Dabi template

How long has it been, she wondered. How many weeks had it been since she last felt like she had everything together in her head? The question seemed like a peculiar one to answer. So many things were happening all at once. A new, completely foreign environment in more ways than one. An actual school that was tailored to train her and others like her. New people coming into her life, old friends leaving, all at once. Everything changing so rapidly was a strange thought to cope with. It had overwhelmed her; made her feel like she'd be left in the dust. Everything culminated into one giant clusterfuck that made her question herself more than she would've liked. But now, for the first time in what felt like forever, she felt... clarity. She couldn't even begin to explain the feeling or the thoughts it brought with it, but Jasmine felt like she was finally able to exhale a long and deep breath of fresh air that she had been fighting for for too long.

And, as cliche as it was, she was once again on top of a roof with a bottle of some random scotch in her hand. Where she obtained the bottle was irrelevant. Suffice it to say there was an occasion other than her peaceful state of mind at play. It was her birthday. Today, on the 14th of June, Jasmine turned 17.

The blonde lioness never put any real emphasis on her birthday. While other people celebrated birthdays like it was some kind of special occasion, to Jasmine it was just another summer day. Nothing out of the ordinary. She didn't know exactly why she was out and about, but... something about this particular one was just... different.

Normally, the blonde teenager would have spent her birthday with her friends. That's what they consistently did in New York. They would gather in a quiet place somewhere, everyone having an offering from their respective stashes present. They'd drink. They'd talk. They'd laugh. They'd cry. It was just... a ritual. It wasn't a celebration. It was just a way for them to reunite under the banner of momentary ignorance.

But now Jasmine found herself utterly alone. Nobody was with her. Everyone she knew had moved on in one way or another. Grief had overwhelmed her at the simple idea of that. But now... now she felt strangely calm. A calm that carried a certain sad realization with it. The melancholic feeling this realization brought with it made her smile sadly.

It was finally time to stop living in the past and turn the page.

The market had all but closed up, the sun having gone down with the moon taking its place, hanging lowly in the dark, starry sky, illuminating the city of Musutafu below. People were still bustling here and there, rushing to get home to their families and friends. And Jasmine... Jasmine was atop one of the smaller kiosks, sitting on the metal roof with her back against a vent. She took a large swig from her choice of poison, the liquor doing little to numb her brain considering how many thoughts were running through her head. It was just one of those times where, no matter how much you drank, you just couldn't get drunk. She both hated and appreciated it. The clarity she now had was too great to pass up.

"Ember, huh..." The lioness spoke, tilting her head to glance at the dark sky and moon.

Yeah. This was just fine. If anything, this new year would let her piece herself back together and start anew.