Citizen 1392 Shimmer

Shimmer had risen from her sleep before the sun’s light even touched the obsidian pillars of the temple, and she was ready to arrive with the dawn. She stepped out of the shadows, light dancing on each tuft of her fur and glistening across her body, and walked into the temple’s grounds. Her eyes flicked around, mentally noting the areas with fallen petals and leaves to be collected before visitors arrived. 

Her primary duty was preparation; each day, she monitored the temple’s inventory, laid out clean pelts on the floors, dusted any dirty corners and checked the statues for any wear to their structure. Under her care, the temple’s stock of candles, oil, incense, and medical supplies were always kept in check. The pelts that adorned the floors of the temple remained soft and free from dirt as she tended to them. Dust never collected in the halls of the Elder’s temple and the building’s structure was perfectly safe and sound. Though her work was endless, Shimmer cherished her role in caring for the sacred place, and the comfort she saw others find in the temple’s halls brought her great peace.

During her rounds, her eyes lingered on the large statue of Gemmalyn every time she passed it. A lingering feeling gnawed at the back of her mind that something was wrong, but she couldn’t place why. There wasn’t time to waste on strange anxieties, the temple had visitors soon, so only once her other duties were complete did Shimmer cave to her worries and inspect the piece. 

The statue was cracked.

Shimmer stared at the lines circling the statue’s ankles, a break that must have been growing for some time yet remained hidden in the black marble. At her touch, the stone shifted and she pulled back her hand as she considered her options, but her mind drifted to other questions. When had the crack appeared? Was it before she joined the temple, so she didn’t notice anything amiss, or did it begin to break during her time here, but was hidden from view by the dark stone? Was it a structural issue that the sculptor hadn’t accounted for or caused by the wear of time?

She shook her head, her trivial questions could be answered later. For now, it posed a threat to visitors if it fell, and she couldn’t leave it be. With some rope and a hastily written sign, she sectioned off the area and left to inform the other temple assistants. The temple was open for visitors, so they couldn’t take any chances with safety.

But, when curious pups were involved, things were always bound to go wrong.

A group of young Rexes had come to visit, sent by their parents to learn more about the elders and the history of the Dome. Though Shimmer greeted them and tried to begin the lesson, she noticed the pups’ interest wavering. With her soft voice, it wasn’t an unusual occurrence, so she simply stepped aside to allow her colleague to show them around instead. Except, when the group were due to leave, one was missing. Worry churned in Shimmer’s stomach but she kept her expression calm and in control. With a reassuring word, she began her search.

As she passed other temple workers, Shimmer inquired about the missing pup but only a few had spotted them to guide her. With every turn she made, she was being led closer and closer to the cracked statue, to the last place any pup should be, and the dread grew in her stomach. If they were already there… Shimmer shook her head and hurried her pace along. There was no use thinking about the worst. If she hadn’t heard the statue fall yet, she would get there in time. She had to.

Rounding the corner, Shimmer let out a strangled noise. 

The pup had pushed past the rope and stood under the statue with their paws up against the marble as they inspected the detail of the elder’s statue. At her cry, their head snapped over to her, cocked to the side as they peered at her, entirely unafraid. Shimmer’s heart dropped as she realised they hadn’t read the sign, they must have came from the opposite hallway.

“Move away from that! Quickly!” She cried, her typical soft tone thrown aside to plead with them. With her body trembling, she reached a hand out to them and gestured for them to come to her. “It might fall, so please come here!”

Eyes going wide, they dropped to all fours, and the statue shifted, filling the room the screech of scraping stone. It slid forward, the marble loomed above them, and the pup froze, staring at the towering piece over them.

The statue pitched forward, dwarfing the pup in size, but they still wouldn’t move. She could see their eyes widen and fill with tears; they had realised their mistake too late to save themselves. It was down to her. 

She bolted forward, paws pounding on the floor hard enough for her claws to leave lines on the bare stone. Any number of things could go wrong if she wasn’t fast enough to get them both out of harms way, but that didn’t matter to her. If the pup was safe, that was enough. Even as she ran, she watched the statue fall closer to the pup and her magic surged through her. It wrapped around the falling marble, buying a few precious seconds to slow the descent just enough for Shimmer to lunge towards the pup and shove them forward. 

The heavy stone landed with a thud that echoed down the halls. Pain stabbed through Shimmer, originating from her tail, and she snapped her jaws shut to avoid screaming. She scrunched her eyes shut against the growing tears, until a little paw pressed against her nose. It was the pup, lips wobbling and tears streaming down their face as they tried to wake her up. They didn’t understand that she was okay, only hurt and not dead, and their terror shone in their eyes.

“M-miss Shimmer- P-please get up! I-I’m sorry- I’m sorry!” Their words were babbled between sobs as they tried to nudge her to move. As the adrenaline and fear left their little body trembling, they collapsed beside her face to nuzzle into her long fur. 

Her heart broke for them. They hadn’t meant to do anything wrong, their curious spirit just took them along the wrong path, and now they were more afraid that she’d gotten badly hurt for them. With a reassuring smile, she nudged them back with her snout. The pup needed comfort now, more than ever, so she blinked away her tears and pushed past her pain.

“I… I’m alright… Just uhm…” She looked back at herself and winced at the state of her tail. Blood stained her fur from where the statue dug into her skin, but she was otherwise alright. Most of the statue arched over her body, pinning her in place but otherwise leaving her unharmed. Only part of her tail was crushed by the statue’s outstretched arm. With a smile, she looked at the pup. “Just stuck. Can you.. Go and get someone to help? Then… go back to your group, your friends must be worried.”

Even through the pain, she kept her voice level and smiled to keep the pup from becoming more frightened as she nudged them to go. They looked at her, still worried, but stood and ran off, shouting for help.

Shimmer let out the choked sob she’d been holding back and laid her head down as tears rolled down her cheeks. The pup was alive and unhurt. She was in agony but still alive, and that was enough. Maybe she would have a scar from the injury, maybe her tail would be crooked if the wound was deep enough, but the pup was okay. That was all she needed to know she’d done the right thing.

Artist: paradoxspir1t