My heart was racing, and every fiber of my being told me to run. My body wouldn't listen though, and instead I sat frozen. I closed my eyes tightly, as though that would make me disappear. I could hear leaves crunching underfoot, as Hilda stepped closer to me.
"I... I'm not a demon!" I stammered. I opened one eye to peek at Hilda. Her face didn't look scared or angry, like the others had. She looked worried. Her eyes searched mine, filled with obvious concern. This calmed me down for a split second, that was until I noticed the knife in her hand. "I promise! I promise! Please don't hurt me, I don't even know what's happening!" I pleaded, once again shutting my eyes tightly.
I heard the crunching of leaves getting closer, then felt a hand on each of my shoulders. I opened my eyes, and Hilda was on her knees in front of me.
"I know, I know, I'm sorry." Hilda pulled me into a hug, her voice barely above a whisper.
My eyes were glassy, filled with unshed tears that were just begging to be released. I tucked my head into her shoulder.
"Why is this happening to me?" I managed to say, as my sobs began.
Hilda released me from the hug, her hands remaining firmly on my shoulders. Her eyes radiated a quiet strength and gentleness. A sense of calm could be felt with her gaze, though the feeling left when she began to speak.
"Listen I don't have much time to explain." Her words tumbled out in a rush. "That thing is not whatever you think it looks like." She pointed to the brown cat that was at my side. "To everyone else it looks like an ominous black smoke that is following you around. Those things are known to only stick around demons. They also stay with the demon of their choice forever, so there will be no brushing this thing off. As long as it is around, everyone will think you are a demon."
I looked down at the seemingly harmless cat, "But..."
"No time for explainations. Go into the woods and make a good life for yourself and that new pet of yours. Other people seeing you could easily be a death sentence. Your only saving grace is that people think killing a demon is bad luck. That is why they send a slave out to do it." Hilda's voice dropped, her eyes clouding with sorrow. That was when my focus went back to the knife, that was now laying in the forest floor.
"Don't worry I won't hurt you, let me just get some of that blood off of your forehead as proof of me killing you." She picked up the knife and gently rubbed it across my bloodied face.
"How do you know I'm not a demon?" I managed to ask; though I had no idea why I had asked such a risky question.
"There is no way a demon would worry about someone getting chilly on their night shift, or one who worries that a slave's bath water is too dirty." A small, sad smile played on Hilda's lips, "In short you're too kind to be a demon."
I decided to ask something else stupid, "But you know I am not the real Asha right?" It was like I was begging her to kill me, asking a question like that. Right now though, I just wanted some sort of recognition. I didn't want to blend in as Asha, and I didn't want to be a demon.
"I know you suddenly got weird one day, and became a decent person. One with common sense, and a bit of an education. I know that wasn't the Asha I knew, but it is the one I prefer." a sad smile played on her lips. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a handfull of rusty nails. "I told you I would get some."
Hilda wiped her hands across my still bleeding forehead, and ran back to the farm. She didn't say goodbye, she didn't even look back, she was just...gone.
I got up and began walking downhill. I remembered someone once told me water always ran downhill, and water was the first thing you should find if you are lost in the woods. My body knew it was a dumb endeavor, since I could easily make my own clean fresh water wherever I wanted. However my mind was completely void of rational thinking. I had finally found a place where I felt at home. It wasn't a grand life, but I was happy with it. I had friends, food, and a roof over my head. Three things it seems, that I was never meant to have. I finally lifted my head to find myself at a creek. The gentle flow of water made a bubbling noise as it passed through some reeds, and further downhill. The ground was covered in sand and gravel. The forest' edge stopped a few meters away. My knees buckled as I reached the creek's edge. No sooner did my butt hit the ground, than the sobs began racking my body. I hadn't cried like this since I had found out my mother had died in my past life. Just like before; the life I thought I would always have was ripped from me, and once again I was homeless.
A soft head nudged my arm, causing me to recoil. In that moment my tears turned from those of mourning, to tears of rage. My anger boiled over and I swung my arm, hitting the cat with a loud thud. It went flying several feet, still it stayed silent. It didn't hiss or yowl, it simply watched me; as if he was mocking me for my lack of control.
"This is all your fault!" I yelled angrily at the cat. "If you hadn't shown up I would still be on the farm, I would still be happy!" I screamed. The cat stood still and met my gaze, as though it was actually listening. Those yellow eyes staring into mine seemed to calm me down. But the fact that the very thing that had ruined my life, was calming me down, infuriated me once again.
"You don't even know how hard life was to even get that far! Do you understand what it is like to be greatful about being disfigured. Because being seen as disgusting is safer than being pretty?! Do you know what it's like having to restart your life everytime you get comfortable?!" The tears steadily rolled down my face through my entire rant.
