Chapter Text
With a huff, the majestic beast slowly brings its head up, a deep growl emitting from its throat. A jaw slightly unlocks, and the growl morphs into a deep… gargantuan…
Yawn.
Kronii smacks her lips after such a grumbling yawn, taking a few deep breaths to get used to waking up again. She craned her neck around until a sudden scent hit her. An intruder.
With a few blinks to process, she slowly follows the scent, and looks down. She was curled around her own nest, but right in the middle, using her body as a pillow was an unfamiliar creature. Kronii had only heard stories, but to see one so up close, and unafraid of her- not just unafraid, sleeping on her.
Kronii lowers her head, just inches away from the girl’s face which was as big as her snout.
She huffs, and the human’s green hair floats up in the air slightly. Her nose scrunches adorably, like a tiny rabbit’s.
Cute.
Another breath and the human squirms once more, pulling a giant leaf over her like it was a blanket. Kronii stares at the stolen leaf, already knowing which part of her nest it was missing from. Yet, her eyes hone in on furrowed eyebrows.
A little rumble from her throat as she warms it up before puffing a breath of hot air- not too hot, she knows how fragile humans are. Too hot and they’ll burn up, too cold and they’ll freeze to death the poor things.
The wrinkle in the human’s brows doesn’t fade. Rather, her eyelashes begin to flutter. Kronii reels her head back a bit, simply watching as the human begins to wake.
“Mmn,” The human hums, tiredness engrained in her soft little voice that sounded the same way flowers smelt. “Ah.”
Kronii blinks. The human looks more surprised to have woken up than the fact that she was in a beast’s nest.
“I’m still alive.”
Kronii tilts her head, throat rumbling lowly in an attempt to talk quietly.
“Are you not meant to be?”
The human turns her head, eyes wide that sparkle the same way Kronii’s white fur does in the sun. Kronii lowers her head again, observing the curious human, who sits up with a twinge.
“Ah.” Kronii realizes, huffing at the human’s waist and causing her to recoil. “You are in pain.”
“Yeah.” The human sits up, pain etched into all the wrinkles of her face. Kronii wants to blow them away. Such a young human did not need to look like she was at the end of her life. “I thought I wasn’t going to make it through the night.”
“So you thought it best to bleed out in my home?”
The human stiffens, dread on her face. Kronii rolls her eyes before blowing cold air onto her cheeks, invisible goosebumps rippling throughout.
“It’s a joke, human. Don’t tell me your species doesn’t tell fake stories anymore, I worked so hard to perfect those back in the day.”
“No, I, um,” A nervous chuckle accompanied by a precious smile. “I wasn’t aware you could… joke.”
“Mhm.” Kronii hums, elegantly lifting her head up as her body follows. The human almost falls backwards, having rested most of her body against the beast, but Kronii is quick to catch her, hooking her snout underneath her arm. “Come. Let’s get you healed.”
“You won’t eat me?” The human asks, despite leaning on Kronii with a heavy limp.
“Is that what you were expecting?” Kronii asks, sliding her neck further to get the human hugging her body instead.
“Well, kind of. That’s why I slept in your nest. Like, a breakfast in bed!”
Kronii snorts. “Sorry to break it to you, but I don’t eat humans. Now stay still, I think it’ll just be easier if I do it like this.”
“Like what-!” The human yelps as the form she was using for support suddenly dissipates from underneath her. Yet, before she falls back onto her bottom, an arm hooks under her back and another under her legs. Her eyes look up to see the humanoid face that blocks out the sun, when it takes her a second to realize that horns sit upon the head. “Wh-what…”
“Hm?” Kronii asks, amused by how the human looks confused. They looked almost the same after all, so why was the human much more surprised now? Sure, white and dark blue fur still covered parts of her body, her tail still flicked behind her, and her fangs reflected the sun in their agape state, but they were… almost the same, right? “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You…” She can feel the human relax in her arms, like she was too distracted to realize she was still bleeding from her wounds. “You’re so pretty...”
Kronii stiffens.
“Tch.” She clicks her tongue. “Humans…”
The girl doesn’t react, rather too busy being in awe as Kronii unfurls her wings. Before she can say anything about it, though, her words devolve into a scream as the sudden rush of air hits her face, and when she opens her eyes, the ground is fading away.
Kronii chuckles at the way the human holds on tighter. It was amusing.
“What’s your name, human?” Kronii asks, her voice one with the wind as it carries itself perfectly to Fauna’s ears.
“F-Fauna!” The human yells through the air, not yet used to such travel.
“Fauna.” The beast rumbles in repetition.
Fauna is an interesting human, Kronii decides. It’s not that humans themselves have changed much, but it’s that Fauna was simply different.
She’s different in the way she dances with the flowers, as if she was a fae herself. She’s different in the way the wind rushes through her hair, as if she was a majestic bird who could bend the will of the air with a simple breath. She’s different in the way she stays around Kronii, despite being a little human.
She’s not different in the way she’s weak though. Humans are fickle. They live short lives, and live them in different ways, but there’s a pattern. They all have desires. Some are obvious, fame, fortune, the pursuit of happiness. Yet, Fauna doesn’t appear to have any.
