Next chapter's on the 2nd of February.
When I wake up again it's clearly not long after I fell asleep, Ki and Fai still talking quietly in the kitchen, Ki's eyes tracing Chun-yan's path as she potters about, setting things to right that we'd left only yesterday afternoon.
It's strange to think of that.
I shift, feeling my muscles complain just a little bit about the movement, and stand, stretching up.
Sakura is still resting against Syaoran, asleep again if the slow rise and fall of her chest is to be believed. He seems to be resting too, his head balanced on top of hers and his arm slipping from around her shoulder.
I can't help but smile a little before looking away from the two, towards the open door which shows blue sky and clouds coming closer. Scattered further off are a few people, moving towards the outskirts, carrying baskets and pots and bags. There is a look of pride to them as they move, several children with them, helping to split the loads and sloshing water a little and stepping in the puddles in delight.
Chun-yan stops near Syaoran and Sakura, eyes going briefly to me before she reaches over carefully to wake up Syaoran.
The boy starts a little then blinks at Chun-yan in confusion.
"If we go outside I have one final thing I'd like to show you before you leave." She murmurs softly, a smile dragging at her words.
The boy nods and gently begins to wake the princess, Mokona stirring before she does and joining in the efforts with much less subtlety.
Kurogane scoffs and is already halfway to the door, rolling his eyes in irritation at all the delays.
When we're all standing outside, Ki with Fai rather than Chun-yan who stands opposite us, Chun-yan smiles in the light of the now risen sun, spinning and turning to face the house again before planting her feet wide, mirror in her outstretched hands. There are a group of children and young adults behind us, eager and whispering between themselves about lessons. A little further back behind them even are a scattering of infirm adults who aren't able to help in the fields, watching over the children.
Chun-yan doesn't face us but speaks, clear and proud.
"Magic is a force which must not be messed with for selfish reasons." She says, clothes swaying in the light breeze, "My mother knew this and taught me this but I forgot. It was only these travelers here who reminded me of that. I don't want any of you to forget this."
The girl tilts her mirror and the sun catches on it, burning our sight as the garden around her house glows the same blinding white then settles everything, the silhouette gradually fading from our eyes.
The garden is lush now, crops that had been planted ready to harvest and ornamental plants well maintained. A bird, small and white, flies out from behind the building, spiralling up and out of sight. We all watch it, taken somehow by its movement.
She turns back to us all when it has finally faded into less than a speck, eyes wet as she grins. She's visually tired from channeling the energy, breathing heavily and arms weighed down by the mirror.
"This is what magic can do when used properly." She says, "This garden is mine but it's also for the whole village and for the people who can't get out to the fields to work. It's for my mother too- to thank her for watching over me for so long." She says, the last part slightly quieter and quavering though she smiles still and everyone claps, delighted, children rushing forwards to inspect it.
"We'll all visit the fields later and practise." The girl calls out, knowing that they probably aren't listening and smiling in satisfaction anyway.
The adults are slower to move, several of them shaking Chun-yan's hands and congratulating her or saying how similar she is to her mother. They don't seem to pay so much notice to us, clearly unsure what to do with five foreigners, one in a huge coat which is incredibly unsuited to the weather and holding a small rabbit.
Ki waits with us until all the people have gone and then nervously steps up to Chun-yan and wraps her arms around her. The tension goes as Chun-yan leans into her too, mirror gently placed on the ground next to her.
"You're incredible." Ki murmurs, Chun-yan pulled close. The younger girl blushes and Fai grins like a cat, humming as if he'd had no influence on the older girl's behaviour at all. It suddenly makes it quite obvious why Ki had been red while talking to him, how he'd won her over and why they'd been speaking so quietly.
I roll my eyes in amusement as the girls release each other, a hand held between them as Ki turns to stand beside Chun-yan, both red faced. Fai subtly flashes a grin towards Ki who grins back, unable to hide it.
"Thank you for taking the barrier down. We couldn't have taken the castle without it." Chun-yan says softly, "I wish I could do more to thank you…" She murmurs, looking a little embarrassed as Fai waves his hand.
"Don't worry about that! You did more than enough for us! We wouldn't have had anywhere to stay if Chun-yan-chan hadn't found us, would we Kuro-rin?" The blonde asks, looking to the rather irritated ninja who is trying his best to just grit his teeth and bear the final goodbyes before we leave.
"I will kill you if you don't shut up." The man threatens, earning his a laugh from the slightly shorter man.
Chun-yan smiles though anyway.
"I'm glad though- really glad- to have met you. I just hope that I can keep everything working alright and make my mum proud." She says softly.
