[Day 0] A Mother's Duty

If she waited long enough, maybe those people would leave. She would pray in desperation for the suffering to fade-- that, or for her own life to fade away-- quickly, to burn into the sun. In another life, she might not have to worry about running, running so far and so hard that her legs fail to simply walk... or perhaps, she might not have to worry about hiding, crawling into places that many can't reach, but with a tightness that would cause an inability to breath. Just maybe, maybe she could live a different life. No worries, no fears, no struggles.

But, she held her breath. The small creature that laid peacefully in her hands couldn't live if she were to die so fast. The child would grow to be disappointed in its mother, if she were to die without a touch of resistance. There isn't an easy way to live life, and there's no guarantee that her next life will be any better.

She realizes that her next life wouldn't be any better, because Blanc, her one and only baby was the only thing that could ever make her happy. Any memory in her new mind would never meet the feeling of caring for this little black kitten. The feeling of holding his little fingers for the first time, hearing his small mewls, and the feeling of his tiny hands palming her cheeks in the cold winter wind. Even if she became rich and had another kid or several in another life-- it's simply not the same experience of here and of now.

Froussé crawled out of the shambles of rocks that she was hiding in with Blanc held close to her heart. The bits of gravel and dust tumbled against the cement ground, lightly ruining her shoes and the edges of her pants. Those people weren't gone yet-- but she couldn't wait for any longer. She has to take care of Blanc: now or never. 

She ran.

Her tail's fur being tugged and torn off little by little from snagging against the pillars of destroyed houses and fencing material, and the light 'sploshes' of the puddling snow beneath her feet-- she ran as fast as she could. The people that were out for her and for everyone else in her town, waiting patiently, were now on her path. She could hear their footsteps and every little direction that those steps were coming from. Behind. Front. From each side. Everywhere. She knows how to navigate this town-- even if it is broken and ripped to shreds. Froussé makes her way through tight crevices and popped right out the ends of them, Blanc still within her hold. No sudden crashes will be made. If she wakes up this child from the small amount of peace that he gets, then she will have failed as a mother.

The way the air feels crisp against her skin, it feels relieving in a way. Even when the light trickle of dew leftover on buildings and whatever is left of the roofs seeps into her clothes, it gives the mother a sense of peace. She's unsure if this feeling is her giving up on herself or if it's freedom from all the burdens that have ever bruised her heart. Regardless of what the feeling means, she still has to make it alive.

Cutting many corners and going as far as leaping over the evil figures that loom her town, Froussé finally makes her way into the woods. The trees are spread out in an open manner, but the snow on the ground is thicker; the snow is something she's more accustomed to... more of her 'territory'. Slowing her pace to breath, she also takes off the warmth of her large sweater to wrap it around herself to form a pouch-like shape, tying it up with Blanc placed comfortably inside. Her torso faces the harshness of the cold, but her child was getting colder as Froussé moved forward.

Down she went, down through the trees, still being hunted much like the snow rabbits she used to catch for food. It's her turn to be the prey and yet, it felt exhilarating.

Eventually, she came across a small mole's hole surrounded by sticks branches, frosted, all left from a motherly bird's care. Froussé took off the sweater completely, bundling up Blanc into a ball and stashed him into the hole. He was slightly underground, but not enough that the dirt and snow would cover him-- especially considering that snowfall won't happen any time soon with all the burning occurring in the nearby area.

One last kiss. Froussé gave her son the last kiss she can give against the middle of his little nose, thinking that she will never get a chance again in the future.

Resisting the urge for tears, she covered up the hole with a few branches to hide her son even more.

Without hesitation, in fact, with confidence, she ran off yet again, the cold biting at her bare skin as she moves through the woods. Froussé had no idea if she would survive to see her son grown up, but she knows he'll be fine. He'll grow up into the finest man yet, one that'll make her proud. Even if she never gets a chance to witness it with her own two eyes, she's happy.

A smirk on her lips, and a tear creeping against the corners of her eye, she was gone.