Khisa (Kisa) makes her first appearance...Hiro is still Hiro.
Disclaimer: FB belongs to Natsuki Takaya, not me. I also don't own anything else you recognize.
Chapter 32
Since he had been overtaken with fatigue when he made the proposal, Shehure had forgotten that Khazuma was training in Gogotha during the winter. He would not be back for another two months. Of course, Asheno, as the god of the Dzuni, could take off Lhadoman's bracelet himself. However, he would never agree to touch the cat in any way, and naturally Lhadoman wouldn't take it off himself, for any reason. Eh, two months would be plenty of time to think of a way to convince Khazuma to take off the bracelet; no use killing himself right now.
The dog sighed and started a new document on his computer. He might as well crank out another romance; those helped him think better. His latest "serious" work still needed to be finished, but "serious" writing required too much effort at critical moments like this.
During the winter, Lhose is a desolate spot, a small oasis of humanity in the midst of an icy, empty plain. The traveller's first question, upon arriving, never varies: "How do they stay warm?" It is an old joke in Lhose—only the natives are in on it. They have the best methods for warming themselves while harithes whip away at the buildings almost every night. Lhasans would despair at the thought of nightly harithes, but in Lhose they say it helps "put them in the mood."
The computer keys clacked comfortingly as Shehure settled into a rhythm. Writing romances was old hat now, but it never became boring. As long as human nature desired sex, he'd always be able to live well. It was a topic he was an expert on—the dog had an active libido. His teenage years had been a little difficult to get through without embarrassing himself completely…come to think of it, he hadn't had sex since he'd been with Mahalina.
This is the story of one traveler who recorded his experiences in Lhose...
"No," Shehure shook off the thought, suddenly depressed. He'd only dated Mahalina to comfort her, because she was in love with the fiancé of her best friend, Hana. "I don't have time for old girlfriends."
It had been a week since the banquet and the long night with Asheno. Shehure was finally home again, and Huki and Lhadoman were enjoying the last few days of the winter break with Lhoru. Although now, Shehure was fairly certain Lhadoman was most interested in being with Lhoru, and that Huki had a secret love among Lhoru's two friends. The dark Hanadzima girl seemed most likely. Now if those two dense boys could only work up the courage to act on their feelings!
His brother Haru clearly didn't have trouble acting on romantic feelings. Yesterday, the cow had stopped by to see his older brother while the three teenagers were out grocery shopping.
"Shehure," Haru said while they sat at the same desk he was now typing at, "Rin and I have been seeing each other for two months now."
Automatically, Shehure responded, "In secret?" Which really meant, "Have you told Asheno yet?" In truth, he'd guessed Haru and Rin, the horse, had chemistry from the glances they stole at each other. And both frequently disappeared at the same time.
"Yes, in secret." The happy expression on Haru's face faded into his usual blank look, as he realized the implications of Shehure's brief question. The specter of Hana, even more so than the curse in general, hung like a pall over every Dzuni relationship. Momentarily Shehure wondered if the reason he pushed Mahalina out of his mind had anything to do with the specter. He blinked and sighed.
"I hope Asheno doesn't catch Haru and Rin," he muttered, rubbing his face in his hands. Flame tree nightmares or not, this curse had to be broken somehow. They couldn't go on living like this.
"Shehure!" Lhadoman's voice called, more flustered than usual. In his distraction, Shehure's sharp ears had failed to catch the running feet and yelling.
A ruckus greeted the dog in the hallway. Lhoru bled profusely from her right hand, cradling it in a state of shock and pain. The blood had already started freezing on her hand before they got to the house. Lhadoman grabbed her cocked left elbow and started pulling her into the kitchen, Shehure following. Huki had gone elsewhere.
"What happened?" the dog asked, as Lhadoman forced her hand under hot water. Lhoru cringed from the throbbing, and stinging as the iced-over blood began to cake off and dissolve. She whimpered quietly.
"Khisa bit her. It's okay, I've got this," Lhadoman said, "Huki's with Haru and Khisa in the living room."
"I should call Hathori. You know how nasty Khisa's bites are." Lhadoman merely nodded.
"Don't bother Hathori, he's so—" pleaded Lhoru.
"This could get infected! You were bitten by a goddamn tiger!" snapped Lhadoman.
