(Well, I finally figured out how to continue this, but it required a complete perspective shift. Hopefully it'll make it easier for me to write. Also,
suggested listening while reading.)
A tall girl sat on the balcony of one of the many ruined black basalt towers in that area of the Hell of Blazing Fires. Her legs, wearing black shoes and kneesocks, swung over the edge of the ruined balcony impatiently. She fluttered her large raven wings and played with her long, jet-black hair as her scarlet eyes gazed around the area, waiting for her friend to return.
The Hell of Blazing Fires no longer lived up to its name. It was a broad, blasted landscape, blackened and dead and lifeless. It was dotted with sinkholes that belched stinking sulfur, and the ground was blanketed in patches of fog. Gray ash fell from the sky like snow and covered the ground in a thick gray powder, and the only signs of life were the glowing white evil spirits that floated around aimlessly and the occasional flocks of hell ravens. The skyline of foreboding black towers that the girl sat among, now ruined and crumbling from centuries of neglect, was the only sign that anyone had ever lived there before.
The girl listened to the sound of the wind blowing through the towers. It sounded unnatural, however, more like hollow moans and deep murmurs attempting to mimic the sound of whistling wind. It was her favorite sound here, more soothing than the gurgling of the sulfur pits or the groans of the crumbling towers or even the cries of her own species. The slow, flowing voices lessened her anxiety as she waited for her friend to return from wherever she had gone.
?Hey, Okuu!?
The black-winged girl let out a cry of surprise and nearly fell off the edge of the balcony. Utsuho whirled around to see another girl giggling behind her, and her expression shifted from one of annoyance to one of joy at the sight of her friend. ?Orin,? she exclaimed, leaping to her feet and sweeping up the kasha in a bear hug. ?What took you so long? I?ve been waiting for ages.?
Rin?s ears and tails stood up straight on end when she was enveloped in the smothering hug. Her arms and legs hung limply at her side; she was familiar with Utsuho?s form of greeting, and there wasn?t much point in trying to resist it. ?Okuu?I was?only gone?fifteen?minutes??
Recognizing that she was suffocating Rin with her overzealous embrace, Utsuho promptly let Rin go, a grin of embarrassment now on her face. The kasha stumbled for a minute and took a few deep breaths, chuckling up at her friend as her tails smoothed themselves out. ?Anyway, I got somethin? to show ya. Ya know that big palace between us and the Ancient City? Well, these two girls?re movin? in, and they wanna adopt us, too. Isn?t that great??
Utsuho suddenly started hopping in place and clasping her hands together like a giddy schoolgirl, a silly grin on her face. ?Oh! Wow, that sounds cool. Can I meet them, Orin? Huh? Please? Let?s go now, I wanna see them!? Suddenly she stopped bouncing and cocked her head to the side in a distinctly bird-like gesture of curiosity. ??what?s adopting??
Rin chucked gently, reaching up to ruffle her friend?s hair. ?Adoptin?s like what I did with you. We?ll have a bigger family now, an? it won?t just be the two of us anymore.?
Utsuho giggled at Rin?s show of affection, but then her face grew more serious. ?But I don?t want a bigger family,? she said, folding her hands behind her back. ?I want to be with you, Orin. We?re happy here, right??
The kasha paused for a moment, her grin shrinking into a thin smile. ??Course we are, ya silly birdbrain. It?s just?y?know, you see a ton of hell ravens down here, but do you remember ever seein? another kasha??
Utsuho put a finger to her chin as she scoured her memory for any time she may have seen another two-tailed cat in her life. ??no, I don?t. But what does that have to do with the new people? Are they kashas too??
Rin just gave a small chuckle, shaking her head slowly. ?Nah, they?re not. Nevermind, it?s nothin?. Anyway, let?s have somethin? to eat before we go over and see them, yeah?? An excited smile grew on Utsuho?s face and she nodded vigorously. With that change of subject, the kasha moved around the corner and produced a large sack, big enough to contain an average adult. When she upended its contents, it turned out that was exactly what it held. An adult human?s corpse flopped out of the sack, landing in a crumpled heap at their feet. Utsuho right away took a seat and started reaching for it, but Rin suddenly whacked the back of her hand with her fingers. ?Now just hold on a minute. You remember what day today is??
The hell raven looked confused, and her head tilted to the side again. ??today?s the day we get adopted? Come on, Orin, I wanna eat.?
With a mischievous smile, Rin took a seat next to the corpse and clawed open the abdomen. Once a suitable opening was made, she pulled up her sleeve and started digging through the inside. ?No, though I guess you?re kinda right there. Today?? Finally, she pulled her hand out, which was now clutching the corpse?s spleen. She held it out proudly to Utsuho. ??is your birthday, Okuu. So you get the best part. Happy birthday.?
Utsuho?s eyes lit up as she looked from the spleen back to Rin. ?Really? I get that part all to myself??
?Ah, c?mon, we go through this every year. Just hurry up and eat the damn thing.? Rin wasn?t upset, though, as demonstrated by her toothy grin. As Utsuho took the spleen and started eating it happily, she rested her cheek on her not-bloody hand and just watched her friend enjoy her meal.
Utsuho wasn?t a particularly clean eater, so by the time she finished she had blood all around her mouth. Rin chuckled and brought a handkerchief out of her pocket, which she used to wipe her friend?s face clean. ?Jus? like a little kid,? she muttered, shaking her head. ?Now let?s eat. Hey, hey, don?t get blood on your shirt! It?ll take ages to clean it out, you know.?