A Nagas tale

To teach a child

I stopped before getting near my home. I look at Audrey wondering if this tiny aura poking at mine could withstand mine. I noticed her eyes examining the wall made of quartz a stone that seals away aura from the outside. I have been limiting my aura to a level that would not kill everyone in the village. 'this might change her mind.' The thought annoyed me 'Will she run? will the weight of my aura scare her off too? or kill her like the others?' I wonder as I walk into the barrier created by the quartz wall. I get a few steps in before the seal I use fades away. Audrey's breathing becomes labored as I walk a few feet past the wall. "Calm down." I instruct Audrey as I keep walking. I can feel her Aura doing its best to push against mine. Her brown eyes are fixed to me and I can feel the panic in her rise. I can feel her aura start to wither to the pressure of mine. The desperate gasps for air fill the silence around my home as she fights for her life. Her aura simmering close to nothing and the sound of her gasps gave me little hope that she would make it. I stop walking putting my free hand up to her head and pushing her closer to me. Many times before I have seen women die trying their best to do as their families demand. Too many times I had to walk back with a dead body limp after being crushed by my aura. 'I don't want to do it again.' I look at Audrey as her eyes are starting to roll back. "Don't give in to the fear." I warn her understanding that my aura spelled death to everyone. 'Please don't make me kill somebody as light as you.' I begged her quietly. She takes deeper forced breaths before pressing her nose against my neck and rubbing her face on my skin. The heat of her desperate breaths tickled my skin. The soft drops of her aura struggle before sparking back into life. My skin rises into goosebumps as her aura starts pushing back against mine. She takes in a shaky breath much easier than before. I don't move as Yyvonne puts her hand on Audrey's hand holding onto my shoulder. I can feel her aura push mine back some more. The aura that starts to surround her body sparks a childish hope. 'Thats it, don't let me kill you.' A smile pulls at my lips as I hold her against my neck. 'Show me, Prove to me that you are willful.' I beg as I look up at the moon. Her aura is fluffy to the touch and refreshing. I drop my head lightly against her shoulder as I feel her Aura grow "Keep meditating." I instruct her waiting for the soft puffy aura of hers to grow more. She relaxes in my arm as her aura aids in protecting her body from me. "Good, don't stop." I order restarting my walk towards my home. 'This aura, it's got some fight in it.' I lift my hand from Audrey's head seeing a small cut on the back of my hand. I feel excitement seeing as her once small unsuspecting aura is now able and willing to cut me. I take a breath to calm down while I walk down the path to the house. The fact that she's never used her aura in the last few days was odd leaving herself so unprotected. So exposed to a level that my Aura nearly killed her after being in it for only 5 minutes. 'she's got to be very young for her not to know anything about Auras.' I deduce as I feel her aura bubble up around her some more. 'did she come from a different district? is that why she was lost out there?' I peek at Audrey whose eyes are closed lightly. 'why would a young girl from a different district come here?' I wondered as my home came into view. 'is she from a noble house? for her not to have practiced her aura like this... it's a privilege only noble kids get.' I frown at the thought of this girl being a noble. The way she has acted just does not seem fit for a noble. "we are here." I want her to look at our home. She lifts her head with a now more stable aura she is breathing fine and is less pale. Her eyes fall on my home examining every inch. She looks at me for a little while before turning back to the house. "It's.... big." she whispers. I nod agreeing my mother went overboard when gifting me this house many years ago. After letting her see the front of the house I took her in. I turn the lights on to let her see inside. Her eyes wander over the lights as I carry her inside. "there is electricity..." she mumbles. I nod "This may be a smaller village but we do also have access to Electricity." I explain. She looks at me before her eyes examining the walls some more. "don't look into the light too much it will hurt your eyes." I warn this naive kid. She nods "Uhm... right." she answers her eyes examining my sparsely decorated front room. I set her down on the tatami mats in the visitor's room. She sits down not wanting to put any pressure on her injured ankle. "this place... is nice." she mutters her eyes exploring the new room. I nod "Stay here, I'll get something for us to eat." I order before walking away. Yyvonne stayed behind with Audrey to keep her company. I walk past the library I used for work and close the door. I got to the kitchen and decided on a light meal since it was already pretty late. I close the door to the kitchen behind me and lean on it. I look out at the moon peering in from the window 'She didn't die.' I felt a childish glee. 