A Nagas tale

To lead the blind

Livy stayed with me for a few days. I guess my answers to her question were not taken lightly. Kogen had to leave again leaving me alone in this library. I watch the girls as they wiggle on the bed. 'I can't believe it's already been 8 months since they were born.' I hold Astrid's foot in my hands finding her tiny toes super cute. I stopped wearing the bottle with my aura in it. The girls could see me now and it was a lot easier to look after them this way. The little bottle seemed to really depress me always hanging around my neck as a reminder of what I have been unable to recover. I felt a lot better knowing Kogen sent his choker for repairs after it got damaged and it wasn't something like infidelity. "I see why you are getting so down on yourself." Livy sighs. I look up at her curiously. "What did you use to do?" she asks. I tilt my head "Well, I used to go for walks around the village when Kogen was busy, or go to his work whenever I had nothing better to do." I answer. She sighs "I see, being locked up in here with your thoughts can really mess with somebody." she mumbles. I nod looking out one of the windows. "It's snowing a lot so Kogen doesn't let me go out much," I explain. She nods "Yes, he told me how weak you are to the cold." she answers. I sigh wanting to go back to those days when I could go out and walk without the worry of danger or the cold weather. I had to block off the section of the library where the girls and I slept since they are more active now. With their newfound mobility, I am overwhelmed by how fast they both moved. Livy was a great help since I struggled to catch the girls at the same time by myself. Just this morning Astrid almost tipped a heavy book onto her head. Tabitha and Astrid have both started babbling a lot. I did my best to talk with them to stimulate their minds. The rattles Yuri gifted them were their favorite toys. I turn to the girls and panic when Astrid is missing. "Oh! my god!" I quickly start looking for her in any of the little hiding nooks. I step past the little storage room where I kept Don's sword. I  spot her bright blue onesie inside the room. "Astrid!" I quickly step in and stop seeing her touching the sword. Her eyes are fixed on the sword as she babbles. I crouch down to her and look at the sword "I bet Don is screaming at me for my attention huh Astrid?" I ask. She looks at me and lets out a little "Ba." I giggle at how cute she is "Sorry, Don I can't hear you or Grandpa Ash," I murmur putting my hand on the sword. I mildly expected him to yell at me and scold me for ignoring him. I smiled sadly when there was no response. "Come on Astrid it's not safe in here." I pick her up and walk back to the sleeping area. "I hope the house is ready soon," I murmur. I loved this city but it feels lonely without Grandpa Ash to talk to. I put Astrid in her crib not wanting her to go anywhere. Livy had kept Tabitha busy with the rattle while I looked for Astrid. "I heard from Elder Olivia that The four houses are holding political meetings to try and smooth the remaining conflict over." She tells me. I nod turning back to Astrid as she starts slapping my hand. I chuckle at her cuteness "You want some fruits?" I ask. My only response was her smacking her lips before letting out a playful babble. 'I wonder what their first words will be.' I smile at her and walk to the tray of baby-poofed fruits and crackers. I set the tray down near Tabitha and walked to get Astrid for her snack. I sit her down and watch them both eat their snacks gleefully. "Do you want me to give you any other information?" Livy asks. I look at her and smile "I would really love to be up to date but, with how I am right now, and everything I've got on my plate. I don't think it will be good if I worry about situations out of my control." I reject her offer for more information. She smiles "I understand." she answers before getting up and helping me pick up the scattered toys. 'It's been nice having somebody to talk to throughout the day.' I sigh when the girls start crawling excitedly toward the main door of the library. They had become my little alarms for Kogen. I follow after the girls not wanting to let them out of my sight. Kogen walks into the library his arms full of bags. "Audrey!" he called for me excitedly. I giggle "Welcome home." I greet. He sets the bags down and quickly lights up seeing the girls racing to him. He crouches down before scooping the two giggly girls. My eyes spot his choker back where it should be around his neck. "What got you so excited?" I ask with a delighted smile on my face. He stands up holding the girls to his chest "The construction around the house is done." he tells me. My heart flutters in excitement "We can go home!?" I ask. He nods as I walk up to him. "It took us a while but it's ready!" he tells me. I feel a little bit relieved but still unsure of what our home will look like. From the small pieces I managed to get from the reports on his desk, I know the village was damaged a lot and the villagers were asked to remain overseas. "When can we go?" I ask. He nods "It's already pretty late today, so we can go tomorrow morning." He tells me. I nod "Great! That gives me time to pack! and get the girl's things ready to go!" I give him an awkward hug before rushing back to our sleeping area. "I see you will finally be able to leave this prison." Livy jokes. I smile "Yeah! I can go home!" I answer. She nods "Okay well, I need to head back and give my report." she picks up her bag and waves bye to me. I start picking up all of the girl's toys from the ground and putting them in a large basket. "Audrey," I turn to Kogen who is still carrying the girls. I tilt my head wondering what he wanted to say. He puts the girls in their crib before he walks up to me. He tilts his head as if to show me his neck. "It's fixed." he tells me. I smile touching the choker "The clasp broke, and some of the Gems fell off." He tells me. Seeing the choker and Kogen's excitement over it makes me happy. I get on my toes and kiss his cheek "It looks wonderful on you." I compliment him before giving him a quick peck on the neck. I fall back onto my flat feet and turn to finish what I need to do. He quickly traps me in his arms pulling me to him. "I'm sorry I made you worry for no good reason." he whispers. I turn my body to face him "I should have asked before jumping to conclusions." I answer. The Choker being broken is a reason for him not to wear it, but his not telling me for so long only made me worry. I wrap my arms around him before rubbing my face on his chest. I wanted to catch that very familiar scent of pine but over time without my aura, my senses have grown dull and I cannot smell it. I can no longer feel his aura it's like, I've been stripped of aura completely back to plain old Audrey youngest daughter of the family Morales. I press my nose harder against his skin wanting to catch that oh-so-calming scent. Kogen chuckles "Audrey, you'll break my ribs." He warns me. I frown 'Why? why am I being punished for protecting my home?' I turn my face away from his chest and sigh. "I miss your scent." I grumble. He hugs me tightly "I know." he whispers. I look at him "I miss your scent too." He tells me. I started feeling depressed just thinking of how unfair this was. "Come on let's pack up so we can get out quickly tomorrow." I pat his arms. He leans down giving me a warm kiss. I return the kiss feeling that lingering desire start to gnaw at my crotch. I pull away not wanting to lose myself to that desire. At least not here where anyone can walk in. 

