Words Of a Feather

Soldiers have millions of duties, the toughest of them all

Slaying demons, protecting the king, keeping the kingdom safe

She has to fight relentlessly and never give up

Even when it may be her undoing

From the same mold, you both come

You both live in the same castle

As you grow up wit her

Your spirit can only wither

The soldier trains to be stronger by fighting those who she deems worthy

Yet you wonder if it’s actually necessary

|

She sees the same demons and monsters

Bringing tyranny to the kingdom, or at least, to her

While many keep their mouths shut and gaze in horror

The soldier battles valiantly

Whenever asked to clean the dungeons or evade her allies,

She charges at the enemy in the blink of an eye, her spirit roaring like the flames of war

The soldier refuses to stand down, but the price is hefty

Whether she won the battle or lost, she faces punishment

She is looked down upon by the common folk

Except for one

|

Her cat.

|

Her cat watches in horror after everything the soldier went through

Pushing pillars, burning bridges, building walls

Dancing over troubled waters

The soldier resists the urge to submit, fighting with rigor

The cat meows with fright after watching these legendary battles

All for nothing

As the people are meant to be in harmony

|

The fights grow more frequent as the soldier is older

More battles with those who spawned it

Flames burst across the kingdom and the cat can only hide

It is merely caught in the crossfire between those who are meant to love one another

No one wants to carry the torch of violence, but they must

Day after day, no matter what,

There is always a fight, and the fight is never over for either party

For the soldier or its enemies

Enemies that were meant to support the soldier

|

Sometimes, the soldier is right

Other times, its enemies are correct

But no one wants to hear the echo of defeat

No one wants to face their own stupidity

So they brawl, they fight, they scuffle

The blades of “you never listen” strike hard

The poisonous “because I said so” is an effortless technique

All this dueling lasts for eons, to the point where you’ve forgotten what the latter’s quarrel was about

And you can only ache in pain after witnessing everything

|

The cat can only run and hide

As the weapons become more advanced and the kingdom crumbles

But no matter how destructive these battles are, no one stands down

They continue to spite one another, waiting for another opportunity to prove their strength

Prove the other’s weakness

Ignoring the cat as it feels the kingdom crush

Until the wordy weapons become those of flesh

And the monster strikes the soldier with its weapon made of bones and skin

Or a wooden spoon

|

The soldier will come back to its cat eventually

Fuming and frothing at the mouth over its latest defeat

The soldier wonders what technique to use next time to make its enemy listen

The cat wonders what technique to use next time to run from the battle arena