Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ A Wanderer's Path ❯ Path's Crossing ( Prologue )

A Wanderer's Path

Chapter 1 ` Path's Crossing`

By: Chiri-chan and Mi-Chan-Angel

The sun beat down on the weary traveler through the protective shade of the forest as he walked along a dusty and rocky path that was along its edge. The cliff on his left caused the heat to bounce back at him making the shade of the trees almost useless. He stopped a moment and looked up at the sun through the leaves of the trees, one hand holding his kasa so that it wouldn't fall back. His smiling eyes didn't change as he sighed, wishing that the heat would die down. He walked on, turning his attention back to the path, his staff jangling slightly and black tai chi shoes stirring up small clouds of dust.

The sound of scrambling feet and claws could be heard faintly from the top of the cliff that seemed to become louder and louder as the forms came closer. Panting the young half elven gargoyle woman ran on all fours away from the angry tiger that followed. Feather wings pulled tightly down against her back as the taloned claws on her wings held them in place about her neck so that she did not trip over them. Looking over her shoulder to see the pursuing tiger.

He's going to catch me, she thought, nearly panicking.

Occupied with judging the distance between herself and the tiger she did not see the cliff up ahead as she tumbled off of it. She rolled down the face of the cliff to land in a little pile of feathered wings before she sat up and scrambled to hide behind the nearest bush. Too close, much to close, she thought.

She sat huddled there, panting, long tail wrapped about her ankles as she sat wearily in an alert crouch. Dirt was smeared across the delicate features of her face and body, making her pale blue skin look a dusky gray. The dirt was caked and matted in her long blond hair. Wings once snow white were dingy gray from the dust and dirt. Clothing that once consisted of beautiful exotic dress hung in tattered strips of mud stained cloth about her form. It still covered vital areas that would be considered indecent if exposed but those few small areas were starting to see the wear. Small holes were beginning to form within the remains of the top, in areas that if they got much bigger there would be no use to wear the cloth at all. Emerald eyes peered out in a wild and alert fashion as delicate tapered ears twitched at the slightest noise. She looked up at the cliff face where the tiger stood. Go away! Her thoughts screamed though she remained silent.

The tiger on the other hand was able to stop before slipping down the cliff face and looked over growling as it searched for its prey.

His ears perked up as the sound of scrabbling claws and heavy breathing was brought to him by a slight but refreshing breeze, a chase. Hearing some stones roll down the rocky face of the cliff and something landing on the ground. He didn't hesitate to pick up his pace as he rounded a small bend in the path in time to see a small flash of blue go into the bushes. He quickly looked up, kasa falling down his back, to see the frustrated tiger. The smile turned into a thoughtful frown as he studied the graceful animal a moment, deciding that it would more than likely give up he turned more of his attention to the bushes but still not disregarding the large feline.

Seeing the wanderer, the tiger let out one last snarling hiss in frustration and turned away not wanting to tangle with more then one opponent, that it would have to face if it went after its prey now. Its low growls faded slowly as it walked back into the forest from whence it came.

Sighing in relief the wanderer walked over to the bushes, the rings on his staff jingling slightly with his small movement, he stood what he hoped was a non-threatening distance away. As he could sense the being's life force, he could tell that it was quite intelligent, probably a small child or something he thought for a moment but quickly brushed it away, a small child couldn't run from a tiger. His single chocolate eye blinked once under his paper-smiling mask as he was starting to get rather curious about who was hiding in the bushes.

Her ears twitched softly at the rhythmic jingling sound of the staff and as it grew closer the woman's eyes widened slightly and she moved back farther in behind the bush, for a moment. Elf?…. No human? She questioned herself as she listened before her eyes widened slightly again. Bad! she thought as she darted out from under the bush and up the closest tree. Though the wanderer had kept a distance that normally would be considered non-threatening, she was unsure and wanted to stay safe after being chased down by the angry tiger. There she perched in the tree, down on all fours and looked at the wanderer. Her long tail partially falling off the branch in a large loop as the tip was securely wrapped about the branch itself. Her green eyes looked down upon the wanderer with slight curiosity but fear as well. It had been quite some time since she had been around people...since she was what most would call civilized.

