Volume 16 - The Mountain, Chapter 117 - The Quake

It was just before 1AM when it happened. It started softly, barely more than a tremble in the soil, accompanied by a faint rumble like distant thunder.

But then the vibrations grew and grew until the very walls of the Mountain Lily Inn shook with the earth's fury. In the main house's kitchen, glassware clattered and cracked in the cabinets. Out in the large cabin, an illuminated lamp toppled from a table and shattered. Its lightbulb exploded with a loud POP!

In the Inn's many bedrooms, guests and residents were startled awake to find themselves in the middle of a serious earthquake. Well, in most bedrooms. More than one couple had already been awake and making love, and in one case, the earthquake's minute-long tremors went entirely unnoticed.

Yuisu and Haru had been among the conscious when the earthquake hit, and as soon as it stopped, Yuisu sprang into action. Having lived in Japan her whole life, she had experienced earthquakes before, but she knew some of the inn's visitors had not. She needed to get to her guests, ensure their safety, and provide comfort as needed.

"Haru, toss me my panties," Yuisu said, already pulling a t-shirt on over a hastily donned sports bra, chosen because it didn't have any fiddly fasteners to slow her down.

Haru did as asked and Yuisu finished getting dressed in a hurry. The adrenaline pumping through her veins eclipsed most of her body's unsatisfied arousal and uncomfortable dampness. She forced herself to ignore the rest.

"Do you need help? What can I do?" Haru asked. She pulled on her own clothes at a much more cumbersome pace, cursing her lack of hands.

Yuisu turned around at the bedroom door and firmly said, "Check on the other girls in the house. Get everyone outside and away from the buildings in case another one hits. Rem and I will handle the cabins."

Haru nodded sharply and had to resist the urge to salute after that impressive show of leadership. Old habits die hard, she thought with a smile.

"Rem! Rem, are you okay?" Yuisu called into the dark boiler room as she fumbled for the light switch. When she finally found it, she wasn't prepared for what the light revealed.

Rem's handmade 'apartment' had once looked like an elaborate dollhouse, suspended in the air of the boiler room. Now it was destroyed, with the majority of it in a pile of rubble on the floor, nearly five feet below where it had been. The two shelves that had served as its foundation and second floor had collapsed entirely.

The only thing left up was the 3rd-floor bedroom. That addition had been fastened to the corner and ceiling with Mara's remarkably sticky webbing, which could now claim the title of 'earthquake proof'. In the back of Yuisu's mind, she worried that it might go to Mara's head.

But there were more important things to worry about than the little arachne's ego. "Oh god, Rem, are you in there? Please say you're okay."

"I'm alright," came a small voice from the little suspended bedroom. A collapsed wall tumbled out of the way and revealed Rem inside, clinging to the top of a large jewelry box. She let go and crawled forward, but she froze when she looked down and saw that the rest of her apartment was missing. After a second, she said, "Damn. That sucks. At least me and my jewelry box are safe."

Yuisu smiled. "Yeah, your safety is what's important. Now I hate to ask you this after what you just went through, but can you help me check on the guests?"

Rem's shaken state vanished in an instant and she snapped to attention. "You got it, Boss. Together, or split up?"

Yuisu wanted to get to all the guests as soon as possible, so she answered, "Split up. But be careful. They're probably pretty frazzled and might not see you in the dark."

Rem clapped her hands together and when she pulled them apart there was a floating ball of light between them. "How about this? Should help them see me."

Yuisu blinked, both at the sudden brightness and in surprise at the gremlin magic. She said, "Yeah, that's great. I'll start at the far cabin if you want to start at the closest. Tell everyone to gather outside by the first fork in the path."

Within fifteen minutes, every permanent and temporary resident of the inn had gathered outside on the stone-lined pathway between the house and the large cabin. Yuisu held a flashlight and pointed it at herself so everyone could see her. Rem was sitting on Yuisu's shoulder where she wouldn't get crushed underfoot in the darkness.

"I apologize for the inconvenience of all this, but I wanted to make sure everyone was safe, and make sure we'd be far from any collapsing buildings if another bigger quake followed," Yuisu announced.

Around her in the dim light, a few human faces and many more liminal ones nodded. They understood the precautions, and no one was upset at Yuisu for the disruption. One human couple looked rather annoyed, but that was due the specific way their honeymoon intimacy had been interrupted.

Rem leaned in to Yuisu's ear and whispered, "I said I was sorry. I didn't mean to startle him into going off inside her. You'd think after lasting through an earthquake, he could handle a knock at the bedroom door…"

Yuisu shushed the tiny woman and said, "Not right now."

Grumbling to herself, Rem continued, "Besides, haven't they heard of condoms or the pill?"

Yuisu cast a stern eye on Rem and said, "You need to drop that topic, Rem."

