KK: I'm writing this at school write now. Omg, my dad typed up my last thing, so now if I ever get carpel tunnel again, I can just have him type it up and post it. He's the best. I now have a penname on fictionpress.com (ff.net's sister site). It's LittleShaherizad. I haven't written anything for it yet, but I may someday. Sry I've been so long in updating. Writer's block, homework, and another story have preoccupied me for a while. Enjoy the show!!
Chapter 4: A Day in the Life
Etsuki walked in a line with the women and girls. She was in front of Yama and behind Anya. They were heading out into a large forest to help care for some docile animals. Etsuki wondered if docile in this place actually meant "couldn't take your head off but would do its best to try." The plants in the forest seemed determined to just that.
Finally they made it to the cage where the animals were kept. Etsuki was shocked to see that what they were going to care for were large, palomino horses. The horses were easily twice to three times the size of normal ones. They tossed their long mains, swished their tails, and pawed at the ground irritably. Etsuki couldn't help but glance up warily into the eyes of one particularly ferocious looking one; it's bright blue eyes rolled down to meet hers and she looked away.
"You will be feeding and grooming these magnificent beasts," the leader demon said, indicating a huge pile of hay and large horse brushes.
Most of the girls exchanged apprehensive but excited glances, but Etsuki looked at the floor. "I've never taken care of a horse before in my life."
"Partner up with me," Sume replied, "I'll help you and show you what to do."
Though the horses were large and looked ferocious, they were really quite gentle. The ladies fed the horses first. Then, while the horses ate, the climbed up onto ladders so that they could brush the long flowing mains glistening fur. The ladies split up into teams of four; two people would brush the legs while the other two brushed the backs. Etsuki and Yama's horse seemed more interested in them than in its food, and it nearly knocked Etsuki off its back when it swung its head to study them.
The girls worked for two hours until the horses looked spotless. The demons motioned them down and led them out of the cage. Many were reluctant to go, but at a flash of the demons' weapons they quickly hoped down and left without a word. No one talked on the way back, but Etsuki could see many of the younger girls glance back, eyes shining.
'I would have thought these girls would hate being here,' she thought, 'After all, they're separated from their families and friends. But they seem to enjoy themselves. Either that or they're really good actresses. Maybe this isn't really that bad. Maybe Sume's wrong.' In fact, Etsuki noticed, Sume was the only one who didn't show some sort of happy emotion. She was looking dejectedly at the ground, but no one seemed to care.
When they reached the cave where they lived, they were shepherded in through a side door and the guards left. Everyone immediately split into their own groups; Etsuki noticed that Sume walked away from everyone toward a large waterfall in the far back corner of the exhibit.
"What's wrong with her?" Etsuki asked Kowa.
"Well," said Kowa, "About a month ago, Sume accused Yama of being a demon spy. Sume said she had proof, but no one believed her. She said Yama was ideal for a spy because Yama was here first and seemed to know a lot about what was going on. Yama kicked her out of the group and forbade anyone to speak to Sume, or to even go near where she lived again. Sume moved to the waterfall over there, because she figure that was far enough away to keep Yama from hurting her."
"Yama has enough power to banish people from the group?" Etsuki asked in shock.
"Oh yah. Yama was the first one here; that's not a lie. And she protects us from the demons if they get out of hand or if we do something that upsets them. But she doesn't help Sume anymore. And she says she wont help anyone who's friendly to Sume. The demons are scary, so no one wants to fight them alone."
Etsuki looked over at Sume, who had climbed up the long wall of rocks up to a ledge over the waterfall and was sitting down on it. Her side was to Etsuki, one leg drawn up with arms around it and the other one dangling over the edge. She was staring off into space. It wasn't really that far away, but far enough, Etsuki supposed, to have the falling water drown out the sounds from the main group. Etsuki had had a chance to study the poor woman earlier that day, and she had noticed that her arms and legs had many bruises and scratches on them. A large gash ran from Sume's upper chin to her nose; it looked like it could have been made by a sharp claw or talon. As Etsuki watched her now, Sume turned. Etsuki was startled to see the light glint of a single silver tear that slid its way down Sume's cheek.
"Hey, Etsuki!" Yama yelled, braking through the woman's thoughts, "Come take a bath with us. You need to be looking your best for when the guests arrive." Etsuki could almost see the playful smile tugging at Yama's lips.
Etsuki turned toward a large, blue water pond that sat behind many large rocks and ferns at the front of the exhibit. Some of the younger girls were already splashing around, and Etsuki was happy to join them. She and the others stripped down to their underwear and played around in the water. Then they washed their cloths and set them out to dry. They were telling each other stories of their lives back home (fully clothed) when the first demons began to arrive.
It took Etsuki by surprise to see a three-horned, red-skinned demon mother with her two you children clinging to either hand. They looked harmless enough. Etsuki was reminded fondly of her monthly trips with Katie to the zoos in America; in Japan they never had time to go.
"This really isn't that bad," she murmured more to herself than to anyone else.
"No," Kowa responded and played with her hair, "It really isn't."