Shehure departed the kitchen and headed for the living room. Someone was having fun with him—causing Khisa to show up on a day he was mulling over the Curse of Hana. Khisa was a mess unto herself.
He found the rat bent over a tiger cub huddled with its face to the corner. Haru sat cross-legged by the coffee table, resting his head with his elbow on the wooden surface. There were dark shadows under the cow's eyes, like he'd had little sleep recently.
"Khisa, you need to apologize to Lhoru now!" Huki was beginning to yell at the poor cub, who only bunched her body more tightly.
"No, no, Huki, back off," Shehure pulled the rat up with a firm hand on his shoulder. Shehure had only heard rumors of what had happened to Khisa at the Shoma estate, but he was fairly certain Huki knew even less.
"Huki." Haru raised his head slowly. "Khisa doesn't speak."
"Oh," Huki reddened, sitting on a chair and looking furtively at Khisa.
"She hasn't spoken since school began," continued Haru. "Hathori says she has some kind of emotional problem that's kept her from speaking."
"What happened to her?" asked Huki, dreading the answer. It seemed all too familiar to him.
"Teasing—yaagh! Khisa!" bellowed Haru, shaking Khisa off his left arm. Lhadoman and Lhoru, now with an expertly bandaged hand, both ran into the room, startled by Haru's yelling. The tiger ran into the open closet.
"Khisa!" snapped Shehure, tying his robe's sash around Haru's arm to stop the bleeding. "We've all been worried about you! We're trying to help! Tying a knot, he muttered and stood up. "I'm going to call Hathori, there are too many wounded now. Haru, will you be all right? You're not turning black, are you?"
"No," replied Haru. "I'm just very annoyed."
Everyone remained silent for a few minutes. No sound came from the closet where Khisa hid. On their way home from grocery shopping, Lhoru and Lhadoman had run into Haru, wearing a thick full-length black coat and carrying a bundle wrapped in a blanket. Haru had pulled back a flap to reveal the head of a sleeping tiger. Thus Lhoru first met Shoma Khisa, the tiger of the Dzuni, a thirteen-year-old girl. Khisa woke up very quickly and bit Lhoru as soon as she extended her hand. The groceries lay somewhere on the next block, forgotten. Leftovers for dinner, then.
"What's going on?" Huki finally asked, in a subdued voice, for fear of disturbing Khisa. "Why did Khisa bite Lhoru? What was she doing out in the cold anyway?"
"Khisa ran away from home, Huki," sighed Haru, rubbing his arm gently. "That's why I was out looking for her. She got a fever from the cold and transformed."
"Oh, she should be in bed…" Lhoru advanced toward the closet before anyone could stop her. "Khisa? Please, I just want to make sure you're fine." She bent down and leaned into the darkness.
"As I was saying before, Khisa is being teased at school," continued Haru. An orange blur rushed by Lhoru and out the door up the stairs. Lhoru didn't hesitate to follow. Lhadoman followed, but Huki lingered.
The cow went on. "Khisa tried being nice to her classmates and talking to them, but they just laughed and made fun of her unusual hair and eye color. Pretty soon it got so bad she just stopped talking about three weeks ago. Her mother is going nuts—I don't think Khisa told her anything." He winced from the bite's sting. "Eh, but her bites do hurt a lot."
"Hm-mm," Huki nodded absentmindedly. "So Khisa has no one to turn to."
"She could hardly turn to Asheno for comfort," remarked Haru sarcastically. "And even Hiro stopped talking to her, after she had that accident." Hiro, the Dzuni sheep, had been Khisa's playmate and closest friend from a very early age. As for the "accident," all the younger Dzuni suspected that Asheno had beaten Khisa for some reason. Only the adults knew for sure.
Huki closed his eyes and winced. Haru watched silently—he could guess what was going through the rat's mind. Once, years ago, Huki had also felt completely alone and turned to silence as a means of shutting himself from the world. Haru's heart had sunk as he observed Khisa sinking into a similar despair.
With leaden footsteps, Huki slowly made his way to the guest room, currently Lhadoman's room. It had an air of casual neatness about it—schoolbooks lay open on the desk and the bed, and a set of dumbbells were arranged in a row next to the nightstand. Lhoru kneeled next to Lhadoman's bed, attempting to cajole Khisa out from beneath it. The cat merely stood on guard, having given up on telling Lhoru to leave Khisa alone.
