The abendrote of the firmament mirroring the red of the Yadava carnage to the red of the rose he once cherished in his human manifestation, and now to the red of the vicious flames that reduced a mighty jungle to ashes, had the preserver wince at the memories. Kanha drew in a deep breath to steady himself for the arrival of his Shriyas as his hazel eyes brimmed with anticipation, his lotus feet tapping into the verdant grass and his robust arms folded over his mighty chest.

Far into the distance, the thousand petalled water lilies painted in hues of fuchsia, hot pink and red glazed and floated under the globe of flames. The goddess Kalindi, who technically wasn't supposed to be here yet but was in the form of the river alone gushed and foamed in exuberance, washing by the feet of Keshava who smiled a moonstruck smile at her, fondling his beloved flute. The avifauna of the abode of the Shriyas now sang a serene tune in their praise, as the flora and cattles danced along. To the devotees who had found residence in the feet of LakshmiPati and in this pulchritudinous dwelling, hours seemed to stretch into eternity but still the air of Shreepeetha was the same as before. In an eldritch quietude, something they weren't accustomed to and neither the one they fancied to the slightest bit.

"Prabhu, you seem urhm- quite impatient I see," smirked the Brahmaputra beside him, then flashing his signature grin when he was gifted with a quasi glare. "Narayana, Narayana! I- I meant my lord, my Matas are on the way. And I suggest, you find a nook as soon as you can, for they aren't exactly pleased with the last leela you pulled."

Kanha indifferently shrugged for the first time, but then it crashed. His bimba-hued lips pulled in a perpetual smile now loured deep as he assimilated the gravity of the Devarshi's statement. Surely, this was going to be a strenuous task.

Elsewhere, somewhere along Yamuna's banks, there was a bright flash of light akin to a star forming, and when the light faded, it revealed Vaidarbhi Rukmini, her eyes closed momentarily, a small smile curling her lips upwards, until her eyes flew open and a gasp passed her lips. She stood still for a moment, swaying slightly until the flames crackling in the corner of her eyes slowly receded and she remembered where she was.

Within seconds, Jambavati too appeared a few feet away from her, and she made a soft sound in her throat that sounded similar to the low growl of a bear. Then Mitravinda was there in a flash, and Jambavati and Rukmini together caught her as the princess of Avanti stumbled.

Mitravinda passed a soft smile to her two elder sisters as she stood.

There was still silence in the area, the susurrus of Yamuna's waters the only sound by which the wives of Krishna steadied themselves and let the memories of their death slowly recede.

"Where—where are the others, Jiji?" Mitravinda's voice was hoarse.

Jambavati tightened her hold on Mitravinda's shoulder as Rukmini did not say a word.

"They should be here soon, Mitra. None of us could bear the pain for long, they will come soon."

Some time passed, and to their right, the waters rose to form a vaguely humanoid shape until Kalindi appeared, something shining in her eyes. She bent down to touch her waters and let her hand rest against the rushing waters, grounding herself even as the others appeared in various intervals.

After all the principal wives joined, an awkward hush came over them. Yamuna had a questioning look thrown her way by Satyabhama, who in that moment seemed more grounded than the others. She promptly nodded, clearing her throat just to gain the attention of the Lakshmis who were soused in despondency and the action bore the desired results.

"Hey." A muted coarse voice greeted them soon as from among the roaring tides of the stream, a familiar figure emerged out. For once it seemed as if the flames had materialized, and then the oceanic depths came into view, having them all finally sigh in relief. The visions cleared up soon, revealing the goddess in charge of the cosmic order who gingerly sauntered towards them, rubbing her eyes brusquely.

Kamalnayani's honey kissed eyes once roamed between her co-wives as then she pursed her lips, dipping her chin, "Should we go now? I am exhausted."

"You're okay?" Lakshmanaa slowly asked, attempting to smooth the former's matted hair as she gave her a grimace which was intended to be a smile.

"Yes, Jiji."

The Madra princess then shook her head, passing her a quick side hug in an attempt to offer the comfort she herself couldn't find in herself. Withal, with a mutual nod of consensus they drew themselves in a circle, clasping each other's hands - some charred, some bleeding, while a couple pairs of palms tapered down to wrinkled fingers.

"Together," they whispered in unison. An oath, a law, and affection alone, "Now and forever."

"We have someone to confront." Satyabhama gave the rest a tight, strained smile.

"We do," agreed Kamalnayani, and as one, they teleported themselves to where Kanha was in a quick flash.

Krishna tapped his foot somewhat impatiently, wondering what was taking his women so long to appear. He did not want to look down to see where they were, fearing the sight that might greet him, perhaps the anguished cries of the women of Dvaraka or the pain of his parents, or even worse, the cadavers of his wives which he was sure he could not bear, which made him leave them before they could leave him.