'she may be naive but, she can learn. I can teach her.' I lift my injured hand and smile at the small cut. 'This will be fun.' I push myself off the door and walk to the ice box. It takes me a little while to get the food ready. For now, a bowl of rice and tofu will fill our stomachs. I take two trays with me to the visitor's room. "Hm? A bath? Yeah, We have one." I stop at the door hearing Yyvonne speak. "really!? oh my gosh! I really need a shower... I feel like I stink so bad!" Audrey answers. Yyvonne giggles "Yeah you stink of pee." she pokes at Audrey. "No way! really!?" the panic that fills Audrey's voice is amusing. I open the door and set the food down. "if you need to I can show you after we eat." I offer. She nods "Oh! Great! I feel like I could die." she grumbles exaggeratedly. I smirk seeing her eyes shimmer with delight. I set the treys down for them both to eat. I walk back to the kitchen to get my food and head back to the visitor's room. I walk in finding Audrey has not touched her food while Yyvonne is already stuffing her face. "Are you not hungry?" I ask as I sit down next to Yyvonne. Audrey nods "Yes, but I like to wait for my host to start eating." she answers nervously. 'host?' That word has never been used to describe me. "Don't wait and eat." I tell her the rule here. She nods "Thank you for the food." she whispers before she picks up the chopsticks. I watch her clumsily try to use the chopsticks. 'She's dumb. Do I need to start with the basics?' The thought crossed my mind as she fought with the chopsticks in her hand. She sighs "I should have practiced more." she grumbles as she finally gets the hang of them. 'did she not learn how to use them? how has she been eating this entire time?' I grew worried about how inept this girl was. I started eating my food once I grew tired of worrying about her clumsiness. Once I was done I looked over at Audrey whose plate was empty and the tea was gone. She seemed happily fed and frankly ready to pass out. "uhh... Mr. Kogen d..do you mind showing me the bathroom?" she asks 'bathroom?' I note her odd use of words. "The bath house.." I correct before getting up. I notice she lowers her gaze to the floor. 'did I make her angry by correcting her?' I sigh as I walk to the front room I pick up the basket of items I had to buy for her to live comfortably here. I walked back to the visitor's room where she stood up. She put a little weight on her injured ankle as she hopped over to me. She grabs my arm "S..sorry, I hope it's okay if I borrow your arm." She seemed shy asking. 'you've been grabbing me without a care before.' I snort before nodding and pointing to the direction we are heading. I keep my walking slow so she can keep up. "uhm.. thanks for letting me stay." she starts talking. Her eyes fixed on the corridor. "it's not a big deal." I answer to which she nods "It's... I understand that I may be useless to some point... but If I can help anyway... please let me know." she whispers as if she is aware of her shortcomings. I look at her curious how she seems to be dragging herself down. 'she seems aware of herself.' I noted but didn't like it. I sigh "You don't need to worry about it." I answer as we get to the bathhouse. I open the door for her and set the basket down by the door. "this has some clothes you can wear. there should also be some soap you can use." I let her know. She nods giving me a small smile "Thank you for showing me." she whispers as she lets go of my arm. I step away from the door and head back to my room 'I should also bathe... the smell of blood is starting to stick.' I groan as I gather some of my clothes and notice a stack of papers set on my room desk. 'ugh! these annoying...' I look at the paper 'an odd surge in the aura of the forest...' I pick up the paper. 'The forest's aura spiked about three days ago behind the village of Ez.' I sit down and keep reading. 