Lhoru, like Haru, recognized in Khisa the feelings of loneliness and hopelessness.
"Khisa," spoke Lhoru in soft, gentle tones. Poor Khisa, her situation must have been terrible if she thought running away was necessary. "You must feel like you can't tell anyone what you've been through. You don't have to tell us what happened right now, but at least let us take care of you. We're all so worried, and you're ill." Silence, then minor shuffling sounds as the tiger crawled further under the bed.
"I also lost it," began Huki. Lhoru and Lhadoman turned their heads, surprised by the newcomer. Neither were sure who, or what, Huki was referring to.
"I mean, I lost the ability to talk." Now in a surer voice. "My circumstances were different from yours, Khisa. I wasn't teased. But it seemed like no one could understand what I was going through, or that they'd listen if I told them. I became shut up in a dark world, I withdrew into it, and stayed there for a long time. I finally came out after a long, long time, and it was difficult and painful. And I don't regret leaving that dark place, not one bit. There are people who care, who won't laugh at you, Khisa. People who love you and accept you. But you can't find those people unless you let yourself out of the prison you're stuck in right now. I…" Huki's mouth hung open, and he stared into blank space. "I'm sorry, Khisa, but please try. It's the best thing you can do for yourself. And I'll keep trying too. We're all stuck, all of the Dzuni. All of us." Tears welled in his eyes. "I'm rambling, I'm going to my room," he mumbled and left as precipitately as he'd arrived.
Lhoru gazed at Huki's retreating back, stunned. Rarely did Huki ever speak so emotionally or honestly. She didn't notice Lhadoman's tension because the next moment, a wet object brushed against her unbandaged hand. Khisa looked up at the teenage girl, still skittish. Lhoru slowly raised her hand and patted the cub. She pulled the cub onto her lap, and free of the bed.
A dramatic popping followed, and a naked girl sprawled over the floor, her head still in Lhoru's lap. Her hair shone a yellowish orange, with slightly darker streaks. It was cut chin-length. Khisa raised feverish amber eyes to Lhoru's.
"Let's get you a blanket, and some food, maybe?" Lhoru smiled at the girl, and grabbed an extra blanket from Lhadoman's bed. Khisa sobbed, and Lhoru wrapped the blanket around her and hugged her tightly.
"Here are the rest of the patients, I see. Oh, Khisa, you've changed back," noted Hathori, stepping through the door with his doctor's bag.
"Hello, Hathori! You didn't have to come for me," said Lhoru. "But Khisa's sick with a fever."
"I do hope you can use your amazing skill to rescue them from the brink of death," piped up Shehure from behind.
"Shut up," commanded Hathori, quickly glancing at Lhoru's hand. "You did a good job wrapping up this hand, Lhadoman." He nodded approvingly.
The cat muttered something about getting dinner started and pushed past Shehure rudely. The dog raised an eyebrow. He'd heard Huki's spiel from the foot of the stairs, thanks to his canine ears. Clearly the monologue hit a sensitive spot within Lhadoman's gloriously tangled psyche.
Shehure took his time before waltzing into the kitchen, where a pot of water stood heating on the stove, and Lhadoman was in the midst of chopping meat for a stew.
"I didn't know we had this much food in the house," commented Shehure, looking over Lhadoman's shoulder. "I'd have thought leftovers tonight."
"Agh! Back away, pervert!" yelled a startled Lhadoman. Something was wrong—the cat was chopping the meat with a tad much vigor.
"You're in a more charming mood than usual," grinned Shehure, standing as closely as before. "Anything you want to tell this old writer? Maybe your feelings for the girl have finally deepened?"
The knife stopped abruptly. "No, I don't care about her or anyone else," burst from Lhadoman. The chopping began again.
"That's quite a lofty statement," replied Shehure.
"Listen, you asshole, it's worthless for me to care about anyone when I'm just going to be shut up away from all humankind in a year from now!"
"It sounds to me like you don't want to be 'shut up in a dark prison,' as I believe Huki put it."
"I'm better off, since everyone hates the cat. At least if I'm shut up, I won't have to see that goddamned rat anymore."
"You know perfectly well Lhoru doesn't hate you. The opposite, as a matter of fact. And do you really dislike Huki so much? You speak as if you were obligated to hate everyone and keep them out of your life."