He jumped slightly, causing the rings to jangle louder on the staff, as the creature that was hiding in the bush bolted out from it. His quick eye and keen sense followed her up the tree. He turned so he could look at the creature better and was rather startled to see what seemed to be a young girl, with rags for clothing and a smudged face, although the wings were a bit odd as was the tail. He studied her for a few moments before speaking to her in a lower voice than he normally used.

"Hello, no da. Are you all right?" a thought suddenly occurred to him, "Are you hungry, no da?"

At the sound of the wanderer's voice they young woman jumped slightly. She uttered not a word as her tail unwrapped from its spot around the branch of the tree as she ran up the trunk and onto the branch that had been above her. She crouched down on all four amidst the leaves for protection. Her long tail streamed down off the branch for a moment, swaying ideally before it too snaked up behind her to wrap around the branch. She watched the wanderer with still curious eyes, from amidst the leaves and branches. Hungry that she may be, trustful, that she is not. She had been treated poorly for too long to give any sort of trust to any being that walked on two legs whether it be human, gargoyle, or elven alike. Though she had found no elven or gargoyle kindred of any sort in this strange land, that has become her home, so far from her place of birth.

The wanderer watched with interest and dismay, although none of this showed on his smiling face, as the girl went farther up the tree at the sound of his voice. He continued looking up at her, seeming to not be the least bit moved by how she acted, and continued in the same tone as before.

"Well, then you just stay there, no da. I'll go gather some wood, get the fire started, and then go get some supper, ne?" Not waiting to see if the girl would actually stay or not he quickly moved off through the woods, his staff jingling as he walked. Finding a rather clear spot he put the staff down and walked around gathering up some wood that would make a nice fire.

The woman cocked her head and looked at the trunk of the tree as if debating about running up to the next branch at the sound of his voice, but she didn't this time. She just watched the wanderer as he talked, then she blinked when he walked off. Leaning out as far as she could, she watched him walk off into the woods before she scampered on all four down the length of the branch and jumped over to the next tree. Following him along, by listening to the jingling sound of his staff, hopping from tree to tree till he stopped in the clearing. There she settled in on a branch with quite a bit of leafy cover and watched.

Putting the armload of wood down he dug out a little shallow spot. Setting a few pieces of the wood in the shallow hole he chanted a short spell that set the wood to flame.

When the dry wood ignited and crackled to life the young woman so started by it ran up the trunk of the tree and stopped two branches up. Her startled movements caused a few leaves to flow down from the rustling branches. Coming to rest again she wrapped her tail about her wrists and ankles and watched with curious but frightened look if it were possible to see her face among the many leaves and branches. Only fire spirits are supposed to be able to control fire, she thought almost frantically, he's human, not spirit…or he's a really big spirit!

He looked up at the tree curiously, as leaves drifted down from it and a few branches still swayed. A slightly amused look lit upon the face under the mask at this. Shrugging his rather thin shoulders he looked back at the blaze in front of him. Now satisfied that it was going to keep going he pulled his kasa off his back and reaching inside it he dug around for a moment before finding what he was looking for. Pulling out his well-worn fishing pole he set the kasa beside his staff and walked off in the direction of where he knew there would be stream.

