Endless Rain: Part 39

"What was she doing on our lands?"
"We aren't sure yet. We'll find out when she wakes up."

Moyasu began to hear garbled voices in the midst of her dream world. In the world where her family was alive and breathing, playing and laughing, going about their day as if nothing was wrong and as if everything was as it always had been before. It was the world she wanted so badly to return to. And there she stood, in the middle of the dirt road, watching with awe as her mother waved to her as she swept the front steps and her little brothers climbed the nearby tree like monkeys.

"Come play with us!"

They called to her, their voices distant and strained. As they hung upsidedown from the branch of the tree, Moyasu could only watch, somehow unable to move though she wanted to heed their call and join them. Oh, how she missed playing with them, but something was holding her back. Something? Someone. Turning her head to look behind her, Moyasu's eyes widened tearfully with fear as she saw the dead bodies of her village behind her.

Suddenly, she was back in those desperate moments before the Sendo had made their way into the Chi village. Fires were burning on the rooftops, the men were at the gate, desperately trying to keep it closed, and Moyasu was huddled with her mother against the back wall, along with the other women and children of the village.

"This can't be ... this has already happened! Pyro!"

Grabbing for her pendant, she realized with horror that it wasn't there. Pyro wasn't there. And immediately she could feel the breath of those around her brush along her skin. She could feel the goosebumps forming on her skin, and the ache in her legs from when she fell down earlier in the day.

"THIS CAN'T BE REAL!"
"Bring us back, Moyasu ..."
"What?!"

The Tiko soldiers watched as Moyasu shook her her sleep, mumbling words they couldn't quite make out. They looked at one another in slight confusion, then moved aside as a woman entered the small room they were keeping the girl in and sat down on the bed. With a brush of her hand across Moyasu's face, she spoke softly to the sleeping youth in hopes of waking her with as little shock as possible.

"Awaken ..."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Moyasu sat straight up in the bed, eyes wide open and fearful, a cold sweat beading on her face even as she slowly became aware of her surroundings.

"Are you allright?"
"It wasn't my fault ... their voices ... their dead voices ... tried to take me with them ... into the earth ... no ... wasn't my fault ..."

The woman motioned for the soldiers to leave the room, then pressed a cold cloth on the girl's forehead. Moyasu didn't seem to notice. She was still far away from reality. At least, for the moment she was. She could hear the voices of the people around her now, though, and that was an improvement. She could also feel the cold metallic shackles the Tiko had placed on her wrists even though she was unconscious when she was brought here. She just couldn't get the faces of her tribe out of her mind. They were all she could see.

"What is your name, Chi girl?"

Moyasu blinked and looked over to the woman now, finally getting in touch with reality.

"Moyasu ..."
"My name is Inoe of the Tiko. You were found on our lands, so you've been placed under arrest ... Moyasu ... why are you here?"
"... I ... I'm on a mission. I didn't know the Tiko were still around, much less that they had gained so much land ..."
"We have grown, yes. We may have started as outcasts, but now we're almost to the same strength as any of the larger three tribes."

Inoe smiled, proud of the progress her tribe had made in these past years. Moyasu wasn't quite as impressed with it. She was too busy pulling on the shackles a bit, testing their strength. She wasn't one to like being chained up, and although this Tiko woman seemed nice enough, she didn't seem to be in the mood to remove the restraints. And that meant that this Inoe woman wasn't her friend. She was an interrogator, no matter how nice she was being.

"What is your mission, Moyasu?"

Moyasu remained silent, her expression now changing from the gentle smile she'd found with Pyro to the all-too-familiar scowl she shared with the Mikomi for most of her stay with them.

"Come along, now ... it isn't a big secret, is it?"
"I'm hungry."
"Oh, of course ... the boys did say they found you while you were cooking. I'll go find you something."

Standing and moving to the door, Inoe looked back once at Moyasu, then stepped out.

"Pyro!"

Silence.

"Pyro?!"

Looking down, Moyasu realized for the first time that her pendant was gone, along with her familiar clothing. She was wearing a tan shirt now, obviously too large for her, and she wondered what the Tiko would want with her clothing and possessions. A sense of panic soon followed, but was cut short by a familiar whisper. With a glance to the door, Moyasu saw a pink mist flow in through the cracks and form that familiar visage of her guardian.

"I'm here, Moyasu ... it took me a moment to find you."
"Where's my stuff?"
"The Tiko divided your clothing and belongings and walked off with them. The pendant is around a little girl's neck. Her name's Teika. You shouldn't need to worry about it, but you do need to worry about how you're going to get out of here. These guys don't sound like they're going to let you leave."
"But why? I didn't do anything!"
"You and I know that. But they don't. They obviously have something they don't want others to know they have."