Crimson in the clover
Sulfur in the skies
Shadows in the verdant eyes
Once innocent,
Now irrevocably changed.

And that’s what happened, you see? The smooth, flowing characters on the page ceased with the stilling of the hand that was forming them, and the large brown eyes blinked wearily at the world around her. It was getting dark… and cold. Too dark to write, and too cold for the thin fabric of her garment to withstand the chill. … at least, as best I can tell. With a final, half-hearted flourish, the last word was completed, and the bottle of ink she’d been using capped, to be stowed away safely in her bag. Though there were only a spare few minutes until the sun dipped completely over the horizon, to return only the following morning, she paused long enough to dust sand over the still-damp ink, to preserve her words. Words were the only refuge she had now – the only way she had to keep herself sane, in the past three days since she’d found herself in this place, without warning, and without any idea of where exactly she was. Tears formed, and she dashed them away impatiently. “Keep it together, Sueko,” she whispered to herself, ignoring the voice in the back of her mind that repeated to her over and over that talking to herself was evidence of an unhealthy state of mind. Instead, she focused on tucking away the pages she’d produced – her record of her confusion and travels, since arriving here – and in fishing through her bag to come up with a small, worn item made of what might have once been black velvet of some sort… many years ago. The fabric was worn smooth and even starting to fray in some places, but Sueko braced her back against an icy incoming wind, and cradled this item to her as though holding something more precious than her own life. “C’mon, Su-Su. Let’s find a place out of the wind, for the night.”

Twilight had fallen, silent and brisk, before she finally reached the little hovel she’d seen a mile or so back. It was little more than a shallow depression in the side of an enormous boulder, over which she quickly slung a few stray timbers to provide herself with a little more cover in case it should rain later, but it was large enough to fit both herself and a small fire. It had taken her nearly all her first night to manage a fire, but though she was still not a master of it, she’d improved vastly – fire was a necessity of life, in this bitter chill, and it took her only a half a dozen tries this time to get the tinder lit. Minutes later, a small but adequate flame had made it rather cozy in her little hovel, and once she’d carefully shifted aside one of the roof timbers to allow the smoke to escape, she settled down to the meager meal of nuts and a couple of half-eaten fruits she’d managed to scare a bird away from, earlier. I’m sure to reach some sort of civilized place tomorrow. I’ve been walking due east for days… surely I’ll come on one soon. Tomorrow, for sure.

And if you find me
Don’t you cry, don’t cry
My heart is dead,
The land is dry.
Don’t cry.

((OOC: Sorry it took me so long to get this written. I hope it was worth the wait. ^^))

Aikano had been unable to shake the feeling that something important was about to happen. HE had been feeling a small tickle in the back of his mind for a while now, and he could only assume that the Miko was somewhere in Konan. He had felt that tickle a while ago, but it seemed to go away for a few days before returning, a bit stronger than before.

Given his telepathic abilities, he was getting very good at ignoring such feelings and stray thoughts when need be. His main focus was the same as it had always been: He must provide and protect his loved ones. That group was a bit larger than before, with the addition of Riko, but the basic plan was the same. He’d worry about his duties as a Suzaku Seishi when the time came.

As he thought of Riko, his eyes drifted to her of their own accord. She had been traveling with him for some time now, and yet she still didn’t remember her past. A large part of him wanted to help her remember, as he was sure there were people who cared about her and missed her, but a smaller part worried that, if she remembered, she would leave him and never return. It was selfish, but he couldn’t help it.

The weather had been a bit chillier lately than was normal in Konan. It was nowhere as cold as Hokkan, but it was cooler none the less. He silently reached out and put an arm around Riko, pulling her under his cloak to give her a bit more warmth. He was about to comment that he would find them a nice warm cave for the night, but he was distracted at the sight of smoke in the distance. “Odd.” He commented. “I don’t think there are many villages in that direction. Not near enough for us to see the smoke from their fires…”

It was something he loathed to do, but he wanted to make sure that no one was in trouble or need of help…and he wanted to make sure he and Riko were safe. Closing his eyes, he sought out the person nearest the fire. He could tell instantly that it was a girl…a bit younger than they e. He did not take a deep look into her mind, but he could sense she was scared, confused, and alone. He withdrew from her mind and looked down to Riko.

