BURN
BRIGHT

In the dying twilight, Ninazu breathed in deep and slow. Several wanderers had assisted her in dragging this evergreen log to the Condemned’s village, and their watching eyes poisoned her concentration. If Stryker were here… well, her malus flytrap leaning against her paw is a poor substitute, but she’ll ground herself however she can.

Breathing out a steady stream of green-tinged fire, she closed her eyes against the heat against her face. The wood crackled, popped, an explosion of sound.

The malus flytrap jumped and scuttled behind one of her rear legs. Yet Ninazu continued to breathe out, slow and steady, as the heat singed her fur. Her diaphragm squeezed the last of the air out of her lungs. Only then did she open her eyes.

The bonfire’s light cast long shadows across the village. The stars and moon had nothing on the contained inferno raging in their home. The red flames licked the wood. Occasionally, green glinted in the hearth as Ninazu couldn’t help herself but to paw at her creation.

Ninazu turned around, the warmth of the fire sending the malus flytrap scurrying for refuge between her front paws. She glanced at the small bag she’d brought, almost surprised it was still there. Should she really toss… yes, she will.

“I know burning effigies is done for the Death of the Year celebration. But I missed the last two, so I’m not waiting around for another year.” Ninazu’s ear flicked at the nods and noises of agreement from the crowd. Good. They understood. Perhaps Sojourn and the other resurrected would feel the same as her.

“Now is the time to cast our limitations, shortcomings, or barriers into the fire.” Ninazu picked up the small bag and retrieved a black stone from within. She’d taken it as a souvenir when Stryker and her had destroyed the Pitt’s black pyramid; part of her had simultaneously hated and longed for her previous home. How could she not? She’d been their healer, then their leader, and finally imprisoned.

Swiveling on her heels, she tossed the stone into the bonfire. She’d done it so quickly she couldn’t hesitate—the best choice, since half of her throbbed. But it was done. And she felt better, for ripping that burden off her shoulders.

“Who’s next?” Ninazu glanced over her shoulder to the crowd as she pet her foliage familiar.

© MADI

The lion had kept things from his parents and siblings past their deaths/disappearances. From the matching earrings to small trinkets of appreciation, Romulus had become sentimental, despite the objects being locked away out of sight. He fidgeted in their presence. They weighed him down due the memories they held within, but he couldn't part with the effigies of the animals he adored and despised. When he heard his mother was holding a burning though, he couldn't help but feel his stomach drop. While the idea was his suggestion, he did not think she would go through with burning memories of their past. Ninazu had proven him wrong.

With the weight of the world on his chest, he managed to ruffle through his things and find some trinkets that he had long forgotten about. Purple eyes stared at them for a moment before sliding them inside a cracked leather satchel. A sigh left him. Romulus rose from the floor in dismay and headed out the cave's entrance into the woods without a word.

The shadows of the village kept him concealed until he appeared out of the dark with a stoic expression across his face and the bag's handle in his jaws. Flicking flame lights bounced off his sharp features, emphasizing the subtle pain that showed through his expression. Pushing past his nerves, he looked towards his mother. He watched in silence as she cast her and his father's achievement into the fire without hesitation. Smoke plumed as a result and his gaze followed until it faded as if he was watching their burdens diminish into nothingness.

Eyes peered off to the side afterwards. With only the fox in their presence, he was up next. Romulus swallowed. He stepped forward to the bonfire pit's edge and began lower his head to empty the contents of his bag onto the floor, only to stop them from spilling out instantly with his paw. The kingpin's gaze narrowed. He couldn't bare letting the memory fade. Leather grinded between his gritted teeth as he hesitated. He raised his head back up from the ground and snarled lowly to himself.

He whipped his head back, forth, and then released the satchel from his jaws. The leather bag flew through the air and landed in the fire. Embers shot into the air. Flames rose up, accepting their prize with a blast of heat. Orange hues reflected in Romulus' eyes as he watched the leather burn away, revealing what was inside. He purposefully shifted so the others couldn't see what had had burned, but by his distraught expression as he turned around, the audience could probably tell it was too sensitive to ask.

With that, he settled back into the crowd and waited for others. Romulus stared blankly forward in an attempt to stay attentive, but his mind was racing and he drifted off.

// OoOO a mystery...