Honestly, I'm relieved that the Awakening is rather quiet when I need it. She kept her tears muffled as best she could. It was hard, since I know those tears. They are the ones I cried as I ran from my burned home. The loss of parents, family, the life one had known - those are very hard. I couldn't deny her the time to grieve.
The wind brings to me where the walls are that surround the river. Most of the time there is only the tunnel of the cave. I brought a long pole with me that I use to make sure we stay in the middle of the cave, or move us to the left or right if the roof comes down too low. I'm rather tall and because I'm standing I'd rather not hit my head. The Awakening sat and that helps.
Her breath catches. She's been quiet for a bit now, but now her breathing changes to one of fear again. I wonder what she'll do next. [Worried words I can't understand,] but she's motioning between us and I can feel that motion of the air.
"Yes, we're fine," I try to reassure her. Darkness doesn't scare me. Only I scare me. And she scares me, a quiet whisper says in the back of my head I try to ignore, although it's true. Until I understand what and who she is, she'll scare me, too.
She tries to relax again, but I can tell she's feeling the weight of where we are, and the darkness, too much. I want her to stay quiet...and I want to reward her for being quiet so far. I need the quiet very badly right now.
I reach down for the torch I'd made early from the smaller roots I'd cut off one of the logs. Using my power over fire, I light the end of it. When I look down at her, she's staring in amazement at what I've done. Well, that's as unusual in her world as it is here, then. I hand her the torch. She takes it without fear. That is different. Normally no one would have touched it after watching me (or anyone) do something like that.
"[Thank you,]" her words are pretty obvious, if not ones I know. I turn away, thinking that's all, but she keeps going. I turn back in surprise. [Words I don't know,] then the last one is repeated again, and she's pointing at herself. "[Noriko. Noriko Taichiki. And you are?]" At least I assume that's the final question.
I blink at her, not quite sure how to respond. Are we to go on to familiarity already? I'm sure I'm not ready, but...it isn't kind to continue to think of her as an object, a thing that is of prophecy, when she's obviously a living human being.
"The Awakening is supposed to be something that drives the world into turmoil." I can't look at her. I'm trying to work it out for myself. "I didn't expect the Awakening would ask for my name in such a friendly way." I take a breath. "My name is Izark. Izark Kia Tarj, Noriko." Her name rolls off my tongue strangely. I'm not sure I want her calling mine.
She does anyway. "[Thank you,] Izark." She points to the torch. "[Thank you for the light,] Izark."
I can only give her a nod and return to my wandering thoughts and protecting us from the walls that we both can see now. I don't think about what it makes me feel to have her call my name. She was being grateful for my kindness. That's how people properly get along. She's at least polite. That's also a relief.
-o-o-o-
Every now and again Noriko makes a sound of appreciation that brings my attention back from the wind. The walls of a larger cave opening - which I had been exploring by wind to see if it had any openings to the surface - are sparkling in the torchlight. For a time my eyes are also captivated by the sight. Even I didn't know they could do that. One time she giggles and waves the torch back and forth. It takes a bit for me to see she's playing with the shadow of a pair of stalagmites and stalactites. It makes me smile to see it, too.
In little ways like this she's showing me who she is. To know that she can appreciate simple natural beauty without coveting it, that she can play in simple ways and find a way to laugh in the middle of unhappy circumstances, these are actually rather large to me. In my world, those are rare, unless one is very young and unaffected by the adults around them as of yet. She isn't that young. I wonder just how young she is. She has the air of a dependent to her, of being sheltered, for all she has creative intelligence and understanding.
Being willing to be helpful is good also. The lazy and indolent are often unkind and prideful. I haven't seen either of those in her yet, but she could have been by now. It whispers to me that this might not be as bad as I believe it could be. I don't want to hear that, though. I don't want her here at all and my heart hurts for the both of us that she has to be. I'm glad we can't talk. I would likely end up saying things that would hurt her, because she doesn't know, doesn't understand.
I turn away from my thoughts again, seeking for what's coming next. I don't like it suddenly. The wind brings me the sound of great rushing waters. This river has been silent until now. Rushing waters means a change in the elevation of the river, and that's not likely a good thing for us. I'm relieved when the wind also brings word that before that point is open space again. I will have to hope we can find a way out from there.
It's coming up fast, as the river moves that way. I can't give Noriko warning in time, so she has to bear with me grabbing her up again and leaping from the raft to land on rock. Again, it's my shoulder into her gut since I needed to grab up the bags in my other hand. I'm hoping to not have to do it that way ever again. I don't like it any more than she does.