Then she turned back to the gathered crowd and said, "I checked the news and no more quakes or aftershocks are expected. You can now return to your beds. See me in the morning to file insurance claims for any damaged belongings. Or call me if you need anything more urgent than that."

Then Yuisu bowed deeply, forcing Rem to hop down from her shoulder. "Sorry again, and goodnight."

As the guests shuffled off to their cabins and Rem and the homestays went back into the house, Yuisu stayed behind. She caught the newlyweds' attention and pulled them aside.

"I'm so very sorry about what happened. First thing in the morning, I can arrange a visit to the clinic to get a morning-after pill. I'll foot the bill," she said in a hushed whisper, trying to keep the conversation appropriately private.

Surprisingly, the woman shook her head. "No, that's fine. We've been thinking about trying for a kid anyway."

The man put his arm around her shoulders and added, "And if she conceives, this would make a great story someday."

The woman elbowed her husband in the side at that remark, but she was smiling broadly. The young couple's annoyance was entirely gone and they had switched to planning for their new future. "Goodnight, Yuisu," she said as she started away.

Yuisu bid them goodnight and turned to head back to her own bed, but before she got far she overheard the woman whisper, "Want to try again and double our chances?"

The next morning was surprisingly calm. No one was hurt beyond their disrupted sleep schedules and the only material losses were some glassware, a lamp, and Rem's shelves. Yuisu filled out an insurance claim for them, but given the low monetary value, she wasn't sure it would be worth the hassle to submit.

Her bigger concern was whether the earthquake had damaged anything in less visible ways. Once Sya arrived for her shift, Yuisu set her on a meticulous review of the Inn and its cabins.

Sya was born for tasks like that. She made a detailed checklist of things that should be checked, such as plumbing, door frames, and load-bearing walls, and she iterated and expanded on it throughout the day as she visited the cabins. Meanwhile, Rem performed all the maid duties, zipping around with her impressive energy. Yuisu, on the other hand, had a task of her own to do.

Yuisu got dressed in a t-shirt and long pants, put on sunscreen, then filled a backpack with snacks, water, and a variety of tools. She needed to check whether the quake had damaged the property's driveway or fence line, or caused any unsafe landslides.

As she pulled on her hiking boots at the front door, Haru sat down beside her and said, "Do you want to split up and cover more ground?"

Yuisu gave her laces another tug to make sure they were tight, then stood up. "Nah, I could use your keen eyes with me. You can circle above and cover a bit more ground, though. Sound good?

"Yep!" Haru said cheerfully. This task reminded her of the time she and Yuisu had repaired the fences two winters ago, back when they barely knew each other. She hopped to her feet and flung open the front door. Then she gestured with her huge white-feathered wing and said, "After you, miss Yuisu."

Yuisu gave a puzzled smile. She didn't mind the old 'miss Yuisu' thing, but she never could predict when Haru would use it. Maybe it's when she's feeling nostalgic? she wondered. I guess this is a lot like that time we went out in the snow to fix the fence.

Yuisu stepped up to the door, but didn't go through yet. She pulled Haru into a tight hug and said, "It's really been great, the last year and a half, hasn't it?"

Haru returned the hug, squeezing Yuisu almost too hard, and said, "Yeah, but let's get this show on the road. We can reminisce later, in private."

Haru knew exactly how to get Yuisu motivated. Yuisu pulled out of the hug and strode out into the sun, eager for the task ahead.

The sweep of the property was worthwhile and uncovered a few things. The fence had a bit of minor damage, but most of it could have been older and unrelated to the quake. The driveway and other infrastructure was thankfully entirely unharmed. All in all, there were only two major changes to the property: the old dead tree that Haru and Chione used as a flight landmark had finally fallen over, and something had changed with the hot spring.

The hot spring's surface construction was all fine, but a shift deep in the earth caused the water flow to nearly double in volume. The rushing hot water increased the temperature of the spring a bit, and a lot of water was being wasted through the overflow.

For the short term, Yuisu put up a sign warning guests that the spring was hotter than normal. Then she roped off the deep end of the crescent shaped pool, where the spout was located, to keep people out of the hottest part.

Next, since Haru had the whole day off, Yuisu and Haru drove down to town for some errands and some investigation.

As Yuisu's red pickup truck pulled into a massive parking lot, Haru said, "Why are we here again?"

Yuisu put the trusty little truck into park and answered, "Because the media hasn't said anything about that earthquake. I want to find out which regions were affected."

"And someone at the university can tell you that?" Haru asked, her head questioningly tilted nearly 90 degrees.

Yuisu nodded. "I'm pretty sure they have some seismology equipment here, and even if they don't, they're networked with dozens of other universities. Someone here can help us."

An hour later, Yuisu slumped back into the driver's seat. The university had been far less useful than she'd hoped. "Ugh, want to get something to eat? This whole earthquake thing is wearing me out."

