chapter three– jad

Yuki leaned heavily on Ikuza. Her right leg has been wounded badly enough that she couldn't walk on it and still expect it to heal well, so Ikuza had insisted that she use him as her crutch. She had been going to use her halberd, which was now slung across her back.

It hadn't taken much insisting, as it hurt her to walk on it, and top-heavy weapons do not make good walking sticks.

They had arrived at Jad late that morning, and as the sun rose higher into the sky, they straggled around looking for a healer. It was late afternoon, now, and none were to be found. There were no healers in Jad, as better pay and more reward was found where there was war.

Many people had suggested they go to Wendel, an idea which Yuki was growing increasingly fond of.
When the sun started to set, and darkness to envelop the land, Yuki dragged Ikuza into a tavern and ordered a lot of meat for herself.

"How are you going to pay for all of this?" Ikuza asked, while Yuki ate ravenously.

Yuki swallowed what she was chewing on, and wiped her muzzle with a piece of cloth that passed for a napkin. "Do you think I'm broke? How did we get passage on that ship?"

Ikuza looked down at the table, blushing slightly from embarrassment. "I didn't think about it. I'm sorry, Yuki."

"There's nothing to apologize for." Yuki glanced at her food, and then up at Ikuza. "...you are a very strange vampire. Do you want anything to eat?"

"No... thank you... I don't eat." Ikuza said, still staring at the table.

Yuki exhaled, a loud huunh sound, and quickly finished what was left of her food. She stood, and paid the barkeep, and then headed out the door, leaning on the walls and tables as needed. Ikuza got up and followed her, moving with all the grace and speed of a shy black cat.

Yuki was standing outside of the door, framed in the light from inside the tavern. It made her fur shine golden, and the bloodstained bandages on her leg were black in the night. "I think we should leave for Wendel tonight."

Ikuza nodded assent.

"All right, then. Let's go." Yuki hobbled a few steps before Ikuza caught up with her and put her arm around his shoulders.

They made their way out of the gates of Jad, into the Rabite Forest.

It did not live up to its name– as they traveled down the well-worn dirt road, they saw only one Rabite, huddled sleeping under a bush. The night was silent, save for the incessant chirping of crickets and calls of night birds.

Neither Ikuza nor Yuki saw any need to break the silence, and so they did not.

They walked until something screamed, and sent the night birds and the crickets into stunned stillness. Ikuza set into a run, Yuki hobbling behind, trying to move as fast as she could without breaking open her wound.

When she caught up with Ikuza, he was crouched next to a girl, who was sitting against him and shaking and crying quietly, choking back sobs. Ikuza gently put his hand on her forehead– she was hot to his touch, like she was burning with fever.

"Don't touch me!" the girl shrieked, and pulled away from him. She crawled into the shadows beneath a tree and sobbed. Yuki hobbled over. The girl was tall, not at as tall was Yuki or Ikuza but still tall for a girl of her apparent age. Her hair would have been the golden color of wheat in the light, but in the night it was a pale silvery gold. The dress she was wearing was a fine weave, and even with the dirt muting it the colors were vibrant. She was wearing a amber-stone necklace, and the amber shone with inner fire, even in the darkness.

"What's wrong?" Yuki said, softly.

"Nothing... nothing... oh, Goddess, I need to get to Wendel..." The girl ceased crying and wiped away her tears with a sleeve of her dress.

Yuki sat down. "We're going to Wendel as well. Do you want to travel with us?"

The girl nodded. "I would appreciate that..."

"Good!" Yuki said, cheerfully. "My name is Yuki, and that is Ikuza."

"I am..." The girl hesitated. "I am Mizumi-Hi."

Yuki stood, leaning on her halberd. Ikuza joined them and offered to help Mizumi up. She accepted, graciously, and Ikuza found it odd that when he touched her hand it was not burning with fever. He wondered if he had imagined it.

Yuki waited for Ikuza, and then all three of them set off. Neither Ikuza nor Yuki noticed the fine gray ashes that were scattered around where Mizumi had been sitting.

"Why are you traveling alone, through this forest?" Yuki asked Mizumi as they walked.

"Don't ask me that, and I'll not ask what a wounded beastwoman is doing, traveling with a vampire." Mizumi said. Ikuza flinched nervously.

"Fair enough." Yuki said, a little annoyed by Mizumi's suddenly arrogant manner.

"Why were you crying?" Ikuza asked, quietly, as usual.

"...I..." Mizumi glanced at Ikuza. "I was scared."

"Of what?"

Mizumi shook her head, trying to clear her mind of unpleasant memories. "Nothing."

"I see."

No one spoke for a while, until they came to a cave-like corridor, the entrance to the Cave of Waterfalls. One side was a moss-grown cliff, and the other dropped off into a crystal-clear lake. Waterfalls cascaded down into the lake from the overhanging cliff. The only sound was the rush of the water and the three travelers breathing.

Yuki made them stop before they entered the cave.

"Tomorrow is the Mana Holy Day." Yuki sat down, crosslegged, and leaned against the cliff wall. "The monsters inside sleep on that day, so unless you want to fight your way through, I suggest we wait until morning."
Ikuza sat down beside her, and put his head on Yuki's shoulder. He was asleep before she could say anything about it.

Mizumi glanced at the cave mouth nervously, and then sat as well. She glared at Yuki for a while, until Yuki fell asleep as well. The she sat, and watched the waterfalls cascade down in the starlight until it was dawn.