The Village

The branches shook as the winds grew coarse. I opened my eyes as Satsu had been up for quite sometime; he looked down hazily from last night. His eyes looked down at his feet as he sat there. He was motionless as the air drifted and parted the movements of the branches that had been grown; he stood up and dusted myself off from the dirt we slept our mats on. Satsu looked over and acknowledged that I was now awake. He tried to smile at me in kindness as I did as well; I hoped and prayed that this day will be better than before; yet it is not for me to tell. Satsu sighed and stood up.

"Good morning-"

"Good morning." He said and finished my sentence for me. We looked out of the opening as the trees stood out in the open. I noticed that the water spirit was still not there; from last night she had been kind enough to share her belongings. Satsu and I didn't know what to do as times grew even more harsh for the both of us.

"We should be careful just in case Kusubata is still on the look out for us." Satsu warned. We rolled up our mats and put it to the side just In case if a wandering spirit will come by and need to use this opening made by trees for shelter. Satsu and I walked out of the opening and looked up at the sky as the branches had made a clearing out into the open. The sky drifted into red and ashes were being shed. Exile of the moving spirits had came forth.

"There's ash." I exclaimed. Satsu looked with thorough expression of tension as he breathed; not showing a good sign of all of the commotion of the beckoning of the darkened lighting of the land. He looked at me with his blue eyes that had turned into a darkened glare.

"My fathers upset. He must be searching for us yet I cannot seem to comprehend." His tone of voice deepened. The beads that wore on our wrists from Utma was beginning to shatter. The seal was about to become unexistent because of Utmas grief. They shook and rattled on our wrists beating to come off. Consequently the beads shattered and nearly pierced our skin. Luckily Satsu moved his wrist out forward just in time for his beads not to shatter on him; instead I shielded myself; by moving my four arm in front away from my point of view. Satsu began to look uneasy as he was also relieved by our bracelet had been broken. Because of that; Utma could no longer track us down. We were free; yet signs and traces of our tracks were bound to be traced with the spirits on the look out for a beast and his female human companion.

We stood there for endless amount of time as we had no idea on where to go. Satsu was silent as I was speechless; no thoughts or ideas had come to mind. We looked over at the hot spring as it was beginning to dry up. Satsus father was miles away yet he had effected this region of the spirit world. Until suddenly something had caught Satsus eye.

"Your necklace. Is that magatama?" Satsu looked down and held my necklace as he observed it. The spiral and the beads of the necklace that was made of jade was glowing. The emerald green shined under the darkness and the crimson colored sky; Satsu held it in his hands with hope.

"Do you realize what this means?" He exclaimed; looking me into my eyes. "This will protect us. My father would have found us already but with this our identity of both of our souls are hidden. These beads are guiding us." He held both of my hands in his; holding on to my bare hands lifted in the air.

"With these we can go on. After a few days of my fathers transformation he'll be back to normal and no longer a Kitsune. He usually goes passed this stage and he becomes a human. Because of when he's a Kitsune he turns into his form whenever he is angered. And when his emotions are raging he effects the gods of the spirit world causing them to do this to our land. Let us hope that this wont last and the grasses and the sky will become bright and normal again. Yet we still have to avoid my father. We need to find a way through the spirit world to get you home without passing by the large houses. Which may take us some time since we will have to travel through the lands and different parts of the spirit world. Yet we can do it." He dropped my hands yet he still held on my right hand as we ran through the forest. The trees were dying but not as bad. The green moss on a tree was now growing. Satsu raced too fast and I couldn't catch up to him; until suddenly my feet lifted from the ground as I held on to Satsu. He had turned into a beast again. My head dug into his fur as he flew in the sky. His long whiskers flew beside my feet as I held on to his horns. He sure did look and act like a dragon. How could he just have simply be called a 'beast?' I was beginning to wonder if someone had been misleading him and treating him with poor judgment.

Satsu flew in the sky. With a sudden act of courage and bravery I sat up; and giggled as I had now slowly yet gradually lifted my arms out. I looked out into the opening and hills and mountains were beneath us. I whispered into Satsus ear on where we were going.

He couldn't speak thoroughly; yet he had mumbled that he was heading somewhere. He also told me to look down at my magatama beads.

I gasped. The largest magatama bead in the middle lifted from my neck and into the air with glowing radiance and it was lighting the way. It was beginning to rain, so I had to cover the emerald bead with my hand above it as the rain poured down on us. Yet Satsu was beginning to cough madly. We had to go down and land because Satsu insisted. We were now landing in a open plain,none of the tips of the grass moved as Satsu landed and the air pushed and causing the grass to lean backwards from the wisps of Satsus movements.

Satsu was now lying down. His eyes closed as his chest and belly moved in and out from breathing. He didn't look too well. I rushed over by his side as the rain started to fall rapidly against my cold wet clothing and skin.

"Satsu! Satsu!" I shook him. I was beginning to cry; he didn't respond completely. My beads wavered towards him. I leaned in closer for the beads to touch him. It layed on him for moments as the day beat on; and the largest magatama bead sent out large glowing signal rays across the plain. Green vibrant light glowed out from the middle of know-where. I began to breathe and cry harder as Satsu was now in his human form. He didn't move yet he was still alive.

"Come with me." Said a voice. A hand grabbed my shoulder. I turned around to look who had been speaking to me.

