he might not get back to his own time… he still hadn’t told Ash yet…
He looked down at the snow piling on the path leading back from the forest. The smell of fresh pine wood struck him like someone had lit one of those dumb holiday scented candles. He scrunched his nose, dazed.
Mahiru stumbled to his feet with the forceful yank on his arm. Ash chuckled as he struggled to reorient himself, spreading out his arms before finally standing still. The snow drifting around them looked almost like white flower petals.
Ash chuckled watching as a small pile of snow fell from the branch above crashing onto Mahiru’s head.
Mahiru pulled down the hood over his eyes as chuckling turned into wheezing, and wheezing turned into full stomach laughter. The snow began whirling around the pair encasing the pair... Ash looked back at the town behind him, he dropped the wood as he started rushing towards the disappearing figure in front of him. He didn’t hesitate before pulling back the hood and placing a rushed kiss on Mahiru’s lips.
“ I know, I’ll see you again.”
He pulled back down the hood, fresh snow falling into Mahiru’s lap.
———————————————-
Mahiru shot his head upwards towards Ash.
“What?”
Now he was surrounded by the familiar purple, white and black hues to the Alicen manor. There were large pillars standing tall in the candle lit room. He stumbled to his feet as the rest of the eves circled around him holding their breaths. Mahiru struggled to stand up, only taking one step before tripping for the last time on the cloak, a pair of blue clad arms catching him this time.
“Welcome Home, I knew I would see you again…” the tired voice drawled.
—————————-
Ash’s feet ran down the cobblestone path, the Lord’s Manor seemed to loom over him. The building covered in Purples, whites, blacks and golds standing menacingly in front of him.
“I’ll see you again.”