Colors of our Souls

6. Lost and Found

Ikari

I keep my eyes closed as my consciousness awakens. I can hear insects chirping loudly, the footsteps of a small nearby animal, probably a deer of some sort. I can smell the scent of crushed grass, which is also probably because of the animal. I take a deep breath, something smells like the color beige...  probably a deer. I tend to categorize scents by color since they are a little hard to explain. Deer smell a specific shade of beige, earthy and cool.

Finally, I crack open my eyes to see the darkness of pre-dawn stretching across the sky. The air is getting cool outside and I shiver a bit, never really dealing with cold well.

I guess I should go find Mashi.

Getting up, I gather a little magic power and a white magic circle appears at my feet. A narrow cylindrical vortex of rotating air propels me off of the ground and over the trees, all the way back to the burnt clearing. The air dissipates and I begin to fall. Instead of landing on the ground, I go straight through it, sending a spray of rocks flying into the air. Underground, I can't see, but I somehow know where everything is, I can feel it.

Mashi always said practice makes perfect, so I practice constantly.

A few feet in front of the first hole, I pop up out of the ground, landing delicately on my bare feet. Following my nose, I search for Tamashi.

After a few minutes, I have only walked in circles in the field. His scent doesn't lead anywhere else, he should be here. Maybe he just flew off? But he has never left me alone before?

I start screaming his name in hopes that he'll hear me. "Tamashi! TAMASHI!!"

I hear no response, something is VERY wrong, I try again... for several hours.

"Mashi! Mashi!"

One last time.

"DAD!"

Still, I hear nothing but my own shouts echoing through the land. Finally, I collapse in a heap of tears on the blackened ground. My hair shifts in front of my face and I can see over half of it is black, instead of just the streak.

That hasn't happened in years.

I only cry harder, sobs tearing roughly out of my throat as I weep. Then I start screaming. Loud, painfull, aching screams rip from my vocal cords into the sky that is starting to glow with dawn light.

Eventually, my voice runs out and I can no longer scream. Instead, I stand up and walk to the large rock under which I keep my small bag of possessions.

Lifting the heavy rock with one arm, I look under the boulder to see not only my small black messenger bag, but also a new, dark brown leather belt with a sheath attached, holding Tamashi's long-sword. My vision blurs with even more tears when I thought I had no more left to cry. Quickly, I grab the bag and sling it over my free shoulder and then immediately grasp the sword by its scabord and pull it out too, before dropping the rock with a loud, dense thump.

I guess I really have no idea where to go. Tamashi would never abandon me, right? I'm just overreacting.

Maybe he just needs some alone time, he can't really be gone.

I plop down on the ground and take out one of my many weapons from the messenger bag, a shiny dagger with a seven inch blade about two inches wide encased in a leather sheath. The hilt is solid steel with a bumpy texture for grip around the handle. I also remove a whetstone. Unshething the dagger, I begin to sharpen the blade to perfection.

I repeat the process with every other blade I own. Ten or so shurikens, several small throwing knives of varied length, a hatchet, and finally, I sharpen Tamashi's blade to a deadly razor sharp weapon. As if it wasnt already one before.