Beauty of Life

In a silent cottage on the outskirts of Vindoras, the cry of a baby suddenly permeates the air and brings life to the surrounding area. A peculiar rabbit, with antlers like those of a young elk, bolts from the underbrush, startled by the sudden mournful cry, while a family of small scruffy creatures with button noses with sleek brown fur shift their heads toward the source of the noise. In the distance, two abominations with large powerful forelimbs and small, underdeveloped hindlimbs look in the direction of the cottage with a grotesque blood-loathing expression.

Inside the cottage, the soft radiance emanating from the fire casted a soft flickering glow on the small room. The small fire illuminated the room well enough to see an attractive young man kneeling In front of a woman laying on a small table covered thinly by cloth, her muscles periodically tensing, causing a small groan of pain escape her lips.

"You're doing great, Cilia," the young mane murmurs, his voice thick with emotion. "Just a little longer, okay? You've got this."

Cilia's eyes meet his, her smile tired but genuine. "Don't worry about me, Cyrus. I've done this before. Focus on helping..."

Cilia was going to say more, but her sentence was interrupted by a pained grimace, Her face twisted in discomfort, she gripped the fabric laying beneath her so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Gritting her teeth, she let out a small groan. Cyrus stood up for a moment, looking at her with a worried expression.

"are you alright?"

Cilia with a mumbled under her breath "its coming"

Cyrus immediately prepared himself and got back into position to make sure the baby doesnt fall or hit its head on anything during its trip. For the last time, Cilia;s body tensed as she let out another pained groan. The tension in the air reached its limit, Cilia gives one last push, then, like a Beacon of life, they both heard the cry of a baby entering the world.

"It's another lovely boy" Cyrus says, his voice think with emotion.

not quite done ogling his new baby boy, Cyrus reluctantly handed the baby over to Cilia as it's arms and legs were wave in the air. Cilia took the baby with a smile laced with fatigue and sincere affection. She placed the baby on her chest and started to pat it's back, the fussy cry soon subsided, in it's place were soft breaths shared by both the baby and Cilia.

At that same moment they Cyrus and Cilia heard a loud sound of snapping wood a short distance outside of their cottage. Cyrus gave a short glance to Cilia, her face distorted to an expression of fear and anguish.

"Stay here," he said, his voice firm despite the fear creeping in.

Before Cilia can protest, A large shield manifests in front of her while at the same moment, the door bursts open, causing the warm fire to quickly extinguish, and two abominations—massive, hulking creatures—lumber into view. Their skin is a sickly gray, rippling with raw muscle. Their large, powerful forelimbs are covered in dark, matted fur. One of them let out a low, guttural roar, its bloodshot eyes glinting with malice as it puts one of its large forelimbs in front if itself, launching the creature forward.

The first abomination swings a massive arm, its claws raking through the air with terrifying speed. Cyrus manifests and raises a shield to absorb the brunt of the impact. The impact of the blow sent a shockwave through his body, but the shield absorbed most of the force. The shield vibrated with power, cracks appeared along its surface, but it held firm. With a grunt, Cyrus pushed forward, using his shield to shove the creature back.

"How dare you interrupt me and my family in this precious moment," he groaned under his breath. Raising his hand again the shield split into two, one half blocking another crushing strike, while the other half swiped through the air in a brilliant arc, striking the abomination across its side. The creature staggered, shrieking in fury.

Cyrus didn't give the abomination a moment to recover. He manifested another smaller shield on his off-hand and charged, ducking under a massive claw and slamming both shields into the creature's ribcage. The impact sent the creature stumbling back, Cyrus took advantage of the opening to unsheathe his sword on his waist and plunge it deep into its chest. The abomination let out a final screech before collapsing to the ground in a heap.

The second abomination charged forward with a terrifying roar, sending the earth beneath it shaking. Cyrus held his ground, his eyes narrowing as he pulled his larger shield to the front once more. The creature slammed into him with the force of a battering ram, and the shield cracked under the weight of the impact, Cyrus gritted his teeth, using all of his strength to not lose any ground.

Cyrus didn't know when, but the kid stated to cry again.

"i need to finish this fast" he thought to himself.

The shield pulsed, its surface glowed bright before it solidified again, the cracks vanished as its power grew. The abomination recoiled, sensing impending doom, giving Cyrus just enough time to swing his sword into its exposed flank. The beast roared in agony as the sword plunged into it's flank. Cyrus lowered his guard thinking that his attack would give him some breathing room, However, the creature didn't move. Shifting some of its weight onto its underdeveloped hind legs, it raised one of its forearms and grabbed Cyrus and lifted him into the air.

Cyrus gritted his teeth, holding back a groan. using his shields to claw his way free, one shield shifted into an angular shape, spiking outward. Cyrus drove the angular shield into the creature's wrist, causing it to release him with a howl. Cyrus landed lightly on his feet, slightly swaying from one side to the other. He quickly re-composed himself and drove his sword deep into the creature's exposed throat, twisting the blade until the abomination gurgled its last breath.

The second monster collapsed limply besides its companion. Cyrus took a moment to catch his breath, his shields now dissipating into the air as he surveyed the aftermath of the fight. Blood stained his armor, and the room smelled of sweat and blood.

Cilia was too engrossed trying to hush the crying baby that she didn't realize that the constant sounds of battle had stopped. Cyrus dissolved his shield that was protecting Cilia, showing him the fatigued and guarded expression that she wore.

"Cil, you alright?"

Cilia snapped out of her daze

"yeah.. I'm, I'm just a bit tired. You did well Cyrus, thank you, for always taking care of me."

Cyrus' mouth slightly curled upwards as he walked towards the table that Cilia was still laying on. He kneeled on the table and helped Cilia stand up

"Lets get you some rest, you need it"

Cilia looked up at Cyrus and wore an exhausted smile. Cyrus guided cilia towards their room. He slowly lowered Cilia down to their bed.

"what should we name him"

Cilia glanced at him with a smile.

"I think we'll call him Renan"

Satisfied with that name, Cyrus took a step out of the room while humming an upbeat toon, allowing Cilia rest while he cleaned up the mess that the abomination had caused.