erich as a swan maiden? the quincies could all be swans/people shape changers in that au or it could be Just Him whichever works :3

prompted by Ven

Kisuke dragged himself through the woods, hand pressed to his side in a futile attempt to staunch the bleeding. He needed… he needed a place to rest. A place to deal with his wounds.

(Tessai was going to lock him in the shoten forever at this rate.)

(Damn Hollows. Damn need to keep himself hidden.)

He stumbled. Caught himself on a tree. Breathed through the burning agony.

(He needed to sit down before he fell down…)

Kisuke closed his eyes and focused, pushing what little reiatsu he had left into a healing kido. It fluttered against his side like a poorly wrapped bandage, slowing but not stopping the bleeding he could not afford.

(Useless. Useless. Too weak, too disoriented…)

(This was how he died..?)

(Pathetic…)

With a groan he pushed on. Surely he’d run across a trail soon. Surely he’d find some trace of human habitation…

He froze. Stared in disbelief.

A lake stood in his path, water lapping against a pebbled shore. There was no sign of humans, no sign of civilization. Just water and trees and a flock of swans staring in his direction.

Kisuke sighed and dropped to the ground to sprawl out, giving up on moving. The area wasn’t a bad place to rest: the grass was soft and the sound of water on stone was soothing. He’d just… take a quick nap. Let his power replenish.

(It’d be fine. It would…)

He reached up and tipped his hat down, shading his eyes.

(Pretended the creeping darkness was caused only by that.)

Something moved. Incautious, inhuman steps approached, heavy but relatively small.

Kisuke pried his eyes open to see what was investigating him. A swan peered down at him, head cocked and feathers slicked back. “‘M not food,” Kisuke muttered, half-heartedly poking the bird in the chest. “Just… tired. I’ll leave after a nap.”

The swan hissed and nipped at his finger, the sharp sting cutting through the deeper agony of his side. When he withdrew his hand, the swan turned away and prodded his side with its beak, making him hiss in turn. Its neck arched up and it shot him a look that had Kisuke wincing.

“I’ll be fine,” Kisuke tried to reassure the swan, ignoring the absurdity of holding a conversation with a bird. “Nap’ll help.”

The swan’s wings arched up-up-up and for one heart-stopping moment Kisuke thought ‘This is it. This is how I actually die. Taken out by a swan.’

Except the swan didn’t strike him. It launched itself into the air with a ringing cry, buffeting him with the downdraft and soaring away without a backwards glance.

Kisuke huffed and tucked his hat back in place. It was just a swan. Just a wild animal in a forest full of wild animals. What did he expect it to do besides leave or attack him?

(He needed rest if he was reading human emotions from a swan of all creatures.)

(Just… a few hours.)

(Everything would be fine when he woke.)