#AND. summer form coatl.

[anxiously-awaiting]

<- thinking about that tezcatlipoca summer ce from last year like listen . i know he's probably too new to get a summer costume but PLEASEEE if theyre not gonna give me bedi summer costume i need that ce one .

[tribbetherium]

The quetzals, or feathered serpents, are one of the most diverse and successful pseudosnake lineages, found on every continent and spanning a wide array of forms. Their notable key feature is their dense coat of branching filaments, fuzzy and similar to down, that covers their body. This coat provides insulation and is utilized for display and camouflage, while modified feather quills, arranged in a row of sharp spines along their flanks, help grip the ground as they move, making many species of quetzals surprisingly fast sprinters despite their lack of limbs.

All species of quetzals are egg-layers, and many lay relatively small clutches of eggs, which are incubated and cared for by one or both parents until they hatch. Most quetzal hatchlings are precocial, being born fully-feathered and able to follow their parents around until they become old enough to fend for themselves.

Some notable species include:

▪The masked scriggle, a small insectivore measuring about 10-12 inches in length, is a very basal quetzal species virtually identical to the earliest forms that diverged from the theriodontophidians millions of years ago. Armed with a long, pointed snout and dozens of small, conical teeth, the masked scriggle is an avid hunter of insects and other small invertebrate prey in the undergrowth. Males are easily identified by their brilliant black-and-gold heads, which give the species its name, while females are much less conspicuous.

▪The neon stringworm is a close relative of the scriggle, and like its cousin is a small insectivore measuring about 15 inches in length. Spectacularly colored, male stringworms are notable for their elaborate courtship displays, ruffling their refractive blue plumage to create a shimmering effect while performing a frantic wiggling 'dance' in hopes of attracting a mate. While their showy coloration greatly improves their reproductive success, it however comes with a price: breeding season makes them very conspicuous to predators, and a large percentage of male mortality occurs during the months when females are most receptive.

▪The midnight scrowl is a nocturnal omnivore measuring about two feet in length, mostly present in temperate forests. Hiding in tree holes and under logs during the daytime, the scrowl emerges under the cover of night to forage for food. Its large eyes and superb vision in the dark help it locate its meals, which include fruits, seeds, and small invertebrates, as well as any unguarded eggs of other quetzal species it may chance upon. Typically territorial and solitary creatures, their black-and-white striped tails serve as warning colorations to startle intruders to their turf.

▪The blue-flecked desert sluzzard is an opportunistic scavenger native to arid environments. Averaging three to four feet in length, the desert sluzzard is adapted to feed on carrion, possessing a distinctive naked head and long, narrow snout filled with hooked teeth to easily access the nutritious bits of a carcass. While small groups of sluzzards may follow herds of desert-dwelling ophiotauri in hopes of picking off any of the dead or dying, they prefer to follow large predators in hopes of gleaning off mouthfuls of leftovers before the owner can chase them off. They may also catch live prey such as insects and small vertebrates, in times when large carrion is scarce.

▪ The spiny dirtwurm is a small burrower rarely exceeding 5-6 inches in length. Adapted for a subterranean lifestyle, the dirtwurm has thick, dense fur-like plumage, a beak-like sheath over its snout to aid in digging, small eyes and a keen sense of hearing and smell. An omnivore, the dirtwurm feeds on roots, tubers and underground insect larvae, and on occasion surfaces underneath carrion to scavenge as well. While most quetzals have just two rows of spines on each side to aid in locomotion, the dirtwurm has a multitude of spines all over its body to help pull itself along in its underground tunnels, as well as deter any predator that tries to grab or swallow it.

▪ The crimson snagret is an an aquatic piscivore that usually measures about five feet in length and is commonly found in bodies of freshwater, such as rivers, lakes and streams. Its lateral spines are hollow and full of air, providing additional buoyancy as it swims on the surface of the water. Its long, flexible neck and narrow snout allow it to quickly plunge its head below the surface to snatch aquatic prey below: while most of its diet consists of fish, carotenoid-rich crustaceans make up a significant part of its diet as well, which grants the crimson snagret its distinctively-colored plumage.