It had been an elderly woman. She wore a shawl around her shoulders as she leaned against her wooden cane with beads and feathers decorated on the top with a face of a creature. She wore plentiful of beads and strings on her which meant that she was cultured and from a different kind around the spirit world.

She grabbed my hand to lift me up.

"Get your friend too." She motioned me and waved her hand forward. I held on to Satsu. He was light and frail. I held him in my arms as we walked out as the rain was beginning to fade and lightening. The old woman walked as it seemed forever. Satsu was still light yet he felt heavy in my arms. We walked and soon the land was becoming more into little shacks and huts made out of different materials. Hide, straw, and even from the bones of beasts and spirits. Satsu coughed which meant he was still more apparent to be alive. The old woman walked us to an old tent made our of hide with newly patched up materials and large tusks and bones of spirits. We walked inside.

"Your friend has become ill from the pollution of the spirited lands. The Kitsune had made the gods angry. And I found you as I was hunting for materials when I had found the two of you; and your magatama necklace had called me. It is quite interesting that you found this. I take it that you had become good aquantainted with a water spirit of a hot spring. Very lucky for you; because with most spirits she would have lured them inside the water to bathe and drown them to steal their possessions." 'I knew it.' I had thought as the old woman proceeded to speak. "And sometimes with men she would pursue them and also doing similar things. Yet you have been very lucky and I'd even say that you are blessed and protected from the gods." The old woman whisked something in a palette and dusted the powder over Satsu. He sneezed as his eyes were still closed and his face was covered with powder. The old woman took oil and dripped three drops on his face. One on his four head, the others on each side of his cheeks. And then she clapped her hands in his face and chanted. "Gutsuda gu gindi yo ka-arasyua" whichever that meant I couldn't understand. And then Satsus eyes slowly opened and he awoke.

"What a light sense of spirit he has." The old woman exclaimed. Satsu sat up and itched his head and he moaned from fatigue.

"He has a light spirit. Aura could possibly be colored a light shade of a color and calming such as blue or green. And he must be very silent yet with a very strong sense of spirit and he is very kind. And with you I can sense your vibrant and creative; aura possibly colored with a warm color. Orange or red or the color of cherry blossoms. I can tell quite clearly why the two of you are drawn together." She chuckled a bit as I looked up completely disoriented with puzzlement as Satsu didn't notice because of his sudden sickness. The old woman smiled as she stood up and heaved herself from her cane and the beads rattled as her cane shook as she held on to it to lift herself.

"Miss lady Kita!" A girl came in and panicked. She was panting heavily as she tried to catch her breath and the old woman whose name came to be Miss Lady Kita tried to ask for what was going on. "What happened?" She asked as the girl explained.

"A spirit of a beast stole Anaguishis pendant and her herbs for healing! The spirit had grown into an old shriveled up beast of a spirit and it's wrecking and eating the garden." She cried. Miss lady Kita stood up and ordered us to come along. Satsu and I did as he knew what was going on since he had a feeling and vision what was going to happen while we flew yet he didn't say anything.

We reached a garden and we saw nothing, until we stumbled over a ripe vegetable that was being grown with a large black worm sucking on the remains as it was half eaten. The girl cried as Miss Lady Kita laughed.

"Oh child this is nothing. My dear can you help us with this? You seem to be rather abundant with knowledge." She looked over at Satsu. He thought for a moment and he proceeded.

He lifted his hand behind of the black worm and he chanted some words. The black worm began to screech and he fell from his meal and he shriveled and died. Miss Lady Kita dug a hole in the dirt and lightly slid the worm inside and burried over him.

"Perfect. Now he's good for our soil." Miss Lady Kita smiled with reassurance.

"Thank you miss Kita!" The girl bowed at her and then at Satsu and ran away. Satsu blinked since he was surprised at how we ended up at some random village. We walked back over where Miss Lady Kita lived and she fed us. Satsu had been eager to ask her on new pathways or routes we could take to reach the opening where I had came from so I can go to my own homeland.

"My she's not from around here? She looked as if she just came from a village like ours. I suppose that's because we had came from the human world as well and we mended into our forms here. Well I suppose there is a route or pathway somewhere. Yet that is for you to decide. I only take one pathway for myself and that is to gather materials for the beings here to live on and thrive. Yet I wish you the both the best of luck. I also insist on the both of you staying for tonight. The sky's are darkening now it is much too dangerous to lead on." Miss Lady Kita told us as Satsu bowed his head as I looked at him and did the same.

"We understand." Satsu and I said together.

"No need to act so modest. Yet I am flattered! Much thanks and gratitude is given. Please do rest." She said as Satsu and I curled up in mats that Lady Kita rolled out for us. We slept as the night went on; and miss lady Kita was sleeping next door.

"This all happens so fast." Satsu said suddenly under the cool darkness. I looked over at him in the dark and mumbled 'Mhmmm.' Satsu smiled.

"It is best for you to head back home. You'll end up like me much too soon. I don't want that to happen to you... I wouldn't want to become a spirit of a beast like me either." He said.

I had become depressed of what Satsu had said that night; yet I could not say anything differently to prove him wrong. Because I had thought that he was something and he was important and worthy. But I had grown tired of saying the same thing nearly all the time; so all I had to do was not say anything and mention nothing and sleep for the rest of the night.