When the wanderer pulled the fishing pole from his kasa, she again leaned out as far as possible as she looked down in wide eyed wonder. Long wooden stick… from hat??? Her thoughts tumbled about as she tried to figure out how he pulled a fishing pole out of his kasa. Her head and part of her once golden hair hung down from amidst the leaves, as she gripped the branch tightly with her hands and feet. After the wanderer left with the fishing pole, curiosity began to get the better of her and she made her way slowly down the tree to the ground. She dropped to the ground on all four and laid down watching and listening, her long tail streaming out behind her it's dingy yellow-feathered tip twitching slightly. When she felt that it was safe she began to belly crawl towards the staff and kasa much like a tiger would creep through the grass. She was about to touch the wanderer's kasa when the fire emitted a loud crackling pop and she darted up the tree again out of fear and startlement. Scary! She though and decided to stay put on the bottom most branch, where it was safe.

Setting down on the bank of the stream the wanderer let the fishing line drift into the water and then waited patiently, knowing full well that he could sit here for quite a while without having so much as a nibble. He took a deep breath of the forest's sweet smelling air as he wondered about the girl he had met a little while ago, he didn't let himself mull over questions he just knew that she needed help and that he would gladly be the one to do it. After all wasn't that his purpose in life? After sitting there for sometime he finally had caught three nice size brook trout picking them up on the bit of string he had put them on he carried them back to where he had made the fire. As he walked along and worked he started to softly hum to himself for he found it rather relaxing. Laying the fishing pole down he started to dig around in his kasa again, finding three pointed sticks he unstrung the fish and put one on each stick, sticking them in the ground by the fire so that they could cook. Standing up straight he tapped his chin for a moment, as if in thought, before picking up his kasa and heading off into the woods to search for some berries.

The woman watched the fire for a bit still trying to figure out fully what it was. It had been a long time since she had truly been this close to one. Her attention turned back to the wanderer when he reappeared with the fish. She cocked her head when he started to dig through the kasa again and magically pull items from it. The hat was a curiosity and a mystery to her. Her gaze followed the wanderer as he prepared the fish and then walked off into the woods again before her gaze returned to first the kasa as it disappeared with the wanderer, then the fire with the fish. She debated about going down to the ground again but decided against it, the tree was safe away from the loud and dangerous sounding noises. So instead she began to hop from tree to tree following the wanderer. She said not a word as she watched from her perch as he searched for berries and eatable things. The man was a curiosity to her, the first being to treat her kindly in several years. For wasn't she a monster, a demon as all the others had said when they chased her with swords and other objects that inflicted pain.

He could sense the girl's life force as she followed him but he said nothing as he continued humming while he walked, for he had no wish to frighten her any further, along in the forest searching for a berry patch. Seeing one he walked over to it and held his kasa upside down as he started to pick the red berries and drop them in to the straw hat. After the kasa was about half full he turned and walked back towards the fire, still humming softly as he went. Reaching the little clearing he set his kasa down, magically balancing it on its point, so as not to spill the berries.

When the wanderer returned to the fire she followed in the trees. Curiosity was piqued again as the kasa was made to balance on its point and a slight scrambling noise could be heard among the branches as the gargoyle woman latches her claws into the tree to keep from falling out as she had leaned to far over off the branch. How can it do that? She questioned herself as she watched, eyes focusing on the kasa.

Hearing the scrabbling and the branches moving across and above him the monk silently chuckled as he shook his head slightly, making his mow hawk sway gently with the motion.

After checking the fish and turning them he took his kesa off and dumped the berries on to it so that he could again rummage through his kasa. Pulling out a couple of small clay bowls, silently kicking himself for not thinking to dig them out earlier, he carefully scooped up the berries and put half in each. Setting them aside the monk shook his kesa out before he slung it back on. Setting down on the ground, with legs folded under him, waited for the fish to finish cooking, still softly humming.

Her focus fell on the kasa every time new things were pulled from it. The sound of leaves rustling noted the movement of the woman as she moved from the lowest branch to a higher one as she went to a better vantagepoint to watch as the monk sat down. She still had little comprehension of what things were, but they would come back to her slowly.