Lhadoman turned around and glared at Shehure, who kept his expression noncommittal. They spent a long few minutes in the same position. Then Lhadoman sighed, deflating, and resumed his cooking tasks.
"Is Khisa going to stay here?"
Shehure obliged the cat's change in subject. "I spoke with her mother after calling Hathori. She was quite exhausted, and she and Khisa need some time away from each other. So, yes, Khisa will stay here until she's better."
"Great, more crazy Shomas here," muttered Lhadoman, clanging utensils in a drawer. "As if it weren't already too damn noisy around this place."
"You're right, the noise of fighting is not very conducive to writing romance novels," quipped Haru, materializing in the kitchen doorway.
"I shall have to adapt," sighed Shehure. "Perhaps I could move into Lhoru's room?"
"Argh!" growled Lhadoman.
The tiger followed Lhoru everywhere, and the adoration was mutual. Khisa would fold the laundry, and listen in silence while Lhoru talked about her day at school and her friends. Lhoru placed the only sleeping mat in good condition that could be unearthed from Shehure's messy storeroom, on the floor of her bedroom for Khisa to sleep in. The younger girl never got in Lhoru's way; she would meekly stand aside while Lhoru went her way and help with her chores. Lhoru made every effort to include Khisa in her activities.
"I think it's kind of creepy, the way Khisa clings to her," said Lhadoman, watching Khisa follow closely behind Lhoru into the living room to watch television.
"At least Khisa has someone to cling to," snapped Huki. The two boys momentarily glared at each other, hackles raised.
"Well, it reminds me of a chick following its mother around. It's so cute!" Shehure gushed.
"You'd think it was cute!" yelled Lhadoman, forgetting his archenemy instantly. Huki merely rolled his eyes and resumed eating his after-school snack.
Both Haru and Nharu frequently asked Lhoru for updates on Khisa. At school a week later, Lhoru was sitting with the other Shoma boys in the cafeteria. Nharu, in an anxious tone, asked Lhoru, "'As Neirathe come to visit K'isa?"
"No," answered Huki. Nharu bit his bottom lip.
"Wait, who's Nerathe?" Lhoru stopped flipping through her history book. The name sounded familiar.
"Nirathe," corrected Lhadoman, lazily throwing a wadded-up piece of paper at the trashcan and narrowly missing his target. "Damn! So close! Nirathe is Khisa's mother."
"Oh! Of course!" Horrified, Lhoru realized she'd spoken to Nirathe over the telephone just the day before. She was such a ninny—to have forgotten who Khisa's mother was because of worrying over a history test! "No, Nirathe hasn't come to the house, but I spoke to her on the phone yesterday for a long time." She made a point of looking at Nharu. "She asked me how Khisa was, and was she eating and sleeping enough, did she seem to be happier,"
"That's goud to 'ear," Nharu smiled, visibly perked. "'er mouther still cares for 'er! Neirathe just neided a break—we all do sometimes!" Huki smiled awkwardly, Haru glanced at the rabbit, and Lhadoman remained seemingly oblivious to the shadow of Nharu's mother that hung over the room. Lhoru mentally berated herself for making Nharu worry that Nirathe was on the verge of abandoning her daughter. Meanwhile, the rabbit chattered about a current project for his art class. Abruptly, he sobered and switched the subject.
"I cayn't imagine the teasing K'isa moust have ensued," Nharu said.
"The word you want is 'endured,' Nharu," remarked Haru. The rabbit often mixed up words in his fast chatter.
"Thanks, 'Aru." Nharu smiled, unruffled.
Two weeks later, Khisa spoke for the first time in months, when she called her mother by name. The utterance came out in a dry croak, since Khisa had become unaccustomed to talking. Shehure noticed that of late Khisa had been opening and closing her mouth more often, as if to speak. But no sound ever emerged.
Nirathe came for a surprise visit that day. She'd called the house more frequently as time went on, eager for news of Khisa. Lhoru always obliged, and grew to like the somewhat timid-sounding woman very much. She conjured an image of Nirathe as the sort who would finger her buttons incessantly and smile nervously while talking to anybody.
The petite woman who bumped into Lhoru while she was trying to mop snow stains in the front hallway defied her expectations. Nirathe matched the teenage girl in height, and possessed a round, plain face framed by dirty blonde hair. Her soft voice was what misled Lhoru to expect a shy personality.
