Ashes And Smoke
Smokescreen
A lone figure hunched over another, which lay flat on it's back. Blood mixed with the pouring rain on the ground, creating a diluted red pool around him. The man withdrew his sword from the other man's chest, before snapping his sword over his knee. He walked away, leaving to the place he called 'home'.
His home, in reality belonged to someone else. It had been abandoned after strange, unknown creatures had scared the villagers away. The man had dispatched them easily, and then claimed this place as his home.
The man's name was Jakal, his clan given name. He was a Lin Quei student, but had left to find his parent's killer. All he knew was that when he was two years old, his parents were brutally massacred, and he was taken in by a clan leader named Shido Amakura. Jakal was named Jin Amakura, and Jakal, because he worked better in a group when he fought. Alone, he became stressed, almost timid. But after finding out who had taken his family away from him, he became as bad as he, and had set out to find this despicable man.
When he found him, he showed no mercy, simply choosing to ram his sword to the hilt through the man's heart. Afterward, instead of feeling like he had avenged his family, feeling at peace evaded him. All he felt was guilt, and his health suffered as a result. He chose not to hunt for food anymore, so he grew weak. He clung onto sanity, despite it wanting to leave with the pressing issue of his stomach constantly rumbling, protesting at it's emptiness. After four days, he had to eat. He went outside, only to find a dead stag right outside his door. He drew his knife to carve it open, but jumped back after hearing chanting. Someone was there, and it only served to increase his anxiety.
Jin rounded a few corners, and felt a panic attack looming when the woman who had been chanting stopped, and looked at him. He was wide eyed, and looked away for after a few seconds. But what he did see continued to play behind his eyes when he blinked. He looked back to see that he was alone, but this woman, was she the one who killed the stag? And why hadn't he heard it die, or run?
More importantly, why did she kill it? If it were for her, then she would have taken it, surely.
Jin went back to the stag, and now found that it's hind legs had been cut off, and were inside his home, on top of the stove. He blinked several times, before checking the entire house for this mysterious woman. The house was empty, so he shrugged the evenings events off, cooked the meat, ate it and then went to bed.
Whoever the woman was, she haunted his sleep. Despite only seeing her for seconds, Jakal felt like he has looked for hours. He could remember exactly what she looked like:
Her hair was dark brown, in a low ponytail and reached her waist.
Her eyes were glittering emeralds, but around the pupil, they were milk chocolate coloured.
Her skin was a light tan colour. She had a few freckles too.
She wore an ankle length purple robe, a few gold bracelets, and around her neck was a gold necklace, with an amethyst cabochon dangling from it.
His memory was usually useless, so why did he remember her? And vividly too?
Days went by, and the only sign that the woman had ever been there was at night. Every night, around the same time, she would leave him food. Jin even stopped blinking in an attempt to see her again, but he never did. His eyes watered and stung, so he blinked and cursed internally, before going to get the dead animals to carve up outside.
Tiama had always been a shy woman. Despite being a goddess, and over 100 years old, she had never grown out of it. She wanted to speak with the man she was helping, and wanted to know him, but she would never use her telekinesis to read his mind, nor did she have the guts to speak to him. He was far too young for her anyway. He looked around 17-18.
But she felt something, gnawing away at her stomach, and plucking her heartstrings. It warmed her, made her feel pleasant and happy.
He was taller than her, but not by much. She was 5'5, he maybe, 5'7, 5'8?
His eyes were a stormy grey colour, but she could see some green mixed in there. Like a storm in the middle of a forest is how she would describe them.
His skin was fair, but not porcelain.
His hair was a lighter brown than hers, and a little long at the back.
He had not shaved in a while, and had a short beard and mustache.
He had a medium build, but Tiama could start to see some bones jutting out. His collarbone looked prominent, and his arms were getting thinner. That is why she had started bringing him food, to nourish him, and perhaps then, he would speak to her? She hoped so.
She was there, when he became a murderer. She was there, every day. Something drew her to him. His anguish and disregard for his own well-being deeply effected her, so she sent as much positive energy to him as she could. Some days, she would end up passing out from overusing her abilities when she got back to her realm.
But she would always return.
When Jin saw her a second time, it was he who ran away, unable to face her. When he got back home, he slumped against the wall of his bedroom and started to shake. This was the 7th panic attack he had experienced in a month, and they lasted for an hour or so. Part of him wanted to try and call out, maybe the woman outside would help him. But he has lost his voice, and admitting he needed help was something that he would never do.
After a long while, the woman did come upstairs, and she looked over him, with genuine concern in her eyes.
"I don't...need you. Just leave me be".
Tiama's heart lifted and she almost squealed with delight at him talking to her. His voice still had a slight higher pitch, but for the most part, it was deep and she adored the sound. She let down her guard, and read his mind unwillingly. When she flinched, Jin's eyes narrowed.
"Part of you doesn't want help, the other part needs it. Jin, you needn't be alone. I know what happened. I saw you kill, and I know why you did".
Jin put his head in his hands and started shaking it.
"How do you know all that? Just go, now".
She realised how he thought, acted. Negatively, always in a negative fashion. So she decided to use that to her advantage. Being her usual nice self would not work in this situation.
"Kill me then. You've done it before. You have it in you".
Jin laughed bitterly. "A stalker? That's all I need. Some self-righteous woman telling me what to do".
Tiama laughed quietly. "I am merely acting how you believe you should be treated. But, you must realise that self pity is pathetic. You wallow in it like a pig would mud. Pick yourself off the ground, or fall into your own abyss".
Jin realised that she knew what he was thinking and his eyes widened.
"What, what are you? A demon? And besides, I am rotten from the inside out. You couldn't hurt me if you tried".
"No demon, I am your conscience, the one part of you that you wish to bury, but it is still there. Pretending it isn't there does not mean that it will become forever lost".
Jakal put his hands on the ground, and it began to shake, like an earthquake.
"Don't play mind games with me, demon!"
He stood, putting all of his weight into his hand and went to slam it against her solar plexus. She stopped him with her telekinetic powers and he growled viciously.
"Leave! Stop playing me like your own personal puppet".
Tiama sighed and stopped using her power.
"If that is how you choose to see it, then cut the strings! The strings are the ties to the past. Free yourself. Unbind it from your soul, unravel the pain that clings to you, otherwise it will consume the tiny part of you that wants to fight, live, not just survive".
Jakal stopped using his power and grunted.
"Why bother? What do you see apart from a stupid teenager that only wants death, never to see adulthood? I don't want to wake up again. Fuck life, fuck everything. It is all screwed up anyway. I can't bear any of it. Go away before you annoy me, and I consider you a fly. I can kill, I already have, and I will swat you like a pest".
Tiama accepted defeat, but she knew she would return tomorrow. It may well be to a dead man, but at least she tried. Trying would only get her so far, he had to try too. Before she left, she whispered something that resonated with him, and he began to sob quietly.
"Someone has to care for you, and if you won't, then I will".