Early Morning Introspection [Solo]

There were no clocks in the Fukurou Forest. No alarms or snooze buttons or anything like that. So when Lamashtu's eyes creaked open, before the sun had even started to creep over the horizon, it was entirely her own fault. She groaned and pushed herself up into a sitting position, squinting around at her campsite. The embers of last night's campfire still smoldered, and so she immediately scooted over to begin stoking it back into a blaze. Breakfast first.

She noted with some chagrin what she was running low on supplies, both food and water, so that would have to be a priority later in the day. Once she'd managed to coax the glowing coals back into a fire, she started to reheat the 'hobo soup' she'd made the night before. An amalgam of whatever edible roots she could scrounge, coupled with the remnants of jerkied meat she had leftover from previous hunts. It was palatable, but no gourmet meal. Standard fare for someone who spent little to no time around cities.

"Bon apetit," the scarred woman muttered sourly to herself before taking a spoonful. Maybe she'd get lucky in her hunting today and stumble across some herbs she could use for flavoring her meals. Filling was good. Tasty was better.

Fed, watered, and morning ablutions out of the way, the Earthling started to put herself through her morning stretches. They'd become routine this past year, whereas before she'd only complete them if she was planning on doing something particularly strenuous that day. Well, that had become the norm. Strenuous. The last few months especially, she'd endured some of the harshest and most unhospitable locations known to mankind, all in the pursuit of strength. After all, to defeat the kind of monster that could destroy a city, she'd need to be a hell of a lot stronger.

She reached over to her backpack, next to her makeshift bedding, and reached into the front pocket. Delicately, almost reverently, she pulled a glossy photo from within. On it, her own wild smile shone out at her, surrounded by three younger looking teens. They shared her hair and eye color, as well as her tan skin, but little else. Flesh unblemished, eyes bright and curious, her siblings' smiles never failed to make her heart pang. Even after a year, she didn't bother trying to stop the rivulets of tears that leaked from the corners of her eyes.

I miss you all so much.

She'd spent months after the incident hunting down every nugget of information she could, desperately trying to figure out what had happened. Those that she spoke to, didn't know; those that knew, likely wouldn't speak to her. Why would they? She was a nobody. A scarred, homeless crazy woman, who had chosen to live in the forests and wildlands rather than in the city.

'Demon'. That was the word that had kept cropping up in her pursuit for knowledge about her family's killer. She was well-versed in dozens of faiths, and any of them in which 'demon' was a quantifiable, actual creature, the idea of them destroying a city was perfectly reasonable. A terrifying beast from the depths of Hell. But why would they have attacked East City? What could their reasons possibly have been?

Perhaps they're angry about Earth allowing non-natives to settle here, she considered, before discarding the thought. Absurd. The more people who settled here, the more likely these 'demons' would be able to corrupt and damn them. Bah. No sense dwelling on it. You've work to do, bitch. Get up. Get going.

And so she did. Standing, she dusted herself off, and allowed the mounting self-loathing in her breast to continue to fester. It was fuel. She could use it. She started by taking a running leap, using both hands to grab a thick tree branch. She dangled for a moment, before grunting and beginning to leverage herself up. A couple hundred pull-ups would help keep her focused.

Brianna. Her younger sister, and the oldest of her siblings. She was everything that... Lamashtu was unable to be. Brilliant, charismatic, charming, able to master new technology within minutes of encountering it. She'd been fresh out of college, the last time she'd seen her, and preparing to start work for the Capsule Corporation. Nothing major, just an entry level position.

"But you were so proud," Lamashtu whispered fiercely to herself, fingers tightening around the tree branch. Her sister had been so concerned about the application, that she'd begged her sister to pray for her to every god she knew. It was mostly a joke, but Lamashtu had done it. Every night, before she'd fallen asleep beneath the stars, she'd whispered a fervent prayer to every deity she could name. When the news came that her sister had gotten the job, Lamashtu hadn't stopped smiling for a week.

Cole. Her brother, younger than Brianna by just barely a year. While her sister possessed unrivaled intellect, her brother was the most masterful craftsman she'd ever seen. He'd spend days hunched over his desk, drafting up the designs for his latest creation. His innovations were small, nothing ground-breaking, but the improvements to the quality of city life that they'd contributed to were undeniable. It made her handiwork, all wood and stone and leather, look even cruder than it usually would.

And yet, every time she'd come visit, he'd ask her to carve something for him. At first, she was angry, thinking that he was mocking her inability to match his masterful inventions, but the shock in his eyes when she'd accused him of such was enough to convince her otherwise. So it had become somewhat of a tradition; every single visit, she'd bring him a new wooden carving, of an animal or some spiritual totem from a far-off land's pantheon. He'd kept them all, lined up on a shelf, above his headboard. She'd had trouble keeping her tears back, the night she found that out.

Even her parents, who never quite understood their first-born's obsession with the wilderness, had done what they could to make her feel comfortable during her visits. They'd always be excited to take her to some new restaurant, to try some new, exotic cuisine. How could she tell them that the only reason she agreed to go was because it was with them? None of the places they went to could possibly compare to eating in the open, by the fire, beneath the open sky.

She often found herself craving those places, of late. Now that the reason she had for going was gone.

Lissa. The baby of the family, her youngest sister. She would've been twelve. The entire reason Lamashtu had ventured back to East City had been to surprise her for her birthday.

"So much for that." The Earthling allowed herself to drop from the branch, taking a moment to roll her shoulders. Fuck. Took it a bit too far with the reminiscing. Back to training.

One day, I will find the person responsible for taking you from me. And when I do, the heavens themselves will tremble.

Lamashtu gritted her teeth, placing her palms together and muttering a few words. Slowly, she rose from the ground, feeling her ki swelling internally and granting her flight.

Until then, I will keep training. Until then, I will grow stronger. I promise you.

Total WC: 1,226
Reward Requested: PL