“Riko, I’m going to investigate. I want you to take Haji and head west along the river.” He pointed in the direction so there would be no confusion. “There are some caves further down. All will be void of wildlife this time of year. I’ll go see what is going on, and I’ll find you soon.” At the sound of his name, Haji perked up and moved to Riko’s side, nudging her hand affectionately with his nose. Sometimes Aikano was sure the dog understood more than anyone gave him credit for. He pulled off his cloak and tossed it around Riko before kissing her forehead and gently nudging her on her way.

He watched his companions for a moment before turning and heading toward the smoke. He walked for several long moments before he could see a shabby little shelter in the distance. Whoever it was, she seemed to know little about surviving in the wild, and perhaps was too scared to travel much. He stopped some distance from the shelter, as he didn’t want to frighten her.

“Hello? Is someone there?” He listened for any sign of movement. “I’m not here to hurt you…I saw the smoke from your fire and wanted to help…”

Riko was a bit surprised, not that she did not expect Akiano to follow his duties as seishi but he had never walked away telling her to go somewhere on her own. Maybe she was a bit paranoid and had to get back on her own two feet, but how could someone who could barely remember who she was do that? She was probably being selfish and for that she mentally chastised herself, who was she to ask him not to follow his duty? Who was she to demand all his time? True, he was her beloved and she wished at times she could always be with him but reality was otherwise, she knew well that in the real world things never happened as you would want them to. She walked toward the cave he indicated in silence, deep in thought. She wondered at times if she deserved her current situation and if they actually found the miko would she be able to be of any use to her? She could only remember her name, nothing else. She was aware of her abilities, even so, that was useless. She brought some wood to the cave as she walked along the path so that by the time she arrived she had enough to start a fire. It was beginning to get dark. She sighed as she looked at the sky before she entered the cave. She set the wood and started the fire. Hopefully the smoke would not be too obvious.

She sat by the fire and curled up rubbing her cold hands and watching the flames. Haji sat beside her and looked at her in such a way that she almost thought he knew what she was thinking or feeling. She smiled softly and rubbed the back of his neck as a great gust of wind blew her long dark hair. She knew that, being the person in charge of camp she should stay alert but somehow, looking into the flames, she suddenly felt extremely tired and her eyelids suddenly closed. Her body relaxed and lay next to a confused Haji. The poor creature whimpered and nuzzled her head but Riko did not respond, she could still sense her surroundings but her body was too tired to cooperate and her will faltered in ways she could not understand.

It was then that it happened…

Like a warning before the tempest, her world went dark. She lost track of time, her body, even her own mind. She felt surrounded and yet could not see a thing. A sudden sound made her look behind her, a pair of threatening eyes watched her with curiosity, before that person, or being, or creature laughed maliciously. It brought chills down her spine and she realised she was bound by strings, like those of a puppet and her body no longer responded to her own commands. The strings cut through her arms and legs and she could feel warm blood flow through the cuts, but this was not enough, the evil laughter continued and she was forced to look through a mirror, she saw Aikano and a girl she did not recognise, was that their miko? She tried reaching for them, but the strings pulled her back and she winced in pain, she called out to him but the more she tried the less control she had over her own mind.

An injured hand lifted with a sword in its grasp and in one swift motion it swung down.

Riko finally awoke from the nightmare and realised she was covered in sweat and shaking from head to toes. Haji whimpered next to her and moved even closer. She felt tears in her eyes, who was that person? What had just happened? Was this one of her visions? She closed her eyes and embraced her fury friend happy to have his comfort and not have to give any explanations to her current wretched state. Surely this was her mind plying tricks on her. She made the best of her time alone to regain composure and probably try and find ingredients to cook something in case Aikano returned with someone, they needed to continue searching for their miko anyway. After a while, she removed the tears from her eyes and stood up slowly, her body recovering motion with every step she took, she would ignore this and not tell Aikano, she did not want him to worry about her. Surely this was just her being feeble and weak. She had to practice with her skills a bit more, yes, that would help her.

