The Wandering God

41 Walk In The Snow To View the Flowering Plum 2/3

踏雪尋梅
Tà xuě xún méi
To walk in the snow to view the flowering plum.
Enjoy plum blossoms in winter.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Outside Kageyama made his way around to the stables. He began to saddle In'yii.

"I'll do it," I said.

I took over, and Kageyama moved on to Makabe.

When we were both ready, we struck out through the forest.

It had been a long time since I had ridden. The high snow and uneven paths had made it dangerous, too easy for a horse to turn a hoof or break a leg.

The motion of the saddle was uncomfortable at first, but as I got used to it I realized leading In'yii was easier than I remember it. The mare had gotten complacent over the long winter. Or fonder of Makabe, as she was content to follow behind the stallion, when before she would have raced ahead.

"Where are we going?" I called after Kageyama.

"Hunting," he said. Then realizing he sounded intentionally vague, he added: "The river."

We reached the river. As I looked down at the rushing rapids, edged by ice along the stiller portions, I remembered the eh'lang, and the cave.

Please Ao, please don't leave me.

"Was it wise to leave them alone?" I asked Kageyama, where he had stopped Makabe beside me.

Kageyama snorted. "They'll work it out. Or they won't, and they can continue their foolish squabbling in the stables."

"Zakhar is not to blame," I said indignantly.

"No, YOU are to blame," said Kageyama, and, seeing my glare, laughed. "Come, the trail down is this way."

Kageyama led me to a narrow deer track leading down into the river gorge. At the bottom, we dismounted and left the horses hobbled, to wander near the trail.

Kageyama turned and marched toward the river. I followed him, boots crunching through snow and ice.

When we reached the river, Kageyama looked left, then right, as though debating which way to go.

"What are we hunting exactly, Lord Kageyama? Fish?"

"We are not really hunting," said Kageyama, distracted.

"Well what are we doing here then?" I started to feel unnerved. The kitsune was acting strangely. Perhaps he meant to push me into the rushing water, and then all their problems would be gone.

"We are searching."

Kageyama reached out and took a knife from the air. The blade was not like his other knives, that were curved one way or another. This one was straight, shaped like an arrowhead, and instead of a wooden handle attached to the end the metal was bound round with faded white silk.

It was a throwing knife, often used by the assassins of Wa. Given who I now knew Kageyama to be, it was not so surprising.

What was surprising was it was a knife I had not seen before, and I again found myself wondering how many knives Kageyama had, hidden in the air around him.

"What does that one do?" I asked.

"This is 迷子丸 Mai-go-maru. 'Little Lost Child'," said Kageyama. "It can help you find lost items."

"Just items? Not people? That's rather... useless."

"What do your rings do?"

"This one is for protection against bug bites, this one protects against sunburn and aging of the skin, this one—"