▪The emerald parraconda is a large herbivore commonly seen on the forest floor in tropical rainforests. Reaching lengths of up to twenty feet in some of the largest individuals, the parraconda has few natural enemies and is usually content to travel the forest floor in search of fruits, nuts, seeds, and soft vegetation. Its diet of fruit has made it an important means of seed dispersal for many trees: in fact, certain species of tree rely solely on the parraconda as its only means of dispersal, and thus have been reduced or even eradicated in regions where the local species of parraconda have since died out.

▪The badger-banded puddleplad is an aquatic bottom-feeder growing on average about 12-18 inches. Adapted for rooting about on the bottoms of ponds and streams in search of small invertebrates, the puddleplad is equipped with a sensitive flattened snout equipped with minute sensory hairs to detect movement, a broad muscular body and a paddle-shaped tail, as well as special glands that keep its plumage waterproof. While quite agile in the water, it is very clumsy on land, only able to move with an ungainly inchworming motion, and thus rarely leaves the water except to lay and incubate its eggs.

▪The resplendent emperor coatl is an arboreal omnivore native to tropical jungles. Among the largest, at 30 feet in length, and easily the most strikingly-colored of all the quetzals, the emperor coatl lives high up in the branches, and similar to the macaws of our timeline feeds on a diet of fruits and berries, as well as insect larvae and the occasional small vertebrate. Their diet of brightly colored fruit has brought about excellent color vision in the coatl family, which has in turn led to the development of incredibly vibrant plumage that varies with species, used in communication between individuals in conjunction with shrill whistling calls that can be heard for long distances.

▪ The peppered whippersnapper is a medium-sized speedy predator found in tropical plains and arid grasslands, measuring on average 8-10 feet in length. Perfectly equipped for chasing small bite-size prey across the plains, the whippersnapper is the fastest of the land-dwelling pseudosnakes: using a lashing, sidewinding motion and long, stiff quills on its flanks, the swift hunter can burst into sprints of up to 25 km/h in pursuit of its next meal: fairly slow compared to many quadrupeds of our world, but an impressive feat indeed for a limbless creature.

▪ The pompadour yaksnake is an enormous, six-ton herbivore found in arctic tundras. While the niche of large grazing herbivore is normally relegated to the cold-blooded ophiotauri, the chilly climes further up north is too frigid for the large grazers to thrive. As such, the vacant niche instead came to the yaksnakes, who in an example of convergent evolution evolved a short, stocky build and a muscular rippling stomach-foot similar to the ophiotauri. Filling a similar ecological role but better adapted to the freezing weather, the yaksnake is insulated by a thick, wooly coat and a layer of fat under its skin, and roams the tundra in herds, using its prominent tusks to dig for bulbs and roots hidden under the snow in winter and feeding on the plentiful grass that emerges in spring and summer.

[fr-melinoe]

Onyx Grasp

Words: 1,253 Dragons: Dia, Kareltje, Lorelei, Arnalt (mentioned), The Omens (Attalia, Kaska, Absalom, Mannea, Jericho) Summary:

Lorelei had vanished. The circumstances were unclear, becoming a horrific truth as they find what remained of her. Though... she would not remain that way forever.

Lorelei had been missing for approximately seven months before they found her again. She vanished while on a hunting trip by herself. The reasons for her choice in going alone was a mystery, typically she would have gone with her husband, Arnalt. The two of them yielded greater results, frequently returning with an over abundance that the lair would gorge upon. But instead she chose to go alone.

There were countless rumors about her disappearance that were spoken amongst the passers through, even Dia’s own disciples questioning the validity of their strongest warrior’s disappearance, but there was simply nothing to gain from such chatter.

Or at least that was what Dia would say.

Kareltje alone was the only member who knew of her anxieties over the matter. Kareltje alone knew of her suspicions.

It was in the dead of night that something broke. As the thundering footsteps of the omen bringers strode through the clan’s village, their purpose absolute and of grave importance. And it was 2am when they told Dia of what they saw.

Lorelei’s corpse had been discovered in the Tangled Wood, deep within it’s realm. Mangled and rotted, caught in the twisting thorns the Foxfire Bramble was known for. Dia flinched visibly as they came upon the sizable guardian, the smell of death was choking. Her students flanked their teacher, stoically looking upon the remains of their friend.

