Chapter 24 - Suavi

Gashrian Planes - Night

Simon sat cross-legged on the wagon's floor with his arms crossed. His cat-like eyes never left Kayae's trembling face.

"S-sorry," Kayae replied meekly between her chattering teeth.

Her response caused Simon to speak in a booming tone one would expect a father to speak in after finding out their child had disobeyed a direct order to not play with matches and, as a result burned down the shed, "I asked you to explain. Not to apologize. So, explain!"

Kayae's ears flattened against her down-turned head as she began to speak, "I-I'll start at the beginning. T-things will make more sense that way."

Simon quietly nodded his head without breaking eye contact.

"I first met Suavi in the forest eight years ago. I had gone with my mother to search for berries and the like near the tree line that divided the planes and the forest." Kayae's pale cheeks redden slightly as she recalled the memory, "I-I wasn't as obedient as I am now back then."

Simon can't suppress his emotions and rolls his eyes before scoffing loudly as he recalls her past actions, causing Kayae to flinch slightly, "You're obedient now?"

"M-More so now than then, I guess."

Simon sighs loudly before uncrossing his arms upon seeing Kayae's tearful expression. Darlin would laugh if she could see me now. He really had become soft over the years.

He shakes his head and picks up the tearful girl, and places her in his lap after dangling his legs off the wagon's side. Kayae was startled at first but quickly recovered and buried her face in Simon's chest, sobbing softly. He remains silent for a few moments while stroking the girl's ears. Eventually, her tears subside, and she lifted her head up. He smiles softly before retrieving a cloth from his pocket and wiping away her tears.

Kayae smiles brightly at the gesture before burying her face back in his chest, "I really am sorry. I wanted to tell you, Kuro, or my mother about Suavi, but I made a promise to keep her a secret."

Simon nods his head, pulling her small frame closer to his chest, "So, you were keeping a promise to your friend all this time. I understand, but It's too late now."

She nods her head slightly, "I know." she replies softly before speaking again.

Kayae had entered the forest with her mother to search for berries. Despite being told to follow close behind her mother, the young girl quickly became distracted. She chased after a brightly colored bird that had caught her attention. By the time Kayae had lost sight of it, she could no longer hear her mother's voice and found herself lost deep in the forests heart.

Night fell quickly during that time of year, and soon the small girl was surrounded by glowing eyes. Kayae quickly hid in the roots of a nearby tree only to rush out screaming when a large creature brushed against her leg. After that, she kept running for hours through the forest despite her small stature. Eventually, she collapsed from exhaustion in the middle of a small clearing encircled by white flowers. A fairy ring.

She was tired, hungry, and cold.

The small six-year-old girl curled herself tightly into a ball and cried herself to sleep. Kayae was awoken by the tongue of a small dog licking her face. The sun had already risen, and her stomach grumbled from hunger. She thought she could see a smile on the dog's face and was shocked when the small dog rolled over a large fruit to her with its nose before sitting down at her feet, staring up at her as if ushering her to eat the fruit. Her stomach grumbled again, and she relented, picked up the fruit, and quickly inhaled its contents. A soft laugh echoed throughout the clearing, causing her ears to shoot up, but only the tiny dog remained when she looked up to try and find the source.

Over the next few hours, the small girl and the dog formed a bond. They remained in the clearing playing together, and when night fell, the small dog watched over her softly breathing body. Once again, she was awoken by the sensation of gentle licks. When Kayae opened her eyes, a small pile of fruit was in front of her. She quickly consumed the fruit greedily before tackling the small dog in delight. The process repeated itself for 5 days. During the day, the two would play various games together. At night, the dog would watch over her, and in the morning, she would be awoken with multiple fruits. Then, on the eve of the eighth day since their meeting, it started to rain.

Suddenly the once while flowers surrounding the grove started to darken and wilt. Kayae watched the strange sight, eyes filled with wonder. She soon turned around to show her new friend the strange event but stopped before she could speak. In front of her was the same small dog looking at her longingly as its form started to change shape. Kayae looked on in horror as a black mist enveloped the dog, and in its place, a small girl appeared. Neither of the two said anything and just stared at each other, waiting for one of them to make the first move.

Kayae summoned all of her remaining courage and reached her hand out, gently stroking the strange girl's hair in the same manner she had the small dog. The strange girl smiled happily before hugging Kayae tightly. She was startled at first but soon returned the embrace and hugged her happily. The peculiar girl explained that she was a Yama-inu, a spirit, and bound to the fairy ring surrounding the clearing.