Haru slid into the passenger side. "Sure," she said, "How about the little noodle place?"

After a short drive, Haru and Yuisu were seated at the bar in a tiny noodle shop. Yuisu practically dove into her bowl of ramen, but Haru seemed lost in thought.

After a moment, Haru said, "I'm no expert in earthquakes, or anything ground related for that matter, but it seems weird that the earthquake only affected the inn. That professor said that they barely detected anything down here in Okayado."

Yuisu paused her satisfied slurping and said, "Yeah, it is very strange. A quake that strong in the mountains is rare already, but not affecting Okayado is just confusing. Maybe it was just our mountain?"

"Excuse me," a quiet voice said from behind them. Haru and Yuisu turned to find an old woman seated at a table with her own bowl of ramen. The woman had pure white hair and a weathered and kind face. She wore a very traditional kimono despite the summer heat. She leaned closer and said, "Sorry for being nosy, but I think I know what happened."

"Oh?" Yuisu said. She was open to any explanation she could get at that point.

The woman nodded confidently. "Oh yes. A quake on a single mountain can only mean one thing: the mountain's spirit has awakened."

"Uh," Yuisu started. Maybe she wasn't open to any explanation after all. "What do you mean?" she asked skeptically.

The woman simply said, "Almost every mountain has a spirit, a god that dwells within it and protects it. If yours has awoken, you should make sure you don't do anything to anger it. And put up some offerings, if you've got a shrine on the mountain."

The old woman got up to leave and Yuisu politely thanked her for the advice. Yuisu didn't really believe in mountain spirits, and she didn't want to make such a superstitious leap while there were still possible scientific explanations for the localized earthquake.

"Maybe I'll look for a hot spring expert next," Yuisu thought aloud. "That feels like our best lead, considering the change to the spring's flow. Though that seems more like a symptom than the actual cause…"

"There's definitely no shrine on the mountain," Haru suddenly said, after swallowing a bite that was more meat than noodles.

"What?" Yuisu asked. She didn't see how that was related to what she'd been saying.

"I've flown all over the mountain, even outside your property, and there's no shrine on it," Haru explained. It seemed she'd been lost in thoughts of her own, and Haru had given the old woman's story more consideration than Yuisu had.

"And? What's it matter? It's not like mountain gods actually exist. That's just old Japanese folklore."

Haru raised one eyebrow and cast a smug look Yuisu's way. "And what about harpies and centaurs and gremlins? They were 'just folklore' until a few years ago."

Yuisu finished the last of her noodles and pushed the bowl away. "Fair point. I guess I'll believe it when I see it."

Haru nodded appreciatively. "That's a good level of skepticism. Don't believe everything you're told, but trust your own senses."

Yuisu paid for the noodle bowls, including the extra servings of meat for Haru, and pocketed the receipt to expense later. Then the couple returned to Yuisu's truck. They had the windows down as they drove home, enjoying the warm and calm weather.

It seemed the wildlife was enjoying the weather as well, since Yuisu had to stop the truck for a deer in the road and again for a rabbit on the driveway.

While Yuisu waited for the rabbit to get out of the way, she said, "I bet the quake was extra scary to burrowing animals. Being underground during that would be intense, and dangerous." She couldn't help but imagine a dirt-lined burrow collapsing in on her and she shivered at the thought.

All Haru's predatory senses were honed in on the rabbit and she barely registered Yuisu's remark. Only once the rabbit had disappeared into the bushes did Haru come back to reality.

She turned to Yuisu and asked, "Deer or rabbit tonight?"

"Huh?" Yuisu asked as the truck rumbled up the hill.

"I'm really in a mood to hunt, so do you want venison or rabbit meat for dinner tonight? Or maybe boar, if I find one."

"Uh, I guess I don't have a preference," Yuisu said. Then after a moment, she added, "As long as you deliver that 'reminiscing in private' that you promised earlier…"

Haru knew exactly what Yuisu meant, but she teasingly said, "Deer it is. It'll be just like our first meeting, when I brought you a fawn!" She didn't mention that she had 'brought' it by crashing in through the sliding glass door.

Yuisu cringed. "No thanks. Watching you kill that cute deer nearly traumatized me. Whatever you catch tonight, please butcher it before showing me."

Haru nodded distractedly. Her wings were itching to take flight and her predatory urge was in overdrive. The second the truck came to a stop, she launched out the door and into the air. She called down, "Seeya in a couple hours, Yuisu! Love you!" Then she disappeared over the trees.

Yuisu chuckled at how eager Haru was, then thought to herself, I wonder if these hunting moods correspond to her mating seasons at all… She's very supportive of my higher sex drive, but when she's in mating season, even I can barely keep up with her. Grinning lewdly, she muttered aloud, "I can't wait."