It was in the dead of Summer when Lorelei came to Dia’s personal estate. A surprise visit from a knight, though Dia would always make time for someone who served her family so dutifully. She had been making conversation with Dia and Kareltje, namely of logistics and the letters her young would send her from their travels or their duties serving the Lightweaver herself. Despite her tone, it was clear that something was on her mind.

Kareltje could see the desire to speak alone with Dia, and he smiled and politely excused himself. Making up a simple excuse for him to dismiss himself, lovingly nuzzling his wife before vanishing into their home.  

“My liege, I fear I must ask you something. Is there… something wrong with me?”

“...I would say no, why would you ask?” Dia folded her foreclaws in front of her, feeling the instinctive need for more.

The guardian hesitated a moment before continuing, “I have been… struggling as of late. With this and that. And I’ve find myself sinking deeper and deeper. I can’t quite seem to pull myself out, you see, and it seems to… get worse when I see the others. When I see the way Hecate admires Xibalba, or how Kareltje cares for you. It makes me feel… alone.”

Dia hummed, picking through her thoughts before settling on her first question, “Is it… a matter of envy? Or that of loneliness?”

“...Loneliness… I think.” She admitted, refusing to meet Dia’s gaze. Dia could read how it pained her to admit such a thing. It must’ve been something she had been attempting to hide, “It seems so easy for all of you. It used to be easy for me…” Lorelei choked on her words, bowing her head in humiliation at admitting her insecurities, “It used to be so easy for me and Arnalt. Am I too harsh a woman, Madame? I may not be as lovely or fair as a skydancer, or even a spiral, but am I so repulsive to look upon?”

Dia felt a prick of anger trail down her neck. She could see why she would request that Kareltje step away for this.

She rose to her feet and circled the stained glass table to the side of her most trusted warrior, “There is not a thing in this world wrong with you. Not for your personality, not for your appearance. You are a lovely and powerful woman. And I will have a word with your husband, I swear upon Lightweaver’s divinity, I will-”

Lorelei raised a claw with a soft laugh, “No… no please. I would just like it to stay here… Thank you my liege.” She stood, taking a steadying breath and smiled like nothing were wrong, “I believe I should speak to my husband… I need some time to think to myself.”

“I should have never let her leave…” Dia whispered as she withdrew her tome. She wasn’t about to let this fate stay. She wasn’t about to let Lorelei die forever after such an end. Lorelei deserved so much better than what she had.

It didn’t take long for Dia to begin work, giving her students orders.

Cut away the thorns.

Draw the circle.

Prep the candles.

Paint the body.

Wrap the wounds.

Take position.

They stood at the points of the circles, Dia at the start point. She muttered a prayer beneath her breath as she spoke up. She chanted the spell, focusing intently on the body of Lorelei. The circle began to fill with a deep, glowing light that tracked the rim of the circle, following the patterns inward as it trailed towards the guardian.

She should’ve felt what was wrong with the spell there.

The chant followed the lines, the girls repeating after Dia in an echo, urging the light to grow brighter and brighter as the earth began to shake. The students gripped the candles in a bid to keep them from snuffing out. They couldn’t let the ritual fail midway.

Light enveloped Lorelei’s form, seeping through her metallic scales and causing the body to twitch. Dia smiled, her confidence growing with each passing moment. Unaware of the darkening color.

The glow began to deepen, shifting from the radiant silver it had before, sinking darker and darker into shades of purple.

“Lady Dia, we need-!”

“Hush! We can’t let this stop here!” Dia snapped, sweating as she read through the spell.

Three more lines. Three more lines. Three more lines.

Lorelei’s body twitched, and stood, the glow around her shifting deeper yet. The magic danced around her form like black flames, silhouette standing proud as a deep thunderous laugh erupted from the reviving soul. Dia refused to back down now.

Not now.

But her refusal would be her undoing.

The blast came as a surprise to all of them, propelling them all through the darkness of the forest, several of them slamming into the trees, tangling in the sharp thorns that dug into their wings. Only one thing stood in the blackness, perfectly visible despite the tangled darkness that knit into her wings.

Lorelei.