'The aura vanished as if it blended into the forest. The surge in aura created weather phenomena which brought winter early.' I look at my door 'The area is near where I found Audrey.' I tilt my head curious if the anomaly could be caused by Audrey. The way she struggled with her chopsticks and had no clue about the world. I shake my head 'Can't be Audrey, her aura could never blend in with the forest. I didn't feel or see any aura until we got to the gate' I shake my head dismissing the thought. I set the papers down and get up 'I should prepare the room where Audrey can sleep in.' I walk out of my room and into the room just across from mine. 'I will need to keep a close eye on her.' I sighed the thought of taking care of another kid was already annoying me but the potential she presented was worth it. I open the door and find Yvonne is already spreading out the futon. "What are you doing?" I ask my mischievous child. She giggles "I am going to have a sleepover with Audrey! I bet she will be too scared to sleep!" she laughs delightedly. I sigh as I walk into the room and help her out. She wanted to bring her futon and read some books with Audrey. After a long discussion with Yyvonne as to why she shouldn't ask Audrey to read my nose is pulled to a very nice smell. I turn to the door where Audrey is standing her hair is dripping wet and her face is a soft pinkish color. "Oh... sorry did I interrupt?" she asks scratching the back of her ear. The scent of grapefruit sweet and tart demanded my attention. "No, Yyvonne is just looking for some fun." I answer watching Audrey as she walks over to Yyvonne and the books she has out. Her scent followed after her pulling me along with it." hm? Bedtime stories?" she asks looming over Yyvonne her hair dripping onto the floor. I walk over taking the towel from her shoulders and covering her hair. "hm?" she looks up at me confused. "Dry your hair properly or you will get sick." I make up the excuse just to get a closer smell of her scent. She nods "Oh yeah I couldn't find a comb or brush in the basket... do you have any I can borrow?" My excuse sparks her mind. In the moment of making up excuses, I now have to walk away from her. I turn to the door "Hm.. I'll check." I offer not wanting to. I peek at Audrey before walking out of the room. "Can you read this one for me?" Yyvonne asks loudly "Goldy locks and the three bears?" Audrey reads out. I get to the storage room where I normally keep any extra things I don't need. I stop at a box I recall the leader of scientists had given me. 'A gift for House Zers future bride.' I hated his jokes about this. We are both men who lack the option of marriage due to our power levels compared to many of these people. I look at the carved wooden box 'Future bride...' I can still smell the sweet and tart scent of grapefruit lingering on my body. The image of Audrey walking around with my tribal seal seemed to please me. Her young appearance and naive nature shake me out of such thoughts ' She's a kid.' I refuse the thought of touching a kid. I open the box and pull out the brush made of silver. It feels heavy to hold but it should do the job for now. I look at the items left in the box a hairpin made of ivory with a few flowers made of quartz. I close the box 'If I gave her that her aura will be snuffed.' I walk out of the storage room and walk back to the room where I had left Audrey and Yyvonne. I stopped hearing Audrey's voice reading that silly story Yyvonne liked. I walk up to the door doing my best not to make a sound. I turn to find Audrey still has her hair covered by the towel while Yyvonne is curled up in her futon with her blanket. 'this kid.' I chuckle at how easily Yyvonne convinced Audrey to read for her. Audrey looks up at me her eyes a light shade of brown. I walk over and hand her the brush "It's all I had." I answer knowing it would be too much. Her eyes examine the brush "Uhm... that looks expensive." she mutters nervously. I shrug "You can use it." I wait for her to take the brush. She looks at me unsure if she should. "Uhm are you sure? that looks.... important." she mutters growing anxious. "it's fine, it's been lying around the house for a long while." I answer not wanting her to worry. She chews on her lip before reaching for the brush "Alright, if it's okay with you..." Her thin fingers wrap around the brush handle. "thanks I'll take care of it." she mutters as if this brush is a burden on her. "OH! Is that the brush Uncle Yuri gave you?" Yyvonne bursts out. Audrey holds onto the brush now her eyes examining the piece. "a gift?" she asks Yyvonne who nods "Yeah! It was a long time ago but Uncle Yuri always pranks Kogen!" she giggles. "pranks?" she asks now curious about Yyvonnes words. "Yep!! uncle Yuri and Kogen have not gotten married for a long time so he jokes about the future brides of our houses." she giggles. I watch Audrey's face sink "Oh no, I ... I