As time went on she was able to speak softly again however it was hard to do so. She had to keep clearing her throat and coughed up mucus. The girl said small things to her here and there but, for whatever reason, she wouldn't tell her her name.
Lady Mayumi began to call her Rin to herself in her head. She had always liked that name and when she regained a bit of her voice the girl would respond to the name so it stuck.
Rin asked her who had killed their families. Lady Mayumi didn't miss a beat responding that it was bandits and thieves, evil men, and bad people. It was easier to explain it that way to her instead of the intricate politics of the why and the how.
Why tell her that sometimes the monsters were closer to you than you knew? That the ones you shouldn't trust are the ones who come to you with smiles and extended hands. No, as much as it hurt to know the truth she would not ruin that for Rin.
Even after everything they had been through, that Rin had seen, she wanted her to still have a normal life as possible and part of that would be the ability to trust others. It was natural for children to fear bandits and other things that lurked in the shadows.
So the young Lady lied to her telling herself it was to protect her. As a few weeks went by their meager rations were running low.
Lady Mayumi knew that she had to figure out a way to get more food, the small amount the girl could forage from the forest was not much. Rin had seemed to enjoy teaching her how to find food in the bushes and on the ground but she didn't trust herself enough to do it on her own.
She overheard a discussion about the older woman who had given her the tea, she bought and sold women's hair. Lady Mayumi had never heard of such a thing.
She sat by the lake next to the hut and let loose her own long locks. She ran a hand through the light brown hair and sighed.
It was a quick affair. She was offered a small amount of rice and dried fish that would see them through for a while as long as she portioned it out.
She wrapped her head in a rag tying it in the front to hide the terribly short hair that now just clung to her head. She didn't want to acknowledge it. It was stupid after everything they had been through, but she still wept after Rin fell asleep.