Her breathing rasped heavily, and dark arms wrapped around her figure.

She wasn’t right.

This wasn’t right.

She cackled, what little light they had glinted off her features. Her face had malformed, a chitinous mask grew upon her, gnarled antlers protruding from her skull. Smoke poured from her mouth, as she rasped every breath. Dia froze, staring at what she had done. What she had wrought. What had become of her friend.

The new Lorelei lurched forward, walking towards Dia. Dia could not move, for the first time in her life truly paralyzed by fear as the imposing figure loomed over her. She flinched as the head jerked unsettlingly towards her, multiple milkish pink eyes peered at the coatl with intent. Dia shut her eyes tight, waiting for her to strike and end her existence.

…

There was only the sound of shifting earth, like a trowel scraping soil.

And then silence.

…

Dia slowly opened an eye, seeing the head bowed. The exoskeletal nose lightly grazing the mossy floor.

“My… Liege.”

[4laraza]

ENTERING INTO THE SERPENT

3. Entering Into the Serpent

In this chapter, Gloria Anzaldua discusses the continued splitting and burying of Coatlicue, the ancient Olmec fertility and Earth goddess, from her different aspects. This splitting began when the Aztecs, a tribe of the Toltec’s, migrated south from Aztlán and became increasingly militaristic and male dominated. The splitting was continued through colonization which was fueled by Christianity. Before the change to male dominance, Coatlicue contained and balanced the dualities of male and female, light and dark, life and death (53-54).

Coatl.

        Before colonization, the most notable symbol in the Americas was the serpent. The Olmec’s associated womanhood with the serpent’s mouth. It was considered the most sacred place on earth. “The creative womb from which all things are born and to which all things returned” (56).

Coatlicue. Tlazolteotl. Cihuacoatl. Tonantsi. Maria Coatlalopeuh. Virgen de Guadalupe.

        Coatlicue, she who has dominion over snakes. Goddess of Earth, fertility.. She who gives life, and takes it away. Embodiment of light and dark. Embodiment of sexuality and motherhood. 

        Men have tried to split you. Silence you. Bury you. They didn’t realize you were a seed.

        The first men to try were your own sons. The Aztecs. From your first burial grew Tlazolteotl, Cihuacoatl, & Tonantsi. Tlazolteotl, a temptress who represented sins like lust. Cihuacoatl, mother goddess who abandoned her own son and promised to protect the Aztec people. Tonantsi, the virtuous Earth goddess, who represented sustenance and provided corn to feed the Aztec people. 

        Men have tried to split you. Silence you. Bury you. They didn’t realize you were a seed. 

        When the Spanish arrived, their Christianity and thirst for power and gold positioned you, goddess of life and death, protector of the Aztec people, as their direct enemy. All indigenous religious and spiritual beliefs and practices were cast as evil. From this burial, Tonantsi became Maria Coatlalopeuh. Tonantsi had to disguise herself by adopting Spanish symbols in order to become less threatening to the Spanish. Maria Coatlalopeuh, a symbol of Indigenous resistance. 

        On December 9th, 1531, Maria Coatlalopeuh appeared to Juan Diego in the spot where the Nahua people worshipped Tonantsi, Tepeyác Hill. She told him she was the mother and protector of the Aztecs. She told him to build her an altar so that her people can worship her. When Juan Diego, a humble Indian, brought this information back to the Spanish, they first needed proof. She showed herself to the Spanish by appearing on Juan Diego’s tilma after he gathered roses from Tepeyác Hill as a mix of Indigenous and Spanish symbols and imagery, the Spanish allowed la gente indigena to build you an altar for worship. 

        Men have tried to split you. Silence you. Bury you. They didn’t realize you were a seed. 

        The Spanish, unable and unwilling to learn the Nahuatl language, heard your name, Coatlalopeuh, and confused/confounded/muddled it with Guadalupe, the patroness of Spain. From this burial, you were again made a virgin, separated from your sexuality. What grew from this final burial attempt? From the moment you met Juan Diego, “para el Mexicano ser Guadalupano es algo esencial” (51). You have become the most prominent image in Mexico and beyond, wherever your people go, you go. La Virgen de Guadalupe, reina y protectora de Mexico y su gente. A symbol of mestizaje. 

