[Sarah]

Anguish filled the emptiness in his heart, breaking down his calm outer shell. He always felt this was around Valentine’s Day, after his treasured wife died he could hardly spend a day without thinking of her. All his life he was known as a strong man, he could take hits and just move on. He thought himself unable to become affected by sadness and her chocking fingers. His wife proved that wrong, when she left him he didn’t know if he would be able to move. He wanted only to be with her, and knew that his heart had a gaping hole in it, one that his wife had filled perfectly before.

He held her in his arms, her broken body heaving as her heart pumped the very last time. He felt her spirit leave and join the gods. For many months he begged them to take his spirit away to join her. Shock had taken over his body and didn’t allow him to move anywhere; he just sat there holding his wife. His eyes in a distant dream where he and his wife where still happily together. A place where her body wasn’t mangled but the graceful and lithe spirited body of a young woman.

[Sarah]

The water from the falls drenched his fur; his whiskers hung low with droplets weighing them down. His fur was barely able to keep out the wet. He was standing much too close to the falls, just staring into their depths and the bottom. The spray of water left a rainbow and the crashing waters gave off a thundering rumble that vibrated through his body. James stayed silent, letting the water wash over him. And allowing them to hide his tears.

Any thought of the past was like rubbing salt on an open wound for him, it had been three years sense her passing, almost to the day even.  Still he could not, would not let her go. Sometimes he could feel her next to him, smell her sweet scent in the air around him as he worked. They had no children they never had time for children. He wouldn’t want to have children anyway, not without their mother around to guide them.

[Sarah]

Why was this so hard? He had many people pass on in his life, even his parents. None of them left this big of an impression on him, he felt like half of his soul was missing. He watched the other couples floating around, whispering sweet words and kissing. He felt no bitterness towards them, only a burning hope that they would not be ripped from each other like he had been. No one deserved that pain, the fracturing, crushing awfulness that happened for years. The memories always haunting, just in the back of his mind teasing him and reminding him of the good life he had.

Heart wrenching as it was for him to be here, it was tradition and after twenty years he wasn’t about to not come.  His wings fluttered a bit in frustration, he hated when he thought about her. He tried and tried to let it go, but his wife would not leave him be. She would not let him continue his life. He didn’t want to forget her; he never wanted to forget her. He just wanted to be able to let go of her, and let her spirit stop infecting his soul and his mind.

[Sarah]

It hampered his skills and made it harder for him to get out of bed in the morning. It made him contemplate death, and pray for hours to the god begging them to take him away from the earth. No salvation came; he was still stuck in this mortal place full of pain and sadness. He didn’t even care if he went to the demon world, just so long as the suffering stopped. The kind hollow words his friends offered, the dreams that left him sweating and crying in the morning. His memories playing her death on repeat in his mind, criticizing him and telling him it was his fault she died. Telling him he hadn’t done enough to save her.

He knew his tormentor was correct, he hadn’t stopped her from dying, he could have sacrificed himself, instead he spat insults and his wife paid for his ignorance. Those things left him alone, with only his broken wife lying in a pool of her own blood. Her beautiful brown hair soaked in a sticky mess. Her perfect body contorted and writhing in pain. Her crushed lungs screaming for air, the way her eyes looked into his, full of unimaginable pain. He could do nothing, it was too late, and he had failed his wife.

[Sarah]

Walking away from the falls he watched the people around him, smiled on their faces and love clogging the air. He sat down feeling defeated, “I’m sorry.” He whispered, grabbing a small necklace that hung around his neck. It had been his wife’s who wore it everywhere. When she passed he promised to wear it, so that he would never forget her. He held it up in front of him, inspecting the carefully carved stone. It was a ruby that had been sculpted to look like a rose; he had gotten it for his wife on their first anniversary.

Sighing, he let the necklace fall down to hang around his neck again. He felt so hollow inside, like he was just a leaf caught in a river, unable to escape and being thrown around without much control. With no sense of what was up and what was down. He just went through the motions; wake up, get ready, go to work, come home, eat, and go to bed. Every day was the same.

[Sarah]

Shane carefully made her way up the path towards the falls. She always loved the way the water sounded falling over the rocks and she also liked to watch the people pass by. She always came up here alone, she didn’t mind though; she preferred to watch other couples. Not that she was opposed to the idea of having that special someone; she just doubted she would ever be able to experience it.