Kronii gives up on wondering, and leans down to Fauna. Towering over her is not a difficult job in either form, yet in her beast form, Kronii finds herself laying down to rest by Fauna’s thigh as she curls around the human protectively. (Though, if you ask her, it’s just by coincidence.) Her entire body wraps around Fauna, yet her neck is still long enough for her head to be eye level with the human.
“What is it you want, Fauna?” Kronii asks.
Fauna looks up from her lap where several flowers were being gently twisted together. “What do you mean?”
“Why have you stayed? Shouldn’t you have run back to your village by now?”
“Run back?” Fauna scoffs. “Why would I do that when I ran away?”
Kronii blinks. “Why would you run away? Humans boast about having everything, don’t they?”
Fauna shrugs, leaning back into Kronii’s torso. She’s a brave one to be so comfortable around the beast, and Kronii stiffens in response. Humans- Fauna is tiny, she’s soft and warm and precious.
It almost makes Kronii question if she really is human.
“If you have everything,” Fauna’s voice brings her out of her thoughts. “Then what’s left to want?”
Kronii snorts. “So you’re a selfish one? You want more than everything? Or is it that you want nothing?”
“Well,” Fauna turns her head with a sly smile. “Who said I already had everything?”
“Mh.” Kronii hums, a small shake in the earth. She closes her eyes in contemplation, letting the wind blow through her fur and the warm sun shine onto her face. “What are you missing then?”
She’s unaware of golden eyes that shine on them as they whisper something inaudible to the beast.
Kronii opens her eyes and suddenly turns her head.
“Kronii?” Fauna sits up, scared. “Did- Did I say something wrong?-”
“Hunters.” Kronii hisses through fangs as she sits upwards, her body curling around Fauna even more.
“H-Huh?” Fauna whispers, lifting her arms as the tail wraps around her, pulling her closer to Kronii. She holds onto the beast instinctively. “How do you know?”
The beast’s nose scrunched in disgust, pupils sharpening as she stared into the distance. “The stench of blood.”
She looks down to Fauna, a warning in her eyes.
“ My blood.”
The intense stare has Fauna staring at Kronii, enough to see just a few scars in her cheek, hidden among her fur. Her eyes trace the rest of Kronii’s body, seeing just a few more she must’ve missed before in the shimmer of sunlight.
“Did you lead-”
“No!” Fauna tightens her hold. “No, I didn’t! I-” Her voice cracks. “I didn’t want to be found, why would I have let them find you?”
Kronii’s head once again whips to the direction she had first sensed them in. “Fine.” Fauna gasps as her feet suddenly leave the ground, the tail tighter around her waist as she is dropped onto Kronii’s back. “Hold on tight then.”
Fauna processes the warning too late as Kronii suddenly starts moving. She leans forward, wrapping herself around Kronii’s neck as the beast takes off, yet instead of taking flight, she runs through the trees, knocking branches behind with her tail to cover her track with leaves.
She slithers through the forest with ease, and Fauna fills a different rush of wind than when Kronii takes her on a flight. Quickly, the forest changes until the sound of rushing water fills Fauna’s ears.
“Off.” Kronii tells her, using her tail to help Fauna slide off the beast. “Under my wing, I’ll protect you from the water.”
Fauna moves, a hand on the beast’s back as she watches the wings extend over her. “The water…?” She repeats absentmindedly, until her eyes land on the waterfall. “The- that water??”
“Yes.” Kronii mumbles, shifting under Fauna’s hand but keeping the wings above her. Fauna suddenly stiffens as she’s caught off guard by the sudden form change, but a step backwards turns into two steps forwards as Kronii winds an arm to pull her closer. “It’s too tight for my normal form, sorry. And cover your ears, it’ll be loud.”
Loud enough to deafen a human , Kronii thinks. She can’t get wet either. I heard humans get sick when they fall into water.
Her wings are pummelled by the strength of the rushing waterfall as she helps lead Fauna to a cave behind the waters. Once they’re in the darkness of the cave, the light shining through the water, she finds the confidence to let go of Fauna, who stays close to Kronii, grasping onto her arm, despite the spare space.
“You can let go of me now.” Kronii tells her as she flaps her wings to rid it of water, but Fauna just looks at her confused, pointing to her ears.
Kronii sighs, and leans closer to Fauna, growling against her ear. “I said you can let go of me now.
Fauna turns her head just slightly to meet Kronii’s face. She mouths an ‘oh’, as her hands drop, never tearing her eyes away from the beast’s intense stare.
“We’ll be safe here.” Kronii tells her in a much louder voice since she isn’t right next to Fauna’s ear, refusing to break eye contact first. “The water will-”
Fauna closes her eyes and rushes in, cutting off Kronii with a quick peck before pulling away. Her eyes flicker with fear as they meet Kronii’s intense gaze once again.
“S-sorry I just-” She gasps when clawed hands move up to grab her jaw, inspecting the human. “I- I didn’t-”
Fauna is tiny in my hands. She’s soft, warm…
Kronii moves forward just slightly, feeling the way Fauna shakes in her hands, but doesn’t pull away letting the distance close.
