The azure sky is tinged with the blaze of crimson as the end of the day slowly approaches. Yokaze slowly walked down the familiar path, the same path that he once walked down with his parents, his only companions are the crunch of snow beneath his feet and the chirps and cries of the forest animals. His gaze lingered the snow covering the trees and ground, spotting areas where brown earth and green soft young buds can start to be seen, signifying the transition from Winter to Spring. Despite the beauty of the area, his eyes are dull lost in the memories of his younger days. He remembered how his father had carried him on his shoulders, showing him the beauty of the forest. He remembered holding hands with his mother as she relegade tales and the meaning of his name that originated from the time before the Split. He longed for the happier, simpler times forever lost in the halls of time. He longed for the warmth that he had once taken for granted before it got ripped away. He wished for just a chance for him to say sorry, for him to say goodbye.
As he was about to turn back he noticed something was wrong. The forest was silent. The chirping of the birds had disappeared. The calls of the small animals, celebrating the beginning of spring was gone. He noticed the scent of blood that lingered in the air as he started to really look at the world around him. Slightly beyond the wards of his camp he spotted massive claw marks marking the trees. He saw a gigantic brown bear sniffing the boundaries of the ward, its head alone dwarfed his entire body. He swallowed the curse he was about to shout and gripped the handles of his weapon tightly his ears perked, his body tense in case the bear manage to slip through the wards, as he continued to look around.
Inside the ward, close to where the bear was, he found the source of the blood scent, a young girl around his age passed out on the ground. Her hair the color of snow, a shade of pale bluish white. She had scratches all around her body, the color of red and brown staining her white shirt and orange shorts. Her two tails, while ruffled, wasn’t all that dirty oddly enough. Seeing that she is not in any immediate danger nor did she have any deep wounds from what he can see, he did not rush over. While the wards concealed the place from most hostile intruders or monsters, its effect against animals are limited, causing too much noise can cause it to become ineffective, putting them both in danger.
He turned his attention back to the bear, watching as it searched around the area and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the bear gave a loud roar before turning back, seemingly giving up on finding its prey. He slowly walked over the girl, taking care to keep all noise to a minimum, his eyes still staring where the bear disappeared watching in case the bear decided to come back. Kneeling next to her, he picked up her wrist and felt a slight relief when he found a pulse.
“Note to self, I need to study warding runes, that was way too close for comfort,” he turned his gaze back to the girl, grimacing at the sight of blood, “I’m so glad that I’m wearing a black today... there’s less chance of any stains being visible.”
He carefully picked her up and walked back the path he came. Under the rapidly darkening sky, his footsteps silent amongst the cries of the celebrating animals and birds.
…………….
The full moon hung in the night sky, it’s gentle light shining brightly amongst the sea of stars. The fire cracking cheerfully as Yokaze slowly stirred the pot. Nearby sat a loaf of bread, warming next to the fire. As he made the final adjustments to the food he heard a groan coming from behind him. Without turning, he said, “I’ve placed some clothes next to you, you can take a shower over there,'' he pointed directly back to a small shack beneath a tree. He heard some shuffling and he continued to stir the stew before leaving it to simmer.
Bored, he leaned back on the log then whispered, “Dances of the Night Stars,” the area slowly began to light up as orbs of pale fire began appearing before the orbs transform into various animals. Birds, foxes and other animals started to dance in the starry night sky, lighting up the clearing he was in. He watched as some of his creations played on the small stream that ran through the clearing, he made others turn into petals on the lone leafless sakura tree growing in the middle of the place as he listened to the song of the night. The yips of the small animal, the chirps of birds, the occasional howl of the wolves, the hooting of owls
A loud bang followed by a full body tackle broke his attention turning the dancing animals to fade into the night sky. “Wha-” he managed stuttered out before he got cut off. “Wow what was that? Wait no, who are you, wait your Yokaze from my class aren’t you? Did you see my father? He’s supposed to be with me, we got separated though when that bear attacked. Where am I? How did I get here anyways? Did you save me? Thanks!” Yokaze blinked, staring blankly at the girl who is sitting on him while talking nonstop for some reason. The incessant chatter reminded him of the girl stalker who tried following him around for a while, Mizuki, if he remembered correctly. “Hey! I am not a stalker and we are in the same class you know”
Well that explained how she knew him. “Okay fine so you are not a stalker but a pervert I see,” he deadpanned as he looked at her state of dress. She was wearing only a half buttoned white oxford shirt as she sat on his belly, her wet hair had turned part of her shirt translucent while dripping water on his yukata. It would have been an erotic sight... if not for the fact that they had both gained their 2nd tails. Which aside from lengthening their lifespan had also slowed down their body’s maturation significantly. At his words she looked down as well before looking back up, her bright violet eyes met his dull mismatched silver and green eyes. He watched as her cheeks turned bright red, her eyes watery as her once soaked tail puffed out as the heat caused the steam to rise from her tail, before she dashed back to the stall.
He got up and brushed the dirt clinging to his body and smiled as he chuckled softly, his eyes brightening for a brief moment before once again losing its shine.
At his home, the hands of the clock that had stood still for the past four years had once again began ticking.
