Chapter Text
Colors and lights flashed through its eyes, a symphony of a thousand cycles, all in a split second before it heard the body hit the ground. The Saint shook its head as it descended and landed on the floor, approaching the motionless green lizard. It's once coal black eyes where a milk white, not an echo of life left behind. The Saint placed its paw gently on the ascended creature's nose, before continuing on.
This duty was one it had to do. And though a singular green lizard was all but nothing in the grand scheme of this world, it still counted in the end.
As the Saint walked away, it let itself ponder upon the life it had just observed. The ability it had was a blessing, but for every good there was bad. It always knew exactly what it had ended.
The cold was growing steadily and a shiver ran through its body. It needed to find more food soon, as well as shelter. It didn't want to end up starving... again
It kept a steady pace as it moved, sollumn yet determined. It saw another lizard –a pale pink, this time– and it leapt into the air, focusing into its ability and taking flight. It observed as the colors of the world inverted and reverted, over and over again. It sent the symbol it summoned towards the poor, endless creature. The lizard attempted to attack the Saint, but it wasn't quite fast enough.
Another life flashed before the Saint's eyes, and it let itself drop to the snowy ground with the lizard's limp body. This one had hatchlings. At one point at least. It was hunting for its young. The Saint felt an overwhelming sense of melancholy, and allowed itself to just... sit. For a moment.
This moment was swift to end.
It heard snow crunching, the source obscured by the structures around. The Saint whiped its tongue up to the highest point It could Creech and rose, latching onto a pole hanging off the overhanging structure. As it retracted its tongue, it watched as a larger, furred slug-cat treaded into the place it had just been. The slug-cat looked at the deceased lizard, then looked around, eventually looking up at the Saint itself.
He tilted his head, then raised a paw, reaching towards the Saint in greeting. It considered its options. It could easily ascend this other, it could run away, or... maybe...
The Saint used its tongue to slowly lower itself to the ground, then releasing and retracting it back into their maw. The slug-cats looked at each other a moment.
The Saint could now see that the other slug-cat wasn't actually furred, but was in fact draped in furs. Thick blue lizard skin. It tilted its head at the larger slug-cat. From his appearance, he was old. Very old.
The Saint made its decision. It would interact with this slug-cat. It had been a long while since it had been in proper company. And in the end... it would continue its duty. As it always did.
The elder slug-cat's ear twitched, and he spoke.
"Hello there. Are you lost?"
Lost? How silly. It couldn't be lost. It knew its job, and where to go to do it. It shook its head. Though it may be okay with company, it's never been one for speaking.
He straightened up a bit, and slipped a paw from his lizard-skin drapes, brushing the fur on the outside.
"... are you hungry?" The elder lifted his cloak slightly. The form under, though already implied by his tail, was large yet aged. There was a leathery appearance to it. The saint could see a small bag made of some sort of woven materials... perhaps batnip. It emmited a soft reddish glow. "I've gathered some extra food that I am in no need of as of now."
The Saint was in fact in need of food. But it wasn't wise to take everything offered to you. It knew that some slug-cats had cannibalistic tendencies, and would rather not suffer the fate of passing out and being eaten slowly. It experienced that at high speeds often enough, thank you.
But, it was still intrigued, so instead it just tilted its head again. It shuddered in the cold, which made it retracted its head back. The elder seeped to realize something, as his droopy ears raised a bit before he turned his attention to his bag again. He reached in and grabbed the source of the glow. A lantern-plant.
The Saint tried to straighten up when it saw the plant. The elder offered it towards the Saint, taking a step forwards. It stepped back in turn, crouching down. But it shivered again and realized this might be the safest option for it right now.
Slowly, as it stood back up, the elder approached again, with a gentle pace, holding out the plant. The moment the glow reached the Saint's fur, it felt the warmth of it seeping to its skin and let out a small sigh for the temporary relief from the cold.
The elder bobbed his hand up and down slightly. "Here, take it friend. This ol' batfly has a whole store of them back at his shelter heheh."
The Saint took the plant gratefully and held it close to its fur, before perking up at the word shelter. The elder continued his little chuckle a moment before looking back the way he came.
"There are a few popcorn plants, unpopped, near the entryway if you'd like some food straight from the source, friend." The way he called it friend was a comfort it didn't realize it needed. "Why don't you come with me hm?"
And with one nod, the elder began leading, and the youth began following.
The elder claimed himself to be known often as the Monk. The Saint deemed it fitting.
"And what of you?" The Monk looked back at it, curious. There was a pup-like admirance behind the well aged eyes of him.
For the first time in a long time, with a soft voice, raspy from little use and cold air, it spoke. "The Saint..."
"Saint, hm? Well, it's certainly a nice title, isn't it?" The Monk continued moving, now humming something softly.
The Saint's name was far more than a title, however. It was a job. An assignment. Something inevitable. But it let itself ignore that. If only for a moment.
As the snow picked up, the Saint could hear popping in the distance.
