Kalli's Journal

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Raindrops

It was a dark and stormy night, the sort that followed a grey and drizzly afternoon after an overcast and and damp morning. The day had been unpleasant, meteorologically speaking, but that didn't mean that everyone had decided to just stay inside and wait for sunshine.

Actually, Sophitia had taken the afternoon off to head outside of town. There was a shrine she wanted to visit, she had said, though mostly she just wanted to wander a bit. After traveling to the other side of the world and back, there were days when standing behind the counter of the family bakery were almost unbearable.

During a particularly violent outburst from the clouds above, Sophitia had ducked down along a stream to a cave she remembered from her youth when she and some other children would search for objects of myth and dream of grand adventure. The thought had made her chuckle ever so slightly - she knew all about objects of myth and grand adventure now. She had the scars to prove it.

As she had slid down the embankment to the cave, she'd noticed that it was already inhabited. Before she could scramble in the other direction, a blade was aimed at her. And behind that blade had been a familiar form, eyes wide with recognition. She had hugged Taki almost without thinking and then scrambled into the shallow cave as another torrent fell from above.

Their conversations were long and tiring, punctuated by periods of just staring at the rain and the lightning that illuminated the swelling stream. Neither spoke the other's language particularly well, leaving many things simply gestured in the dying light of what had once been a fire near the cave's mouth.

"The rain may be stopping," Sophitia said as she made a 'rain' gesture with her hands even though she was fairly sure Taki had figured out that word already. They'd definitely increased their vocabularies in the last few hours.

Taki nodded curtly. She had spread out her traveling pack already and had offered Sophitia her blanket which now clung to Sophitia's shoulders as though it belonged there.

Almost on cue, the storm picked up again. Sophitia sighed and shuffled a little closer to Taki and offered part of Taki's blanket to her.

Taki accepted and then frowned, saying something once in her own language that was too complex for Sophitia to understand. "Your family will worry?" she tried again in Sophitia's tongue.

"No," Sophitia said quickly, now shoulder to shoulder with Taki. "They'll think I'm staying in a temple." She gestured again for temple.

Saying something in her own language again, Taki turned to look intently at Sophitia. Sophitia closed her eyes and repeated the sounds in her head. 'Old.' 'Place.' 'Demon.' 'Live.'

Nodding, Sophitia opened her eyes and smiled. "Tomorrow," she said in Taki's language before switching to her own. "I'll take you there."

"You do not hunt demons?" Taki asked, substituting her own language's word for 'demons'.

Sophitia shook her head. "I will go where the gods guide me. None have asked for my help."

That seemed to be enough for Taki, who nodded and shifting her position again, pulling Sophitia closer as lightning flashed outside. Taki's warmth was infinitely familiar and welcomed. Sophitia had not stopped thinking about the honorable ninja who had delivered her home to her family. They had traveled together for such a long time, though the memories were fuzzy and blurred from the fever Sophitia had suffered from her wounds.

She was not surprised to find Taki putting an arm around her and wrapping the blanket a bit tighter. Neither one spoke, instead trying to ignore the thunder rolling overhead. Sophitia wondered if this was a direct instruction to her from the gods. Without asking, she shifted a bit on her own, settling between Taki's legs and wrapping the blanket a bit differently. It was a good position in which to keep warm.

Taki made a soft, almost chiding noise before wrapping her strong arms around Sophitia and lacing their fingers together. As they sat in silence, the storm raged outside.

They were both half asleep when the wind stopped howling outside and the downpour turned into nothing more than a few random raindrops into the settling stream.

"Sophitia?" Taki asked, gently trying to wake the body against hers.

"Hmmm. Oh!" Sophitia untangled herself quickly and got to her feet, trying to help Taki gather her few possessions to make a run for town.

"Are you ready?" Taki asked with a smile as she ground out the last embers of the fire with one foot.

Sophitia nodded and took the hand Taki offered. And together, they ran.