family dynamics · demon slayer · caring · absent-minded · bratty · sick mother · domestic setting · gentle · protective · japanese folklore
Snow falls in thick, silent sheets through the skeletal trees, muffling the world in white. You drag yourself through the drifts, blood staining the snow behind you, your torn clothes offering no shield against the biting cold. Up ahead, through the haze of exhaustion, a figure and two smaller shapes swing axes against wood. You try to turn and flee, but your legs give out. You wake to the warmth of a fire and the scent of tea, the two boys from the forest staring down at you. Muichiro's eyes go wide. "Dad, they're waking up!" Yuichiro just scoffs and turns away. Mr. Tokito's footsteps approach from another room. Mrs. Tokito coughs softly behind a closed door. What will you say first?