It wasn’t often that Catcher found himself stopping to contemplate, to reflect on the things that were far into the past. A past that he would rather push into the far back recesses of his mind never to see the warmth of the sun once more. But, as the spirits would have it, they would always come to play their hand. As the shadows cascaded down the slopes of the mountains and across the great plains and trees, covering the land and everyone upon it in their cool darkness, Catcher couldn’t help but take a pause from his wandering. His burning gaze set his face aglow with a subtle warmth as his maw separated and returned together in what would come across as curiosity as the ring of fire in the sky did much of the same with the ground below.Those memories hadn’t come to him in a long, long time.
---
“Come on Catcher! We’ll be late to class! We’re studying fish today, I’m so excited!!”
The young, childlike echo of his sister called to him. He could still remember Charmeine’s voice so clearly even now. And he hadn’t seen her in years. Her giggle so crisp and clear like it was yesterday as she rushed past him in a gallop, her lavender feathers lighting up behind her in a cape as she made her way towards their family pond.
“You know grandmum doesn’t like it when we’re running behind. And even more so when Charmeine is hyped up on energy.”
That voice, richer and much deeper than Catcher’s own, echoed next. In Catcher’s mind’s eye, it was always abrupt, almost judgmental. Even now, in his much older age, he couldn’t help but bristle.
“Uziel,” his younger self would say in greeting, his voice less raspy, more youthful, “says the yearling who is walking next to his younger brother just as late.”
His brother would smirk down at him, his eyes lighting up in challenge, “then we should make this interesting little brother. Make it a challenge if you will.”
“What do you have in mind?”
---
In the present Catcher shook his head to free himself of those memories, to reground himself in the present, in actual reality. He had zero desire to continue down that memory lane. For that was the final, normal day of his life before everything turned upside down. Catcher growled to himself as he felt a pit form in his stomach. Much unwanted. Much unneeded. He loathed the spirits right now. Why bring him these memories? They held no purpose other than to hurt and maim him. At least, that’s what he would repeatedly tell himself. Memories of a time long past held no strength to the present. Catcher had his own desires now. His own sense of duty and drive. He would not be a slave to them, neither his memories or the spirits his family worshipped.
The world around him seemed to get just a tad brighter, and another memory came to Catcher quickly. The solar eclipse seemingly deciding that it wanted to keep him in the thralls of the past.
---
“Which type of fish did you say? Shoal bass? Good! You’ve been paying attention and studying, Yomiel,” Catcher heard his grandmother’s praise, “…..Verchiel. At least try and pretend to look like you’re interested. I won’t be going over this again before the festival begins. And by that time, it’ll be far past time for it to be over and we’ll be setting off to migrate north.”
---
“…”Catcher hadn’t heard his name even in his mind in years.
He had hoped he would never hear of it again. But here the spirits were, taunting him. Tearing his eyes away from the sky and the ring of fire that now plagued him, that brought all of this on as a clear joke, Catcher made his way towards the slope of a hillside where his current lodgings were kept. It wasn’t much, a bed of moss and leaves, some stores of food so he didn’t have to go foraging every day, and a place for a fire to keep warm, but it was enough for him. It was much more preferable than being out in the warmth of the sun any day, even with the casted shadows currently covering him from the blocked out sun.
While his family worshipped the sun, Catcher worshipped the moon. While his family would sing the praises of the sun spirits and the blessings it gave, Catcher felt nothing but oppression from them. And apparently, his family felt the same about him, especially his brother. Catcher felt himself snorting in disdain as he dropped his foraged supplies into a neat pile with the rest. This had to be the “omen” his family spoke about.
---
“For when the moon blocks out the sun a great despair will be cast across our herd and lands. We must never let it happen less we ourselves fall to our own deaths.”
The oracle from his herd never left him, her words digging into his body like the horns of kalona or fangs from shifters as they tried to tear his soul apart. Catcher kicked a rock across his residence in utter annoyance.
“The colt, he must be the one. He was chosen by the spirits and his coat bleeds of the shadows. The claim is absolute and this must be purged.”
Sinister. Sinister was the only way Catcher could describe it even now. His tail lashing behind him in clear irritation as he whirled around to glare at the taunting sun slowly peaking out from it’s hiding place.
“How dare you,” his raspy voice hissed in a barely contained rage, “you had no right to take everything from me!”
And yet, Catcher got nothing but continued silence from the world around him, but he could still swear he could hear the spirits laughing at his pain. He hated them. He hated them. He hated them! It was because of them his family tried to sacrifice him that festival. It was because of them he screamed in agony as they tried to burn his flesh so his soul would be “free.” To be purified and to save them from a future the oracle had sworn would come to pass. It was because of them he held nothing but resentment for the light of day and anything, or anyone who worshipped them. It was because of them he became a ruthless monster, hunting down others for the right price. A bringer of despair, a reaper of the bright.
He hoped his sister would never see him here in the present. She was too good, too sweet, and too kind to everyone around her. Catcher didn’t want to taint her with himself. She didn’t deserve that pain. Her cries of anguish and screams for her family to stop as he was detained and pinned down were something he never wanted to remember, and because of that damned omen outside here he was, thinking about it, and furious. As for Uziel, Catcher’s boney maw pulled back in what looked to be a snarl, the self righteous, self absorbed bit-horse did nothing but hold their sister back and force her to watch while repeatedly telling her that it had to be done for the betterment of not just their family, but for the kawani as a whole.
Damned them all to the abyss. He cared not for where they were now or what they were doing. He cared not for past ties or idle platitudes. Nor did he feel the desire to dwell upon them any further. Taunting spirits be flung to the far reaches of nothing where they wouldn’t impact him any longer. All of that being said, the unsettling feeling within his chest didn’t waiver, even with the sun beginning to warm the ground once more as the shadows moved on. Behind his winged covered gaze Catcher contemplated on what was to become of him. Once again the sun won over the shadows, and he couldn’t help but wonder if something, if anything, in the oracle’s words were spoken true. An omen, big or small, was still just that, a tiding of something to come. Something to flow into existence and change it. Was it as horrible as she made it out to be? The sun did nothing but burn his skin, burn the world in its unending gaze. Day by day. Month by month. Year by year. Like himself the world needed the shadows to rest, to heal, and to prepare for the next day. Were they truly so horrible? Were they truly so wrong and deadly?
If Catcher was chosen by the spirits so to speak, to be the one to carry the shadows, to embody what terrified his family so thoroughly, to bring a never ending darkness to the lands, and those same shadows covered him in such a loving, healing embrace, did that mean that all his family wanted to suffer? Worshipping the sun as they did, were they scared their inner flame would perish because of him? Would he eventually be forced to fly too close to the sun once more and burn?
Catcher wasn’t so sure. And as the solar eclipse finally passed the lands by, with life returning to normal, he was left with so many questions from the past. Truthfully, he didn’t know if he wanted those answers.
[Fin]
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