#gee brug how many aus you got

[bruggle]

Behold

The depths of insanity of my mind

It's odd, really. How such a small thing managed to catch his attention.

X, as he was known, guarded this small town in the valley fearlessly. From any and all outsiders who would cause it harm. How the town itself became his duty, he doesn't remember. But the need to protect, to guard, to make sure no harm enter this place was set deep in his bones.

Nobody knew his face, however.

Not his human one.

It wasn't because they were ungrateful, of course. The humans of his town made sure to keep his shrine stocked well with food and other sorts of finerys. No, X simply made sure to keep his human form subtle. Only going out to be amongst them every now and then. Never too long.

That was, until one fateful day when he visited his shrine.

Only to find a newborn human child.

One with a note begging for someone, anyone to care for her. That they mean no disrespect to the Great Guardian; for they know it is simply his job to guard a place, but the females of his species are known to guard the lives within. Which... that was true... X, however, was alone. He had no mate, though he knew that left his town with some vulnerability.

He takes no disrespect from the plea.

Simply takes all other offerings and leaves the child there.

But it does nag at him, in the back of his mind.

He is a Komainu. It is his duty to protect. He cannot be distracted. Not with this.

And yet, he cannot get the vision on the tiny little life out of his head. It doesn't take long for him to return. Just to check and make sure she isn't getting too much sun, he tells himself. And to make sure that someone takes the child before she starves. He keeps his hulking form to the shadows, oddly invisible despite his size; and watches.

Many people come to pay their respects.

But none take the child.

Simply muttering amongst themselves how disrespectful it is. That it is not X's job to care for a child. So why don't they. He feels his frustration grow the longer the child goes without milk. Without touch. Until finally, the child herself has enough. She lets her poor loneliness be known to the world, and X can no longer stomach it.

He steps away from the shadows, doning his human guise, and picks the tiny thing up. She's /far/ too small to be in this world, her eyes not even open. Born too soon, perhaps. He's not sure where her parents are, though it does burn him in part to know they left her.

But... he's not sure why they did so.

...it could have been death, or something worse that prevented the mother from caring for her. She at least loved enough to place the poor child within a shrine of protection. X brings the child within his arms, covering her with the silken kimono sleeve he wears. He has... little idea how humans care for their young, never paying too much mind to them. Again, the female komainu care far more for the inhabitants than the males do. But he will do his best.

That, he promises.

He huffs, burying himself further into his hoard.

Why he has awoken, he is not sure, but he'd very much prefer not to be, thank you. And yet, no matter how he shifts and digs, he cannot get comfortable. It's starting to really get under his scales...

Until a scent hits him.

One that has not been around for a while now... He tastes the air once more, just to be sure, and- Yep. That's the scent he knows, alright. A strange mix between stone, moss, water, and, oddly, dog. An old friend is coming to visit, it seems. Which is quite strange... It's near impossible to get a komainu to leave their station... This must be important...

He drags himself from his hoard, taking each step as a chance to stretch. How long has it been since he was last awake? Two decades, perhaps? Maybe longer... time was slowly becoming a blink for him; now that he no longer grew his hoard or himself. He reaches the mouth of his cave right as-

A human? One with short brown hair clad in a blue kimono stands outside his cave. His arms crossed as he looks expectantly at the red dragon.

That's not right...

He tastes the air again, before faintly recalling his own guise. That's right... he has one, too... Has almost never needed it before, though... "Zero!" the familiar scent calls and- Right, right... that was his name. It's been a while since he's heard that as well... He lets out a rumble struggling to recall his friend's name, but it seems the komainu knows him better than he thought. "It's me, X!"

"I knew that," Zero assures him, hoping he buys the lie. ...Probably not, if the rolling green eyes are anything to go by... "I need your help!" X says. Zero raises an eye brow. "With what?" he asks. "And why are you in your guise? There's no need to hide here."

"I know, just... get down here!" X exclaims. Zero, however, just blinks. What did he mean, 'get down here'? He lowers his head, but that doesn't seem to placate the komainu. "I mean, turn into a human!" X winges. "I need to show you something!" ...Now why would he do that? "Are we going somewhere with humans?" Zero asked.

"No!" X groans. "Just... please!" Zero heaves a sighs as he finally, finally does so. He hates being confined to the human form, though... "Fine, here," he mutters. "What is it you need to show me?"

But the blue clad komainu has already shifted back one of his arms. Revealing a tiny human child. Huh. Weird how he didn't smell that... "Okay," Zero says slowly. "What do you want me to do with that?" X rolls his eyes yet again. "I don't want you to do anything," he insists. "Just... you've sired some hatchlings before! How did you raise them?!" Zero lets out a snort. "Dragons don't raise their young," he reminds X. "The females just watch over the eggs and then turn 'em loose. If they live, neat. If not..." The red dragon shrugs. Although he isn't a dragon at this moment, is he? Huh... X let's out a loud groan. "What am I supposed to do, then?!" he panics. "She was left at my shine! A note begging someone to take her! I waited all morning, but not one single human did!" Zero blinks slowly. "I mean... that's hardly your problem," he muses. "I'd just put it back and leave."

X looks aghast at him.

What?

He just said his kind doesn't deal with this sort of thing. He opens his mouth to say something, when a laugh interrupts him.

...He knows that laugh.

"AXL!" Zero roars. "WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT BEING IN MY HOARD?!" Seriously... the nerve of this fox... X, on the other hand, is glowering at him; the tiny human in his arms crying out. Well. /That's/ annoying. "Oh man, how'd you manage that?" asks Axl as he slinks out of his hiding spot. He was posing as a priceless vase. Where did it go?! He opens his mouth to ask, but X beats him to the punch. "Do you know anything about raising humans?" the komainu asks.

"I mean... a little bit?" Axl replies. "I've seen them be raised before. They're not that hard. You just need milk, shelter, and uh... to watch them. Especially when they start rolling around and crawling. They don't have very good instincts when it comes to staying alive..." Great, cool, fine, why do they have to discuss it in his hoard? X, he doesn't mind. Komainu understand the need to guard. But Axl? He tries helping himself to his treasure every chance he gets! That's what he gets for saving a kitsune's life...

"...So I'm going to need a human to help..." X murmers. The red haired kitsune nods. "'Fraid so," he says. "But... oddly enough, when there's someone else vying for them, humans tend to listen to the needs of their young a lot more. You'll find someone! And then you can just leave and not worry about it anymore!" X shoots a pointed glare at him.

...Surely he not serious...

"...X," Zero rumbles. "You are not keeping the baby."

"Yes," X maintains. "I am."

"What?" Axl asks, confused. "Why?" X just lets out a sigh. "She was left at my shrine," he mutters. "And all the humans were leaving her to die. I can't ignore that... I don't want to ignore that..."

Axl and Zero exchange a glance.

...This was going to be interesting.