IC Thread - Something to lose, Something to die for

[Kindulas]

Ishida ran to Tatyana and and dropped to his knees. He had to save her, heal her, repair the scroll something. But... no. There was no way, and if he tried it would be an insult to her sacrifice. All he could do was hold the life in her long enough to say goodbye.

"T-Tatyana, I-I-"... I what? What could he say to this? She was... so beautifully noble, so selfless.

This time, she said you don't die.

He gripped her paw tight in his hands. It wasn't until that moment, as he watched her slip away, that he realized just how much she really had meant to him. "I love you."

[The Dungeonmaster]

"I love you."

Tatyana choked out a laugh. Ishida... Ishida, Ishida, Ishida. The name was like a wind whispering through forest leaves.

"Stupid." The white wolf whimpered at the pain of speaking. Each word was a knife in her broken chest, "I'm... Way out of your league."

She dragged him close and kissed him like the world depended on it. For her, it did.

[Kindulas]

"I had... so much to show you," he whispered onto her lips, "To show you a dawn..." He wanted to scream, to fight, to plead with her to stay... but he forced all that away. For this last moment, it wasn't a goodbye. It simply was.

[The Dungeonmaster]

Tatyana felt a warm glow settle into her, the pain like broken glass in her chest now.

She couldn't find her voice through the agony, couldn't tell him that his smile lit up the night like any sun he'd described, that holding him warmed her more than any dawn could.

She was dying broken, in agony indescribable, and it was the best moment of her life because she was with him... And knew now that he loved her.

She had to count on her kiss to tell him.

[Kindulas]

For one last moment, the world stopped spinning. One last moment. "Thank you," he whispered, "for everything."

And then she faded away.
The words of the scroll were wiped away by a brilliant white.
His soft tears gave way to sobbing.

"DAMN IT!" he screamed, pounding his fist to the floor. Two heroes had died for him. He had lost so much, but somehow... somehow this death hurt worst of all. Why? Why was that? Because... because with Mother and Shizen he was proud of their heroic deaths. He was proud of Tatyana's too, of course, proud of who she was, and that someone like that could fall in love with him. But instead of taking solace in that like he did with Mother, it only made it hurt worse. It only made him want her back. And because... Mother and Shizen lived good lives. They had each other, they had their sons... but

Why couldn't you just hate me like everyone else?!

She had been alone. hated. She deserved so much more than the life she was given. He wanted more than anything to show her a better life - but instead she gave him hers. He wanted to give her something to live for, not to die for. But at least... at least that was more than she had. At least she died happy.

He clutched the scroll in his hand. He could feel her warmth within it. This proved, once and for all, she was as real as anyone. And he would have a piece of her always.

He forced himself to control his crying, though the tears still fell. He stood up and glanced at the others, all politely silent. He gritted his teeth, his face pained, angry, but resolute and determined. "No one else..." he said, "dies today."

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