Spirit Silhouette

Kroulin stirred, his eyes opening slowly. The small creatures atop his body barely moved. He lifted his head, a few birds sliding gently down his head to land on the soft grass below. One rabbit remained on his nose.

"Kuro, my boy," Kroulin's voice rolled through the cave, it was deep and demanding, yet calm. "You need not request my presence. I am your father. Relax with the formalities. I tell you this every time you enter my cave."

Kroulin shifted, and the treasures around him clinked softly. His tails curled around him, creating a ring of soft, sharp edges. He nudged the sleeping rabbit with his nose, enough to wake it up and send it hopping softly down to rejoin its family. Kuro raised his head. "My apologies… It's just difficult. You are not only my father but the ruler of a territory as vast as a kingdom. Your strength, your wisdom… It is hard to reconcile the two."

Kroulin let out a low rumble, a sound between a chuckle and a growl. "I am both, yes. But you are my blood. You need not fear me, nor speak to me as if I were a stranger king. What is this news that has brought you here with such haste?"

Kuro then looked at Kuroulin, as he steeled himself to speak. "Shiro has made a request, in turn for his land, he wishes for spirit beasts to protect his village and for me to stay with them to teach his son how to use spiritual magic… like we do."

"Shiro offers his land?" Kroulin's voice rumbled through the cave, unsettling the birds resting in his mane. They fluttered briefly, but the soft heat of his flames soothed them back to sleep. "The same Shiro who once slain Gildore the hydra just to build his house and take over the land he owned?"

Kuro nodded, his posture low, tails curled tightly against his sides. "Yes, father. He wishes for protection over the village and for me to teach his son the ways of spirit magic—as a beast would." Kuro was still at awe with Shiro's feats, someone defeating a hydra was no small feat.

Kroulin's expression darkened, not out of anger but from the weight of uncertainty. The cave felt smaller under the press of his thoughts. Shiro had always been something completely different to the spirit beasts. A demi-human with the strength to rival rulers, hunters, even pillars. A warrior who had walked the edge of hell and returned with nary a scratch. 

"I've known Shiro longer than most," Kroulin mused, his voice softer, more introspective. "He saved my life when I was barely more than a cub. Back then, I thought myself invincible, but it was his blade that silenced the hunters who had cornered me. He didn't ask for gratitude, didn't wait for thanks. He merely cleaned his sword and walked away."

Kuro remained silent. He knew the story well—his father told it to him many times, how he was jumped by five B ranked spirit hunters who invaded his land and almost killed and Shiro handled them like they were nothing after appearing in a blaze of white flames. It was a tale of honor, of a debt that Kroulin had spent his life repaying, whether Shiro recognized it or not.

"But this?" Kroulin's sharp tail flicked, the tip carving a thin groove into the stone floor. "Offering his territory, requesting protection he scarcely needs, and wanting his son to learn as a beast would?" His brow furrowed. "This is just... odd."

"Agreed," Kuro said quietly. "The offer is beyond generous. It is a gift that tips the scales far too much in our favor. He gains safety—a thing he already possesses—and knowledge that may not even translate to a human child."

Kroulin's mind raced. Spirit beasts were born of spiritual energy, their very essence a weave of Gaia's blessing to the goddess whom they considered to be the creator. They did not need chants or rituals to manipulate the world around them. Their control over dual elements and their natural flow of energy were inherent, passed through the bloodline. Those born through natural means, like Kuro, still carried the legacy of that connection, their spiritual veins woven into their very bones.

Humans, demi-humans, and other mortal races struggled where spirit beasts thrived, they were created through mating means due to the goddess of creation who isn't Gaia… Gaia is simply the planet they lived on in spiritual form. making it so, but in turn they naturally get stronger the deeper into the generations they get without the need of awakening their essence when beasts were the opposite. Those races had limiters set on them by the G.O.C, in turn needing techniques, channels, words to bind the energy to their will. To ask for his son to learn as a spirit beast did was akin to asking a fish to fly. It wasn't impossible—there were stories of those who could, through great struggle, adapt to the ways of the spirit beasts—but it was exceedingly rare. And even if Shiro's son possessed that potential, he would always walk in the shadow of true spirit beasts, never quite able to match them.

"Why would he make such a request?" Kroulin murmured. "What has changed? The Shiro I knew was a blade without a sheath. He did not fear, he did not bow, and he did not bargain." His eyes turned to Kuro, the crimson depths searching. "Has he grown so soft since finding his mate? Is this a request from a father who fears for his child's future?"

Kuro hesitated, then shook his head. "I cannot say, father. But the request unsettles me. A man like Shiro does not offer gifts without reason. And if his reason is his son, then perhaps the child is more than we understand."

Kroulin let out a deep breath. "By the goddess of creation… What is this deal?" His voice, now sharper, echoed against the stone. "I cannot accept this offer without clarity. The terms are too good, the motives too unclear."

He rose to his full height, his wings spreading slightly as if to shake off the weight of his thoughts. The small creatures that had sought refuge among his fur scampered away, sensing the shift in the air. "No. Not until I speak with him directly. There will be no middleman, no room for misinterpretation."

Kuro's eyes widened slightly. "You wish to bring Shiro here? To the Death Valley?"

"Yes," Kroulin said, his tone brooking no argument. "If he wishes to make a deal, let him do so before my eyes. I will not be deceived, nor will I allow a debt of honor to blind me to danger."

He turned to Kuro, his expression softening ever so slightly. "Go to him. Tell him I require his presence here. If he is the man I remember, he will understand."

Kuro dipped his head low, his tails brushing against the mossy floor. "As you wish, father. I will bring him here."

"I'm already here."