celestiaknight
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Memories
🕑 Added 2018-03-18 17:07:27 +0000 UTC He awoke this very morning, his mind clouded by a thick, pale fog. His sleep had been restless, and full of dreams; memories he thought he had tucked away, souvenirs he thought he had forgotten. He could barely feel his body, a weightless corpse laying on his bed. He blinked his pale, glowing eyes.Today is my seventy-five thousand, five hundred and third birthday.
That thought latched on to his brain as soon as he swam away from the fog of his dreams, and it would not leave him be. At this point in his life, the numbers made little to no sense. With a sigh, he raised himself from his bed, grunting as his arm winced in hot pain. The previous day, a nasty demon-beast had made its unwanted appearance in the outskirts of town, and Kirby had required his help to defeat it, but alas, during the battle, Meta Knight had taken a hit for the boy; his arm was now broken, a very sad state for the proud knight. To think it was his dominant hand too…
'Oh well', he thought to himself as he slid off of his bed, 'I've had worse. Much worse…'
The Kiridan almost dragged himself toward his bathroom, feeling the weight of his body drop in almost too suddenly. Hopping on the small stool in front of the (way too high) sink and taking deep, calm breaths, he splashed some fresh cold water on his face, immediately reinvigorating himself. When he opened his eyes, he came face to face with his reflection in the mirror. He sighed. The Star Warrior had stopped wincing at this twisted face a long time ago.
He raised his good hand to the right side of his face, tracing the burnt marks and the folded skin with a finger carefully, almost delicately, as if he was afraid the skin would peel off if he was too brisk. If he was honest with himself, he wouldn't mind if it did… What had once been a young, friendly face was now a harsh reminder of life's unfairness, a reminder he didn't want to show the young, hopeful souls who lived with him on this star. This unsightly face was his own burden to bear, not their's.
Meta Knight quickly left the bathroom to continue on with his morning routine; Sword and Blade were already up and about, and they saluted him with a strangely light tone in their voices. Meta Knight paid it no mind; still that thought nagged him, biting at every step he took around the apartment, even when he left to do his morning duties. Even with a broken arm stuck in the same position, it wouldn't stop him from doing his work properly, even if Sword and Blade insisted they do it in his stead. He felt that if he stayed in one place too long today, his thoughts might wander back to the fog…
The day went by as normally as a day in Dreamland could get; after he was done with his duties, Meta Knight lef the castle and spent the rest of the day wandering about, never staying still more than was necessary. He walked through town, saluted the townsfolk, humbly recieved thanks for his aid with the stray demon-beast, and like the shadow he was, he vanished from the streets, unseen as he wandered about the outskirts of town and the quiet meadows. It was only later, as he quietly observed a flock of sheep eating in a pasture, did someone finally caught up to his quick step.
"Meeeedaaaa!"
Surprised by that familiar call, the knight turned his head; and a light smile flashed across his face, hidden behind a metal mask. His young protégé was running toward him, arms waving as he bolted across the meadow. Kirby stopped in front of him, and Meta Knight clearly saw that the young one had to forcibly stop himself from jumping up to hug him; after all the times he had been reprimanded for glomping the knight, Kirby was finally understanding that his elder seemingly had a barrier around him. That didn't stop him from beaming at the older Kiridan and squeak:
"Meda! I gots something for you! Can I shows you?"
Intrigued, Meta Knight slightly cocked his head to the side, answering the young one with a humble:
"Mh? Of course, lead the way, son."
"Yay!" Kirby squeaked before dashing back down the meadow.
Meta Knight followed right behind, his grin turning into a most intrigued smirk. What could the young warrior want to show him today? Kirby was at the prime age that a Kiridan was at its most curious, and now more than ever, Kirby was rediscovering the world with a new eye. Perhaps he had found something and wanted an explanation as to what it was or what its purpose was? He often did that, after all… What could it be this time?