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Tonacayotl toquiliz ixcuayo ponilizcayotl (Tata Cuaxtle).

Quisieron enterrarnos pero no sabían que éramos semilla.

They tried to bury us, but they didn't know we were seeds.

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Visits from Coatlicue

The splitting of Coatlicue throughout history and her evolution into La Virgen de Guadalupe is a reflection of the ways women suffer in this world. Like Coatlicue, Kali, Medusa, we are split by our cultures, societies, and the world. We are condemned when we honor ourselves as whole; as both light and dark, as both sexual and pure… But like Coatlicue and her many aspects and forms, we rise to fight for what is rightfully ours. When they try to bury us, we only grow. Like La Virgen de Guadalupe, our existence is resistance. 

La Virgen de Guadalupe is a symbol of what it means to be mestiza. She is a representation of the old and new. A blending of the two. “Because Guadalupe took upon herself the psychological and physical devastation of the conquered and oppressed Indio, she is our spiritual, political and psychological symbol” (52). Her history is a reflection of the history of the Mexica people. 

This is probably one of my favorite chapters from the Borderlands book. Reading this chapter (re)stored a sense of power and wholeness to my own identity as a Brown woman. Anzaldúa’s personal reflections about her own connections and experiences with snakes reminded me of the relationship me and my sisters, specifically my sister Belicia, has had with snakes since she was a little girl. My sister, unafraid and unapologetic, has always been more “in tune” with the “negative” aspects of herself, the Tlazolteotl and Cihuacoatl aspects of herself. She is so carefree and adventurous and strong in the sense that she does not let others limit her.

When we were younger, our family would take trips to the mountains often and my sister always found a snake or two and sometimes she even caught them. My parents, abuelitos, and tios and tias, even some of the cousins who were scared of snakes, would scream out and warn her about their venom and danger, begging her not to grab it and definitely to not bring it closer to the family. She was never scared. Somehow she knew that the snake would not harm her unless she did something. 

Never did she let them put unnecessary fear in her. My sister has always been fascinated by animals, she has always loved them deeply and been able to connect with them. Like all animals, she was fascinated by the snake and did not let western and Christian notions of the snake (evil, devil) taint her image of the animal. Like all animals, including us, the snake is simply trying to see another day, and she has always been able to recognize that. 

Even this summer, in our backyard there lived a family of snakes. I was the first to see them. I told my sister about them immediately because I knew she would appreciate it. One day when it was just my sister and me, we were able to catch them and play with them until we finally let them go. Our baby sister, Yaretzi, fell inlove with the snakes, she wanted to keep one, but she understood that the snakes didn’t belong to her and they had to go home to their families. 

These memories of my sisters and snakes serve as a window for me to see our connection to Coatlicue, and to see Coatlicue, the goddess of duality, of fertility, of Earth in my sisters. 

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Yaretzi holding a baby snake. Picture taken by Beatriz Esparza. 

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Con amor,

Beatriz Esparza

[radiant-flutterbun]

Saprophyte

Previously: Queen of Time Part 2

It was a cold day in the Underworld, just the way Saprophyte liked it. She skipped along the beach and threw chunks of rotting flesh toward the sea monsters. The horrible abominations snarled and bit each other for the food. Saprophyte smiled and waved at the ghosts she passed.

“I found your skull Mr. Summer!” She said to one old ghost and handed him a human skull.

“I flew all the way to the mortal world to find that for you!” Saprophyte flapped her black feathered wings. She was proud of them. Only one other god had wings like her.

“Thank you Princess,” The ghost bowed.

“It was no problem!” Saprophyte used to tell the ghosts there was no need to call her ‘princess’, but so far most have continued to call her such. There wasn’t anything wrong with the title, it was just a little too formal for Saprophyte.

As she headed home she splashed in some puddles. She loved watching her reflection in the puddles. She loved a lot of things. Like her curly black hair, brown skin, and big brown eyes. Her parents always told her how pretty she was and how much they loved her.

On the tip of her tail was a blue orb, the symbol of a fledgling god. She hoped to become a God of Death someday, just like her father.

