A breeze nips at his nape.
"You know, Officer," The woman calls over her shoulders, a laugh tints her voice. "You're very bad at Hide 'n' Seek."
Asorotany flatten against bark, his fingers press into the rough, jagged surface, body stills immediately upon reflex. He forces himself not to gulp, not to breath, not to blink. Fear taunts his muscles. Should have keep back a few more paces, he curses himself.
"Not coming out? Oh, a stubborn one, aren't you?" The Nomad laughs. The leaves cackles alongside her. The blue sky is drenched in the liquor shades of pink and orange.
He exhales to clenched teeth. Gingerly, he steps out out of the trunk where he's hiding behind. The woman tilts her head back so that both of her eyes see him. A gush of wind rushes past, nudging him forward. Asorotany zips his leather coat up to his chin, his humiliation sharpens as the sweet smell of decaying sakura kisses his flushed cheeks. The soil is wet under his soles, water seeping through the tears of his boots. Rain droplets drip-drops from the trees' thin crowns, landing on his shoulders.
"How do you know I'm a cop?" He says, raising his chin. It has been bugging him ever since the night he met her. He had wear civilian clothes, both last time and this time. His look is average, easily mistaken for any other office in the station. Dark crew cut hair, brown eyes, solid-built. Even his voice falls in the general bass guys have.
She chuckles, not answering. She turns on her heels and waves. "Come along, child. You must be curious of the magnificent life of the weird sister." She says, a skitting streak of satire crosses at the final words.
Asorotany glances on either sides, finding a landmark before hurries off. Pre-cautious is the best strategy. They're venturing into the outskirt of the town. Despite the gentleness coming from the wildflowers and soft sunlight reflecting off a small river, crime in this part of Shinwa resorts to violence. Death and kidnap cases happen as common as the farming culture. He's still unsure of the woman's intention. She seems to know so much about him that it is alert.
This might be a trap. She could be luring him into some random location and her band of bandits will jump him. Giving that the Nomad knows Kozorog, Asorotany bets she knows more.
The Nomad woman hums loudly ahead, an ancient-sounding tune. Her fingers reaching up to catch the fallen petals, her gait sways a bit.
Asorotany keeps his senses sharp, fingering the black devices in his jacket pocket. A stun gun isn't really assuring. Even in case of a solo physical fight, with her height and build, she will over-power him. But, he can hope. The woman continues on her merry way, oblivious to his wary stare.
Asorotany mulls over the situation. He was going to pry the information out the hard way, but now that he's exposed and the woman is currently in a happy state, he should just use that to his advantages.
"You live around here?" Asorotany says, catching up to her.
She turns to him. "Not really. But this is somewhere I frequently travel to. It's an interesting place."
"You work?"
"You sound surprise."
"So, what are you? Like, a spirit hunter or something?"
The Nomad seems amused. "Hunter makes it sounds evil. Collector is better."
From this close, he can glimpse at the lower half of her face. Chisel, determined chin, strong, wide jaws. Lips, pink and plump like a cherry blossom bud, splitting in a genuine grin.
She has buck teeth, Asorotany notices.
A branch snaps to his right. Asorotany's attention jolts back in place. He jerks his head and glares at his surrounding. A bunny perks up, its ears twitching, then folds upon itself and vanishes amongst the newly-shot green grass blades.
"Relax," The woman says. "You look like you just break out of prison."
"Or going into prison," He looks at her. "You can be taking me into some death wormholes, right?"
She flicks the sleeve of her cloak, smiling.
They steps off the dirt road. The Nomad woman pauses at a fork, raising her head to the sky as if praying. She murmurs something in the same ancient tongue she had been singing with. Wind chatters in the background, and this time he swears they can actually speak. Left, they say.
And so, the Nomad goes left.
Asorotany runs a hand through his hair and down his face. "Oh my fucking God," he mutters, trailing after her.
They continue in silence. His eyes wander to the horizon. Stars stipples across the smooth skyline. Asorotany remembers Fische's white freckles that spray across his eyelids, glowing faintly in the dark. He has always been jealous. Asorotany sometimes bitterly thought heaven must have graced Fische a sky of his own as a proof for his perfection.
After a while, the woman starts singing again. Singing the same song, off-noted at the same parts, raises her hands at the same moments. She wears her nonchalant the same way she wears a ram skull on her head and a fleece cloak around her shoulders—natural.
"You're different from what I imagined." He says aloud.
"How so?" She asks.
He shrugs. "More the first time we saw each other. Dark and grumpy and scary and all that shit, you know. Not—" He gestures to her. Not like a child, he completes the sentence in his head.
"Which version of me do you like better?" She teases.
He rolls his eyes.
She lifts her hand, face-up. "I'm only in a foul mood on my birthday."
Asorotany groans. "Bastard, Kozorog."
The woman roars. She's laughing so hard that she's doubling over. "I told you not to trust Carion."
He scratches his brows, a smile tugging the corner of his lips.
They've arrive to a small street now. The tiny houses integrates a part of nature. Bushes scaling the bamboo fences, creaking in greeting to them. Triangular roofs peeking out from the trees. A tranquil calmness flows between them, filter their lungs. Asorotany breaths in the dense scent of Kanhizakura. The dark, bell-shaped blossoms smile at him.
The Nomad woman stops at one particular Kanhizakura branch that stoops low. She inhales, caresses the shy buds and carefully breaks two twigs.
"Find two golden coins to go with this," she says, giving him the shorter one. "It's a lucky charm."
He raises an eyebrow. "Huh, my Uncle also says those stuff."
She giggles, moving forward again, although she has shortened strides to match his. "You know the story behind it?"
"It's an one-time bargain or something, right? Instead of yours, death will claim the other life."
She brushes the tip of her branch at his cheekbones. "You believe it?"
"No." He scoffs. "You can't delay death. It comes when it comes."
She smiles. Goosebumps breaks over his forearms and neck. "Keep it close. You'll need it soon."
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