Contract with a Star (On Hold, Possibly Forever)

Nari Wakes to Screaming

            Nari rode hard for hours. When she reached the southern border of Onyx Country, she stopped. There was a small town, more of an outpost than an actual town, and Nari went there to gather information on Storm Country, the southernmost country in the Star Hemisphere. It may have been early morning, but everyone was eager to help the ‘Lady.’

            Nari ended up with a fancy black saddle, a black rain jacket that had a layer like a tight dress and one like a hood that buttoned around the neck, and a lot of warnings about the Cloudwalkers that populated Storm Country. It was a confusing visit, overall.

            Rena floated around as Nari and Eleia walked south for another two hours before stopping for the day. The farther they went, the nastier the storm that hung over Storm Country got. Nari saw no point in keeping to the daytime when daytime and nighttime looked alike, so she spent the rest of the day sleeping in a cave. It seemed much harder than the caves of a month before, but that might have been because Nari spent half of that month being pampered like a newborn. At the least, it was high and dry.

            Nari woke as she had woken the previous night, to screaming. It was actual screaming this time, with less words and more horrible pain and fear. Nari jumped to her feet and hit her head on the top of the cave. Sitting down for a few moments, she tried to figure out what was going on. It was pitch black in the cave, but Nari could hear Eleia snorting somewhere to her right. Since there was no room in the cave for the two to have switched places in the night, Nari was staring out into the night. A flash of lightning confirmed that point when it showed Nari the trees that had transformed from mildly depressing to dangerously malevolent in the middle of Nari’s sleep.

            “Why’s it so dark? And who’s screaming?” Nari rubbed her head; the screaming hadn’t stopped and there was a rather unpleasant pounding on the top of Nari’s head, like a tiny ram was bashing itself against her skull in an attempt to get out.

            “It’s night and I don’t know who’s screaming,” Rena answered instinctively. “How hard did you hit your head?” Rena appeared in front of Nari, glowing in the darkness.

            “Can you glow any brighter?” Rena’s light was hurting Nari’s eyes, but it seemed to be having an effect on their surroundings, however confounding that was.

            “Yes,” The response was automatic. “Heavens above! This answering thing makes it hard to be clever. And really, what am I, if not clever?” Rena wasn’t really asking, “Oh, that’s right, I’m a star! A big, glowing ball of energy, emphasis on the glowing!” The girl spread her arms out and shined like a mirror in the sun before toning it down a bit. “Ah, there we go. Nice and clever, that one was.” Rena smiled at the dirty look Nari gave her.

            Ignoring the walking, talking lantern, Nari left the cave to find the source of her new wake up call. Following the constant screams that seemed no duller after the first one, Nari found an old creeper of a house. It was falling apart and rotted, so Nari had to be very careful as she entered. The screaming didn’t decrease in the slightest.

            “I think this place is haunted.” Nari pointed out. Rena raised her eyebrow at that.

            “If it is, can I eat the ghosts?” Rena floated above Nari’s head, her legs crossed and a mischievous grin on her face.

            “Isn’t that cannibalism?” Nari was starting to lose interest in the repetitive scream. She was already in the house though, and she figured she might as well follow the noise up the stairs.

            “Probably. If it is though, then the entire Star race survives off cannibalism.” Rena shrugged.

            “There’s an entire Star race?” Nari had never really thought about other stars, even if she knew they existed. She was having enough trouble with the one she shared bodies with.

            “Yes.” Rena didn’t even try to use sarcasm in her answer, the question was that ridiculous. She did start examining Nari’s bruised head, though.

            “Stop that,” Nari waved her off. “I just thought it was only you ten that created the Star Countries. I didn’t think there was an entire race of you.” Nari had stopped in the middle of the stairs to look at Rena.

            “Of course there are more of us. I’ll tell you what, make that banshee go away and I’ll introduce you to some.” They headed up the stairs, avoiding the broken steps and the unstable looking rail. The room the scream originated from was at the end of a hall full of disapproving portraits.

            There was no one in the room and it was almost completely bare. There was a damp fireplace, a table, and a broken gold brick. As Nari got closer, she realized the screams were coming from the gold pieces. With a knowing look in her eyes, Rena took over again. She picked up the pieces of gold and made them glow, and like before, the light travelled up Nari’s arms and into the seal.

            “Okay, you have to tell me what you keep doing!” Nari said in surprise when she regained control of her body. She shook herself to reacquaint herself with her own bones and muscles and skin. It was a weird feeling to lose control of your body and regain it in less than a minute.

            “Well, that ties in with what I said I was going to do. It’s going to be a long story, so you should go to sleep.” Rena said as Nari sat down. Nari wanted to protest that it was hardly the time to be napping, but she could feel her eyelids closing, the exhaustion setting in.