“Saphy!” A black vortex appeared in front of the young god and out tumbled a black and green dragon with golden scales scattered on her belly.

Saph grinned “Inky! It’s been awhile! How have you been?”

The dragon melted into a black puddle in front of Saph and reformed into a girl with the same feline ears and long tail of a god. This girl had black skin, green hair and wore a golden skirt and shirt. She had bright, excited yellow eyes.

“Oh Saphy! I have so much to tell you!”

“I’m sure you do!” Saph was excited to see her shapeshifter friend again. She always had so many interesting stories to tell. Inkdrop was from another world and she could create portal inbetween worlds and go anywhere she wanted. Saph found it amazing.

“Ok so first I have more siblings now!”

“That’s amazing! Are they nice? What are their names?”

“They are! One is called Hireath and they were trapped in a Void for thousands of years and then there’s Munin who can change memories! They’re both really cool and I love them a lot but… They’re not why I came here.”

“Oh?”

“Do you remember when I told you Sepulchral died? My Sepulchral?”

“Yeah! I’m really sorry about that.”

“Well, actually he’s alive.”

“That’s great news!”

“But he doesn’t remember any of us. He was reincarnated and now he has no memories of his previous life.”

“Oh no!”

“That’s why I came. I need your help.”

“You do?”

“Muerto has been trying to bring back Sep’s memories of his past life with no luck. But I have a feeling he has the right idea, just not the right method. And if anyone can find the right method of bringing back Sep’s memories, it’s you.”

“Me? But how?”

“You have Soul Sense, don’t you?”

“I think so.”

“Then how can this be anymore perfect? Combined with your powers and your history, I think you can do it!”

“Well I guess it doesn’t hurt to try!”

“So you’ll do it? You’ll help?”

“Of course I will!”

“Oh! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

“Let me go tell my dad first.”

“Wait. Actually that may be a bad idea. I don’t think you should tell him anything about my Sep. Bad things may happen. And vise versa, so please don’t tell anyone who you are when I bring you to my home, ok?”

“Ok! That’s probably for the best.”

Inkdrop nodded “Good then let’s go.”

She created a new portal and together the two girls entered the dragon planet known as Sornieth.

***

They arrived in the Sunbeam Ruins. Inkdrop melted into her usual nocturne form, and Saph was thrilled to find out that she too was a nocturne just like her friend.

She had brown scales and her wings were covered in black feathers. She wore a purple dress and a crown of flowers.

Inldrop knocked on the door to the clan and a big guardian answered.

“Hello Obsidian!”

“Hello Inkdrop,” The guardian said “Why didn’t you just teleport inside like you normally do?”

“I wanted to introduce you to my friend first!” Inkdrop moved aside and pushed Saph forward “This is Saprophyte!”

“Hello!” Saph said “You can just call me Saph for short.”

Obsidian stared at her for a moment and then nodded, allowing her inside.

“Wow! This place is incredible!” Saph couldn’t get over just how huge the building was and the looks of all the dragons around her.

“Come on! I’ll show you around later, but first the mission!”

“Right!” Saph nodded and followed her friend inside a room decorated with the art of children.

“This is the nursery,” Inkdrop said “It’s where Sep is.”

“Oh good. That didn’t take long. I was worried… you might have changed your mind.” A young grey coatl said.

“This is my brother, Muerto!” Inkdrop introduced Saph “And of course I’m back! I want Sep to regain his memories too!”

“So what’s your plan? And who’s this?”

“She’s my friend Saprophyte and she’s my plan!”

“But she doesn’t know Sep. How is she supposed to help?”

“I know S-” Saph began to say, but Inkdrop cut her off.

“Just trust me ok! I know she can help!”

“Well… ok. I’m about to give up anyway, but just in case should we go get Sonder, Eumoirous and Niossa? If Saph does happen to do something that works I won’t want them to miss it.”

Inkdrop nodded “Good idea! You get Sep, and I’ll get the others!”

***

Isaac had to be bribed with two cakes and a lollipop to get him to stop playing with the other hatchlings in the nursery and follow Muerto into a circle of the dragons who kept calling him Sepulchral.

Sitting in the circle was Inkdrop, Sonder, Eumoirous, Niossa, Bubonic, Saprophyte, and Muerto.

