Passing on

He was fading.

Fading like a shadow when the Sun went down. Just fading...that's all there is.

He lie underneath a maple tree, his favorite resting spot for the many happy years He had lived. The long grass swayed in the gentle autumn breeze and his breathing bended some over backwards with the force of it.  He opened his eyes again to drink in the surroundings-the large, rolling hills, the other animals. He could see two deer bouncing and frolicking with each other across the meadow beyond the one He resided in, birds following them with playful chirps and whistles.

He sighed

Forever devoted to his son, the dying father had crawled away from their cave home slowly, his legs stiff with age.  He had made his way into the forest to the spot he was now and had laid down. That had been this morning, he hadn't gotten up since. Ringmaster did not want his son to see him this way. He wouldn't allow it because he knew the young male would try to help, but knowing it was his time, convincing him there was no hope would be difficult and he couldn't bear to see the tears of his little one.

He had laid down amid the soft grass and moss, the cooling sensation easing his painful joints and lulling him. The air that blew across the old demons body was cold and dry, making the demon shiver slightly, but not out of discomfort.  He rubbed his head against the ground and let the grass tickle his face, snorting softly at the feeling.

He only realized His eyes had shut when He heard voices but couldn't  see them.

"Mom, is He alright?"

"No darling. I've been watching him, he went down this morning and hasn't gotten up since."
"What's wrong with him?"

It was as though He can feel their eyes passing over his ink-black body, muddied a little from the roll He executed perfectly that morning. He let out a sharp, shuddering sigh, one that sounds tired and resigned, even to him. "He's just old, son, He's old, He's tired he just wants to sleep." Ring opened his eyes blearily and stared up at the two faces of the deer who he had seen before frolicking together in the meadow. A mother and her fawn from the looks of it.

The mother looked at him so softly with those large eyes of hers, her chestnut coat gleaming like polished copper in the dwindling sunlight. Her young fawn was standing under her, staring curiously. The doe seemed to be smiling at Ring. She had smelt him before and recognized Two scents almost immediately. One was his smell, a male smell, musky. But that smell mingled with another. A dark smell. The demon took in good breath and breathed out this dark smell. It was the smell deer had when wolves pounced on them, The smell that followed the seasons when men would show up, like a shadow.

The smell of death.

As she looked, the doe couldn't help but envy the old demon. Not many creatures lived long enough to experience a calm passing, many lived just long enough to be killed by either men or their fellow creatures. Those who experienced a calm peaceful death at the end of their prime were rare.  Still that was the circle of life, no more, no less. Some made it full circle, while others didn't. And the demon was lucky enough to be part of the group that made it full circle. And for that she was happy for him.

She came up to him, fawn not far behind, And laid by the old demon, against his neck. The copper doe inhaled deeply, her muzzle lifting slightly skywards. A small gust of wind brushed Her pelt, blowing a new scent to them. The Doe blinked and lifted her eyes skywards.
-------
The sudden clasp of thunder caused them all to look up, and a steady mist of rain started to fall.
As the rain slowly began to fall, rings legs uncurl from beneath him,  but He was  merely getting more comfortable.
When a steady stream of rain began to fall He lay flat out, his ebony skin mingling with the pale emerald of the grass he laid in. He exhaled loudly, His sides slowly beginning to calm as his heart began to slow its beat.

It was almost time

At the sudden loud exhale the doe looked at the demon,

It's time…He murmured.

The doe nodded softly, getting up She knew what he meant.

"Time for what mommy" If only the fawn knew. The doe looked at her darling little fawn, yet couldn't bring herself to tell him what the demon meant by what he said...he was just to young.

"It's time for us to go home"It was then the doe hurried her young one back to the thicket they called home. Once the fawn was out of sight, the doe turned to Ringmaster.

"Rest easy demon"

Ringmaster nodded and soon they were outta sight.

______________________________________________________

It had rained that night. The night when Ring had been found. It had been many years  since that day.

He had never been a lively kid when he was younger. He mostly liked to calmly stand beside his mother and curiously watch the world go by. He kept growing, but would still not change. He would always be that one, who, instead of running wildly like some other young things, would stay beside his mother.

But there is no forever. Those days  would change, just like their surroundings. Autumn would become winter. Winter would become spring. And as the cherry blossoms' pink flowers fell, spring became summer. And as the time changed, so did Ring and his mother's days together. When his mother passed away, Ring had been a young adult .

Time had passed. Years flew by. New places, new people, new friends. But Ring stayed the same. It was as though he had frozen. He was aging on the outside, but on the inside he was still that young demon-cub, standing beside his mother while she was sitting  in the cool shadow, Late at night.

His eyes fall upwards to the leaves that sat on their parent branches, their autumn colors bright and calming. He could see the dew drops drip slowly from their skin, and then He heard the voice.

"Ring..."
He moved his head to the side, confusion clouding his thoughts. That voice...it sounds familiar.

Then He saw her.

She was standing  on the porch they used to stand under , her almond eyes focused entirely on his. Her body wasn't covered in bites and scratches from the last time He saw her.  Instead she was well formed. It is as though she has harnessed a fire and concealed it inside of her.

Mother.

She had never looked more beautiful. "Ring, it's time. Come on, we are all waiting for you. I have been waiting for so long to see you again."

Then another form, much smaller and fuller than his mothers, materialized into his vision. Bobby. He is here too. He was wearing a coat, body as gleaming and as shining as mothers was, and his cheeky face holds the expression of longing. "Yeah, come on, we have both been waiting for you for too long. Lets go, come join us. Your son, your friends, they will be alright. Please come Join us"

With a gentle wave of his hand, the door to the house had swung gently opened. Revealing a white light. Bright, warm.

A small tear rolled down Rings face.

His family .

He had missed them so much.


He suddenly felt as though his body was heavier than before, and He moved to sit up. His head felt light and dizzy, and He almost fell back again, but He heard their voices urging him onwards. One leg, then the other, both are straight and He rose to his wings with a great deal of effort. Once He accomplish this feat, it seems it is a lot easier to move. He stepped forwards with shaken steps, as though He was a baby learning to walk for the first time. It is difficult, but their words of encouragement spurred him onwards. There was no need to be sad or to feel lonely anymore. For they were always going to be here for now on.

Ring lifted his head, a smile gracing his features as they, as one, move into the blank pure whiteness of eternity.

---

That night, it had been beautiful. The stars were clearer than ever, and the night sky had been painted in a beautiful, deep, dark blue color. As the pink line from the morning sun forced its way up the horizon and eliminated the blue night sky, Ring was laying under the same maple tree. Once again, he was standing besides his mother...