The Rise of the Shinigami

Different from the Rest

"You're pathetic, Ava. Look at you, crying over my betrayal like some little bitch. Get over yourself, that kid is a disgrace — I wanted a daughter and you can't even give me that. You never made me happy, you only made my life miserable. I hope you burn in hell when you return" the human deviant yells at his now ex-wife.

The young woman cradles the sobbing two year old to her chest as tears run down her fair skin. "You're the pathetic one, the only good thing that came from you is Akirra. I hope you and your little whore die a painful death" the woman seethes venom through her tears. The man spits on her and marches out of the home they once shared.

Ava's gaze never leaves the door as her tears silently fall down her face. The human who once called her his wife had cheated on her and left her alone with a young child. She knew courting a human was a mistake, being a tiefling and all. She thought he was different since he approached her first, showed her kindness unlike the other townsfolk in Sovereign and gave her his love. Now she knew she was wrong. All humans are the same, cold hearted and selfish. Always wanting it to be their way or nothing.

"Mama..." her son sniffs after calming down. She looks at her baby boy, the light of her life.

"Yes Akirra?"

"Are you going to leave too?" He asks, his innocent eyes filled with fear and sadness.

Ava rapidly shakes her head as she cradles him against her chest again. "I'm never going to leave you my sweet boy. I love you so much, you're my everything" she kisses the top of his head.

"I love you too, Mama. I want you forever" he says as he squeezes her as tight as he can. The mother laughs lightly as she squeezes him in return.

Now they only have each other but each other is all they need.

—————

"Catch them! Don't let them escape!" A guard yells at his men, commanding them to chase Ava and Akirra.

"Mama, are we going to die?" Akirra asks his mother.

"Not if I can help it" Ava reassures him as she drags him behind her by his hand. Her legs ache from running for so long but she would not let some prejudice humans put an end to the only family she has left.

"I promise I didn't mean to hurt him, Mama. He was being mean to a girl" Akirra tells his mother as they hide in the brush once they reach the forest on the outskirts of the town.

Ava smooths his hair on his head, "I know my love, but we have to be quiet. We don't want them to hear us now" she tells him in a tone just above a whisper.

Akirra nods as he cowers behind his mother as she stays alert from their hiding place. She watches as the guards run past them deeper into the forest, the burly captain behind them on his Clydesdale. "Do not let up! These devils will face their death with courage!" the captain orders his men in a stern voice. Akirra buries his face in his mother's back and she rubs small circles on his back to keep him calm. They were planning on stoning her baby boy for helping one of their kind, so they decided to flee -- naturally of course.

"Sir, they seem to have given us the slip" one of the guards tells the captain. The captain lets out an irritated sigh, "they couldn't have gone far on foot. Find them or it's you that we'll sentence to death" he growls.

"Yes, Captain" the subordinate salutes and they begin searching within the tree line.

Ava grabs Akirra by his wrist and leads him deeper within the trees, "we have to get out of here" she whispers to herself as they sneak through the dense forest. Akirra looks behind them back at their previous spot and his dark eyes widen as he sees a group of guards searching there. He tugs on his mother's skirt with his other hand and she ducks behind a large tree. "What is it my dear?" she asks. "They're looking where we just were" he says, horrified by the situation. Ava brushes her hand against his cheek, "it's all right. We'll be okay, just stay behind me and don't make a sound" she whispers.

A sudden snap catches their attention and she pulls him closer to her as she hugs her body against the tree. The crunching of leaves nears them slowly along with the sound of a blade colliding with the brambles around them. Her heart thuds against her chest as she waits for the guard to pass. She focuses on trying to keep herself calm along with the child in her arms but the sound of footsteps coming closer to their tree makes her skin crawl. Her boy trembles in her tight embrace and she opens her eyes that she didn't know she had squinted shut: there, standing next to them, is the captain of the guards.

She lets out an exasperated breath as she pushes Akirra away from her, "run! Now!" she commands the boy and he takes off, running as fast as his little legs can carry him.

The captain backhands Ava, stunning her as he starts pursuing the boy again.

The young mother pants from the harsh slap but rises to her feet and begins running after the corrupted human. She fishes her dagger out of her pocket as she spots a loose branch on the tree coming up in front of them. With all of her might, she tosses the small blade and it sticks right on the fragile, broken part of the limb and it falls just as Akirra passes underneath it -- barley avoiding the impact of the branch. The impact of the large limb hitting the ground makes the captain stop as it startled him and Ava darts past him. She scoops Akirra up in her arms and rushes away from the captain -- heading towards the exit of the forest about a mile ahead of her.

"Stop them!" The captain shouts to his men.

Ava looks behind her for a mere moment and sees the group of five guards all running towards them, spears brandished, ready to strike her if they got close enough.

Her legs are on fire but she pushes herself to keep running, hoping they'd soon give up chase due to exhaustion.

She loses her footing as they near a hill and they tumble down the steep slope, Akirra falling from her arms as they descend. She tries to regain herself but the deep river below is approaching fast.

Splash!

She collides with the water, soon sinking into the murky liquid. She struggles to kick her way to the surface, sinking under the water's unrelenting pace but she somehow manages to find her way to the surface. She sucks in a harsh, deep breath of air once her head peeks out of the water and she looks around for her son.

"Mama!" she hears his voice and looks directly in front of her. The roar of rapidly rushing water filling her ears. It's then she realizes that a waterfall is fast approaching and the relentless river is carrying her child swiftly towards it. Panic settles in as she attempts to swim her way towards him, despite the rapids. She almost reaches him but watches helplessly as his flailing body tumbles over the rushing waterfall. She shrieks his name before she too falls victim to the harsh falling water.