After some time he stopped humming and decided that the fish were cooked well enough, getting up the traveler took two of the sticks out of the ground. Picking up one of the bowls he walked over to the tree, that he knew that the girl was in. Setting them down he went back to his kasa and dug out a water skin. After setting that by the food he looked up a moment and then turning he went and sat down by the fire to eat his own food, leaving the girl to her own decision as to whether or not she wanted to eat.

There was a bit of rustling in the branches but nothing more then that when the food was placed below the tree. Whether she went higher up the tree or not would be up to the wanderer to decide. Crawling along the branch the woman came to a spot to where she could see down between the branches and see both the food placed by the tree and the wanderer himself. She was hungry but not all that trusting to her company as of yet. Why? Was the question that echoed through her mind over and over again, concerning the wanderer.

The traveler was unmoved by the sound of the rustling leaves as he continued to eat, he knew that when the girl got hungry enough she would come down. He slightly grinned silently to himself, of course he could always easily use a levitation spell to put the food up in the tree, but that would more than likely frighten her and besides he wanted to help her in her fear, not aid her. Now finished with his own meal he got up and walked to the stream where he washed the stick and the bowl, so that they could be reused. He looked in the water a moment, all he saw was a smiling face, nothing more. He sighed it was his own punishment. Finally getting to his feet he returned to where he had made camp and put the utensils back in his kasa. Digging around inside it a moment he pulled out two small wooden boxes. Setting them on the ground he opened one to reveal a set of wooden meditation balls that were carefully packed in sand with the characters for Fate and Life written on them. Taking them out he put them in one hand, the rice inside them making them sound like rain, as the kernels moved inside. Opening the other box that held another set of wooden meditation balls but with the characters for Destiny and Friendship on them. Picking them up with the other hand he sat down in the customary meditative style and then resting his hands lightly on his knees he started to work the meditation balls, the sound of rain now filling the air. He sighed as it helped relax him and the eye under his mask slowly closed as he lost himself in that musical rhythm.

The woman cocked her head at the production of the wooden cases containing the meditation balls, then she looked skyward in slight confusion at the sound of rain that did not fall. She then concentrated on the wanderer again. The balls make noise, she though to herself, the sound of soft rain, like the spirits make. After listening to the rhythm of the wooden balls for a while her hunger began to get the better of her and she climbed down the tree slowly. She did not allow her feet to even touch the soft earth as she used her tail to snag the stick containing the fish, then back up the tree she bolted. Once sitting securely upon the branch she looked at the fish as she held it out before her still by her tail. Tentatively she took the stick in both hands, one on each side of the fish. Then she began to sniff at it. Her long tail swishing softly in the branches as her ears twitched slightly as they listened to the sound of rain. After deciding that the fish smelled okay, she brought it to her lips and gave it a little lick. Only to pull it away for a moment to spit out a few crisp scales that got stuck on her tongue, which still stuck out between crimson lips. It doesn't taste bad, she though. Giving it another little sniff she finally decided to bite into the fish. Finding that it was better then she thought she began to munch away at it.

The sound of the rain relaxed the travel weary monk as he sat in front of the fire, the sun now dipping below the horizon. Finally feeling relaxed enough he quit rotating the balls in his hands and let them roll to the ground. Then sitting quietly, he became aware of the sensations of his own body, which led to his noticing the sound of the forest, as the day creatures settled down and the nocturnal came to life. How pleasant he thought to himself. He let those sensations go as he noticed the slow in take and out let of his breath. The air now felt cool and refreshing on his throat as it gusted in and out, the smoke from the fire slightly tickling his nose. Concentrating on this he let everything else move into the back of his mind. After sometime of this he felt memories from his past slowly take over his consciousness. Remembering, he thought as he was carried deeper.

