The Girl in the Cloak

A Cleansing

Three days since the incident on the girl's birthday had passed. Traveling only at night she made her way back to the forest of her youth. Back at her old stomping grounds, the girl in the cloak moved to her old home. When the door opened to her knocks Fa stood looking at her, jaw dropped.

"What happened?" The voice came from Torikk. The old ball of fur was bandaged in multiple places.

"What hap..."

"Little kitten do not worry about me. Now tell me what happened." The girl in the cloak didn't argue. She followed Torikk into the home. Fa followed silently behind them both. When they reached the sitting room the girl broke down into tears. Torikk held her close as they sat on the couch and the girl relayed every detail of what happened. All but the parts where the cloaked. She wanted to keep that secret. She knew a cloak like that was worth something and didn't want to risk someone taking it from her for whatever reason. She still did not know how it came to start talking to her but she did know that they were connected by more than just the threads between them.

When her tale was over Torikk continued to hold the girl as Fa went into the other room. Soon she came back with a pot of tea and poured multiple cups. She passed the girl a cup. Steam plumed up in pillars.

"Are you ok? You're still covered in blood." Fa was rummaging through a bag as she spoke.

"I. I don't believe it's mine." Torikk had begun to move. Sitting down at his cup he took out a small pouch. He stuck two claws into it and put a small thing into his tea and started to stir it in with his nail.

"Would you like to bathe that filth away?" He spoke so softly it actually worried the girl.

"It would be nice, yes I think I would like to."

"Fa go grab my coat for me I need a moment with the little kitten." Fa went away instantly and Torikk continued. "It is a hard thing killing someone the first time." He paused as if falling into a memory. "I want to take you somewhere important to me. I had hoped I would never need to take you here but I believe now is the time. Will you come with me?" The girl did nothing for a moment then nodded from behind her teacup. "Good, then we shall be leaving. Fa would you like to come? She may need you." Fa stood at the door already in her coat holding Torikk's. Torikk drank down the contents of his cup and they left.

The three-headed deeper into the forest. When the girl in the cloak was young she was told by the old cat never to head into the darkness of the forest. It took every fiber of her being to not object even now and just head back to the home they were in just moments ago. The only thing keeping her going was her trust in the two that lead her deeper into the forest. That and the knowledge of what her cloak was able to do.

Finally, hours later and so deep into the darkness they arrived at a cave that headed into the earth. As they entered the girl observed the soil turn to stone. The darkness was almost complete when she noticed a dim glow ahead. The three kept pace heading in and in response, the light grew brighter. The reached the opening of the path and the girl couldn't believe her eyes. A hot spring filled a majority of the room. The light came from a unique flora. Radiant petals shone based on the flower type. Some we're all purple, others red or even blue, and more still were separate colors altogether. The light of the spring twinkled from the rainbow the flora provided but was still so clear you could see the bottom of the spring from anywhere you sat. Fa took the girl over to the water while Torikk went to a different section of the springs. The three were the only ones there. The privacy they had was beautifully needed. The girl first hung her cloak on a log then stripped carefully. The more she thought about it the more she realized she didn't know if she was injured days before. She didn't feel it but she didn't know if there was any adrenaline going through her. She heard a light splash of water and spun around in fear. It was only Fa stepping into the water. She watched as she lowered her naked body into the water, amazed that the blue marks were on more than just her arms. As a matter of fact, Fa had different kinds of markings on many different parts of her body. The girl was curious to look further into it but knew she needed to focus on her own body first. Now completely undressed and exposed she took her first step into the spring. The warmth was welcoming. It pulled at her making her want to go in fast. She instead took her time letting the water slowly cling to her flesh. With each step, she took blood rippled off of her. It would linger for moments but then dissipate, almost like it never existed, to begin with. Her body tingled as the hot water clung to her curves as she slowly got to the point where the water was up to her neck. Fa smiled at her for a moment then dipped her head under the water. The girl followed suit. The water stung her eyes only for a second then felt almost blissful. She felt like her body was starting to rebuild itself. She felt like she did even before her fall in the forest. After some time the girl floated her body back to where she could stand. Her eyes closed she heard someone speak.

"How do you feel?" it was Fa. The one time nurse had seen the girl's body before, every part of it in fact, but didn't stop her cheeks from flushing. She lifted her head up out of the water and suddenly caught herself staring at Fa's body. She was fascinated by the marks that covered so much of her flesh.

"I feel like a new person."

"That's a perfect way to put it." Fa was chuckling. The large smile on her lips made her even more beautiful than she did normally. "Relax as long as you need to, I am going to go check on the old cat." And with that Fa left the girl. The girl watched her walk past the clothes they left on the rocks. She never even tried to pick them up, but somehow the girl missed this. She was mesmerized by Fa. She had an amazing athletic figure. Yet somehow still had the curves to force eyes of men on to her wherever she went. And yet for some reason, she stayed with Torikk. The girl was sure that she could have any lover she wanted but stayed with the old furball. Did Fa love her? This thought alone made the girl blush even more. Sudden thoughts of love and happiness flooded her brain. She looked down at her own naked body and for the first time saw how much it had matured. She came to the realization she was no longer just a kid. She was eighteen. Torikk had always told her she had to wait until this age to pursue a relationship. She had never even dreamed about being in one. All she thought about was finding her family. For the first time, she thought to herself. "Why not make my own family." This made her blush more. She shook her head and giggled partially happy the cloak was not connected to her right then. Looking one last time at her own athletic figure, she plunged her head back into the water, this time her eyes closed, and let the weight of the past year fall off of her.