"And it's all your f***ing fault!" I finished my yelling.
My chest was heaving, as my body was realing from my sobs and emotional outburst.
I melted into the gravelly sand, laying down and staring into the bright sky. I was exhausted. The running, the bleeding, the emotional eruption; all of it had taken its toll, and suddenly I was struggling to even keep my eyes open. It always amazed me to see children throwing a tantrum one minute, and be out cold the next. Now I was doing the very same thing; though my circumstances were a bit more extreme.
In that moment every thought in my head seemed to disappear into nothing more than a mist. A fog that hid all of the morning's tragedies, and lulled me into an all-consuming sleep.
I woke up hours later. The day was late now. I noticed one feeling right away, and that was a small scratchy toungue lapping against my face. I focused my eyes on the brown furry cat that was hovering above my face, gently cleaning the dry blood, that had come from the open wound on my forehead.
As I sat up the cat backed away, keeping his gaze on me. He sat down beside me, just out of arms reach. I looked down to see my body had been covered in large leaves and shredded cat tails. Drag marks could be seen coming from the reeds. Had the cat dragged this all over here?
"You know a smart cat wouldn't stay with someone who hits them," I muttered to the cat as I stood up. "I haven't even given you anything to eat; there really is no reason for you to stick around."
I walked around the creek a bit, occasionally picking up stones, and skipping them across the shallow water. The cat looked up and gave a quick meow. "You really aren't a cat are you?" I asked.
The cat looked at me, his gaze full of intelligence. That look of his alone confirmed that for me. He wasn't a cat, he was something smarter, something self aware.
The cat looked at me, then jerked his head as if he was telling me to follow. With nothing better to do, I decided to follow. I still couldn't forgive this cat, but what else could I do?
He led me to the reeds, looked me in the eye, looked back to the reeds, and then to the sky. I followed his gaze up, to see rain clouds forming. "Crap! What now cat?" I asked.
The cat meowed, and looked at the reeds again. "Hiding in the reeds isn't going to help." I told him flatly. The cat rolled his big yellow eyes, then walked to a spot of soft sand. With one paw he traced out what appeared to be a basket with a roof, then an arrow pointing to the reeds. With that he meowed again.
Basket, roof, reeds... I thought to myself. What do those things have in common...? Then I remembered something Harik had taught me in my past life. He once showed me how he weaved grass together to make his sleeping cot. Was that what this cat was trying to do?
"Do you want me to weave a house?" I asked the cat. He looked back at me with a glimmer in his eye as he walked into the reeds.
I quickly made my way to the long stalks growing from the water's edge, and plucked them one at a time. I threw each reed onto the sandy shore until the cat had meowed at me again. I assumed that meant I had done enough.
I got a sharp rock and began stripping the stalks into thinner strips, as Harik had shown me. Just as I had finished stripping the last stalk, I felt a rain drop on my face, then another, and quickly it was a downpour.
I ran into the treeline for cover, the cat running a few feet in front of me. We hunkered down in front of a pine tree.
I took one of the nails Hilda had given me and etched Warm, onto the tree. I then traced it with my finger, feeling the causing the whole tree to heat up. The roots warmed as well, causing the dirt I sat on to lose it's chill. The cat climbed up the tree, and nestled into a hole in the trunk. I could hear him purring as he licked himself dry, obviously enjoying the warmth. Well at least he's happy, I thought to myself.
I could still feel the occasional bit of rain, but was much dryer than when I was out in the open, and leaning against the tree warmed my body. Despite the fact that I had slept most of the day I found myself once again nodding off under the tree.
When I came to it was morning. And there in front of me was a familiar brown cat, this time, holding what looked to be some kind of tuber. I took it from his mouth, and he stared at me, seemingly wating for something.
"Uhh...Do I eat this?" I asked
The cat flicked his tail, seemingly approving my guess. I bit into the tuber, it was very bitter and watery. It had the aftertaste of a cucumber though, something I hadn't had since coming to this world.
"Dude, where did you find this?" I asked excitedly. It might be bitter, but the new healthy addition to my diet was welcomed.
He turned around and once again, led me to the reeds. He pulled and pulled, obviously putting everything he had, into uprooting thid cattail. I walked over and yanked the rest. Once it was out of the ground, I saw that the bottom of the plant matched the tuber I had just eaten.
"These reeds keep on giving don't they?" I asked myself more than the cat, still I got a short meow in response.
I watched the cat as it walked back over to the strips of reeds I had made yesterday. "Yeah I probably should finish the shelter. Don't plan on getting rained on again." I said, and just like that the rest of my day was planned.