After finishing the fish the woman looked down at the monk as the sound of the rain stopped and the balls fell from his hands. Still hungry she climbed back down with the stick in her mouth. Her feet came to rest softly upon the ground and she set the stick down listening alertly for any tiny sound or movement. When nothing seemed out of the ordinary she sat down and ate the berries quickly. Finding that the berries satisfied her appetite she picked up the other fish and pulled it from the stick. Going over to a large leafed plant she pulled off a couple of leaves and wrapped the fish up in it carefully then she returned to the tree. Looking left then right to make sure no one was watching she buried the wrapped fish under one of the tree roots.

After she was satisfied that her food was safe she crept over towards where the monk had dropped his meditation balls. When she got close to one she began to belly crawl much like a cat would, her long tail swishing in the grass behind her as her wings were pulled tight against her back. Crouching down like that she reached out a taloned hand to touch one of the balls. She scurried back when it made noise. Crawling back toward it when it stopped making noise, she stopped and listened before reaching out and batting at it again. Her ears flattened a bit this time and she again jumped at the sound before grabbing it and scurrying up the tree with it afraid that she disturbed the wanderer. Sitting down on the branch she shook the ball and listened to it make it's sound of rain before she began to sniff at it and she eventually licked it. A look of disgust on her face as her tongue again poked out between crimson lips. Bad, tastes really bad, she thought as she began to turn it over in her hands. She did not recognize the character of friendship written upon the ball, looks familiar she thought as she cocked her head at it, tracing the character with one nail softly. After a while she became tired so she climbed down the tree and hopped over towards the wanderer before rolling the ball the rest of the way and she climbed back up the tree and quickly made herself a small nest of leaves in the crook of the lowest branch.

The monk was oblivious to the world around him as he was lost in his own mind and past. Images of his journeys flitted through his mind, happy ones and sad ones, but stayed on the times he had spent with the others like himself. The journey had been long and rough but they had come out on top with the holy power of Suzaku. A tiny smile lit upon his face as he remembered the comradeship that he had gained and then frowned at the ones he had lost. Time wore on, as his mind filtered through these things and the night slowly became morning, as the first few morning rays peeked over the horizon. The memories seemed to fade with the night, as he once again became aware of his life-breath.

As the first rays of the morning sun lit the sky with their brilliance the woman stirred, then stretched, at first much as a cat stretches her back arching before she stretched out her wings. As she sat up disturbing the leaves of her lofty bed and she watched the sun bathe the land in light before hopping from the tree to land on all four. She moved over to the place where she buried the fish, eat, she thought before shaking her head, no, bath first. She looked to the wanderer and saw that he still did not stir from his spot and she scooted past as quickly and quietly as she could and headed off towards the stream. Once there she found a protected spot in the bushes to undress before she slipped into the cool crystalline water and began to scrub herself clean with the use of her natural surroundings, using fragrant plants as soap. She had not bathed for a couple of days due to the incident with the tiger. She splashed around happily in the water, moving out a little deeper into the water to duck and splash water about with her wings, much in the way a bird would, to rinse away the dirt from between the feathers.

Now fully coming out of his meditative like sleep he opened his eye and looked around him a moment before he stood up. His brows slightly knitted as he found the girl's life force not in the tree. He sighed and shrugged as he kneeled on the ground to do his morning prayers before breakfast. Folding his hands in front of him with index fingers steepled he closed his single eye and spoke the prayers that he did every morning, but always with the same feeling if not more, the more times that he spoke the words.

Finally feeling that she was clean enough the gargoyalian woman climbed out of the water and dressed before scampering back to the camp to retrieve the fish she buried the night before. When she saw the monk sitting in a different position she carefully crept by, low to the ground leaving only wet prints and droplets as the sign of her quiet passing. Once next to the tree she quickly uncovered the fish wrapped in leaves and she shot straight up the tree with it. Returning to her branch she set the fish down so that she could shove the pile of leaves from the branch before unwrapping the fish and starting to munch away, with a soft sigh as she watched the monk. I wonder what he is doing, she thought.

