Sunset Remnants (Senrial Event Entry)

The evening was nice, the sun close to setting as the cool autumn breeze blew through my hair. The smell of pumpkin was notable. The sound of hollow sawing as each blade was pushed and pulled making each facial feature. I watched as eyes and mouths were shaped. Leaning back in my chair, I sat as comfortably as I could on the deck that overlooked the copper toned lake of our home, watching as everyone carved their own pumpkin. 

The sound from the kids, Kai, Jonas, Faine and Felix were laughing amongst themselves, experiencing a season from human culture for the first time. Playing amongst themselves, they either tossed the guts from the pumpkin at one another or chased each other around trying to cover each other with it. Chuckling to myself, I looked over in Kaida’s direction and she along with her cousin Jiayi and their sibling Kaneshiro (who had joined the homestead recently) were chatting amongst themselves, carving their own pumpkins in the far corner of the deck that was closer to the lake. The others, who I saw through the window, were inside the house with Vy, washing and roasting the seeds to eat or making food for dinner later. If a day, an… evening like this, could last forever I would wish that it could. The serene evening was peaceful. Walking up to the kids and kneeling, I held my hand out that  had various candles dangling from the wick. They peered over their options and picked the candle they wanted. Kaida and her cousins walked over to do the same as well. As the evening went on, everyone was enjoying themselves, chatting amongst themselves as they ate and drank the various foods and drinks that were brought outside. 

A couple hours later, I found myself sitting on the roof of our home, once again looking out at the lake, as the leaves from nearby trees slowly fell. I could hear everyone slowly making their way to their rooms or sitting and chatting some more on the first floor living room. Listening to the chatter made the pain from the transformation a bit bearable, as I felt my body change and fur began to sprout from my skin. I shakily shifted back into my original form, as my black star was the last to appear, leaving me to sigh softly. Leaning back slightly, I watched as the sun was almost done setting, as the night crawled out from its own slumber. The floating island-mountains in the distance become nothing more than a dark shadow, blocking out the light from the stars. I then glanced down at my own star floating in front of my chest. It's cold, empty presence, a reminder of what I am. 

“So this is where you were.” Kaida said as she stepped out from the Skylight onto the roof. She was holding two mugs, one in each hand, and a small bag of pumpkin seeds. I could only guess. “Lost in thought again?” She asked as she walked over and knelt in front of me. Resting her elbows on my legs, to hold and keep herself from falling the 4 stories down. Needing to concentrate a little bit after the transformation to use my magic. I took the mugs from her, causing them to levitate, freeing up her hands. Smiling ear to ear, she set the bag down as she carefully turned around and sat down, leaning back into my chest, resting her head. I sighed softly, relaxing at her touch. 

“No,” I replied after a few minutes of silence went by. 

“Then?… What’s really bothering you?” She asked as she placed her hand in one of mine. I squeezed as gently as I could, purring softly. 

“It’s nothing of importance.” I said, shaking my head slightly, as I made one of the mugs move to her. She grabbed hold, taking a sip from it. The fragrance of cinnamon, coffee and honey was strong. We watched, as the lanterns on one of the dirt paths began to slowly and magically light themselves as the last few mins of the sunlight waned. We sat in silence, munching on roasted seeds from the pouch and drinking the coffee she made. The last of the leaves falling for the day lay around us.

“You know?” She said with a long pause, “I was told that Autumn teaches us the beauty of letting go. That growth requires release. It’s what trees do every year.” Kaida said, holding a unique leaf. “He.” There was a slight pause, “He was the one who told me that.” She added as she chuckled to herself as I once again made her mug levitate. “Can you believe it?” She said turning around to look at me, “The hard silent type that he was and yet. He managed to say something as sappy as that.” There was a pained look in her eyes as I listened in silence. Tears began to form in the corner of her eyes as she let the unique leaf fall from her hand, “And now -sniff- he-,” I quickly let her hand go, cutting her off mid sentence and embraced her, holding her close as she began to cry. 

“I… I know I’m not him.” I said pulling her closer, “I know that I can never replace him. Not for you or the others if or when they found out.” I softly touched my forehead to hers. “For as long as I am alive, you will have me there by your side no matter what. That. Is my promise to you.” As the last of the sunlight disappeared. We sat there until she had finished crying herself to sleep. “As you said. Growth requires release. To let go.” I spoke softly so that I would not wake her. Shifting around slowly, doing my best so that I do not rouse her from her sleep. I positioned ourselves as comfortably as I could, allowing us to lay down, with Kaida still asleep in my arms. Leaning my head down, I placed a kiss on her forehead and closed my eyes, so that I may sleep for the night as well.