"Ah, here we are... my shelter isn't far from this place now." The Monk climbed over a mount of snow, and as the Saint followed it could see the just popped plant open, with the kernels on the snow below. The Monk scooped the bits up and dropped them into his bag before bundling his cloak and nodding towards a pipe. "This way, friend."
The Saint prevented itself from huffing at the Monk and how he just took the food, but followed. It needed shelter. It took a breath and swallowed the lantern-plant it held as it watched the Monk go through the pipe, then climbed after the larger slug-cat.
Upon exiting the pipe, it was certainly a fair bit warmer here than it was outside. But the cold was still growing. The Saint found itself wandering after the elder slug-cat as he hummed his little tune and treaded his little path. They were both underground now. But underground couldn't always keep back the cold. The Saint was glad to have that warming plant stored, else it might be shivering like a lantern-mouse.
Tunnels and pipes later, the Saint spotted the shelter's symbol across the room and perked up in anticipation. It couldn't wait for its warm embrace. The Monk continued walking then gasped, freezing and taking a step back.
The Saint approached him, looking around. "What..?" It didn't get to finish its quiet question, but the answer was easily revealed. A red lizard, large and threatening, poked its way around the area ahead. The Monk stepped back again.
"Come- we can wait it out..." The Monk muttered, attempting to guide the Saint backwards again, but it shook out of his grasp, watching the lizard dutifully.
Looking back, the Saint could see the elder's face wrinkle with worry, but it knew it was fine... it would've gotten to this one sooner or later anyways.
Once again, it focused into its ability, taking flight. The world inverted and reverted as it sent the mark to the red blue red lizard's skull. It growled and spat at it aggressively. The Saint ignored it.
Bam.
This one was returning to its mate. This very cycle. The Saint figured it'd have to find that one later.
Landing down, it shook out its fur and rubbed its eyes, which returned to their usual resting look. Turning to the Monk, it found him staring with an expression of both curiosity and a distant fear.
The Monk stepped forward, looking off at the dead lizard before facing the Saint again. "What... was that-? You did that yes?" The gear began to subside for wonder.
The Saint nodded.
"How? If I may ask- that is like... it reminds me of something I saw a long while ago... have you seen the superstructures around?" The Saint nodded again. "There is an ability that something within those has that seems like what you just did."
The Saint was well aware of the superstructures –and their iterators as well– and was aware if the kill shot that they used when displeased with their visitors. It also knew that its ability was far past that.
"My job." The Saint spoke simply, to the point.
"Your job? What do you mean? Sorry, I'm asking far too much..." The Monk shook his head and sighed, stroking the furs of his cloak.
The Saint hesitated a moment, then sat on the cold dirt and stone. "My duty... assigned... need to do it..." it shook a little. "... need to finish."
"You need to do it? What is it?" The Monk approached and sat beside it. The Saint looked at the body, the Monk looked at the Saint.
It huffed, looking up at the soil ceiling. "Ascension. The way."
The Monk took a moment, before a flicker of recognition, then comprehension blinked through his weary eyes. "I see..."
There was quiet for a little while, where the two slug-cats looked at the dead lizard below. The Saint thought, and the Monk pondered.
But the silence was broken before long, as the Monk turned to the other, tilting his head.
"... do you want to do it?"
The Saint widened its eyes out of a sort of shock and confusion.
"Want..?" It whispered. It didn't understand. Not really.
"You said you need to... but do you want to? There is always a choice, you know..." The Monk, with all his age coming through in wisdom, chuckled a soft, hearty laugh. "I am unsure who told you this was your duty, but the world can wait a much longer while for it, im certain."
The Saint's fur rustled in the wind coming through a pipe from above. The Monk, in his lizard-skin coverings, reached into his woven bag and offered the Saint a couple of the pop-kernels. It hesitated, but took the food gratefully, eating them as it thought a while.
"I do not blame you either way you choose, as i know not your circumstances," The Monk offered a small smile. "But I do ask one thing..."
The Saint looked back up at the elder slug-cat, attentive.
He placed a paw on the younger's head, patting the fur there and brushing away some snow still there. "Whether you choose now or later, or even never, save me for last, won't you friend-?"
It looked at him for a moment, with contemplation in its face, then nodded affirmatively.
"I appreciate it... now, let us get into that shelter." The Monk stood, brushing a bit of leftover snow off himself. "Don't want to freeze now, do we?"
The Saint nodded again, now deeper in thought, but it told itself to safe the though for when it meditated. The two slug-cats made it across the gap to the shelter, and entered it.
It was nicely detailed, with supplies that said the Monk had been residing here for a fair few cycles now. As the two settled in, the chamber whirred to life and shut off the exit. There was a comfortable amount of space for the two to exist, and as the warmth enveloped the Saint, it felt exhaustion creep in. It watched as the Monk yawned and curled himself into a corner, hugging his large tail into himself.
Soon enough, the Monk was fast asleep already deep into hibernation. The Saint allowed itself to sit, regurgitating the lantern-plant it had swallowed and setting it with the small pile of them in the corner, then taking center chamber and sitting. Taking a deep breath as the warmth seeped through it, the Saint closed its eyes and began to meditate, allowing itself to ponder on the things the elder had said.