She was not expecting to see James up here though. She had never seen another kuhna from her home up here before. She only just remembered that he came up here every valentine with his wife. But his wife had passed away a few years ago hadn’t she? Yes, Shane remembered how heartbroken James was ever since that day. Even though he put on a brave face she could see he was broken inside.

[Sarah]

She wasn’t very good with saying the right things, but she felt like she needed to talk to him. he looked so broken to her and she hated to see any of her housemates so down. She padded up the path towards the bench he was sitting at. “hey.” She said quietly making him jump, “sorry, I didn’t mean-.” She started getting cut off. “Don’t worry about it.” He said softly smiling a little. Shane wasn’t sure if he was faking it or if he was genuinely happy to see her. “How are you?” she asked, her voice soft. “I don’t mean to pry, but you just look so sad, and I wanted to help.” She waited for him to say something, a look of confusion went across his face, and then his hurt came back.

[Sarah]

He looked so miserable, and Shane was a little frightened, he had never shown emotion to anyone, not even his wife when she was still alive. “I’m not doing well.” He whispered his voice so faint that Shane hardly caught what he was saying. “Come on, let’s take a walk.” Shane suggested, flicking her tails to show him what path she had in mind. It was one that spiraled around the waterfall, going all the way down the serene bottom where the crashing waters settled.

[Sarah]

The asphalt was slick with water, and both kuhna had to grip the stone with their claws. It was a little painful at times, but they helped each other down the path. James was glad that Shane had shown up to distract him from his abusive thoughts.  A yelp made him stop and a paw flashed out to try and catch Shane, who very ungraciously tumbled a few feet before she grabbed onto the pathway again. “Sorry!” he said, scrambling down after her to make sure she was ok.

[Sarah]

“It’s no problem, I’m ok.” Shane said, straightening her out. “I should have been paying more attention.” James said, blaming himself for not paying attention. Shane laughed, “No, I should have been paying more attention, I am able to walk on all four of my feet fairly well, but I sort of got lost in thought.” She said, throwing him a teasing look. James shook his head and smiled a little.

[Sarah]

It had been a long time since he had last smiled, not a fake smile, this was a real smile. And now he had done it twice in a short expanse of time. What was happening to him? Shaking his head, he moved down the path. “Maybe if we walk side by side it will be easier to keep each other balanced.” He suggested, feeling awkward. He watched for Shane’s reaction. She looked at him, a sparkle in her eyes.

[Sarah]

The sparkle left as soon as their eyes made contact, and Shane looked away for a second. “I think that’s a good idea.” She said quietly. –oh no, I’ve said something wrong.- James thought hoping that he wasn’t scaring her away. She was the first person who actually made him feel good and he didn’t want to lose that. He didn’t think that she would just leave; no she was kinder than that. But he didn’t want to lose her altogether. He knew it was too soon to think anything of this meeting, but he hoped he made a friend. Because he really needed those right now, he needed someone to keep his head out of the darkness that threatened to take him away every day.

[Sarah]

Reaching the bottom Shane smiled at James. “Thanks for the help.” She said, trotting a little ahead to the edge of the water. It was calm for the most part at the bottom. The water came down to flow into a river that winded its way across the land and into the ocean. “It’s so pretty.” She whispered as James padded up beside her. “Yes it is.” James whispered back watching Shane, remembering the times that he and his wife would find themselves at the bottom of the waterfall, his wife had said the same thing.

[.:Random Event 2:.]

If there was still daylight, it would be near impossible to see, and if it was past nightfall, only few would actually notice it. Some people reported seeing a comet shooting overhead, while others saw the 'comet' landing in a bright flash of light in a nearby bush, or in the middle of the path in front of them.

It seemed, this Valentines, that the Legend of Love was indeed true, for the item that lay nearby, ready for your discovering, was Valentines related.
If you wandered over to the light you would discover:

Rose

[Sarah]

“What was that?” Shane asked curiously, a light was crashing into the nearby shrubs. James snapped out of the past. “I don’t know…” she said slowly, he hadn’t even seen the light pass over their heads. “Let’s check it out!” Shane said excitedly, fear leaving no trace in her words. “Ok, I’ll go first though.” James said, getting in front of Shane protectively. Shane rolled her eyes, but allowed him to lead the way towards the edge of the path.