I put her down immediately and look around the cave. It's quite large actually, with a tall fall of rock to our right and, thank goodness, a tunnel going up to our left in the back of the cave. It leads far enough away the wind can't tell me if that leads out or not. I'll need to explore.
We can't stay here. The puddle in the middle of the floor just to our closer left says that at spring floods, this room also floods. We won't have to worry about that today. "I'll need you to stay here while I find the way out," I tell Noriko, pointing to the floor, trying to get across she's to stay here.
The air flow is so faint that if she's with me her scent will hide the scent of the outdoors. We'll get out faster if I can leave her here. I also can't feel by air where the walls are. I only made the one torch and she'll have to wait in the dark, for all I'm sorry for it.
I hold out my hand for the torch. She shakes her head and hands me my bag instead. She tugs on the front of her dress. "[Word.] Noriko [word]." She reaches out and takes hold of the front of my jacket lightly. "Izark [clothes]." She points to my bag. "Izark [clothes word] Noriko?" She points to herself again.
Yes, she is intelligent, to already understand her clothes will make her stand out once we get out of here. I could leave her here to die and if someone found her they would wonder at that, too. I'm kicking myself for thinking that thought as I look her over. I haven't got anything to fit her, but...perhaps what I wear when the nights are too cold. It will be too much, but it's simple.
I nod and get into my bag, pulling out the simple pants and shirt. Anyone will also wonder at them as well, but it's enough if I can say I found her with her clothing ragged enough she needed anything until we could get to a shop. I sigh to myself. I'm not going to like that expense. I've not worked the past month as I worked to get here alone.
Ah, I grab her shoulder and motion for the torch again. She's headed behind the tall rocks, but she's going to have her hands full. They're full now and we don't need her to drop the torch, then drop into the river in the dark.
She looks irritated, looks at her bundles, then sighs and hands me the torch. She covers her eyes with the now-free hand, then scowls at me. I can't help the laugh, though I keep it silent. Like I want to peep at a young thing like her. I pick up my bag and walk to the wall and lean against it. I drop the bag at my feet and cross one foot over the other to make it obvious I'll stay put so she can see what she's doing. That satisfies her and she heads behind the rock fall.
I don't need to see her anyway, when I have the wind to tell my ears what she's doing, and my nose. Some sounds are unusual, but the pungent smell is not. I make the wind go away from me for a bit until I hear a splash into the river. That makes me think, though. It would be best if I also took care of that while we're here by the river. She's where she won't see me, also. That may become problematic later, but I'll worry about it at that later time. Does she even know how to use the restroom out in the wild? Well...I guess she just taught me she does to some degree. We'll see, I suppose.
I wonder many things while waiting for her. She takes her time, or so it seems to my impatient self that wants to be going. When she finally comes out from around the rock, I'm a bit dismayed. It's no wonder she took so long. The pants are rolled up many times, the pant waistband rolled down, the sleeves rolled up until the cuffs are as thick as heavy winter fur coat cuffs would be, and the shirt is pleated under the tie.
Even still it's way too large for her. I'm skinny, but not skinny enough for her to not drown in my clothing. I shake my head, but I know there isn't anything for it but to find clothes to fit her, and we can't do that until we get out of here.
She's still in her socks and shoes, but I don't complain for now. If we come across sharp rocks in these caves, she'll need them and I don't have extra shoes. She also still has her bag, but I won't complain about that yet either. It took her enough strength just to get rid of her clothes. Little by little, faster than she wants, she is losing her world and all ties to it. I understand this. It will still have to go, eventually.
Noriko walks straight up to me and holds out her hand. When I lift my bag, she shakes her hand and motions for it. I raise my eyebrow at her. The expression on her face is determined, but the tears are still in her eyes as she frowns, trying to prevent them. How can I say no to a face like that? If it will bring her comfort to think I'll come back for her because I'll come back for things, then I'll let her keep the bag. I don't need it for what I'm doing anyway.
I drop the straps of my bag over her beseeching hand and leave. I can't stay in front of that face. My angry fear wants to leave her here, where she couldn't get out and no one would find her, so it isn't a lie that I might do it. I don't like seeing that in myself, even if it would be another way to escape my fate.
-o-o-o-
It takes me a long time to find the way out. It's a long way up through many meandering maze-like caves, and I'll have to create the opening we pass through. The air comes in from the outside only through very small cracks in the wall. I hope Noriko will have the stamina to make the climb. It isn't as hard to get back to her, since I can follow my own trail back.
