Feathers of Love
Chapitre Twenty-two: The Returning
"Are we soul mates or twins?" Haku thought as he flew towards Zeniba's house. "But we do not look like each other, and everything is different, from temperament to character…unless we are really soul mates?" He turned his head to look at Sen, who was trying to keep awake and stay balanced, holding the harp at the same time. "No, I will think about that later on…I guess I better land, or else Sen will fall asleep and drop off my back…"
At this, Haku flew down towards a tree which he had spotted in the distance. Sen was jolted into awareness due to the speed that Haku increased. She looked blurrily at her surroundings before she realized that Haku was heading towards a tree.
"Are we going to rest at that tree? I thought that you wanted to reach Zeniba's place before we rest?" Sen asked.
Haku tried speaking with his mind. "You are going to fall asleep on my back soon and if you are not careful, you will fall off my back."
Obviously, Sen was surprised when she heard this in her mind. She tried it too. "Well, I guess you are right in some ways…I really am tired, but are you sure you want to land here? Yubaba might wake up."
"I am sure that Yubaba will not wake up, but really, you need your rest. And thanks to you, I was healed, so I should protect you for the time being…"
"…Arigato!" Haku landed in front of the tree. Sen slid down the dragon's back and started looking for branches to light a fire. The temperature was cold and she did not want to freeze and get sick. When the fire was lighted, she sat against the tree trunk and looked at the starry sky. The moon was rising slowly and it was very beautiful. It was a full moon. However, Haku was not happy about it. He cursed.
"What's the matter? Don't you like full moons?" Sen asked, frowning. Her question was answered when Haku changed into a wolf. It was brown in colour and it was huge. But, Haku was displeased with it.
"Are you all right? Why do you change into a wolf?" Sen asked. Then she understood. "You change into a wolf when the moon is full?"
"Yes, and at that time, I do not have powers to protect you. I am weak and I will not be able to use my magical powers. Besides, I am to be a wolf until the moon is not full any more. Argh!"
"You know, Haku, you shouldn't be like that. This is what you are born to be, and besides, even if you are weak, I will protect you!" Sen said out loud. She was surprised when she spoke and broke the peaceful silence; for she thought that she was speaking in her mind.
"Luckily, it is only for one night…but usually, if I am unlucky, people will attack me, thinking that I am a monster, which I am one…"
"Why should you be so sad? Unless your parents…?"
"My mother is a human, but my father is a demon with a human body, but can change into any animal he wishes to be."
"I see, but I think that you love your parents, right?" Sen asked sleepily.
"Yeah, I do."
Sen did not hear Haku's answer, for she had fallen asleep against the tree trunk. Haku smiled, and thought, "I'll protect you no matter what. Thanks for healing me when I most needed help…arigato!" With this, Haku kept a lookout for Yubaba and creatures that might attack them. He did not sleep for the whole night.
When Sen awoke, she was surprised to see Haku looking at her. She was still a bit tired but she felt better now. "Good morning!" she greeted him. "Did you have a good night's sleep?" Haku did not answer. The dragon looked towards the horizon. (He had changed back into a dragon when the sun rose.)
"Well then, I'll leave you to your thinking. I'll go and get some food." Sen said as she went to a bush nearby, hoping to find some berries. She did not find any, but she chanced upon a field of flowers. She gasped. She could not believe that something like this could be hidden behind a bush. She went towards it. Taking a deep breath, she went towards the fringe of the field and plucked some of the blooms. They were very beautiful. She also saw animals of all sorts making their way through it. Sen decided not to disturb them. Instead, she took the blooms she had plucked and went back to Haku, who was still looking towards the horizon and had not moved since she had went in search of food.
"Well, I can't find food, but I did find some beautiful flowers. Since there is no food to be found, how about setting off now?"
"All right." Haku got to his feet and went towards Sen. She climbed onto his back with the harp inhand and the two of them set off to Zeniba's house.
When they had reached Zeniba's house, it was already noon and the two of them were feeling very hungry. However, Sen was not as hungry as Haku, for she was used to eating very little when she was working for Debonair. She could still withstand the hunger pangs.
Zeniba was already at the door waiting for them when they flew down. Next to her, there was a pile of knitting and it seemed to be half-finished.
"Hello! I guess that you are Yubaba's twin sister, Zeniba! Haku and I have come to return you your seal. I hope that you can forgive Haku, since he was under Yubaba's orders to steal the seal…" Sen said. However, to her surprise, Zeniba did not seem angry. Instead, she was smiling and answered, "The two of you are hungry. Come on in and have some lunch. You can return me the seal after you have eaten."
"But…" Sen started. "But…" Haku stepped forward. Sen saw that the seal was inside his mouth. She took it and gave it to Zeniba. "I really hope that you can forgive Haku…please?"
"All right, all right." Zeniba chuckled. "I'll forgive him. Now, would the two of you like to have some lunch? And don't you worry, I won't eat you." Sen smiled at this. She turned and looked at Haku, and thought, "Would you like to come in and eat?"
"I want to, but give me a moment." Haku answered as he went towards some bushes. Sen followed Zeniba into the house and got the lunch Zeniba had promised…
Disclaimer: I do not own anything except this storyline, all right?
How is it? This is one of my longest chapitres and I really hope that you enjoy it! Well, I guess I better go and type a new chapitre! It seems as if I want to type a lot today. :D Ja!