He knew the anguish his Shris must have felt when their bonds shattered with his passing, and the pain they had already borne through the years on Prithvi and he had added a final ache—the cherry on the cake—by leaving them without any acknowledgement.

There was a flash of light somewhere in the periphery of his vision, and he instantly snapped towards it, the Devarishi wincing when he caught something through the light, and with a final clanking of his khartals and a soft muttered, "Narayana, Narayana, I hope he comes out alive of this," he disappeared.

Kanha wanted to pout and call him a traitor, and he would have done so if his eyes had not been trained on the light as it faded to reveal his nine wives.

He flinched as he caught the looks on his wives' faces, a mixture of fury and betrayal and also agony, as though the pains of their death had not yet left them, though a small voice in the back of his head whispered that their agony was his fault too.

He tried to smile and only came up with a half-grimace.

"Praneshvaris. Took you long enough," he tried to say it with some of his usual mischief, but the words caught in his throat.

Rukmini and Jambavati seemed mordant as Satyabhama crossed her arms and looked the other way, almost giving herself a whiplash. The princesses of Avanti and the kingdom of Ramachandra gave him looks that asked, 'are you even serious?'. The gurgling death's twin now seemed to mirror his very temper and Kanha did what he deemed appropriate, snapped his head to look at Hridayaa - his apparent savior who saved him by the wrath of her soul sisters every now and then.

His very glance at her had the most terrorizing effect, and well—the flautist could have come up with better adjectives had his brain not short circuited the very moment. Kamalnayani quickly clamped her mouth with her palm, sharply breathing as her eyes decided not to meet his, in an attempt to calm herself. In a jiff, Bhadra and Sulakshanaa were by her side, trying to murmur assurance—and sense—into her because dead people cannot die again. Especially when they are literal gods.

Kanha snorted at himself, horrified at his feat for the second time in a row. Wow, dark humor. When did he develop that?

"Not as dark as what you did, surely," Rukmini dryly responded, a saccharine smile on her pallid lips.

Kanha did what he could think through his petrified mind once again. Throwing his hands up in surrender, he bobbed his head in apology and pleading and remorse, "I can explain, actually. Hridayaa— oh my Hara— did you not take a samadhi in your last birth when I was immersed in yogic slumber? Quit weeping, will you? I am here. What is there to lament?"

"Will you shut up?!" She thundered, and he almost jumped in the lap of Dau— wait, where did he go now? He left earlier amongst their duo!
"You pull this feral stunt, leave us after we witness the destruction of everything we built with ardor and our children killed each other. Dvaravati, our home is down the sea as the survivors are now vagabonds because wow again— Vidhata's plans— Sakhi Saraswati kindly do remind me to interrogate your husband— and after all of this is not enough to cruelly trample our grit, Kanha you— you are deeming all of this hilarious. It's all very funny to you. dArK hUmOuR." Kamalnayani lashed hysterically, fighting the tears that burnt in the back of her eyes and the thorns that pricked her throat, finally keeling over when he rushed to her.

"I am sorry, Svaminis, I really am." Kanha sighed, his leonine shoulders sagging further as he seated himself next to his wife who did not punch him in the face thankfully. "I- I was tired."

"Yeah, and we are bursting with newfound vivacity." Satrajiti answered for the others, unwillingly shrugging and waving her hand dismissively. "Let's just...chuck it."

Lakshmanaa looked at him kneeling by a sobbing Kamalnayani, and pushed down her own wish to burst out into tears, as she addressed him, pointing a shaking finger at him, her anger and anguish mixing as she spoke.

"You—you won't understand the pain we felt, Kanha, when you passed. Have you ever tried ripping out half your soul—no, your entire soul from your own body even though it was another's? I-I—we could barely stand when our bonds shattered, we literally fucking collapsed. And you didn't just take everyone's love with you, you took our hearts and souls, and you didn't bother to tell us—warn us for the pain that we would feel before you left?!"

"Lakshmanaa..." the son of Devaki whispered, aghast at the heartache in her voice.

"That's quite enough, sisters."

All heads turned to Jambavati, who stood by Rukmini, as they spoke together. Rukmini lifted her chin at Nagnajiti to indicate a crying Kamalnayani. Nagnajiti nodded and sank down to her knees, gathering their youngest sister in her arms and murmuring soft words of comfort to her until her tears subsided.

"Natha," there was no hiding the pain in Rukmini's voice as she spoke, "This hurt will eventually heal. We only need time. But we are together again and that's all that matters."

Krishna nodded, looking down at the ground.

A/N: We start with angst! *slightly malicious grin*