Hum, hum, hum

Hakoda's eyes opened from the unending blackness with a sudden movement of the head, and he stared upward, just as he had when he had slipped into the dark.

Hum, hum, hum

The sky above him was… swirling. It twisted and turned and bubbled, a funny brownish-green translucent color. A humming rush sound filled his ears, almost painfully, but he was completely relaxed. He sucked in a deep breath, surprised at how easy his lungs filled. The air was cold as it entered him, chilling him to the core. He breathed again, steadying his breath to an even in and out pace, listening to the thrumming in his ears. Where was he?

Hum, tick, tick, crack

The humming was pierced by the sounds of skittering. Hakoda turned his head to the side in search of the noise. A stone drifted past his feet, knocking other pebbles and heavier rocks out of the way, carried by an invisible current.

Oh, He thought calmly, taking another sudden deep breath, I'm underwater.

It was then, and only just then, that he began to drown. The water crept into his lungs, seemingly seeping through his pores into the fleshy organs that supplied him air. More stones rolled by as he struggled to raise his body upward to swim towards the surface, but another invisible force, almost like the one before, held him back. A burning pain began to fill his abdomen, working its way through each individual rib all the way to his throat, cutting off his air supply. He could only raise his head an inch from the bottom where his head rested, and his arms and legs were paralyzed. The edges of his vision began to blur together in darkness.

And just like before, the barrier was gone. Hakoda rushed to the surface, expected to spit and vomit water like he had before, but instead he sucked in a lung full of air and the burning was gone. It was as though he hadn't just nearly drowned. He felt perfectly fine, save for the profuse huffing he was doing.

He was sitting in a creek. Clear, cold waters rushed over his legs and torso, carrying stones down the stream where it disappeared behind the bend of a tree. Hakoda was in shock. He was already dead, and he nearly drowned?

"Hey!" A cranky voice from behind him said, "Get out of my creek!"

Hakoda whipped around to the sound. Behind, standing on a tree root in front of a room carved into a tree trunk, about three feet away, was a monkey-like creature. It was sitting in lotus position, its thick, white fur sticking out in every direction. It was clad in a draped red robe, held over the shoulder by an orange clasp. Around its neck was long string of cockle shells.

"W-what?" Hakoda choked, frozen in place.

"I said," The spirit ground out, standing and glaring at him, its furry hands in fists at his side, "Get out of my creek. You're disrupting my meditation."

Hakoda pushed himself up, frightened by the spirits angry tone. He stood in the creek, letting the water rush over his feet and ankles.

"Where am I?" He asked, "How did I get here?"

"Who cares?" The spirit sneered, "You are still in my creek!"

Hakoda flinched as the spirit yelled, its spittle hitting him in the face, "I-I'm sorry, sir, I just-"

The spirit pointed to the other side of the bank and leaned in close, "Out!"

Hakoda turned and scrambled, splashing some water up on his face to wash off the spittle as he went. He climbed out of the creek on the other side, tripping onto his face as he went. Standing again, he turned back around to face the spirit. Maybe if he could find out where he was he could find out how he'd gotten there and where Lues was.

"Excuse me?" He called. The spirit was sitting back in lotus, its eyes closed.

The spirit cracked open an eye when he spoke, glaring again, "What?"

Hakoda swallowed, "Did you happen to see a man here? Dark cloak, black hair?"

The spirit huffed and closed its eye again, sinking lower into its lotus position, but after a moment it tipped its head to the side and looked thoughtful, "I suppose I did see a man in a cloak with dark hair." The spirit opened its eyes pointed behind Hakoda, "Very, very, very far in that direction. You should go there."

Hakoda scowled, realizing just how helpful this spirit was going to be. He sighed; Lues needed him for something- wait…

"Hey spirit!" He called again, making a point to cup his hands around his mouth and make the sound louder.

The spirit growled a little bit. He put his hands on his thighs, elbows up, and glared at him, "What?! You are disrupting my meditation!"

Hakoda rolled his eyes, feeling bold, "Yes, I know, but I'm afraid that needs to wait for just a few moments. Have you seen Lues, spirit of pestilence?"