I've spent the time trying to focus on the elusive air, and having to drag my thoughts back again and again from the situation I've found myself in. My mind goes around in the same unproductive circles it always has, only now with more anxiety because of more unknowns than before. I only know now that the Awakening is a girl, and only I know that she's polite. The rest is all the same. So I'd rather not think about it.
If only I could face this as a new job. I have someone new to protect and get to where she needs to go, and then I can move on. It's not going to be that easy, but...I wish I could think of it that way.
When I arrive back in the lower river cavern, Noriko is sitting against the wall where I left her. Her eyes turn to me and say she wishes she wasn't still there, the same as I wish she still wasn't there. If it could have been a shared dream that we could wake up from, that would be nice. Our eyes part and I sigh. I'm startled slightly, then have to smile. I don't look at her, though. Sharing that thought, and even the sigh, is a commonality we can't deny.
My angry mind wants to reject that we can have things in common, that we share even that much camaraderie, but other parts of me are glad for it. I may walk with others, but sharing things in common with them is rare, and treasured.
I sigh at myself and join her. She points to her mouth, then her stomach. Her words are likely a complaint of hunger. I nod and trade her the torch for my bag. I've only got a little to snack on and we've got a long way to go to get to real food anywhere. I wonder what time it was in her day when she was dragged here. How different is her world?
My eye catches her bag, where it had been underneath mine, which is warm as if she's only recently come from resting on it again. Likely she slept, only having the dark for company. I point to her bag, then the river. It needs to go while we're here, so it can stay hidden from the rest of the world.
She wants to frown. She picks up the bag, along one long side, oddly, and opens it. It has things in it. She points to my bag. I give a half-hearted nod. I can understand she'd like to keep things important to her, if she has anything with her that could be considered such.
We each sit near each other. When I've pulled out my bag of dried berries and seeds for her, she's already put one thing back into her bag and is studying the next item. I'll wait to give her the food for now. She's focused.
A thin book with a soft cover is put down outside the bag, near me. It has an odd spiral of metal along one side to hold the pages together. It will have to be hidden, but maybe she can keep it. She opens an odd box, looks at the things in it, taking inventory, then puts it with the book.
I pick it up and open it like she did. It's smooth to the touch and the fastener odd. Inside are things similar enough to what is in this world - things to write with. These things also can be replaced, but they're small things she can hold on to for now.
There's the sound of tearing then another of the same sort of books is in the little pile in front of me. Pages already written on in a strange language go into her bag. She wants to be able to write. Perhaps that's one of the ways she hopes to find comfort in this strange world she's suddenly in. I wonder.
A strange looking thing is next, but when she uses it to brush her hair, I understand. She pulls her short hair back and puts it up to be out of her way for now. I don't think it helped much. Her short bangs are still in her face, but, then, that is also like me. I also have long bangs that hang in my face that my bandanna can't hold back.
The brush is odd enough it will have to go, but it also can wait until we find a shop. I can feel my thin coins already slipping through my fingers and they aren't even in my hands yet. Can she earn her own? I wonder.
Two small things are next. She studies them, then moves to put them into her bag, but I've recognized one of them. I reach for the small round glass in a strange setting that reflects the light and the world around us. Noriko lets me have it. It's like the mirrors of the seers. Is she a seer? I put it on the floor and try to ask her with gestures more than words. Noriko ponders until she shakes her head and says words that seem to say she isn't one. I'm not sure I've gotten my question across properly.
She tries again and nothing in what she does says she would know how to use a mirror as a focus to see the present or the future. It's possible that isn't a skill on her world, although she seems to understand what one might be. It would have been helpful if she had been. We could stay away from pursuit better if we knew it was coming. When she puts it back into the bag again, I don't complain. It's one less thing to carry and have to hide, even if it is small.
The final thing to be picked up is something so odd, I can't even conceive what it is. Two books, a box of writing things, and a brush are sufficient, I think. I'm sure we don't have a replacement for whatever this last thing is, but it can't come just for that reason. She puts it on the pile in front of me.
I shake my head and put it on top of her bag. She looks back firmly at me, for the second time since we met. For all she is frightened and weak, there are times she will stand up to me. I push that, to see how far she'll go. She has to be able to obey me or she might be killed. Outside this cave is dangerous for her.
When she reaches for the thing again, I bat her hand away from it, frown and shake my head. You can't bring it. What will she do?
Noriko breathes out an exasperated breath and looks at me, frustrated. I don't relent. She narrows her eyes, willing to fight even harder. What will I learn about the Awakening this time?