After making sure the stew was simmering she walked to a nearby stream and began to practice fighting techniques with and without her swishing abilities. Trying to clear her mind and find a way to remember that which she seemed to have forgotten.

By the time Aikano had noticed the smoke from her little fire and decided to investigate, Sueko was nearly through with her meal. There hadn’t been much of it to start with, and certainly not enough to fill the rumble that had set into her belly after three days of scraping a meager living out of this foreign place she’d found herself dropped into. It was true that the girl hadn’t many practical skills to help herself along, but she had brains aplenty; at least, she had the sense of mind to know how to go about foraging enough sustenance to keep herself from starving, and she felt quite accomplished, now that she’d been able to produce fire for herself on a fairly reliable basis, but while she hadn’t starved, she wasn’t living in luxury.

Her little hovel was rough and barely functional, and her meal skimpy, and despite her efforts to keep negative things out of her mind, she was aware in a detached way that her spirits were falling, as each day went by without even meeting another living soul. "Tomorrow for sure, Su-Su,” she murmured, repeating it like a chant, as though to make herself believe it, and snuggled the scraggly heap of velvet closer to herself, running a thumb down a furry back long since worn smooth with age and love. “We’ll find someone tomorrow… we’ve just got to."  She gave the stuffed cat a brief snuggle with her chin, and scooped it to her in one arm as she rose, preparing to adjust the timbers above her to keep the light from the fire dimmed as she bedded down for the night.

But a soft voice cracked like thunder over the dull silence of the windy night and the subdued hiss of the flames, and despite its gentle tone and inoffensive message, the first real sound that Aikano would be aware of was a brief, sharp squeak of utter terror. It was followed shortly by a scuffle of feet on stone as Sueko, completely unaware that the squeak she’d heard had come from her own mouth and not seeming to realize that she was making further noise by scrambling about as she was doing, crouched hastily against the rock, crowded into the wall absolutely as far from the outside world as the unforgiving surface would permit, and gazed out into the night as though expecting the darkness itself to rush in and consume her. It was only after several moments, marked by heavy breathing and otherwise complete silence from the rough shelter, that Sueko seemed to realize that she’d heard a human voice, and for some reason that knowledge seemed to shake her enough to make her brain move past her paralyzing fear, and let her move again.

Suddenly aware of a warmth in front of her, as though the fire hadn’t been there only moments before and indeed for several minutes before that, she cursed herself mentally. Really bright, Sueko. Why don’t you use that brain of yours once in a while?! If something is out there to hurt you, what are you going to do? Beat it up with Su-Su?  Not daring to look away from the fearful darkness at the mouth of her little sanctuary, Sueko reached down blindly and groped for a branch, hand coming down into the middle of the fire and grasping hold of one flaming limb, not noticing as the flames licked her palm and wrist. Swinging it out in front of her like a club, as she honestly didn’t know what else to do with it and in fact wasn’t even sure if she could manage to wield her flaming branch as a weapon, she finally forced her voice to life, and managed to squeak out, “…who… who’s there?”

Aikano might have doubted his assumption that there was a person inside the crude shelter, as the sounds he heard were not what he'd expected, had he not been able to sense the younger girl. He realized that he'd startled her, and he couldn't help a soft chuckle of amusement. The squeaking sound she had initially made was proof of her surprise, and he cold imagine, listening to the scuffling sounds that followed, that she was either trying to hide, or looking for some sort of weapon. Perhaps both. He had tried to sound gentle and nonthreatening, but that didn't mean she wouldn't still be scared. Given the state of affairs in the world, it was wise to be wary, especially if you couldn't easily protect yourself. Evil could wear many faces...

He ventured a few paces closer, but there was still a great deal of distance between himself and her makeshift shelter. If that tickling on the back of his mind did indeed mean she was the Miko, then he knew she had to be feeling very lost and confused at the moment. Growing up and hearing the tales of the Miko and her Seishi, he had often thought it was rather cruel to uproot some poor girl from another world and drop her into their world without a moment's warning or explanation. He had thought, once he learned of his destiny as a Seishi, that he would do his best to make this transition as easy for her as possible.