"Oh, excuse me!" The woman exclaimed, backing away from Lhoru and yanking off her thick hat and gloves. "I'm Shoma Nirathe, Khisa's mother. You must be Lhoru."
Wiping her hands on a rag, Lhoru straightened and set the mop against the wall. "Yes, I am. Welcome—would you like some cocoa?"
"No, no, that's all right. I came to see Khisa and apologize for losing my patience with her." Nirathe still smiled, but not as brightly as before. "Quite frankly, I don't know what I was thinking, to tolerate two weeks with my daughter away from home!" She laughed, Lhoru assisting with her coat. "Khisa's never been away for that long, although it looks like it's safer for her here." While hanging the coat, Lhoru couldn't decide whether the crinkles around Nirathe's eyes were from smiling or crying too much. She hoped it was the latter, and the way Nirathe said "safer" gave her a sense of foreboding.
The tiger's mother donned plain black pants and a blue sweater set; extremely sensible clothes. Lhoru guided her to the living room sofa.
"Has Khisa talked at all?" asked Nirathe hopefully.
"Not yet, but I think she will, soon," reassured Lhoru.
Nirathe's voice dropped. "Everybody here's treating her well?"
"Oh, yes. Huki has been especially nice to her. He plays a lot of games with her after school."
"That's good to hear. Lhoru? Can you tell me what happened to Khisa?"
"I'm so sorry! I'll get her right now!" Breathing quickly, Lhoru ran up the stairs to her room, where Khisa was attempting to hem an old robe of Lhoru's, to fit her. Because of a recent growth spurt, Khisa was now nearly Lhoru's size, and needed some bigger clothes. Lhoru had just taught her how to sew, and unfortunately, as hard as she tried, Khisa clearly lacked any aptitude for the needle. Bandages covered her left fingers, from constant pricking.
For a minute, Lhoru milled outside the door to her room, uncertain what to do next. It was rude to run out on Khisa's mother, but should she have been the one to tell Nirathe about why Khisa became silent and ran away? She took a peek at the diminutive tiger, patiently picking apart a botched stitching sequence.
Lhoru turned and went back down the stairs.
"Ms. Shoma," she began, addressing Nirathe, still looking slightly confused over Lhoru's abrupt departure. "I apologize—it was rude of me to leave like that."
"Oh, you didn't do anything," Nirathe shook her head briskly. "There's nothing horribly wrong with Khisa, is there?" Her brows furrowed as she looked at the stairs beyond Lhoru.
"No—ye—well…" Lhoru paused, pondering how best to start. "When I was little, even younger than Khisa…" she trailed off.
Nirathe took a sip, then realized her cup was empty. Shehure had woken up from his nap while Lhoru was upstairs, and brought the cocoa to Nirathe. This bizarre behavior from Lhoru concerned her more and more. She set the cup and saucer on the coffee table, then rose.
"I should go see Khisa now, I think."
"No, please let me explain first," declared Lhoru adamantly. "Khisa was being teased at school very badly."
"That's why all this happened?" Nirathe gasped, a small part of her perversely relieved it had been nothing worse. "Why didn't she tell me?"
"I won't say anything more than that, it's not my place to," continued Lhoru. "But I can understand a little why Khisa didn't want to tell you. When I was seven, I was also teased, by some boys at school. It made me very ashamed, and I didn't want to tell my mother. I felt more and more miserable and lonely. I tried to hide it from my mother, but she could tell something was bothering me. One day she finally got me to spill everything, and while it was painful, I felt better because I knew I had someone to listen to me and support me. I think Khisa feels the same way, and that was why she couldn't tell you."
"I should have tried harder," muttered Nirathe. "But she just wouldn't talk…I'm positive Asheno is to blame for some of it!" Anger sparked in Nirathe's eyes momentarily, then she determinedly strode up the stairs towards her daughter. Lhoru missed most of Nirathe's muttering, but she was fairly certain she caught the word "hospital."
While clearing the cup and saucer, Lhoru heard a joyful yell of "You spoke!" erupt from upstairs, then both mother and daughter sobbing. As her eyes welled up, Lhoru thought that Nirathe and Khisa would turn out fine. It would take time, but these things always did.