I got rocks, and made an outline. I got branches and stuck them in the ground as base. I wove the reed slices aound the base making walls. I gathered more branches and made a lean-to-roof. I made a raised cot that covered the entire base of the shelter, and with that my shelter was completed.
I was tired, and my hands had multiple cuts from slicing them with the reeds. My muscles were sore from moving, lifting, and bending, though it wasn't as bad as a day on the farm.
The hut was just big enough for me to lay down, and maybe roll over three times. "I think I did pretty good. What do you think?" I asked the cat. I looked down to see that the cat had left my side, and was rubbing up against the warm tree.
"I can fix that too." I commented angrily, as the cat had not seemed to care about all of my hard work. I grabbed a plate sized rock from the edge of the creek and etched Warm, into it. I traced the symbol and slid it under my raised bed. Soon the entire hut was warm.
The cat jumped from one of the tree's lower branches and scurried into my little hut. "So you agree that this is better than the tree, right?" I asked the cat. He purred in response.
My stomach matched it's purr with a long growl of its own. "I suppose we haven't eaten, have we?" The cat gave a light growl. As if he was complaining.
I quickly got out a nail and carved Squid, into one of the wall posts. The cat's eyes went wide as it saw the fish appear out of nowhere. "Ahh it looks like you don't know everything about me. I can make all sorts of stuff appear. Not just heat."
I threw the first squid to the cat who immediately began tearing into it. I traced the symbol again, summoning a squid for myself. As I was munching down on my squid, I etched Apple and Water. Water, was surrounded by a small circle.
"There, those should be enough," I said in between bites of squid. I summoned two apples for myself to enjoy with my squid. When I was done I traced Water and got myself a drink. I pulled out the stop stone, which I had tied around my neck, and stopped the water coming from the wall.
"Meooowr" the cat meowed at me, then set his glare on my stop stone and the wall that had seemingly grown a temporary fountain.
"This is my stop stone. If I use this I don't have to destroy the symbol to make it stop." I explained.
I looked to the cat, who seemed to be listening to my every word. "Learned I needed one of these pretty quick. Oh, you might not know this, but I actually don't know a whole lot about these powers of mine. You see, I am not from this world; I just woke up here one day. Before, I was homeless... though being homeless in this world doesn't seem as tough."
Until this point, I hadn't truly realized that I was homeless again. With my warm shelter, my seemingly limitless food, and new companinion; things didn't seem so bad. Sure, I had some residual resentment towards the cat who caused my homelessness, but that was fading quickly.
"I was ugly back then. I wasn't always..." my mind went back to my reflection in my past life. "When I was little I was kind of cute, but then everything changed when the stove blew up."
I talked to the cat all through the night. My words seemed to pour out, and I wasn't holding back a single secret. I gave him previous live story and all the little details that I had never spoken about before. He sat and listened, his eyes intent on mine, giving me an occational nod. A bittersweet smile touched my lips, as I recounted my life with my mom. Tears welled in my eyes as the harder parts of my last life came up, it didn't stop me though.
The sun had risen before I had finished my story. I was so tired, but I felt a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders. I started to sit up to start my day, but the cat jumped on my lap and laid down.
I knew he was telling me to sleep; we both needed it. Since I no longer had to worry about an abusive master or chores, I gave in and fell asleep.
I woke up and breathed in a woodsy smell, a stark difference from the manure smell I had grown used to. I turned over to look at the cat... but he was gone. I instantly grew frantic as I thought I had been abandoned again. However as soon as I peeked my head out of my shelter, I saw the small creature dragging another cat tail from the bed of reeds. I saw him clawing at the base, trying to remove the tuber, each scratch hardly piercing the stalk.
I walked over to him and snatched the cat-tail. He seemed shocked possibly offended, as his ears went back. I scratched his head, and he purred as he nuzzled against my palm; I took that as forgiveness. With him beside me I snapped the fibrous tuber off of the stalk with a loud snap. I took a small bite and began talking.
"You know, you have been pretty good to me. I should probably give you a name." I said. As I spoke, the cat's eyes grew wide, and his tail flicked quickly.
I plopped to the ground beside the little feline. He jumped onto my lap. I looked at him gently and stroked his fur. It was softer than I had imagined, each fine hair tickling my calloused fingers.
"How about Reed?" I asked him.
He looked at me, obviously unsure of my choice. "Since we have been here, you've shown me a lot of things. Many of those things being in these reeds." I said. I picked up the cat tail, that he had brought from the creek side. "These reeds have given us a house, they have given us warmth, they have even given us food. And you were the reason I learned that we needed them. If I call you Reed, it is like I need you." I explained
At that, he pushed his soft head against my chest and purred.
"Okay, Reed it is."