Kirby lead him all the way across the meadows and hills to the beach, where a fresh wave of salty air came upon the knight. He took in a deep breath and smiled; he had always liked coming to the beach. Now he was even more curious about what Kirby had to show him… And as he followed Kirby on the road and turned to where the young one had ran, he stopped frozen in his tracks.
Right there, on the beach, was a statue made of sand. It wasn't just any sculpture; from the round shape of the body to the familiar V shaped hole in the center to the sea shells on the shoulders, he recognized this as… himself. Kirby had made a sand Meta Knight. The more he looked, the more things he could find; more sea shells for the eyes, a stick stuck in the hand for a sword, and… was that a birthday hat? Sitting atop the sculpture's head was a colourful paper hat, recognizable by a mile away by its triangular shape.
Meta Knight stood still for a very long time; Kirby was standing next to the sculpture, a wide smile across his face as he presented his work – which must have taken all day – and said:
"Happy birt-day, Meda!"
It was as if Meta Knight's mind stopped working completely at this moment. As he stared at both the sculpture and Kirby, he started laughing; a heartfelt laugh, that grew louder and uncontrolled the more he let himself go. At first Kirby appeared very put off by such a reaction, even thinking that he didn't like it, but when Meta Knight took more steps forward, he calmed his laughs back down to chuckles and wiped a tear from his eye, telling the young boy:
"Kirby, did you do this by yourself?"
Looking proud, the young Star Warrior straightened his back and punched his chest, his grin widening in an amusing manner as he nodded his head.
"Yep! I starts this morning, poy, and I, I make sure no one saws it but you, Meda, cause it's a surprise! Do you like it?"
Now Meta Knight's smile was stuck to his face, and no matter what he did to try and straighten it out, it failed, and he laughed wholeheartedly again as he stepped a bit closer and patted Kirby on the head.
"I love it, Kirby. Thank you, truly. I didn't know you knew it was my birthday today…"
Kirby grinned widely at the brief show of affection and he hopped in place, resisting his natural urge to glomp his elder as he answered:
"I heards it from Fumu, who heards it from Sword and Blade! Poy! They're not planning somethings, nope!"
Sword, Blade and Fumu, huh…? Meta Knight's smile lingered as he observed the sculpture for a moment longer, until an idea struck his mind. Now that, he was sure, would make Kirby very happy. He turned to him.
"Why don't we immortalize this moment, Kirby? I have a camera in my quarters, we could take a picture of your sculpture. What do you say?"
"Oh! Oh! Yes, yes a picture!" Kirby hopped in place and even made a small backflip in happiness before dashing off toward the castle, only stopping briefly to gesture him to follow him.
With a small chuckle, Meta Knight followed him once more. Seeing Kirby this happy was a big enough present for him, and erased all the previous doubts he had over this once dreadful date. Even though he knew there would be a surprise from Sword, Blade and Fumu waiting for him at the castle, Meta Knight was happy. In the end, his age didn't matter in the slightest; especially considering he was a Kiridan. He would perhaps live forever, after all, and so would Kirby. Instead of worrying about a number or some memories, he could focus on what he was doing now, and the life he was watching over. Kirby was, after all, one of the last precious remnants of his past; in ways no one would even begin to imagine.
As he followed him to the castle, Meta Knight was smiling, brightly.
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Here is something I did for Meta Knight's 25th anniversary! I had been planning on making this big piece for a long time now, but since Hoshi-no-kaabii-fans is hosting a contest for his birthday, it was the perfect time for it, so I'm submitting this to it. Basically, this piece is a brief retelling of Meta Knight's life in my Falling Stars series; most of the scenes in this piece will have their own arcs and issues to explain them. Just give me time to do them. x)
As far as this piece goes, I had a lot of fun working on this! I worked on it over streams, so most people could see it as it was being made, but I also learned a lot while working on this, so I'm glad I took the time to do it. I am also very satisfied with the result.
I hope you like it, and happy birthday to our sweet borb Meta Knight!
