Solar Song, Frozen Fate ✓ | lion girl, frenemies, frost curse

Chapter 19: Making Loops

Turned out there was so much "else" between them. Taro went on to explain his family—his royal family. Sovanna could only stare in shock without a word of interruption on her part, to find out how alike they really were, from being the youngest in a royal family down to the part about their fathers being accused of withholding food and tools from lower kind.

But that wasn't all.

"And we both have prophecies on our shoulders. And for me," Taro licked his lips, "I'm not evil. I only came to see the Kaunlutha side through. The Solar Song." 

He paused when Sovanna gasped, then went on. "Yes, you got me, I knew about it. I even knew the whole thing. I guess Aerisi were shown it first. All clans were notified. The one who has the frost beast, now, don't you two look at me like that. I had my reasons. The clan with the frost beast had already been working on being riders of it to control it since the day you were born, Sovanna, the day the prophecy began. And when I was born, I guess," He gave a laugh, "How unique of a world we live in that our paths cross in such ways!"

Rokki hissed. "Didn't even bother to tell us!"

"You would have done the same. Prophecies are delicate. Can't go around telling them like gossip. Before I came, I told Kazo not to attack because I could fulfill the prophecy before time was up. Looks like he decided not to wait. But when I came here and I got to know you," He smiled at Sovanna and gave a nod at Rokki, "I—my family is what matters to me. They're nice to me. They take care of me. I only have love for them. Even Kazo. But when I came here, I became conflicted. Fond now, quite, of Kaunlutha." He went silent for a moment, staring out into the frost fog. "A civil war with my own emotions and beliefs."

He gave a shrug and a lopsided grin. "Let me really preface this. Really. I'm not evil," he said, "It's the prophecy."

That's what he meant. She nodded. But it's still your choice.

Silence hung over them. She still couldn't believe that Taro was a male Praenglutha—"Praenhasalutha" in her language—and he had a prophecy with him like she did. But he was juggling between answering to a prophecy and having become "fond" of Kaunlutha. She frowned at the way he put it making it sound distant.

"We're friends though, right?" she asked, "I would like it."

Taro was about to answer when Rokki hissed. "Stop stalling. Tell us about prophecy. What you know. What you were going to do to us after we were done fighting for our lives and destroying ice beast."

Rokki leaned back on his paws and stretched out his legs as if to relax, but his tail was still rigid.

"Tell us more," he said through his teeth.

Taro scratched his neck. "I wasn't supposed to—"

"You came this far. You better." Sovanna crossed her arms. Finally, it was going to all make sense what was going on with Drazlesk, Kaunlutha, the Aerisi, the prophecy—now there were two—and about her and Taro. All those seemingly unconnected things were somehow connected. Sovanna suddenly felt small in the grand scheme of things. And she couldn't believe Aerisi really did have a frost beast and they really did ride the beast.

Does one Aerisi ride it or all of them? she wondered. How big is it?

She sure didn't want to know.

"Alright," Taro said at last, "but before that, I need a drink of water or something."

"Lick ice," she and Rokki said at the same time. They met eyes and both cracked a smile. For a second the tensions lessened. Even Taro played into it.

"Of all the things, seriously?" He rolled his eyes, but a smile played on his lips. Then he broke off an icicle from a tree branch. "You don't even know where this water has been."