Six of Crows One-shots

Close your eyes... rest in the sun

(Trigger warning: Suicide/self-harm)
Major Character Death

Kaz had never felt so warm, so happy.... he wondered why that was. Then it slowly came to him like the first drop of blood emerging from a wound, a little idea that would spread quickly... If you die... they live. A simple experiment that he watched the others fuss over, the clearing where they stood was covered in the sunlight, they were in Lij maybe, or somewhere nearby, possibly Ravka from the mountains... Kaz slowly pulled a tiny throwing knife about the size of a dart out of his pocket and walked to the edge of the glowing circle where they had to stay behind a magical force field crafted of pure light. Grisha..he thought in annoyance, always wanting to play with the little people. He could see a house in the distance.The circle would keep him in unless he did the deed in which they asked....Kaz buried the tiny blade inside of him, under his ribs and digging it up into his heart and began the bleeding...the circle lifted, he quickly checked over his shoulder, they were fighting to disarm one another and save each other, had yet to notice. He pulled his hand out of his chest, gasping as it was coated in thick, syrupy blood and pain quickly bled through him like spilled ink on a blank sheet of paper. Blood oozed from a hole in his chest thickly, luxuriously killing him.

Kaz continued his little walk, he eventually decided that the house was too far away, so he turned and walked into the woods, they glistened with light, raining down like scattered showers of warmth, the leaves blew a happy breeze, Kaz ignored the bubble of pain that grew inside his rib cage, pushing in the bones, growing outward. He moved over to a tree trunk, his eyes trying to stay open. Wasn't death suppose to he cold, awful... wasn't it suppose to be... he chuckled slightly at how foolish he was being, a small trail of blood coming down out of the corner of his mouth, more of it in his mouth and staining his teeth red. It was so warm, he hummed and moved gracefully through the green carpeted forest, minding roots as he limped along. "Kazzy!" Cried his brother, who leapt around him, still a 13 year old kid who held all his childishness. The spirit turned into a small fox, of which ran around his shoulders and head, leaping and running on empty air of dust, Kaz's eyes widened when the dust transformed to a landscape he was familiar with, of rolling hills of wheat and mountains to the east. Of large and few trees, huddled over the dirt road. Kaz moved towards the clearing. Blinking away the golden dust landscape that seemed to move wi5 the breeze, hsi brother on plane with it. Kaz had to focus on the ground, he needed to go... where? Here. He just needed to be here, a doe stepped out of the woods, gracefully leaping over to his side, the spirit of his brother began to strengthen as it reached the ground and turned into a red furred and golden eyed thing, Kaz saw a wolf, grey fur along its muzzle and grizzled wisdom embedded in crystalline blue eyes, a dark brown pelt weathered into a half grey sleek coat, the perfect mix of muscle, fur and bones, not fat and not skinny. A survivor, no... his father's spirit, taken form of a being. He looked over at the doe, her gently brown eyes gazing fondly over him, the one he never met..

Kaz looked up and saw one last thing, a crow. Swooping down, feathers becoming a robe, a beaked mask of silver and eyes that were magma and gold, pale face hidden behind a black hood and a feathered mask, body a cloud of fog and obscurity, occasionally something black would appear from the constant moving cloak of white misty cream. "Death... have you been so close for so long..." Kaz croaked, his voice fading in and out, pain burning in his chest, blood dripping out like thick syrup and drying a few moments after in summers blatant heat. Death blinked its eyes turning black, white dots showing the skull behind them. "Yes, you have comforted me, and let me into your own... you do not fear me... its why you are so warm. You freeze when your scared, when your nervous or sad, but you heat when your happy... and though you leave something behind, your gaining plenty to." With this, death turned into a crow and flew onto Kaz's awaiting hand, outstretched for him without Kaz realizing he had called for him.

"What can I do for you then? My dearest old friend?" Kaz asked, strokin the birds side feathers, keeping his eyes on it. It looked up and cawed, steely and raw. The sun burned brighter and Kaz lifted his head, baring his skin to the warm heat, closing his eyes in happiness as all the pain in his chest burned away, he sat back, against a tree. With a wolf and a doe right before him, and a fox resting on his lap patiently, with death sitting on the very branch beside him. "Just sleep. I will call to you when I do need. You will serve me, as you always have... only this time you will be more free..." before Kaz's eyes closed, his right one changed to an icy blue, just for a second then returned topaz as he shut his eyes, and the warmth poured across his body, as blood did so too, it dribbled from the corner of his mouth down his neck, and as death wrapped his feathery wings around Kaz's mind to block him from the sunlight and the view, Kaz's mouth turned up into his own smile. I'm okay with this because it means saving you.... he thought for his last time, as he heard the crack of twigs as they followed a heavy blood trail that would lead to him.

Alright, so I really just felt like experimenting today and I always love to think of our souls like animals, and while you dont get to see much, Kaz is actually a cat and I might right a sequel where Kaz comes back to do Deaths work as a Cat Reaper, since his soul is a cat, now... however, I do not believe in any of this, I love just to open new possibilities and I hoped you enjoyed.