A Shifting Land

Chapter 31

Sun flickered through the trees, dappling her sleek coat with shades of golds and greens. She examined her pack. Her people. 

"Mother!" Loki squeaked, "Something is wrong with Jinx, please come help!"

She sighed, her head dropping. It hadn't been easy, healing from what her brother had done. She still winced when she tried to do to much, the pain an ever nagging constant in her life, but it had been far far worse for the young biped who had tried to help them.

She shifted, evaporating in a cloud of wind and dust, her body pulling apart into a smattering of droplets. They streamed across the rocks, tumbling and turning in a dizzying effect if she had had a head to try to look straight with.

Her son raised his head, tiny for his age, curled in the lap of the poor biped. They'd become close. Very close. But now... She closed her eyes, Kiri's powers surging beneath her skin.

There. Their bond hummed like a live wire. It... She tilted her head. It was very much like-

"You and Bladen or me and D'vala." Kiri spoke softly, his head resting on her shoulder.

"He has more then one split, like Swift." Bladen spoke up, interrupting Kiri before he could even ask. "I don't know if you do or not Kir."

Kiri shot them a pouty look. "I'm supposed to be the mind reader, not you."

"Well you shouldn't be so obvious then."

Loki curled up tighter in the biped's lap, his glare burning a hole into their pelts. "Help him, don't just chat cryptically. His pain is getting worse."

The boy reached out, tilting the kit's face up. "It's ok... I think this was meant to be."

Loki pressed his head to Jinx's, "But I don't want it to be."

Jinx sighed his smile lingering as his breath escaped him for the last time.

Swift's head shot up, "Wait, Fish isn't here. Kiri."

He turned tail, tearing across the valley. His shift took him off balance, his bipedal form sliding chest first across the ground.

Fish jumped up, hiding her face as she tried to hide her giggle. Her fingers twitched, jerky with laughter. "Are you ok?"

Kiri groaned, wiping mud off his face with a flick. "Do I look ok?" he gestures, "I'll need to go wash before I shift back or this'll be skin deep! But." He hesitated, unsure how to even start it. He rubbed his face. "Your brother..."

Fish tilted her head. "He's with your little one."

Kiri shook his head mutely. "His body is empty."

Her legs trembled, dropping her to the floor with a sob. "But... Can't you fix him? He was getting better. He was talking to me. He was asking if I believed in the old legends..."

Kiri scooted closer, pulling her into a tight hug, his head pressed against hers. "I'm sorry."  He whispered, his words strange from bipedal lips. Half snarl, with a low burr to the tone.

She leaned back and pressed her finger to his lips. She gave him a tiny smile. "Can your kind really keep a soul safe like it's your own?"

Kiri stared blankly at her, his shrug uncertain. "I... Don't... Think so?"

She ran a hand through her hair, letting her head drop to his shoulder. She gestured with one hand, her movements choppy. "Brother said that.... He was connected to the baby." She tapped her hand off her heart.

"Swift, Bladen, was Jinx really part of Loki's headmates?"

"Too soon Kir. It'll take a few to really set in."