The way of the Mist

The cages of greenery

Prologue

Keira sighed, rolling over the lumpy sheepskin to look at the small, curled up figure sleeping next to her. Soft breathing filled the air, the calm soothing sound totally opposite to the turbulent mess in Keiras head.She smiled affectionately as the girl mumbled something , a contented gurgle slipping out of her dream-filled  sleep into the real world.

Rubbing her eyes sleepily, Keira slipped her feet into her worn-out clogs and tried to tiptoe outside, being careful not to wake the slumbering girl. The end result was a curious thumping noise, sending small vibrations through the earth, not much better than her normal walking.

 It was still night in Ikeda, but the stars were blocked behind the fog that still hung, like an illness, around the small hamlet. She could hear rats scuttling around the dust, fighting over non-existent crumbs of food. The inhabitants of Ikeda had no titbits to spare even for the half tamed mice who gazed pleadingly at hunks of bread, soon to be devoured in seconds by hungry children.

Times were hard. Food and water was scarce. Not since the fog had come had any crops not succumbed to unknown diseases, wells had dried up, leaving the hamlet without food, and even the streams and lakes that once had fish darting in and out of the rocks, had all but disappeared.

Rumours were that the red eyed demon, Akha had cursed them to live like savages until the end of their time, feeding off scraps that they would have once thrown away. Keira shook her head to clear her thoughts, knowing that a depressing mood was not going to help she and her sister to escape for a better life- she didn't even know where to go! She had considered the town of Omashu, where they had planned to stay for months, only after hearing that that settlement too had been struck by the blight, all trade stopped and people starving. The journey would waste too much time and energy, that which they couldn't afford to lose.

The way she saw it, they only had one choice left- the wilds. Before, she'd crossed it off the list immediately- it was dangerous and the chances of survival. But with the last close settlement down, that was the only option. That, or staying in this god-forsaken village. There was no way they would survive in Ikeda, civilisation or not. Although it meant risking their deaths and being at the mercy of the prowling cats that stalked the forest, anything would be better than this living hell.

Keira clumped back into the hut,glancing around furtively. A brief look showed her that nothing was out of place, and, reassured, she trudged inside. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw twin red, rage-filled slits glaring back at her. She whirled around her feet in a defensive stance, ready to jump out at whoever was lurking there, but when she looked again to where the eyes were, she saw nothing. Nothing except for the dust drifting around in the air, telling her the truth; something had been there. Something......that could move faster than the wind.

She shivered involuntarily, letting her guard down for a second to adjust the patched blankets on her sisters  frail shoulders. She hadn't felt safe in a while-being always on the lookout had taken a toll on both of them-you could see it in their almost despairing faces, they had both grown older in the past few days.

Letting her eyelids droop, Keira drifted off into an uneasy slumber, filled with gleaming red eyes and dark shadows.

The next day:

"Yuki, we're moving" Keira said, shaking her sister awake ,"You've got to get up..."

"Huh?" Yuki blearily blinked the sleep away, shielding her eyes from the sun with a scrawny hand.

"Why? Where are we going?" She asked a hurriedly packing Keira.

"Questions, questions....."Keira exclaimed with annoyance, crossing her arms for a brief moment of rest. As soon as she saw Yuki's eyes beginning to water, her face softened, losing it's hard, rough edge that the hunger had temporarily placed upon her.

"We're going to the wilds" She said abruptly, refusing to elaborate further, and continuing her packing. Not that there was much to pack, just 2 loaves of coarse brown bread and a flask of water, a few amulets they had been given from passing travellers, who looked upon them with pity, and, occasionally, disdain and haughty glances.

A few minutes later, as they turned to leave, Keira took one last look at the hut they used to call home. It was bare of belongings- except for the empty cupboard, almost all eaten through with woodworm . She knew that they wouldn't be back, and a strange sense of nostalgia settled over her. It was a new start, a chance for them to start a new life...so how come she felt like all their past and bad luck would come back to haunt them?

No. Determination lit her eyes. She had to remain strong, and believe that they would survive to live  a few more years, maybe find a nice family to stay with. If not for her sake, at least for Yuki's.

Two weeks later:

It had been a tough two weeks-Keira and Yuki had had to run away from more than one hungry predator, but by far the worst was the hornets, who, one night when they were sleeping in a tree, had attacked and woken them up, leaving large painful swellings on both their faces. Luckily, an old herb healer had passed them on the way, and, seeing their bruised and sore faces, had offered to help them get back on their feet. That was two day ago, and so far, since then, they had been lucky. Every night, they checked the trees surrounding for hornet nests, and also mamushi snakes, as the healer had also warned them of other unknown predators who would delight in weakened and easy meat. 

They had picked up some fruit along the way- at least, that's what Keira assumed it was, it was bitter-tasting with a strong hint of dirt. More than once, Keira questioned her decision to flee the village, but her doubt would be replaced with certainty when Yuki came through the flap of makeshift den with her lips stained with berry juice, and a beaming smile stretched across her face. They had both changed in the past short 2 weeks, both becoming healthier and happier since leaving their worries behind.

Keira pushed aside the vines of the undergrowth, and kept a lookout for anything that would harm them when Yuki let out a horrified gasp, pointing ahead of them into the dense trees.

"What?" Keira said impatiently, seeing nothing but greenery. She couldn't see what was so bad about that, except for eternal boredom.

A chilling roar shook the forest, and the snake that had been eyeing them for the past few minutes, slithered away silently. Keira glanced at her sister. She could but hope that whatever it was was very,very far away. A brown muzzle, dripping with saliva, emerged from the bushes at the bottom of the path. Keira held her breath, fervently wishing it away. For a moment,  it seemed as though her wish had been granted- the gaping maw retreated into the undergrowth. Yuki walked over to her hesitantly, grasping one sweaty palm with another.

A twig snapped behind them. They froze in silent horror. 

"Come" said a perfectly human voice, "It looks as if you could do with some rest"

"Who are you?" Keira said cautiously, she had good reason to be after all, she reasoned.