The spirit glared for a moment more, but the glare broke and he rolled his eyes. Returning to his lotus position, he closed his eyes.

"I am not a map, you fickle mortal soul."

Hakoda scowled deeper, "Well I am in need of assistance, and you are the only one I can see at the moment who could possibly help me."

The spirit cracked and eye open, "Walk where I pointed too then. Lues always turns up when he needs to."

Hakoda took a deep breath. Finally, some cooperation.

"Thank you for-"

The spirit grew angry again, whipping his head around to face him, "No! No speak! You wanted to know how to find Lues and I told you, now go! Stop disrupting my meditation."

Hakoda closed his mouth with a snap and turned around, stomping through the underbrush. He was in a forest now. That blasted spirit, he just needed help and it got offended. Hakoda sighed. He had been intruding a bit, so he supposed it was not without reason that the spirit had grown frustrated. He walked for a while. The trees grew thicker as he walked; standing only a few feet apart from one another, and the brush began to tangle around his ankles and threaten to trip him.

He was battling a rather feisty one that had strangled his right foot when a deep chuckle came from behind him. He turned quickly. Lues was leaning against a tree, grinning.

"It seems," He said, sounding amused, "That you have managed to enrage Naka."

Hakoda growled, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Lues pushed off of the tree, snapping his fingers. The vines around Hakoda's foot retracted, slipping back to the underbrush where they came from, "Naka, the monkey spirit you spoke with earlier. Such a story behind him, really, it's amusing."

Hakoda frowned, "His name is Naka?"

"Yes," Lues said. He reached forward and brushed a piece of bark from Hakoda's tunic, "It means medium. He is a psychic."

"In life he was the advisor of an emperor. Said emperor was having an affair on his wife, and Naka was sworn to secrecy."

Hakoda raised an eyebrow, "So?"

Lues chuckled, "He could not lie to the queen, so he told her about it, and she killed herself. In repent the emperor had him beheaded before his court for treason, and cursed him to a single place in the spirit world for the rest of eternity. That is why he is so impatient."

Lues withdrew his hand and folded it behind his back. Hakoda's eyebrow remained raised.

"And you're telling me this why?"

Lues' smile grew wider, "Because life leaves marks in this after world. It can poison."

Lues moved past him, walking forward. He shot him a look over his shoulder, "Just fruit for thought. I am here to do my business with you know, so if you may follow me?"

Hakoda stared at Lues back as he walked away. Business, he needed him for something. He sighed and jogged to catch up with him. He had been here the whole time specifically for this reason, and all he had done was beat around the bush, or rather been beaten around the bush, since he had arrived. He fell into pace just behind Lues, looking at the man's back as they walked.

They walked in companionable silence for a while, before Lues came to an abrupt stop. They were in front of a field. It was not dark like the forest, but the sun was shining on it, and it carried on for miles. It was filled with flowers. Red one, pink ones, blues one, tall and small, they filled it all the way, there wasn't a single spot not occupied by a flower.

"What are we doing here?" Hakoda asked, inhaling the sweet scent that assaulted his nostrils.

Lues looked at him, his yellow eyes swirling again, "This is where we will hash out our business." He looked out across the field, "Here is where I find I can make the best points. It's a peaceful place."

Lues stepped into the field. As a person who lived in the water tribes, where no vegetation save for ice herbs like yarrow grew, Hakoda had a deep appreciation for plants, and he found himself worrying that Lues would crush a flower should he step on it, but that was not the case. The stems bent away from Lues' foot, avoiding from getting destroyed. Hakoda felt his eyes widen as he watched Lues take another step, and the flowers bent away.

Lues cast a glance over his shoulder, "Are you coming or not? I know you're curious as to what I have to say."

Hakoda chewed the inside of his cheek. Looking at the ground, he hesitantly allowed his foot to hover over the flowers. Lowering it slowly, the flower stems bent away from his foot, allowing him access to the cool ground. He lifted his foot back up. The flower stems straightened back up, standing tall.

With a deep breath, Hakoda put his foot down again and followed Lues into the field.