As he knelt and prayed to the great beast god the monk couldn't help but be a bit amused when he sensed, rather than heard, the strange girl come back. Now almost finished with his morning rituals and obligations the monk opened his eye in time to see the gargoylian woman run up the tree. He sat still in the same position for a few moments before he softly spoke the vow that he had taken upon becoming a monk of the great god. He took a steady, deep controlled breath as he finished. Letting it out he stood up and looked up at the tree where he knew the girl was watching him. Mask giving her a smile he walked off into the woods with his kasa to get some more berries for breakfast.

The woman looked down at the monk but continued on munching as a response to the smile. When he disappeared into the bushes with his kasa she cocked her head in the direction that he went. Popping a part of the stick with the remaining half of the fish in her mouth she continued after the monk curious to see what he was up to. Coming to rest in a crouch she went back to munching as soon as she saw the monk stop. Ahhh more berries, she thought. They make sweet treats after eating fishies. Her long ears twitching from time to time taking in the morning sounds of the woods as she sat on the branch, her feet dangling off amidst the leaves as her tail wrapped about her ankles. For the first time in quite a while she actually sat more as a lady should then a feral creature of the wood.

As the monk filled the kasa full of berries again he decided to stay here for a couple of days, to help make sure that the girl would be all right. Besides he was weary from traveling the past few weeks, he could use the rest, he sneezed softly and wrinkled his nose and a bath. He looked at the now half full kasa and decided to make something, plain berries weren't that filling most of the time. Pausing he got his sense of direction and walked off towards the stream, carefully carrying the hat full of food. Upon reaching it he knelt down put the kasa in, letting the water run through it to wash off the berries. Taking it out of the water he let it magically balance on its point on the bank, while he took of his kesa. Dumping the wet berries on to the cloth he then dug through the wet hat and pulled out a clay pitcher. Filling that with water he put the kasa on his head and gathered up the four corners of his kesa. Getting to his feet he walked back to the camp and set the pitcher and kesa down. Taking the kasa off his head he reached in side and pulled out a big bowl, a pouch that held some brown rice, a few herbs, a wooden mixing spoon, and a smooth flat rock that he used to cook things on. He looked at the fire that had just a few hot coals and frowned a moment before putting more wood on it, which soon caught flame. Looking back at the other things before him he quickly got to work.

She finished the fish as the monk started walking back towards the camp and she placed the sick in her mouth and followed after the monk, easily gliding or hopping from tree to tree. Reaching the camp she paused a moment before continuing on to the waters edge to wash her sticky hands, disturbing a few leaves in the tree over the wanderer's head as she landed on a branch above him as she continued on. She carefully washed away all the scales and crumbs from her hands and about her mouth before swishing the stick in the water too and then she carried it back as she flew back to the camp to land on her customary branch. Seeing all sorts of new things that the monk had pulled out of his kasa she stood up and wandered a bit further down the brace after setting the stick down in the crook of the branch. Leaning out she spread her wings for balance so not to fall out of the tree she looked at all the items. She understood what the pitcher but the others were a bit foreign for her still. At one time she knew what different herbs were as well as rice. She sniffed the air and sneezed when the smoke from the fire blew her way and nearly smoked her out of the tree as she scampered back down the branch coughing. She had an urge to go down and find out what the 'interesting smell' was when she could finally smell more than the wood smoke from the fire. Many interesting smells and interesting things, she thought as she still stood upon her branch and watched the monk.