Ki squeezes her hand a little, looking down at her and Chun-yan breathes again, shivering a little at the emotions going through her.
Sakura steps forwards, rubbing her eyes a little to take Chun-yan's free hand in both of her own.
"I know that you will, Chun-yan-chan." She says warmly.
Chun-yan just swallows, eyes going glassy before she blinks it away, sniffing.
"Thank you." She murmurs as Sakura releases her hand, clearly somewhat reluctant and steps back towards us.
I settle a hand on her shoulder and she smiles up at me.
"We're ready to go?" Mokona asks, hopping over me to get to Syaoran who flinches a little in surprise then laughs.
"All ready!" Fai declares for us, laughter in his voice.
At that command wind starts to gather around us, whipping our hair and clothes as light gathers below our feet. Mokona floats upwards, wings sprouting from their back as they seem to dance in the air.
"Mokona Modoki is ready to go!" The small creature declares excitedly as the blue of the sky starts to wrap around us, blocking out all other colours.
"Goodbye!" Is cried out from beyond our sight and we echo it back (aside from Kurogane).
As I look behind me to see the grumpy man I catch sight of a small group behind us, weary and beat up, who stare in shock at us, disappearing from their view.
We float for a while in a void the colour of the midday sky.
Our landing is almost as uncomfortable as the last although I am thankful for the somewhat cushioned landing of the long grass beneath me.
Someone groans and I sit up. Kurogane is pushing himself to his feet already, surveying the area quickly before he releases some of the tension he carries himself with. I stand too, watching Fai brush leaves and grass off his coat and help up Syaoran who is squashed underneath a sleeping Sakura with a laugh.
Mokona springs out from beneath them, whining about how they were going to die though they seem completely unharmed if the leap they make onto Sakura's head, curled against Fai's chest, is anything to go by.
"Where the hell are we now?" Kurogane asks, voice rough as he pulls back a branch and reveals a thickly misted canopy of trees sloping down from us. Fai peers out, Sakura carried effortlessly in his arms. He hums for a second, scanning what he can see.
"By a lake maybe?" The mage says though it sounds like a question.
The humidity here lends to the idea and that in turn explains all the oversized plants around us. The tree trunks are thick with mosses and climbing plants, crawling with bugs slightly too large for comfort which make me step back upon noticing them, away from the trunks though they are thick around us. The floor is a little easier to navigate, plants there being too small due to lack of light to hide the over-large insects among them.
Fai's humming snaps me back to the two men looking out, a slight tone of concern running through it. His gaze is directed down at Sakura.
"She's a little bit cold." He murmurs, adjusting her so that her head is resting against his shoulder and he can lay a hand on her forehead. He hums again, frowning.
At the disturbance the girl blinks, brow furrowing confusion as she makes a small noise.
"Fai-san?" She asks and looks around. Syaoran steps forwards as Fai puts her back on her own feet and she rubs her eyes, seeming a little more at ease for having seen him.
"Are you okay princess?" He asks, frowning worriedly.
She hums a little, sleepily, eyes already struggling to stay open.
"I'm just. A little bit…" She trails off as her legs go and her eyes slip closed and Syaoran is quick to grab her before she hits the ground, gently lowering her down so that he can pick her up properly.
I watch the young girl's chest rise and fall for a moment before turning my gaze away and looking out through the branches.
"I suppose we should go down then and find somewhere to stay while we're here." I say, trying to see a path down amid all the trees but finding nothing that would suggest it.
Kurogane is still looking around, arms crossed,
"Meat bun- is there even a feather around here?" He asks, tone even as he keeps scanning around us, not looking at the creature. There's a hint of confusion in it and in the soft furrow of his brow.
Mokona focuses, ears going upright and tiny paws clenching as they perch on Fai's shoulder. After a few moments they reply.
"Mokona senses a strong power down there!" They say seriously, stretching to point in the direction of the valley.
The ninja groans a little in disappointment but nods, beginning to pick a path down through the trees.
Fai chases after him, grinning.
"Kuro-chan sure is energetic!" He coos, effortlessly dodging the halfhearted swipe the weary man makes at him, "I tink that Kuro-tan is really excited to get Sakura-chan's feather back, don't you?" The blonde stage whispers to Mokona.
Kurogane growls in response, turning on his heel and glaring at the wizard.
"I just want to get the hell out of this world and back to my one!" The ninja shouts.
There's a flutter of wings in reaction, the sound scaring off what sounds like hundreds of birds, crying out as they scatter. Kurogane doesn't care though and is already stomping through the trees, clearing a path which Syaoran and I can follow even though the boy is carefully holding Sakura.