“Kronii…?” Fauna whispers in a voice that’s barely audible over the rushing waters, yet it seems like everything else disappears except for them.
Fauna is precious.
Kronii closes the distance.
It’s nighttime when Fauna gets to leave the cave. Kronii had left a few times during the day to fetch fruits and such for Fauna to make sure the girl wouldn’t starve. Then, when the sky shifted from orange to black, Kronii led Fauna out, and took her back to her nest on the back.
“Your fur is soft.” Fauna mumbles as she lightly holds on to Kronii’s neck whilst on the beast’s back. “It’s nice.”
“So is your hair.” Kronii responds.
“You think my hair is nice?” Fauna teases and stifles a laugh when Kronii trips.
Fauna wakes up first. The nest is more uncomfortable than it was the other nights, but it’s not the nest she sleeps on. It’s the coiled up body that both supports her and covers her, surrounding Fauna in soft and cozy fur.
She knew Kronii was a heavy sleeper from that first fateful night she had snuck into her nest. Yet, she learns that her favorite way to wake up was from Fauna running her hands through her mane, pressing kisses along the base of her horns.
She laughs as Kronii slowly turns over onto her back, still as twisted up as a noodle but doing her best to balance Fauna atop her.
“Hello.” Fauna whispers with a smile as Kronii nuzzles her face against Fauna’s.
Kronii lets out a low growl in response, huffing a puff of air that makes Fauna’s hair float for just a second.
Fauna laughs again, tickled by the air as she’s slowly let down onto the floor of the nest, watching as Kronii transforms around her to her more human-like form before sitting up.
The human follows, arms doing its best to wrap around Kronii’s larger body as she rests her chin on the beast’s shoulder.
“Tell me, Fauna.”
“Hm?”
“What do humans gift their partners?”
Fauna smirks. “Why are you asking?”
Kronii grumbles, turning her head to meet Fauna’s sly gaze. “Isn’t it obvious? I wish to give you something.”
“Hm… I like flowers.”
The beast snorts. “So that explains why there’s so many of them around my nest.”
Fauna gives a playfully offended gasp. “I was decorating!”
“Yes, yes.” Kronii smirks. “And it looks beautiful.” She turns her body just a little more to catch Fauna in a kiss. “Just like you.”
The human lowers her head, hiding it in Kronii’s shoulder. “Uuu…” She whines before mumbling something.
“What was that?”
“Nothing…” Fauna mumbles again, shaking her head against Kronii who gives a rumbling laugh.
She grabs Fauna’s hand and lifts it up to her mouth, nuzzling against it. “Then flowers it is.”
Fauna will love these! Kronii grins to herself, running through the forest in her beast form with flowers gently held between her fangs. She had traveled far and wide in search for the most magnificent flowers, only the best for Fauna.
She had never felt this exhilarated before. Usually when she ran, she ran away, but now, she ran towards Fauna. Her tail whips around her as she winds around trees and over bushes, her mind running all around to recall silly poets and humans who tried to teach her about love.
Perhaps this was it.
Perhaps she loved Fauna. At the very least, she liked the human, enough to travel across distances she’d never think of crossing.
As she nears her nest, she’s practically prancing around the trees until she takes a moment to pause and recollect herself. She shifts back into her human form, smirking as she recalls how pretty Fauna had always said she looked, but her human form seemed to entrance her the most. The flowers in her hand seemed a little frazzled from how fast she had run, but intact nevertheless.
“Fauna!” Kronii grinned as she neared her nest.
Yet, the smile fades from her face when there’s no response. Her pace quickens just slightly, her heart dropping down into her stomach.
“Fauna?” Kronii asked as she stared at the nest, tail dragging behind her. Maybe Fauna was trying to pop out to surprise her, the high walls of the nest would’ve been able to hide her if she lay low enough.
Kronii steps into the empty nest.
Empty, because Fauna wasn’t in it.
“Oh.” Kronii breathes, the flowers dropping from her hand. Fauna’s scent faded, having left a little long ago. Kronii didn’t think she was gone that long, but she was gone long enough for Fauna to leave, apparently.
“Okay,” She sighs, already accepting defeat. Humans come and go.
That could’ve been love, but this was heartbreak.
Kronii shifts back into her beast form, too much energy draining from her to keep up the human-like appearance.
She circles around in her nest. It was usually the perfect size for her, but now it feels a little too big. She peeks her head out, resting her chin on the wall as she looks out into the distance.
Things were much more boring, it turns out, when her companion wasn’t around.
She huffs, dropping her head from the wall. Kronii didn’t need her anyways.
They say that to get over a lover, it takes about half the time you were together. Kronii remembers a certain bard telling her that, a loudmouth that one.
Still, the words echo in her head as days pass. It was but a quick relationship really. Her time with Fauna would’ve amounted to so little in her lifespan.
But it still hurts.
In merely a few days, Kronii believed she would get over it. Fauna would be nothing but a memory, and Kronii would simply refuse to feel that way for a human again. Yet, no matter how much she tries to look towards the future, she remains stuck in the present, in her empty nest with no one but damaged flowers to keep her company.