I wanted to keep Audrey in my arms but I understand her urgency in packing. I disliked how I could no longer catch her scent or feel her aura. I felt uneasy being unable to track her with her aura to give myself peace of mind that she was alive and safe. This new way of living only being able to know she was safe with my own two eyes drove me up a wall. I had grown so used to feeling her aura bubbling under mine and now it's gone. It feels lonely when I can't feel her aura and It's hard to focus sometimes without me being able to find her aura. I gathered the girl's clothes choosing the best outfits that would protect them from the cold, especially Astrid. If she was anything like her mother the cold could be dangerous for her. I set the basket of their clothes down by the door as Audrey set their toys down next to it. I look at Audrey as she turns her attention back to the room. Astrid and Tabitha are babbling with each other. I follow Audrey into the sleeping area where she proceeds to pack up our clothes and anything we brought her.  She turned to the girls and chatted with them for a few minutes before going back to what she was doing. 'How did Audrey live her life like this? only using her eyes to see and being so blind to the world around her?'  She turns to me "what's wrong?" She asks flustered. "Do I have something stuck on me?" she asks looking at her clothes. "A stain?" she whispers. I chuckle walking up to her I trap her in my arms. 'This world is so fucked. I am happy I can at least keep my little world safe.' I could spend all day worried about her and the girls but simply watching Audrey go about her day like this. Like nothing in this world scared her, it made the worry fade. 'If I have to live this way only being able to see her physically I do not mind. If this means she is hidden from the dangers I've read in the reports. If it means she will no longer have to face dangerous situations I can handle a little blindness.'  

The next morning Audrey and Kogen descended the mountain. Audrey looked around the forest in awe at how lifeless the forest felt. "I can't believe the aura around the forest has also not recovered." She murmurs. Kogen nods "This is causing discourse with the villagers who are still in Norsta." He tells her. "It is?" Audrey asks curiously. Kogen nods holding Astrid and Tabitha close to his chest. "Many villagers have blamed the government for the damage to our home. The reports of the aura less forest being the proof they need to make the argument." He explains. Audrey frowns looking around the forest. "Do you think the forest will recover?" she asks. He turns to her before looking up at the mountain. "I am not sure, if you do not have that answer neither do I," he tells her. Audrey stops before turning back to the mountain. 'I've been unable to talk with Grandpa Ash since I told him to sleep. Did sealing his aura and using the remainder to seal Ozaies cause this?' She turns back to Kogen a new pit of doubt forming in her stomach. 'did I do the right thing? Or did I create unnecessary damage?' She looks at the ground. "Audrey, don't stay still." She looks at Kogen and quickly follows after him.