According to the spirit, her powers greatly diminish when the flowers of the fairy ring wilt during the rain. That was why she could no longer maintain her previous form and was forced to revert to her true form. Of course, Kayae, being the kind girl that she was, only understood half of what the spirit was telling her, but she understood enough to realize that her friend was trapped here.

Kayae released a barrage of questions directed at the spirit. Despite asking what things meant several times, the two eventually reached a mutual understanding as the sun rose overhead. The spirit went on to ask her own barrage of questions, mainly consisting of where Kayae was from and what life was like outside of the fairy ring. Kayae went on to tell her about the village, the grassy plains, and the sweets her mother would make once a year with the berries from the forest.

Suddenly something dawned on the small girl, and she began to panic. The spirit asked her what was wrong. Kayae quickly explained about how she had been picking berries with her mother in the forest, the colorful bird, and about how she had gotten lost days earlier.

For a moment, the spirit remained quiet before explaining that the bird she saw was a Hercinia, a bird-like spirit with bright feathers. They like to lure away small children and lead them deeper into the forest before vanishing from sight. The spirit's expression shifts into a frown as she explains before commenting, 'They really are despicable creatures.' and shakes her head. The odd sight caused Kayae to giggle lightly, much to the spirit's annoyance. However, she was soon tackled to the ground and tickled mercilessly until she peed herself, signaling the end of the amusing torture.

Simon smiled to himself when Kayae recalled that event.

I'll have to remember that.

Kayae noticed his grin and quickly hid her bright red face from sight in his chest before continuing.

Once she had recovered from the ordeal, the spirit offered her a deal. In exchange for giving the spirit a name and keeping her existence a secret, she would lead the small girl out of the forest and back to her village. She explained that once a spirit was given a name, it would be freed from the fairy ring's confines.

Kayae was delighted at the thought of releasing her friend and quickly gave the spirit a name before she could finish explaining. She was given the name Suavi, the name her father had apparently called her mother when they were younger, meaning 'Sweetheart' in the old language used by the tribe.

Suavi was stunned by suddenly being given a name but quickly became enraged and screamed at the girl. Apparently, giving a spirit a name was not something to be done lightly. In exchange for a name, the spirit and the namer would become bound together for as long as the namer lived. Once the namer died, so too would the spirit. In addition, the namer's life would be prolonged, causing them to age and grow far slower than normal.

In other words, Kayae's small stature is a result of the pact she made with Suavi.

Simon breathed a quiet sigh of relief at the fact that the small girl hadn't been starved in her childhood and continued listening.

After finishing her rant, Kayae had been in tears from being yelled at, causing Suavi to sigh loudly before hugging the crying girl tightly until she calmed down. Simon felt a newfound kinship form between him and the sleeping spirit nearby. Once Kayae had calmed down, Suavi kept up her end of the bargain and led her through the forest and back to the village.

The journey took three long days before they managed to reach the forest's edge. Afterward, Suavi shifted back into a small dog's shape and led the small Kayae back into the village. Her appearance after so long was quite a surprise.

Kayae's mother had dropped the bucket of water she was holding and barged out of her house screaming before hugging her thought to be lost daughter tightly. Kuro appeared shortly after from the forest, along with the search party sent in to find her. Thankfully none of the search party members had been hurt, but they had been forced to return after running out of supplies.

Kuro was understandably shocked to find Kayae safely in her mother's arms upon his return. A massive celebration to be held in Lady Pegasus's honor was arranged quickly. Mistakenly believing that the strange turn of events had been a miracle bestowed upon the village by their patron god.

True to her word, Kayae didn't tell anyone about how she returned from the forest or the new friend she had made there. Suavi had disappeared during the commotion but regularly appeared to play with Kayae when either one of them had free time to spare. As time went on, Kayae became busy and busier until she rarely had time to play with her friend. Finally, Suavi understood and happily decided to keep watch over the village. Then one day, Kayae's mother left to search for food and never returned.

Simon's face shifted into a grimace, clearly knowing how this next part would end.

Just as he had imagined, Suavi went to look for Kayae's mother after she failed to return at the request of the worried girl. According to Suavi, she had managed to eventually track down her mother. Still, by this point, she had already been captured by the mercenaries-cum-bandits. Suavi decided to return to the village and seek assistance, but she was slowed by the train. By the time she arrived, Simon had already returned with the women. Suavi witnessed the crying Kayae in Simon's arms. Then one day, Suavi appeared before Kayae and tried to take her away from the village, claiming that a great evil had descended upon it, but she refused to leave. Seeing that her friend would not heed her advice, Suavi left.

"A-and that was the last time I saw her."

Simon sat quietly with Kayae in his arms, staring at the small sleeping figure of Suavi, firelight reflecting brightly off his eyes.