Fai titters, putting his hand on his hips and turning to Mokona with a grin.
"I think Kuro-rin is lying, don't you Mokona-chan?" He sings, putting everyone else between him and the frustrated ninja.
The man sighs heavily, still scanning the area around us as he goes. He clearly elects to pretend that he didn't hear that.
The walk is quiet, the sound of bugs flying past or birds skittering over our heads or on the ground, eyeing us curiously from a far closer distance than I'd expect. A few times we're forced to shoo them away or step over them, dealing with a few warning pecks or scratches for our trouble. They're strange, brightly coloured and easy to pick out even in the darkness of the canopy as they stare down, tilting crested heads to see us better with their beady eyes.
We don't see anything larger than about a forearm as one of the larger birds comes sweeping down and takes one of the long insects with too many legs up with it.
"Hmm..." Kurogane considers something to the side of us then reaches into a mess of climbing plants, yanking them off what looks to have been a wall at some point.
"Kuro-rin is so strong!" Chirps Fai, Mokona following as they keep chattering about how manly he is.
The man pays them no attention, crouching down to clear more plant material away. Syaoran looks really interested and crouches down beside him, resting Sakura safely down on a clear patch of the ground as he works too, carefully removing plants and brushing free dirt from what is quickly revealed between them to be the bottom part of a brick wall, the hole where there would have been a window presumably still partially there as plants tumble out of it though the plastic is discoloured and has cracks running through it.
"There haven't been any signs of people here." The tall man explains, standing back and looking at the wall.
Syaoran turns, eyes alight as he smiles.
"No- it looks like they've been gone for a long time! Perhaps hundreds of years for it to have gotten so overgrown! I wonder if-" He cuts off, flushing a little.
"Ah. I suppose it's not much use anyway." The boy says, looking down at the ruins, away from us.
"Hm? What is it?" Fai asks, carefully stepping around Sakura and draping himself over Syaoran's shoulders, still in the coat which is surely far too warm for the humidity which has left my clothes feeling damp and sweaty without them being made for much cooler and drier weather than this.
"Ah- it's just. It's not much use now." The boy protests, not pushing the older man off.
"Hmmm?" Fai prods, leaning more of his weight on the younger boy.
Syaoran relents, smiling sadly but fondly as he runs a hand over the bricks, little bits crumbling off as he does.
"I used to be an archaeologist back home." He tells us.
Fai straightens up, curious.
"In the world Sakura-chan and you are from, right?" He asks and then after a longer moment, "What's an archaeologist?" He looks at the remnants of a building as if they'll remind him what the word might mean. He frowns a little as Syaoran looks up at him, puzzled and that's when I realise that the man really doesn't know.
Syaoran turns, blinking slightly in confusion as Kurogane groans pointedly at yet another disruption to our journey.
"Ah- yeah. Clow country. An archaeologist is someone who studies the past through things like old buildings and fossil and bones." He explains simply.
Fai's frown deepens as he stares at the overgrown piece of wall intently.
"Syaoran-kun is really cool!" Mokona chirps excitedly, hopping over into the boy's hands. He laughs a little, smiling at the compliment.
After a while Fai speaks again.
"You mean that you can know things about the past by looking at old stuff?" He asks, confused.
Syaoran nods.
"Yeah- it helps when there are people around who know some little bits of it or when the things you're looking at are well preserved but it's really cool what you can learn from looking at things in the right way." The boy says, voice soft as he looks at the ruins again fondly. Fai turns to look at him, eyes unusually sharp.
"But what about books? Don't you just have books telling you what things were like before you were around?" He asks, still seeming genuinely confused.
"I mean- I guess so- if there are books. Where we're from there aren't any records remaining of the times that came before us so that means that we have to look at old things to see if we can learn what happened and then write books about it so that other people can know." The boy explains.
Fai hums, expression clearing a little as he puts a finger to his lips, thinking.
"So you don't have written records left so you have to look at other records?" He asks, looking to the boy for approval.
Syaoran nods, smiling and Mokona once again enthuses about how cool he is, resulting in a bit of a blush this time.
"Ah- it's just something my dad did and I learned it from him. I want to be as good as he was one day and finish his last project when I've got the princess' memories back." He says determinedly, smiling warmly as the girl asleep on the floor.
Fai contemplates this for a while as Mokona asks Syaoran questions about the building and the boy answers them enthusiastically, soon wandering inside the wall after clearing a bit of a path over it. There's a soft hush as he falls through the foliage but the talking doesn't stop.