cannot!" "Use it." I stop her from refusing. She shakes her head "No this isn't for me!" she shakes her head some more as she hands me the brush. The way she refused the brush displeased me a bit. I take the brush and sit down already annoyed with her refusal. I grab Audrey by the waist and drag her to sit in front of me. "Hey... wait!" she protests as I start brushing her hair out. "It's fine, if it's for brushing hair then use it for your hair." I push back. The scent of grapefruit starts bursting from her hair as I brush it. "a... alright, I...if you don't mind...I can do my hair!" she quickly takes the brush from my hands. I watch her quickly limp over to the spot she had been sitting at before. Her brown eyes are bright but I can see she is anxious. She sits down and starts brushing her hair carefully getting the knots out of her hair. I nod "alright, I will be taking a bath. Don't leave the house and make sure you dry your hair properly." I instruct them both before heading to the bath. Walking into the bath house I noticed she left the basket where I had put it. The soap she used is placed carefully near the bar I use. I look at the bar of soap I got Audrey 'It was a scentless soap... so thats her natural scent?' I sigh feeling a bit startled by how nice it smelt. I sit on the stool in the room and sigh pinching the bridge of my nose. 'It's such a nice smell. I want to taste it but, she's a kid from what I can tell. Asking her age would not be nice either.' I groan as I start washing myself. I walk down the hall after a bath and stop at the door to her room. I peeked in to see if she was still awake. My eyes fall on both Yyvonne and Audrey sleeping bundled under the thick blankets. I chuckle at the sight of both of them sleeping. 'It's like I picked up another kid.' I sigh before closing their door and going to my room. The next morning I woke up to the sounds of giggling and the smell of food. I stretch out to push away the sleep. I walk out of my room seeing their room door open and the futons are neatly folded. I walk down towards the kitchen where I find Audrey and Yyvonne. "So you like sweet breakfasts?" Yyvonne asks curiously. "yeah, ugh I love sweet things but there has to be a balance!" Audrey answers as she pulls out some tofu. "mm some braized tofu... do you think Kogen will be alright with the pancakes?" She asks turning her head to Yyvonne who sits in front of me. She jumps startled by me. She dropped the spoon she'd been using to cook. "G...Good morning." she greets before carefully stomping on the spoon. I tilt my head as she picks it up and quickly puts it in a pot with water. "S...sorry if we woke you up." she seemed nervous. I noticed the mess in the kitchen 'Ugh, I'll have to clean up.' I walked over to see what she was doing. It smelt of soy sauce and chilies. I look at the small wok she has over the gas stove. "Oh! I uhm... I m..made breakfast." she whispers limping back to give me space. I look at the food waiting at the counter. 'pancakes, rice, miso soup, and tofu.' I grab the tofu already ready for it to be inedible. The taste of sweet and spicy tickles my mouth awake. I sigh "Listen, being in the kitchen can be dangerous so try not to..." I turn to Audrey who's watching me. "I...is it too spicy?" she asks worried. I look at the tofu and shake my head "No, it's good just be care..." "Great! I have been testing out some dishes since I left home and I am so happy it came out right!" she blubbers on. I frown 'left home?' I catch a hint. She starts plating the dishes "Yyvonne can you he..." I take the trays from her hands "I've got it." I walk out of the room and into the visitor room. I normally didn't have to clean up the house more than the basics since I kept up with cleaning. I sigh as I realize I'll have to clean more often. I watch Yyvonne bounce into the room excitedly sitting by her tray. I looked at the tray I had taken its got a larger portion of food. Audrey limps in with hers and sits down "All alright! It's time to eat." she giggles brightly. "I hope it's enough... I didn't know what you'd like so I made something I'm familiar with." she whispers shyly before she dug into her food. I couldn't help but notice the way she avoided looking at me this entire time. She seemed a bit flustered while we ate. "Why did you step on the spoon by the way?" I ask her about that odd action. She looks at me and looks down again "Uhm my abuela... my grandma always told me if you ever drop a spoon step on it to avoid gluttonous visitors." She stuffs some tofu into her mouth. 'hm, that word Abuela is Spanish... but there are no Spanish-speaking natives in this region.' I make a note watching her eat.