And The Forest Whispers

4

Shion considered pretending he wasn't home.

          He thought of stepping away from the window, curling beneath the thick blankets spread over his little bed, and pretending he hadn't seen the silver-eyed stranger standing outside his fence. He didn't think the stranger would approach his cabin and burst the door down.

          Although, Shion couldn't figure out what someone from the Mao tribe would want with him. The symbols on the stranger's bow were those associated with charms and magic; everything about them matched the stories Shion had heard about the Mao tribe. If the Mao were as connected to magical energy as the stories claimed, then the stranger already knew Shion was inside.

          He exhaled and tried to relax. Perhaps the stranger wasn't here to cause him harm. If the Mao were indeed connected with magic, as the rumors claimed, then perhaps the stranger had approached as a kindred spirit, drawn to the magical energy resonating from the charms Shion had painstakingly woven. Perhaps the stranger was merely curious as to who'd patched them together.

          Shion clenched his hands around the handle of the water bucket and set it down gently. There wasn't any use in pretending he wasn't home if the stranger could sense him inside. In fact, it would be quite rude to keep a potential guest waiting.

          He wandered to the door, snatched his cloak off the hook, and tossed it around his shoulders. With the approaching chill in the air, his guest wouldn't think it suspicious for him to come outside with it on. Shion made certain his hands were plainly visible and empty, displaying that he didn't have any weapons, and opened the door.

          He squinted into the sunlight. The sky retained its blue color, though the sun had begun its descent toward the mountains. Soon it would be replaced with smears of purple and pink, and then shadows would engulf the land and plunge it into the night.

          Shion spotted the stranger. They'd taken a step back as Shion opened the door, but they hadn't retreated into the forests from which they'd manifested. The silver flash of their quicksilver eyes darted to Shion's hands—as Shion had anticipated they might. Once the stranger confirmed that Shion had no weapon in hand, or anywhere on his person, their gaze returned to his face.

          Beneath the shadows of the dark hood, Shion could only make out the distinct lines of a heart-shaped face. He couldn't discern the stranger's age or gender from the shadows scattered across their features, obscuring their nose, mouth, and general facial structure, but he could see pale skin—much paler than Shion had seen on the folks living in Kronos.

          "Well met, stranger," Shion greeted.

          The stranger inclined their head at the sound of Shion's voice, and replied, "Not wise to open your door to a stranger, is it?"

          Their voice brushed over Shion like the wings of a delicate bird. He shivered at the almost musical note to it. It was distinctively a male's voice, and there was a sharpened edge to it that Shion recognized from his time spent around the men and women of Kronos.

          The stranger didn't trust him.

          "Perhaps not," Shion allowed. "Well, then, it's nice to meet you. My name's Shion." He gave the stranger a big smile that he hoped was friendly and not mistakenly suspicious. "There. Now we aren't strangers."

          For a moment, the air between them was silent.

          "You're odd."

          Shion's smile dropped.