“Should we find Mason and Evan too?” Eumoirous asked “They were friends of Sep too, right?”

“Yes, but I couldn’t find them,” Niossa said “They must be exploring. They did just get here. It’s a lot to take in a first.”

“I really don’t think this will work,” Sonder crossed her arms “If not even Eumoirous, who has known Sep longer than any of us, can reawaken his memories, why should this stranger?”

Saprophyte flinched at the words “I… don’t know if it’ll work, but there’s no harm in trying! You told me sometimes trying is everything. Because if you don’t try, you can’t succeed.”

Sonder sighed “That’s true, and it’s not like we have anything to lose from this. But wait. I told you that?”

“Why don’t we get started!” Inkdrop shouted.

Saph nodded and took a step toward Isaac.

“Y-you’re not going to hurt me, are you?” Isaac asked.

“No! I promise,” Saph smiled “All i’m going to do is put my hand... er paw? On your chest and close my eyes. You’ll have to stay really still and quiet. It won’t hurt, but it’s important not to break my concentration, is that alright?”

Isaac nodded “And then can I finally go home?”

Muerto sighed “Yes. If you want to go home after this you can.”

“T-then I’m ready!” Isaac straightened himself and closed his eyes.

Saph took a deep breath and placed one paw on Isaac’s chest. She closed her eyes and did what her father taught her to do. She searched for Isaac’s soul.

She could hear his heartbeat. It was thumping quickly due to his nerves, but behind the heart, right in his very being she could sense the soul. She gritted her teeth and buried her claws in his feathers as she tried to reach for it.

She felt a shiver run up her spine. She had it. She had made contact with Isaac’s soul. His memories flashed by her eyes. Everything that made him, him danced around her. She saw his skydancer parents hugging him. They told him stories and played games with him. She could feel their love for him wash over her. She could smell all of the scents he loved of his home, and taste all of his favorite treats, but most of all she could feel his love for flying. There was just something about flying that always soothed him.

But Saph didn’t need these memories. She needed to reach deeper. Deeper into the very core of his soul. She needed to drag out what made Isaac, Sepulchral.

She could feel something, so close yet still so far. She strained herself to touch that part of the soul, but she saw a flash of light and screamed. She could not touch this part of the soul, it was as if it was locked from her view. She needed a key.

She watched a memory of little Isaac first learning how to fly. Some inkling of him knew that there was something about flight that was important, and that’s when it clicked for Saph. This was her key. This memory, this feeling of Isaac’s was proof that somewhere inside of him there was still Sepulchral. All she had to do was connect the inkling to the real memory. She needed to connect Isaac’s memory to Sepulchral’s memories of flying. She had to remind him that what he thought was his first memory of flying wasn’t what he thought it was.

The first time Isaac flied wasn’t with his parents in the Starfall Isles, it was long ago in the Palace of the Sun and Moon.

A spark, but this time the light was not painful. The barrier inside of the soul had been destroyed and memories came flooding out.

Saprophyte was on a cliff in the Palace of Sun and Moon and a boy with blonde hair and mean yellow eyes pushed her off. She fell despite how hard she tried to flap her white feathered wings.

White wings? But Saph had black wings. It was then that she realized she was inside one of Sepulchral’s memories, experiencing his first time flying like he did.

She was thrown into one memory after the next, each through Sepulchral’s eyes. She watched as he met his best friend Eumoirous for the first time. She saw as he became a God of Death. She watched him care for his beloved King, Muerto. She watched him holding hands with Sonder. And then she saw all of the terrible things he saw.

She felt as Badru beat him for speaking up against the gods, and for refusing to fight his brother to the death. She could feel his tears as he watched mortals die around him. She felt the sting of the Death Weapon cutting into his flesh as his brother Match tortured him for being loyal to Muerto.

Saph felt tears fall down her cheeks and found herself in whiteness. There was nothing there but her, and a figure floating nearby. She took a few steps closer and gasped.

There was Sepulchral. His skin pale, and his body draped in a black dress. He floated with six white feathered wings stretched out from his back. His arms were crossed and a black blindfold with the symbol of an eye was wrapped over his eyes.