Tapping his chin thoughtfully the monk again pulled something out of his kasa, then looking up at the branch where the girl was perched, he got a bit of a concerned look on his ever smiling face at hearing the coughing. After it stopped he sighed feeling a bit relieved as he looked at the mushroom shaped utensil in his hand. Opening the pouch of rice he dumped a good portion of it onto the flat rock. Then using the utensil in his hand he started to grind the kernels down so that they were more of a flower consistency. That now done he scooped up the berries and dumped them into the large bowl, mashing them so that they would be easier to mix. After dumping the ground rice in with the berries he picked up the spoon and stirred it adding a little water when the batter became too thick. Noticing that the fire was now nice and hot coals the monk laid the rock in them so that it could get heating. After stirring the batter a bit more he was finally satisfied with its consistency. Letting a drip of it fall on the rock he was glad to see that it was warm enough as the batter sizzled on the hot surface. Pouring some of the batter on the rock he let it cook while he dug some wooden plates out of his kasa. Thus he cooked rice and berry pancakes. The batter now used up the traveler divided the pancakes onto three different plates, one for the girl, one for him, and one to save some of the food for later. Getting up he looked up in the tree as he walked over and set the plate down by its base. "You should eat before it gets cold, no da," he stated as he walked back to the fire and sat down to enjoy his own meal.

The gargoyalian woman poked her head out of the leafy branches to her shoulders as she leaned out to see what the wanderer had set upon the ground below her. The smell was very intoxicatingly sweet and almost made her drool as a smile formed upon her face, eyes closing at the delightful smell. 'Shouldn't be hungry,' she actually chastised herself as she scampered down from the tree once the wanderer had reclaimed his seat and started eating. 'I just ate but....' She snatched the plate and disappeared back into the tree. She sat upon the branch a moment her feet dangling off, just below the leaf layer as she sat with the warm plate in her lap. 'Owwwie hot hot hot!!' she thought as she shook her burnt fingers before popping them in her mouth to suck on them. She waited a bit before trying the good smelling but pain causing food with a slightly cocked brow. Pulling off a piece, finding that it was cool enough to pick up, she first sniffed it before popping it in her mouth. Yummmyyyyyyy!!!! she thought, the pain in her mildly burnt fingers soon forgotten at the taste of the sweet cakes.

He watched with his good eye from behind the mask as the girl made her way down the tree only to disappear up it again. He sighed softly and made himself concentrate on his meal. Once he was done he picked up the dirty dishes and headed off to the stream. Washing them he brought them back and left them to dry.

The wanderer then knelt down by his kasa and pulled out a ball of soap slipping that into his belt he stood up and looked towards the tree. Seeing that the girl still had not moved he again walked to the stream, only going farther up stream to look for a more secluded area. As he walked silently through the woods he breathed deeply of its aromas through all his senses, enjoying them. Seeing a small clump of bushes ahead he walked towards them and looked behind them. Upon seeing a small but deep pool that had formed there he stepped behind the growth and undressed, putting the ball of unscented soap by the bank.

Minnows skittered away from him as he slipped in the cool water, it reaching up a bit past his waist. His breathed deeply as he took of the mask and made it disappear, he wasn't afraid to take off it here, for there was no one to see his disfigured face.

After dunking under the water to wet his hair, the monk reached for the soap, singing in a soft voice as he started to wash the dirt from the roads that he had traveled from his body.

After finishing her breakfast the woman climbed down from the tree and took the plate to the stream to be washed. While she was there the sound of the wanderer's voice caught her curiosity as long sensitive ears caught the sound of his voice and the sound of splashing once and a while. Returning to the camp she dropped off the plate and the clean sticks for the fish from the other night with the wanderer's. Then she returned to the stream, walking on all fours, following the sound of his voice.

Once his voice became distinct she made her way back around the brush growth as she was about to pick a spot to sit and listen within the brush she caught sight of his clothing. Cocking her head she crept into the secluded area cautiously. 'So many things,' she though as she only paid half attention to the bathing man's voice now for she still could not see him. She looked about from item to item of clothing before she scurried over to his shoes at a practical belly crawl. She touched one shoe, pulling her hand back quickly in case it made a noise. 'No noises,' she thought with relief, since every other item she seemed to touch made noise. When it didn't she reached out to touch it again. Seeing that it wasn't going to bite her or make a noise to frighten her she snatched the shoe and headed off back towards the camp with a new prize to look at.

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