1 Orphans

Water flowed down the creek, cascading down over fallen trees and between nestled river rocks that portuded out of the water. Here, it was quiet in this stretch of forest a few miles out from Reese, where the wolves roamed but not far from the budding town to the West where the folks spoke of strange new traditions of demons and humans living together. For a girl such as herself, Kimiko hardly believed a word of it. It sounded like a hunter's trap, but honestly what wasn't anymore.

She looked down at her hands, thinking of her scattered family. Her mother shoved her and her brother out the back door when they had raided their small cottage in the woods and she had begun to think maybe they should have built their home in the trees.

She had… to an extent but the weight of the wood she tried to heft up only seemed enough to make a hammock and her hands weren't too good with weaving fabric, let alone leather together. Kimiko stood on a high limb of a tree,, watching the water flow down the small stream. "It's quiet today," she muttered, her lively voice lost in the beginning of another round of depression.

Turning her head to the left, she cast her gaze down over the forest in the direction of the road she'd seen horses traverse. Men riding - while often hooded - usually brought through a few captured slaves here and there but most of the time it was just goods. She'd learned to leave them alone after the first round of guards came.

Men, large and hulking with helmets that seemed to squeeze their flesh from their face would stalk out along the path with large spears. She'd seen them turn into an uglier manner of beasts resemblant of wolves but she wasn't dumb enough to interfere.

Her attention sparked at the sight of two unfamiliar ones walking the path instead. They seemed unaware, crossing through onto the road and then back off of it. Their voices a lull hush over the water as they walked and she focused her gaze on them.

"Haji?" Emi asked as they came over to Wolf's Creek. She noticed his head nod up into her direction as she climbed onto a tall rock over the water's edge and she slid down to a smooth spot before slipping off her boots.

"Hmm?" He asked finally, not hearing her continue.

Emi smiled a little, laughing as she steeped her feet into the creek, swinging them as she watched the water twist and turn around her limbs. "Where did I come from?"

Haji had finally sat down after pulling off his cloak. He was laying with his back against a tree with his eyes closed, trying to get comfortable before they had to walk again. "I don't know..." He said in a low, calm voice. "You were just floating down the creek when I found you." He told her, opening his eyes as he gazed over at her. "Why?"

"Just wondering..." She said, kicking her feet up and then dropping them back into the water; making a small splash. "How come I can't remember?" She asked, leaning forward to let the water touch the tips of her fingers. She let the cold water wash over her and she tilted her head somewhat to glance in his direction. "My first memories are of waking up in your house..."

Haji sighed, this was out of his control really but he couldn't help being a bit frustrated by the inquisitions. "What's with all the questions?" He asked standing up, unable to relax.

"I don't know..." She said sitting up abruptly, staring at him for a while before looking at her boots. She grabbed them quickly and pulled her feet out of the water as she slipped them back on. "You're still going to help me find my family right?" She asked hopeful that he'd continue the journey with her.

Haji nodded. "Of course..." Though a nagging part of his mind wondered if she even had any family left. He hoped she did, but if she didn't… He thought she might be devastated at that truth.

Footsteps crept over the branch of a higher hanging branch before they lept to the next, carefully crossing back to the base of a second fir tree. Her sword, wrapped in the cloth, slowly unraveled as she jumped down a few more branches. She noticed the girl's ears twitch, turning back before she looked around her and Kimiko laughed at her ignorance.

"Huh… A Creotian? ...And-" She squinted at them from the high branches before crouching down to look at them. "I know she's not human by the looks of it." She whispered, putting her hand up against the branch as she leaned forward a bit. "Is she.... a slave girl?" she whispered, watching them.

Emi's brows creased together. She was about to say something and had her mouth open, but stopped when a scent caught the air. Something was different...

"What is it?" Haji asked, looking around. He couldn't see anything in the clearing around them or between the trees. He stood up slowly, peering around the tree before he looked straight up and he saw Kimiko. Instantly, he froze up.

Emi looked up too, finally aware that the scent wafting down towards them was from above. "Wha..." She caught herself mid question upon seeing Kimiko in the trees. Unaware of their position, she smiled at her and waved slowly. "Oh!" She breathed. " Hello!" Emi said in her usual friendly manner.

Kimiko was puzzled for a moment, but seeing the girl's reaction confirmed her suspicion. She hopped down the next few sets of branches before stopping on the second to last highest and stared down at them. She could see Haji backtracking closer to Emi protectively.

She did not smile back to Emi, but only looked down upon the two, "Girl....are you a slave?" she asked loudly, in attempt to make her question clear and well heard by the two of them. She had her hand on the tree's base while her other hand held her sword at her side.

"No. I'm not a slave." Emi said calmly getting up.

"Huh. Well… honestly, I don't really care, but that does answer my question." She cocked her head to the side somewhat. "I just want to know why you are here as I do not like visitors...." she said as she turned her wrist somewhat to point the blade up and let it shimmer in the low light. "Even though we're of the same kind, I'd like it best if you just leave this part of the forest."

Emi frowned, feeling a little worried but Haji watched calmly as she spoke. He thought about her words carefully, but it seemed like she was hardly one to force them to leave.

"There's no one here beside me, and I'm not trying to befriend you either. Don't think I'm naive and will accept you just because we share commonality." The sword emitted a low shadow that seeped off of it like a crisp black smoke.

Emi's smile was gone now. "I didn't ask to be your friend and I didn't see a sign that said 'no visitors'..." She looked around, still calm but wondering if she missed the sign.

Unlike Haji, who suppressed laughter at the remarks the woman made at them. "I'm sorry. No need to get violent." He held one hand up, keeping the other at his side. "We didn't do anything to you..." He said. He stood in the way of Emi in case she threw a projectile so he could protect her.

Kimiko growled, her eyes glowed softly in the dim forest light. "Any demi-human dumb enough to travel with a Creotian is no friend of mine! Just leave! Leave my forest and take your filthy human with you!" She yelled, her hand shaking a little but it wasn't visible from how far they were. She pointed the sword out at them.

Despite her words, she never did mean what she said about humans. She just couldn't help the sense that she felt betrayed by her parents. Her father especially, who made her run away when the hunters came. He faked having their mother as a slave, but when he left to hunt and they came back and it was just her, her brother and her mother alone…

She had to leave since they had tried to hurt her mother. She couldn't hide under the floorboards like her brother, so, using the skills her father had taught her, Kimiko had stabbed one of the men and they gave chase to her. She'd never returned home after, having seen the men always around her house since then.

Her tails swished, thinking about how they might speak of this to those men since she, like her mother was a rare breed. The word breed felt ugly in her mind. Having been the only grey fox with two-tails it must've meant something great for the clan of foxes, but she never thought it was. It only brought them more trouble despite only being half human.

Her teeth clenched and she screamed out at them again. "I hate demons! Half breeds, humans… I hate them all!" she cried, feeling the pressure and painful memories just looking at the two. Just like her parents. The wind picked up as the trees ached and groaned with the breeze.

Kimiko opened her eyes, feeling overcome by emotion and jealousy. "If I find you, you'll regret it! Get out of my forest!" She screamed before jumping back up into the trees, disappearing between the thick green.

After the trees rustled again, everything went quiet.

"How strange." She watched her, oblivious to the threat she made. "She was pretty. I've never seen another demon before... And she has two tails!" Haji wasn't as enthralled as she was fascinated by the interaction, but his words brought her attention back to him.

"Yeah..." He said. He started to walk back towards his house. "Come on," he told her quietly.