Saph inched closer to him, tears still falling from her eyes and reached out to him.

“Dad?” She said and touched the bottom of his dress. There was a flash of light and he fell “Dad!” She gathered his limp form in her arms and hugged him tightly, crying.

She untied the blindfold from his face, and he opened his eyes.

“Who…” His eyes met hers and there was another flash of light.

The next time Saph opened her eyes she was back in Clan Ton Theon, with a circle of Sepulchral’s friends watching her.

Isaac’s eyes were wide open and tears fell  from them.

“I… I… I’m Sepulchral. My name is Sepulchral and I’m the God of Souls and I missed you guys.”

“S-Sep?” Eumoirous inched forward “Do… do you really remember?”

“How can I forget my best friend, Eu?”

“It really is you! You’re back!” Eumoirous tackled the hatchling with a hug and cried, ruining his mascara “You’re back! You’re back! You’re really back!”

“I’m sorry. I never meant to leave.”

“What do you remember?”

“Everything.”

“You remember being Isaac?”

Sepulchral nodded “Isaac is me, and you guys really scared me there! But it’s ok, I know you meant no harm now.”

“I’m just glad you remember me. I missed you so much.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Sonder said “It was Match’s fault.”

“Sonder? Oh wow… did you really mean those things you said to me while I was Isaac?”

Sonder was starting to tear up “Of course I did. And I’m so sorry I made you think I hated you.”

“I…” Sepulchral frowned and looked himself over “I have a lot I want to say to you but… I just need a moment. Everything is a little disorientating… Sorry…”

“It’s… It’s ok. I understand. I’m just happy you’re back.”

Saph groaned and rubbed her head.

“Are you ok?” Inkdrop ran up to her and helped her to her feet.

“Yeah it’s just…” Saph wiped away her tears “I-I want to go home.”

“Oh… Ok… just… let’s go somewhere a bit more quiet,” Inkdrop helped lead Saph away from the crowd “Now what’s wrong?”

“It’s… it’s my dad… This version of him… why… why does he have to suffer so much? I don’t understand. Why did so much go wrong for him, when my dad, my Sepulchral never had to go through any of… that?”

“I… I don’t know what to tell you Saph. He’s just from the Mainverse, and you’re from the Havenverse. You’re from the universe where nothing bad happened, but he’s from the universe where everything happened as it was supposed to.”

Saph wiped away some of her tears “But why so much suffering?”

Inkdrop shook her head “I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“Well… since Sepulchral’s not dead anymore, does that mean there’s going to be a Mainverse me now?”

“That depends if he gets back together with Sonder.”

“I… I want to exist in this universe. Even if it’ll be harder for me… but I know me, and I know I’d be able to handle it.”

“I know you will!”

“Can you make sure I exist?”

“I… I can try.”

“Great!” Saph smiled “But I should probably return to my world now. My Sepulchral and Sonder must be worried sick about me.”

“Yeah, and I’m afraid if you stick around here any longer those Bad Things will happen.”

Saph nodded and Inkdrop opened a portal for her. The friends hugged goodbye and Saprophyte returned to her Underworld home.

When Inkdrop returned to where she left the others Sepulchral was hugging Muerto and Niossa. The three of them were crying.

“I can’t believe you kidnapped me!” Sepulchral said as he gave Muerto a big hug “I was scared then, but I’m glad you did it. I’m so happy I remember you again.”

“I’m just sorry that I… I never thanked you for everything you’ve done for me before you died. I’m sorry I never appreciated you.” Muerto said.

“Hey, it’s alright, really. You had other things to worry about.”

“Um… Sep?” Sonder shifted one of her feet and wouldn’t look Sepulchral in the eye “I think we should really catch up on some stuff…”

“Yeah. We… We have a lot we need to talk about but uh… It feels a little awkward to say what I want to say in this hatchling body.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Sonder turned to Inkdrop “Maybe… If we return to our world you’ll return to your true form.”

Inkdrop grinned “Where would you like to go?”

“Well it can’t be the Underworld…” Sonder muttered.

“How about a cemetery? A quiet one that no one visits. I think we’d both feel at home there,” Sepulchral said.

“That sounds perfect,” Sonder smiled.

Icarus- Bastille