When there was movement, at last, from within, and he saw the girl step out, waving a flaming branch in his general direction as if to ward him off, he felt himself genuinely smile. She was a young girl, not too much younger than Riko perhaps, but she just seemed younger. It reminded him greatly of some of his younger siblings. This notion was furthered by the fact that the hand not holding her 'weapon' was tightly clutching an old stuffed cat to her chest. He recognized a comfort item when he saw one.

More than anything, he was struck with the realization that, although her outfit was modest, it was unlike anything he'd seen in all of his travels. In all this time, the only place he had never ventured was Nyosei Island, but he doubted the woman dressed like that there. So did this mean that she could possibly be the Suzaku no Miko? He thought that it was possible, as he had often heard of Fate placing the Miko where one of her Seishi could stumble across her...not unlike the way he had stumbled across this girl. Still, it was probably best to hold onto that notion for now. E would talk to Riko later and see what she made of the situation.

“…who… who’s there?”

Aikano raised both hands slightly to further show he meant no harm. “My name is Aikano. I was traveling through the area when I saw the smoke from your fire. I wanted to see if you needed any assistance...”

He could see that the flames of her torch were slowly crawling toward her small fingers. “You might want to drop the torch before you hurt yourself...” He observed with the ghost of a chuckle in his voice, though his smile and expression were kind, not mocking. “I give my word, upon my family, that I am not going to harm you.” True, those could sound like empty words, but he got the feeling this girl was smart. He hoped she would realize how serious a vow this was.

He took a moment to look around them. Unlike the caves he had sent Riko and Haji to, this area would be frequented by animals this time of year, and some of them would be large predators. A fire would only frighten them off for so long, and he had no idea how long she had been here trying to scrape up an existence. He suspected she hadn't had a good meal in a while. She wasn't starving, but she did look a bit thinner than he thought was normal for her. If she responded favorably to what he had already said to her, he would suggest she return with him to his and Riko's camp. Riko had, no doubt, started to prepare supper for them by now, and that meant there would be a nice warm fire going. And perhaps the presence of another woman and even the goofy mutt, Haji, would further put the girl's mind at ease.

Then again, as jumpy as she seemed to be, he wondered if telling her he had companions might frighten her off... 'One thing at a time...' he decided silently. 'Time will tell...'

Riko’s mind cleared some when she practiced with her telepathic abilities. She could not rely on Aikano so much, he also had things to do, a family to take care of and he was a seishi, they both were. She had to get a grip and prepare herself for the time when their miko arrived and would need their protection. It was strange for her to think about such things but, in all honesty, she could no longer be the small child who was loved by her family and protected by others. She had an important role in life and that meant she would have to care for and look after a girl who would be thrown into their world away from family and friends.

She had to do her best and slowly become stronger. That’s right, she had to become stronger. She could not hold anyone back, especially not her beloved Aikano. He had given her all his understanding, support and protection. Now it was her turn to protect him and to help in their mission. To think that someone as weak as her was chosen as a seishi… She could scarcely believe it when she found out. But there was always a reason for things to work out the way they did, and she would not contradict her fate. Her hair swayed with grace with every step he took, every light turn or shift of her weight, when she increased or decreased the speed of her mesmerising movements. Practicing felt like second nature, she was sure she must have learned most of her technique from the times she could no longer remember. And somewhere in her mind she knew that there was someone out there looking for her. But she could not remember if he was a friend or not.

Once her mind was at peace she stopped suddenly and her concentration was all on her breathing. She panted lightly and removed the sweat from her brow. She closed her eyes and her senses were enhanced. She took a deep breath and the stillness in the forest returned to normal. She sighed, her deep blue eyes scanned her surroundings. She walked toward a nearby stream and washed her face and neck, she splashed her face and decided to head back to the cave. Lucky for her she did not sweat so much that she needed to take a bath. She moved the food from the heat and set it aside ensuring it would keep warm for when Aikano returned. Haji did not move, so she assumed he was not on his way back yet. She was beginning to worry, was he okay or did something happen? All this time though she looked calm she knew there were eyes watching her… carefully examining her…

She did not know what it was though, it made her uneasy but she decided she would not show her distress to whoever was watching her every move, following her like a stalker.